The Department of Water and Sanitation continues to create job opportunities in local municipalities while carrying out its mandate to ensure each household has running water. The Eastern Cape region is seeing such endeavours through the Mount Ayliff PeriUrban Water Supply project.
“The project is for the upgrading of Mt Ayliff Water Treatment Works and construction of gravity and pumping mains bulk lines to various village bulk reservoirs within 5km radius and Bulk Reservoirs to service the peri-urban stands,” explains the Department’s spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau.
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Ratau says the project is expected to benefit Mt Ayliff’s existing urban residential areas, including Lubhalasi, Sontombe, Sigidini, Betshwana, Mombeni and Singeni villages.
“The project has created 329 jobs created since its inception. The anticipated completion date is early next year, and with that in mind, one can expect further job opportunities,” says Ratau.
The scheme has two phases of implementation: Phase 1 includes designing and upgrading WTW to 6ML per day capacity.
Phase two saw the construction of Bechwana reservoir, the Singeni bulk pipeline and 2ML circular concrete reservoir, the mainline for Bechwana and Mombeni Water Supply and gravity main for Lubhalasi and Sontombe.
Ratau says phase two is 100% complete, while phase one is almost at the end. “Phase one stands 88% completion as pipework, storm-water, block paving and sludge ponds – to only name a few – are still being finalised,” expounds Ratau. Ratau says the department remains steadfast in further implementing water projects across the Eastern Cape to provide relief for communities experiencing drought.
