Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo has called on the contractor responsible for upgrading the Delmas Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in the Victor Khanye Local Municipality, in Mpumalanga, to accelerate the work and ensure timely completion of the project.
Mahlobo, accompanied by Victor Khanye Executive Mayor Vusi Buda and Nkangala District Executive Mayor Thomas Ngwenya, visited the project site on Monday to assess progress on Phase 2 of the WWTW upgrade.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is funding the R300 million project through its Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG), with Nkangala District Municipality appointed as the implementing agent.
Phase 1 of the project, which focused on refurbishment of the existing plant, was implemented by the Victor Khanye Local Municipality.
During the visit, Mahlobo expressed concern over the contractor’s poor performance, emphasising a need for them to provide a practical revised, realistic plan that will lead to speedy completion of the project.
He stressed the environmental urgency of completing the upgrade, noting that the plant currently contributes significantly to pollution in the Bronkhorstspruit River and, ultimately, the Olifants River system.
The department had previously opened a criminal case against Victor Khanye Municipality for polluting the water courses.
“These are some of the interventions requested by the province and we (DWS) have worked so hard to ensure that there is allocation to get this project off the ground and get the wastewater system to work because we had opened a case against the municipality for polluting the Bronkhorstspruit River system.
“But another reason why we wanted to increase the capacity of the wastewater plant and for the plant to work adequately, is because we have a duty to support the municipality to ensure that they do not continue polluting these rivers and the environment due to inadequate infrastructure,” Mahlobo said.
He said the department has agreed for a construction of a state-of-the-art infrastructure with the latest technology designed to improve treatment efficiency and reduce high levels of E. coli, ensuring that the treated effluent meets national water quality standards before being discharged into natural water sources.
The existing plant, which receives domestic and industrial sewage from Delmas, Delpark, and Eloff, was originally designed to treat 4.5 megalitres per day (ml/d) and is currently overloaded, processing around 8.5 ml/d, which results in effluent not fully treated before its release into the Bronkhorstspruit River.
The project seeks to increase the capacity of the plant to 11.5 ml/d.
The Deputy Minister bemoaned the slow progress in the implementation of the project, which started in 2022 and initially scheduled for completion in May 2024.
The project was marred with challenges, including prevalence of underground water at the construction site which required sub-soil drainage; use of controlled rock blasting around the existing infrastructure; delays in material procurement and worker payments by the contractor, which led to site closure, as well as the inclement weather.
The upgrade includes civil, mechanical, and electrical works which entails construction of new inlet works and electrical panel buildings, secondary settling tanks, biological reactors, sludge and recycling pumps, a sludge treatment and disinfection system, upgraded piping, and improved access walkways, among others. – SAnews.gov.za
