Picture: Water and Sanitation Director-General, Dr Sean Phillips, briefs members of the media on the planned closure of the Lesotho Highlands Water Tunnel for six months.
Gauteng residents have received assurance from Dr Sean Phillips, Water and Sanitation Director-General, that the upcoming six-month closure of the Lesotho Highlands Water Tunnel for maintenance will not disrupt the province’s water supply. The pivotal briefing took place in Pretoria on Friday, shedding light on the crucial upkeep slated for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s (LHWP) transfer and delivery tunnels from 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025.
During the detailed talk, Dr Phillips elaborated on the structure of the project, including a transfer tunnel connecting Katse Dam with Muela Power Station and Muela Dam, alongside a delivery tunnel linking Muela Dam with the Ash River Outfall Works near Clarens and Bethlehem. He underlined the necessity of periodic inspections and maintenance, which fall within five to ten-year intervals. “The last maintenance was conducted in 2019. During the shutdown of 2019, it was found that the steel liners in the tunnel urgently need extensive maintenance on both the Republic of South Africa and Lesotho side,” he conveyed.
The upcoming maintenance, supervised by the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission and executed by the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency (LHDA) and the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), includes rigorous grit-blasting of the steel-lined sections and the re-application of corrosion protection. Phillips described these procedures as time-consuming but crucial for safeguarding the infrastructure for the next two to three decades.
Highlighting the significance of the maintenance, Phillips noted, “This much-needed maintenance is critical to maintain the integrity of the delivery tunnels as a tunnel failure will risk the transfer of the 780 million m3/annum of water to the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), from which Rand Water draws water to supply its customers.”
Despite an 80 million m3 shortfall in water transferred during the maintenance year, Phillips remains confident in the comprehensive preparation and analysis undertaken to mitigate any potential risks to the IVRS and, by extension, to Rand Water’s supply. The analysis, conducted in May 2023, forecasted an ‘insignificant’ impact on the IVRS, owing largely to the plenitude of dams such as Sterkfontein.
“The department’s analysis indicates that releases from Sterkfontein Dam to support the Vaal Dam are not envisaged for the current 2023-2024 operating year and Sterkfontein Dam remains full to date,” Phillips reassured, envisioning no dire implications for municipal water supplies in Gauteng and other provinces.
Furthermore, measures have been set in place to keep water supply stable for domestic users and licensed irrigators along the Liebenbergsvlei River and its tributaries during the maintenance period. These include issuing notices to restrict water abstraction to designated days, promoting sustainable use throughout the shutdown.
Phillips concluded with plans for another round of analysis in May 2024, aiming to preempt any potential risks to the 2024-2025 water supply, while maintaining a positive outlook on the maintenance’s impact on Gauteng’s water availability.
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