Mahlobo happy with maintenance work at Lesotho Highlands Water Project tunnel

JOHANNESBURG - Maintenance work at a tunnel transporting water from Lesotho to South Africa has revealed there are minor damages in the 38km tunnel. 

The water and sanitation department, alongside its Lesotho counterpart, is conducting a mega maintenance project at the tunnel. 

The system transports over 780 million cubic litres of water from Lesotho to several provinces in the country.

Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo conducted a site inspection at the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in the Free State on Friday.

The 38km tunnel was shut down on 1 October and will remain out of service until 31 March of next year.

During this time, the water and sanitation department will be working to ensure there are no cracks or other issues on the tunnel's surface.

Following inspections, Mahlobo confirmed the tunnel was in good condition and no significant issues had been found.

"When we went through the tunnel, we could see that it is still in a good condition. In the main, you can't see the cracks and you can see that it is properly maintained. Why are we having this infrastructure in a good condition? It’s because there has been regular maintenance," said Mahlobo.

Five provinces, including Gauteng and the Free State, rely on water from Lesotho to keep taps running in communities.  

Mahlobo added that the département's maintenance on the tunnel would improve the supply of water to the provinces.