Repairs to the Lower Orange River Government Water Scheme (LORGWS) Canal in the Western Cape, have been completed.

The tunnel section of the canal, which lies downstream of the Clanwilliam Dam, was recently damaged with the repair work expected to be completed on Thursday 20 January 2015.

As a result of the damage the flow of water was compromised and this impacted negatively on the farmers downstream who depend on this water.

Whilst the repair work was underway, the farmers downstream continued to irrigate as they were serviced by means of pumps that bypassed the canal to deliver water downstream.

In line with the relations that exist between the farmers and the Western Cape provincial Department of Agriculture, the farmers requested funding for a stand-by pump that could come in were the pumps in use at the time fail for whatever reason. The provincial department duly availed such funds and the standby pump was purchased.

The LORGWS Canal is operated and maintained by the Lower Olifants River Water Association (LORWA) as per the agreement in place with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), thus the responsibility for the repairs were in the hands of the association.

The DWS remained in consultation with the association throughout this period and was assured by the association that the association remained capable to do the work and no “hands-on assistance” was requested from the DWS.

In line with the operations and maintenance agreement mentioned earlier between the DWS and the water association, what is now outstanding is the final report on the work done and the final tallied figures on budget spent.

This report will determine how the responsibility towards the funding of this work will be shared between the DWS and water association.

The agreement between the two entities remains in place and will continue to guide their working relationship in the future.