OVERVIEW Water Water
OVERVIEW Water Water authorities have been restructured. SECTOR INSIGHT Municipal debt is a major challenge. The Ebenezer Dam is between Polokwane and Tzaneen. While access to sanitation has shown remarkable improvement for the citizens of Limpopo in the three decades of democratic governance, access to water continues to present difficulties. Sanitation access in 2024 is recorded at 63%, a huge improvement on the 26.9% of 2002 but, as stated in the State of the Province Address of 2024, “lack of adequate bulk infrastructure and reticulation capacity remain a significant challenge in ensuring universal access to water.” National and provincial governments have taken steps to rectify this situation, including allocating money through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and restructuring and rationalising the country’s water boards. As part of this process Lepelle Northern Water’s area of operations has been increased. Municipalities can also act as Water Service Authorities. In 2023/24 68% of Limpopo’s R3.5-billion MIG was allocated to nine waterservice-authority municipalities. At national level, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) reports that the country’s 15 water boards are collectively owed R21.3-billion by municipalities. The DWS has taken on large infrastructure projects, including the raising of the Tzaneen Dam wall, Olifants River Water Resources Development, bulkwater supply for the Musina-Makhado SEZ and the Nandoni Water Treatment Works. Limpopo has markedly different rainfall patterns in its three main geographical regions: the escarpment (sub-humid with annual rainfall of more than 700mm); semi-arid middle veld and Highveld; and the arid and semi-arid Lowveld. The province’s rivers are under threat from the damaging effects of the mining industry, power stations, chemicals used in agriculture and from sewage treatment in catchment areas. ONLINE RESOURCES National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dws.gov.za Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority: www.tcta.co.za Phase 2B of the multi-year Olifants River Water Resources Development Project, under the direction of the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), started in 2024. The project entails the building of a 70km pipeline from Flag Boshielo Dam to Pruisen near Mokopane. This will improve water supplies for mines and domestic users. According to Pumps Africa, a $250-million loan has been secured to carry out phase two of the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP- 2A). The loan is provided by Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). The MCWAP is designed to transfer water from the Crocodile River to the Lephalale and Steenbokspan areas. Lephalale is the site of coal mining and Eskom’s huge new power station, Medupi. Phase one of the project provided infrastructure and pipes to ensure a better water supply to Lephalale while phase two is planned to produce an annual volume of 75-million cubic meters of water. A joint venture comprising Bigen Africa Services, Nyeleti Consulting and Gibb has been contracted to design, construct and supervise the project. ■ LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2024/25 32 PHOTO: Haenertsburg Trout Association
Olifantspoort and Ebenezer upgrade project Lepelle Northern Water’s upgrade project will bring clean water to 1.3-million people in the Capricorn District Municipality. The Olifantspoort and Ebenezer upgrade project aims to supply a population of 1.3-million (projected to grow to 1.7-million in 2045) with sustainable, reliable and good-quality water at a cost of R18.5-billion. This multiphase project entails the cooperation of multiple project implementation partners, including Lepelle Northern Water (LNW), the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), National Treasury, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Eskom and Infrastructure South Africa. The project will provide a reliable and more sustainable supply of water for the following Water Services Authorities (WSAs): Capricorn District Municipality (including Polokwane Local Municipality representing the largest urban area in Limpopo), Mopani District Municipality (covering Greater Tzaneen and the eastern parts of the province) and Sekhukhune District Municipality, which contains the proposed Fetakgomo-Tubatse Special Economic Zone and the south-eastern portions of Limpopo. PROFILE is expected to grow to 270.5ML/d with a projected deficit of 210.5ML/d. By way of preparing the ground for this project, LNW has achieved major records of decisions such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), water-use licences, banking and financial institution approvals for project feasibility and business case studies. Projected benefits Several Local Project Community Committees were established and Community Liaison Officers appointed. • Local SMMEs are working on the project • Local skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour were recruited • 1 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase • A further 90 jobs on completion • 371 428 households stand to benefit • Progress to date is 55% on average Phase 1A Solution The following steps will be taken: replace mechanical infrastructure, reduce pipeline bursts, and ensure uninterrupted pump station operations and provide for planned maintenance. Optimise and increase efficiency of the operations through variable-speed drives; optimise life-cycle performance through reducing life-cycle cost; increase reliability, availability and maintainability attributes. Background Existing bulk pipelines and other bulk water-supply components were constructed in the early 1970s and their hydraulic capacity is far below the required throughput to meet current and future water needs. The poor state of the aging infrastructure leads to frequent breakdowns, excessive water losses and excessive electricity consumption costs due to low pumping efficiency. While the estimated demand in 2025 will be 162ML/day (including the City of Polokwane) supply is currently only 60ML/d. Demand in 2045 Phase 1B Solution Upgrade infrastructure to meet current and future demands up to 2043 from the current 144ML/day capacity to 180ML/day by construction of additional bulk processing units, pumping stations and reservoirs; synchronise LNW planning with Water Services Authorities; support the WSAs in implementing water conservation and water-demand management. Phase 2 Solution Further increase of production from 180ML/day to 270ML/day. ■ 33 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2024/25
