END OF DRY SPELL
Molepolole to finally get water supply
The government will splash a whopping P800 million on the Gamononyane-Molepolole NorthSouth Carrier (NSC) connection project expected to commence next week. This was revealed by Kweneng District Council chairman Motlhophi Leo this week saying the tender was awarded to Zhengtai/ Dan Joint Venture and construction work is expected to end in March 2023.
Leo told The Midweek Sun that the objective is to upgrade bulk water supply to Molepolole, Thebephatshwa, Gamodubu, Gakgatla, Mmanoko, Kopong and Gamononyane. “Hopefully, this, will kick-start other projects to ensure reliable, consistent, and good quality water supply,” Leo said. Following the many years of dry spell, Molepolole residents will finally have water flowing out of their taps, a rare sight that some last witnessed more than a decade ago.
The residents have been thirsty. Some local businesses have collapsed, and people have been falling sick because they were drinking anything that could help them quench their thirst. Taps installed in homesteads have deteriorated owing to disuse. Living in Molepolole had been such a pain!
“We are very happy to finally have water coming our way. The people have been struggling especially during this Covid-19 era. No one wanted to invest here, without water there is basically no life,” Leo said. Both the working class and students had resorted to buying water on a daily basis.
The main source of water in Molepolole has been Geil Stroh. He uses the borehole he dug for his family inside their homestead to supply Molepolole residents with water. The borehole has been feeding close to 80 percent of Bakwena on a daily basis. Every day big trucks and vans have been making their way to Geil’s home to fill up and transport the water to residents. On a daily basis, the family had been giving out 230 000 litres of water for use by residents. “This is good news for the people of Molepolole, water shortage has been a challenge for the longest periods,” said Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) mouthpiece Beauty Mokoba. She explained that the demand for water in the Molepolole, Thamaga and Thebephatshwa cluster exceeded supply, resulting in a deficit. The Molepolole network was dilapidated, resulting in a higher number of leaks from pipe bursts, which caused high water loss. The water tanks in the village are also small, and in the event of any water supply interruption, the effects are felt immediately due to inadequate storage.