HAMMARSDALE WASTEWATER REHABILITATION MUST KEEP PACE WITH FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
HAMMARSDALE WASTEWATER REHABILITATION MUST KEEP PACE WITH FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
The rehabilitation of the Hammarsdale Wastewater Treatment Works is an important infrastructure intervention for eThekwini and must ultimately provide sufficient capacity to meet both current demand and future development.
Water and sanitation infrastructure has been a sustained area of interest for the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature’s CoGTA Portfolio Committee.
Earlier this year, the Committee undertook oversight of the Lower uMkhomazi Bulk Water Supply Scheme with uMngeni-uThukela Water, including visits to the Ngwadini Dam Off-Channel Storage Project in uMdoni and the Goodenough Abstraction Works in eThekwini Ward 99.
The latest eThekwini report to the NCOP now provides an important update on the Hammarsdale Wastewater Treatment Works.
The facility was designed to treat 27 megalitres, or 27 million litres, of wastewater per day. Its current effective treatment capacity has, however, fallen to approximately 8.5 megalitres per day.
The Municipality attributes this reduced capacity largely to the strength and chemical composition of incoming wastewater, together with ageing infrastructure and declining plant performance.
The current functional upgrade has an approved budget of approximately R260.9 million. At the time of reporting, around R202.4 million had been spent, with physical progress at 75% and financial progress at 77.5%.
Once complete, this phase is expected to restore treatment capacity to approximately 13.5 megalitres per day.
The project was originally due for completion in May 2026. The date was later moved to November 2026 and practical completion is now forecast for April 2027.
The Municipality has provided detailed reasons for the delays. These include additional refurbishment required on existing bioreactors, mechanical and electrical complications and further design and engineering work. Construction also uncovered old asbestos-cement pipes requiring specialised handling, as well as medium-voltage cables that were not reflected on existing drawings.
These are significant technical challenges and should be recognised.
As Chairperson, I nevertheless sought clarity on why the present upgrade would restore capacity to approximately 13.5 megalitres per day when the works was originally designed for 27 megalitres per day.
The Municipality has since explained that the current functional upgrade represents the first stage of the rehabilitation programme and that a further upgrade is intended to ultimately enable the plant to deal with 27 megalitres per day.
That clarification is important.
It is particularly relevant because the Municipality has indicated that restoring capacity at Hammarsdale is expected to support further development in the surrounding area, including industrial growth.
Development and wastewater infrastructure must be properly aligned.
Additional residential and industrial development cannot sustainably outpace the infrastructure required to collect and treat the wastewater it generates. This is especially important in Hammarsdale, where the nature of the incoming industrial wastewater is already identified as one of the factors limiting the plant’s effective treatment capacity.
The completion of the current project, followed by a clearly planned progression towards full treatment capacity, is therefore important not only for development but also for public health and environmental protection.
High Court matters concerning eThekwini’s wastewater infrastructure have also underscored the importance of properly functioning treatment systems and the prevention of sewage pollution.
Hammarsdale should be viewed against this broader responsibility.
Wastewater infrastructure must be capable of safely treating the volumes and loads placed upon it. Where treatment capacity does not keep pace with demand, the consequences can extend beyond service delivery to environmental degradation and risks to public health.
The current progress at Hammarsdale is therefore welcomed, while the next stage of the rehabilitation programme remains important.
I will follow up on the anticipated timeframe and implementation of the subsequent upgrade, particularly how this will align with planned development and the eventual restoration of the facility’s full 27-megalitre-per-day capacity.
The principle is simple: development must be supported by infrastructure capable of sustaining it, while wastewater systems must function at the level required to protect communities and the environment.
ISSUED BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COGTA PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE, HONOURABLE MARLAINE NAIR
