Hammanskraal still without promised clean water as frustration mounts

Frustration and anxiety continue to grip the people of Hammanskraal as residents say they are no closer to accessing the clean water they were promised. 

At a recent meeting with city officials, tempers flared as community members accused the City of Tshwane of shifting blame, delaying solutions and ignoring the human toll of the ongoing water crisis.

A resident, who is also general secretary of Botho Barena Civil and Black Nationalist Rights Forum, Baatseba Nchabeleng, who said she lost her mother due to the contaminated water, voiced the anguish many share.

“They should not play politics with our lives. The first phase of temporary water was supposed to be completed last year, September, and they are claiming that the first phase is completed, but the water from the first phase is not clean,” she said, holding a 2-litre bottle of dirty water she collected from the tap.

On Wednesday, Tshwane MMC for utility services (water and electricity) Frans Boshielo, together with representatives from the public protector's office and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) had an inspection in loco at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant in Hammanskraal as part of an ongoing effort to address the long-standing water crisis affecting the community.

The plant is suspected to be the source of a cholera outbreak in 2023 that left dozens dead in Hammanskraal.

The refurbishing and upgrading were expected to enhance the area’s potable water supply by an additional 50 megalitres per day.

“I lost my mother due to this water. My mother didn't get a chance to turn 60 years because of this water and when I see a politician standing in front of cameras and politicking and I think I cannot call my mother, because of this water [issue]. She (Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya) went in front of the public TV in March and promised us end of June, that was another delay upon another delay,” Nchabeleng said.

She said while they still have no clean water, they also do not have clear answers about what is happening. Nchabeleng expressed her unhappiness about the inspection.

“We understand that the work that must be done to this plant is long term work but what we are crying for is about the temporary water which was promised from (water utility company) Magalies Water and Tshwane said they will pay Magalies to provide us with the temporary water while they are fixing the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant,” she said.

The city's response, through Boshielo, that the supply of temporary water was “Magalies' baby”, felt to her like the city wanted to distance itself from its responsibility.

“If they are paying, they should find out why they are paying for services that their residents are not getting. We are not happy, we do not get a clear answer why the temporary water is still delayed. The water is still dirty,” she said.

Boshielo conceded that the complete upgrade of the facility could take years to complete.

“We are agreeing that these upgrades will take longer because of the financial resources that we lack now. But as the city, because we are committed to giving the community of Hammanskraal clean water, we have gone out in the market. We are sourcing funds to ensure that at least we fast-track these important projects. I think the biggest challenge here is that there's no definite timeline,” he said.

Stephens Monaheng, a community leader in Hammanskraal, said the water they were getting was still dirty despite the remedial action of temporary water supply.

“Unfortunately, and which is very painful, we are paying for this water because with the City of Tshwane, if you don't pay for water, they will switch off your power. If you don't pay within a month or two, they will come and they will switch off your power. We feel like we are put in a corner to pay for this dirty water because you can't even drink it, it's bad,” he said.

Monaheng said there was not much they could do with the water.

"You can't do much with the water, you can't water your garden because it kills your vegetation, you can't drink it, you can't do your washing because it will get stinky and stain clothes, you can't wash with it. So even washing your dishes, we are taking risks, we are just taking risks in terms of using it for other things.”

Boshielo said the city budgeted for R450m for three years for the refurbishment of the treatment plant.

“We are now at the end, at the edge of finishing our refurbishment, and as I've indicated, we have gone on out. We are at the stage where we are sourcing funds from the respective partners,” he said.

He confirmed that the first phase was completed and that they were now moving to the second phase. The first phase included the installation of the electric fence.

“We said we need to start with it so that we can have an electric fence safeguarding this area, and also the cameras. We have also done the bell pressers and the blowers. We have also refurbished the blowers,” he said.

He said the second phase will be to increase the capacity of the water treatment plant.

“So what we are doing now is to ensure that we improve the operational efficiency of this water treatment plant, which will ensure that at least the effluents that we are going to discharge into the Apies River are of good quality. And those effluents will also go to the new ground dam, where we are hoping that at the end of the day we'll have the improved quality of effluent,” Boshielo said.

Harriette Buga, a legal officer from the SAHRC, who was also part of the inspection in loco, said it was a work in progress.

“It is a good start, but it's a work in progress because we all know that the Rooiwal refurbishment is a long-term one.

“Now we're looking at seeing where there are going to be remedial actions that are going to be put in place for the residents of Hammanskraal, as to whether there's going to be sufficient water, good for human consumption, in the interim,,” she said.

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