08 Jul 2019

Molepolole Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) management centre continues to face challenges that impede on sufficient water supply in the area.

The challenges presented by the corporation’s waterworks engineer, Mr Seabe Mabua, during a recent stakeholder engagement forum in Letlhakeng included drying of boreholes, high risk of borehole contamination as well as high water usage due to livestock watering.

Mr Mabua further noted a high rate of vandalism on WUC infrastructure, which he said led to major water losses while some village developments outgrew water supply network.

He said Letlhakeng cluster was experiencing high vandalism of WUC infrastructure resulting in high water losses and this was carried out in long-traversing transmission pipeline to water livestock commonly along Maboane-Takatokwane and Dutlwe during dry seasons.

He said the total water demand in the management area was 30.2ML/day against a supply of 19.5ML/day with a deficit of 10.7ML/day.

He said Molepolole management centre was divided into three sub-clusters being Molepolole/Lentsweletau, Thamaga and Letlhakeng with a population of 150 346.

Mr Mabua said 61 per cent of this population was for Molepolole, Thamaga and Thebebephatshwa BDF Camp with a water demand of 19ML/day against a supply of 13ML/day with a deficit of 6ML/day of the management total shortfall, while Letlhakeng cluster has a deficit of 0.25ML/day.

He said Letlhakeng cluster consisted of 25 villages with all villages supplied with groundwater with all the villages having an adequate water supply.

The waterworks engineer said Motokwe, Ngware and Moshaweng were having a marginal water supply.

He added that Motokwe one borehole was out of operation since April 2017 but both the boreholes were at risk of pollution as they were in the middle of the village while at Moshaweng there was high livestock watering.

He said even though the water supply in the management area was stable such challenges contributed a lot to water shortage for the 49 villages that fall under the Molepolole centre.

To meet the demand, he said WUC had some on-going projects in the Letlhakeng cluster among them upgrading, rehabilitation and connection of new water source for Khudumelapye and connection of new water source for Maratswane settlement.

WUC senior credit controller MS Mogi Selei said as of end June 2019 Molepolole management centre were being owed more than P31 million with domestic water use leading the debts at P21.9 million.

Ms Selei further said businesses owed P2million, district councils P468 465 while the government had a debt of more than P7million.

WUC Molepolole general manager Ms Boitumelo Kgaodi said the objectives of the seminar were among others for stakeholders to come up with strategies that would help improve the water situation in the district.

She said the meeting also provided for sharing of ideas and challenged stakeholders to come up with solutions that would help ease water supply.

Ms Kgaodi added that from what had been shared, action would be taken to improve what needed to be looked at and also understand WUC and its operations.

The general manager said stakeholders would be updated on planned water projects to be carried out in the sub-district.

Kgosi Tumelo Puleng of Letlhakeng said engagement and consultation remained at the core of nation-building so that all could find solutions to the challenges they faced as Batswana. ENDS