Vaal Dam – Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has launched a major water infrastructure project, which is aimed at addressing water supply and sanitation backlogs to millions of households.
Molewa, who was flanked by provincial MECs and Rand Water officials, launched the Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) 18, or the 18th SIP, at an event that was also attended by members of the public at the Vaal Dam, south of Johannesburg, on Saturday.
Molewa launched SIP 18 after it was approved by the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission (PICC) - a high level government team of ministers, premiers and metro mayors, chaired by President Jacob Zuma – in 2012.
“This programme, in simple terms, is a 10-year plan that will address the estimated backlog of adequate water to 1.4 million households and that of basic sanitation to 2.1 million households.
“The recent ‘green drop’ report indicates that of the 914 water supply systems assessed, 41% require attention. Similarly, 55% (of 821) wastewater treatment works require serious, critical and urgent refurbishment.
“On-site sanitation systems provided in mostly rural areas have been found to be relatively robust, with inadequate provision for pit emptying,” she said.
Throughout the next 10 years, SIP 18 is expected to fast-track the issuing of water licences, expand the water system capacity, speed up build programmes, address backlog projects and rehabilitate and upgrade existing water and sanitation infrastructure.
The project, which will also focus on priority small towns and rural areas where water service delivery is a problem, is also expected to create jobs, raise the quality of service delivery of water around the country and extend water supply to areas that are either underserviced or unserviced.
Molewa said her department had identified several projects that will be used to drive SIP 18, including the Sedibeng Regional Sewer Scheme, a R5 billion-project that she said would be implemented in the area.
Prior to the SIP 18 launch, Molewa commissioned another project – Rand Water’s BG3 pipeline – which is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest water pipeline, running from the Vaal Dam to its Zoekfontein Plant, which is 8.6 km away.
The Vaal Dam is situated approximately 2.5 hours away from Johannesburg.
The pipeline will increase the water distribution in this district and the surrounding areas.
The BG3 pipeline runs adjacent to Rand Water’s existing BG1 and BG2 pipelines that supply Gauteng and parts of the neighbouring Free State, Mpumalanga and the North West provinces with water.
“Once in commission, the BG3 pipeline will allow for Rand Water’s two pipelines (BG1 and BG2) to be shut down for refurbishment and maintenance.
“I am pleased that the BG3 pipeline will not only augment raw water capacity to Zuikerbosch by up to 2100 Ml/d, which will accommodate the region’s growth water demand projected to 2030, but because it duplicates the BG2. It will allow the BG2 to be taken out of service for crucially needed maintenance or renovation works.
“This will play a vital role in our effort to ensure that our infrastructure is maintained accordingly,” Molewa said.
The launch of the 18th SIP is part of the PICC’s 18 SIPs, which are divided into geographic, energy, spatial and social infrastructure development projects.
These projects – headed by different departments - cover more than 150 specific infrastructure interventions in rail, road and ports, dams, irrigation systems, sanitation and electricity. – SAnews.gov.za
