Project to benefit water-starved households

About 15,000 households would benefit from a US $8.7 million water supply project launched in June, news reports from Lesotho said on Wednesday. The Maseru Peri-urban Water Supply Project was expected to serve at least 85,000 people and would be conducted in two phases, one report said. According to the report, the first phase would include a new pumping station at the Maseru water treatment plant. Communities from at least 13 suburbs were expected to benefit, the report said. It added that the second phase would involve the installation of a reticulation network of pumping stations, a transmission line reservoir and house connections to at least seven other areas. Launching the project, Prime Minister Mosisili said the government intended to provide potable drinking water to poor inhabitants. He was quoted as saying that the project would deliver treated water from Maseru to the Lesotho Sun water reservoir, and then through a 380 km network to peri-urban areas in the Maseru district. Minister of Natural Resources, Monyane Moleleki, was quoted as saying that the project was vital because it would go a long way towards meeting the World Health Organisation's (WHO) requirement that a human being should not walk more 150 metres to fetch water.