Completion of US $6M Magareng Water Treatment Plant project delays

Completion of construction and upgrading of Magareng Water Treatment Plant project in South Africa has faced delays. Department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau attributed the delays to community protests.

The water project is situated in the Warrenton area. The Department of Water and Sanitation in the Northern Cape, in partnership with Magareng Local Municipality is currently implementing the project.

The project commenced in April 2020 and was scheduled to be completed in June 2021. The project includes upgrading the capacity of the 9 Megalitres per day (9ML/day) water treatment plant to a 12ML/day capacity. A new water reservoir is currently under construction as well as the installation of new flocculation channels and sedimentation tanks.

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Water quality standards

According to spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, due to community protests for various service delivery issues, including water shortages, the project could not be completed within the scheduled date. Water shortages in places like Ikhutseng, the station area, Warrenvale, and to a lesser extent the town area, have become the norm and have prompted protests on the N12.

“The upgrade will improve water treatment and production processes to acceptable water quality standards in line with the South African National Standards (SANS241). The project will further reduce water losses from 33% to less than 10%, making available sufficient and sustainable water supply to the people of Magareng Local Municipality,” Ratau said.

Mr Ratau has urged the community to allow the construction of the Water Treatment Plant to be completed, as “this will address the issue of water shortages and provide the much needed bulk water supply to the community”.