Water relief at last —
Long-awaited Xonxa pileline finally pumping into Berry Dam
The pumping of water into the Berry Dam from Xonxa has marked an end to years of waiting and water woes in some parts of the Chris Hani area, especially Komani, after the multimillion-rand pipeline came online this week.
The long-awaited Xonxa Dam pipeline, which was started in 2003 and cost R546m, has been stagnant over the years due to below-par work and technical issues.
On Monday, The Rep reporter visited the Xonxa Dam pump-station with local businessman Ken Clark, who has been instrumental in putting pressure on the municipality to complete the project, even offering his expertise free.
The Rep reported (“Xonxa Dam project impasse ”, November 15) that soft-drink manufacturer Clark had promised in a letter seen by The Rep a high level of project management, co-ordination of technically diverse teams and solving complex electrical, mechanical and technical issues.
The contractors on site, who did not want to be named, said they had started pumping water into the pipeline on Monday. The biggest hurdle in the process was for the water to reach the top of the mountain.
“We arrived on Sunday and had to get the surge vessels filled with air. On Monday we started up the pump to ensure everything was in order.
“One of the contractors identified an issue in the pipeline which took most of the morning to fix. Also the Eskom load-shedding did not help us much.
“We started pumping at about 3pm and the water was 10% up the mountain after 40 minutes. Once the water reaches the top, there is a downward slope from there into Machibini reservoir.
“From the reservoir it took a few hours for water to reach the Berry Dam.
“The mountain is a gravity line so water flows freely from the mountain.”
The contractor said the pump-station plant used three megawatts of electricity with just two pumps running.
CHDM engineering director Luzuko Govu said everything was in order. The only thing left was for water to fill the dam so residents could get relief.
However, Govu said water restrictions were not over because there was still no rain to assist other towns also facing the drought.
“For instance, Whittlesea and surroundings draw water from the Waterdown Dam, which is at its lowest level.
“We now have to ration water to those areas. There is still so much work that needs to be done, but ultimately we are hoping for rainfall to fill the other dams.”
Asked whether villages surrounding the Xonxa Dam had access to the water, Govu said: “Not yet. However, we recently held a community meeting with residents from villages around here and we will drill boreholes to bring relief to them as well.
“The long-term goal is for the villages to have their own water treatment plant to source water from.”
Govu also indicated that they had taken samples of the water so that they would know which chemicals should be used to purify it.
Meanwhile, Xonxa Village resident Lubabalo Nojekwa said they had to dig holes in the ground near the pipeline to access water because there was none coming from their taps since the project started.
“The one borehole CHDM drilled does not have water most of the time, though you can hear the engine running. When water is available, it is too salty to drink. Someone I spoke to said the water was too alkaline, which could affect our health.
“We previously had been told we did not appear on the backlog list and that only Ilinge and Machibini did, which means the dream of having clean tap water in our village is still a dream though the main source is right under our noses.”
CHDM mayor Wongama Gela confirmed there was a long-term plan to construct a water treatment plant closer to Xonxa, to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to surrounding villages.
“The take-off of the project will gradually ease water cuts.”