Lesotho Highlands Water Project faces pollution investigation

The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority has announced it will refer evidence of suspected water pollution to a project engineer for inspection and testing. Residents near the Sekoai River in Mokhotlong have reported seeing foamy water in the river near a construction site for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

The contractor involved, Kopano Ke Matla Joint Venture, is currently building the Polihali transfer tunnel. The company was previously suspended for 18 days after being found to have discharged acidic and oily wastewater into nearby rivers and the Katse reservoir, which provides drinking water to South Africa.

Observations at the Polihali site showed wastewater discharging from a tunnel boring machine access adit, appearing to flow from an outlet pipe onto the land before reaching the river. The project is a M42-billion initiative situated between Lesotho and South Africa.