(1)Given the fact that the residents of three municipal towns in the Blue Crane Route have been battling a deluge of sewage leaks in the past five years, affecting critical service centres such as clinics, and threatening both human and environmental health in KwaNojoli, Cookhouse and Pearston, what steps has his department taken to address the specified situation;
(2) whether he intends to lay criminal charges against officials and politicians responsible for the ongoing human rights violations flowing from these sewage leaks; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
1. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has taken steps to address the various complaints received in relation to sewage leakages affecting Blue Crane Route Local Municipality (BCRLM) communities. These have been investigated and the DWS in its regulatory role, has taken the following actions:
- Issued a Directive dated 31 October 2019 for the failing Somerset East sewage pump station.
- Notice of Pollution dated ...
What (a) factors has his department found to be the main reasons for the deterioration of the water and sanitation systems in the large metros since the award-winning days of the eThekwini Municipality in 2014 (details furnished) and (b) plans has he put in place to turn the declining situation around?
a) The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), has found the main reasons for the deterioration of the water and sanitation systems are:
- Infrastructure is in a poor condition, caused by a lack of maintenance, which is in turn caused by non-prioritization of budgets for maintenance and operations as well as poor billing and revenue collection, which are in turn caused by poor leadership and ...
In light of the fact that for the past two financial years his department has recorded underspending on the grants and transfers allocated to the local sphere of government for the provision of water and sanitation infrastructure, what strategies and/or steps does he intend to implement to eradicate underspending by the local government in order to enable the provision of water and sanitation services to communities?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has put measures in place to prevent underspending on the grants and transfers allocated for the provision of water and sanitation infrastructure. Some of the strategies and/or steps includes the following:
- Collaboration with Implementing Agents to address challenges emanating from Supply Chain Management.
- Reprioritising the budget towards projects with acceleration plans and effective contract management.
- DWS is ...
Whether his department has taken any action to assist the Lesedi Local Municipality to deal with the massive sewage leaks and spillages that have been ongoing for the past 18 months; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS)has sent a Notice of Intention to issue a Directive in terms of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) to the Lesedi Local Municipality in relation to the operations and maintenance of Devon Waste Water Treatment Works. In addition, a non-compliance letter was issued to the municipality in terms of the 2022 Green Drop audit findings. ...
In light of the fact that the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, in his 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA), committed his government to eradicate the backlog of water use licence applications and reduce the turnaround time to only 90 days, what total number of (a) water use licence applications were approved since 10 February 2022 and (b) those approved, were for previously disadvantaged communities?
a) 791 water use licence applications were approved since 10 February 2022
b) 198 of the 791 water use licence applications were issued to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals.
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Considering that metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng are facing major water supply issues from the Rand Water, with some households not receiving water for weeks, what measures have been put in place to curb the shortage of bulk water supply from the Rand Water, specifically in preparation for the summer months?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and Rand Water, working with all Water Service Authorities (WSA) within the Gauteng Province, have put in place the following measures to curb shortages of bulk water in the province:
- Rand Water commissioned the Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant on 31 August 2023. The Zuikerbosch WTW will provide an additional 150ML/d into the water supply system and WSAs ...
What (a) measures has his department together with the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs put in place to effectively address the critical issue of municipalities struggling to meet their payment commitments for bulk water, which poses a severe threat to essential services and the well-being of affected communities, (b) actions and strategies will he take to tackle the mounting municipal debts to water boards, in the event that the defaulting municipalities persist in their non-responsiveness and neglect of their obligations and (c) specific measures does his department have in place to ensure their accountability and prevent the burden of non-payment from unfairly impacting the water boards?
a) The Department of Water and Sanitation convened a joint workshop with Water Boards, National Treasury, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and South African Local Government Association on 5 December 2022. The purpose of the workshop was to develop strategies to improve Billing and Revenue Collection in the water sector. The resolution from that workshop was to draft standardised operating processes (SOP) for ...
Whether he has been informed that the tap water in Ward 5, Riemvasmaak in the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality, is brown and dirty, and that residents are complaining of stomach pains and diarrhoea; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) is the position in this regard and (b) interventions have been provided in this regard?
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has not been informed of the tap water in Ward 5, Riemvasmaak in the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality (LM). The Kou-Kamma LM has not captured water sampling results on the Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) of DWS, which led to regulatory notices being issued to Kou-Kamma LM.
a) Following an investigation, it was found that the Riemvasmaak is ...
What (a) is the breakdown of the costs of hired water tankers in the 44 district municipalities, (b) are the time frames for sustainable potable water distribution and (c) steps of intervention have been put in place to eliminate the water tanker mafia?
a) The costs for water tanks that are hired by municipalities are borne by the municipalities as Water Service Authorities. DWS does not have this information.
b) The StatsSA General Household Survey (GHS) showed that 89% of households have access to operational services, while reliability is only at 63%.
The Department is embarking on the development Five Year Reliable Water and Sanitation Services Delivery ...
(1) What steps has his department taken to intervene to improve the quality of drinking water in the Musina Local Municipality, Limpopo, following the direct pumping of water from the river to residences due to load shedding
(2)(a) at what intervals is the water tested and (b) what are the relevant details of the contaminants that were found to include high quantities of pollutants?
A water quality monitoring programme is being implemented by the Musina Local Municipality in relation to the compliance to South Africa National Standard 241(SANS 241) following the visit by the Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation to Musina in 2022. The following measures were implemented to improve the drinking water quality:
- Cleaning of reservoirs
- Chlorination/disinfection of water before distribution
- Monitoring programme of ...
