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SINCE 1992, water from the Sundays River Valley has been supplied to Port Elizabeth.
The connection between the Great Fish River and Nelson Mandela Bay is as follows (see graphic below):
. Skoenmakers Canal links Great Fish River to Darlington Dam (formerly Lake Mentz) to improve water quality for citrus farming in the lower Sundays River Valley.
. Water from Darlington Dam and Sundays River irrigation canals flows to Scheepersvlakte Dam (main balancing dam).
. From there, water is conveyed by means of a gravity pipeline to purification works, and then pumped to another balancing dam, from where it flows to the NMB municipality’s reservoir in Motherwell.
. The Nooitgedacht Water Scheme is the last connection between Scheepersvlakte and the Motherwell reservoir.
Therefore, residents in the metro could be at risk if the water from the Great Fish River in Cradock is left untreated. However, the acting municipal manager of the Chris Hani District, Dr Bhekisisa Mthembu, said in a media statement on June 27, that the district plans to change the aeration system to a system that will handle high influent and to accommodate the Cradock aging sewer bulk network that continuously experiences spillages.
Mthembu added, “The Cradock Waste Water Treatment works and sewer bulk will be addressed in the coming financial year as a long term strategy.
“An amount of R4.9 million has been budgeted in this regard to deal with these challenges in a phased approach.”
Odendaal has also written to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, informing her of the latest developments.
Odendaal added, “The municipality has failed to deliver and render services to the residents. They had enough time to resolve this issue, which is why the DA has moved ahead with the criminal charges.”
