Water&Sanitation Africa is the official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), focusing on the entire spectrum of water-related issues.
Water & Sanitation Complete resource and wastewater management Think water, think WISA! The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa MEDIA PANEL DISCUSSION SA’s water losses MPHO RAMPHAO An award-winning young engineer Africa Africa Dhesigen Naidoo talks about his new appointment as chief executive officer of the Water Research Commission November / December 2011 • ISSN 1990-8857 • Cover price R30.00 • Vol 6 No. 6. ME f P34 P34 Durban Water Recycling plant Celebrates 10 years
Transcript
Water & SanitationComplete resource and wastewater management
Think water, think WISA!The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa
MEDIA
PANEL DISCUSSION SA’s water losses
MPHO RAMPHAOAn award-winning young engineer
AfricaAfrica
Dhesigen Naidoo talks about his new appointment as chief executive offi cer of the Water Research Commission
November / December 2011 • ISSN 1990-8857 • Cover price R30.00 • Vol 6 No. 6.ME
f
P34P34
Durban Water Recycling plant Celebrates 10 years
250 000 metres ofTRENCHLESS PIPE
Successfully Installed
RENOVATE EXISTING PIPES BY:
INSTALLATION OF NEW PIPES BY:
Countrywide 08600 66 344
Water & SanitationComplete resource and wastewater management
Think water, think WISA!The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa
MEDIA
PANEL DISCUSSION SA’s water losses
MPHO RAMPHAOAn award-winning young engineer
AfricaAfrica
Dhesigen Naidoo talks about his new appointment as chief executive offi cer of the Water Research Commission
November / December 2011 • ISSN 1990-8857 • Cover price R30.00 • Vol 6 No. 6.ME
f
P34P34
Durban Water Recycling plant Celebrates 10 years
CONTENTS Volume 6. No.6
Editor’s letter 3
COVER STORY Celebrating a decade of achievement 4
WISA President’s comment 7Mpho Ramphao: young engineer profi le 8
PROFILE Clean water for future generations 18
PUBLIC SECTOR Groundwater management framework for municipalities 23
PROJECT South Africa’s award-winning seawater desalination plant 29
AFRICA Gaborone sewerage upgrades 36
PANEL DISCUSSION SA’s water losses 37
TECHNOLOGY The balancing act of water 50World’s fi rst commercial wave power plant inauguration 51Environmentally friendly wastewater fi lter press 52Northern Ireland Water LIMS investment 55Laboratory focus 58Pushing storage needs to the limit 63Prefab concrete system tanks 64Reservoirs for agricultural water storage 65
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT State of the rivers 67AQUALIBRIUM, the SAICE-TCTA Schools Water Competition 2011 68
EVENTS Excellence in service delivery 76
Mpho Ramphao was recently recognised as the Young Engi-neer of the Year at the prestigious CESA Aon Awards 2011
Talbot Laboratories have recently undergone a me-ticulous audit process by The Coca-Cola Company
-5858
88
1818ABOVE Tecroveer’s recent acquisition of Becon Watertech
REGULARS News – International 11News – Africa 14Level of dams 71Subscriptions 75
1 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
CWC
Consolidated Water Conditioning S.A. (Pty) Ltd Reg No: 80/04979/07
serious topics to debate. So watch this space in our upcoming issues for lead-ing viewpoints from professionals and experts in our industry.As I write this letter, we are finishing off the year with client year-end func-tions and the final industry conferences of the year will be taking place late in October, those being IMESA and the Water Investment World Africa.Ave Delport and I, together the Water&Sanitation Africa team, would like to take this opportunity to thank our readers and advertisers for their support during 2011. We wish you all the best over the December holidays and hope you have a well-deserved, restful break with your family and friends.
Editor ’s letterPublisher Elizabeth ShortenEditor Debbie BesselingCreative executive head Frédérick DantonSenior designer Hayley Moore MendelowChief sub-editor Cindy MaulgueSub-editor Danielle HugoContributors Dr Kornelius RiemannMarketing Martin Hiller Production manager Antois-Leigh VisagieProduction assistant Jacqueline Modise Subscription sales Nomsa MasinaDistribution coordinator Asha PursothamAdministration Tonya HebentonPrinters United Litho Johannesburg+27 (0)11 402 0571Advertising sales Avé Delport Tel: +27 (0)11 467 6224 • Cell: +27 (0)83 302 1342 Fax: 086 502 1216E-mail: [email protected]
Publisher
MEDIA Physical address: No 4, 5th Avenue Rivonia 2056Postal address: PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117, South AfricaTel: +27 (0)11 233 2600Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/5E-mail: [email protected]
ISSN: 1990 - 8857Annual subscription: R270 (SA rate)Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.All articles in Water&Sanitation Africa are copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publishers. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Water Institute of Southern Africa or the publishers.
WISA mission statementThe Water Institute of Southern Africa provides a forum for exchange of information and views to improve water resource management in southern Africa.
Endorsed by
T o end the year off with a splash, Water&Sanitation Africa has introduced a new section in the magazine in the form of a panel
discussion. Industry experts participate in a debate and answer set questions pertaining to a topical issue. The sec-tion is limited to between five and eight participants.In this issue we debate the challenges faced relating to the country’s water losses and the interventions that are needed to turn the situation around.In his State of the Nation Address in 2010, president Zuma said, "We will be put-ting in place measures to reduce our water loss by half by 2014".Our first panel discussion includes six participants, who are each recognised as leaders in their particular field of expertise:• Dr Ronnie Mckenzie, managing direc-tor: WRP• Mark Shepherd, director: JOAT Consulting• Kobus Prinsloo, director: SSIS• Basil Bold, managing director: Sensus South Africa• Hennie Roets, business development director: RARE• Keith Bailey, general manager: Sales & Marketing, Elster Kent Metering.Yes, there are certainly some strong points of view with regard to the ques-tions put forward to our panel. This gives participants the opportunity to provide insight into the particular topic and, without reservation, express their strong opinions as well as provide possible solutions for the challenges.
The water sector certainly has some
Debating issues
WISA CONTACTS:
HEAD OFFICETel: +27 (0)11 805 3537 Fax: +27 (0)11 315 1258Physical address: 1st Floor, Building 5, Constantia Park, 546 16th Road, Randjiespark Ext 7, Midrand
Western CapeChairman: John ClaytonTel: +27 (0)21 531 6411Secretary/treasurer: Farouk Robertson Tel: +27 (0)21 400 4574
www.ewisa.co.za
Debbie Besseling, editor
Cover opportunityIn each issue, Water & Sanitation Africa off ers companies the opportunity to get to the front of the line by placing a company, product or service on the front cover of the magazine. Buying this position will aff ord the advertiser the cover story on pages 4 and 5 and maximum exposure. For more information on cover bookings contact Avé Delport on +27 (0)83 302 1342 or e-mail [email protected]
Thecer
CInop
Water & SanitationComplete r
esource and wastewat
er management
Think water, think WISA!
The official magazine of
the Water Institute of S
outhern Africa
MEDIA
PANEL DISCUSSION
SA’s water losses
MPHO RAMPHAO
An award-winning
young engineer
AfricaAfrica
Dhesigen Naidoo talks about his n
ew appointment as chief
executive offi cer of the Water R
esearch Commission
November / December 2011 • ISSN 1990-8857 • Cover price R30.00 • Vol 6 No. 6.
ME
f
P34P34
Durban Water Recycling pla
nt
Celebrates 10 years
4 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
DURBAN WATER RECYCLING PLANTCover story
The DWR plant is a wastewater treatment pro-ject in Durban that was designed, supplied and commissioned by leading wastewater expert Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies
(VWS). The DWR plant treats primary sewage and re-purifi es the reclaimed water at 47.5 Mℓ/day to a near potable standard to guarantee an economic and high-quality water supply to the Mondi Paper mill and Sapref Oil Refi nery. Located in the south of Durban, on the grounds of the eThekwini Water Services (EWS) sewage water treatment works (SWTW), the 47.5 Mℓ/day capacity plant is not only environmentally friendly, but brings signifi cant advantages to all its stakeholders. The potable water that industrial consumers previously drew from the municipal system is now redistributed to previously disadvantaged peri-urban communi-ties, without the need to invest in major bulk water supply and treatment infrastructure. The pollution load on the marine environment as a result of recy-cling water that was previously discharged into the sea is also reduced signifi cantly.
TREATMENT PROCESSThe plant employs state-of-the-art water treatment processes and technologies, as described below.
Preliminary and primary treatmentThe preliminary and primary wastewater treatment process comprises screening, degritting and primary settling. These operations are performed by EWS. The effl uent from the primary settling tank is fed to the activated sludge plant operated by VWS. This stream is termed the feed water and it must comply with 32 contractually specifi ed parameters.
Activated sludgeThe activated sludge process is of conventional de-sign and serves to remove 95% of the incoming COD and 98% of the incoming ammonia loads. Typically, activated sludge plant effl uent COD and ammonia concentrations are 15 mg/ℓ and 0.2 mg/ℓ respec-tively. The process is operated in the nitrogen remov-al mode, with typical effl uent nitrate and nitrite con-centrations of 5 mg/ℓ and 0.02 mg/ℓ respectively.
Lamella settlingThe fi rst step in the tertiary treatment process is lamella settling. The technology used is the VWS patented Multifl o process. Metal salt is dosed to the lamella settler feed water, ostensibly to remove phosphate, and polymer is added to enhance the fl occulation process. After fl oc growth stabilisation the fl occulated water is fed to the lamella settling tanks, where rapid settling of the fl occulated mate-rial is achieved. The lamella plates are inclined at 60 degrees and assist the settlement process. The up-fl ow velocity through the settlers is 20 m/hr.
Polyaluminium chloride (PAC) dosingPAC is dosed to the water leaving the lamella settlers and is employed for the removal of iron. The fi nal reclaimed water specifi cation for iron is 0.04 mg/ℓ, some fi ve times lower than the standard for class l potable water (SABS 241:1999).
Dual media fi ltration The dual media fi ltration step is the last suspended solids barrier in the process. These rapid gravity fi lters have a bed depth of 3 m, the top metre of the media being anthracite and the rest silica sand. Filtration velocities of 4 m/hr are achieved and the current fi lter cycle time is 36 hours. Iron precipitate is removed in the dual media fi lter.
Celebrating a decade of achievementThe Durban Water Recycling (DWR) plant, commissioned in 2001, has recently celebrated its 10th successful year of operation. Debbie Besseling attended the anniversary celebration.
Lamella settlers separate clarifi ed water from fl occulated solids in the VWS patented Multifl o with a fl ow velocity of up to 20 m/hr at the Durban Water Recycling plant.
5 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Cover story
OzonationThe ozonation step is used to break down the re-maining non-biodegradable organic compounds, including colour-causing compounds. The ozone contacting time is 15 minutes. Two Trailigaz ozone generators, with a maximum combined output of 12 kg/hr, are employed.
Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorptionThe GAC process is currently employed as a polish-ing step and for the removal of ozone-degraded organics. The bed depth is 3 m and the contacting time is 10 minutes. The current cycle time is 48 hours. The carbon used is Pico Bio and a bed life of eight to 10 years has been experienced.
ChlorinationTo ensure no biological regrowth in the reticulation system or within Mondi and Sapref’s processes, free chlorine residual of 0.8 mg/ℓ is maintained at the point of reclaimed water use.
ReticulationChlorinated reclaimed water is pumped to the 21 Mℓ high-level storage tank before distribution to Mondi and Sapref. The reticulation pipework length is approximately 2 km.A facility to augment the reclaimed water supply through the addition of potable water is available. The purpose of this facility is twofold:• It ensures the continuity of supply if the water demand by Mondi and Sapref exceeds the waste-water volume available for treatment.• It can be used for blending purposes, should the quality of the reclaimed water be defi cient in any parameter as a result of feed water non-compli-ance or inadequate treatment.According to Arnaud Gisclon, managing director: DWR and deputy managing director: VWS South Africa, “The production of potable-quality recycled water from domestic and industrial wastewater to a guaranteed standard continuously and reliably is a showcase for advanced water process technology and process engineering.”
STAKEHOLDERS OF THE PPPThe various stakeholders of this public-private partnership (PPP) include municipal utilities EWS and Umgeni Water, VWS, the Marubeni Corporation, Khulani Holdings and Zetachem ‒ part of the Omnia Group. Gisclon says, “As a water-stressed country, we need initiatives that can assist in preserving our natural water resources. This PPP project is a prime example of how innovative approaches to water resource and environmental management, wastewater treatment technology and institutional arrangements can yield
exceptional results. It harnesses the energies of the partners and highlights the potential role that the private sector can play in water management, treat-ment and distribution.”Zetachem’s involvement in the highly success-ful DWR project goes back to the feasibility stage, when Zetachem was selected by VWS to assist with the preliminary study of the wastewater
quality from the Durban Southern Basin. According to Trevor Johnston,divisional managing director: Zetachem, “From this initial relationship, Zetachem became a partner in the ground-breaking water-saving project and the formation of DWR. Zetachem products were introduced on start-up and continue to this day.“Major benefi ts of this wastewater treat-ment project include a reduction in the overall industrial consumption of potable water and the equivalent decrease in the amount of treated sewage being released into the environment,” says Johnston.
About Veolia Water Solutions & TechnologiesVeolia Water Solutions & Technologies, a subsidiary of Veolia Water, is a leading design and build company and a special-ised provider of technological solutions in water treatment. With over 9 658 employees in 57 countries, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies recorded rev-enue of €2.15 billion in 2010.For more information on this and other Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa projects, please visit www.veoliawaterst.co.za.
In each issue, Water&Sanitation Africa off ers advertisers the opportunity to promote their company’s products and services to an appropriate audience by booking the prime position of the front cover, which includes a two-page feature article. The magazine off ers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure maximum exposure of their brand. Please call Avé Delport on +27 (0)11 467 6224/ +27 (0)83 302 1342 to secure your booking.
An aerial view of the fl agship Durban Water Recycling (DWR) plant which treats domestic and industrial sew-age and wastewater to near potable standard for use in industrial processes by high volume customers, such as Mondi Paper and SAPREF
Key fi gures who attended the 10 year Anniversary celebration [FROM LEFT]: Mandla Gama (Guma Group), Rob Dyer (eThekwini Water & Sanitation), Gunter Renken (Managing Director of VWS South Africa), Arnaud Gisclon (Director at Durban Water Recycling), Councillor Logie Naidoo, Sagren Govender (General Manager at VWS South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal offi ce), and John Harrison (eThekwini Water & Sanitation).
7 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
PRESIDENT'S COMMENT
The 3rd Municipal Water Quality Conference has come and gone, leaving us with some challenges. The presentations and discus-
sions during the sessions in Cape Town left us very energised and determined to improve our performance levels. Today it is sad that our sector had to
experience the recent industrial action by municipal workers. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that it was not a favorable environment for essential services employees, especially our mem-bers and non-members who are so pas-sionate about our sector. Our members, who are defined as essential services employees, could not operate efficiently due to threats of intimidation, violence and, in some cases, water and wastewa-ter systems had to be left unattended. This placed a high risk of failure on our equipment, which is worth millions of rands. We unfortunately cannot operate in a vacuum; we have to perform within the political environment of our country. Our government has committed itself
to improving water and sanitation ser-vice delivery to its people and this has to be realised through the eff orts of various stakeholders, such as those of our sector, electricity and energy, public health, etc. How do you improve service delivery
under these volatile conditions? Do we as leaders or managers really value the
WISA PATRON MEMBERS• ABS Wastewater Technology • Amatola Water• BIGEN AFRICA Services• BKS• Bloem Water• Botjheng Water• City of Cape Town• City of Tshwane• Dow Water & Process SA• Department of Water Aff airs• Development Bank of Southern Africa
• ERWAT• ESKOM Holdings• eThekwini Municipality• GE Betz South Africa• Golder Associates Africa• Grundfos Alldos• Hatch• Huber Technology• ITT Water & Wastewater South Africa
• Johannesburg Water• Keyplan
• Magalies Water• Mhlathuze Water• NCP Chlorchem • Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
• Siemens• SSI Engineers and Environmental Consultants
• TCTA• Tecroveer• Umgeni Water• Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa
• Water Research Commission• Water & Sanitation Services SA• WEC Projects• Zetachem
importance and quality of the service we offer to our people? Do we really apply our minds in terms of the implications of our decisions? How do these decisions impact on the lives of poor communi-ties? These are the type of questions that come to one’s mind during periods of industrial action, but one always stays positive that, at some point, leaders or managers will recognise this situation and take the necessary action.
I cannot help thinking of poorer com-munities, who suffer most due to lack of service delivery during industrial action. Non-collection of refuse and the non-clearance of sewer blockages that result in wastewater spillages create a health hazard to these communities. The provision of sub-quality water, which does not meet the SANS 241 standard, is posing a further health risk to these consumers. The comments and questions men-
tioned above are not meant to suggest that workers do not have legitimate grievances. I believe that, with good leadership from employers and labour unions, a balance could be struck with-out exposing consumers/customers to health risks. I commend WISA members and non-
members who stayed positive during this period and ensured that the risk of system failures was minimised. This was due to your pride in our water industry and a wish to ensure that it remains a sector of winners. I call on all of us to remain positive that the work environ-ment will eventually change for the bet-ter. We must also all continue to work together to improve service delivery for our people.
Anderson Mluleki MancotywaWISA President
Positive attitude goes a long way
W ISA
Our government has committed itself to improving water and sanitation service delivery to its people
8 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Ramphao is a professional engineer employed by Aurecon, who works in the water and wastewater fi eld, with a special focus on the opti-
misation of wastewater treatment facili-ties. In collaboration with internationally acclaimed researchers, he has authored and co-authored seven technical papers and has presented a number of papers at conferences. He has also recently present-ed a paper at a conference in Australia, which serves to uphold South Africa’s reputation for excellence in wastewater treatment technology. Ramphao is Aurecon’s most experienced BioWin modeller and was recently respon-sible for setting up models and modelling the processes for four wastewater treat-ment plants operated by Yorkshire Water.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU LEARNT EARLY IN YOUR CAREER?Although my career is still young, there are a few important things I have learnt so far:a) Be authentic, do what you love and always put people fi rst.b) Spend more time listening. Despite all your knowledge and experience, it is best to understand the perspective of the person or people you are interact-ing with before assuming you have the correct answer or solution.c) Humility is the most underrated quality ‒ it takes a lot for someone to be hum-ble enough to admit that they don't know everything and ask questions of people who do.d) Do what is right, not what is popular.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING PROJECT AND WHY?I’m currently responsible for the design and implementation of a major mem-brane bioreactor wastewater treatment
YWPW ISA
Mpho RamphaoYoung engineer profi le Mpho Ramphao was recently recognised as the Young Engineer of the Year at the prestigious CESA Aon Awards 2011. Water&Sanitation Africa took the opportunity to speak to this outstanding young engineer, who has certainly made a name for himself in the water sector.
plant in South Africa, which is currently under construction at Malmesbury in the Western Cape. The project has a value of approximately R120 million.My responsibilities during the planning and design phases were to perform pro-fessional engineering services for pre-liminary design, detailed design, treat-ment works permit applications, tender documents and tender reporting for the upgrading of the Malmesbury WWTW. The design involved process modelling to decide on the appropriate biologi-cal wastewater treatment technology, hydraulics, civil design (geotechnical, structural, roads, etc.) and electrical and mechanical design. I am also responsi-ble for liaising with the parties involved in the project (including the membrane equipment suppliers who are in Europe ‒ we have monthly telephonic meetings to track progress) in order to ensure that everyone understand the requirements of the project, e.g. ensuring that me-chanical and electrical requirements are accounted for in the design of the civil and mechanical layout drawings.
WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, IS ESSENTIAL TO INNOVATIVE THINKING? AND WHY?The best way to an-swer this is by looking at the following traits, which I once came across while in my sec-ond year of civil engineering studies. I make the eff ort of following them on a daily basis:• Curiosity: This is the fi rst step towards discovery. • Imagination: Before you
can develop a new idea, you must first be able to conceive it; to envision the very possibility that it could exist. Innovation is fuelled by leaps of the imagination, making novel connec-tions between seemingly disparate ideas, concepts or objects.• Intuition: Making decisions based on facts and fi gures is fi ne in many instances. But true innovation is more often born from that internal ‘know-ing’ ‒ the guiding force, sixth sense or gut feeling to follow one’s instincts, no matter how unconventional or illogical the direction.• Inventiveness: The ability to change the status quo requires an inquisitive passion for ‘tinkering’. True innovators possess the desire to arrange and rearrange ideas
or things in new and diff er-ent combinations.• Flexibility: The capac-ity to suspend judgment and embrace two (or more) seemingly con-
tradictory or unrelated
W ISA
viewpoints at the same time helps to create a dynamic tension that ultimately stimulates creative resolutions (solutions).• Persistence: All the creative talent in the world is of no value if you give up before the work is done. Persistence, which is the passion, willpower and enthusiasm to overcome setbacks and discourage-ment, allows innovative thinkers to keep trying new possibilities until success is achieved.Of course, there is no secret recipe for
innovation. It requires an ongoing com-mitment on the part of the individual to relentlessly pursue new, better ways of doing things and never accept anything less than the best possible outcome.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS CRUCIAL TO SUCCESSFUL PROJECT DELIVERY?Project governance infl uences project delivery in terms of cost, speed of com-pletion, quality and its fi nancial viability as it is critical in providing a clear organi-sational structure, eff ective decision-making structures and control processes. The success of the project is attributed to
an appropriate governance structure, en-abling the necessary reviews and adjust-ments to be made to render the project fi nancially viable and aff ordable. I believe that projects fail because of inadequate governance structures, which create con-fl icting priorities between stakeholders and complex decision-making processes with negative impacts on project deliv-erables such as cost and time.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? I intend to continue to contribute positively to Aurecon. I am interested in a creative and challenging work environ-ment that will best utilise my team build-ing and problem-solving skills. As I grow in my incoming and subsequent roles, I hope to bring others up the ladder/con-tribute to the personal and professional growth of the junior team members, pretty much like what the senior guys are doing for me. I want to be the employee that is remembered for the problems that became solutions and the unattain-able that became a reality. Maybe I will be somewhere in between, but I will be positioned as a long-term and valued employee. That's where I want to be.
ONE OF THE GREAT CHALLENGES FACING THE WATER INDUSTRY IS...The ever-changing water quality and dis-charge standards. How will water utilities meet these increasingly stringent stand-ards? Certainly new treatment, analytical and water delivery technologies are in development. But more importantly, who
About Mpho Ramphao• Born: In a rural village called Mamaila
(about 60 km from Tzaneen, and about 80 km from Polokwane in Limpopo province).
• Qualifi cations: BSc Civil Engineering, 2003, University of Cape Town (awarded with honours, a distinction only achieved by about 10% of civil engineering graduates).
• Obtained an MSc Engineering in 2004, specialising in water and wastewater treatment.
• Registered as a professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa in 2008.
• Passionate about: My family, my local church, my community and education.
• Enjoys: Jazz and classic music made in the mid-70s to early 80s.
9 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Aurecon provides engineering, management and specialist technical services for government and private sector clients globally. The group has been involved in projects that span multiple markets
to provide core engineering services as well as infrastructure asset management, organisational development and programme and project management.
Aurecon offers a comprehensive range of services in both water and sanitation. This includes surface and groundwater management, infrastructure provision and water and sewage utility services. We have actively addressed the needs of communities and cities, and developed skills that cover the technical, social and institutional aspects of providing water and sanitation services.
encompass the full range of issues that impact on business operations. Our expert team strives
solutions to clients. Aurecon also fosters job creation by focusing on core infrastructure development such as water, roads, electricity, sanitation and housing, which are aimed at revitalising and sustaining cities and towns.
For more information contact us at tel: +27 12 427 2000 or email: [email protected]
Integrated planning
development
Roads and transport
Solid waste
Water and electricity
Asset management
Disaster management
Advisory and management
Liveable cities, resilient communities
Services:
will participate in the many challenges that lie ahead in the water industry? Who will contribute to this massive public health eff ort that will aff ect their commu-nities, friends, and families?Staffi ng issues are of paramount im-
portance to every industry. Whether it's manufacturing, health care, technology or a service industry, recruiting and retaining qualifi ed staff is at the top of everyone's ‘to-do’ list.The water industry is no exception. In
the years to come, increasing numbers of qualifi ed staff will be necessary in the areas of operations, maintenance, water supply, engineering, information technol-ogy, customer service, fi nance and man-agement. But the water industry is more than just another sector of the economy. You're part of an industry that's responsi-ble for the very stuff of life ‒ water.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO KEEP ON GIVING BACK TO COMMUNITIES?I have discovered my greatest strengths in serving others. I truly believe in investing myself in the community that I come from or live in through community service. God
teaches us that “to whom much is given, much is required”, and as engineers, we have already been given a lot ‒ and it is our responsibility to give back to the com-munity, especially to those who have not been given the same opportunities we have. I am where I am today because oth-ers sacrifi ced their time for me and I fi nd it fi tting to do as they did.
WHAT ROLE DOES ENGINEERING PLAY IN EFFECTING POSITIVE CHANGE IN COMMUNITIES?Creating a sustainable world that pro-vides a safe, secure, healthy, productive and sustainable life for all people should be a priority for the engineering profes-sion. Engineers have an obligation to meet the basic needs of all humans for water, sanitation, food, health and energy, as well as to protect cultural and natural diversity. Improving the lives of the fi ve billion people, whose main con-cern is staying alive each day, is no longer an option; it is an obligation. Educating engineers to become facilitators of sustainable development, appropriate technology and social and economic
change represents one of the greatest challenges faced by the engineering profession today.
ONE OF LIFE’S GOALSWhen I retire from normal engineering work, I’d like to build a school. This school will invite teachers to contribute their expertise voluntarily because they see teaching as their calling; their vocation. A school where students are encouraged to use technology for learning in class (I learnt matric mathematics and physical science through videos at home!), where critiquing the teacher is accepted and where critiquing students is also accepted. Where the focus is on equality of opportu-nity rather than outcome; where diversity is celebrated. Where learning takes place, which means mistakes get made, and where making mistakes is encouraged.As part of the CESA Aon 2011 Young
Engineer of the Year award, Ramphao had the opportunity to attend the FIDIC Convention in Davos, Switzerland, from 2 to 5 October 2011 and will serve on CESA’s Young Professionals Forum (YPF) for the coming year.
W ISA
10 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
News
11 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
InternationalInternationalChinaINVESTMENT IN SOUTH-NORTH WATER DIVERSION PROJECT
(Xinhua) Shandong Province plans to invest 20.6 billion yuan (US$ 3.2 billion) in the construc-tion of the eastern route of the South-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project over the next two years, local authorities said.The investments will fund the construction of 11 water pro-jects along or near the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal that passes the province, according to the Shandong Administration for the SNWD project.The project s, expected to be completed in 2013, will bring water to drought-prone Shandong and Tianjin, a north-ern municipality, ensuring local demands for drinking, industrial and agricultural water are met.The SNWD Project that China has been working on consists of three routes ‒ eastern, middle and western. The eastern chan-nel will use the Grand Canal, the world’s longest artifi cial waterway, initially built 2 500 years ago. Shandong has been
building its part of the eastern route since 2002, completing investments of 12.5 billion yuan as of late September. Source: xinhuanet
Ireland£80 MILLION PROFIT DESPITE CRISIS
Filling up: at the height of the crisis 40 000 homes were off supply
Northern Ireland (NI) Water has made a profi t of £80 million in a year that saw the worst crisis in the company’s history.The profi t is up from £57 million in 2010 and comes despite a winter of severe discontent.At the height of the Christmas freeze, a million people phoned the NI Water helpline because of burst pipes and water problems.Thousands of people were left without water ‒ some for more than a week.The board’s chief executive Laurence MacKenzie resigned over his handling of the emergency. The utility regulator found that the company was not prepared to deal with the magnitude of the crisis.
As a result of recent profi ts, NI Water’s fi nance director Ronan Larkin said improve-ments could be made. “We are able to continue to deal with investment programmes in our water mains as well as our customer systems, seeking to make sure that we can deal with customer telephone calls in a better way than we had been able to deal with them back in December 2010.”As part of its operating structure, NI Water must pay a chunk of any profi t back to the Department for Regional Development. This year’s divi-dend to the tax payer is £36 mil-lion, which is £1million more than last year. It is understood that most of the remaining profi t will be reinvested back into the business. Source: BBC News
United Kingdom
The Science Museum, London recently conveyed a survey that revealed shocking results: Internet connection is more important to people than
clean drinking water. From the 50 things ranked in the survey, Facebook takes fi fth place.A total of 300 adults took part in the survey and answered the question of what the things they cannot live without are. The poll was conducted as part of Water Wars: Fight the Food Crisis ‒ the new exhibition placed in the museum. The exhibition was aimed at showing how important water is and that many people lack fresh water and cannot grow crops for this reason. This was outlined by technologies invented to work out the water defi cit.Surprisingly or not, the poll certainly showed how people take a lot of things for granted: and revealed how people are not only surrounded by, but obsessed with, material things they could easily live without, and do not dot realise which the really valuable things are ‒such as water or having a shower, for example.It is true that Facebook is the largest social network, with more than 750 million active users, but it is indeed ‘crazy’ (as the exhibition manager phrased it) to rank Internet connection, Facebook and e-mail among the top 10 things most important for a person to live.It seems having fresh drinking water is something that many
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of us take for granted, although it is becoming scarcer in many parts of the world. If you see how little water others have available to drink or grow food, you soon realise that it is fast becoming a luxury for millions.Exhibition manager of the museum, Sarah Richardson, said the following about the survey results: “In Britain we are obsessed by the weather, so it’s not surprising that sunshine was rated as the top thing we couldn’t live without.”The following fi gures show where water and sanitation ranked in the survey: 3rd: Clean drinking water; 9th: Flushing toilet; 13th: Shower; 34th: Bottled water.Source: PC1 News
CAMBRIDGE WATER SOLD
Cambridge Water has changed ownership again. The 150-year-old fi rm has been sold to South Staff ordshire plc, a company that runs another water supplier in Walsall.Cambridge Water was bought by Spanish energy giant Union
Fenosa in 1999. Five years later it was taken over by a Chinese company, CKI, and then in August this year, the HSBC bank took control of it on a ‘custodian’ basis.Now, HSBC has hammered out a deal with the Staff ordshire organisation, which as well as supplying water to parts of the West Midlands also owns a num-ber of other companies supplying services to the utilities sector.The acquisition is subject to an automatic referral to the Competition Commission. This is owing to South Staff ordshire’s ownership of another water sup-plier, South Staff s Water, which began trading in the same year as Cambridge Water, 1853.In a statement, Cambridge Water said “no staff changes are planned as a result of this change in ownership”. Customers’ charges are also fi xed for a fi ve-year period by Ofwat, the water services regula-tion authority, and the current price structure for Cambridge Water customers runs until the end of March 2015.Source: Cambridge News
United Arab EmiratesWORLD’S TOP WATER CONSUMERThe people of the UAE have emerged as the world’s largest
water consumers, with the average per capita consumption standing at 364 ℓ/day, nearly 82% above the global average individual demand, a UAE of-fi cial has said.Demand for water in the UAE totalled around 4.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2010 and is projected to almost double to 9 bcm in 2030 because of high consumption and population growth, said Mariam Hassan Al-Shanasi, undersecretary of the ministry of environment and water.In statements published in the semi-offi cial daily Alittihad, she estimated per capita water de-mand in the country at 364 ℓ/day, compared with a global average of nearly 200ℓ/day.“The UAE average is higher than the average demand in advanced countries with a similar climate and is far above the global average,” she said.Shanasi gave no reason for the high demand in the UAE but experts attribute it to the hot weather, rapid population growth, a steady expansion in most non-oil sectors and a lack of public awareness about water conservation.More than 70% of the UAE’s drinking water needs comes from costly seawater desalina-tion plants. “There is an urgent need to
stop the drainage of under-ground water resources, protect the country’s water and environ-ment systems and rationalise water consumption. We also need to curb the excessive use of water as this is adversely aff ecting our environment,” Shanasi said.Her fi gures showed the farm-ing sector consumer of water in the UAE sapping nearly 34% of the total demand. The housing and industrial sector accounts for about 32% and forestry for nearly 15%.Shanasi said groundwater resources provide nearly 51% of the UAE’s total water demand, while 37% comes from desalina-tion and 12% from water treat-ment facilities.She said the UAE has around 70 water desalination plants, accounting for 14 %of the world’s total production of desalinated water.“Costs of water production in the UAE stood at nearly Dh11.8 billion in 2010, an aver-age Dh7.16 per cubic metre,” she said.Source: Emirates 24/7
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For more than 65 years sera products have represented the highest measure of quality, safety and reliability in the treatment of drinking water, process water and wastewater.
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Dosing and feeding pumps Dosing systems and disinfection systems Process measuring and control technology Fittings and accessories Extensive pre- and after-sales service
12 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
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14 JULY/AUGUST 11
14 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
AfricaAfrica
South AfricaKILFOIL JOINS TGL’S WATER DIVISION
Graeme Kilfoil, who has been involved with wastewater treatment in sub-Saharan Africa for the past 20 years, has been appointed by Thuthuka Group Limited to manage its Water Treatment & Reclamation Division. In his previous positions, Kilfoil has led teams involved in the groundbreaking Sasol Landlord Project, which took cooling system blow-down wa-ter that was previously discard-ed to the river and treated it for industrial reuse. He was also involved in the recently signed Eskom Kusile water treatment project, in which ultra-pure water is produced for boiler
feed and potentially hazardous fl ue gas desulphuriser brine is taken to a dry salt for landfi ll disposal. This will be a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant. According to Kilfoil,“It is gen-erally acknowledged that South Africa, and indeed the whole area of sub-Saharan Africa, is deemed to be seriously water-stressed. Increasingly, there is a lot more emphasis being placed on recycling municipal as well as industrial wastewa-ter. Hopefully, the future is that both industrial and municipal water will be recycled onsite and municipal water recycled to achieve potable water status. Other countries at the forefront of desalination water treatment with successfully operational plants are Namibia and Singapore. Australia, with most of its population based on the coast and a fairly barren interior, has similar water issues to South Africa. It has com-pleted many major successful seawater desalination projects. In South Africa, where both the east and west coasts are water-stressed, the only viable solution would be seawater desalination.” “By far the hottest water and wastewater treatment topic currently, in South Africa and indeed globally, would
be acid mine water drainage. Optimally, we as a country need to access it and treat it by one or a combination of processes such as chemical precipitation, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis reversal, evapo-ration/crystallisation and ion exchange. The aim is to achieve potable water as well as con-verting the salts into saleable products such as gypsum or ingredients for fertilisers and explosives,” concludes Kilfoil. Source: Thuthuka Group Limited
90 YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
Justice Malala (guest speaker – political analyst) and Leon Furstenburg from Knight Piesold
This year, Knight Piésold Consulting is celebrating a milestone achievement ‒ its 90th anniversary. Founded in Johannesburg, South Africa, in April 1921, the company may be the oldest consulting engi-neering company in Southern
Africa, but is leading the way in a changing the business environment.To celebrate, the company hosted a special event for cli-entele, which was held early in September. With political analyst Justice Malala as guest speaker, the event was aimed at showcasing Knight Piésold’s contribution to the consulting engineering industry over the past 90 years and com-memorating the valuable role its clients have played in the company’s success.With a newly received Level 2 BBBEE status and involvement in multimillion rand projects such as the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme, Neckartal Dam Project and De Hoop Dam construction supervision, Knight Piésold Consulting continues with a bright and promising future.Knight Piésold is a consulting engineering company off er-ing specialist engineering, environmental and project management services to the mining, water, power and transportation sectors, comple-mented by extensive structural, hydrogeological, geotechnical and GIS expertise.Source: Knight Piesold Consulting
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15 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
ZambiaZAMTEL LAUNCHES WATER FOR LIFE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN
It is estimated that the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation costs the sub-region around 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) each year, and without strong and targeted action from govern-ments, donors and stakehold-ers, this inequality of access and the resulting poverty will continue to increase.Currently, only 31% of people in Africa have adequate access to good sanitation, despite sanitation and water being a recognised human right. This situation has a devastating
eff ect on health, education and the economic and social stand-ing of the poorest people.Diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery are usually linked to inadequate sanitation and are now recognised as the major killers of children in Africa.It is for this reason that Zambia Telecommunications (Zamtel) has launched a nationwide community water facility programme called Water for Life, which involves the sinking and repairing of boreholes in all of the country’s nine provinces to supplement the government’s eff orts.Zamtel offi cially started this programme recently by sinking the fi rst borehole in Mumbwa at BulunguBasic School, which had no water for many years and where pupils were forced to carry drinking water in containers from their homes.The communication com-pany is working in conjunction
with a leading telecommunica-tions company, Huawei, which has made a contribution of US$10 000 (about R71 350) to Zamtel to assist with its coun-trywide water programmes.At the recent offi cial launch, Zamtel managing director Hans Paulsen said the Water for Life programme was aimed at giving disadvantaged communities access to clean drinking water, with Bulungu Basic School being the fi rst to benefi t.He said the fi rst phase would cost the company K2 billion (approximately R2.9 million), which would also be accompanied by vigorous sensitisation campaigns and the distribution of containers in some areas to allow for easy carriage of the commodity.Paulsen said the idea to start the programme was arrived at after wide consultations as to which could be the best pro-gramme for the fi rm to embark
on as a way of ploughing back into the community and show-ing its appreciation for the use of its services.His company came up with many ideas but settled for the water project that would cushion government eff orts in ensuring that everyone has access to clean water."This investment is about do-ing something more than that which directly benefi ts the business. It is about changing lives for the better. We will also be giving out branded water carriers to residents; like here in Mumbwa we have given out 100 branded water carriers to the locals,'' he said.Paulsen said it was Zamtel's wish to make a real diff erence in the Zambian communities by providing access to clean water through the sinking of boreholes throughout the country. Source: Times of Zambia
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Now, as we celebrate 40 years of service in South Africa, we’d like to thank our customers who drive our innovations and the suppliers who help make them a reality. Most of all, we’d like to declare our continued and far-reaching commitment to the people and industries of South Africa. Commitment makes the best chemistry.
To find out more about Buckman Africa, contact your local Buckman representative at +27 (31) 736 8800 or [email protected]. We would be happy to provide case studies, answer questions, and become a real partner in your company’s growth.
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND TO TECROVEER’S ACQUISITION OF BECON WATERTECH?Gary Brown, managing director of Becon Watertech: Tecroveer has been in business for over 30 years, predomi-nantly in a specific range of wastewater treatment technology and solution supply. With the success and growth experienced by Tecroveer, the mo-mentum was created to expand on the range of solutions that we offer. Becon Watertech, as an established business with similar services offered to the mar-ket, provided complete compatibility with the established Tecroveer business, from which to expand the company’s presence in the market and to help fulfil the Tecroveer philosophy of providing ‘clean water for future generations’ to a larger proportion of Africa’s population with a wider range of solutions.
WHEN DID THE ACQUISITION TAKE PLACE?The official acquisition was 1 March 2011.
IS BECON WATERTECH NOW A SUBSIDIARY OF TECROVEER AND WILL THERE BE A NAME CHANGE?Gary Brown: Becon Watertech is wholly owned by Tecroveer, with no name change planned. We would like to retain the well-established Becon Watertech brand; after all, we developed the Becon Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) con-figuration from a grassroots level over 30 years ago and believe we have gone a long way towards establishing it as a reliable and proven technology within its market.
Clean water for future generationsA leading South African company that specialises in the design and construction of sewage treatment plants has recently acquired Becon Watertech. Debbie Besseling chats to the MDs of both companies.
LEFT Izak Cronje, director of Tecroveer and Becon Watertech and Gary Brown, managing director of Becon WatertechPi
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TELL US ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW COMPANY (I.E. SHAREHOLDERS) Zack van den Berg, managing director of Tecroveer: The company is not new: the core manufacturing personnel, material and quality of the manufactur-ing, as well as the design philosophy of the company, remain the same as held by Chris Bauman, the former owner. In this way we are hoping to have as little disruption as possible to the service provision in the transition of the busi-
ness under the ownership of Tecroveer. Some very important additions to the previous Becon structure are made as part of the Tecroveer Group, including additional services provided to clients, such as operation and maintenance of plants, as well as refurbishment of Becon and similar plants. In terms of leadership, Gary Brown, who has been directly involved in the wastewater treatment sector for over 20 years in terms of design, troubleshooting, opera-tion, maintenance and management of systems, has been appointed as MD for Becon Watertech. Izak Cronje, a fellow director of Tecroveer, has also been ap-pointed as director of Becon Watertech,
providing a supporting role from the Tecroveer Group.
GARY, YOU HAVE BEEN APPOINTED MD OF BECON WATERTECH. WHAT IS THE SUBSIDIARY’S MAIN AREA OF FOCUS COMPARED TO THAT OF TECROVEER?Gary Brown: Becon Watertech is of-fering a very similar service in the marketplace to that of Tecroveer, in that the planning, design, fabrication, assembly, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and manage-ment of the product are available to clients. The difference is just in the size of treatment capacity that is offered. The Becon Watertech sewage systems are very cost-effective in the flow range from 30m3/day up to about 300m3/day, while the Tecroveer design gains entry into the market at around 300m3/day, all the way up to 10Mℓ/day. So the focus for Becon Watertech is within that range of treatment capacity and is pretty much the same as before.
WHAT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES DOES THE ACQUISITION CREATE FOR THE COMPANY?Gary Brown: Research and development has been committed to at Tecroveer as a key function in terms of developing and improving on the range of technolo-gies available, so we will definitely be
doing something similar with the Becon Watertech system ‒ it is expected by Tecroveer. We see this as providing mas-sive inputs into establishing total solu-tions to the smaller communities and applications. In a way it also underscores Tecroveer’s commitment to provid-ing clean water for future generations and reinforces the need for successful companies to remain progressive. We foresee the introduction of some new clients and the expansion of services to our existing clients.Becon Watertech has also provided many systems in Africa, either as our conventional configuration, in contain-ers or skid mounted. We believe this will provide an opportunity to introduce the Tecroveer range into Africa as well.
TECROVEER WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1976. TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE COMPANY’S MILESTONES DURING THIS TIMEZack van den Berg: There have been many, going all the way back to the early days when my father Michael van den Berg started the company with Cliff Ramsdon in 1976, to today where Tecroveer has a proud 7CIDB M&E and CE grading and a healthy and enthu-siastic 80-odd employees. Tecroveer is a technology company focused on providing a sustainable solution to nature and clients through continual research and development. In terms of technology advances, we are the sole
Becon Watertech is wholly owned by Tecroveer, with no name change planned
19 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Prof i le
distributor across sub-Saharan Africa for the Volute Dehydrator, a fantastic piece of sludge dewatering and thickening technology that has been developed by AMCON in Japan. We are also the holders of the amazing PETRO process patent that improves the final effluent quality from oxidation pond systems dramatically, while also offering a very cost-competitive option in terms of the upgrade of pond systems. As mentioned previously, through our R&D we have also developed designs and methodolo-gies associated with our civil structures and mechanical equipment that make the Tecroveer designs competitive. To name a few of our patents: the pat-ented Transfer Mixer, which is a major highlight as it presents cost savings on electricity consumption as well as on infrastructure by acting as a transfer mechanism and mixes the liquid at the same time, and our patented pumping horizontal aerator.Our recent successful award and im-plementation of a ‘total solution for the Lonmin Mining Company' is undoubt-edly a highlight, as it has been one of our first successes in applying water reuse and water conservation/demand principles on a fairly significant scale.We have recently also engaged in and are experiencing growth in the areas of potable water treatment, mine and industrial water treatment and the man-agement of sludge and biomass, while technical management, including opera-tions and maintenance, appears to be an important support service. Another exciting achievement was the accreditation of West Bio laboratory, an-other partnership that complements the Tecroveer business and provides a wide variety of water and wastewater testing, mainly for our operation and main-tenance division, and which has also assisted some of our clients with their preparation and response to the Blue and Green Drop Certification initiative.
PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE BUSINESS OF TECROVEERZack van den Berg: The main focus of Tecroveer has always been to provide a turnkey solution to the client, resulting in sustainability as well as a cost-eff ective solu-tion, made in Africa for African conditions.
Some of the products in the range are horizontal and vertical aeration and dif-fused air. The manufacturing side of the business also expanded into the design and fabrication of various mechanical screens and degritting equipment, aera-tors for aeration basins and mechanical components for clarifiers. With the ongoing drive from our R&D programme we have realised the need for ourselves, our clients and for that matter all of us to start responding to the tell-tale signs of water scarcity. The Tecroveer family have all committed to ensuring that we make a difference, whether it is at the workplace or at home.We are now in a position to offer tech-nologies and solutions to a wide range of domestic wastewater applications in terms of effluent and sludge, potable water purification and industrial and mine water treatment. So the business has definitely trans-formed and we believe has risen to the challenge of providing sustainable, total solutions in ensuring that our future generations have clean water to help them live their dreams while reducing the impact these activities have on our natural water supplies.
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE WATER INDUSTRY FACE AND HOW CAN TECROVEER/BECON WATERTECH ASSIST IN OVERCOMING THESE CHALLENGES?Gary Brown: I think all of us who are involved in the water sector have seen the many challenges that we face on a
day-to-day basis. These include applying incomplete or inappropriate solutions to our challenges, shortcomings in the all-important fi nancial provision and management side, perhaps a little igno-rance at times and an inability to ensure that systems that are installed receive ad-equate or correct technical support from
a management perspective. The country is facing challenges in implementing our world-class set of regulations that took an enormous eff ort to compile while responding to the spiralling need for im-proved applications in the management of water and wastewater infrastructure. I am excited to see the positive responses and improvements that can be seen arising from the Blue and Green Drop certifi cation processes. I believe, though, that one of our biggest challenges, and this is across our water sector, is how best to broadcast this to the entire nation.Becon Watertech, together with the larger Tecroveer group, will continue to develop, provide and apply services and technologies in the water sector and across the broad range of public, pri-vate, mining, industrial and agriculture water users to support sector lead initia-tives in achieving their goals.
We are the sole distributor across sub-Saharan Africa for the Volute Dehydrator, a fantastic piece of sludge dewatering and thickening technology
In the newly-constructed Becon Watertech factory. From left: Clive Schaper, supervisor, Fanuel Magangana, mixer and Gary Brown, managing director
23 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
TECHNICAL PAPERPublic sector
Groundwater has not been per-ceived as an important water resource and has therefore been given limited attention in
South Africa. This is refl ected in general statistics, which show that only 13% of the nation’s total water supply originates from groundwater. A growing number of municipalities utilise groundwater on a regular basis and provide examples of successful management of this resource.
CONTEXT OF THE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKThe Groundwater Management Framework (GMF) is the result of a Water Research Commission-funded project on groundwa-ter management functions (WRC Report 1917/1/10).The GMF forms part of the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) framework and must be seen in the context of other relevant guidelines and activities, e.g.:• catchment management• water conservation and demand man-agement (WC/WDM)• waste management• wastewater management• water resource management• water resource planning• water service delivery.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK The National Water Act (NWA) (No. 36 of 1998) provides the legal framework for water resource management. It pre-scribes the use of the IWRM approach to ensure that all aspects of water resource management are considered. The NWA deals with the water resource; that is, rivers, streams, dams and groundwater. It contains rules about the way the water resource (surface and groundwater) is protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in an integrated manner. The act states that water is an
Groundwater management framework for municipalities This technical paper was presented at the recent International Groundwater Conference.By Dr K Riemann
indivisible national resource for which national government is the custodian. It further outlines the principles of using and managing this resource. With the promulgation of the NWA in 1998, groundwater lost its previous private water status and became public water. This has had enormous implica-tions for all users and important benefi ts
for municipalities as public users. It is now possible for municipalities to exploit groundwater resources, even where these can only, or best, be accessed on private land. The NWA provides for the establish-ment of catchment management agen-cies (CMAs) to manage and regulate all water resources in water management
areas (WMAs), as set out in the National Water Resource Strategy. Municipalities also have responsibilities that have an impact on water resource management (WRM), as shown in fi gure 1.The Water Services Act (No. 108 of 1997) deals mainly with water services, or potable (drinkable) water, and sanita-tion services supplied by municipalities to households and other municipal water users. It contains rules about how
F IGURE 1 Water resource management functions between CMA and municipality (WIN-SA, 2009)
Only 13% of the nation’s total water supply originates from groundwater
24 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Public sector
municipalities should provide water supply and sanitation services. The act defi nes the municipal functions of ensuring water services provision and sets out guidelines for water services au-thorities (WSAs), as well as water services providers (WSPs). Paragraph 4 of the Water Services Act sets out the conditions under which a WSP can operate, while paragraph 11 describes the duties of the WSA. The roles and responsibilities of the WSA and WSP in terms of water resource manage-ment are not explicitly stated but can be inferred from their diff erent roles in the provision of water services.
DWA GUIDELINES ‒ INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENTA number of guidelines for groundwater management have been developed internationally and for the South African context. The most relevant for the pur-pose of this study are the NORAD toolkit (DWAF, 2004), the WRC Guidelines for the monitoring and management of
groundwater resources in rural water supply schemes (Meyer, 2002) and the DWA Guideline for the Assessment, Planning and Management of Groundwater Resources in South Africa (DWAF, 2008). Other documents include water quality management protocols, minimum standards, the Framework for a National Groundwater Strategy (DWAF, 2007), the National Water Resources Strategy (DWAF, 2004), the Guidelines for Catchment Management Strategies towards Equity, Sustainability and Effi ciency (DWAF, 2007) and regional groundwater plans, as well as selected national and international articles and publications on groundwater manage-ment aspects.The DANIDA guideline (DWAF, 2004) outlines the principles of groundwater management in the context of IWRM. The main authorities involved in ground-water management include:• Department of Water Aff airs (DWA) ‒ responsible for national legislation and planning, the development of a national groundwater resource policy, regulation and monitoring and provi-sion of support to other water resource institutions.
• CMAs ‒ responsible for water resource management within their water man-agement area.• Water user associations (WUAs) ‒ responsible for function at a lo-cal level, representing individual water users and providing vehicles for public participation.The Guideline for the Assessment, Planning and Management of Groundwater Resources in South Africa (DWAF, 2008) intends to assist in the sustainable development, protection and management of groundwater resources and in achieving the overall goal of IWRM within the department. Management of ground water resources relates to the sustainable use and development of these resources. The guideline describes the manage-ment principles at national, CMA and site-specifi c level. Management of water resources is facilitated through water allocation and water use authorisation. Management at site-specifi c level entails, among others, maintenance and control,
monitoring and measurement, data management and reporting and auditing and management of impacts. Review of compliance with water use authorisa-tion conditions is undertaken at the catchment level, as well as managing the cumulative impact of water user groups on the system. The auditing of compli-ance with strategic goals and reviews is undertaken at national level.These IWRM and groundwater-specifi c strategies, guidelines and frameworks fi t into the overarching proposed GMF, de-scribing specifi c aspects of the ground-water management. The following guidelines are considered most relevant and become an integral part of the GMF:• NORAD Toolkit (DWAF, 2004)• Guideline on Assessment, Planning and Management (DWAF, 2008)• WIN-SA Guidelines • DANIDA IWRM Framework• South African Water Quality Guidelines• Minimum Requirements for Waste Sites• IWRM Plan Guideline.The current defi nitions of WRM, and more specifi cally groundwater manage-ment, vary signifi cantly and are not con-sistent throughout the legal framework and guidelines.
For the development of the GMF, a comprehensive defi nition of ground-water management has been applied. This defi nition includes all of the following aspects:• aquifer protection• groundwater quality management• groundwater remediation• groundwater assessment• groundwater monitoring• wellfi eld planning and design • wellfi eld operation and maintenance.These diff erent aspects of ground-water management relate to two main categories:• aquifer protection• aquifer utilisation.
MANAGEMENT Management is the ‘process of lead-ing and directing all or part of an organisation through the deployment and application of resources (hu-man, fi nancial, material, intellectual or intangible)'. (Wikipedia). Hence, management in all business and human organisation activity is simply the act of getting people to-gether to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organising, staffing, leading or directing and controlling an organisation or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. The principles of management have been expanded and applied to other forms of organisations, specifi c areas within a business (e.g. human resource manage-ment, risk management, operations management), personal behaviour (e.g. self management, time management), natural resources (e.g. land management, water resource management), etc.
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONSManagement operates through various functions. The business management schools normally distinguish between four and seven basic management func-tions, of which the four most important are planning, organising, leading/moti-vating and controlling:• Planning: deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next fi ve years, etc.) and generating action plans.• Organising (implementation): making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans.
The National Water Act (NWA) (No. 36 of 1998) provides the legal framework for water resource management
25 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
• Staffi ng (part of organising): job analy-sis, recruitment and hiring people for appropriate jobs.• Leading/directing: determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it.• Motivating (part of leading): the process of stimulating an individual to take action that will accomplish a desired goal.• Controlling/monitoring: checking pro-gress against plans, which may need modifi cation based on feedback.Planning is the ongoing process of developing the business’s mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. This management function comprises the overarching strategic planning for the organisation and includes:• defi ning a mission statement• defi ning business objectives• setting goals• developing a plan of action.Organising is the management func-tion that usually follows planning and involves the allocation of tasks, the grouping of tasks into departments and the assignment of authority and alloca-tion of resources across the organisation. In order to reach the objectives outlined in the planning process, structur-ing the work of the organisation is a vital concern. Part of the organising function is staff -ing, which involves hiring staff with the required skills and qualifi cations, setting
up training for the employees, where required, acquiring technical resources and organising the work group into a productive team. Directing is infl uencing people’s behav-iour through motivation, communica-tion, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. The purpose of directing is to channel the behaviour of all personnel to accomplish the organisation’s mission and objectives, while simultaneously helping them accomplish their own ca-reer objectives. Those in leadership roles must be able to infl uence/motivate workers to understand and achieve the overarching goal and follow the duties or responsibilities assigned during the plan-ning process.These four management functions are the building blocks for all types of management. They form an ongoing cycle of management, as the results of ‘controlling’ may require changes to objectives (planning), changes in organi-sational structure (organising), changes in personnel (staffi ng) or changes in interpersonal relationships (directing), as indicated in fi gure 2.
STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMEWORKThe GMF provides a guideline for optimal incorporation and integration of the management functions into the munici-pal structure. The framework is designed to be applicable at local level responsibil-ity, i.e. WSA, WSP and WUA. The diff erent aspects of groundwater
management, as defi ned above, relate to two main categories:• aquifer protection• aquifer utilisation.In addition, there are two overarch-ing and supporting categories that
are relevant to successful groundwater management:• monitoring, data management and evaluation • valuation of groundwater source.The overall structure of the GMF is shown in fi gure 3.The framework describes each cat-egory separately and in accordance with the diff erent aspects, associated tasks and assigned responsibilities of the relevant institutions.The ‘Aquifer Protection’ category in-cludes all activities required to protect the aquifer from deterioration in water quality and reduction in aquifer recharge, as well as to rehabilitate an aquifer with respect to its water quality, irrespective of whether the aquifer is utilised or not. Therefore, the relevant sub-categories are:• land use planning • remediation.The ‘Aquifer Utilisation’ category includes all activities required to ensure that groundwater use is sustainable and that groundwater use impacts are avoided or mitigated. The activities are:• groundwater assessment• wellfi eld operation and maintenance.All categories and sub-categories require data collection and ongoing monitoring. These activities must be structured and co-ordinated in such a way that monitor-ing data can be utilised for its intended purposes. The monitoring-related ac-tivities are described under the following sub-categories:• monitoring requirements• data collection• data analysis• data management.The economic aspect of sustainable groundwater management is of impor-tance to the local authority. A framework for the valuation of the groundwater re-source is provided, which feeds into both categories and their sub-categories.
Public sector
FI GURE 2 Review and revise cycle of management functions
27 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
CONCLUSIONSThe GMF, proposed in this document, is an overarching guideline that brings the diff erent components of groundwater management together and fi lls the gaps in these guidelines. The case studies em-phasise the main factors of success:• appropriate technology for groundwa-ter monitoring and management• scientifi c support from external con-sultants (on request)• effi cient management structure• committed staff • adequate funding mechanism.The main elements of the framework are:• Defi nition and grouping of all as-pects of groundwater management,
including aquifer protection, wellfi eld development and O&M and monitoring.• Linking the aspects of groundwater management to the legal framework of the National Water Act and the Water Services Act.• Defi nition of management func-tions with respect to groundwater management.• Roles and responsibilities of local government offi cials for the diff erent aspects of groundwater management.• Detailing of the complete monitoring and feedback cycle for sustainable groundwater management.• Development of a framework and
methodology to establish the value of the groundwater resource.• Outline and example of a groundwater management plan.The trial implementation of the frame-work in the Overstrand Municipality in terms of the Hermanus and Stanford case studies showed that the split between the WSA and WSP function within the municipality supports the groundwater management responsibilities, especially if both functions are involved in the well-fi eld planning.
RECOMMENDATIONSThe framework has proven to be of great signifi cance for local government in terms
Public sector
TABLE 1 Water institutions responsible for aspects of groundwater managementDWA/ DEA CMA LM/DM WSA WSP WUA Water user/polluter
Aquifer protection
Land use planning X X X
Waste management Reg X
Effl uent quality management Reg X
Groundwater remediation Reg X
Groundwater monitoring X (X) X X
Aquifer utilisation
Groundwater assessment X
Licensing X (X)
Wellfi eld planning and design X (X)
Wellfi eld operation and maintenance X X
Groundwater monitoring X X X
Reg = Regulator X = Main responsibility (X) = Input, partial responsibility
F IGURE 3 GMF with categories, sub-categories and main tools
28 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
of understanding their responsibilities and required actions in groundwater manage-ment. Hence, it is of utmost importance to introduce municipalities to this framework and train the relevant offi cials in using the guidelines to achieve sustainable ground-water management. Furthermore, it is strongly suggested that the DWA adopt this framework as an overarching guide-line and incorporates the suite of existing guidelines into the framework. The following future work is recom-mended to support the above sugges-tions and achieve successful implementa-tion of the framework:• Implement framework in local government.• Train municipal offi cials in elements of the framework and guidelines.• Update DWA Guideline for Assessment and Management to incorporate details of the levels of assessment and planning.• Develop a guideline for monitoring data handling, including processing, quality control, storage and sharing of data.• Develop a guideline for adaptive
management (monitor ‒ model ‒ manage).• Refi ne valuation methodology to include ecosystems and aquifer characteristics.
K RIEMANNUmvoto Africa, PO Box 61, Muizenberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South AfricaEmail: [email protected].
REFERENCES• Government of South Africa, 1998. South African National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998). Government Gazette Volume 398.• Government of South Africa, 1997. South African Water Services Act (No. 108 of 1997). Government Gazette Volume 390.• Department of Water Aff airs and Forestry, 2004. Guidelines for Groundwater Resources Management in Water Management Areas, South Africa: Integrated Water Resource Management Strategies, Guidelines and Pilot Implementation in Three Water Management Areas, South
Africa ‒ Produced under: The DANIDA Assisted Programme.• Department of Water Aff airs and Forestry, 2004. A Framework for Groundwater Management of Community Water Supply. Produced under: The NORAD-Assisted Programme for the Sustainable Development of Groundwater Sources under the Community Water and Sanitation Programnme in South Africa. Pretoria.• Department of Water Aff airs and Forestry, 2008. A Guideline for the Assessment, Planning and Management of Groundwater Resources in South Africa, Edition 1. Pretoria.• Riemann, K, D. Louw, N. Chimboza & M. Fubesi (2011). Groundwater Management Framework. WRC Report No. 1917/1/11. Water Research Commission South Africa, Pretoria.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe fi nancial support of the Water Research Commission of South Africa and the contribution of the Project Reference Group throughout the study are much appreciated.
Public sector
29 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
MOSSEL BAYProject
South Africa’s award-winning seawater desalination plant
The 15 Mℓ Mossel Bay Seawater Desalination Project, the largest in South Africa, was a winning project at the CESA Aon Awards 2011, in the category ‘Projects with a value between R50 and R250 million’.
The municipality embarked on an emergency desalination project that would provide 15 Mℓ/d of treated seawater – 10 Mℓ/d to the municipal domestic supply and 5 Mℓ/d to PetroSA
Owing to the worst drought in 150 years, dams serving the Mossel Bay municipal area reached critically low levels, and by the latter part of
2009 the region was declared a disaster area. The municipality was compelled to turn to innovative water sources to augment the rapidly diminish-ing existing ones. The municipality embarked on an emergency desalination project that would provide 15 Mℓ/d of treated seawater ‒ 10 Mℓ/d to the municipal domestic supply and 5 Mℓ/d to PetroSA. This was to relieve the stress on the raw water supply from the Wolwedans Dam. The plant was commissioned in May 2010, with a target completion date of November 2010. The very condensed timeline necessitated the execution of the design, tender and construc-tion stages largely in parallel to ensure the
earliest possible completion, in order to avert an impending catastrophe.
THE DESALINATION PLANT AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTUREThe Mossel Bay desalination plant has been de-signed to produce 15 Mℓ/d (625 m3/h average) of permeate over a 24-hour cycle (operating approximately 20 hours in every 24-hour cycle),
which will be pumped to the two users. In order to achieve this production volume, approximate-ly 37.5 Mℓ/d of seawater will be abstracted from
ABOVE This aerial shot shows the extent of the desalination plant and its proximity to the PetroSA storage facilities
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the ocean, of which 22.5 Mℓ/d will be returned as brine. The seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) de-salination plant comprises all the structures and infrastructure located within the main site and includes the various SWRO plant components.
BUFFER TANKSThe plant makes use of a number of buffer tanks, which are used to provide approximately 20 minutes of buffer capacity on all water feeds. This buffering capacity is a safety mechanism and provides protection from unforeseen events, such as, inter alia, power outages or accidental chemical overdosing, ensuring that the operators have time to respond to a situation before harm comes to the environment, the equipment or the quality of potable water sent out. The following
buffer tanks have therefore been established:• a 600 m3 concrete seawater intake buffer tank• a 600 m3 concrete permeate buffer tank• a 600 m3 concrete brine buffer tank.
SWRO TRAINSThe Mossel Bay SWRO plant employs six 104.2m3/d reverse osmosis (RO) units or trains.
The trains are manufactured at an offsite factory and are ready to operate on arrival on site, only requiring tie-in with the various pipework and electrical systems.
CLEAR-WATER PUMP STATIONSThree clear-water pump stations are positioned side by side and located to the north-west of the buffer tanks and comprise a brick and mor-tar structure with a corrugated iron roof. The pump stations will house the six pumps that will pump clear water from the plant into the municipal and PetroSA clear-water pipelines, as well as back to the plant for domestic and plant maintenance purposes.
INTAKE PUMP STATIONThe intake pump station is a steel-reinforced cement structure (footprint of 17 m by 10 m) located on Dias Beach1, and has been recessed approximately 10 m into the side of the primary dune. The foundation level of the pump station is approximately 1 m above mean sea level (MSL).
The Mossel Bay SWRO plant employs six 104.2 m3/d reverse osmosis (RO) units or trains
ABOVE The Mossel Bay SWRO plant, seen here during construction, employs six 104.2 m3/d reverse osmosis (RO) units or trains
BELOW Foundations underway for the intake pump station
Project
Serving our living environment
The intake pump station is placed in this position to ensure that seawater can be efficiently abstracted and pumped up to the desalination plant, increasing the overall electrical efficiency of the plant and reducing operational costs.
SEAWATER INTAKE SYSTEMThe large volume of water required for the Mossel Bay desalination plant neces-sitates a direct abstraction approach, as opposed to the beach well abstraction methodology employed for the smaller SWRO plants established in nearby municipalities. To achieve a 15 Mℓ/d production capacity, approximately 35 Mℓ/d of seawater will be abstracted from the ocean.The seawater intake pipeline comprises an 880 m long x 900 mm O/D HDPE pipeline that runs from the intake pump station off shore, along the seabed and to the south of Seal Island. The pipeline is weighted to the ocean fl oor by means of 2.7 t concrete weight collars, positioned at 4 m intervals along the length of the pipeline. The abstraction point has been
located 725 m off shore, just south of Seal Island, where it enjoys a less turbu-lent ocean, which serves to reduce the volume of suspended solids that could potentially be imported into the plant. The intake structure is made up of three vertical intake towers, abstracting water between 2.0 m and 3.0 m above the seabed.
BRINE DISCHARGE SYSTEMThe Mossel Bay desalination plant requires an offshore direct discharge approach because the volume of brine is too excessive to be effectively dissipated through the beach sand. Of the approximately 35 Mℓ/d of sea-water that will be abstracted from the ocean, about 18 Mℓ/d will be returned to the sea as concentrated seawater or brine. The brine (which is approximately 1.85 times the saline concentration of seawater) will be mixed with the DM filter backwash before being returned to the ocean, resulting in a final estimated brine concentration of about 1.69 times that of ambient salinity.
CLEAR-WATER DELIVERY SYSTEMTwo clear-water pipelines depart from the SWRO plant, one destined for PetroSA and one for the Mossel Bay wa-ter supply reservoirs. The PetroSA clear-water pipeline is a 150 m long x 500 mm OD HDPE pipe that departs from the PetroSA clear-water pump station, crosses the depot road and enters the existing PetroSA tank farm site. From there, the pipeline connects with an existing water supply pipeline connecting the tank farm with the PetroSA GTL refinery. This pipeline will deliver 5 Mℓ/d at an average flow rate of 69.4 ℓ/s. The municipal rising clear-water pipeline is a 2.250 m long x 500 mm diameter class 16 HDPE pipeline, which will deliver 10 Mℓ/d of clean water at an average flow rate of 138.8 ℓ/s to the existing Langeberg municipal reservoirs.
RO DESALINATION PLANTThe desalination plant for Mossel Bay is a single pass RO system consisting of six 2.5 Mℓ/d RO modules. The feed
31 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
32 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Project
water abstraction and the disposal of concen-trate (brine) will be achieved by direct abstrac-tion from the sea intake structure, a pipeline that will be pumped by a seawater abstraction pump station and the final disposal of brine from a pipeline into a diffuser structure in the sea.The production of 15 Mℓ/d of potable water from the plant requires the supply of more than twice that amount of raw seawater, with approxi-mately 40% being harvested as product and 60% being returned to the sea as concentrate (brine).
INTAKE SYSTEMThe quantity of water required is based on the 15 Mℓ/d of freshwater derived from 40% of the in-take flow. The intake volume in cubic metres per day is therefore: 15 000 m3/40% = 37.5M ℓ/d.
Operating with three intake pumps to allow for modularisation of the plant requires a minimum delivery of 595 m3/h per pump.
PRE-TREATMENTThe objective of pre-treatment is to prevent membrane fouling. An accumulation of foreign substances on the surface of a membrane will result in a loss of flux (the rate of flow through the membrane material). Higher operating pres-sures will then be required to maintain water production and quality, resulting in higher energy consumption.
The professional team
• Mossel Bay Municipality: Client and co-funder• PetroSA: Client and co-funder• SSI Engineers and Environmental
Consultants: Desalination plant and overall project managers
• MVD Consulting Engineers (Southern Cape): Mossel Bay Municipality pump main and pump station
design build and operate contractor• M&R Marine: Marine works (intake pipeline
with structures and brine discharge pipeline with structures)
• Urwhebo-E-Transand: Civil sub-contractor for plant and marine works
• Henra: Civil contractor for municipal pump main and pump station
• VE Reticulation: Bulk electrical supply contractor
BELOW The seawater intake pipeline is weighted to the ocean fl oor by means of 2.7 t concrete weight collars, positioned at 4 m intervals along the length of the pipeline. A cofferdam was fabricated to allow installation of the pipeline through the surf zone
ABOVE The seawater intake pipeline comprises an 880 m long x 900 mm O/D HDPE pipeline that runs from the intake pump station on shore, along the seabed and to the south of Seal Island, seen here in the distance
Project
The pre-treatment in the plant consists of chemical dosing (if and when re-quired), sand fi ltration and microfi ltration or ultrafi ltration.
RO DESALINATION SYSTEMNormal seawater temperatures on the southern coast vary between 16 and 21°C, and the total dissolved solids (TDS) of seawater is typically in the order of 35.000 mg/ℓ. The pH of seawater is slightly alkaline, between 7.5 and 8.5.The Mossel Bay RO plant is designed to recover approximately 40% of the incom-ing water as product water. The plant operates at pressures between 63 and 65 bar and has an allowance for increas-ing the pressures as the membranes get older. The membrane replacement inter-val is approximately fi ve to seven years.
POST-TREATMENTThe objective of post-treatment is to ensure that the product water is safe to drink and non-corrosive. The product water from the plant will have a TDS gen-erally less than 300 mg/ℓ and a pH of
33 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
approximately 6, and will require limited post-treatment to correct the pH.In the plant, disinfection will be achieved by the addition of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and the correct pH maintained by the controlled dosing of hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2). These are nor-mal water treatment processes and will
provide water that is suitable for immedi-ate consumption.
BRINE DISPOSALIn this plant, the brine (60% of the feed water) would have a salinity of ±60 000 ppm (seawater is 36 000 ppm) and a density of 1 044 kg/m3(seawater density is 1 025 kg/m3). Approximately 22.5 Mℓ/d of brine will be generated at full capacity.This is to be dispersed at a location ap-proximately 500 m inshore of the intake at a depth of -7 CD in an area with a
sandy bottom with little marine growth.The brine is to be discharged with a ver-tical velocity of 9 m/s or more through 19 diff user ports installed onto a pressurised 630 mm HDPE pipeline to ensure rapid mixing of the brine plume and to ensure that no stratifi cation occurs with the higher density brine. All infrastructure is
installed underground with no aesthetic impact and will be corrosion resistant with long life expectancy.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCEThe plant is a high-tech installation that requires correct operation and maintenance (O&M). Initially the O&M of the plant is to be carried out by the design build and operate contractor for a three-year fi xed-term period that can be extended to 20 years, while training and capacity building of municipal staff is also a long-term objective.
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The Mossel Bay RO plant is designed to recover approximately 40% of the incoming water as product water
34 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Prof i leWRC
YOU HAVE JOINED THE WATER RESEARCH COMMISSION (WRC) AT AN EXCITING TIME AS THE ORGANISATION HAS JUST CELEBRATED 40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS PRESTIGIOUS OCCASION?It is always an exciting time - I subscribe to the view that there aren’t people in history that have lived in uninteresting times. But, on the back of an organi-sation that has been publically acknowledged for what it does, it makes it an even better time. I fi nd it a privilege to be at the helm of an organisation that is well regarded in the sector and in the national system of innovation.
BRIEFLY TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS THE WATER SECTOR SPECIFICALLY.After studying, I went to work as a practitioner in an academic institution - the University of Cape Town. I subsequently worked as a medical scientist at the Red Cross Children’s hospital, which I found incredibly rewarding. From there, I was involved in
Leading research and innovation in the water sectorAt a cabinet meeting held on 10 August, it was announced that Dhesigen Naidoo has been appointed chief executive offi cer of the Water Research Commission. Debbie Besseling speaks to Naidoo about his new role.
MissionThe WRC is a dynamic hub for water-centred knowledge, innovation and intellectual capital. We provide leadership for research and development through the support of knowledge creation, transfer and application. We engage stakeholders and partners in solving water-related problems which are critical to South Africa’s sustainable development and economic growth, and are committed to promoting a better quality of life for all.
VisionTo be a globally recognised leader in providing innovative solutions for sustainable water management to meet the changing needs of society and of the environment.
Values• Service orientation • Care for people, society and the environment • Fairness to all • Dedication to quality • Integrity and ethical behaviour • Respect for human and individual rights • Innovation and learning.
the National Research and Technology Foresight project (NRTF), which I hold very dear. The NRTF project, in many ways, can claim to be the funda-mental planning platform of the entire science sys-tem in this ‘new’ South Africa. It was run between 1996 and 1998, and its recommendations gave rise
to a range of institutional and policy developments in our system. I went from there into a practitioner’s space inside the Department of Water Aff airs. It was there that I took the research planning knowledge that I had acquired and combined it with the knowledge of actually developing a system. I then moved into the broader environmental arena and then back into the fi eld of science and technology and most recently held the position of director of research at the University of Pretoria.So, in many ways, this thread has run continu-ously through my career, which has allowed me
to benefi t from a mix of experiences and exposures and develop a manage-ment toolbox that I hope to be able to use in the WRC.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR CAREER?A highlight for me in the water sector was developing the Water Conservation and Demand Strategy for what was then Department of Water Aff airs and Forestry (DWAF), and subsequently developing the
DWAF unit that drove that strat-egy. And it was an important time; the time following the passing of the National Water Act and the devel-oping of the fi rst version of the Water Resources Strategy. And a time when there was a vibrant debate
I’ve had the privilege of having a career where I have been able to engage and interact with extraordinary people
35 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Prof i le
around whether or not water conserva-tion and demand management could be a meaningful intervention around the organising of greater water availability because there was a large body of plan-ning folk who thought that infrastructure development was the only way. We now have a much more integrated outlook. We depend on new infrastructure and devel-opment, on new dams and new inter-ba-sin transfer schemes, etc. But, equally we organise ourselves around a lot of eff ort in the areas of water conservation as well as demand management. Another highlight for me through my career has been in the international arena, in particular being part of the team that put together South Africa’s successful hosting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. And at the time I had the privilege of being the national policy coordinator for South Africa for the sum-mit. I think we ought to be really proud of our accomplishments as South Africans around that event. But, even more so, was the very diffi cult international political en-vironment where there was huge pressure around minimising what could happen in the summit in terms of discussing sustain-able development issues, in the space of just one year after 11 September 2001, we still managed to organise an ambitious agenda around sustainable development. And the declaration is now used as a refer-ence point in the current climate change negotiations about the right pathway to sustainable development. And I think that was an incredible achievement.The third achievement that I would consider as one of my career highlights has a completely diff erent dimension and is about organising for South Africa to be a preferred destination for science and technology in the world. And South Africa was back then, and still is now, a new entrant into this fi eld. Back in the 1990’s South Africa was seen as being very iso-lated in the international scientifi c world. And what we managed to do in 2006, through some very clever strategy and lots and lots of international ‘wheeling and dealing’, was to get an incredible interna-tional organisation called the International Center for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (ICGEB) to have its third inter-national laboratory in South Africa. This has undoubtedly raised the profi le of science in South Africa and Africa. Secondly, what it has achieved is to inter-nationalise the scientifi c agenda in that domain for South African science. The
well as disseminated. And these are sepa-rate sciences in their own right.
HOW DOES THE WRC PROMOTE THEIR SERVICE OFFERINGS, I.E. RESEARCH REPORTS AND OTHER INFORMATION TO ENSURE THAT IT REACHES THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE WATER SECTOR?This is a continuous process. One of the criticisms is that the WRC can do more to make its knowledge available. Whilst the WRC has some very sophisticated mecha-nisms to disseminate its knowledge, we will need to review what we are doing in this domain. And having observed what the WRC is doing from the outside, my opinion is that we are doing well, but if we can do it better then we must.
CAN WE EXPECT ANY NEW AREAS OF FOCUS?The WRC is already well-regarded by South Africa’s water institutions and is acclaimed by some as the sector leader in research. This is a very useful platform on which to begin. We need to ensure that this valuable national asset is maintained so that our ability to continue to serve in this role is maintained. The new areas are guided by the strong need to accelerate the development trajectory of the coun-try. To do this, the WRC plans to facilitate a much broader dialogue on what the Water Sector Research and Development agenda should be. This is a dialogue that will involve the knowledge producers, knowledge users and decision makers. The second area of work is to make water knowledge much more accessible to users. We want to do this in two ways. We will engage in a much more targeted strategy to re-formulate and re-package new scientifi c knowledge in a manner that allows them to become important compo-nents of practitioner toolkits. The second mechanism is to develop and implement a robust technology transfer strategy so that our growth path is enhanced by higher levels of water knowl-edge in practice. I look forward to the robust interactions that we plan to have with wa-ter sector participants in this regard.
For further information on the WRC, contact:Tel: +27 (0)12 330 0340Website: www.wrc.org.za
third thing is that it has achieved is to ele-vate a number of scientists from the South African national system of innovation to international status at a fairly rapid pace. This is a terrifi c example of something that has been catalytic around developing a system.So I would count those three items as some of the highlights of my career, but to me the biggest highlight throughout my career to-date has been simply meeting incredible people, people who at the top echelons of the science system have made themselves available to develop things at the most basic level.So I’ve had the privilege of having a career where I have been able to engage and interact with extraordinary people and my plan is to continue to do just that for the benefi t of the system for as long as I’m able to.
HOW IS THE WRC STRUCTURED?The structure of the WRC is focused around fi ve key strategic areas, being:• Water-centred knowledge• Water resource management• Water-linked ecosystems• Water use and waste management• Water utilisation in agriculture.This is a structure that works very well for the system. To have in-house expertise in guided portfolios really helps to move along the water research agenda of the country. To have these headed up by some very talented individuals is a fantastic benefi t.
HOW EXACTLY IS THE RESEARCH THAT IS UNDERTAKEN BY THE WRC IDENTIFIED AND FUNDED?The process that is currently used is a sound process. The WRC takes its signal from various quarters, being the ministry and the Department of Water Aff airs (DWA), in terms of what the knowledge needs are at a particular time and as expressed by the research sector. It takes a view on what capacity exists in the research sector to undertake the types of research that has been identifi ed. Based on those parameters, it goes through a strate-gic process on a year-by-year basis, as well as a multi-year basis. Through the board of the WRC a submission is made to the min-ister. The minister then approves the stra-tegic plan for a certain period of time. For the fi rst time this year there will be a fi ve year planning cycle. Long-term planning is critical, because of the manner in which the knowledge needs to be generated as
36 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
INFRASTRUCTUREAfrica
The refurbishments to the sys-tems are set to make a mean-ingful difference in the lives of ordinary, hard-working citizens
of Botswana.Gaborone’s sewerage systems have been strained for some time. As can be expected, human activity, industrial waste, agricultural run-off, municipal dumping and oil spills all have a nega-tive effect on water supplies. Owing to rapid growth in the capital, the capacity of its existing bulk sewerage infrastruc-ture will soon be exceeded.According to project manager Vernon Joubert, “The project involves the decommissioning of certain pump sta-tions, refurbishment and construction of other pump stations and construction of trunk and main sewers in Gaborone to provide capacity up to the plan-ning horizon of 2030. Furthermore, we are tasked with the sewering of some 6 000 remaining self-help housing area (SHHA) plots, which currently run on septic tanks.”Recently, African Consulting Engineers, known as ACE, was rebranded as ACE GIBB to become part of the GIBB port-folio. In a 2008 joint venture with Pula
Gaborone sewerage upgradesHalfway through ACE GIBB’s massive project to upgrade Gaborone’s sewerage, an update from the front line is that the project is geared for success.
Consultants, it was appointed by the Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control as consulting engineer to plan, design and supervise construc-tion of the Upgrading of Gaborone Sewerage Reticulation Project. The three-year project is contracted to China Jiangsu International Botswana. Shalini Dube, GIBB project co-coordinator, handles the day-to-day project management. “Our relationship with Pula Consultants is an especially welcome development. When govern-ment initiated the project, it was im-portant that it drove Botswana’s citizen empowerment goals. The project is so much more than simply laying down sewering: it’s about transforming com-munities, providing opportunities and addressing the needs of the future. We’re proud to be working with Pula as a local empowerment partner.” Pula Consultants, formed in 1998, is a leading and expanding consulting engineering company dealing mainly in structural design and construction supervision. It is 100% citizen owned.Referring to the pollution that has also become a problem in the SHHA commu-nities in Broadhurst, Dube says: “There is
a need to reduce groundwater pollution from septic tank effluent in order to make safer and healthier community liv-ing. Overall improvement of water qual-ity will also, more importantly, establish Gaborone as a more viable investment destination. It will be cleaner, safer and self-sustainable.”ACE GIBB is proud of its strategic involvement in bringing about these changes to the water systems in Botswana’s largest city. With the back-ing of GIBB, it is able to tackle any engineering challenge, Dube maintains, and is looking towards expanding its construction expertise and consulting capabilities into Africa. “This project, with a value of approximately R1 billion, is a strong example of the company’s approach to solving Africa’s infrastruc-tural challenges in innovative ways. In this case, it’s about creating water that works for the city and its people.”Initially, the completed project was to be handed over to the Gaborone City Council; however, the responsibil-ity for sewerage systems has recently been overtaken by the parastatal Water Utilities Corporation, in line with recommendations from the N ational Water Master Plan Review. During the construction stages of the project, locals will also benefit from employ-ment opportunities in different areas of operation. Joubert concurs with Dube that the success of the project so far can be attributed to ACE GIBB enjoying syn-ergistic relationships with the contrac-tors and the communities involved. “As Africa rebounds from the recent global recession and its economic potential is unlocked, it will increasingly look to new construction opportunities and upgrad-ing solutions to meet the demands of the future.“Working with local empowerment partners, we are well placed to bring to bear our many years in helping govern-ments and businesses grow. We’re able to provide consulting and project man-agement, as well as planning, design and construction,” concludes Joubert. Trench shoring to prevent collapse
37 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Panel discussionWATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?The factors differ according to the payment levels. In areas of high pay-ment levels, the main water losses are through physical leakage before the customer meter, while in areas of low payment, the biggest losses tend to be through leakage and general wastage after the customer meter. General phys-ical leakage can also be a problem in areas of low payment levels, but these are often overshadowed by the losses/wastage after the customer meter.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?South African water services infra-structure is deteriorating, but still of-fers a reasonably high level of service
compared to many other countries and is well above the average of develop-ing countries. South Africa operates at relatively high water pressures and in most cases aims at providing a 24-hour pressurised supply. Most developing countries struggle to offer 24-hour pressurised supplies and few offer high pressures.
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE?Many of the smaller municipalities in particular lack the skills or motivation to assess their assets and do not have a realistic estimate of the value of their water-related assets. By operating in the absence of a realistic asset value, they do not allocate sufficient budget annually to the maintenance of their assets, which therefore deteriorate.
Identifying and evaluating the assets can often help create low skills employ-ment, which is needed throughout the country. Simply identifying all valves, meters and pipelines, etc., as well as cleaning and securing all valve cham-bers, is relatively simple to accomplish and is a great start to any asset man-agement plan.
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET THAT ASSIST IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES?In South Africa, the first step should al-ways involve a very basic visual leakage
SA’s water losses"We will be putting in place measures to reduce our water loss by half by 2014," said President Zuma in his State of the Nation Address in 2010. In the fi rst of our panel discussions, the country’s water industry experts participate in a debate on the challenges surrounding South Africa’s water losses and what interventions are needed to turn the situation around.
Dr Ronnie McKenzie, managing director: WRP
The Khayelitsha project is the fi rst large-scale advanced pressure management project in the world
Sebokeng, the award-winning PPP project built in 2006
38 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Panel discussion
inspection to identify and repair the visible leaks before spending money on finding hidden leaks. In most parts of South Africa the pipes are not buried too deep, with the result that the leaks tend to come to the surface and can therefore be identified visually.
5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES.Three of the largest pressure manage-ment projects in the world have been developed and operated in South Africa since 2000 and are responsible for com-bined water savings of almost 25 million cubic metres annually. These projects demonstrate the potential of pressure management in areas of exceptionally high leakage and the sustainability of this. It is important to audit the water savings carefully to avoid creating false perceptions, as there are many claims of huge savings that cannot be identified in the water purchase figures.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS? The whole concept of ‘free basic water’ should be scrapped as it creates the perception that water has no value. The current situation, where water is very cheap relative to electricity, for example, should be addressed through proper education and awareness cam-paigns. The public should be aware of
the value of water and be encouraged to conserve and use water efficiently as well as report leaks and the theft of water.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE? In the past 10 years, significant pro-gress has been made in many parts of South Africa regarding the identifica-tion and quantification of water losses, as well as the introduction of water de-mand management (WDM) practices. The Department of Water Affairs no longer simply approves new augmen-tation schemes unless they are linked to WDM measures by the users. While the water losses in South Africa remain quite high, they are in line with aver-age water losses worldwide. There is, however, scope for significant improve-ments, which creates opportunity for water suppliers to reduce their water losses and create employment.
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE?The key issue is to change consumers’ attitudes to water and to encourage them to stop wasting water and elimi-nate leakage. By simply reducing the wastage and internal household leakage in many areas, the demand for water will be significantly reduced.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND?Politicians must encourage and if necessary enforce payment for water services at some point. Until payment for water has been achieved, the only alternative is to try and reduce blatant wastage and encourage consum-ers to stick to a reasonable monthly consumption. Small properties using 100 to 300 m3 per month is a common occurrence in many areas and such water use is not sustainable. These users must be identi-fied and assisted if necessary to reduce their consumption to between 10 and 15 m3 per month, which is a normal and acceptable level of water use. It is inter-esting to note that in areas where there is little or no payment for water servic-es, the average monthly demand tends to be between 30 and 60 m3 assuming that there are no supply constraints. As soon as full payment for services is implemented, the demand drops back to the normal levels of between 10 and 15 m3 per month. The quality of life in both cases re-mains the same as the additional water consumption is in most cases pure wastage. Certain technical interven-tions, such as pressure management, leak location, etc., should also be implemented where appropriate on a case-by-case basis. Metering of all water users should also be enforced and a policy to ensure meter accuracy at all levels of metering should be implemented.
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39 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Mark Shepherd, director: JOAT Consulting
1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?From a technical perspective, there are a number of factors that have con-tributed towards the current trend of increasing water losses. These are:• Lack of maintenance of water infrastructure, combined with an insufficient opex budget. The focus in recent years has been on clearing service delivery backlog and not nec-essarily on improving the efficiency of service delivery in ‘older’ areas.• Poor record keeping, combined with loss of skills. In order to manage any distribution system efficiently, an operator must know what he or she is dealing with, and must record all system changes that take place, either planned or ad hoc. This be-comes critical when trying to eke out changes that are necessary either to reduce water losses or to increase the service life of any water asset. Apparent good engineering decisions are often undone to the detriment of the system because of details not be-ing recorded anywhere.• Lack of understanding of the impor-tance of minimising water losses. This starts in the design phase of any project ‒ new projects need to be de-signed with the underlying acknowl-edgement of the need to make new
water supply schemes as efficient as possible, and continues through to the construction phase, when quality of materials and installation must be given priority. From a financial perspective, the main driver for water losses is unavoidably the availability of budget.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?The state of the country's water infra-structure has undoubtedly deteriorated within the last decade. There are a number of factors contributing towards this from an ownership of responsibility perspective. At a high level, it is prob-ably the way in which most govern-ments operate ‒ i.e. not as a business.
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE? All water infrastructure has a design life and a useful remaining life and will at some point in time have to be replaced. The cost of replacement can be exorbitant and often beyond the financial means of the majority of municipalities, so any means to extend
the life of an asset should be prioritised. For example, reducing the operating pressure of a reticulation network has the proven effect of reducing cyclical fatigue on pipes and joints as well as reducing pipe burst frequency (recent studies have proven that a reduction in maximum pressure of 10% can have a reduction of up to 40% in pipe burst frequency).
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET THAT ASSIST IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES? There have been numerous improve-ments in pressure control over the last two decades, but the standard pressure-reducing valve will still achieve the desired impact of control-ling water loses. Having said that, the new generation valve controllers are incredibly powerful. Systems like the i2O PRV controller use GSM networks and artificial intelligence to ‘self-learn’ water distribution networks and take
Panel discussion
Labour-intensive pipe replacement in Mandini, iLembe District Municipality
Pipe replacement in Pietermaritzburg CBD, Msunduzi Municipality
into consideration daily, weekly and monthly changes to drive excess pres-sures down without compromising on any level of service.Software is currently being developed to predict the reduction in both main pipelines and service connections from reduced operating pressures and can also predict the extension of the usable life of pipelines, as well as savings from deferred capital costs.
5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES. JOAT has been involved in a number of large-scale water loss reduction pro-jects across the country. The eThekwini Municipality has had an aggressive non-revenue water reduction programme underway for the past three financial years and has managed to reduce the volume of water bought from its bulk
water supplier by 51 Mℓ/day in the last 12 months. This was achieved through the installation of 230 new PRVs (part of the overall strategy to reduce average operating pressure to 42 m), complet-ing leak detection surveys on over 4 000 km of reticulation and repairing almost 30 000 leaks. A total of seven i2O intelligent pressure control systems were also installed, accounting for a reduction in water losses of almost 7 Mℓ/day. Furthermore, just over 4 000 consumer meters were replaced as part of the municipality's meter manage-ment policies.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS? Apart from actual technology, monitor-ing and evaluation plays an important role in protecting water stocks. Relevant and appropriate indicators that provide a number of key ‘health’ statistics need to be reported on, assessed and
interpreted as part of making informed management decisions. But prob-ably the most important intervention is to receive political support expressed through the drafting and enforcement of policies, by-laws and other legisla-tion that reinforces the will and need for more efficient management of our scarce water stocks. This needs to filter down from national to local govern-ment, increasing in levels of practicality when it comes to being implemented by government officials.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE? I think that the water-stressed areas in South Africa have had no option but to become as efficient as possible and, barring the large capital investment re-quired to undertake large-scale pipe re-placement projects, have mostly man-aged to keep their heads above water.
Panel discussion
40 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
41 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Kobus Prinsloo, director: SSIS
1.WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?High water losses can often be attributed to poor infrastructure maintenance and management. The lack of proactive infrastructure management is widely regarded as one of the main contributing factors leading to increased water loss in South Africa.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?Lack of awareness and complacency regarding the availability of water and the need for proactive maintenance are key challenges faced by the water indus-try in South Africa. This is supported by the findings of the recent non-revenue water assessment, which reported that very few municipalities could provide comprehensive water conservation and demand management strategies with associated targets, intervention pro-grammes and budget allocations. It is very difficult to address a problem if you cannot accurately quantify its extent and acknowledge that it exists in the first place.
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE?It is crucial. Faced with limited budgets, increasing demand and growing non-reve-nue water levels, water utilities must spend their funds wisely on eff ectively assessing and maintaining their water infrastructure. Knowing the condition of existing pipeline assets forms the basis of a sound risk and asset management strategy. To manage buried infrastructure eff ectively, appropriate and accurate techniques and technologies must be applied to assess the condition of the assets and gather information on a regular or repeated basis to make the best engineering decisions possible.
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET THAT ASSIST IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES?SSIS is proud to represent Pure Technologies Ltd, a Canadian-based technology company with a worldwide footprint that is at the forefront of bulk pipeline leak detection, condition assess-ment and asset management in Southern Africa. A host of advanced inspection
technologies are being developed and existing systems are continuously being improved. Most of these technologies can assess pipelines under live operating conditions, in this way avoiding the cost and risk associated with expensive ser-vice interruptions or excavating pipelines for inspection.Selecting the most appropriate technol-ogy is determined by the level of accu-racy and pipeline coverage required. This in turn is guided by the risk profi le of the asset and the risk tolerance of the water authority, as well as the availability of funding. A toolbox of advanced inspec-tion technologies is available to assess pipeline infrastructure accurately.Pipelines previously considered as can-didates for replacement owing to age and
Panel discussion
The strategy and direction has been clearly set at a national level by both the President's Office and the Department of Water Affairs, and there has been an increasing focus and interest promoted by the national and regional Department of Water Affairs offices to local municipalities.
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE? There is a place for technology in controlling water consumption, but
the choice of application of this tech-nology must be carefully assessed and considered as part of a sustainable long-term solution. Application is often constraint driven: the constraints of the consumer (afford-ability, constitutional rights and educa-tion) as well as the constraints of the municipality (budget, human resources and political will) need to be assessed before implementing large-scale roll-out of this technology. In order for any tech-nology to work, education and involve-ment of the end user is of paramount importance ‒ failure to make the end user part of the solution will inevitably result in failure.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND? Challenges facing water loss man-agement are still huge, but not insurmountable. In my opinion the challenges are: insufficient budget, lack of understanding of practical water loss management, perceived unimportance of water loss management, educating consumers to accept different levels of service and getting operational personnel to run more efficient water distribution systems.
other risk factors can now be inspected with confi dence. Assessment and repair initia-tives can typically be performed at a fraction of the cost of a replacement programme.
5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES.SSIS has been active in the large diam-eter pipeline assessment fi eld for the past six years, mostly in performing in-service,
live leak detection and CCTV inspections of bulk water pipelines using the Sahara® inspection platform (fi gure 1) . One such project was performed for Bloem Water. A pre-stressed concrete pipeline (PCP) forms the main supply vessel of potable water to Bloemfontein and the surrounding towns. Because of the strategic importance of the pipeline, Bloem Water required that the pipeline be accurately inspected under operating conditions without shutting it down. In addition, the exact location of each leak and the approximate leak size were
required in order to prioritise repairs. The 110 km-long pipeline was inspected over a three-year period. In total, 24 leaks were detected on the pipeline. Of interest was that only a few of the leaks showed up on the ground surface as standing water. Normal above-ground inspections and frequent walking of the pipeline route would therefore have been unsuccessful and futile. In addition to the leaks detected, various pipeline bends and numerous air pockets (entrapped air in the pipeline) were detected and recorded.
Panel discussion
FIGURE 2 A view of the dry surface conditions at the location of a large leak (left) andconfi rmation of the leak after excavation (right)
FIGURE 1 Typical Sahara® inspection site arrangement
42 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
43 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Panel discussion
Basil Bold, managing director: Sensus South Africa
1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?Water losses can be classifi ed as real losses or apparent losses.
Real losses:Water lost from reticulation systems owing to leakage, burst pipes or losses in the pu-rifi cation process. While major real losses (burst pipes, reservoir overfl ows, etc.) can be very high, they are generally of short duration because they are immediately vis-ible, while leakage generally accounts for a greater proportion of water lost primarily because these losses can be numerous and can be prevalent over extended periods.Main factors: Ageing reticulation net-works, lack of maintenance, poor pressure management and lack of eff ective zone and district metering in order to identify/isolate problem areas.
Apparent losses:Water losses owing to inaccurate meter-ing or lack of metering and inaccurate recording of measured data. Basically, ‘apparent losses are not apparent’! Main factors: Incorrect meter selection and sizing, out-dated meters, or meters with limited measuring ranges. Both real and apparent losses have a major negative impact on a water supply authority’s ability to:• eff ectively manage the system• generate a suffi cient return on invest-ment to sustain the system.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?There is a crisis in terms of the eff ective management of reticulation systems, a chronic shortage of qualifi ed engineers and technicians and a lack of long-term
maintenance and renewal planning. Critical investment decisions are being made by politicians instead of qualifi ed engineering and planning staff .
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE?Reticulation systems (like roads) have a so-called ‘tipping point’, at which,
Apart from reducing water losses, the inspections therefore also led to a bet-ter understanding of the condition of the pipeline and the presence of other factors that could lead to long-term op-erational problems and reduce reliability.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS?Improved awareness of the severity of the problem, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the available tech-nologies and best practice that can be implemented to reduce water losses and improve infrastructure management.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE?According to the latest non-revenue water assessment it unfortunately ap-pears that non-revenue water levels have increased over the past fi ve years. Limited skills, lack of awareness and poor
management practices are mostly to blame. Furthermore, there has been a fo-cus on implementing new infrastructure to keep up with the growing demand at the expense of maintaining existing systems. Although some water utilities and municipalities have been employing leak detection surveys for several years now, many have stopped or scaled down ow-ing to the general diffi culty of accurately locating leaks and the perceived inaccu-racy of the available methods. As a result, the common approach has been to repair a leak only when it becomes visible on the ground. This approach is totally inadequate.
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE?SSIS focuses on the eff ective assessment and management of bulk water infra-structure. Water demand management is a related but separate fi eld that must form part of an overall holistic approach to reduce unaccounted-for water.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND? The fi rst step in eff ectively solving the problem is to accept that it exists and that it will require dedicated and continued intervention. I believe the biggest challenge facing the water sec-tor in South Africa is creating increased awareness of the challenges, but also the solutions available to reduce water loss eff ectively and implement proactive as-set management. Having said this, there are some water authorities in South Africa that are addressing the problem head-on in a proactive manner. Pipeline owners and operators are realising the impor-tance of establishing the condition of the existing infrastructure and of regular inspections, maintenance and rehabilitation.This is positive progress and I hope that this approach will spread to all mu-nicipalities and water service providers in South Africa.
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Panel discussion
Hennie Roets,business development director: RARE
1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?Three main factors contribute to water losses in South Africa, namely: ageing pipe systems, no preventative mainte-nance and illegal connections.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?Firstly, the lack of knowledge and skills at local government level. Secondly, the
fact that most responsible people do not understand that preventative mainte-nance is more effective than leak repairs.
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE?Investment in asset management is critical. People can do without most services, but not without water.
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET THAT ASSIST IN THE
EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES?Sophisticated condition monitoring sys-tems and comprehensive preventative maintenance programmes, and then advanced repair and rehabilitation tech-nologies for existing underground water reticulation systems.
through lack of ongoing maintenance and investment, the system collapses completely. A good indicator is when pipes begin to run dry. Recovering from this situation requires a massive invest-ment in infrastructure and expertise (as is being experienced in some towns in the north of South Africa).
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET THAT ASSIST IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES?First and foremost, it is necessary to gath-er reliable data on the water fl ows within a system (however dysfunctional the system may be). This can only be achieved by installing an eff ective network of meters. The latest technologies, namely automated meter reading (AMR) and ad-vanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and so-called ‘smart grids’ can be employed to increase the effi ciency of management of a system signifi cantly. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to adopt these systems be-fore attending to the basics, i.e. ensuring that the primary measuring devices (the meters) are in place and are reading ac-curately. A smart grid is useless if the data input is lacking or inaccurate.
5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED
IN, OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES.Sensus has been the primary supplier of bulk and domestic meters on the Dar es Salaam water supply rehabilitation project ‒ having supplied some 250 000 domestic meters and large numbers of bulk meters ranging from 50 to 1 200 mm in diameter. Two lessons learnt are as follows:• Correct installation is as important as correct meter selection.• There is no cut-off on a project of this nature. It requires continual re-evalua-tion and reinvestment.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS?The price of water should be raised and consumers should be educated and informed on responsible and effi cient water usage.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE?No! In fact, the exact opposite is the case. Aside from the devastating ef-fects of acid mine drainage in Gauteng, a prolonged drought in the country
would reveal diabolical shortcomings in forward planning.
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE?Smart metering will allow consumers to monitor their daily/hourly consumption, detect leaks and be made conscious of water-effi cient appliances and fi ttings.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND?The major challenge is education, educa-tion, education, and the political will to commit adequate resources to this end.
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5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN,OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES.There have been many swagelining and cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) projects all over Africa, but a notable one most recently was a badly corroded 900 mm diameter collector sewer that was successfully relined in Deal Party, Port Elizabeth, using CIPP technology over a total length of just more than 400 m. The Kwazakhele Main Sewer, crossing through Port Elizabeth’s Deal Party industrial area, en route to the Fish Water Flats Wastewater Treatment Works, has been under severe stress for a number of years and pipe collapses have occurred.A problem faced by the consultants was the question of how to rehabilitate a sewer that constantly carries a large quantity of raw sewage through an access route within a productive factory site that cannot be closed for any length of time. The inevitable conclusion was that a permanent diversion sewer around an automotive site had to be constructed in order to relieve the existing sewer through the fac-tory site, following which the existing sewer could be reha-bilitated utilising trenchless technologies that would avoid open excavation. Phase 2 of the project therefore consisted of the trenchless rehabilitation of the badly corroded 900 mm-diameter concrete sewer pipe across Old Grahamstown Road, along Murdoch Street and through the automotive site, making up a total dis-tance of 424 m. A ‘no-dig’ solution was therefore considered desirable. Tenders were advertised and the lining operation and all associated
Kwazakhele project
48 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
technical functions were performed by The Rare Group as specialist subcon-tractor, in turn utilising Peter Wood of Xylopipe as expert technical adviser.The Rare Group, on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, ven-tured onto new ground with this project in terms of pipe diameter that was relined, the use of state-of-the-art boiler and impregnation equipment imported from Germany and the use of locally produced resin. Although the technol-ogy may be used to reline pipes varying in diameter from 150 mm to 1 280 mm according to available guidelines, CIPP technology has rarely, if ever, been ap-plied to reline a pipe as large as 900 mm in diameter in South Africa. Costs are most often a limiting factor with regard to relining large diameter pipelines with CIPP technology, but in this instance it has been proven that this technology may successfully be applied to provide long-lasting and durable linings to badly deteriorated large diameter sewers.CIPP technology was developed in Britain around 40 years ago and more
than 30 000 km of pipeline has been relined since. It is historically the most widely used sewer renovation system and has been used in sewer networks in over 40 countries. Sample cut off pieces from the ends of the installed liner revealed a strong, stiff and durable lining. While the de-sign called for a design life of 50 years, the installed liner is expected still to be functional 100 years from now.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS?• Awareness programmes for the wast-ing of water.• Incentives for water savings and recycling.• Intensive policing to eliminate illegal use and pollution.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE
COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE?Yes, we have progressed, but at far too slow a pace!
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE?Technologies and know-how are availa-ble but local government is not capable of applying them. It is critical that cen-tral government steps in. Privatisation or public/private partnerships must be considered.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND? • Maintenance programmes.• Central government to provide lead-ership and funding.
Panel discussion
Keith Bailey, general manager: Sales& Marketing, Elster Kent Metering
1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WATER LOSSES IN SOUTH AFRICA, FROM BOTH A TECHNICAL AND A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE?The main contributors in terms of non-revenue water are:a) Old reticulation, leading to:1. increasing leak rates2. old water meters with increasing vol-ume of water escaping measurement.
b) Lack of consumer education, leading to:1. leaks in domestic plumbing not being repaired
2. non-payment for water3. illegal connections (bypasses)c) Billing systems that are insufficient, often incorrect and sometimes chaotic.
d) Lack of maintenance of reticulation systems.
2. IN TERMS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKING OWNERSHIP, TO
WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WATER SERVICES INFRASTRUCTURE?a) Political/financial decisions or in-terference in decisions rather than engineering decisions.
b) Fragmented initiatives rather than a strategic plan.
c) Lack of political will as a result of not being able to see the bigger picture.
3. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN ASSET MANAGEMENT IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE?It is critical to invest in asset manage-ment before the backlog becomes insurmountable.
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODS IN THE MARKET
THAT ASSIST IN THE EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WATER LOSSES?The latest technologies to assist in reducing non-revenue water are as follows:a) Intelligent pressure reduction, which can result in an immediate and cost-effective reduction in leakage rates, e.g. as in Khayelitsha/Emfuleni.
b) Water balancing software.c) New methods of leak detection.d) Volume controllers and prepaid water meters, which reduce the volume of water lost owing to leaking toilet systems that can contribute to average consumer
49 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
consumptions of 60 m3/month, e.g. Soweto, Motherwell.
e) Siphon-type cisterns with ex-ternal overflows can have a dra-matic effect in reducing consumer consumptions (leaks).
f ) The replacement of water meters older than 10 years has shown excel-lent cost benefit results, e.g. a billing increase of 40% in Nelspruit. It is im-portant to note that the old domestic water meters are located in areas where the payment levels are high.
5. PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF A PROJECT THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, OR A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY THAT SHOWS EFFECTIVE RESULTS FOR REDUCING WATER LOSSES.We have a well-documented case study of the Nelspruit meter replacement, where the costs of the meter replace-ment (material and labour) were recov-ered in 2.81 months from the additional income generated.We have reports from local au-thorities with prepaid water meters regarding reduction in demand (consumption), e.g. Beaufort West: 54% savings; Murraysburg (Karoo District Municipality): 20 to 30% sav-ings; Hessequa (4 towns): 43% savings; Musina: 34% savings; WASA (Lesotho): 41% savings.
6. IN ADDITION TO ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY, WHAT OTHER INTERVENTIONS ARE REQUIRED TO PROTECT OUR WATER STOCKS?Approximately 30% of domestic consumption is used for flushing. In a water-short country it is crazy to flush this amount of drinking-quality water down the toilet.Neil McLeod has spoken to interna-tional founders about developing a waterless toilet for Africa.
7. MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, BUT HAVE WE PROGRESSED IN MANAGING THE COUNTRY’S WATER LOSSES OVER THE PAST DECADE?Only in isolated cases have we progressed in managing South Africa’s water losses.
8. MANAGING WATER DEMAND BETTER IS KEY TO CONTROLLING
WATER CONSUMPTION. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE?Prepaid water meters and volume controllers have already shown good re-sults in this regard. Consumer education is needed regarding low-flow shower heads, siphon cisterns, flow control, etc., as these can all play a part.a) Ensure all consumers are metered and billed.
b) Water meters must be of good quali-ty and the highest accuracy to ensure measurement of low flow rates.
c) Reduce illegal connections and other forms of water theft.
9. LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE IN TERMS OF WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT AND WHAT IS NEEDED TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND?A committed strategic approach is needed by central and local govern-ment to make a difference.
Centralised control, such as a national water services regulator, is required. This body needs to set achievable tar-gets, with time frames for water boards and local authorities for the reduction of unaccounted-for water. This body must also have legislative powers to in-troduce penalties if targets are not met. Specific funding, not part of the water services provider’s normal operational budget, must be made available for water demand management/reduction of unaccounted-for water. Requests for tariff increases should be submitted to and controlled by the national water services regulator and not approved if water demand management/reduction in unaccounted-for water targets have not been achieved. To illuminate political interference, the people responsible for the water demand management working in the water boards and local authorities could have a direct reporting line to the na-tional water services regulator.
Panel discussion
Prepaid water meters in Dewetsdorp
Water meter replacement
50 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
WATER TREATMENTTechnology
The specifi c challenges surrounding water stewardship and manage-ment, such as access to clean drinking water, water pollution
and treatment, and regulatory, environ-mental and cost issues, vary from one country to another. According to Schneider Electric South Africa, global specialist in energy ef-fi ciency, this tricky environment is further compounded by increasing pressure to reduce operating expenses, curb energy consumption, provide a reliable drinking water supply, bolster equipment safety, align processes with shifting regulations and ensure long-term eff ectiveness over the lifetime of equipment. Ravi Saman, water and wastewater manager at Schneider Electric South Africa, says that today’s water market is characterised by increasing pressure on costs from both consumers and local gov-ernments. “Responding to these demands while maintaining optimal productivity is a real challenge. Nevertheless, it is one that can be met by fi ne-tuning capacity. But fi rst, water managers need to know exactly how their equipment is operating by reviewing the strategic components of their processes,” he says. Aeration, he explains, is the most energy-intensive component of the wastewater treatment process. And yet, traditional supervision systems are not suffi cient to achieve real savings. “An ad-vanced process control (APC) system can help change this by combining process constraints and complex interactions be-tween the diff erent variables and actua-tors, predicting the impact of disruptions on operation, coordinating the move-ments of multiple actuators and taking advantage of all opportunities to reach the equipment’s full potential in terms of quality and effi ciency,” he says. Core APC features are designed to re-duce process variability substantially, to optimise the working range and to ensure
The balancing act of waterGlobally, water has become a strategic resource. Water&Sanitation Africa speaks to Schneider Electric South Africa about the challenges of meeting the local demands for water while maintaining optimum effi ciency, reliability, availability and safety.
compliance with regulatory and envi-ronmental requirements. More effi cient operation also means signifi cantly lower electrical consumption, which has a direct impact on operating costs. “Up to 35% energy savings can be achieved when you combine an audit with an APC system,” Saman explains. He adds that producing quality water and running equipment 24 hours a day are energy-intensive activities and the hurdle to overcome is guaranteeing qual-ity service while minimising operating expenses and reducing carbon footprint. “The goal is to optimise operation of your motors and pumps by fi ne-tuning
start-up and working ranges. Not only do these improvements lengthen the lifetime of your equipment; they also ensure more energy-effi cient operation. You need real-time information on the status of your network so that you can correctly identify potential risks and take the necessary ac-tion. Remote management and s mart data analysis can help you head off problems.” To manage a water distribution network eff ectively, real-time information and re-mote management capabilities are abso-lute necessities, Saman advises. “Remote management is the most eff ective way to improve performance while reducing operating expenses. Also, supervise your distribution network to identify incidents and leaks.” Leaks and burst pipes are regular occur-rences in any water distribution network. Not only are these incidents costly, but they can also result in (sometimes serious) injuries or damage to property. The best way to deal with them is to prevent them from happening in the fi rst place. “Plant safety is something you can’t aff ord to leave up to chance. Therefore, make supervision a key part of the pro-cess. Video surveillance and presence detectors are nothing new in the water industry. Both techniques are frequently used for water treatment and production plants, as well as on water distribution and collection networks. However, surveil-lance does have its limitations. Traditional surveillance systems cannot respond to break-ins, vandalism, or other malicious acts. Video provides information that supervision systems cannot. By combin-ing video surveillance with a supervision system you can optimise process manage-ment by rapidly confi rming any decisions to be made and facilitating maintenance.” Saman explains that this can help to lower operating expenses greatly by improving human resources management and capi-tal expenditures through replacing several control systems with a single system.
There is increasing pressure to reduce operating expenses and curb energy consumption, in order to provide a reliable drinking water supply
To manage a water distribution network effectively, real-time information and remote management capabilities are absolute necessities
WAVE POWER
The Basque seaport of Mutriku, located between Bilbao and San Sebastian in Spain, has recently witnessed an historic day in en-
ergy generation. The Mutriku wave power plant, offi cially inaugurated by Utility Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE), is the fi rst one worldwide to be in commercial operation.The equipment for the Mutriku plant was supplied by Voith Hydro and com-prises 16 power units that will provide an output of 300 kW in total. According to Dr Roland Muench, chief executive offi cer of Voith Hydro Holding, “The rising global demand for green energy proves to be a strong catalyst for the implementations of innovative forms of renewable energy. The Mutriku project shows that our wave power technology is commercially viable and ready for wide deployment in the global markets. To further this develop-ment, adequate feed-in tariff s for wave
Technology
World’s fi rst commercial wave power plant inaugurated
power, as they already exist for a number of renewables, can now set the right legal framework.”Voith Hydro’s wave power technol-ogy can be deployed in new and existing breakwaters and in purpose-built struc-tures. Building on its long-term proven reliability, continual design improvements have allowed for developing the technol-ogy to its leading-edge performance. The worldwide potential of ocean energy is at an estimated 1.8 terawatts and still remains largely untapped.Voith Hydro’s oscillating water column (OWC) technology is the only one that is proven with regard to commercial uti-lisation, combining availability and effi ciency on their highest levels. On the Scottish island of Islay, the organisation has been operating the wave power plant
Interesting facts• Basque country’s utility EVE pioneers
commercial utilisation: 300 kW of power output, electricity suffi cient for around 250 homes
• Voith Hydro’s reliability proven technology: over 10 years of grid-connected operation
• Minimal ecological impact and strong economic synergies: 16 wells' turbines integrated into new Mutriku breakwater structure
Mutriku: World's fi rst commercial wave power plant
Limpet for over a decade on a commercial scale, producing more than 65 000 grid-connected hours.
51 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
52 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
WASTEWATERTechnology
T he filter press was developed in response to the increasingly critical need to recy-cle wastewater from mining operations in South Africa, specifically acid mine
drainage (AMD).Traditionally, hydraulically operated filter presses are used in metallurgical processes and water reclamation plants, but these conven-tional products are associated with a high risk of contamination from oil and other lubricants during operation. It has become essential to overcome this challenge to protect the environ-ment and assist mining companies to comply with the ever-tightening environmental legisla-tion confronting the industry.
PATENTED TECHNOLOGYMultotec’s state-of-the-art, fully automatic filter press, based on the successful Seprotech Rapid Filter (SRF) Press, eliminates the risk of any contamination in this application. This exciting new product has been developed us-ing patented technology, with components sourced internationally to ensure long life and spares availability. The new filter press has been 100% locally manufactured at the company’s ISO 9001-accredited facility.The hydraulic power pack has been replaced with a water pressure system which, while achieving the same clamping force, ensures optimum sealing of the plate pack and dramati-cally reduces noise pollution. The filter cloths have been further developed for longer life, in turn achieving lower consumable consumption. Components have been designed to ensure safe operation, while finite element analysis has been applied to substantiate the integrity of the machine. The filter press is characterised by its energy-efficient electric motors.
ACID MINE DRAINAGEThe technology is ideal for use in a water recla-mation plant, where lime is used to neutralise AMD and the resulting gypsum slurry needs to be filtered out. The clean filtrate water is fed back into the plant for further processing and
Environmentally friendly wastewater fi lter pressAn environmentally friendly fi lter press believed to be a world fi rst has been developed by a South African company. Water&Sanitation Africa fi nds out more about the new technology.
BELOW The cloth wash system on the Seprotech Rapid Filter Press features spray bars permanently installed at the top of every plate
RIGHT The Seprotech Rapid Filter Press plate pack is clamped in position using a water pressure system
This exciting new product has been developed using patented technology, with components sourced internationally to ensure long life and spares availability
Technology
RIGHT Diagram depicting how the Seprotech Rapid Filter Press plate pack opens in a concertina-type movement
the filter cake produced can also be sent for processing to enable it ultimately to be recycled as a valuable product.The new filter press can also be used in other liquid/solid separation applications, including copper concentrate, platinum concentrate and coal fines. Capacity is dependent on the applica-tion requirements.
SOLID/LIQUID SEPARATION SOLUTIONSMultotec provides a variety of other solid and liquid separation solutions from its Seprotech division. The company imports and manufac-tures Siebtechnik centrifuges and Ishigaki pol-ishing filters under licence. Seprotech also im-ports the fully automatic Ishigaki filter presses. The South African-developed and manufactured SRF Press is a valuable addition to the division’s range of equipment.Multotec manufactures filtration solutions specifically for coal and water treatment plants.
The filters are fully automated, requiring less operator intervention, which results in shorter cycle times, higher safety and less human error.In addition, the company provides centrifuge solutions for chemical, mining and minerals
processing. The company has test facilities available for the testing of centrifuges in fine and coarse coal. Its solid and liquid separation products are international market leaders and
BELOW The Seprotech Rapid Filter Press is the only fi lter press that has a plate tilt function in the cake discharge system
The filter press was developed in response to the increasingly critical need to recycle wastewater from mining operations in South Africa
53 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Autonomous, No control system, Economical,No wearing parts, Low maintenance!
This autonomous valveless gravity sand filter can be installedand forgotten. AGF has proved to be a huge success inmining, industry and water treatment were it is importantto have water free of fine solids.
are backed by experienced and competent personnel with extensive process knowledge.
Additionally, clients are offered comprehen-sive after-sales field service and maintenance
contracts, which include servicing and repair work that is completed quickly and efficiently on the centrifuges and filter presses, with mini-mum downtime.
ABOVE The Seprotech Rapid Filter Press fi lls like any normal fi lter press with top corner feed
ABOVE Once the press is opened, an air-operated actuator tilts the plates of the entire plate pack simultaneously to discharge the cakes
54 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Multotec manufactures filtration solutions specifically for coal and water treatment plants
Northern Ireland (NI) Water is a govern-ment-owned company set up as the sole provider of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland. It supplies 625 mil-
lion litres of clean water every day for almost 1.7 million people and treats 134 million cubic metres of wastewater each year. NI Water outlined a requirement to invest in a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). The company’s main laboratory facilities used an in-house customised LIMS. This system reached a regulatory critical mass and a new, more robust and effi cient solution was therefore needed.Regulatory requirements were a key driving fac-tor. Being a government agency added increased pressure to invest in a system with a high level of professional sophistication and reputation. NI Water specifi ed that, in order to have credibility, it required system-wide integration capabilities and robust processes.Thermo Scientifi c SampleManager LIMS was selected for its ease of use and because it could be easily confi gured and managed according to specifi c workfl ow requirements. A critical factor was the system's ability to scale up when needed. Thermo Scientifi c SampleManager LIMS can be im-plemented in one or multiple instances and is scal-able for a large user base. The system can be easily integrated with other applications and instruments in and out of the lab, providing one standard user interface and helping NI Water to introduce process standardisation across its multiple labs more easily.
ADDITIONAL NI WATER AND INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTSFor many years, utilities involved in water and wastewater sampling have identifi ed the need for a solution to automate current manual/paper processes in the fi eld and integrate these with LIMS. Sampling plans are held in LIMS and are used to generate a collection run for each sampler, indi-cating where samples must be taken from, which sample bottles must be collected and which onsite tests have to be performed. Details of activities carried out in the fi eld then have to be entered into the LIMS manually.Discussions revealed that ruggedised personal digital assistants (PDAs) could be an ideal solution as
Northern Ireland Water LIMS investmentWater&Sanitation Africa discusses how Northern Ireland Water's investment in a Laboratory Information Management System has signifi cantly improved operational effi ciency.
they are typically small, easy to use and have a num-ber of useful technologies built in, such as GPS, GPRS, barcode readers, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Remote Sampler solution allows data to be transferred directly between a typographic information system and the SampleManager LIMS database, providing an enhanced audit trail. CSols, a partner of Thermo Fisher Scientifi c, developed the Remote Sampler solution for water and other industries where in-the-fi eld sampling is the norm. This integrated ap-proach saves time and reduces transcription errors,
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as well as providing a secure record of sample locations.All fi eld testing and water quality sam-pling is now done using the CSols Remote Sampler PDAs, which include barcode scan-ners to scan container labels as samples are collected, providing additional proof of location. The remote samplers deliver their sample information to SampleManager through a direct USB connection, continu-ously feeding data from fi eld collections. The LIMS in turn feeds collection and work-fl ow data to the remote samplers so that fi eld personnel are continuously updated on priorities, sample collection locations and required tests.
BENEFITS Gareth Maxwell, LIMS and Compliance Reporting manager at NI Water, confi rms: “We have introduced Remote Sampler in the fi eld for all our water quality samplers. The use of Remote Sampler allows us to ensure that all samples taken in the fi eld are accurately recorded, taken from where they are claimed to be taken from and inputted into the LIMS at source. This saves time and facilitates data management.” Once the
system is rolled out to trade, waste and ad hoc sampling, NI Water estimates that it will save in excess of three hours per day, translating into signifi cant cost savings.
FUTURE Going forward, the NI Water contracted samplers will be able to report on accept-ability of sampling points and the safety of sampling sites. This information can then be added to the management report for remedial action, should any be necessary.The use of GPS on the PDAs will in the future facilitate automatic route planning to maximise the effi ciency of the sample run. If a sampler cannot access a particular address, they move on to another, take a sample and scan it at the customer tap. The time and date, GPS location and change of address is recorded and the sampler is able to confi rm, in the fi eld, that the new address is still within the correct water quality zone.In the future, NI Water is hoping to integrate mobile broadband within the PDAs via a data SIM card built into the device, instead of docking the device in the laboratory. This will enable the samplers to
send data to SampleManager LIMS from the fi eld.
CONCLUSION The major benefi t realised is improved op-erational effi ciency, providing NI Water with a full sample management and reporting system, while automating workfl ow and in-tegrating with other laboratory systems and instrumentation. The integrated LIMS and Remote Sampler solution has provided NI Water with a means to retrieve and report data in a way that would never have been possible previously, and serves as a tem-plate for other water agencies and public service companies around the world.
I n an initiative to comply with environmental legislation, The Coca-Cola Company has set strin-gent effluent discharge limits for
its bottling plants throughout the world. In order to become approved by Coca-Cola to undertake the necessary analyses required by the company’s bottling partners to be compliant, Talbot Laboratories underwent a meticulous audit process by The Coca-Cola Company. The audit was successful and Talbot Laboratories has been awarded the project to carry out sampling and efflu-ent compliance testing at each of the bottling plants throughout Africa.Talbot Laboratories is an environ-mental testing laboratory and is SANAS accredited. The company offers a wide spectrum of analytical services for wa-ter, wastewater and waste. Talbot Laboratories is part of Talbot & Talbot, which focuses on industrial wastewater management solutions. Liane Henman, laboratory
Labotec has been awarded the exclusive agency in Southern Africa for Kimble Chase, the world’s larg-est laboratory glassware manufac-
turer. According to Stefan Harth, managing director at Labotec, “This move is in line with our roots, where Labotec started with glass supply in the 60s. Our clients have requested glass from us many times, and we would like to listen to their needs and supply what they are looking for. We have the necessary network, skills, delivery and storage facilities needed for this venture and are well poised to expand the glass range in Southern Africa.”If a product is mixed, created, processed, stored or examined the world over, then it has more than likely come into contact with glassware manufactured by Kimble Chase. Its brand names, namely: Kimble, KIMAX, Kontes, BOMEX, Pfeiff er, Scherf, Chase Scientifi c and others, are
sales manager, says, “We are proud to be associated with Coca-Cola on this key project and look forward to partnering with Coca-Cola’s bottling partners in responsibly
monitoring effluent discharge back intothe environment.” Source: Talbot & Talbot
Talbot Laboratories underwent a meticulous audit process by The Coca-Cola Company
Labotec awarded Kimble Chase agency
Technology
manufactured across multiple sites in three continents. The process begins with raw sand to formulate fi nished products, a start-to-fi nish process unique to Kimble Chase in compliance with ISO standards, which enables it to achieve lower producer costs. Kimble Chase Life Sciences and Research Products is the result of a joint venture in July 2007 with Gerresheimer Glass and Thermo Fisher Scientifi c, but Kimble originated a century ago with homeopathic droppers, vials and volumetric ware. The company distributes a full range of reusable, disposable and specialty labora-tory glassware for the pharmaceutical, chromatography, environmental, petro-chemical, government, life science and education markets. • Full range of disposable glassware: vials, bottles, pipettes, columns, centrifuge tubes, culture tubes.• Full range of reusable products: beakers, Erlenmeyer fl asks, Petri dishes, fl asks and cylinders. • Clinical laboratory products including culture tubes, vials, Pasteur pipettes,sed-rate tubes.
New range of laboratory productsA new range of laboratory products is now available in South Africa from MCI. The MRC range of products has found thousands of applications in labora-
tories throughout the world. This range of products consists of waterbaths, hotplates, magnetic stirrers, heating mantles, thermal cyclers, dry bath incubators, heating tapes, platform shakers, incubators, ovens, furnaces, dry cabinets, over-head stirrers and propellers, homogenisers, ball mills, grinders, vortex mixers, sus-pension mixers, orbital shakers, roller mixers, centrifuges, autoclaves, ultrasonic baths, colour comparison cabinets, balances and spectrophotometers.MRC prides itself in supplying quality products at affordable prices and a variety of products to cater for customers’ needs. Through continued research and devel-opment, MRC continues to expand its range of laboratory products and regularly releases new products, including the new patent-pending egg brooders. Source: Measuring and Control Instruments
• Type I and III storage containers.• Full range of closures, septa,and liners.• Specialty glass apparatus referenced in ASTM, USP and AOAC and APHA procedures.• Laboratory apparatus for sample prepa-ration and analysis.• Chromatography columns and accessories for HPLC, TLC and other chromatography
products including mobile phase handling systems.• Analytical instrumentation replacement and accessory parts.• Microfi ltration apparatus and assemblies.• Molecular biology sample preparation products and accessories.
Source: Labotec
59 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Elavated Tanks: ABECO offers a full design manufacture and installation service for support towers steelwork. Basic towers consisting of the support steelwork with a caged access ladder to the roof of the tank will be offered in the absence of further specification. Purchases should request walkways around the baseof the tank or rest platforms on access ladders if required. Access: Access is required all around pressed steel tanks to tighten bolts. The recommended minimum space around the four sides and above the roof is 600mm and 450mm beneath the tank Circular Sectional Steel Tanks: In delveloping sectional steel tanks ABECO recognised a need for tansk that have the following features:
Low cost hygenic water storage Rugged and easily tranportable Require minimal site preparation and foundations Quick and easy to install Can be installed using basci equipment Durable and long asting Can be dimanteled and re-erected at new sites.
Ground Level Tanks: Ground level tanks are commonly supported on reinforced concrete dwarf walls fitted with steel capping strips. The purpose of the capping strip is to spread the load over the full load of the support wall and to provide a levelplatform on which to erect the tank. For practical reasons concrete cannot be castwith sufficient accuracy of level. The capping strips should be poistioned in place before the instllation of the tank starts. Reccomended tolerance is ±2mm. care should be taken to ensure that foundation walls are parrallel and square to each other. Foundation walls must protrude beyoundthe edge of the tank by a recommended distance of 150mm. the tepered top section of the wall assists in providing access for the tools to fasten .
Ground Level Tanks
Circular Sec onal Steel Tanks
Elevated Tanks
Bringing water to Africa and now to the rest of the world
63 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
RESERVOIRSTechnology
From the outset, Abeco realised that the great-est need for sanitary water supply lay with communities that have limited resources. In Karino, located in Mpumalanga, Abeco
Tanks recently supplied and installed a circular stor-age tank to supply water to a lifestyle estate which includes residential and commercial developments. According to Ramos, “This particular project is an example of our innovation and on-going product development capabilities. It is one of the largest capacity circular tanks that we have built to-date, measuring 17.57 m in diameter and 7.17 m in height. With a storage capacity of 1 700 m³, water from the local municipal supply is used to fi ll the tank, with a draw-off to the village.Another project undertaken late in 2010 for a petrol refi nery in Isando involved the installation of a water tank for fi re-fi ghting purposes. This is a circular water storage tank with a capacity of 1 420 m³. Ramos explains, “The height of our panels is normally re-stricted to 7.175 m. However, for this project, a height of 11.9 m was achieved. This required a slight change to our design whereby additional strengthening and supports were added to the structure.“In terms of size, we supplied three storage tanks for the Eskom Kusile Power Station. The largest capac-ity tank was 2 590 m³, measuring 24.4 m in length, 21.96 m in width and 4.88 m in height.“We have supplied several thousand tanks throughout Southern Africa. We have undertaken a number of signifi cant projects across the borders of South Africa into Africa, as well as Mauritius and Central America. Our pressed steel tanks are used for various types of storage, including po-table water, raw water, water for fi re sprin-klers and fi re hydrants, as well as effl uent and chemicals. Uses for our storage tanks, furthermore, span industries such as rural communities, agriculture and farming, mining, industry, commerce, government, local authorities and utilities.”The company’s manufacturing facility is based in Selby, Johannesburg. The tanks are provided in kit form and assembled on site. Tanks are custom made to suit certain conditions, such as space restrictions and
Pushing storage needs to the limitA company that was established with the aim of satisfying the ever-increasing need for the hygienic storage of life’s essential element, water, continues to show that technological boundaries in terms of storage can be pushed to the limit. Debbie Besseling chats to Duane Ramos, sales and marketing manager of Abeco Tanks, about some of the company’s challenging projects.
obstacles. In terms of design, the water pressure ap-plied to the tank determines the stress that the tank needs to withstand. The design panel thickness is
therefore dependent on the depth of the tank. “All our tanks are hot-dip galvanised, with no moveable parts. The life span extends to 30 years and beyond and the company provides a standard one-year guar-antee from the time of commissioning on materials and workmanship. The tanks are 100% South African as all parts used in the manufacturing process are South African,” adds Ramos.
BELOW Duane Ramos, sales and marketing manager, and Manie Ramos, chief executive offi cer: Abeco Tanks
Tanks are custom made to suit certain conditions, such as space restrictions and obstacles
meets the highest classification of water tightness.
Ideal solution for biogas storage.
Uniquely engineered construction methodsCommercial and Industrial applications Applicable to a wide range of industriesEffective and economically efficientRapid factory productionExtended life expectancy, minimal maintenanceDurability and value for money
are highly versatile and can be used to store anything from potable liquid to municipal sludge.
PP
PPPP
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Our network of Distributors extends throughout South Africa and beyond its borders.
The elements are connected inter-nally by means of horizontal pre-stressing (Dywidag system) and an ingenious waterproof, articulated
system. The vertical joints are fi nished with a contraction-resistant synthetic grout and a polyurethane bond. Greased corrosion-resistant steel cables are passed horizon-tally through the elements inside a 2 mm thick PE sheath and tightened to >135 kN with precision tools.A waterproof solution for the wall/fl oor construction is obtained by means of spramex concrete on both sides of
the wall. According to Anton Liebenberg, product manager of Aquadam, “The MST IA tanks have various areas of applica-tion, including water purifi cation plants, industrial water, potable water buff er tanks, sludge storage, biodigesters and buff er tanks.”This particular system has numerous features, including: safe in-wall horizon-tal pre-stressing, durable because of high and consistent concrete quality, rapid production in factories with modern equipment, short erection time owing to the modular system, long lifespan
Prefab concrete system tanksTechnical fact box MST IA:• Working width: Approximately 1.51• Wall element thickness: 130 to
160mm• Tension element thickness: 130 to
264mm• Heights: 3 to 7 m• Element weight: 525kg/m• Tank diameters: ≥ 8.64 m ≤ 33m• Concrete quality: > C35/45
and virtually maintenance-free upkeep. Liebenberg adds, “The systems are fl exible, making it possible to construct Muleby tanks with volumes ranging from 174 m3 to 32 471 m3 in various confi gurations from 8.6 mø x 3 m high to 71.89 mø x 8 m high. Every system is designed and manu-factured according to specifi c require-ments. Our focus is to use standard panels with technical solutions for the specifi c system. Manholes, pipes, plates, anchor-ages, etc. can be cast into the panels at the production site.”
The Muleby Tank System (MST IA), available from Aquadam, can hold volumes from 250 to 6 000 m3, with a height ranging from 3 to 7 m. These tanks are built with pre-stressed elements with a standard width of 1.51 m and a thickness of 140 to 160 mm.
R ainbow Reservoirs is to complement its well-known line of larger tanks for gen-eral industry, construction and
large-scale agriculture. Die Watergat is a low-profile steel panel reservoir with a trussed roof and is offered with optional fittings and attachments for various applications.Besides a storage capacity tailored for smaller agricultural requirements, the most noteworthy feature of the new product is its packaging. The reservoirs come disassembled in pallet-sized packs that fit easily onto a bakkie, allowing them to be bought as pick-up-and-go products directly from Rainbow offices and agents countrywide.According to Rainbow Reservoirs managing director, Wayne Thompson,
Reservoirs for agricultural water storageA new range of reservoirs is set to fulfi l the market need for low-volume agricultural water storage and it combines low cost with the durability of steel. The new product, branded Die Watergat, is being imported by a Polokwane-based company.
“Assembly is quick and simple, requir-ing no particular skills. No foundation is necessary, other than a firm and level circular pad of clean pit sand, 1 m wider than the diameter of the reservoir.
Comprehensive instructions for the assembly of the zincalume panels and roof are supplied with each bundle. Die Watergat will meet agriculture’s quick-fix requirements for smaller-volume, easy-to-assemble panel reservoirs,” Thompson claims.“This is a different product from our traditional reservoir, with its own distinctive panel profile tailored for
the do-it-yourself preference often expressed by farmers. It is of a size and capacity which lends itself to a wide range of agricultural applications.”Thompson says that the new reservoirs
are popular among farmers in Australia, where they are made. “Although the Australian market comprises mainly livestock farmers, I see a potential local application in aquaculture because of the tank’s low wall height, which makes it suitable for visual inspection of the tank contents,” he says.The fi rst shipment of the new reservoirs has already arrived in the country.
65 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
Die Watergat being assembled on a South African farm
This is a diff erent product from our traditional reservoir, with its own distinctive panel profi le tailored for the do-it-yourself preference often expressed by farmers
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67 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
ETHEKWINIResearch & development
The main aim of the study, entitled eThekwini Aquatic Bio-monitoring Report 2010, was to determine the state of the health and integrity of
rivers within the eThekwini Municipality area and provide a management imple-mentation plan for an aquatic bio-monitor-ing programme.Approximately 200 sampling sites were sampled during the wet season and 200 samples in the dry season. In the operational context, the term bio-monitoring is used to refer to the gath-ering of biological data in both the labora-tory and the fi eld for the purpose of making some sort of assessment or in determining whether regulatory standards and criteria are being met in aquatic ecosystems.The water quality-based approach to pol-lution assessment requires diff erent types of data. Bio-monitoring techniques such as rapid bio-assessment protocols (e.g. SASS) are best used for detecting aquatic impair-ments and assessing their relative severity. Once impairment has been detected, ap-propriate remedial action must be imple-mented to mitigate the impact. Following mitigation or management actions, bio-monitoring is important to evaluate the eff ectiveness of such control measures. Bio-monitoring may be used within a planning and management framework to prioritise water quality problems for more stringent assessments and to record and document environmental recovery following manage-ment action and rehabilitation activities.
NATIONAL WATER ACT (NO. 36 OF 1998)In terms of the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), all water users are required to reg-ister their water use and apply for a water use licence. One of the requirements of any water use licence, whether it is for water storage, water abstraction, water discharge, etc., is that the water user must implement a monitoring programme, which is defi ned as: “a programme for taking regular meas-urements of the quantity and or quality of a resource, waste or wastewater discharge, at specifi c intervals and at specifi c locations to determine the chemical physical and
State of the riverseThekwini Municipality has undertaken the largest aquatic bio-monitoring study of all the rivers within its area of jurisdiction. Water&Sanitation Africa provides an overview of this study.
biological nature of the water resource, waste or wastewater discharge”.Municipal agencies have a social responsi-bility to ensure that resources are preserved and used effi ciently to ensure sustainability. The public is no longer ignorant of environ-mental issues and information sharing con-cerning problem areas allows for the shar-ing of responsibility and buy-in from the public. The cost-eff ective collection of im-portant environmental information, which is easily understood by the layman, can best be done through a scientifi cally designed, long-term bio-monitoring programme.The purpose of the National Water Act is to ensure that national water resources are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled. The act provides for the protection of aquatic and associated ecosystems and their biological diversity, and the reduction and prevention of pol-lution and degradation of water resources. Furthermore, the National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998) requires that the environmental principles as set out in Section 2 of the Act be applied in
decision-making. These principles include, for example, the actions required to achieve sustainable development (socially, environmentally and economically) and guide stakeholders in the integrated man-agement of the environment.According to Selva Mudaly, project ex-ecutive, “The plan now is to continue this programme by addressing the more critical rivers fi rst before moving onto the others. This will involve doing 50 sampling points in the dry season and 50 sampling points in the wet season. In addition, we have now trained our own staff to undertake this exercise and they have been accredited by the Department of Water Aff airs to carry this out.”
Study resultsThe results of the study, using the fi ve-class classifi cation system described in the report, are as follows:• 6 sites were classifi ed as in Near Natural
condi tion• 5 sites were Near Natural – Good• 44 sites were classifi ed as in Good condition• 12 sites were Good – Fair• 23 sites were classifi ed as in Fair condition• 14 sites were Fair – Poor• 42 sites were classifi ed as in Poor condition• 13 sites were Poor – Very Poor• 16 sites were classifi ed as in Very Poor condition
68 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
EVENT Education & training
Winners of the regional competitions came to Johannesburg from as far as Cape Town, Buff alo City (East London), Pietermaritzburg, Richards
Bay and Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) and Middelburg in Mpumulanga to do battle with the local winners for top honours. Learners were fl own to Johannesburg and accommodated in a nice ho-tel - an experience which these young people and some of their educators will never forget! For most, this was a fi rst experience of the ‘big city’. Without the generous sponsorship of TCTA, a new word for water, this event would not have been possible.The 2011 champions, with 148 penalty points conceded, were from the Stirling High School in East London and this was the second year running that the winners hailed from that region. The team members were Danielle Botha, Richard Goosen and Michael Harvey. In second place was the Domino Servite Secondary School from Pietermaritzburg, with 180 penalty points. The team members were
Jonas Graf, Jan Joosten and Stephan Stegen. In the third spot was Tembisa West Secondary School from Midrand, with 190 penalty points achieved by Nimrod Dlamini, Nyilko Nxumalo and Nompilo Dywili. They shared the prize-money, totalling R17 100-00, as follows: Winners: R2 000-00 for each team member, second prize: R1 500-00 per team member and third prize: R1 200-00 per team member. Each educator from the winning schools received R1 000-00.As a direct result of this competition, there are presently four students studying civil engineering. These young people from disadvantaged back-grounds are determined to go MAD, i.e. Make A Diff erence in their communities. It is essential that projects of this kind be staged in order to address the skills shortage and diffi cult lives being led by many of our people!
BACKGROUNDBoth the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) and Rand Water celebrated a hundred years’ of existence in 2003 and, as part of their centenary celebrations, launched this joint competition for high school learners devised by Professor Kobus van Zyl and students from the University of Johannesburg. Since then, the competition has been streamlined and has gained momentum in application, including events such as team building and demonstrations on ‘techno-vation’ days.
WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORKSWater distribution systems are important in terms of supplying safe and clean drinking water for people. The teams are tasked to design a model water distribution network to distribute three litres of water equally between three points on the grid, using two diff erent diameter pipes and connection pieces. They are then judged on how well they exe-cute the task ‒ working on a penalty points system. They have a period of about an hour in which to
AQUALIBRIUM, the SAICE-TCTA Schools Water Competition 2011The fi nals of AQUALIBRIUM, the exciting SAICE-TCTA Schools Water Competition 2011, were held at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, in July 2011. Debbie Besseling was an adjudicator at the event, which showcases the potential of some of our young South Africans to become civil engineers.
Professor Kobus van Zyl demonstrates how the water distribution network works
LEFT Students putting together a trial run of their water distribution network
Education & training
69 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
design, build and operate their network. This competition exposes learners to the practical application of processes that infl uence their daily lives ‒ essentially how water gets to their homes. They are made aware of the intricacies involved in the design of water distribution networks and water delivery mechanisms.As part of the competition, the water cycle is explained to the learners. Issues such as why we have to pay for water, ex-planation on the building of dams, distri-bution of water through water boards to municipalities and then to users, as well as the conservation of our water resources, are discussed.The grid used for the water distribution network is on a background that depicts the entire water cycle. It intrigues learners, as well as educators, who fi nd it a very helpful educational tool. The competition creates awareness of the issues surrounding water in South Africa. It spreads the message that water is a pre-cious commodity, the use of which should be reduced, recycled, re-used, respected and conserved. Through this competition, SAICE and TCTA, the current major spon-sors, took responsibility for spreading the
news that water should be used wisely, that infrastructure should be maintained and that new infrastructure should be
created to provide potable water to those without access to this essential resource. This competition strengthens govern-ment’s initiatives aimed at encouraging
learners to take mathematics and science at school and to follow a career as a sci-ence or civil engineering professional.
This is the only way in which we can ensure that quality of life for all South Africans will improve in the years to come!
This competition strengthens government’s initiatives aimed at encouraging learners to take mathematics and science at school and to follow a career as a science or civil engineering professional
Winners: From left to right: Manglin Pillay, CEO of SAICE, Danielle Botha from Stirling High School in East London, Mbangiseni Nepfumbada, acting deputy director general of the Department of Water Affairs, Ilse Kemp from Stirling High School and Khudu Mbeba, senior manager: Transformation and Sustainability at TCTA In front: Richard Goosen and Michael Harvey from Stirling High School in East London
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The two events, each held over two days in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, at-tracted more than 200 delegates in total, from nine countries. This is the fi rst African
regional water losses summit to be offi cially sanc-tioned by the International Water Association. This year’s event was a joint eff ort involving the pri-vate and public sectors, with WRP as the main organ-iser and supported by many organisations, including the South African Department of Water Aff airs, the South African Water Research Commission, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), The City of Tshwane, Sasol, the German Government (GiZ), British Government (DFID) and the Australian Government (AusAid).
DETAILS OF PROCEEDINGS
TIM WALDRONThe events were opened by Tim Waldron, who is well known as one of the top water demand management (WDM) specialists in the world and
Highlights of the African Water Leakage Summit 2011This year’s African Water Leakage Summit highlighted the growing importance of water loss control in the African environment. Debbie Besseling attended the Johannesburg event.
chairman of the IWA Water Losses Specialist Group. In his opening address, Waldron emphasised the importance of reducing water losses from potable water supply systems worldwide and the key role that is being played by the IWA in its eff orts to drive down wastage. He presented an overview discus-sion on the latest developments around the world with regard to the reduction of water losses in urban areas. Waldron highlighted that the matter of water losses is now considered by the IWA to be one of the most important issues facing the world today. He indicated that, from his own assessment in South Africa, he believes that pressure management is one of the most important water loss interventions that should be considered as part of any water loss strategy, owing to the relatively high pressures that exist throughout the country. He commenced his second presentation by congratulating the South African Water Research Commission for being one of the fi rst organisations in the world to formally take up and support the IWA Water Balance from a national perspective.
Delegates at the African Water Leakage Summit 2011 held in Johannesburg. This is the fi rst African regional water losses summit to be offi cially sanctioned by the International Water Association
73 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
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He applauded the Water Research Commission’s approach of developing a full range of BABE software for free distri-bution throughout the country in order to encourage water loss reduction in all municipalities. He continued to stress the importance of moving away from percent-age losses by using a series of examples from around the world where percentage losses are extremely misleading.
PROF MIKE MULLERProfessor Mike Muller is the commissioner to the National Planning Commission, which advises the South African govern-ment on all water-related matters. He is also the specialist infrastructure advisor to the DBSA, in addition to being a visiting professor at Wits University. Prof Muller’s presentation primarily related to why a pragmatic approach to water loss reduc-tion is one of the most critical issues facing South Africa. He touched on the impor-tance of educating everyone working in all aspects of water services, from managers to labourers, since they must understand and appreciate how they fi t into the bigger picture of reducing water losses. He then presented examples highlighting the wa-ter resource situation in various large mu-nicipalities, where the need for both WDM and new water resource developments is already evident. He concluded his presen-tation by stating that “There will be a water crisis in South Africa in the next decade unless we pay more attention to the way in which we manage our water ‒ leak control and demand management will be vital”.
ALLESTAIR WENSLEY, PAUL HERBST, NIEL VAN WYK AND SIMON SCRUTONFollowing Prof Muller’s opening address, there were three related discussions from the three key directorates within the Department of Water Aff airs, all of which dealt with diff erent aspects of water loss control from the government’s perspec-tive. Firstly, Allestair Wensley, who is responsible for Local Government Planning and Information, provideda strategic inter-pretation of all water services information on which major government decisions and policies are based. Wensley set the scene for the summit by repeating the recent statement by the president, in which he indicated that South African municipalities must aim to reduce water losses by half by the year 2014.Paul Herbst from the Directorate of Water Use Effi ciency explained the actions being
taken by his directorate to assist water sup-pliers in reducing their non-revenue water.Niel van Wyk from the Directorate of Project Planning highlighted the fact that many parts of South Africa are already experiencing water shortages and that the government is planning for new resource developments to try and keep pace with the ever-growing demands.Simon Scruton from Ethekwini Metro (Greater Durban area) provided an over-view of the massive scale of WDM interven-tions being undertaken in Ethekwini.
WILLIAM MORAKAWilliam Moraka, who is the director of water services at SALGA, provided the local government’s perspective on water services and began his presentation by outlining the various initiatives that local and national government has embarked on to mitigate the water scarcity facing South Africa, including huge investments in transfer schemes to augment the coun-try’s water resources.
IAN BANDAIan Banda, MD of the Kafubu Water & Sewerage Company in Zambia, provided insight into the water supply situation in Zambia.
JAY BHAGWANJay Bhagwan, director of water use and wastewater management at the South African Water Research Commission, presented an overview of WDM and also details of the various models available from the Water Research Commission to assist municipalities in addressing water losses.
THEMBI MKIZE, ANDRIES MEYER, BOB KLEYNJAN & MOSES MABOYAThembi Mkize, who has an honours de-gree in Water Utilisation, from Emfuleni Local Municipality and Andries Meyer, a water utilisation specialist from Sasol New Energy, provided a completely novel approach to the problem of funding. They were supported in Cape Town by Bob Kleynjan and Moses Maboya, from Sasol and Emfuleni Municipality respec-tively. The project prese nted is a unique off ering in which the public sector and private sector co-operate to save water in the municipality.
GODFREY MWIINGA AND LOUIS STRYDOMGodfrey Mwiinga and Louis Strydom, both from the DBSA, presented details
of how the DBSA can assist with the funding of WDM interventions in the municipal environment.
ZAMA SIQALABAZama Siqalaba from WRP presented an overview of the community awareness and schools education programmes that she has organised in connection with various WDM initiatives.
ETIENNE HUGOEtienne Hugo heads up the Non-Revenue Water Reduction Programme for the larg-est demand centre in South Africa, the City of Johannesburg, with an annual demand of approximately 500 million cubic metres per annum. He explained the various inter-ventions being implemented throughout Johannesburg, which include large-scale pressure management, as well as one of the largest pre-paid metering initiatives in the world.
DR ALEXANDER SINSKEDr Sinske provided an overview of the methodology being employed by the City of Tshwane (the capital of South Africa) to identify pipes in need of replacement.
LOUW SMITLouw Smit from Beaufort West presented a very interesting case study on the recent water crisis that gripped the small town of Beaufort West, which is located in the dry Karoo area of South Africa.
STUART HAMILTONHamilton, a leak detection specialist from the UK, provided an overview of the vari-ous techniques and equipment that can be used to identify and locate leaks from municipal water supply systems.
KEITH BAILEY, PROF VAN ZYL AND DANIE VAN EEDENBailey from Elster Kent provided details on domestic metering and suggested that municipalities should replace the domestic meters at regular intervals and he provided an interesting case study where meter replacement provided a three-month pay-back. Van Eeden from Sensus concentrated on the importance of bulk meters and again highlighted examples where small errors on bulk meters can be translated into very substantial losses of water sales by a bulk water provider. Prof Van Zyl presented details of his new book, which is now available through the South African Water Research Commission.
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76 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 11
WATER METERING
Excellence in service delivery
Events
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
Abeco 62
Aquadam 64
Aurecon 9
Becon Watertec 19
Buckman Laboratories 16 & 17
Consolidated Water Conditioning 2
Degremont 10
Durban Instrument Specialists IBC
Elster Kent 46
ERWAT 7
Esorfranki 22
Famsystems 69
Festo 11
Hanna Instruments 57
ITT Water & Wastewater 13
JOAT Group 38
Kaytech 44
Krohne South Africa 47
Prentec 28
Quality Laboratories 59
Rockwell Automation 70
SBS Water Systems 60 & 61
Schneider Electric 74
Sensus 42
Sera Dose Tech 12
SSI 31
The Rare Group 51
Thermofi sher Scientifi c 56
Thuthuka Project Managers 14
TKPDNA 26
Trenchless Technologies IFC
Umvoto 125
Utility Systems 54
Valve & Allied 53
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies SA OFC
Vermeer Equipment Suppliers 20
Water & Sanitation Services South Africa OBC
Water Research Commission 34 & 35
WRP Consulting 68 & 69
Yokogawa South Africa 66
Zest 15
Zetachem 40
Elster Kent Metering held its annual symposium at the Johannesburg Country Club on 18 August 2011. The theme of this year’s event was 'Initiatives for excellence in service delivery and cost recovery.'
A range of topics was presented by key speakers throughout the one-day event. Some of these included: Improving meter
reading and billing accuracy by employ-ing automatic reading infrastructure; Reducing water escaping measurement by using the special features of water meters; Improving income generation by replacing old water meters; Using vol-ume controllers to reduce water lost to
leaks; Use of prepaid water meters to re-duce water 'lost by leaks' and to improve income generation; Keeping technical decisions with the engineers; Meter ap-provals and testing in the future; Large surface meter box options; 'Plug and play' battery-powered magnetic fl ow water meters. The well-attended event highlighted some of the latest technolo-gies in the market and provided an in-sight into the future of water metering.
From left: Keith Bailey, general manager: sales & marketing, Nico Wheeler, sales manager: exports, Moses Ntsime, customer liaison director, Mark Shamley, managing director and Gary Vincent, Elster Kent UK - general manager: Region 1 business unit: water
Patent No. RSA 95/9706 Unit 2, Zone 5, Murrayfield, 4 Prospecton Road, 4115 . P.O. Box 357, Umbogintwini, 4120
The Aqua Dirt Trap/Strainer was designed for the protection of turbine-type flow meters and pressure relief valves. In order to eliminate the issue of damage and blockages, the Aqua Strainer was developed using mild steel pipes and flanges. The main feature of this strainer is the sight glass, situated on the top flange. The sight glass enables one to see directly into the pipeline. Blockages can be identified by merely looking into the sight glass. Consequently, the water flow can be observed and monitored. Blockages can be observed and removed by simply unbolting the top flange and cleaning the stainless steel grid, thereby reducing the downtime and make troubleshooting and fault finding, easier.
ESSENTIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL WATER METERS AND PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES.
MAKE THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE Install before every water meter and pressure relief valve (PRV)
The Aqua Strainer is used and stocked at several Municipalities and water authorities.
The water departments have specified the Aqua Strainer for all its projects and installations. The Strainer/Dirt Trap is an essential protection for all water meters in order for it to operate efficiently.
