The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) tunnel is set to be closed on Tuesday for a period of six months for critical maintenance.

The closure of the LHWP tunnel will affect the Phase I Water Transfer and Delivery tunnels, resulting in the total shutdown of the water delivery system for six months until March 31, 2025.

The contractors that will provide maintenance service in Lesotho and in South Africa are already on site and equipment has been delivered to sites in both countries.

There will be no transfer of water through the 45 km transfer tunnel from the Katse dam to ‘Muela hydropower station, which will result in the stoppage of power generation at the ‘Muela hydropower station in Lesotho, as well as no delivery of water from Lesotho to South Africa through the 37 km delivery tunnel.

Despite the impact on water transfer, South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, and her counterpart from the Kingdom of Lesotho, Minister Mohlomi Moleko, assured that, in preparation for this planned closure, both governments took proactive measures to ensure that the maintenance would be conducted smoothly, with minimal disruption to the benefits that accrue to Basotho and South Africans from the LHWP.

The Lesotho government has implemented concrete plans to secure additional electricity supply in the region, to ensure that reliable supply of electricity continues in Lesotho during this period.

Further, there have been comprehensive measures taken by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), working collaboratively with municipalities and water boards, to ensure water security through water transfer within the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).

About 700-million cubic metres of the annually contracted transfer of 780-million cubic metres of water from the two dams had been transferred in anticipation of the closure, with the year’s balance of 80-million to be transferred once maintenance has been completed.

This proactive measure has allowed South Africa to receive most of its annual water deliveries, ensuring that both the water supply and the royalties revenue that Lesotho receives from those deliveries are minimally impacted.

The DWS-managed IVRS, which comprises 14 interconnected dams through a system of rivers, canals, tunnels, pipelines and pump stations, has enough water for the duration of the maintenance period, and, if needed, water can be transferred from one part of the system to another.

The IVRS includes the Vaal, Sterkfontein, Grootdraai and Bloemhof dams, besides others, which are augmented by the Katse and Mohale dams in Lesotho.

However, as maintenance gets underway, both Ministers have called on communities in both South Africa and Lesotho to cooperate during the period by taking responsible actions that will help reduce the impact of this temporary closure of the tunnel.

Majodina urged citizens in South Africa to intensify water conservation measures in their spaces.

“Given the temporary halt in water deliveries, it is essential to use water sparingly and avoid wastage during this time. Despite preparations already made by the government to ensure continued supply of water, it is crucial that we collectively minimise the impact on all of us through responsible consumption of water during this time,” she said.

Meanwhile in Lesotho, the ‘Muela hydropower station supplies close to 50% of the overall electricity demand in the country. In the absence of hydropower generation, Moleko has appealed to Lesotho citizens to use electricity responsibly, to be conscious of their use and minimise consumption and the impact on the grid.

“Energy conservation will be key to ensuring stable power supply during this period. This is as Lesotho will have to import increased amounts of electricity from the region, to make up for the shortfall during ‘Muela’s outage,” emphasised Moleko.