Water & Sanitation

36-Hour Water Storage Capacity Within Reach, 13-Mega Litre Kwathema Reservoir Nearing Completion

By Super User 860

Picture 2 Zulu Xhosa ReservoirKwa-Thema is one of Ekurhuleni’s biggest townships. Its population, according to the latest population statistics is about 105 614. The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is on course to deliver on its commitment of ensuring security of water supply to all its residents and the business community.

The Zulu/Xhosa Reservoir, which is currently under construction in Kwa-Thema will provide 13-Mega Litres (ML) of water. This will ensure that the businesses that operate in the area are sustainable and that the communities are supplied with stored water for a 36hour period without drawing from the water source.

The construction project for reservoir started on 7 January 2019, and experienced occasional stoppages due to Covid-19 restrictions. The revised completion date has been set for end of June 2021 which the City is gearing for.

 The project entails construction of 13Ml reservoir, water tower, pump house and the valve control house. The Xhosa reservoir is supplied water from the Zulu pump station which gets water from Rand Water via 450mm and 800mm diameters parallel pipelines.

There are two dedicated 450mm pipes from the Zulu pump station which supply water to the Xhosa reservoir. One of the 450mm pipe has an off-take pipe of 450mm pipe before the Xhosa reservoir which supplies the network. The 2 x 450mm pipes to Xhosa reservoir are then reduced to 2 x 350mm pipes before they reach the site. The 2 x 350mm pipes are then merged into one 350mm pipe inside the valve control room and then split into 2 x 350mm pipes with one pipe dedicated to supply the current 15 ML reservoir and the other reserved for the proposed additional reservoir.

Ultimate deliverables at this site

  • A 13ML circular reinforced concrete reservoir and valve chambers;
  • Associated pipework, inlet and outlet arrangements and valves, including control valves;
  • Security fencing;
  • Stormwater drainage; and a
  • Guard house

The Zulu/Xhosa Reservoir will be delivered at a value of R 32 510 793.77.