President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to officially commission the Klipdrift 50-megalitre-per-day Package Water Treatment Plant in Hammanskraal, as part of the Department of Water and Sanitation's Mandela Day programme to expand access to safe drinking water.
The commissioning forms part of government's National Water Access Acceleration Programme, a flagship initiative launched by Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina to accelerate water provision to unserved and underserved communities across the country.
The Klipdrift Package Water Treatment Plant forms part of the Hammanskraal Emergency Water Supply Intervention, implemented by Magalies Water under the direction of the Department of Water and Sanitation, following the 2023 cholera outbreak.
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation, the fully operational facility will supply an additional 50 megalitres of treated potable water per day to the City of Tshwane's distribution network, benefiting an estimated 47 550 households, or about 180 679 residents in Hammanskraal and surrounding communities.
In addition to improving water security, the project generated 169 employment opportunities during construction, including permanent positions, skilled and local labour, while 18 small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) participated in the implementation.
Sixty local community members also benefited directly through project employment initiatives.
President Ramaphosa and Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina will also hand over several decentralised groundwater supply schemes in Hammanskraal through the Rand Water Foundation.
The schemes include borehole-based water systems at Kekana Community Hall, Botlhokwa bja Bana, Suurman Ridge Unit 5, Mashemong Section 5 and Lepheng Village.
Each intervention includes boreholes, elevated storage tanks, communal water collection points and water treatment systems designed to ensure compliance with national drinking water standards.
The borehole projects are expected to improve access to safe drinking water for more than 1 400 households and learners in the Hammanskraal area while strengthening community water security.
“Each decentralised scheme comprises a production borehole source, elevated storage capacity and infrastructure, communal water collection points and water treatment systems to address contaminants identified in the groundwater, to ensure that the drinking water supplied complies with the minimum drinking water quality requirements of South African National Standard (SANS) 241,” the department said.
The Gauteng programme forms part of the national launch of 67 decentralised groundwater supply schemes being handed over across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, in celebration of Mandela Day on 18 July 2026.
The National Water Access Acceleration Programme targets more than 2 600 unserved settlements across South Africa through interventions including borehole drilling, groundwater development, spring protection, rainwater harvesting, rehabilitation of existing water supply schemes and small-scale reticulation projects.
More than R200 million has been allocated for the first phase of the programme, with additional implementation phases planned for October 2026 and April 2027.
Strategic Significance for Government
The Hammanskraal Water Intervention Project demonstrates:
• Government's rapid response to the 2023 cholera outbreak.
• Successful implementation of the District Development Model principles through collaborative governance.
• Effective partnership between DWS, Magalies Water and the City of Tshwane.
• Deployment of innovative water treatment technology at scale.
• Delivery of a tangible solution to a long-standing community challenge.
• Government's commitment to ensuring access to safe drinking water as a constitutional right. – SAnews.gov.za
