Water

A new body is helping municipalities deliver services.

South Africa is a water-scarce country and water management is critical to economic planning. The western part of North West Province is particularly dry. In the eastern part of the province, national government has sent water tanks to some parts, and has upgraded the treatment plants upstream from the Hartbeespoort Dam.

Municipalities are charged with delivering water and waste-water but many of these municipalities have not been equal to the task. A new body has been formed to help municipalities deliver services. The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) falls under the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and will assist municipalities to plan for, provide and maintain infrastructure. The first action of MISA was to commission 81 engineers and town planners to get to work in areas that need the most help.

A partnership between the National Departments of Water and Sanitation and Public Works and the Provincial Government of the North West has delivered training in solar geyser installation and plumbing to 140 young people in Madibeng.

Maintenance of water works is one of the most serious challenges facing municipalities in South Africa, with 71% of waste-water treatment plants being non-compliant. Infrastructure in some cases has not been serviced for some time, and leaks and skills shortages are problems.

In response to the long-term drought, water tankers organised by the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the provincial

ONLINE RESOURCES

Blue Drop Awards: www.ewisa.co.za National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za South African Association of Water Utilities: www.saawu.org.za Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za

SECTOR INSIGHT

JB Marks Municipality regularly wins Green Drop awards.

government dug several boreholes to supplement supply.

Three of South Africa’s six major catchment areas are located in the province: the Limpopo, the Orange and the Vaal. Within these catchment areas, only the Vaal River has a strong-enough flow to allow for significant amounts of water to be taken from it directly to support irrigation or industry. There are four water-management areas in the province, three of which are linked to the Vaal River. Water is imported into the provincial system through transfers between water basins.

The province has 83 sewagetreatment plants, and the national Blue Drop award system has found most of them need a lot of improvement. JB Marks Local Municipality, which has Potchefstroom as its main town, is one of only three municipalities in the country that acts as a water-service authority and as a service provider. It has won awards for its levels of service. For two consecutive years to 2016/17, the municipality’s waste-water works won Green Drop awards.

The biggest service providers active in the North West are: • Rand Water • Magalies Water • Sedibeng Water • Midvaal Water Company supplies water to Matlosana (Klerksdorp).