Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) second phase is expected to deliver water to South Africa by 2026 – South Africa minister for Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, has said.
Speaking last week, Sisulu outlined budget priorities for the Water and Sanitation Department where she reported that, together with her Lesotho counterpart, they presided over a ground breaking event that marked the construction of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II.
“This project is aimed at achieving water security and delivering water to South Africa by November 2026,” she said.
Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Supply Project consists of the Polihali Dam -concrete-faced rock-fill dam located about a kilometre downstream the confluence of the Senqu (Orange) and Khubelu Rivers in Mokhotlong District; a Gravity Tunnel connecting the Polihali.
Main advance Infrastructure of the LHWP Phase II Works include, among others, the Polihali Dam and Appurtenant Works, the Polihali – Katse Transfer Tunnel, access road networks and bulk power supply and telecommunications connections.
The Polihali Dam construction project, part of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Supply Project, was initiated in 2019.
“This project is aimed at achieving water security and delivering water to South Africa by November 2026,” she said.
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According to Sisulu said, about 3.1 million households have benefited from water and sanitation projects that have been implemented since the inception of the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant programme in 2007.
The government of South Africa has committed about US $182 million (under schedule 6b) to continue with the implementation of 136 bulk water and sanitation projects, and US $121 million under schedule 5b to implement 69 projects.
Both schedule 5b and 6b are municipal grants, which fall under the regional bulk infrastructure grant. Schedule 5b is a direct grant, where the national department gives money directly to municipalities to manage; whereas, a schedule 6b is an indirect grant, whereby the national department is fully responsible for the project to be funded.
Addressing the National Assembly, Sisulu mentioned that the department has decided to prioritise connecting its water resources to the water supply systems servicing the un-served communities.
She called upon all Water Services Authorities to prioritise the operations and maintenance of grant-funded infrastructure by committing at least 10 percent of their operating budget to the maintenance of infrastructure under their jurisdiction.
“Through the Minister of COGTA [Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs], we would like to see this amount ring-fenced. This will ensure that water services remain in an operable state, rendering a reliable service to our communities and minimising water losses,” she said.
Phase II of the LHWP will be implemented in terms of two distinct components: a water delivery system to augment the delivery of water to South Africa and a hydropower generation system, which will increase the current electricity generation capacity in Lesotho.