Majodina hands over the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Plant to the Makhanda Community

Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina has handed over the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Plant to the Makana Municipality to address the ongoing water shortage in the region.

The R393 million water treatment plant with a capacity expansion was handed over on Friday, 20 September 2024.

The water treatment capacity was increased from 10 megalitres to 20 megalitres per day.

The project was funded by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and implemented by the Amatola Water Board.

During the handover, the Minister stressed the importance of efficient operation and maintenance of the infrastructure in order to improve the water supply to the affected communities.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is for the community to ensure the water treatment plant is well maintained. Maintaining infrastructure is not just a nice thing to do, it is a legal obligation,” Majodina said.

The facility is expected to benefit 97,815 people, and jobs were created for 90 locals during the construction period.

Meanwhile, in Gqeberha, the Minister conducted control inspections of bulk water leak meters installed in various parts of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro as part of an intervention by the Department of Water and Sanitation to help the Metro address the problem of non-revenue-generating water consumption.

Part of the ministry’s intervention included an instruction to the subway to implement a comprehensive leak detection and remediation program to eliminate the unknown amount of water.

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro supplies 1.3 million residents within its urban area and smaller communities outside its urban area with approximately 310 megalitres of water per day.

According to the department, 40 to 50 percent of the water supply was classified as non-profitable in recent fiscal years.

“Therefore, the programme aims to reduce water loss to 20%. Installation of Generation Meter Adapters (GMAs) and District Meter Area (DMA) meters can identify the areas where the highest water loss occurs and where action needs to be taken.

“South Africa is a water-scarce country. It is therefore unacceptable that water is lost through leaks, which in turn compromises water security. With the leak detection and repair program, it is obvious that the battle against leaks can be won,” Majodina explained.

To date, 12,429 water leaks in the water distribution network and 34,494 in the private sector have been successfully repaired.

She reiterated the Department’s commitment to effectively implement major water projects in several parts of the Eastern Cape to ensure water security for present and future generations.

The Minister was assisted by the Mayor of Makana Local Municipality, Yandiswa Vara, in Makhanda and the Deputy Mayor Babalwa Lobishe in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in Gqeberha, as well as several officials from the department and Amatola Water. – SAnews.gov.za