JOHANNESBURG, April 26 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Water and Sanitation Department said Friday that the water tunnels of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project will be shut down from Oct. 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, for scheduled maintenance.

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a water supply project developed as a partnership between Lesotho and South Africa, with the latter paying royalties for the water.

The Phase 1 of the project, which is completed in 2003, transfers 780 million cubic meters of water per annum into the South Africa's Integrated Vaal River System, from which Rand Water company draws water to supply its customers, the department said.

"The six-month period required to conduct maintenance is very crucial to avoid any catastrophic event that may result from a lack of maintenance," said the department's director-general Sean Phillips.

As a result of the tunnel shutdown, 700 million cubic meters per annum will be transferred in 2024, a shortfall of 80 million cubic meters from the normal annual volume, according to Phillips.

He noted that the shutdown will not have significant water supply implications for domestic users as dams in the country's Integrated Vaal River System are relatively full. Enditem

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