A total of 5 574 households in Toevlug Township, North West, are expected to benefit from the construction of a sewer project which connects Toevlug sewer main line to the R30 Tshing Sewer Pump Station.
The Department of Water and Sanitation in the North West, together with JB Marks Local Municipality, recently completed the construction of a Sewer Rising Main Bulk line, which consists of approximately 3.5 kilometres (length) and 160 millimetre width diameter pipes connecting to outside house toilets.
The department highlighted that the bulk of the internal sewer reticulation is in the middle of the stands, with only a few places where the sewer crosses either a stream or a road.
“The gravity lines then feed into the sump of Toevlug Sewer pump station, where the sewage spills into a man made furrow and is eventually discharged into the Schoon Spruit River. Therefore, the department decided to come on board through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to fund the project,” the department said.
The existing water reticulation network caters for only the formal stands, and the informal settlements do not have a waterborne sewage.
According to the department, a total of 11 community members have personally benefited in the construction of the project, with employment and skills development in hard labour.
Department spokesperson, Sputnik Ratau, has appealed to community members to take ownership of water infrastructure projects and guard against any forms of vandalism.
“Acts of vandalism hamper service delivery to communities and therefore, community members need to take a stand and protect infrastructure in their communities,” Ratau said.
He said that two pump stations in Toevlug, extensions 7 and 8, were vandalised and needed to be upgraded for the new sewer pipeline to be commissioned.
“Due to vandalism of these two pump stations, the department has been forced to find money to the tune of R5 million to refurbish them, to ensure continued services to the community,” Ratau said.
Source: South African Government News Agency