Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu has noted with great concern the outbreak of cholera in Hammanskraal and conveys his condolences to families who lost their loved ones due to the outbreak and wishes a speedy recovery to those who have tested positive and are currently receiving treatment in various medical facilities.
The Hammanskraal community under the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has been experiencing unreliable and poor quality potable water supply for an extended period, despite the upgrade of Temba Water Treatment Plant to a capacity of 120 megalitres a day (ML/d).
The poor water quality is caused by the failure of Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works to meet the desirable final effluent quality for discharge to the Apies River, which in turn flows into the Leeukraal Dam. The Wastewater Treatment Works is situated upstream of Hammanskraal and has affected the Leeukraal Dam, where the Temba Water Treatment Works abstracts water for treatment and distribution.
This has over the years led to the Department of Water and Sanitation instituting a series of enforcement actions (directives) against the City, for the City to address the pollution from the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works into the Apies River and Leeukraal Dam. After the City failed to respond to the Department's directives, a legal process was instituted against the City by the Department, with the aim of obtaining a court order to force the city to address the failure of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works. This legal process is currently underway. To date, the city has opposed the legal action.
The Department also directed the City to stop supplying water from the Temba Water Treatment plant to residents of Hammanskraal for human consumption. The City is currently providing potable water to affected communities who were initially supplied by the Temba Water Treatment Plant, through deployment of water tankers.
In 2021 the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) produced a report "Gauteng Provincial Inquiry into the Sewage Pollution of the City of Tshwane's Rivers and the Roodeplaat Dam" which recommended, amongst others, that the National Government should take over the water and sanitation function of the City in terms of section 139(7) of the Constitution, section 63 of the Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1998), and section 19 of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998).
The SAHRC recommendations were rejected by the City. The Department engaged with National Treasury for funding for the intervention recommended by the SAHRC, but National Treasury indicated that the City has already been provided with funding for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works, through its Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) allocations. Consequently, the Department is pursuing legal action against the City for a court order to force the City to use its USDG allocations to rehabilitate and upgrade the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works.
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In response to the current cholera outbreak, the Department is working in technical teams with the national and provincial Departments of Health and the City of Tshwane, to assist with matters such as water quality investigation and identifying the causes of the disease outbreak.
The Department has been continuously carrying out water quality tests at the Temba Water Treatment Works and at water distribution points in Hammanskraal. The latest tests indicate the water quality from the Temba Water Treatment work does not meet minimum standards. However, water supplied by Magalies and Rand Water meet the drinking water quality standards. Therefore, the water quality challenges are in central Hammanskraal, which is supplied by the City.
The Minister has deployed his Deputy Ministers, David Mahlobo and Judith Tshabalala to work with the MEC for Health, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, to visit Hammanskraal and also visit the affected areas.
The Minister will be meeting with the Mayor of Tshwane, Cllr Cilliers Brink before 26 May 2023, with an aim of agreeing on a plan with timeframes for Tshwane to rehabilitate and upgrade the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works. A joint task team between the Department and the City will then be established to oversee the work.
