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which is being funded by the World Bank to the tune of $2,65 million, is nearing completion, the town secretary, Dr Sipho Singo said.
In an interview, Dr Singo said they have finished repairing one of the major supply dams and the installation of pumps and back-up generators.
The massive project, which was launched in March 2011, is mainly aimed at rehabilitating the existing water and sewer infrastructure in the border town.
It is being funded by the World Bank through the Government of Zimbabwe and the State and Peace Building Trust Fund (SFP).
“The Beitbridge emergency water and sanitation project is almost complete. As council we are working with Zinwa and so far a bulk amount of work has been done such as the installation of pumps at the supply dams.
“One of the town’s major supply dams, which had leakages has since been repaired hence we are now able to store enough water. Once we open water from Zhovhe Dam it will be pumped into the storage dam. We have also procured a backup generator for the treatment plant to ensure consistent and uninterrupted water pumping in the event of power failure or load shedding,” Dr Singo said.
He said only one dam has been operating resulting in inadequate water supplies. Dr Singo said they were now in the process of upgrading the 1,2km sewer pipeline.
“We have also started upgrading our sewer pipeline from 30mm to 60mm to avoid constant bursts,” he said.
Dr Singo said they also acquired six computers installed with software that would help improve the local authority’s water billing system.
Beitbridge Town Council currently collects only 30 percent of revenue from the water bills due to several household metres, which are not functioning, resulting in some consumers not paying their water bills.
Dr Singo said the ongoing programme was in response to the 2008 cholera outbreak that hit Beitbridge and claimed dozens of lives.
“The Beitbridge emergency water supply and sanitation project seeks to improve access to quality water supply to the town by rehabilitating the existing infrastructure,” he said.
Under the programme, water supply would be restored from the current three-mega litres per day to the town’s initial five mega litres. The process also involves the replacement of raw water pumps, the installation of booster pumps and the replacement of consumer and bulk water meters and the procurement of water quality testing equipment.
“On the capacity management side, we purchased filters and 400 water meters to help control and distribute water. The bulk meters will control the flow of water from the reservoirs to the distribution systems.
“The bulk meters will also help determine how much of the water produced has been consumed,” Dr Singo said.
Dr Singo said Beitbridge’s current water and sewer infrastructure was failing to keep pace with the growth of the town resulting in constant sewer spillages.
“We have also managed to rehabilitate the sewage ponds, the sewer processing plant and the water treatment plant so that they work to the required capacity,” he said.
The latest development is expected to ease perennial water shortages and constant sewer bursts that continue to dog residents of the border town. This has largely been attributed to a continuous break down of the main pipeline coupled with Zinwa’s failure to pump adequate water to the reservoirs. The treatment plant has a capacity to pump only 6 000 cubic metres of water per hour. However, the town requires 15 000 cubic metres per hour.
Zinwa pumps water from the Limpopo River into its two storage dams, but, however, due to constant breakdowns of its main pumping system and inadequate filters, the water utility relied on one dam, which feeds into the reservoirs.
Dr Singo said they also purchased vehicles for use by site engineers to monitor the project.
“The project is under strict control and monitoring systems of the World Bank. We are also in the process of conducting a feasibility study of a dumpsite, which has to conform to the required international health standards and protocol. The dumpsite should be sited in such a way that it does not result in the contamination of the Limpopo River through seepage.
“We are also training the local community on public health and hygiene as well as educating them on keeping the town clean as part of solid waste management.
“We are saying once successfully completed, as council we will be able to ask for more funds to develop the town from other partners using the project as the benchmark,” he said.
Beitbridge Town Council is the primary implementing agency while Zinwa is responsible for the rehabilitation of the part of the water supply component of the project.
Online Reporter