What actions has he taken in response to the reports that over 30 families in the Cato Crest informal settlement in Durban are forced to share just one pit toilet?
The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality has reported that it is providing communities the in Cato Crest informal areas with different types of sanitation services. In the informal settlement areas, the municipality is providing communities with Community Ablution Blocks (communal ablution facilities providing full waterborne sanitation) as well as portable chemical toilets in areas where CABs cannot be constructed due to there being no water borne ...
What are the details of the steps of intervention that he has taken in Sterkspruit in Mangaung, where only one machine is working in the sewerage plant?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) regularly conducts inspections and audits on the operation and maintenance of the Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTWs) in all Water Services Institution (WSIs) in the Free State, including Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM). The inspections aim to assess whether WWTWs are operated and maintained in a manner that does not pose risks of pollution resulting in contamination of water ...
What measures has his department taken to intervene in the (a) Emalahleni Local Municipality, (b) Emakhazeni Local Municipality, (c) Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality, (d) Victor Khanye Local Municipality, (e) Lekwa Local Municipality, (f) Dipaliseng Local Municipality and (g) Steve Tshwete Local Municipality where water has been contaminated and is affecting the health of residents?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) currently has numerous interventions being implemented across the various municipalities within the Mpumalanga Province. The table below provides information in interventions for the municipalities including Emalahleni Local Municipality, Emakhazeni Local Municipality, Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality, Victor Khanye Local Municipality, Lekwa Local Municipality, Dipaliseng Local Municipality, and the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.
|
|
Local Municipality
|
Intervention ... |
Whether he has been informed of the extended water outages experienced by many residents in Rustenburg in the North West due to load shedding at the water purification plant, the sewerage treatment plant that provides grey water to some of the platinum mines and at the pump stations pumping water to both the command and supply reservoirs; if not, what (a) is the position in this regard and (b) mitigating measures will he urgently implement to ensure that residents and businesses do not continue to be deprived of their basic human right of access to water; if so, what mitigating measures has he put in place to prevent the outages from continuing?
a) The Department is aware of the water supply interruptions in Rustenburg Local Municipality. Seven urgent notices were issued by the municipality on between February and May 2023 informing consumers of the expected water shortages owing to load shedding and routine maintenance which resulted in Water Treatment Plants not operating optimally and water supply interruptions. The municipality had reported a 40% reduction at the Vaalkop ...
What interventions has he taken to address the water crisis in Zakheni Village, Mpumalanga, where some households have been without consistent running water for three years, with some spending hundreds of Rand on water, while the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality battles to find a permanent solution?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) engaged the Thembisile Local Municipality and they confirmed that the pipeline supplying Zakheni village was damaged by the floods for a period of three (3) to four (4) months which affected water supply. The status is reported as follows:
- The contractor was appointed, and repairs to the damaged pipeline were completed on 30 April 2023.
- Water has ...
Whether, in light of the announcement of the Minister of Health, Mr J Phaahla, that he will be seeking additional supplies of power to be installed at health facilities to augment emergency generators in health care facilities, he, as Minister of Water and Sanitation, will implement similar mitigating measures to ensure that water purification plants and sewerage treatment plants around the Republic, including Rustenburg, can supply both potable water to residents and businesses and grey water to businesses that use grey water, to lessen the burden on our scarce water resource; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
The Minister and department have advised water boards and municipalities to:
- Revise their minimum operational levels for reservoirs
- Increase water treatment and reservoir storage capacity
- Revise water treatment schedules to maximize water treatment while electricity is available or other measures to ensure security of water
- Requiring water boards and municipalities to revise the minimum operational levels for reservoirs
- Develop alternative sources of electricity ...
(1)What (a) does the expanded mandate of the Amatola Water Board entail that warrants a claim of R4 million (details furnished) and (b) successes has the specified board currently achieved through the specified mandate;
(2) what are the details of the (a) actions taken by the specified board to prevent a Day Zero situation and (b) expenditure that was incurred by the board regarding the Nelson Mandela Bay water crisis;
(3) whether his department has instructed an independent auditor and/or monitoring group to oversee the expenditure of the board as the board fees have been approximately 18 % over budget and the initiative has empty coffers; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the findings of the independent auditor and/or monitoring group and (b) is the protocol of his department in dealing with poor performance and initiatives that are financially draining in the event of their failure?
1. (a) In May 2022, the Minister issued a directive to Amatola Water in terms of Section 41 (1) and Section 63 (1) of the Water Services Act, to urgently intervene and address water shortages in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Municipality (NMBMM) owing to the ongoing drought. The required scope of work for the intervention was to address the following:
Whether he is still considering the establishment of the Independent Economic Regulator for setting of water tariffs; if not, (a) why not and (b) what is the alternative; if so, what are the relevant details?
In August 2022, the Minister established a Regulatory Commission comprising of eleven (11) Commissioners who, as a collective panel of experts, possess various sets of economics, financial, social and technical qualifications and experience. The Commission was established in terms of Section 99 of the National Water Act and serves as the Minister’s advisors and provides a level of autonomy in improving the transparency and ...
What immediate action has he taken to address the ongoing water crisis in Makhanda, specifically the massive water leak that has been affecting the Moeggesukkel community for over a year and the malfunctioning standpipe taps in the area?
The Department, collaborating with the Amatola Water Board, mobilised the operations team from Amatola Water to join the Makhanda team to investigate the reason for the non-functionality of the Waainek Water Treatment Plant. Investigations pointed to the inability of pumps to abstract water from the Howisons Poort Dam to Waainek Water Treatment Works in the western side of Makhanda. Specialist Divers were called in ...
Whether he has been informed that the uGu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has failed to deliver water to the residents of the specified municipality for approximately one month, thereby exacerbating an ongoing water crisis that has persisted for over two years; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the reasons that the municipality has failed to deliver water to its residents, thereby exacerbating a two year-long water crisis, (b) measures have been taken by his department to handle the water crisis in the past and (c) long-term (i) strategies and (ii) plans does his department have in place to prevent such recurring problems and ensure a reliable supply of clean and potable water to the residents?
a) Over the past few years, the Ugu DM has experienced significant water supply challenges throughout the district due to several challenges outlined in the table below:
- The current operational treatment capacity of the Ugu DM WSA (excluding boreholes) is approx. 130 Ml/day. The 2020 water demand model indicates a current water demand of approximately 200 Ml/day (immediate 70 Ml/day shortfall) and a future ...
