Minister promises clean water for Hartebees

2010-10-29 14:51

Johannesburg – Residents of Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West would hopefully be getting clean water for Christmas, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Thursday.

"We hope to give some type of Christmas present by refurbishing these treatment plants, within the maximum time frame of three months," she said to reporters at the Harties Remediation Programme information centre.

Sonjica was referring to tight water restrictions placed on residents in the area as a result of a severe lack of clean drinking water.

The water problem was not only due to the dysfunctional Hartbeespoort treatment plant, but also to a wider problem with pollution in the dam and sewerage inflow from upstream.

These problems, together with an overpopulation of algae, water hyacinths and alien fish, had forced the department to start a remediation programme back in 2003. The minister planned to visit parts of the dam on Thursday and look at centres that had been set up to tackle the water problem.

- SAPA