| Note to Editors: Please find attached a soundbite by Andrew Whitfield MP and a soundbite by Cllr Hattingh Bornman.
The DA-governed Kouga Municipality has taken great strides in securing its own water and electricity supply. Today, 10 July 2023, we conducted an oversight inspection in Jeffreys Bay at one of four ground-breaking water purification plants. (see pictures here, here, here and here) The plants were constructed at Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Hankey and St Francis Bay at existing water treatment works and remove iron and manganese from borehole water. The process used is fairly new and these plants are the largest in Africa to make use of this process for municipal supply. The process includes the water being filtrated in filters containing glass media on top and synthol media below. The volume of borehole water that can now be used has drastically increased, reducing the demand on the existing water supply from the dams. The target is to switch the ratio of surface water received from dams, and underground water from fountains and boreholes from approximately 80:20 to 30:70%. At full capacity, an estimated 15 Megalitres per day (ML/day) can be treated by the four plants. Kouga’s average water consumption stands at 18 ML/day. If the borehole water is managed correctly, Kouga will not run totally dry in the eventuality that the dams cannot supply in the water demand. Mayor Hattingh Bornman and the DA government are also in the process of finalising a plan to ensure Kouga’s independence from Eskom. An ongoing feasibility study is underway to determine the viability of alternative means of renewable energy and power generation by independent power producers. The study is investigating the construction of a 20MW plant – supplying a third of Kouga’s average electricity use. The goal is to generate 60MW of electricity, which will ensure the municipality’s independence from Eskom. When the DA took over government in 2016 Kouga was a broken municipality. Since then, the DA has put Kouga on the road to prosperity. Mayor Bornman will very shortly be embarking on his 15 wards in 15 days tour. He is a servant leader who will not be desk-bound. Through his personal interactions with residents, we will continue to bring the DA difference to the people of Kouga. |
