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The Temba water treatment plant in Tshwane has been temporarily shut down. (onuma Inthapong/Getty Images)
- The Temba water treatment plant has been temporarily shut down.
- This is due to concerns about the quality of water fed to the plant.
- Roaming tankers will provide water to residents until the situation normalises.
Concerns about the quality of water in the Leeukraal Dam has prompted the City of Tshwane to temporarily shut down the Temba water treatment plant, which supplies water to Hammanskraal and surrounding areas.
This after the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment plant started discharging untreated effluent into the Apies River, which feeds the Leeukraal Dam, according to the City.
"These challenges are related to last week's power supply interruption, following a fire that broke out at the Pyramid substation. The substation supplies power to the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was also affected by the interruption for a particular period before being backfed," the City added in a statement.
"Since the incident, the Temba water treatment plant has had to reduce pumping capacity, which is now unsustainable. Pumping has now been shut [down] to avoid supplying poor water quality to consumers," the City said.
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Roaming tankers will provide water to residents until the situation normalises.
News24 previously reported that the City needs R3.2 billion to fully upgrade the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works, with residents relying on 66 tankers.
The plant needs a significant increase in capacity to prevent pollution and sewage from flowing downstream into the Apies River and the Leeukraal Dam.
The dire state of the plant grabbed headlines last year after a deadly cholera outbreak led to more than 20 deaths in Hammanskraal.
Although the outbreak was not conclusively linked to the ageing plant, the deaths caused a media storm and put the spotlight on SA's crumbling water infrastructure.
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