You said it in WASA The opinions and statements shared by thought leaders in the water industry to Water&Sanitation Africa.

APE Pumps is a proudly South African company that is committed to and invested in South Africa. Our products are 100% locally cast by South African foundries using local materials. That has major advantages for our clients because we are not reliant on imports and can design and fabricate pump systems within remarkably short turnaround periods. If well maintained, our pumps will last a lifetime - across Southern Africa, there are hundreds of working examples.”

Peter Robinson, director, APE Pumps

“Regulation 3630 empowers both process controllers and members of the public. It presents process controllers with an opportunity to forge a career as well as constantly upskill themselves and will play an important role in improving water and wastewater services for the public.” Dr Lester Goldman, CEO, WISA

“There is an adage that says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

WISA provides a platform for multiple stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines to meet, discuss and come up with innovate solutions for a sustainable water.”

Ashton Mpofu, non-executive director, WISA

“It is ironic that the environmentally friendly goals of renewable energy have driven demand for the extraction and processing of minerals for lithium-ion batteries, wind turbines, motors and solar panels. Fortunately, technology is available to minimise any adverse environmental and social consequences of the mining industry. Veolia Services Southern Africa addresses this irony via our unique water-waste-energy perspective for mining operations. We aim to create an environmental circular economy through the complete management of a mine’s water cycle.”

Reinier

Delport, business

“Mining companies must anticipate different climate change scenarios and then consider the impact on the operational and closure phases of a mine’s life. Traditionally, water resource infrastructure design has been based on the principle of ‘stationarity’, assuming that probabilistic characteristics of hydrologic and meteorologic processes remain consistent over time. However, it is evident that climate trends are shifting, making it insufficient to rely on historical climate data from the 1950s.”

Mehmetcan Özkadıo ğ

hydrologist, SRK Consulting

lu, development

manager:

Heavy Industry, Veolia Services Southern Africa

“The automotive sector is a major consumer of water, which is a critical component in various production processes, including paint spray booths, surface treatment and coating, hosing, rinsing and washing. Of the various automotive production processes that use water, metal finishing operations are notorious for high water consumption, but it is in the paint shop that water consumption is most significant.” Chris

Ashmore, GM, Watericon Group

“Anaerobic digestion holds significant promise for a country like South Africa with its energy and water problems. This creation of energy from rich organic effluent has become a successful reality and is being applied by an increasing number of food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. These industries have started reaping the environmental and financial rewards and we look forward to installing and operating more biogas projects in the future.” Grahame Thompson, project director, Talbot

“Most of this infrastructure is ageing and was built in the 1940s. Furthermore, theft and vandalism at all three of the complexes are a major issue. While we have security on the sites and armed patrols at night, vandalism and theft still regularly occur. This affects water supply and can be time-consuming to rectify. When thieves steal infrastructure such as valves and cables, it takes time to procure replacements while residents are left without water. Importantly, budget for infrastructure maintenance and upgrades has to be redirected to security measures.” Gugulethu Quma, electromechanical engineer: Operational Networks, Johannesburg Water

“M&D has always been able to work well with communities located within our project footprints. This ability is becoming increasingly important and one of the reasons that we remain a preferred pipeline contractor for municipalities and waterboards.” Donald Davies, site agent, M&D

“Isotope hydrology is vital in managing and conserving water resources. But the region faces a significant shortage of skilled professional. This has resulted in inadequate monitoring and management of groundwater and surface water resources, which poses a significant threat to South Africa’s socioeconomic development.” Yazeed van Wyk, research manager: Groundwater Hydrology, WRC

“It is no longer about simply constructing a toilet, but looking at the entire sanitation service chain. Given the challenges in access to the unserved, there is a need to adopt alternative sanitation solutions or non-sewered sanitation

“We are called the Department of Water and Sanitation; sanitation bares equal weight. Sanitation services have