23 May 2018

Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) will this year build and commission eight additional testing facilities for water and wastewater quality monitoring across the country at a cost of P9 million, Ntlo ya Dikgosi has been told.

Assistant Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi said WUC currently operates 11 laboratory testing facilities for water and wastewater quality monitoring across the country.

He said they were strategically located in the corporation’s management centres including Maun, Kasane, Shashe, Ntimbale, Selebi Phikwe, Palapye, Mahalapye, Mmamashia and Lobatse.

Expected to be operational by July 2019, the additional facilities would be constructed in Kanye, Shashe, Letlhakane, Mambo/Francistown, Molepolole, Serowe, Tsabong and Kazungula.

Mr Moipisi said while the facilities were primarily intended to facilitate the monitoring of water and wastewater to ensure compliance to the relevant standards for both drinking water and effluent disposal, the service had long been extended to the public on a cost recovery basis.

He said testing for the public was usually for water bottling companies, farmers, mines and other companies looking to ascertain the quality of water and wastewater.

Kgosi Isaac Titus had asked the minister if he did not find it necessary to extend water testing centres/facilities to the districts to assist farmers in getting their borehole water tested to improve the farming industry.

Responding to another question, Mr Moipisi said the old and problematic pipe lines at Letlole Mosielele Junior Secondary School would be replaced during the Thamaga network rehabilitation and expansion project planned for 2019-2021.

He said to address the problem of water shortage at the school, the Ministry of Basic Education made new installations, including a 30 cubic metre ground water tank and a 75 cubic metre elevated tank with a booster pump.

Mr Moipisi said water was now able to reach the ground tank which was then pumped to the elevated tank.

“Water supply to the school had since recovered and WUC  had halted bowsing,” said the assistant minister.

He said water reaching the tanks was treated and was, therefore, safe to drink.

He noted that WUC advised institutions to periodically clean/chlorinate their water storage tanks and where they were unable to so, the corporation was willing to assist.

The corporations water quality section and district public health office continued to take samples and monitor the quality of water supplied, Mr Moipisi revealed.

Kgosi Colly Cock of Thamaga region had asked if there were any plans by WUC to change the pipes supplying water to Mosielele JSS which had been without water for the past seven years, and if the water stored in the water tanks at the school was suitable for consumption. Ends