Nearly a month after shutting down the Lesotho Highlands Water Project water tunnel, the six-month planned maintenance is progressing according to plan and on track, with dewatering completed and repairs set to start on November 1.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is undertaking the maintenance on the South African side, while the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency is undertaking maintenance on the tunnel supplying water to Muela Hydro power station in Lesotho.

According to a statement released by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), following the shutdown on October 1, the tunnels have been drained of water and released into the Caledon and Little Caledon rivers in the Free State.

Once the tunnels were cleared, technical inspections were carried out in the tunnels and the cleaning of the rubble inside the tunnel was also done.

The repair work, scheduled to start on November 1 and continue until February 28, 2025, will include various technical civil engineering work, sandblasting as well as recoating of steel lining of the tunnel and removing corrosion that has built up for many years.

The repair work will also be done on the precast concrete segment lining within the tunnel.

The tunnel is scheduled to reopen on March 31, 2025.

As part of the maintenance process, the DWS established a war room, which includes the Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, TCTA and municipal managers from the Mafube, Nketoana, Setsoto, Dihlabeng and Mantsopa local municipalities, to keep track of the developments or progress on the maintenance work done on the tunnel.

The war room is also constantly taking stock on progress of municipalities on dam levels, leak repairs, construction of water infrastructure and drilling of boreholes to ensure sustainable water supply to communities, particularly those that are affected by the tunnel shutdown.

The affected communities are requested to fix leaks in their households and also to conserve water during the period of the tunnel shutdown