Water and Sanitation on progress of work on Lesotho Highlands Water Tunnel

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) tunnel maintenance operations are currently going according to plan since the tunnel shutdown on 01 October 2024. The maintenance operations are undertaken by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) on the South African side, while the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency (Agency) is undertaking maintenance on the tunnel supply water to Muela Hydro power station in Lesotho.

The tunnels have been drained of water and the process of de-watering took a whole week. Water from the tunnels were released into the Caledon and Little Caledon rivers in the Free State.

After the de-watering process, technical inspections were carried out in the tunnels and the cleaning of the rubble inside the tunnel was also done.

The repair work on the tunnel will commence on 01 November 2024 until 28 February 2025, and this will include various technical work of civil engineering work, sandblasting as well as re-coating 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 Department of Water and Sanitation has established a War Room to keep track of the developments or progress on the maintenance work done at the Lesotho Highlands tunnel. Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), TCTA and Municipal Managers from Mafube, Nketoana, Setsoto, Dihlabeng and Mantsopa Local Municipalities forms part of the war room.

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 a tunnel shutdown.

The tunnel is scheduled to reopen on 31 March 2025.

Media enquiries:
Wisane Mavasa Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 060 561 8935
E-mail: [email protected]