Water Treatment Plant in South Africa opened

The much awaited Swellendam Water Treatment Plant in South Africa has been handed over to the community.

Speaking during the handover of the Swellendam Water Treatment plant in South Africa at Railton Community Sports Field, deputy minister for water and sanitation Pamela Tshwete stressed the need to have potable water for future growth and during seasons of drought.

The Deputy Minister said the renovation and upgrading of Swellendam WWTW, which started in the 2013/14 financial year and was completed in the 2015/16 financial year, has increased in capacity

She said currently Swellendam is operating five WWTWs with two in Swellendam and one each in Suurbraak, Barrydale and Buffeljagsrivier. She added that it is pleasing the see all residents accessing sanitation services at ease.

A total of US$4.7 million was used in upgrading the Swellendam WWTW project, which was raised by the department in partnership with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Municipality of Swellendam and the Department of Human Settlements.

She said a total of 109 people were employed during the construction stage adding the project is expected to increase the potential of the Swellendam town and Railton settlement in implementing the 15 year development plans

The Deputy Minister said the water project will help the towns to establish and enabling environment to create employment as the capacity of the water plant will no longer be a problem to economic development.

Green Drop status

She said going by the Green Drop status, the Swellendam Municipality has significantly improved from 47% in 2011 to 74.9% in 2013 adding that with this upgrade more improvements are expected.

The Deputy Minister added that the cooperation and success of this upgrade by all three tiers of government will lead to an overall improvement in the lives of all South Africans, especially those within this area of the Southern Cape.

Water availability in Africa has continued to be elusive despite several measures being put in place.