Hammanskraal residents should expect clean water by end of 2024, says Tshwane mayor
Households in the Pretoria North township have been forced to contend with contaminated water.
FILE: Three women carry jars filled with water from a tank in an informal settlement in Hammanskraal on 23 May 2023, amid a deadly cholera outbreak. City officials urged residents of Hammanskraal and surrounding areas not to drink from the tap, adding water tankers were being supplied. Picture: Michele Spatari/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink says Hammanskraal residents should expect clean drinking water flowing from their taps by the end of the year.
Brink was speaking during his second State of the City Address in council on Thursday.
Households in the Pretoria North township have been forced to contend with contaminated water.
READ: Hammanskraal water crisis: Bottled water added to crèche 'stationery' list
In May last year, Hammanskraal was at the centre of a cholera outbreak stemming from the city’s strained water supply - resulting in more than 20 deaths.
Delays in refurbishing the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is meant to ensure Hammanskraal residents are supplied clean drinking water, have left communities relying on tankers.
But Brink says a contractor has been appointed to ensure the plant feeds the community with water that’s fit for consumption.
"I am confident that we are making good progress in restoring clean water to the taps of the people of Hammanskraal."
He says in the meantime, the government is working on connecting Hammanskraal to Magalies water - which will see the community getting clean water by the end of the year.
In a report released in October, Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka said poor intergovernmental relations are partially to blame for Hammanskraal water woes.