Bosch Stemele Port Elizabeth and Makana Municipality solving Grahamstown’s water crisis

In recent months, Grahamstown has experienced severe water shortages, with some areas being without water for days at a time. To resolve this, Bosch Stemele was appointed by Makana Municipality to undertake a feasibility study and implementation readiness study for Grahamstown Bulk Water Supply. The study’s purpose is to identify strategic interventions and to apply for funding to implement the project through the RBIG programme.

Grahamstown sources its water from two supply systems, namely the Waainek WTW, which has an unreliable supply during drought conditions and the James Kleynhans WTW, which obtains its water from the Glen Melville Dam. The dam has a reliable source from the Orange Fish Sundays scheme that can be augmented for future growth and has a sustainable supply during drought conditions.

The project will address the following to solve Grahamstown’s water crisis:

• Water conservation and demand management;
• Water use efficiency;
• Option analysis;
• Water quality;
• Updating / increasing of the current water use licences with DWA;
• Augmentation of the James Kleynhans WTW and bulk supply in the east;
• Refurbishment / upgrading of the Waainek WTW in the west.