Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, together with his Deputy Judith Tshabalala, on Thursday officially commissioned and handed over the completed Spring Grove Water Treatment Plant in Rosetta and Bruntville Reservoir in Mooi River, to Umgeni Water in KwaZulu-Natal.
The afore-mentioned water and sanitation infrastructure forms part of the Greater Mpofana Bulk Water Supply Scheme which is one of the largest rural-based projects to be implemented in recent years aimed at providing access to safe drinking water.
The scheme which has cost R 1.5 billion since 2012 is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation and Umgeni Water-Amanzi and it is implemented in two phases.
The components of the Mpofana Bulk Water Supply Scheme consists of a 20 megalitres-a-day Rosetta-Spring Grove Water Treatment Works, 8km long Nottingham Road Pipeline, 13.2km long Bruntville Pipeline and 12 megalitres Bruntville, 5 megalitres Nottingham Road and 1 megalitre Rosetta Reservoirs.
Through the project, water will be sourced from the Spring Grove Dam located in Rosetta. Afterwards the water will be treated at the newly opened Rosetta-Spring Grove Water Treatment Plant and transferred to the reservoirs.
The water will eventually be supplied to areas such as Lions River, Belgian, Mount West, Vaaleskop, Bruntville, Nottingham Road and Rosetta located in the Mpofana and uMngeni Local Municipalities.
In the end, the project will benefit approximately 130 000 members of the community and as a cherry on top, it will also bring social and economic benefits to the district through reliable water supply.
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony as a mark of officially opening the infrastructures, Minister Mchunu assured the attendees that the Department and other stakeholders are hellbent on closing the chapter of non-availability of water.
The Minister further urged the Water Services Authority, uMgungundlovu District, to commence the reticulation process in earnest.
“The rights to water and basic sanitation are entrenched in our Constitution, and whilst we have not fully realised it, we are hard at work. uMgungundlovu is a Water Services Authority and also a Water Service Provider and as such, it needs to ensure that it delivers on its mandate,” Mchunu said.
Subsequent to the opening of the infrastructure, Minister Mchunu and Deputy Minister Tshabalala embarked on a community engagement with members of Mpofana communities.
The event was also attended by Mpofana Local Municipality Mayor, Councillor Thembi Magubane and uMgungundlovu District Municipality Mayor, Councillor Muziwokuthula Zuma as well as local traditional leaders.
Traditional leaders expressed sincere gratitude to Minister Mchunu and other stakeholders for working together tirelessly in order to improve their livelihood through the provision of adequate and safe drinking water.
Minister Mchunu acknowledged that for the longest time rural communities and farm dwellers have been let down in as far as water provision is concerned but promised to change the situation by ensuring that by 2030, majority of them have access to clean water.
“We are very delighted to have officially completed such a huge reservoir and a water treatment plant. We all have a role to play to ensure that these infrastructures are protected, let us refrain from vandalizing infrastructures that are meant to benefit us,” Mchunu said.
“We are accelerating change as we strive to improve the lives of South Africans by providing them with basic water and sanitation services,” the Minister said.
Mchunu further called on the provincial and local KZN Government to join the department in ensuring that the residents within the uMgungundlovu District and the province as a whole, whether in townships or rural areas, are provided with clean, drinking piped water.
Source: South African Government News Agency