Dear friends,
In this month’s newsletter we would like to share about the new bulk water supply system of Onseepkans.
When we arrived here 9 years ago, we had to pump all our household and garden water from a ground irrigation canal. The canal received its water from the Orange River (the biggest river in South Africa) and was the main supply of agricultural irrigation water as well as household water in Onseepkans. The irrigation canal was managed by an Irrigation Board. (Irrigation schemes in South Africa are controlled by irrigation boards, who manage water use on behalf of the government’s Department of Water Affairs. It is the official legal entity who have to manage water schemes and water usage.) End of 2011, at the election of a new irrigation board for Onseepkans, I was elected as chairperson.
Just after I was elected, because of major problems such as reeds growing in the canal and large areas damaged by severe flooding, the canal ran dry. It was a critical time in Onseepkans. We along with many water users had no household or agricultural water. Thankfully, the Lord made it possible for us with the help of kind donors to lay a pipeline from the river so that we and our neighbours could have water for our homes, animals, and garden. (Photo below of pipeline in dry canal)
The canal was completely dry for the whole of 2012 and only beginning 2013 after much writing and pleading Department of Agriculture agreed to help us clean the canal. Contractors came and cleaned the canal taking out all the reeds and fixing the canal walls where it was damaged. This made it possible for the water to flow again. (photo below)
We realized that this was only a temporarily solution to the problem. The ground canal was so run down that to permanently solve this water problem, serious measures had to be taken.
At the end of 2011 Department of Agriculture came to us and said that they want to help us to find a permanent solution to our water problems and suggested three options. Option 1 was to properly fix and maintain the ground canal, Option 2 was to change the ground canal into a concrete canal (an irrigation system that is simple to maintain and works very well all over South Africa), and Option 3 was a high-tech system with a solar farm that gives electricity to pumps that pump water from the river into a dam and from there gravity feed again into a pipeline to the irrigation plots. At last there was decided on the solar farm and dam system.
For the next eight years, while the planning and construction of the new system slowly got under way, I had to beg and plead for funds from different corporate businesses just to keep the canal flowing. As chairperson of the Irrigation Board, I had to manage the old ground canal making sure that everybody could have water. Water was an endless source of conflict, since the canal could not provide enough water for everybody. Sometimes in summer the children of the community swam in the canal and blocked the water to have a “deeper swimming pool!” Imagine the frustration of households or farmers with no water when they came across a blocked canal used for a swimming pool! Although there were official cleaning operations as funds were available, many times my children and I had to go and clean sections of the canal ourselves that were overgrown with water plants or sections that were blocked with plastic bottles and other dirt that people threw in the canal. (Photo below)
There were also many times of disappointment in the negotiation process of the construction of the new system, but God was gracious to us and we could carry this burden for the past eight years. Many times I felt like quitting, but God graciously strengthened us to persevere.
In 2019 the major part of the construction of the new system took place and much of my time was occupied by attending project and construction progress meetings. Currently we are now completing some last details and beginning February 2020 many of the water users of Onseepkans started to use the new water system.
The water is subtracted from the Orange River at a pump station (photo below)
And then pumped to the booster pump station, where the water gets filtered through a filter system to remove particles that can block the irrigation systems (photo below)
From there it is pumped to the dam. (Photo below)
Then it gravity feeds to the pipeline through which it is distributed to all the water users, providing them with water under pressure.
Now we, as the Irrigation Board, have to manage the new system. We are grateful to have technical experts on board such as our neighbour, an export grape farmer, who also have irrigation engineering background.
There are still many challenges. For example, the solar farm, which must supply cheaper electricity to the new system, must still be constructed and will only take place when government have the funds to do so. However, everybody in Onseepkans are already experiencing the change that the new system brought about as well as the new hope for agricultural success and prosperity.
Some technical information on the new system for those who are interested to know:
- The new system will supply 15 000 cubic meters / 19 619 cubic yards of water per 1 ha / 2.47 acres per year for irrigation purposes.
- The system will supply 7 300 cubic meters / 9 548 cubic yards of water per residential plot per year for household / garden water.
- Water is supplied at pressure between 2.5 and 4.5 bar and 36.259 and 72.518 Psi, depending on overall volume of usage of the system.
- Agricultural plots will have an irrigation pipe connection of 150mm / 5.90 inch diameter, and households 50mm / 1.97 inch diameter.
What will the benefits of the new system be for us as a mission?
Apart from the obvious agricultural advantage on our agricultural fields, it means that for the first time we can develop our mission grounds without any water restrictions. This means we can develop maximum gardens and orchards, to generate as much vegetables and fruit as possible. In the past we had to irrigate small sections at a time, which was time consuming, prone to many mistakes, and restricted further development. We had to rely on a small electrical pump to pump water from the canal (if running) to our water tanks, and from there supply the garden, orchards, and household.
When we irrigate with the new system, we only have to open the main tap half way and it supply enough water to fill our reservoir tanks and to irrigate our garden and orchards, all at once! Our only restriction is the bar / Psi capacity of our pipes, which cannot handle the pressure! We struggle to develop our irrigation to be able to maximise water flow! Some of the challenges that we are facing are seeking the best way to upgrade our irrigation pipe system to such an extent to maximise the ground and water to our possession for the benefit of our mission and the communities around us.
We value your support and prayers over the past eight years for the water problems of Onseepkans. We thank the Lord for His provision and are extremely grateful towards government for the huge asset that they provided for Onseepkans. Please pray for me as chairman of the Irrigation Board for wisdom as I lead the board and that the Lord may help us to continue to apply good stewardship towards the new bulk water supply system entrusted to us.
Gerhard, Elmané and Children at Onseepkans.
