Work on a separate pipeline supplying water elsewhere in the province is under way. Deliveries are expected by Q3 2013, according to Bloomberg News. In all, the government reports a $471 million investment in the project benefiting 2 million people.
Despite being home to some 75 billion metric tons of coal—40% of the country’s supply, according to state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Producers like Exxaro Resources Ltd. say water needs have hampered mining in the Waterburg area. The reservoir has been estimated to have a 12.3 billion cubic feet capacity. Molewa also said work to raise the Hazelmere Dam in the KwaZulu-Natal Province will begin before 2014, easing construction of an industrial park north of Durban along with more homes. The Spring Groves Dam, which will supply other towns in the province, has seen similar progress, noted government officials.
Government statistics indicate 95% of South African households have drinkable water—a 62% increase after the end of Apartheid rule and the emergence of the African National Congress in 1994.
