The Department of Water and Sanitation has rolled up its sleeves to accelerate the provision of water in the North West, through an initiative geared towards enhancing access to consistent and reliable water supply in the province.
This is evident in the construction of the Ikageng 25 mega litres ground reservoir in the JB Marks Local Municipality.
The reservoir construction forms part of the Potchefstroom Water Treatment Works project upgrading which consists of six phases, including the refurbishment and upgrading of the treatment plant, the extension of AC pipeline, upgrading of the Ikageng Pump Station, and the construction of a New Rising Main and Bulk Distribution Pipeline in Ikageng.
The project is one of several mega water projects which are being accelerated by the department and other role players, through the Operation Bulela Metsi initiative, to ensure reliable water supply in the province.
The department said the construction of the reservoir is funded through the department’s Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG), with the municipality as the Water Services Authority (WSA) appointed as the implementing agent.
The construction of the reservoir commenced in January this year and is expected to be completed by July 2024, with more than 100 job opportunities for local people in the pipeline.
“The reservoir and the new bulk distribution (gravity) pipeline will supply water to communities in Ikageng Proper, Ikageng Extension 1,4,5 9, 12, Potchindustria, Mohadin, as well as the Northern portion of Ikageng Extension 7.
“The project came about as a result of the decommissioning of the Ikageng West Reservoirs, which rendered the Ikageng Proper and Potchindustria networks without any storage capacity.
“A new reservoir had to be constructed to meet the required storage capacity, with special care taken to position a new reservoir to ensure that it is not constructed in a dolomite risk zone. Close to 22 000 households and a population of 94 201 will benefit from the successful completion of the reservoir,” the department said.
The department added that the reservoir site is suitable to cater for the future developments at Mooibank to the south of the N12 and the platform will be ready to accept additional ground reservoirs.
“The position of the new reservoir site is also suited to accommodate any future developments once the urban edge is extended to the northwest of the reservoir site, as proposed in the recent Spatial Development Framework,” the department said.
Operation Bulela Metsi project is a culmination of the hard work carried out by technical task team established by Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu and the Provincial Government in January this year to conduct an assessment on the state of water and sanitation services provision in the province, and come up with measures to address the challenges and ensure sustainable provision of the services.
Meanwhile, during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s oversight inspection of the construction site on Friday, as part of the District Development Module (DDM) Presidential Imbizo in North West, Mchunu made a commitment to fast-track the implementation of bulk water projects in water strained communities.
The department said it was working with the provincial government and its entities, as per the Minister’s directive, with an aim of ensuing water security in the province and across the country. – SAnews.gov.za
