By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, has handed over the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Plant to Makana Local Municipality.
Makana Municipality is a local municipality which governs the town of Makhanda and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape.
Increased pumping capacity was desperately needed for Makhanda’s residents to see an end to years of water outages.
Makhanda has been experiencing water shortages since 2012, and the Department of Water and Sanitation approved the James Kleynhans upgrade in 2015, with a 2018 completion date, which was extended for almost six years.
The deadline for completion of the plant works had been missed for the second time this year.
Amatola Water, which was undertaking the upgrade, had an initial completion deadline for April, but then expected it to June. As implementing agent, it appointed a new contractor, Water and Wastewater Technology SA, in November last year.
The R393 million water treatment plant, with a capacity upgrade, was eventually handed over on Friday, 20 September 2024.
Speaking during the handover, the Minister emphasised the importance of effective operation and maintenance of infrastructure to improve the delivery of water to the affected communities.
“I cannot over emphasise enough how important it is for the local municipality to ensure that the water treatment plant is well maintained. The maintenance of infrastructure is not just a nice thing to do, but an obligation by law that it should be done,” Majodina said.
The plant is set to benefit 97 815 people and created employment opportunities for 90 locals during construction.
The James Kleynhans Treatment Works – situated on the east side of Makhanda – receives its water from the Orange and Fish rivers.
The 8-million litre per day Waainek water treatment works extracts water from rainwater-dependent dams on the west of the town, and supplies the western part of Makhanda, including the university, hospital, prison, and private schools.
The two systems are interconnected to allow transfer of water to meet the current daily demand of 16 – 18-million litres.