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The Department of Water and Sanitation together with Umgeni Water and ILembe District Municipality will launch the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme on 22 March 2016 at Sappi Sports Ground at Mandeni Local Municipality.

The construction of Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme is necessary to ensure the supply demands precipitated by growth of the district identified in the Water and Sanitation Master Plan for iLembe DM are met. The purpose of the project is to supply an additional 55Ml/d of treated water to the coastal and inland areas of KwaDukuza LM and Mandini LM.

The population projection for the area up to 2035 is 19 149 people in approximately 3 193 households. The supply of water to industry will ensure job creation and economic upliftment of the local community. Water access backlog eradication will also be addressed through the implementation of the scheme. The project also offers construction job opportunities to a community in desperate need of economic assistance.

The project is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Umgeni Water.

The project includes the infrastructure required to abstract and treat water from the UThukela River to supply to secondary bulk and reticulation networks within the iLembe DM. These networks will ultimately supply both developed and un-served areas. Phase 1 of the project is about 95% complete. The estimated total cost of the project to completion is estimated to be R1.32 billion; the last part of the contract is expected to be completed in September 2016.

The beneficiaries of this scheme will be the town of KwaDukuza and the areas of the North Coast region as well as areas of the Mandini Municipality. The scheme will also supply the rural areas of Bulwer, San Soucci and St Christopher, as well as the towns of Darnall, Zinkwazi and Blythedale in the KwaDukuza Municipality.

The scheme will ultimately serve about 350 000 people.

Issued by Department of Water and Sanitation