FIFTY six poor families in Mpumalanga will soon have access to water, thanks to an investment from the provincial cooperative and traditional affairs department.

The department has embarked on a programme to drill and rehabilitate 56 boreholes in 52 villages throughout the province as an immediate intervention for the water shortage.

Departmental spokesperson Simphiwe Kunene said yesterday the aim of the programme was to provide a temporary water supply to communities without access to safe water.

He said the programme was also aimed at providing a facility for the provision of safe and clean water to the villages.

"The areas that have been given priority are all areas in the province without infrastructure and destitute families," he said

He said the villages were identified after an extensive process of consultation with municipalities and community leaders on areas without water.

He said R10million had been budgeted for the waterintervention programme.