A Water Summit that was held in Maleoskop, 15 km outside Groblersdal, on Thursday and Friday, also revealed that 77% of the population does not have tap water or sanitation.
Greater Sekhukhune executive mayor Dickson Masemola invited all stakeholders including government and the private sector to resolve the water crisis finally.
The district is one of the poorest in the country, yet it has an abundance of platinum and chrome deposits.
Municipality spokesperson Mike Lekala said that the summit was a success.
"A number of resolutions suggesting long-term solutions to this problem came up," Lekala said.
He said the summit resolved to lobby National Treasury to make at least R6-billion available for infrastructure development.
He said that a call was also made to the water affairs and forestry department to second experienced technical staff to work in the district.
Rich people and big companies would be requested to cross-subsidise the poor.
In the meantime, the municipality has employed 80 people to identify and register indigent residents who cannot afford to pay for water so that they can receive 6 000 litres that is provided free of charge to each household every month.
The municipality presently employs 110 water machine operators in all wards who are there to ensure an uninterrupted water supply to rural villages that do not have taps.
Lekala said that the district also needed R1,5-million to conduct a feasibility study for the extension of the Lebalelo pipeline that supplies water to mines in the Greater Tubatse local municipal area.
The extension, which will ensure water supply to Praktiseer and Burgersfort, will also entail the construction of a R77-million purification plant.
Lekala said another R3-million would be needed to conduct a feasibility study aimed at finding out whether water from the R9-billion De Hoop dam, which is still under construction, could be supplied to the Jane Furze and Nebo areas.
Most of the residents of the district - in Greater Tubatse, Greater Groblersdal, Greater Marble Hall, Fetakgomo and Makhuduthamaga municipalities - use river water for domestic consumption.
In 2002, President Thabo Mbeki declared the district one of the most impoverished places in the country that needed special intervention from government. - BuaNews
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