Albasini water plant “a mess”

No doubt residents have often wondered why, more often than not, there is no water in Makhado (Louis Trichardt).

“The Albasini water scheme is a mess,” is the verdict, not taking into account the fact that, of the 14 municipal boreholes to the southwest of the town, none is operational, and of the new boreholes in town, drilled at huge cost, none is linked to a reservoir.

The 14 boreholes have been non-operational for quite some time, but the great shocker is what is transpiring at the crucial Albasini water treatment plant.

AfriForum’s local chairperson, Mr Wally Schultz, and the deputy chairperson, engineer Duncan Campbell, spent three days at the plant over the past week. “Everything at the Albasini is a mess!” said an exasperated Schultz. After many hours, they figured out that the biggest problem (or challenge, if that term is preferred) is not the brand new pump which had been purchased at R750 000 and which had broken down much too soon, but the total mess at the plant. The fact is that the whole system is not fully operational or being maintained and not enough water is coming into the system. AfriForum has now given the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) 10 days to rectify the problems at the plant.

Water from the Albasini Dam flows through zigzag channels at a certain stage to mix with the flocculent, and a brown, muddy substance forms on the surface of the water. The water then flows into a sedimentation tank. A rotation bridge depresses and opens a valve at a certain point to release the sludge. Clean water is then supposed to run into the sand filter to be purified and to run from the side channel, past the chlorine room, into transparent pipes before it is pumped out into the main line.

The AfriForum delegation found, however, that neither the blade-like rotation bridge nor the important valve is working. The sludge is not being sucked out as it should, and water full of sludge runs into the sand filter, making it difficult to produce clean water fast enough into the system to be pumped. “We could see in the transparent pipes how slowly the water was dripping. Not enough water was coming in to be pumped, and the impeller shaft of the new pump became blue hot. As a result, the bearings burnt out ... Worst of all, there was no automatic switch that switched off when the water level in the transparent pipes became too low, and the staff were not doing it manually,” said Schultz.

Schultz found the staff to be a major part of the problem. During their visits, they found one person sleeping in the office, another eating and another one playing games on the computer. They identified themselves as students. Schultz went to the living quarters of the person in charge on the premises and woke him up. “He said he had worked the night shift. He is also the one who had said that nothing at the plant was working and that he had reported it. A root problem is that there are no competent people operating this important infrastructure,” said Schultz.

The VDM is now going to use the two small standby pumps while the necessary changes are being made to get more water into the system, so that the large new pump can be utilized without burning the bearings.

Schultz had a meeting with the newly appointed director of technical services of the VDM, Mr Walter Madimutsa, and his team on 30 October. At that stage, the main problem had been identified as the fact that the large new pump was not working properly. During drawn-out site inspections, AfriForum tried to ascertain whether the pump was truly brand new and found that it was. The sub-contractor had installed the fixed impeller shaft. Only much later did AfriForum realize that the problem could be that not enough water reached the system to be pumped, due to a dysfunctional system.

A meeting with the VDM’s municipal manager, Mr Masala Makumule, and the managing technical staff had been scheduled at the Albasini plant for 08:30 this Tuesday. Only the AfriForum delegation and Mr David Mukosi, Vhembe’s Makhado water services manager, turned up. Hours later, when the municipal manager eventually turned up, Schultz had already left. “I like helping and still prefer engaging, but should AfriForum always do things that Vhembe should be doing? We now expect Vhembe to rectify the problems in 10 working days, so that the large pump can start pumping again,” Schultz said.

News - Date: 11 November 2013

Linda van der Westhuizen

Linda van der Westhuizen has been with Zoutnet since 2001. She has a heart for God, people and their stories. Linda believes that every person is unique and has a special story to tell. It follows logically that human interest stories is her speciality. Linda finds working with people and their leaders in the economic, educational, spiritual and political arena very rewarding. “I have a special interest in what God is doing in our town, province and nation and what He wants us to become,” says Linda.

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