The Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant has been discharging contaminated water into the Leeuwkraal Dam and that’s as a result of operational faults. The entire refurbishing of the plant is projected to cost almost R3 billion, which the city does not have.

Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink. Picture: Thabiso Goba/Eyewitness News

JOHANNESBURG - The cash-strapped Tshwane municipality says it's going to need external funding to complete upgrades to the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment plant.

The plant has been discharging contaminated water into the Leeuwkraal Dam and that’s as a result of operational faults.

The entire refurbishing of the plant is projected to cost almost R3 billion, which the city does not have.

It was around 2009 that a council report raised concerns that the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant wasn’t able to keep up with the growing population of Hammanskraal and surrounding areas.

However, only 10 years later a contractor was appointed to upgrade the plant.

Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink said that previous administrations had passed the buck on the issue which has culminated in a cholera outbreak that has killed 17 people in the city.

"I want to emphasise, we must still determine the source of the cholera but it has highlighted this plight of people from Hammanskraal and the urgency of moving on it."

Brink said that he would be meeting with national government soon and the SA Development Bank to discuss funding options.