Since the announcement early in the new millennium that the Nandoni water scheme near Thohoyandou would bring much-needed relief to thirsty communities by 2003, these communities have been waiting for this to happen.

The water scheme was completed by 2005, but no one expected that, eight years later, the communities would still be eagerly awaiting a continuous water supply for domestic use.

The Nandoni water scheme was supposed to supply water to the urban areas of Thohoyandou and Makhado (Louis Trichardt) and the rural areas from Malamulele and Lambani in the east to Sinthumule and Kutama in the west. The community of Makhado (Louis Trichardt) got so desperate for a regular water supply that they approached the civil rights organization AriForum, who entered into a legal battle to force Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) to supply water.

The latest highlight is that VDM has announced its optimism about securing funding for part of the pipeline from the Nandoni Dam. “VDM is in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Water Affairs on the Valdezia-to-Mowkop water project, which is estimated at R482 million for the 2013/14 financial year,” said VDM spokesperson Moses Shibambu earlier this month. He explained last week that Water Affairs will be handling that part of the project themselves.

This is significant in light of  the above-mentioned failure to complete the pipeline network from Nandoni to the end users. After the completion of the dam and its water treatment works, work on the pipeline commenced. So-called GRP pipes, or glass-reinforced pipes, were installed. Although they bore the SABS stamp, they could not handle the water pressure and the government sued the company for R500 million. The prolonged legal battle halted the process until the government decided to erect parallel pipes while litigation continued. In September 2011, Water Affairs said that they were hopeful that residents would be using water from Nandoni by March 2012.

That seemed to have been a bit overoptimistic. Nonetheless, according the Department of Water Affairs, the pipeline from Nandoni to Valdezia is being funded and work is underway and could even be completed by the end of 2013. Three contractors are being used and one part of the pipeline is being done by Water Affairs themselves.

Funding had been the main stumbling block in the starting of the pipeline from Valdezia to the Mowkop reservoir in Makhado (Louis Trichardt). Consequently, the MoU indicating the R482 million for that part of the pipeline is sparking some hope again. “Once the money is there, that part of the project could take about two years,” said Mr Bernie Badenhorst, engineer and planner of water services in Limpopo’s Department of Water Affairs.