Kangra Delivers Clean Water to Donkerhoek Community Through ‘Water Trails and Triumphs’ Project

Kangra, a Piet Retief-based company known for producing high-quality thermal coal, has successfully completed its water project.

In part three of the docuseries titled “Water Trails and Triumphs,” Kangra showcased how the project has benefited 120 families in Donkerhoek, who now have access to tap water at their doorsteps.

The project was made more feasible by the area’s natural water resources. Kangra engineered water tanks and pipelines to ensure a high-pressure flow of clean water directly into households.

“This place is endowed with a number of springs. A number of them have been identified. Three at this moment have been taken advantage of. What happens, technically, we’ve got a spring that is slightly above the tanks so that we can have the head for water to flow into the tanks. And then from the tanks, you still have a higher head into the houses. The head is quite significant, it is more than 60metres,” said Mpumelelo Saliwa Kangra’s engineering manager.

The Donkerhoek community, which has faced water challenges for years, has expressed relief and happiness at finally having reliable access to such a basic necessity.

“Inhlalo ibe mnandi kakhulu ngoba manje akasekho okhalela omunye ngamanzi. Amanzi sesiyagenza nje sonke, siyahlanzeka ngendlela, akukho nkinga. Asayaphuma ziyamporoma. Amanzi asijabulise kakhulu, kade sisokola. Ingathi ngingakhala njena, ngikhaliswa ukujabula,” said Katrina Dlamini, a Thuthukani Farm resident. Her comment can be roughly translated to: “Living here has become nice because we no longer complain about water. We are now able to bath with no worries, and the way I’m so happy, I feel like crying tears of joy”.

Another community member, Nomgqibelo Hlophe, said life has changed significantly, as her son can now use water to make bricks for building a house. She added that access to water will also reduce costs, as families previously had to hire trucks to fetch water from other areas.

While the community is ecstatic, Kangra GM Paul Redelinghuys said much of the credit belongs to the community itself for actively participating in the project.

“I must say there have been significant changes from phase 1 to phase 3. And we’ve seen that in the relationship that we have with the community. The community has actually stepped up seriously to actually take charge of this project, and I think that’s one of the biggest things that we are very proud of,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mary Thwala, MMC for the Technical Department at Mkhondo Municipality, said such initiatives are commendable because not only do they uplift the community, but also promote sustainability.