Oudtshoorn, 10 May 2023 – The Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality reported on the funding of R4.665 million from the Western Cape Government to help alleviate the negative impact of loadshedding on service delivery. This was after a Provincial Cabinet meeting earlier this year, where the Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, authorized the release of emergency relief funding to the Department of Local Government for the procurement of backup power supply for the treatment and supply of water services.
New ± 300 kVA Generator for Dysselsdorp Water Treatment Works
The additional time lost after each loadshedding timeframe and the restarting process of the filtration system which is currently the modus operando would be eliminated by the new ± 300 kVA generator that will be installed to supply emergency standby power required at the Dysselsdorp WTW facility. Currently, due to loadshedding, the pumping operations required for the filling of the service reservoirs are causing water shortages experienced by downstream consumers.
Progress
The designs have been completed and the orders placed for the purchasing of the equipment. The anticipated delivery period of equipment is approximately 10-12 weeks for battery storage/inverter modules and 12-14 weeks for generator equipment. It is anticipated the installation will be completed in June 2023.
The Municipality prioritized these projects to provide basic drinking water which due to loadshedding is affecting both water and wastewater infrastructure in the Greater Oudtshoorn.
The Klein Karoo Rural Water Schemes (KKRWS) and Dysselsdorp water supply systems are 100% dependent on groundwater sources, with eight production boreholes supplying water to the WTW. In the event of loadshedding, demand exceeds the supply, leading to water shortages. To address this, these proposed loadshedding relief measures have been identified as a first step.
3 Borehole Pumpstations
Given the funds currently available only 3 boreholes have been prioritised at this stage.