By Amerandi Valentyn
Bergrivier Municipality has received R6,596 million from the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG)
sourced from the Department of Water and Sanitation to upgrade the Waste Water Treatment Works
(WWTW) in Porterville.
The funds are being used to:
- Complete key components of the treatment works which had to be scaled down due to insufficient
funds during a previous phase; - Double the capacity of the treatment works facility from 0,75 Ml/day to 1,5 Ml/day since it has reached
its maximum capacity, and to ensure sufficient capacity for future developments; - Ensure compliance with statutory requirements and standards regarding quality of final effluent; and
- Install standby mechanical components to ensure that there’s a backup and sustainable functionality,
should there be any failure of components or maintenance required.
According to the WSIG performance evaluation, this project has been progressing at a very good pace.
Regular sites visits are conducted to ensure that the upgrades are being done according to the required
standards and that it is done according to the contractual timelines.
Rohann Stander, Manager: Project Management and Building Control at Bergrivier Municipality,
mentioned that this is phase 3 of the upgrading of the treatment works. “The overall construction progress
to date is 83%,” said Stander.
Stander said that since this project commenced, 9 temporary local jobs were created.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of April 2022.
