What are the prospects for residents of Louis Trichardt in terms of water supply to the town in the foreseeable future? Zoutpansberger contacted a few people to try and determine how soon the problems that have been plaguing the town over recent months will be addressed.

As far as could be ascertained, the pipeline that will bring water from the Nandoni Dam in Thohoyandou to Louis Trichardt and surrounds will only be completed in 2012. To facilitate this process, a huge reservoir will be constructed near the Albasini Dam. From there, the water will be channelled towards the town and Elim. In that respect, a large portion of the work to establish the pipeline has been completed. The only problem is that, in the process of installing the pipeline, some of the existing manholes were damaged, with the resultant debris ending up in the current pipeline and causing blockages. These will have to be removed before the pipeline will be fully functional.

A consultant from Johannesburg recently visited the area to determine the extent of the problems regarding the water supply, infrastructure, quality and all other related matters. It seems that some very real solutions exist which can be implemented with the help of money made available by the government, and fairly soon too. The only obstacle remaining appears to be the municipality’s apparent inability and unwillingness to make use of these opportunities in the prescribed manner. One of the greatest problems appears to be the availability of skilled personnel to implement and operate the proposed systems.

One solution is the installation of a reverse-osmosis purification plant, which can be installed free of charge by the consulting firm, with the proviso that the municipality buy the purified water from the firm over a five-year period. This system will be able to supply up to 5 million litres of water per day, at the same rate that consumers currently pay per litre. Even though the municipality will be buying the water, it will still make a substantial profit and the infrastructure will become the property of the municipality after five years. This system, according to the consultant, can be erected within three months.