WASA September 2016 by 3S Media

Promoting professional excellence in the water sector

Water& Sanitation The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa

Complete water resource and wastewater management

Africa

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY World-first pipe reaming for Tshwane LEAK MANAGEMENT Managing the ultimate constraint WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT Power to the plant

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE IN THE

HOT SEAT

“Our treatment systems are unique because they are capable of growing with a given mine. We’ve ensured that our modular technology is the perfect match.” Graham Hartlett

July

Sales director, WEC Projects

P12

Sept/Oct 2016 • ISSN 1990-8857 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 11 No. 5

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CONTENTS

Vol. 11 No. 5

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

Promoting professional excellence in the water sector

Water& Sanitation The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa

Complete water resource and wastewater management

Africa

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY World-first pipe reaming for Tshwane LEAK MANAGEMENT Managing the ultimate constraint WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT Power to the plant

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE IN THE

HOT SEAT

“Our treatment systems are unique because they are capable of growing with a given mine. We’ve ensured that our modular technology is the perfect match.” Graham Hartlett

Sales director, WEC Projects

July

P12

Sept/Oct 2016 • ISSN 1990-8857 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 11 No. 5

ON THE COVER Festo’s modular automation solution is being called the next evolutionary step in managing water and wastewater treatment works – the new technology is likely to set the trend for at least the next decade. P4

18 AFRICA ROUND-UP 20 DAMS & RESER VOIRS

REGULARS

Editor’s Comment 3 Africa Round-up 18 Product News 52

COVER STORY

Welcome to the future

WISA

CEO’s Comment 6 President’s Comment 7

YWP

YWP-ZA launches North West chapter HOT SEAT WEC Projects Mine water managed

PROCESS CONTROL

In control of a changing status

12 26 MINE WATER

PROFILE

Water Research Commission receives Water Award 2016

DAMS & RESERVOIRS

M&D leads in the water value chain

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Power to the plant

MINE WATER

Opening Pandora’s box Extracting value from mine water

LABORATORIES & EQUIPMENT

Turbidity science hots up Encouraging citizen science

16 20 23 26 29 31 32

PANEL DISCUSSION

APE Pumps 35 Chillisoft 37 Envirosan 39 NuWater 41 Quality Filtration Systems 42

LEAK MANAGEMENT

World-first pipe reaming for Tshwane Managing the ultimate constraint

BULK METERING

Water-saving strategies for bulk users

43 46 49

49 BULK ME TERING

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Publisher Elizabeth Shorten Managing editor Alastair Currie Editor Frances Ringwood Head of design Beren Bauermeister Chief sub-editor Tristan Snijders Sub-editor Morgan Carter Contributors Tony Bowers, Lester Goldman, Nora Hanke, Dhesigen Naidoo, Valerie Naidoo, Guzene O'Reilly, Reneshree Pillay, Tony Stone Marketing manager Mpinane Senkhane Client services & production manager Antois-Leigh Botma Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise Distribution manager Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham Financial manager Andrew Lobban Administration Tonya Hebenton Printers United Litho Johannesburg t +27 (0)11 402 0571 Advertising sales Avé Delport / Jenny Miller t +27 (0)11 467 6223 avedel@lantic.net / jennymiller@lantic.net

EDITOR'S COMMENT

SA water brings home the gold

t’s not just our Olympic team bringing home the awards, it’s also our water researchers! After speaking to Dhesigen Naidoo, CEO, WRC, about his organisation’s stellar achievement in winning the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s 2016 Water Award, I came away feeling extremely proud of our local water industry.

Publisher

World leaders We South Africans can often be a bit too hard on ourselves – always striving to be the best and becoming critical when results aren’t instantly achieved. However, in terms of global performance benchmarks, we are doing things that far outpace the rest of the world. For example, South Africa has increased its water access footprint from 58% in 1994 to 95% in the present day – results like this haven’t really been realised anywhere else in the world. Moreover, our rate of technological innovation in the field of water conservation has been staggering. Many of these innovations have been made possible through research or funding support from the WRC. Read more about the WRC’s award on pages 16 and 17. Other articles that touch specifically on technology that was developed through partnerships with the WRC are found on pages 29 and 38. Additionally, WRC members – in conjunction with the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa and GroundTruth – contributed towards an article about citizen science on pages 32 and 33. I believe this is an emergent trend in South African water science that has the potential to get more people from a much broader swathe of society excited about our rivers and water conservation. Initiatives such as these will sow the seeds for the future success of our industry.

Physical address: No 9, 3rd Avenue, Rivonia, 2191 Postal address: PO Box 92026, Norwood, 2117, South Africa t +27 (0)11 233 2600 • f +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 frances@3smedia.co.za ISSN: 1990 - 8857 Annual subscription: R300 (SA rate) subs@3smedia.co.za Copyright 2016. 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 CONTACTS: HEAD OFFICE Tel: 086 111 9472(WISA) Fax: +27 (0)11 315 1258 Physical address: 1st Floor, Building 5, Constantia Park, 546 16th Road, Randjiespark Ext 7, Midrand BRANCHES www.ewisa.co.za Eastern Cape Chairperson: Selby Thabethe Tel: +27 (0)41 506 2862 | Email: ssthabethe@vodamail.co.za Secretary: Christopher Maduma Tel: +27 (0)41 506 7527 | Email: cmaduma@mandelametro.gov.za

Mining bump The water industry has also recently witnessed some recovery in the mining sector ahead of this year’s Electra Mining Africa 2016 Conference and Expo. Taking place at the Nasrec Expo Centre, from 12 to 16 September this year, the conference is going to be an excellent opportunity for plant and equipment experts to provide the mining industry with the solutions necessary to maintain a clean environmental bill of health. Mine water pollution is becoming an increasingly easy phenomenon to map. It is in the interests of all mine operators to invest in future-proofing solutions now, to manage future risks, while also preventing the loss of their water-use licences. Read more about what’s happening in mine water treatment on pages 26, 29 and 49.

Free State Chairperson: Sabelo Mkhize Tel: +27 (0)53 830 6681 | Email: smkhize@solplaatje.org.za Secretary: Noeline Basson Cell: +27 (0)71 362 3622 | Email: ndb@malachi3.co.za KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson: Vishnu Mabeer Tel: +27 (0)31 311 8684 | Email: vishnu.mabeer@durban.gov.za Treasurer: Renelle Pillay Email: PillayR@dws.gov.za Limpopo Chairperson: Paradise Shilowa Cell: +27 (0)79 905 9013 | Email: paradises@polokwane.gov.za Secretary: Salome Sathege Tel: +27 (0)15 290 2535 | Email: salomes@polokwane.gov.za

Process control This edition covers so many important issues shared by the water community and, while it is impossible to mention them all, I’d like to recommend the cover story on pages 3 and 4. Everyone in the industry is talking about intelligent, modular automation and this article is one of the best I have yet read on how the benefits translate to equipment suppliers and their clients.

Mpumalanga Chairperson: Susan van Heerden Cell: +27 (0)82 800 3137 | Email: susanvanhd@gmail.com Secretary: Theo Dormehl Cell: +27 (0)83 294 0745 | Email: dormehl@soft.co.za Namibia Chairperson: Dr Vaino Shivute Secretary: Kristina Afomso Tel: +264 61 712080 | Email: afomsok@namwater.com.na Western Cape Chairperson: Natasia van Binsbergen Tel: +27 (0)21 448 6340 | Email: natasia@alabbott.co.za Secretary: Wilma Grebe Tel: +27 (0)21 887 7161 | Email: wgrebe@wamsys.co.za WISA’S VISION The promotion of professional excellence in the water sector, through building expertise, sharing knowledge and improving quality of life.

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WELCOME IN THE

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of growing are capable because they is the are unique technology ent systems our modular “Our treatm P12 ensured that , WEC Projects mine. We’ve t Sales director 11 No. 5 with a given VAT) • Vol. .” Graham Hartlet • R50.00 (incl. 1990-8857 perfect match Sept/Oct

July

2016 • ISSN

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COVER STORY

Festo’s modular automation solution is being called the next evolutionary step in managing water and wastewater treatment works. Based on the development of Industry 4.0, the new technology is likely to become the new standard for water purification within the next decade.

ndustry 4.0 is a relatively new concept in South Africa. It refers to the fourth industrial revolution, where automation and data-exchange technologies, including machine-to-machine communication and the internet of things, lead to smart facilities that operate optimally, lowering end-user costs while also being resource efficient. Festo’s response to this new trend has been enabled by the water treatment system known as skids. By pairing highly flexible, intelligent skids with Festo’s modular automation, plant systems can be controlled based on the “Lego principle” – a movement away from monolithic control towards a system of autonomously operating modules. This allows original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to roll out plants faster while being more adaptable and endlessly expandable. In addition to this, Festo also offers vendors independent, Didactic training courses so that the people behind the plants are capacitated to get the most from the new technology. Lego principle Strini Perumal, Industry Segment Specialist: Water and Wastewater, Festo SA, explains how the system works, “Our response to Industry 4.0 is to introduce cybernetics and information technology into the monitoring and control processes in the water treatment industry, where Strini Perumal, Industry Segment Specialist: Water and Wastewater, Festo SA

SEPT/OCT 2016

WELCOME TO THE

FUTURE

different segments of a water treatment works (WTW) or wastewater treatment works (WWTW) are operated independently, allowing for modular automation.” In essence, modular automation means that each process in a plant is designated as a module and operates on its own but is, at the same time, controlled from a central point via a Scada system. Each module within the plant thus forms an independent unit, which a machine manufacturer can then use to create repeatable plant configurations – a system that ultimately lowers end-user costs. “Through the implementation of the Lego principle, the OEMs and machine manufacturers behind these plants can achieve the results they need and duplicate successful configuration quickly – saving time and money for their clients,” says Perumal. “Like the Lego toy, these modules are relatively standard, meaning that pieces can be added or removed to build up or change a system as needed,” he adds. Whether a plant is located in a rural setting or a factory environment, different processes can be selected and combined for different purposes. Some of these processes include gravity-fed filtration, ion-exchange, ultrafiltration systems, reverse osmosis systems and pump stations.

Festo’s Lego principle is enabled through the availability of highly versatile, flexible skids

“Each one of these modular plants would have programmable logic controllers (PLCs), valves and actuators, valve terminals, pressure sensors, temperature sensors and the like. Instead of running them all through the main control room, they operate through decentralised control,” explains Perumal. “We monitor this from a central control room,” he adds. Remote I/Os and PLCs installed in decentralised control cabinets process the electrical signals while valve terminals activate the actuators pneumatically. The process control system communicates with the control Cabinets by means of Fieldbus. Compare this to the approach that preceded modular automation – what Festo terms the “monolithic approach”. This is the standard plant set-up of today and it offers far less flexibility. The monolithic approach offers little ability to make capacity adjustments, requiring laborious engineering processes, allowing for few upgrade options, and requiring high investment costs and long planning timelines. Modular and intelligent The plants of the future will consist of modules that incorporate all the automation functions they require to carry out their own processes. However, process-related

COVER STORY modules need a small, adaptable and autonomous automation system. By implementing decentralised, intelligent solutions in the individual modules, there is no need to reprogram and reconfigure the application software. The modules can be integrated with minimal effort into the overall automation solution for the production process. Also, less commissioning time is required, making modular automation a truly “plug-and-play” solution. Several automated modules can be added to the plant without the need to extend the automation technology of the overall plant. It is important to be able to expand or modify plants easily without having to go immediately to large-scale plants. Numbering up “At Festo, we call this process ‘numbering up’, instead of scaling up, because the number of modules increases,” explains Perumal. “Coming back to the actual products that make this system possible, these include our valve terminals and the CPX platform. This is basically the central modular automation system, not only for pneumatics but also for electronics. It has IP 65/67 ratings with different variants but is also available with different controllers, with remote I/Os or a number of sensors and pressure monitoring on a modular basis,” explains Perumal. “Looking at the product itself, our CPX/ MPA valve terminals, process valves, DFPD actuators and modulating valves – with smart positioning DPFI and CMSX – work together to provide a complete solution to the automation side of WTWs and WWTWs,” he adds. Variants of skids While, for example, pump skids, with their low level of complexity, require only a few valve slices in the pneumatic section of a CPX/MPA, filter module skids need analogue inputs and outputs for pressure monitoring. More complex modules such as a CIP skid, which comprises plant sections and containers for cleaning agents and the mixing of cleaning solutions, require further automation modules on the CPX/MPA such as analogue inputs for temperature measurement or a controller for the proportional technology. These skids must operate autonomously and be extremely reliable. They communicate continuously with a master controller, which manages the overall system. Another

Hugo van Niekerk, Business Manager: Training and Consulting, Festo Didactic

advantage of the skids is that the costs for laying cables and wiring are comparatively low. Advantages for engineering These are not the only advantages of modular automation. For a complete process industry plant, using modules makes the engineering process faster and more cost-efficient, as there is no need to modify the entire automation concept by expanding the complete plant, but only to connect the relevant automation modules to the management system. This ensures seamless communication between the various levels of the automation pyramid. For OEMs, the modular concept also means that it is possible to produce low volumes of uniform modules or even to produce skids for stock. As a result, they can enjoy economies of scale both in production and assembly. At the same time, the manufacturers' ability to deliver is enhanced, allowing their end users to reach their markets more quickly with the right production quantities of new products. Client cost savings Cost savings associated with an Industry 4.0 system can be translated directly to customers. “Having these plug-and-play systems means the OEMs can keep skids in stock, thereby reducing costs, and can deliver to end users within faster response times. End users see these benefits and, by managing this together with Didactic training courses, they gain a better understanding of intelligent monitoring systems. These systems allow users to pick up problems waiting to happen, lowering downtimes and keeping plants productive,” explains Perumal. Services and training “With regard to our services, we provide commissioning services, PLC programming, plant audits, energy tests, repairs and services, and complete customer solutions. This speaks to the total asset life cycle, from supplying to setting up stockholding. Over and above that, there’s the educational leg of the company that stands close to the industrial leg,” says Perumal.

Festo’s Didactic component makes up about 15% of the company’s overall turnover – a significant portion compared to other industrial facilities that run training as a side concern. “Our various technical training courses include topics such as pneumatics, water treatment and the water cycle,” adds Hugo van Niekerk, Business Manager: Training and Consu lting, Festo Didactic. “We deliver our training services to the highest standards, with our portfolio combining training courses with tailor-made knowledge checks, e-learning, courseware and handson learning systems. We’re particularly proud of our training needs analysis; the process behind this offering is that we approach clients, determine the type of technical skills needed on their sites – assessing personnel skills gaps – and then we customise a solution. This limits time away from work and facilitates higher productivity,” Van Niekerk explains. “Additionally, Festo is at the forefront of Industry 4.0. We’ll be rolling out courses for an Industry 4.0 qualification towards the end of next year, with the training equipment necessary to provide the courses coming into the country towards the end of this year,” he adds. Conclusion Festo has been involved in the water industry since 1996, and has developed its products and solutions to the point of being a leader in the field of WTW and WWTW automation. Focusing on improving efficiency for OEMs in subSaharan Africa, Festo’s modular automation system has enormous potential to preserve water resources, reduce project implementation timelines and reduce implementation costs in the developing, water-stressed region. Through its response to Industry 4.0, Festo provides the right technology to enhance efficiency and productivity, supported by the development of skills, driving the business objectives of purification works.

www.festo.co.za

In each issue, Water&Sanitation Africa offers 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 feature article. The magazine offers 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.

SEPT/OCT 2016

CEO'S COMMENT

WISA

Turning over a new branch Dr Lester Goldman, CEO, WISA

e, at WISA, are proud of having established the Gauteng branch on 27 July this year. In the past, WISA’s Gauteng members were served by the WISA head office. With 1 009 active members, 173 companies and nine technical divisions based in Gauteng, this distribution of duties presented a few challenges. Given that the country’s most populous province was served by staff that had mostly non-related strategic outputs and tasks, I believe that there were some lost opportunities, as a result of not having a Gauteng branch. So, it only made sense that we change – to better serve the members of the region. Local support WISA made a call to the members of the region to test support. We received an overwhelmingly positive response, with numerous offers from volunteers. As a result, the WISA board approved the branch earlier this year. I am pleased to say that Ashwin Seetal has kindly taken up the role of interim branch chairman. The new branch committee will be starting off with a clean slate, which means it has the opportunity to be innovative and creative. Branch feedback WISA would like to encourage its members to communicate with their regional branches to address concerns and find solutions to identified challenges. The growth of WISA is dependent upon the growth of WISA’s branches, as these are mainly where we interact with members. The branches are also where we will be able to roll out WISA’s strategies, and

SEPT/OCT 2016

The Water Institute of Southern Africa has established a new Gauteng branch to better service one of its largest support bases. A renewed spirit of volunteerism is largely to thank for this. achieve a multiplier effect brought about by economies of scale. Moreover, it is at branch level that we have our ears to the ground – listening to our members and communities – and where we develop our strategies. The new Gauteng branch (as well as our existing branches) must also strive to unite members and divisions located within the region, so that we do not duplicate resources or efforts, becoming more effective and efficient as an organisation. Organisational change and growth are seldom easy, but very much worth the required work. Branch volunteerism As I have mentioned in the past, the success of our branches would not be possible without our volunteers. Some commonly cited benefits of volunteering include: • Working together as a diverse group reduces stereotypes, increases appreciation of other cultures, and offers youth access to vast wisdom. • Volunteering oneself into service, learning and serving others has positive academic and personal effects. • It increases exposure to work and personal opportunities.

• It improves the quality and lives of associated communities. • It strengthens local stakeholder relations, among other benefits. I look forward to working with the new Gauteng branch to ensure that the region becomes a driving force for positive change within our sector. In the pursuit of this goal, WISA is busy creating new terms of reference for branches. Branch members will form an essential sounding board in the development of these terms. Furthermore, the WISA board and head office are committed to ensuring that other branches link up, becoming a unified team, slowly but surely making a positive difference on the ground, in our communities, and also in our country. I salute our members for their efforts so far, but the hard work starts here. Also, I look forward to regular events and interactions, which will inspire, educate, connect, empower and humble us, as we remember the vital role we have to play. Thank you,

Lester

WISA

PRESIDENT ’S COMMENT

Dr Valerie Naidoo, president, WISA

Optimising wastewater treatment efficiencies Resource (energy) efficiency and recovery within the water space is becoming an increasingly topical issue. Valerie Naidoo, president, Water Institute of Southern Africa, asks, “Do our current challenges paralyse us?”

he truth is that wastewater management should never stand still. Optimisation, treatment efficiency, continuous improvement and striving towards best practice should all be part of a municipality’s culture and performance. In the case of B- 3 and 4 municipalities, it is acceptable, for now, to call for a “backto-basics” approach, but the remaining municipalities should set targets that move them beyond purely regulatory standards. It is only when the latter approach is taken that opportunity can be seized upon. Resource efficiency Resource efficiency and recovery is not simply “blue-sky” research trying to make its way into practice; there are tangible concepts that can be applied today. In 2008, the Global Water Research Coalition produced a ‘State of Science’ report on energy and resource recovery

eThekwini, Johannesburg Water and ERWAT are showing positive signs in pushing the boundaries

from sludge. It identified that, due to the anticipated increase in electricity costs in future, resource and particularly energy recovery will become common practice. It concluded that there were various existing technologies ranging from energy-to-biogas, energy-to-syngas, sludge-to-oil and sludge-to-liquid processes available to adopt and there were also several emerging technologies available. The latter requires scaling up and adaptation in partnership with utilities. Sweden and Japan appear to be at the forefront in energy and resource recovery and the Netherlands, Germany, the US and China, among others, are also driving such initiatives. The impetus for such initiatives includes sustainability and environmental concerns,

rising energy costs, requirements for high-quality resources (such as phosphate) and regulation. I would venture to add an additional driver linked to sustainability, namely climate change mitigation and adaptation. In South Africa, the Water Research Commission (WRC) has embarked on a research strategy in this field, supporting research in four areas: resource (energy) efficiency, resource recovery using current technologies and systems, next-generation resource recovery technologies and approaches, and blue-sky research like wastewater biorefineries and biomimicry – which are focusing on disruptive innovation options. Energy focus A Global Water Research Coalition and WRC report, entitled ‘Energy Efficiency in the South African Water Industry: A Compendium of Best Practices’, showed that wastewater treatment uses about 55% of energy in the water sector and that the majority of this energy (50% to 75%) is used for aeration. The latter led to a study (WRC TT654/15: ‘Energy Use Reduction in Biological Nutrient Removal Wastewater Treatment Plants’), which looked at two wastewater plants and used advanced process modelling to evaluate energy conservation. The study categorised its findings into three feasible measures a municipality can implement when it is ready to invest. The first is simple: “low-hanging fruit” are measures that use existing aeration and control equipment, and could potentially realise about 14% aeration energy consumption cost savings. The second – low-to-medium capital investment measures – could potentially SEPT/OCT 2016

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save about 21% of aeration energy cost savings. The final measure involves high capital investment by replacing existing surface aerators and could potentially save up to 39% of energy costs with a payback period of 5.8 to 6.4 years. Most interesting, however, was the finding that, by effecting the process control changes, the plants improve their performance of biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes. In another study (WRC K5/2475: ‘Guiding Principles in the Design and Operation of a Wastewater Sludge Digestion Full-Scale Plant with Enhanced Combine Heat and Power (CHP) Generation’), which followed on from the WRC’s ‘Energy from Wastewater’ study, a mapping exercise was conducted to evaluate the scale at which energy generation becomes feasible for a municipality. Using Green Drop data (2014), it was found that drying beds were the key technology type and used by 353 plants, followed by anaerobic digestion, which was applied at 217 plants. Of these, 108 plants confirmed the use of anaerobic digestion for the stabilisation and treatment of sludge. The study used a biogas-to-energy tool to evaluate the feasibility of applying biogas-to-energy at the 108 plants, using a minimum feasibility requirement with a 15-year lifespan and payback period. The study concluded that 31 plants do not have sufficient generating capacity, while 77 plants (71%) have a generating capacity of >70 kWe. Further analysis of the 71 plants revealed that 38% Globally, there is will have a generating work being done on capacity of 70 kWe to the fertiliser value 230 kWe and will be feaof sludge for use sible for CHP, while 33% directly on land or will have a generating capacity of >230 kWe and from the generation make suitable candidates of compounds like for CHP with commercial struvite, which may or municipal funding. have a commercial Finally, I just want to value due to highlight that, globally, escalating costs there is work being done on the fertiliser value of sludge for use directly on land or from the generation of compounds like struvite, which may have a commercial value due to escalating costs of fertiliser and depletion of deposits. In South Africa, the University of Pretoria was funded by the WRC to evaluate the fertiliser value of sludge and create a tool that allows farmers to safely apply sludge to land based on the needs of plants. Conclusion These studies show that the larger metros have opportunities that could be explored and implemented in the short term, moving them towards global best practice. In the medium to long term, with the advent of emerging technologies, energy and resource recovery will become the norm. These studies also highlight the need for metros to become leaders by testing and adapting emerging technologies and sharing lessons and building technical capability. eThekwini, Johannesburg Water and ERWAT are showing positive signs in pushing the boundaries and we hope this trend continues as we move towards a water- and resource-sensitive society.

SEPT/OCT 2016

WISA

Y WP

YWP-ZA launches

North West chapter The South African Young Water Professionals (YWP-ZA) is excited to have launched the North West chapter (YWP-NW) on 23 July this year at the beautiful NorthWest University (NWU) Botanical Garden in Potchefstroom. By Guzene O’Reilly & Nora Hanke*

his is the newest pearl in the string of successful provincial chapters – the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZuluNatal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. The goal of each provincial branch is to provide local opportunities for growth and development of South Africa's valuable YWPs. Each of the YWP-ZA provincial branches has its own committee, whose duties include: • organising fun events on a regular basis for YWPs to meet and share knowledge

• providing opportunities for, and encouraging, social and professional development • providing career development opportunities and supporting employer recruitment of YWPs • promoting the programme and encouraging engagement and participation of YWPs in WISA activities • providing representation for YWPs on the YWP national committee. Through these activities, the provincial chapters have become YWP-ZA’s most important local touchpoint, as we estimate that the provincial events alone reached more than 3 000 people over the last two years. YWP-ZA has created a globally unique model (with some similarities in the Australian chapter), which other countries are interested in emulating and which has ensured YWPZA’s continued growth and widespread interest. This interest was also reflected in the YWP-NW launch, as guests included students, lecturers and professionals – some of whom came all the way from Mafikeng.

ABOVE New YWP-NW committee BELOW LEFT (from left) Prof Nico Berg, North-West University; Guzene O’Reilly, YWP-NW chairperson; Dr Henry Roman, Department of Science and Technology

Launch day It was a cold Saturday morning, but the YWP-NW committee had a warm line-up for the day. Formalities kicked off with YWP-ZA chairperson Nora Hanke giving an overview on YWP-ZA and its role in empowering young South Africans in the water sector. Thereafter, Prof Nico Smit, unit director: Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), gave a summary of the various research areas in the unit. He also introduced the addition of the unit’s new Master’s in Environmental Management (MEnvMan) programme. The keynote speaker for the day was Dr Henry Roman, director: Environmental Services and Technologies, Department of Science and Technology, and a founding member and strong supporter of YWP-ZA. Currently, he is also the chair of the International Water Association’s South African (IWA-SA) chapter – a division of the Water Institute of Southern Africa. He gave an inspiring keynote address focusing on some of the SEPT/OCT 2016

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major problems that we face in the water sector today, which highlighted the opportunities that we, as young water professionals, have to make a difference in the water sector. Social line-up After the formal activities were done, it was time for a bit of fun. First up was a networking activity lead by Shanna Nienaber, the outgoing YWP-ZA chairperson. This was an opportunity for the guests to get to know each other from a professional point of view and discuss the main problems regarding water in the North West province. After the various groups proposed what they felt were the major challenges in the province, as well as ideas for future events for YWP-NW, it was time to get to know each other socially. The committee arranged for a few fun water games to be played. This was great fun and the deserving team got first prize. The day ended with lunch being served. The launch was a huge success and the North West committee can’t wait to see what the future holds for the chapter. If it’s even half as fun as the launch was, it is going to be fantastic. Keep an eye out for North West and other events at www.ywp-za.org (like the exciting Imvalisi Enviropreneurship workshops). Those wanting to know more about YWP-NW and how to get involved, please contact Guzene at guzenephd@gmail.com or email Nora at norah@eseta.org.za.

*Guzene O’Reilly is the North West chairperson for YWP-ZA and Nora Hanke is the national chairperson. SEPT/OCT 2016

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HOT EASTERN SEAT CAPE

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

Mine water managed WEC Projects has a long history servicing the mining sector, with its core business for many years focusing on packaged water and sewage treatment plants. Graham Hartlett, sales director, discusses how the benefits of this experience translate directly into cost savings for clients. What is WEC’s history and experience in the mining industry?

GH Our sewage treatment plants have been installed at mines all over Africa, and we have even completed a packaged sewage treatment plant project on a mine in Australia. This breadth of experience demonstrates WEC Projects’ excellence in packaged treatment plant engineering as well as the reach of our reputation. The plants themselves are easy to transport, with all tanks and modules designed to fit easily on flatbed trucks. This enables us to transport a >350 kℓ/day sewage treatment plant by road – significantly reducing our on-site installation time as we don’t build on-site. Another way in which our plants are flexible and ideal for remote sites is our extensive use of shipping containers, either for housing the entire plant, or providing a weatherproof, lockable and durable plant room. Moreover, the mining environment is an exciting challenge for WEC Projects because water is such an integral part of the mining process. Mining is highly dependent on water for various reasons, including the provision of drinking water for the staff, providing sanitation infrastructure and the treatment of process water. WEC Projects has designed and installed hundreds of packaged treatment plants over the last decade and, as expert suppliers of packaged treatment plants, we have the capacity to cater for all sizes and treated

SEPT/OCT 2016

water qualities. Each plant is designed according to the client’s requirements and based on the quality of the site’s raw water. While some of these process water applications can be tricky, WEC Projects’ enviable design and engineering team can overcome virtually any challenge through the incorporation of robust and consistently reliable technologies.

What are some of the most popular services required by mining clients and why? It’s vital that a mining community has access to clean high-quality drinking water. Also, it’s important to be aware of the impact we have on the environment and this makes sanitation infrastructure (including sewage treatment, process water recycling and wastewater treatment for discharge) a key service. Clean drinking water supplied by our treatment plants is typically sourced from groundor surface-water sources, which have very different characteristics and require discrete treatment approaches. Again, this is another area in which our flexibility and experience prove invaluable. Wash water from the vehicle service areas ABOVE Graham Hartlett, sales director, WEC Projects

Ideal for remote locations, plants can be housed in shipping containers either for security or weatherproofing, depending on clients’ specific needs

and gland service water are also popular for treatment and reuse applications. Worth remembering, too, is that many mines operate in water-scarce environments and, therefore, the treatment and reuse of water is of the utmost importance. Regarding acid mine drainage, we can also treat for the mitigation and prevention of environmental degradation.

Given the effect of economic challenges on the commodities sector, what is the value proposition for mining companies to manage their water? Lowering one’s production costs in any business is important and particularly so in tough economic times. In spite of this, water reuse remains critical. Fortunately, it can also represent an opportunity to add value to the business. By implementing a treatment and reuse philosophy, mines can save on water transfer costs through, for example, the use of treated sewage effluent for irrigation purposes, or supplementing process water requirements (application dependent).

HOT SEAT WEC Projects’ packaged treatment plants are easy to transport, with all tanks and modules designed to fit easily on flatbed trucks

Moreover, a water treatment plant should be an asset to a mining operation and WEC Projects’ experience helps us to ensure that what the client purchases is an asset.

WEC Projects has made a name for itself as a leader in the municipal water sector. Do you have any solutions for the mining sector that typify WEC’s reputation for excellence? Our packaged plant offering has been developed in the mining sector where equipment specifications are extremely high. As a result, we now have a product perfectly suited to this environment. What makes our treatment systems unique is that they are capable of growing a given mine. This is valuable because a mining site will typically start off small, experience an enormous increase in population on-site during the construction phase, and then plateau for the operational phase. This dynamic environment requires equally dynamic treatment solutions. Our modular technology is the perfect match. Again, our vast experience means that our treatment systems are – to a certain extent – “pre-engineered”. We, therefore, have a solid base to customise the treatment plant, without having to revert back to the drawing board for each new installation. As an added plus, being able to draw on ingrained institutional knowledge accelerates our lead times. Also, since we do not have a predisposition towards any specific technology, we are in the ideal position to select the appropriate technology for a given mine, translating savings from this process directly to the client. Basically, whatever will work best in that situation is what we will propose, design, supply, install and, in some cases, operate. Additionally, our engineering, procurement and construction capabilities enable us to provide turnkey solutions for the mining industry’s water requirements.

Why will WEC be exhibiting at Electra Mining 2016 this year and can the market expect any new product launches or supply innovations? The mining sector remains a crucial market for WEC Projects. We will continue to add value to our clients in mining through innovative thinking and well-engineered

solutions. The Electra Mining exhibition is a fantastic channel for us to engage with our clients in this sector. Moreover, WEC Projects has an extensive network that we enjoy engaging with. Electra Mining gives us the ideal platform to show that we value the excellent relationships we have with our clients. Collocated with Electra Mining is Powerex, which also provides us at WEC Projects with the opportunity to showcase our capabilities in the renewable energy space as leaders in biogas-to-energy solutions. We are looking forward to sharing that expertise too.

treatment plant we designed, supplied and installed for a major coal miner in Tete, Mozambique, with the primary process being reverse osmosis. The plant treats process water for reuse and included chemical pretreatment – clarification using WEC Projects’ proprietary lamella settlers. These increase plant clarification by up to four times compared with that of conventional clarifiers, which is one of the main reasons the project delivered enhanced environmental performance. Another contributing factor was our installation of ultrafiltration ahead of the reverse osmosis unit.

Can you describe a successful past project where you assisted a mining client manage its environmental performance? There are quite a few projects where our capabilities have really shone. One that stands out in particular is a 180 kℓ/h process water

www.wecprojects.co.za SEPT/OCT 2016

PROCESS EASTERNCONTROL CAPE PROVINCIAL FOCUS

control

In of a changing status The professionalisation of process controllers – the South African water industry’s youngest profession – comes with a raft of benefits for water and wastewater plant management. As such, breaking knowledge silos is essential to improving plant efficiency on a national scale. By Tony Bowers*

s South Africans, we have made and continue to make outstanding strides towards the advancement of water and wastewater science, the design of appropriate treatment technologies, and the sharing of scientific and water engineering knowledge. We have produced and continue to produce water and wastewater research scientists of outstanding quality. Our research work is being exported to other countries who successfully apply the theories and methodologies resulting from this body of work. However, we’ve failed to match the same level of success at an operational or functional level within our country. In the water sector’s search for answers, we’ve stumbled across many functional deficiencies, but highlighting some of these would not be very helpful at this stage. However, what I would like to highlight here is the “Cinderella status” that was associated with the South African water care operator in the past and how this eventually contributed to the challenges that we were experiencing at a functional level, especially in the field of wastewater treatment.

SEPT/OCT 2016

Operator history

The historical role of the South African water care operator has always been restricted to that of a functional worker and, as such, the important role that they have played in the water sector was viewed as insignificant until the early 1990s. The obscurity of the role was so profound that the majority of scholars and academics working in the water sector were not even aware that the occupation existed; credit for the successful operation or management of a treatment works being given to the site chemist. In any event, the problem concerning the diminished status of the water care operator was identified way back in the 1990s when the matter was tabled and debated at a Water Institute of Southern Africa council meeting. The Water Care Division of WISA (a group representing the interests of water care personnel) persuaded the institute to officially support a name change from “operator” to “process controller”. After a lengthy and heated

debate, WISA agreed and accepted the name change under former president Danie Klopper. It was pointed out, at the time, that the title of “operator” did not reflect the important role that the so-called water care operator played. This is because the legal definition of “operator” assisted in suppressing and diminishing the status of this important group within the water sector. The South African Labour Glossary defines an operator as: “a worker who handles machines or equipment whose level of skill is generally lower than that required of a technician or an artisan”. This stated definition forms the basis of the diminished status of the South African water care operator. The same reference is used extensively to describe other menial occupations that are not associated with any scientific and engineering processes linked to the management, operation, maintenance, control and monitoring of a ABOVE Tony Bowers, strategic group manager, Mpumamanzi Group

PROCESS CONTROL

water supply or wastewater collection system. Furthermore, some examples of jobs associated with “operator” include: lawn mower operator, tractor operator, machine operator, switchboard operator, lift operator, flight operator, computer operator, etc. It is for this reason that the campaign for the name change to process controller was vigorously pursued. Today, hundreds of water treatment personnel proudly refer to themselves as process controllers and would find the term “operator” offensive. Moreover, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has also recognised the importance of the name change for thousands of so-called operators across the country and it has subsequently shown its support for the name change through its revision of the current R2834 regulation enshrined within the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998).

also said that it is concerned that many water care professionals (irrespective of professional background) will now start to openly identify themselves as process controllers.

Cooperation critical

It has sometimes been said, in the media and even during public professional presentations, that South Africa is in the throes of a water and wastewater management crisis. This is simply not the case. The real challenges lie in breaking the knowledge silos built up among the professionalised vocations in this sector so that that information is shared with process controllers for the more efficient Next step: accreditation management of plants. It is hoped that the In another milestone for process controlprofessionalisation of the process controllers, WISA has been accredited by the ler will go some way towards supporting South African Qualifications Authority as trust and knowledge transfer between the only body capable of bestowing the these different disciplines working within professional title of process controller upon the same sector. those deserving of this status. This event The truth is that the sustainable manhas resulted in process controllers being agement of any water service system is recognised as the youngest professional dependent on the collective efforts of a group within the water sector. It is the multidisciplinary team of water profescrowning achievesionals, of which the proToday, hundreds ment of their strugfessional process controller of water treatment gle for recognition is a core member. over a period of personnel proudly The relatively recent inrefer to themselves troduction and implementhree decades. In attaining this as process tation of the Blue Drop and hard-won status, controllers and Green Drop certifications a need has arisen would find the term in 2009 served to highlight to emphasise that the importance of the “operator” offensive process controller’s role. the term “process controller” should not be viewed as a Moreover, the professional process consubstitute for the term “operator”. There is troller and professional process engineer a clear distinction between the two names. cannot work in isolation from one another. Process controllers form part of a new famA compartmentalised approach would risk ily group (irrespective of rank or qualificathe collapse of sustainable service delivery. tion) registered and classified by the DWS. Process controller development Moreover, process controllers are directly The urgent need to develop skilled proor indirectly involved in one or more of the cess controllers is made evident by the following functions associated with a water fact that, out of almost 6 000 registered supply, wastewater collection system, or and licensed process controllers in the both: system or plant management, plant country, WISA has managed to confer asset management, plant operations, and professional status on only 80 to date. plant control and monitoring. Further, the institute has determined Additionally, WISA’s Process Controller that this figure could climb as high as 200 Division has stated previously that this once those who previously identified as new-found status holds long-term ben“natural scientists” feel comfortable with efits for the sustainable management the designation of process controller. The of South African water and wastewater role of the water sector in assisting with management systems. The division has

WISA made the sponsored attendance of the WISA 2016 Conference possible by waiving the registration fees of the process controlers

the development and nurturing of professional process controllers is crucial for the role to reach its full potential. That’s why the Mpumamanzi Group has made a conscious decision to lead the sector in this regard, albeit on a small scale. The group provides a broad range of professional services within the water and coal mining sector. We are passionate about the development of process controllers across the country. Despite our limited funds, we invest substantially in initiatives that will lead to the development of better process controllers and we do this in various ways. One of our main initiatives is to sponsor young process controllers to attend the biennial WISA conferences. As the largest water conference in Africa, this platform provides the process controller with the opportunity to participate as a member of the water community outside of the plant. Mpumamanzi has been sponsoring process controllers to attend these important conferences since 2012. At the WISA 2012 Conference, which was held in Cape Town, where we sponsored three process controllers from Mpumalanga, it was their first visit to Cape Town. This was followed up, in 2014, with the WISA Conference in Mbombela and then again in 2016, with the conference held at the Durban ICC. WISA made these visits possible by waiving their registration fees.

*Tony Bowers, BTech Water, Pr PC Water, SFWISA, is the strategic group manager for the Mpumamanzi Group. SEPT/OCT 2016

PROFILE

Water Research Commission receives

WATER AWARD 2016 Earlier this year, South Africa’s Water Research Commission (WRC) was honoured with the Water Award 2016. Dhesigen Naidoo, CEO, WRC, explains the award’s significance for both the local and global water research communities.

n 30 June, during the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s 10th anniversary gala dinner, I received – on behalf of the WRC, the government and the people of South Africa – the prestigious 2016 Water Award for the WRC’s contribution towards a better understanding of the environment and its outstanding work in South Africa in the field of sustainable water resources, water supply and sanitation. His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco handed the prize over to me at the Salle des Etoiles. The foundation was created by the prince in 2006, and it is dedicated to environmental protection and sustainable development, with focuses on climate change, biodiversity and water. In 2008, the foundation developed its awards programme to honour key international figures

SEPT/OCT 2016

and organisations for their exemplary work within its three priority domains of action. It also offers a tribune for raising awareness, supporting courageous ideas and recognising the work accomplished. The calibre of the other recipients shows the illustrious company we keep and also reveals the weight of this achievement. Laurence Tubiana won the Climate Change Award, as the special ambassador for the COP 21 climate change convention held in Paris this year, while Luc Hoffman was honoured with the Biodiversity Award. A pioneering spirit in

Dhesigen Naidoo, CEO, WRC

I invite the global community to the laboratory that is South Africa, Africa and the developing world, within which we can, together, construct the embryo of the world that we want to see for our children and the generations to come

PROFILE

From left: Laurence Tubiana; Prince Albert II of Monaco; Maja Hoffman (representing Luc Hoffmann), founder and president of the LUMA Foundation and LUMA Arles, vice-president of the Tour du Valat Foundation; and Dhesigen Naidoo of the WRC

wetlands work, Hoffman played a central role in the development of the Ramsar Convention to which South Africa and many countries around the world are signatories. The idea of the awards, in general, is to recognise the achievements of people who are leading in these three fields so that they serve as points of inspiration to the rest of the world. We have a water and science community in this country that we should be proud of. It is small but highly productive: South Africa currently ranks 18th in the world when it comes to scientific output in the water domain. This is remarkable because there are many other countries that have much bigger water research communities that practise in this domain, so we are clearly highly effective. As I mentioned during my acceptance speech, the global deficit on access to safe water is – according to Unicef’s latest figures – 9% or 663 million people, and dignified sanitation stands at 32% or 2.4 billion people. In addition, the Food and Agriculture Organization says that, in spite of our remarkable efforts in the last 20 years, some 780 million people – or one ninth of the world’s population – are still food insecure and live in hunger. We also know that the vast majority of these folk live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Additionally, I explained that our country enthusiastically signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, with the target of universal access to safe water and improved sanitation and possibly an end to hunger globally by 2030. The WRC, together with its partners in South Africa, Africa and the world, has committed itself to being the research, development and innovation partner to help make this possible. We, as a global community, must use this thin-end-of-the-wedge opportunity to invest in a leap-frogging strategy, facilitating a greener, more climate-friendly water and sanitation revolution; one characterised by: • fit-for-purpose water use, encouraging reuse and recycling • point-of-use and decentralised treatment solutions with concomitant energy production • dry sanitation • waste beneficiation. This has the real potential of low or even no external energy input, moving us collectively to a lower carbon economy. This is done with a genuine belief that what happens in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, over the next 15 years, will determine the character of the global carbon economy for the rest of the 21st century. It will fundamentally determine the climate change scenario of the century and beyond.

Africa is en route to becoming the highest populated continent by 2050. Some 70% of these people are likely to be urbanites The and at least half of them global will live in 50 megacities deficit that don’t currently on access exist. This provides amazing greenfield to safe water opportunities. is – according to I’d like to exUnicef’s latest figures – press the WRC’s 9% or 663 million people, sincere gratitude for both and dignified sanitation this recognition stands at 32% or and opportunity 2.4 billion people to share with the world what we consider a vital toolbox to ensure a greener, more climate-friendly, more biodiverse, sustainable future. I also invite the global community to the laboratory that is South Africa, Africa and the developing world, within which we can, together, construct the embryo of the world that we want to see for our children and the generations to come.

www.wrc.org.za SEPT/OCT 2016

AFRICA ROUND-UP

Water and sanitation in Africa AFRICA

Lwenge assumes presidency of AMCOW Tanzania’s Minister

for Water and Irrigation, Gerson Lwenge, has taken over the presidency of the African Ministers' Council on Water (Amcow), promising to lead efforts in improving water infrastructure to enable Africa to attain its water security and sanitation goals by 2030. Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam at the 10th Amcow General Assembly, the new president said the meeting brought together ministers from more than 40 countries in Africa. “We want to have one voice on how we can attain our goal 100% by ensuring that every citizen has access to safe and clean water by 2030. During my two years of leadership, I will cooperate with other development stakeholders to ensure that Africa is water secure,” Lwenge said. He added that, as Amcow's president, he would be responsible for going through the strategies of each member country in order to attain the goals and address the challenges caused by water shortage. Source: Tanzania Daily News

AFRICA

More funding needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal

“Water and sanitation will remain one of the key development challenges facing African communities and nations, having direct impacts on economic growth,” warned the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the 6th Africa Water Week, held in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, in July this year. Speaking at the conference, Mohamed El Azizi, director: Water and Sanitation, AfDB, affirmed that Africa is a developing region that has not yet met the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for drinking water and sanitation. More than 50% of Africa's population currently does not have access to safe and reliable water and sanitation services. Furthermore, an estimated 1 million Africans die every year from lack of adequate sanitation, hygiene and from waterborne diseases. “Expanding access to clean water and better sanitation is a strategic priority for the AfDB. Overall, our projects created 116 000 m3 of drinking water capacity between 2013-2015, with more than 6.1 million people benefiting from improved access to water and sanitation as a result of our projects,” commented El Azizi. “To meet SDG6 targets in Africa, realistic and comprehensive financing plans are needed, based on the costs of providing both hardware and software components as well as operations and maintenance to ensure

LEFT Tanzania’s Minister for Water and Irrigation, Gerson Lwenge, has taken over the Part of the ongoing projects in Tanzania presidency of the African includes rehabilitation of a 69 km pipeline Ministers' Council on Water

SEPT/OCT 2016

Namibia, an already arid country, continues to feel the ravages of ongoing drought

services operate efficiently and sustainably,” added Jochen Rudolph, water and sanitation expert, AfDB. Source: AfDB

South Africa

Government invests in water infrastructure

South Africa’s cabinet has welcomed the launch of the Ncora Bulk Water Treatment Works Project in the Eastern Cape by President Jacob Zuma.

The R64 million water treatment plant is estimated to benefit 17 887 families from 208 villages in the four surrounding area. It has already created 188 jobs, with local people, youth and women being the primary beneficiaries. Additionally, the launch of the R18 billion Vaal Gamagara Water Supply Scheme refurbishment and

The R64 million Ncora Bulk Water Treatment Works is estimated to benefit 17 887 families from 208 villages in the four surrounding areas

News from around the African continent, including the latest industry,

AFRICA ROUND-UP

project and development news upgrade project in Northern Cape by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, will serve close to 150 000 people in three towns and 22 villages, on completion. Last, but not least, the launch of the R15 million Jericho Rural Water Supply Project has increased the security of water supply to the community of Jericho in Madibeng Local Municipality. Source: SANews.gov.za

Uganda

World Bank pledges US$123 million for water

The World Bank has confirmed it will continue to disburse money to support Uganda’s Water Development and Management Project (WMDP) after a mid-term review found the performance of projects under the Ministry of Water and Environment and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) satisfactory. The project started in August 2013 and, by May 2016, $47 million had been spent by the bank. Another $76 million is expected to be spent before the project ends in December 2018.

BELOW Botswanan president Ian Khama

Some of the NWSC projects funded by the World Bank include priority works across the country supporting the development and capacity building of two water management zones (Kyoga and Upper Nile). The project also covers priority investments related to the environmental offset that complements the Bujagali Hydropower Project. Source: The Monitor

Botswana & Namibia Joining forces to tackle water crises, Botswana and Namibia have established a joint taskforce whose main assignment

is to draw up terms of reference on how the two countries could jointly invest in water supply infrastructure. Recently, Namibian president Dr Hage Geingob had a two-day state visit to Botswana. During the visit, Geingob and Botswanan president Ian Khama publicly announced that they are looking at cooperating on a joint project to draw water from the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Namibia for desalination and distribution in Namibia and the hinterland of Botswana. Geingob explained that the possibility of harvesting seawater for the two countries’ benefit must be investigated

urgently. “We are the two most drought-prone countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the reality is that, with climate change, it will only worsen. We must find solutions for this common problem.” Khama, who is the SADC chair, added that he would “soon launch the SADC Regional Humanitarian Appeal” to deal with the drought challenges. It is estimated that the recovery support need amounts to US$2.77 billion for the 40 million people affected by drought in five SADC countries, Namibia being among them. Source: The Southern Times

SEPT/OCT 2016

DAMS & RESER VOIRS

M&D leads in the water value chain New wastewater treatment plant and pipeline projects are running in parallel, alongside the introduction of an innovative hybrid activatedsludge system. By Alastair Currie

&D Construction is now at an advanced stage of construction on the R115 million Mafenya Reservoir in South Africa’s North West province – a 50 Mℓ facility and the fourth built to date by the company, allied to which is the 2015 completion of the interconnecting 1 m diameter 43 km Mafenya pipeline. Both are public and private sector funded projects that will serve mining operations in the region, as well as surrounding communities.

The Mafenya Reservoir forms part of the first phase of the Pilanesberg North Water Scheme, with works scheduled for completion in October 2016. The project scope combines two reservoirs: a 5 Mℓ backup reservoir inside the 50 Mℓ main structure. This smaller 5 Mℓ unit will ensure continuity of supply when major maintenance is required. The main reservoir walls measure 14.8 m in height, with a total diameter of 69.4 m and an internal diameter of 68.8 m. With the exception of the 15 m high precast

roof, all other concrete sections will be poured in situ, from site batching. “The height of the wall is unusual, as are the narrower dimensions. However, the design consultants needed to accommodate the restricted footprint on which the reservoir is situated,” comments Rukesh Raghubir, CEO, M&D, adding that the precast roof option significantly accelerates the overall construction programme. The original roof design proposed a cast-insitu coffer slab. M&D’s recommendation to go the precast route shortened the envisaged project timeline from around 24 months to the current 15 months. Raghubir adds, “We successfully used this ‘hybrid’ technique for the first time on the Weenen Wellfield pump station project in 2012.” At Mafenya, the columns, beams and roofing panels are all being precast off-site.

SEPT/OCT 2016

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DAMS & RESER VOIRS OPPOSITE PAGE The Mafenya Reservoir forms part of the first phase of the Pilanesberg North Water Scheme

Pipeline fabrication and fittings A water and wastewater infrastructure specialist, M&D continues to gain ground in this sector, with its Pipeline Division experiencing strong growth. Together with the Mafenya pipeline, recently completed projects include the 8 km Rand Water 06 pipeline between Alberton and Meyerton (a 2.1 m diameter steel construction), and the Western Basin overland HDPE pipeline. These and other projects are supported by M&D’s fittings factory, which assembles mild steel and stainless steel pipe sections, a number of which are complex items. “On the Rand Water 06 project, for example, six thickened tees were supplied. These tees were welded into the mainline for offtakes and fabricated by rolling a 40 mm thick plate on to a 2 180 mm OD (outside diameter) pipe barrel in lengths varying between 2 m and 4 m,” Raghubir explains. “Once welded and

radiographed, the ends were machined down to a 16 mm bevel to accommodate the welding of the fitting into the main pipeline. The branch fitted to the barrel was welded to an opening made by using a computerised, numerically controlled horizontal boring mill, which ensured 100% accuracy.” These tees varied in cost, ranging between R500 000 and R1 million to fabricate. Treatment works Within the water and wastewater treatment sectors, M&D’s experience in structural concrete and water engineering is passing dividends on to utilities. Recent examples include the Vaalkop Water Treatment Works, a 30 Mℓ upgrade for plants 1 and 2, as well as the completion of a 70 Mℓ pump station. M&D has just been awarded two new wastewater treatment works (WWTW) projects in North West province – in Vryburg and Koster. Valued at R237 million, the new 16 Mℓ Vryburg WWTW commenced on 5 April 2016 and has a 30-month construction progamme. The project scope includes

an outfall sewer of approximately 3.5 km and structured wall HDPE pipe with a 1 200 mm diameter laid at a grade of 0.1%. The trench is also 8 m deep, adding to the challenges. The Koster WWTW contract is valued at R75 million, with a duration of 15 months. In addition to the plant, approximately 12 km of sewer pipework will be installed. The M&D team mobilised on-site in May 2016 and work is in progress. “As part of M&D’s diversification strategy, we’ve added a further dimension to our water offering with the introduction of HYBACS technology to Southern Africa,” states Raghubir. M&D works closely with Headstream Water, which is the sole licence holder for Southern Africa. “An innovative hybrid activatedsludge system, the HYBACS process is ideal for municipal and industrial WWTWs looking for an economical technology for capacity upgrades and nutrient-removal capabilities. Plants with the HYBACS system can achieve up to 30% to 40% savings in energy consumption associated with aeration,” Raghubir concludes. SEPT/OCT 2016

DAMS & RESER VOIRS

Completed in record time

wo clay-core earth-fill dams for agricultural giant AmatheonAgri have been completed in record time thanks to fast, efficient work by Stefanutti Stocks Zambia. The 500 m long Abba Dam and the 1 050 m long Katanga Dam will be used for irrigating 12 000 ha of maize and cattle farmland. The Abba Dam has a 98 m long, single ND600 mm steel outlet pipe encased in reinforced concrete. Similarly, the Katonga Dam has an 80 m long, single ND600 mm steel outlet pipe, also encased in reinforced concrete. Site challenges During the original site inspection for the dams, no rock was evident in any of the test pits. However, once excavations started, boulders bigger than a car were unearthed within five metres of the test pits. This is extremely unusual for the area, as was the discovery of sedimentary and

metamorphic rock types in the same material matrix. In spite of these challenges, the project was completed with incredible speed and efficiency. Clive Rose, contract manager, Stefanutti Stocks, explains how the team’s attitude affected the project’s outcome, “Successful project completion was made possible by the motivated and hardworking construction teams who worked towards the same objective of delivering a quality project within our schedule.” Development initiative The project included a development initiative, which saw smaller contractors and 150 members of the surrounding community trained by senior foreman Sipho Mlambo on how to tie and pack gabion baskets and reno mattresses. The newly developed trainees worked side-by-side with the Stefanutti Stocks Zambia teams who worked 12-hour

shifts per dam, daily, in order to achieve the required completion date. Local sourcing Fortunately, it was possible to source sufficient, good-quality material for the gabions within the project’s location and, so, the crushing of all gabion rock was undertaken on-site. This would usually have been procured from a commercial source, the closest being located 250 km away. “In order to achieve timely delivery of this fast-paced dam construction project, we hauled and processed in excess of 400 000 m3 of core-and-fill material in the six weeks preceding the Christmas shutdown,” says Reece Bester, site agent, Stefanutti Stocks Zambia. “In order to achieve our client’s December 2015 target, we pulled out all the stops, and the site could easily have been mistaken for a contract mining operation due to the pace at which the team was moving material,” he concludes.

SEPT/OCT 2016

Construction Partner of Choice

Multidisciplinary construction group Stefanutti Stocks undertakes projects across sub-Saharan Africa in the following sectors:

Building; Bulk Earthworks & Geotechnical; Energy Generation; Industrial Plants, Oil & Gas; Mining & Mining Infrastructure; Transport Infrastructure; and Water, Sanitation & Pipelines. Tel: +27 11 571 4300 | www.stefanuttistocks.com

Bridging your expectations

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Power to the plant The following article by Reneshree Pillay* – entitled ‘Energy Management System Development and Implementation at eThekwini Municipality’s Umbilo Wastewater Treatment Works’ – was awarded best technical presentation at WISA 2016.

n energy management efficiently and there are many delays system (EnMS) was drawn in the construction of the new power up to optimise energy stations. A great deal of the current usage by undertaking a infrastructure is dilapidated and thus systematic improvement in the energy experiences frequent failure, which leads economy of the infrastructure operatto Eskom implementing load-shedding. ed by Umbilo Wastewater Treatment This infrastructure is in great need of Works (WWTW), including the eliminamaintenance or replacement. It is up tion of waste and to municipalities, It is up to municipalities, optimisation of as well as large as well as large industries industries in South energy use, thereby reducing costs Africa, to assist in South Africa, to assist and mitigating the Eskom in managing Eskom in managing the impact of greenthe current energy current energy demand house gas (GHG) demand by trying emissions on the environment. to reduce their energy consumption or An energy review was done, which create energy by resource recovery. We, consisted of three stages, namely: to as the eThekwini Municipality, have emanalyse energy use and consumption, barked on a project to establish an EnMS to identify areas of significant use at one of its wastewater treatment works and consumption, and to identify as well as facilitate its implementation. opportunities for improving energy The purpose of this venture was first performance. The activated sludge process at Umbilo WWTW was identified as a significant energy user and was selected for the first energy performance improvement initiatives, as it consumed more than 70% of the total electrical energy of the plant and did not require capital investment. The activated sludge process was optimised by minor on-site adjustments. Results based on a 19-day trial period showed that an energy saving of 19% was achieved on the aerators alone and this equates to an overall plant energy saving of 11%. The total kilowatt hour (kWh) saving per annum equates to 287 620 kWh.

to reduce the electrical energy used at the WWTW; second, to use the selected WWTW as a pilot plant to roll out the energy management system to the other WWTWs in eThekwini Municipality; and third, to obtain ISO 150001 certification for the selected WWTW and, thereafter, the other WWTWs. eThekwini Municipality is responsible for 27 WWTWs and five water treatment works (WTWs). Each of these has different process configurations and design capacities, ranging from 0.5 Mℓ/day to 230 Mℓ/day. Umbilo WWTW was selected as a pilot plant because of its unique configuration. Umbilo WWTW

BELOW After the successful Umbilo pilot, eThekwini Municipality will roll out its energy management systems at all of its WWTWs

Background South Africa is currently experiencing an energy crisis. There is insufficient power to run the country’s infrastructure SEPT/OCT 2016

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

comprises two plants, namely, East consumption, energy efficiency and Plant and West Plant. The East Plant energy use. Energy planning includes a uses the biological review of all activities By changing the filtration process (bithat can affect energy aeration pattern, the performance. ofilters) and the West Plant uses the activatMoreover, there are aerator operation ed sludge process as specific inputs needed dropped by their forms of biologiprior to the energy re14 hours, which cal treatment. Both of view (ER) being carried equates to an energy out. To obtain past and these processes have very different energy saving of about 18% present energy usages, consumption values the energy bill data was for the West Plant and, as a result, a lot gathered and, to gain can be learned from their comparison. present energy data, electrical energy The activated sludge process is enerdata loggers were installed to measure the gy intensive due to the use of aerators, electrical energy usage of each plant, as while the biofilters require very little well as all major equipment on each plant. energy to run. The disadvantage of usIn total, 22 data loggers were installed ing biofilters, however, is that they are across the entire plant. The data is acmore costly to build than an aeration cessed via a website that was set up by the basin and need a much larger surface contractor appointed to install the data area to treat the same volume of loggers. Instantaneous data is available as wastewater as an activated sludge prowell as historic data from the loggers. cess, which becomes a problem when land is limited. Another disadvantage ER process is the inability of the biofilters to The ER is conducted to determine energy process industrial effluent effectively. performance based on present and past This becomes a concern, since Umbilo data, and other sources of information, in WWTW receives industrial waste. order to identify the areas of significant energy uses and to identify a prioritised list System development of opportunities. The EnMS is based on an energy planThe ER process consists of the following ning process. Energy planning leads eight steps: to activities that continually improve • Step 1: Gathering of electricity bill energy performance, including energy and sub-meter data

SEPT/OCT 2016

Electricity bills were obtained from our Finance Department. The electricity bill does not give a good indication of how the energy was used; therefore, energy data was used from the data loggers. To improve the quality of data obtained and to gather accurate baseline values, it would have been better to install data loggers for all equipment and energy users. • Step 2: Analysis of electricity bill and sub-meter data Data was analysed for a four-month period after the installation of the energy data loggers. The West Plant was identified as the highest energy user, reflecting a usage of 76% of the total energy consumption for Umbilo WWTW. The West Plant was, therefore, looked at in more detail. • Step 3: Identification and quantification of significant energy users The data gathered indicates that the aerator motors have the highest power rating from all the components measured in the West Plant and so, the activated sludge process was assessed. The activated sludge plant comprises four mechanical surface aerators, which are used to transfer oxygen into the mixed liquid. All four aerators’ energy usage was then compared to the total Aeration is usually one of the most energy-intensive processes at a WWTW

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

energy usage for the West Plant and the total energy usage for the entire plant. The aerators contribute to about 83% of the energy usage from the West Plant and 64% of the total energy usage for Umbilo WWTW. Therefore, the activated sludge process was identified as the main significant energy user. • Step 4: Identification of drivers The definition of a driver is any variable that is expected to cause energy consumption to vary. It was determined that the driver for the activated sludge process is the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the wastewater entering the activated sludge process. COD was plotted against the energy consumption; however, no correlation was made between the two. This is attributed to the fact that the operation of the aerators is not determined by the COD entering the system but operated according to a predetermined aeration pattern. This pattern was structured based on a study done a few years ago. • Step 5: Development of energy baselines and performance indicators An energy baseline is a reference tool. It allows for the comparison of energy performance before and after a change is made to your site or system. Establishing the “before”, the baseline captures a site or system's total energy usage prior to making improvements. A regression analysis was done to determine a baseload for Umbilo’s West Plant. The R2 value was 0.051, which reflected a poor correlation. A good correlation is indicative of an R2 value of 0.8 and above. This, again, can be attributed to the fact that the operation of the aerators is not determined by the COD entering the system but operated according to a predetermined aeration pattern. • Step 6: Review of operational control After reviewing the operation of the activated sludge process, points to note are that the process is being operated according to an aeration pattern. Umbilo WWTW’s inflow characteristics have changed since the last study was conducted, so the aeration pattern may no longer be applicable. The four aerators were running for a total of 57 hours per day and aerator No. 2 was running for 22 hours per day, which is unusual since the other three aerators run for an average of 11 hours each. The system is not separated into cells or lanes but is one single basin, so the aerators should be operating for similar amounts of time.

• Step 7: Technical energy audits Following the review of operational control, the audit’s purpose is to determine which items to investigate further. Audit outcomes indicated that it was best to go ahead with the optimisation of the activated sludge process. Our Mechanical and Electrical Department is to consider energy efficiency when replacing equipment and lighting. An energy management policy also has to be developed and rolled out. The policy details the goals, commitment and deployment of the EnMS. This was workshopped with the staff to involve and educate them in energy saving. With respect to the activated sludge process, the target for energy savings was set at 10% of the total West Plant energy usage. • Step 8: Opportunity identification for improved performance The transfer of oxygen to wastewater is one of the most fundamental and expensive processes in biological wastewater treatment. It is, therefore, imperative that the aeration system be optimised based on the oxygen requirement and an effective aeration pattern is put into place. Various analyses and calculations were carried out to determine the total hours that the four aerators should be running. The total number of hours that the aerators should be running for was calculated to be 33. Please note: the calculations were based on purely domestic wastewater. COD was then monitored to develop a COD profile. An automatic sampler was then set up at the West Plant and was used to sample the wastewater entering the activated sludge process. The sampler was programmed to take samples every two hours for a one-week period. Samples were collected daily at 07:30 and transported to the eThekwini laboratory for COD analysis. Due to amount of industrial effluent entering the works, and the variety of industries that discharge into the works, the changes in COD were sporadic, so no definitive pattern was obtained. This process was repeated for another week and the results were just as sporadic as before.

As an output from the action plan, the aeration hours were reduced gradually and eventually resulted in a reduction of 14 hours per day. Aerator No. 2’s operating hours were reduced so as to be in line with the rest of the aerators. As the aeration hours were being gradually reduced, the final effluent quality was being monitored. Once aeration hours dropped below 43, the final effluent quality was not meeting specification. As a result, a new aeration pattern was developed based on 43 hours. Conclusion By changing the aeration pattern, the aerator operation dropped by 14 hours, which equates to an energy saving of about 18% for the West Plant. This is above our target of 10%. Umbilo WWTW is currently undergoing an upgrade, which will include the installation of dissolved oxygen probes to control aerator operation, further optimising the activated sludge process. Additionally, an investigation of ammonia control for the activated sludge process is being undertaken by our Research and Development Department.

For a full list of references, please email the editor on frances@3smedia.co.za. *Reneshree Pillay is the acting works area manager: Water and Sanitation at the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. SEPT/OCT 2016

MINE WATER

Opening Pandora’s box Time, either your friend or your enemy, can deliver unwanted problems. In the case of Johannesburg and surrounds, problems have arisen, and in the most dramatic way. Acid mine drainage threatens the life of everything. By Tony Stone

ining for gold, first discovered on the Witwatersrand in 1852, and coal in Vereeniging in 1878, has inadvertently opened Pandora’s box – a chemical process that has generated a set of complicated and far-reaching problems. These problems have to be dealt with, before it really is too late. This, however, carries a hefty price tag. Speaking at the Central Basin’s South West Vertical Shaft in Germiston on 18 May 2016, the Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, said, “Treating the polluted water that emanates from mines in the Witwatersrand Basin will cost as much as R12 billion. And, as much as 67% of this cost will be carried by the mines involved through an environmental levy.” Roger Baxter, CEO, Chamber of Mines, speaking after the announcement, said, “We are not in favour of imposing levies, and we don’t see this as the solution.” The Chamber of Mines represents the mining companies that have mined the region for last 120 years. Johannesburg, Africa’s richest city,

ABOVE Prof Emeritus Terence McCarthy, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand

SEPT/OCT 2016

ABOVE The chemical composition of

acid mine drainage is life-destroying (Photo: Pamela Mortel) BOTTOM RIGHT An abandoned gold mine (Photo: Pinkf314) and its surrounds are littered with enormous, underground, mined-out caverns that have become flooded over time. The groundwater flooding these caverns combines with toxic metals, by-products of gold mining, and rises up and flows out into rivers in the process called acid mine drainage (AMD). Defining AMD Prof Terence McCarthy, of the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, in describing the process, says, “AMD is a well-understood process that arises primarily when the mineral pyrite comes into contact with oxygenated water. The pyrite undergoes oxidation in a two-stage process: the first producing sulfuric acid and ferrous sulfate and the second, orange-red ferric hydroxide and more sulfuric acid.” As McCarthy explains, pyrite, or fool’s gold as it is commonly known, is iron disulfide (FeS2).

Pyrite is usually found associated with other sulfides or oxides in quartz veins, sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock, as well as in coal beds, which is the source of acid rain, and as a replacement mineral in fossils. It is a regular but minor constituent in many mineral deposits, especially the gold deposits of the Witwatersrand Basin. During erosion and/or natural attenuation of these mineral deposits, acid is produced, but at a very slow rate. Because of the slowness of the process, natural neutralisation processes readily remove the acidity. But, during mining and mineral extraction, the rock mass is extensively fragmented, thereby dramatically increasing the surface area and the consequent rate of acid production. Fortunately, nature has its own way of dealing with acid through dilution and reaction with river sediment or various minerals in soils. Rocks containing large

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quantities of calcite or dolomite also have a neutralising effect on acid and, while the Witwatersrand has significant deposits of dolomite, this natural, neutralising process is overwhelmed by the large quantities of acidic water released into the environment through mining activities. Acidic water increases the solubility of heavy metals, such as arsenic and aluminium, and renders water toxic, to varying degrees, with the highly soluble sulfate remaining in water for long periods. Treating AMD In the past five years, three AMD plants have been constructed in Krugersdorp (west)‚ Germiston (central) and Springs (east). These projects included: • installation of the pumps to extract water from the mine void to on-site treatment plants • construction of an on-site AMD treatment plant in each basin with the option of refurbishing and upgrading the existing plants owned by mines • installation of the infrastructure to convey the treated water to nearby water sources • assistance given to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in developing a model on the operation of the pump stations and treatment works. Mokonyane said, “This was a short-term intervention implemented by the government. It yielded positive results in that it prevented the flow of AMD into the larger environment‚ including natural river systems. This would have caused widespread environmental pollution and would have been an environmental catastrophe.” In announcing that the DWS will be contributing a further R600 million per annum, through National Treasury, to address the AMD challenge, Mokonyane said, “The government is spending this money to expand the existing water treatment facilities in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg. It is

Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane visiting the existing Central Basin AMD treatment plant (Photo: EWN/YouTube)

also building a new operation in Springs, in the eastern part of the Witwatersrand Basin, with the plant set to be among the world’s largest, processing 100 Mℓ daily. Together with the facility in Germiston, the three will treat water leaking from the mined-out basins beneath and on either side of Johannesburg. “These plants, considered part of the new, long-term AMD solution, promise to augment the existing Vaal River water supply system to Gauteng – South Africa’s economic hub. As a result, this will defer the need for further costly augmentation beyond Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project for at least another 30 years,” she stated. The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, which builds dams and tunnels to supply water to South African factories and mines, is managing both the three emergency and long-term projects to process the toxic water. The new plants will start operating in February 2020. BKS, in association with Golder Associates, was appointed as the civil engineering consultant, with Group Five as the civil engineering contractor. With the existing and new plants, almost 1 000 short- and long-term jobs will have been created. Looking at the positive side, and in conclusion, Mokonyane said, “What was once a grossly polluted water problem, regarded with revulsion, now becomes a valuable commodity – contributing to water security in the Vaal River System. Let us celebrate that we have developed our own home-grown solution in solving this problem. In so doing, we can be seen as a country that is forward-looking.” SEPT/OCT 2016

www.vovani.co.za

MINE WATER

Extracting value from mine water OdorCure’s range of products and solutions extends well beyond managing odours, including the implementation of cutting-edge technology for mine and industrial water treatment.

ith an established reputation as Southern Africa’s leading odour control specialist, OdorCure also offers a range of advanced water treatment and management solutions through a trusted network of partners. One such partnership is with Canada-based MEGA-LAB Manufacturing, which specialises in the supply of products and equipment facilitating bioremediation. This led to a further partnership with VitaOne8 – a group of local process design scientists that specialise in the treatment of wastewater, industrial effluent and mine water. “The first significant project we developed together was for Eskom’s Majuba power plant,” recalls Johan de Bruyn, managing director, OdorCure. “We partnered with VitaOne8 to tackle an underground coal gasification (UCG) project where the effluent pond, filled with condensate, had become heavily contaminated with hydrocarbons.” After being awarded the contract to coduct a laboratory trial on Majuba’s UCG condensate, the project was completed successfully using a combination of bioremediation as well as various other technologies developed by VitaOne8. “This enabled us to get the condensate back to a grey-water standard for reuse,” adds De Bruyn. OdorCure’s mechanical forced evaporation units were developed in Sasolburg in order to overcome site footprint constraints

Bioremediation in action Together, the two companies have developed a number of solutions useful to the mining industry. With regard to these projects, OdorCure brings to the table its years of experience in implementation and marketing with a skilled team on the ground, while VitaOne8 provides its technical know-how and technologies. Hannes Joubert, director, VitaOne8, explains, “We partner with OdorCure when it undertakes a highly specialised project, which requires specific bacteria to manage a unique problem – for example, the hydrocarbons described in the Eskom case study. We also advise on aeration for sludge hydrolysis or bacteria augmentation.” Those are solutions for contaminants suitable for treatment by bioremediation, but mines will very often also have issues with removing other elements including heavy metals. Through its partnership with VitaOne8, Odorcure has the capacity to offer a solution capable of capturing certain by-products for beneficiation purposes. To this end, VitaOne8 has developed the VitaSOFT process for the treatment of mine-impacted water through funding from the Water Research Commission. The process treats water high in sulfates, calcium and magnesium in pH ranges from an acidity value of two upwards. “Since we can remove the sulfate, calcium, magnesium and metals, the scaling potential on a reverse

osmosis (RO) membrane is significantly reduced. What our process cannot treat is monovalent ions – for example, sodium, potassium and chlorides. So, at the end of our process, a client would have to install an RO process for polishing if these ions are a problem. This will depend on the site,” explains Gina Pocock, director, VitaOne8. Moreover, the process recovers valuable economic by-products such as elemental sulfur that can be used for fertiliser production and calcium carbonate that can be reused within the process. “Additionally, VitaSOFT has an environmentally beneficial reuse component in that a carbon source is required for biological sulfate reduction. Carbon can be obtained via municipal waste sources or, in remote areas, mines can form symbiotic relations with farmers who want to dispose of agri-wastes,” Pocock adds. VitaSOFT is also an extremely affordable technology. Since it requires very little maintenance, low-skilled workers can be hired to operate and maintain the system. And, the process’s mineral beneficiation means that its already low capital costs can be quickly recovered. Mechanical forced evaporation OdorCure not only provides environmentally friendly treatment options for mines, it also provides a class-leading industrial and mine water management solution. The company’s floating dam- or pond-based evaporation systems are both cost-effective and high in evaporation efficiency, with annual averages of around 30% evaporation while offering 54 cubes of system throughput per hour. “Our evaporation solutions are custom designed for each client’s needs, taking into account factors such as available space and environmental constraints. Site layout and design are carefully planned to ensure drift into adjacent land is minimised,” concludes De Bruyn.

SEPT/OCT 2016

LABORATORIES & EQUIPMENT

Turbidity science

hots up

e are excited to announce the launch of the Hach TU5 Series family of turbidimeters for drinking and high-purity water turbidity measurement, for online as well as laboratory use,” says Steve Herbst, managing director, Prei Instrumentation. Prei Instrumentation is the South African distributor for Hach online liquid analysis equipment. Hach has been the market leader in turbidity measurement since Clifford Hach introduced the first continuous-read turbidimeter in 1957.

Not only does Hach use the latest ISO standard (DIN EN ISO 7027) for laser technology nephelometric (measurement of turbidity) measurement, but Hach has developed a new standard, it Method 10258, which has been approved and adopted by USEPA as a standard for the measurement of turbidity. Enhanced precision The Hach TU5 Series of turbidimeters uses groundbreaking 360-degree by 90-degree detection technology employing a patented optical design that

sees more of your sample than any other turbidity meter, delivering the best low-level precision and sensitivity while minimising variability from test to test. How it works The turbidimeter measures turbidity by directing a laser into a sample to scatter off suspended particles. The light that is scattered at 90 degrees from the incident beam is reflected through a conical mirror in a 360-degree ring around the sample, before it is captured by a detector. The amount of light scattered is proportional to the turbidity of the sample. SEPT/OCT 2016

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LABORATORIES & EQUIPMENT

Encouraging citizen science In Southern Africa, access to water, and its quality and quantity are beginning to reach crisis proportions because water resources are being used up and degraded by human activity at an alarming rate. Empowering citizens through science provides a powerful solution. By Frances Ringwood

ith over a quarter million linear kilometres of rivers in South Africa, this is an incredibly challenging resource to look after and police,” comments Mark Graham, director at GroundTruth Water, Wetlands and Environmental Engineering Consultants. GroundTruth works in conjunction with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the Water Research Commission (WRC), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and other government institutions, communities and schools to apply the groundbreaking concept of “citizen science” in order to overcome the monumental challenges posed by national river care. According to a definition by the United Nations Environment Programme, “In citizen science, people who are not professional scientists take part in one or more aspects of science – systematic collection and analysis of data, development of technology, testing of natural phenomena and dissemination of the results of activities. They mainly participate on a voluntary basis.” Getting citizens involved in the scientific study of their environment is a time-honoured tradition in the science community, having started in North America in the 1900s with amateur bird enthusiasts recording live field data, which was later used by scientists. The knowledge acquired through this process was found to be not only wide but deep, helping to answer complex questions about a variety of topics, from biodiversity to the effects of development on water quality.

ABOVE LEFT The WRC’s clarity tube being used in the field LEFT Solid waste from polluted rivers being collected for recycling

SEPT/OCT 2016

“For South Africa’s river systems, citizen science enables more people with a greater knowledge of local conditions to gather information and, through that information, it’s possible to mobilise a melting pot of different government, non-government and civil society organisations to act positively on important river-health issues,” says Graham. In recent years, citizen science has gained a boon through the relatively inexpensive development of online data tracking tools and the wide availability of smart devices and increasing levels of internet access, even in developing countries. An example of a locally developed platform for enabling citizen science is miniSASS (the Stream Assessment Scoring System) tool, which was developed as a user-friendly river health monitoring tool for use by non-experts that has assisted in educating users, learners in particular, on the importance of river health. “MiniSASS brings a whole new ‘language’ into play, allowing us to monitor what water bodies are polluted and where. That granular information provides a basis for deciding where and how to start taking action,” adds Graham. The citizen science initiative has been well received, winning participants a number of awards. For example, this year, 170 people belonging to the Umbogintwini community in KZN were named as runners up in the Mail&Guardian Community Conservation Award in the newspaper’s Greening the Future competition. Umbogintwini was recognised specifically for river conservation efforts using river science monitoring tools to take care of the local streams and riparian areas. Additionally, in 2013, GroundTruth won the WRC Knowledge Tree Award for the development of miniSASS. Wider participation Various non-governmental organisations have taken up the cause of citizen science, elevating it to the highest levels, especially WESSA.

LABORATORIES & EQUIPMENT

WHAT IS CITIZEN SCIENCE?

Citizen science is the voluntar y par ticipation of non-scientists in one or more aspects of science. This includes the systematic collection and analysis of data, the development of technology and the testing of natural phenomena. The results of these activities are then disseminated throughout the scientific community. (United Nations Environment Programme Yearbook)

WESSA runs a project called Eco-schools on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education, with particular focus on schools and the training of pupils in environmental awareness and involvement in its welfare. WESSA's Jim Taylor, director: Environmental Education, and Tembeka Dambuza, project manager: Conservation, comment on the use of online tools such as miniSASS for capacitating citizens, especially school children. “To help people understand water issues, and provide them with a way of managing resources better, miniSASS was developed to build a River Health Index. “Supported by the DWS and the DEA, miniSASS works by identifying just 13 common macro-invertebrates that live in streams and rivers, enabling people, including school children, to monitor their own water systems – an added advantage of this approach is that it costs participants nothing. Even a nine-year-old child can use miniSASS. In addition to government officials, various civil society groups including traditional leaders, Women in Water, Eco Rangers and hundreds of school children have received training and are using and experimenting with this technique. The British High Commission, based in Pretoria, is also supporting this approach including the further development, use and training in miniSASS,” they explain. The site works by assisting participants to identify river life, uploading what’s been spotted on a score card and then feeding that data back to the miniSASS website. Types of river life include true flies, aquatic earthworms, dragonflies, leeches, caddisflies and mussels, among others. “Once the macro-invertebrates have been identified, a score can be worked out using a simple, downloadable reference sheet. After being calculated, the results can be uploaded via the www.minisass. org website, on Google Earth, as live data.

Data then appears as a coloured crab icon, which appears on the map to represent the score. A blue crab means a healthy stream while a red crab represents ‘modified or poor’ conditions,” explain Taylor and Dambuza. They add that, since these families of macro-invertebrates occur all over the world, and Google Earth is a global system, users have logged on and uploaded data from all over the world, including Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, India, Australia and Canada. Additionally, a mobile app supported by the DST is being developed to assist with recording site data and cataloguing insect life around rivers. It is hoped the immediacy of such a platform will further encourage wider participation in building the River Health Index. Adopt-a-River MiniSASS supports the much bigger government-led Adopt-a-River (AaR) initiative, which was established in 2007 to help respond to questions such as: “Are our rivers in South Africa healthy?” Bonani Madikizela, research manager, WRC, explains how AaR came about: “Not one of the existing monitoring programmes, even the River Health Programme, could provide a comprehensive and definite account as to the state of the country’s rivers. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a more inclusive, affordable monitoring programme in order to mobilise as many citizens as possible into integrated water resource monitoring.” The AaR programme is still developing, as more and more tools are being designed. “Tools being developed through WRC funding include flow meters, transparency tubes (for measuring turbidity), an E. coli count tool (for assessing pathogens, especially cholera), and specialist applications for monitoring wetlands and riparian vegetation. Temperature and homemade rain gauges are also among the many resources being developed to capacitate citizen scientists. The idea is to monitor not just stream water quality, but catchments as a whole,” adds Madikizela. He goes on to explain that monitoring rainfall and temperature is important in a water-stressed country such as South Africa because data of this nature is

Workshops provide the ideal space for learning exchange to take place

critical in modelling climate change and its impact, as well as developing mitigation and adaptation scenarios. A defining feature of tools related to citizen science is that they are inexpensive, simple to use and easy to distribute. “Affordable tools are critical to ensuring citizens have the means to adopt stretches of rivers and wetlands in their vicinity,” Madikizela adds. Citizen science workshops Regular citizen science workshops are held around the country to give participants hands-on experience with the tools and processes available. The last citizen science workshop was held in Howick, Pietermaritzburg, in February this year. At this workshop – which was planned to coincide with World Wetlands Month – the WRC launched a buffer zone determination manual for wetlands, rivers and estuaries. The event turned out to be so well attended that the organisers unanimously supported the idea of growing this workshop to a symposium either this or next year, and then considering a citizen science conference in 2018. Also this year, the organising committee (which includes WESSA, GroundTruth and the WRC) is planning a citizen science two-day symposium. SEPT/OCT 2016

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PANEL DISCUSSION Dave Johnson

APE PUMPS

Marketing and business development manager

What products and services do you offer that support government’s demand-side management and water conservation strategy?

communication component to further assist with lowered consumption?

DJ APE Pumps offers several products and

pump installations to monitor heat on

services, mainly on the service and repair

the bearings and pump vibration. With

side. We offer training to companies such as

the information received, we can carry

conservation, and demand-side management in particular?

water authorities, who can attend a week-

out the correct maintenance to avoid any

Repair and maintenance is critical for

long training programme in our factory.

breakdown resulting in loss

The training consists of the inspection and

of water.

recognition of pump components to the

We install monitoring equipment into our

Additionally, due

assembly of complete pumps. This supports

to the robust

government’s demand-side management

manufacture of

and water conservation strategy because

the pumps, they

incorrect parts and the poor assembly of

seldom break

pumps play a large factor in water losses.

down and this results in no loss

management. Quite often, we

of water supply

We have a product called Rockguard, which

pumps can also be

is an epoxy solvent-free coating. Among

fitted with a mechanical

the better solutions in the fight against

seal to prevent water loss

corrosion are modified, solvent-free epoxies.

associated with packed gland sealing.

or domestic properties. Our

These offer similar benefits to solvent epoxy coatings – such as resistance to corrosion and, being solvent-free materials, they eliminate associated health and safety problems. We also offer pumps

see water gushing out of

I don’t think the ground from burst the main problem pipes and running down the drain due is water demand. It to lack of repair has more to do with and maintenance. water wastage due to Very often, we see pumps with water incorrect parts, the poor squirting out of the assembly of pumps packed glands and and old leaking mechanical seals. All this can be avoided through pipelines

How do your products or services encourage consumers or industrial users to lower their water consumption?

to industry

conservation and demand-side

implementing a simple

maintenance programme, whereby pipelines are inspected and pumps are correctly maintained.

Why is repair and maintenance a crucial component of water

Do you offer any kind of advanced repair and maintenance packages or solutions?

lined with Rockguard, which will

We offer maintenance packages

extend the life of the pipe and reduce

where our qualified pump

corrosion and, therefore, leaks.

engineers take control of the pumps. They do regular routine

What sets your offering apart from other similar options available on the local market?

maintenance and monitor the

Rockguard comes with a 10-year

before any breakdown occurs. The

guarantee and offers exceptional

cost of the maintenance packages

value for money – costing a tenth of

is far lower than a breakdown

less capable competitor products.

where water is lost, pumping stops

pumps, resulting in major service and maintenance being carried out

and costly repairs are carried out.

What are the costs of delivering this added value to municipal and industrial clients?

We have pumps that have been

The costs of the product are far less

minor water loss.

running for over 30 years with regular maintenance and only

than the costs associated with lost water and pipe repairs, particularly when one considers replacements and pump repairs or replacements.

Does your product offer any kind of advanced leakdetection and maintenance

Is there anything you would like to add with regard to demand-side management and water conservation as they relate to pipeline life cycles? I don’t think the main problem is water demand. It has more

Poorly maintained infrastructure is one of the leading causes of nonrevenue water losses (Photo: SnaPsi Сталкер)

to do with water wastage due to incorrect parts, the poor assembly of pumps and old leaking pipelines. SEPT/OCT 2016

EASTERN CAPE

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

PANEL DISCUSSION Chris Ainslie

CHILLISOFT

Business development and sales manager

What products and services do you offer that support government’s focus on water services delivery?

treatment. Adisa strengthens plant operations

CA Chillisoft, in partnership with Ceenex,

faster responses and delivering

is proud to offer Adisa to the water sector

exception monitoring by

to support excellence in water and

flagging incidents such as

wastewater operations. Adisa is a product of the collaboration

by providing operational performance results in near real time, enabling

out-of-specification measurements, low-

between two veteran

stock notifications

companies, Chillisoft, which

or control-point

has over ten years’ experience

quality or quantity

in developing production

threshold variances.

software for private and public sector operations (such

The platform’s journal function supports

as hospitals and ports of entry), and

adherence to operations and

Ceenex, which is a water and wastewater

maintenance schedules, which

sector specialist, that has consulted

are necessary for ensuring

extensively with municipalities, public sector

effective operations. A snapshot

bodies and the private sector.

view allows users to immediately

We focused on designing a product using

know when data is not collected,

the latest technologies to operate in the

promoting consistency of plant

current plant environment, overcoming

monitoring.

technology infrastructure constraints.

Also, Adisa operates on a tablet

We wanted to create an affordable,

and is, therefore, extremely easy

robust, scalable, mobile application that

to use while offering complete

revolutionises operations management

mobility. As a result, the client

and the control of water and wastewater

can be quickly set up to emulate

treatment processes.

the operational monitoring

In addition to Adisa, the collaboration between Chillisoft and Ceenex is designed

programme of any water or wastewater scheme.

to provide government with a product

development and knowledge of water

How does your software add value to municipal and industrial clients?

and wastewater. We provide an easy and

Adisa supports drinking water

responsive partnership for software services,

and wastewater treatment

including custom reporting; integration;

regulatory compliance

application customisations; development of

processes while also improving

additional features; water and wastewater

the effectiveness of the operations

consulting services such as process audits; risk

monitoring programme. While management

In fact, ADM was so pleased with the results

abatement planning processes; and water

is notified in real time of any incidents, online

achieved through Adisa that Stephen Nash,

safety audits for plants.

reporting of operational monitoring provides

general manager, Water Service Provider:

a rich trail of performance results for process

Amathole District Municipality, had the

How does your product support effective water services operations?

analysis and audit purposes. Therefore,

following to say:

Our research indicates that plant managers

user transaction details.

and services that add immediate value by leveraging the unique expertise of software

Adisa provides government with a product and services that add immediate value by leveraging the unique expertise of software development and knowledge of water and wastewater

clients have full access to all data including

"We are extremely excited about the potential of Adisa to assist us with real-time monitoring of our treatment facilities.

have little to no visibility at any given

This is a key challenge, particularly for

processes don’t cater to continual exception

Can you offer an example of where your product was used to improve performance?

reporting, trend analysis and, subsequently,

Adisa was initiated to support the

manage the performance of each system

preventative actions. In essence, the

Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in

on a daily basis.

sustainability of long-term water and

its Water Care Improvement Action Plan,

wastewater quality improvement actions are

pursuant to its Drinking Water Safety Plan

problems and trends very quickly and easily

dependent on valid data that is consistently

processes, and is presently used to monitor

and corrective action can then be taken.

collected and analysed.

the performance of its 29 water treatment

Data management is always a challenge

works. Adisa will soon be rolled out to

for paper-based systems but, with Adisa,

in support of the consistent supply of safe

monitor the performance of the ADM’s 15

we will now be able to analyse historical

drinking water and compliant wastewater

wastewater treatment plants.

records and performance."

time during their plant operations. It also indicates that manual systems and existing

Adisa is based on the multibarrier approach

management, in municipalities that have many systems to monitor and that need to

"With Adisa, we are able to pick up

SEPT/OCT 2016

EASTERN CAPE

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

PANEL DISCUSSION Brian Lewis

ENVIROSAN

Managing director

What products and services do you offer that support government’s demand-side management and water conservation strategy?

toilets of one type or another. Full flush is

BL Envirosan has been involved in the

more robust, and require less maintenance

the bowl and also serves to form a water seal

sanitation industry throughout Africa for

but have also been known to exhibit several

within the p-trap to effectively prevent any

the past 10 years, and manufactures various sanitation technologies from ventilated improved pit toilets (VIPs) to urine diversion dry toilets

extremely expensive, not only in terms of actual water consumption but also in terms of infrastructure maintenance. VIP toilets are

issues when it comes to unpleasant

odours in the pit from making their way back

odours and child safety.

up through the toilet. As a pour-flush option,

Additionally, VIPs and UDDTs tend to fill up quickly and can be difficult to clean. Envirosan firmly

rain water, river water or grey-water can be used to flush the toilet, thus providing the household with a safe and hygienic means of disposing of grey-water, while simultaneously

(UDDTs) to low-flush

believes that the

ensuring that the limited potable water that

toilets. After five

people of South Africa

is available to households is used for drinking,

years of research,

deserve better, and thus

cooking and cleansing.

development and

invented the Eaziflush

prototyping, it’s our newest innovation – our trademarked EaziFlush – that really has the

toilet, which combines the advantages of both dry and flushing systems without any of their disadvantages.

industry excited.

How have you ensured the Eaziflush’s flexibility, adaptability and applicability in the local market? The Eaziflush is the first fully upgradeable sanitation system of its kind. Our VIP 200 product can be upgraded to a urine diversion

pour-flush or a conventional low-flush toilet,

What, exactly, is a pour-flush toilet and how does it save water?

and was developed in conjunction with the

A pour-flush toilet looks very similar to a full-

pour-flush or low-flush (i.e. with or without a

Water Research Commission (WRC) and

flush toilet, but does not utilise a water tank,

cistern) toilet – both of which flush with only

Partners in Development (PID) to deliver a

cistern or flushing handle. Cistern leakage

two litres of water. The Eaziflush is compatible

hygienic, low-water sanitation option to all

can cause huge water losses, and by taking

with a wide range of treatment solutions

communities – from people living in urban,

this element out of the equation, it’s only

(from conventional sewer and solids-free

peri-urban or rural communities to those

the actual toilet flushing (which uses very

sewer connections, to septic and conservancy

living in informal settlements.

little water) that’s necessary. The EaziFlush

tanks, biodigesters, leach pits and others) and,

is flushed by pouring two litres of water into

in addition, is able to connect to standard

seat to enhance child safety, as well as a

the pan, which, because of the design of the

plumbing fittings, allowing flexibility along

water seal within the unit, which eliminates

unit, is sufficient to fully clear all waste from

with maximum water savings.

The Eaziflush can be used either as a

The EaziFlush incorporates a child-friendly

system and further upgraded as either a

the odours and fly breeding commonly associated with VIPs and UDDTs. Our advanced precision injection moulding facilities ensure repeatable quality to not only meet but also exceed market expectations.

What design innovations make the Eaziflush ideally suited to water savings in South Africa and, hopefully, the rest of the continent? To understand what makes the product innovative, you have to look into the challenges the solution was designed to overcome. Government engineers and planners in South Africa are engaged in the delivery of improved sanitation to the 11% of South African households without sanitation services. An additional 26% of households have sanitation services that do not meet national standards for dignified sanitation. In addressing these issues, many engineers were stuck in a binary way of thinking, which is why a paradigm shift was needed. Towns and cities were generally characterised by flush toilets and piped infrastructure, while people living in townships usually used pit

Envirosan firmly believes that the people of South Africa deserve better, and thus invented the Eaziflush toilet, which combines the advantages of both dry and flushing systems without any of their disadvantages SEPT/OCT 2016

SUPERIOR MUNICIPAL SOLUTIONS.

The majority of municipalities in South Africa are under severe strain to deliver basic services to their communities. This is as a result of many factors such as population growth, insufficient capacity, limited budgets, lack of maintenance and, in the case of water and sanitation, severe water scarcity due to drought.

The advantages of the NuWater solution: • NuWater partners with municipalities by providing affordable, easily financed, rapidly implementable solutions to assist the municipalities in their endeavours to provide quality basic water and sanitation services to it’s communities. • NuWater can tailor the commercial offer to suit the cashflow restrictions experienced by the municipalities and operate on the Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), or Rental business model. • The existing water treatment works can be run at design capacity while the NuWater plant delivers the balance of the total volumes required by the municipality, thereby ensuring volumes and quality standards are met.

www.nuwaterglobal.com info@nuwaterglobal.com

• The “Modular & Mobile” nature of our technology allows for the flexibility and easy deployment / redeployment as and when required.

PANEL DISCUSSION

NUWATER

Aurelia van Eeden Executive: Business Development and Strategy

How do your solutions address water issues arising from ageing infrastructure?

Together with strategic partners, NuWater is

AvE NuWater’s expertise lies in localised

be able to address the current need of our

and distributed water treatment, reclamation

environment, communities and clients.

and reuse. NuWater realises that, like the

Technologically, this includes automated

Again, this is where NuWater realised

energy sector, the water sector is in dire

solutions that respond to the climatic and

the big difference that its solutions

need of a different solution that requires

environmental aspects of the area they

make to municipalities – our products are

outside-the-box thinking. The time for large

are situated in. Also, we develop these

easily and rapidly deployable, less costly

civil infrastructure projects that take years

innovative solutions in collaboration

than large civil infrastructure projects,

to realise and often run over budget is over.

with students, further encouraging

and can be installed at the point of need.

To meet the needs of the thousands of local

research and the entrepreneurial spirit

Thus, our solutions are able to bypass

communities, NuWater creates solutions,

that needs to be unlocked in the South

much of the dysfunctional infrastructure

both commercial and technical, that are

African water sector.

or provide a temporary facility while

innovative, localised and easily deployable. Our solutions are modular and mobile, and easily deployable and redeployable,

developing bespoke solutions, again, both technological and commercial, which will

Furthermore, we are running various development projects through the Water

permitting the rehabilitation of the dilapidated infrastructure.

Research Commission.

which means that they can be constructed

Can you provide a case study where your product was used to save water and money for your client?

positive difference that our agile solutions

How does NuWater overcome the challenge of collapsed infrastructure while assisting municipalities to fulfil their mandate to provide basic services?

have made to the many communities, local

Given the high volume of water being

capacity. This resulted in a situation where

municipalities and private sector companies

lost through non-revenue water (NRW)

up to 20 Mℓ/day was being wasted due

that have chosen NuWater’s solutions.

annually – if I’m not mistaken, the current

to the excessive frequency of required

NRW in South Africa is often as high as

backwashing and the rinsing of the filters.

within weeks, scaled as need be and also taken away if no longer needed. While there’s still a place for large civil projects in certain instances, we have seen the

The agility of our solutions has meant that

eMalahleni municipality has a water treatment plant that is severely strained because demand exceeds treatment

we can augment dilapidated infrastructure

50% to 70% in some cases – the amount

– as in the case of eMalahleni Municipality.

of revenue associated with these losses is

being distributed at risk of contamination,

In this particular project, the municipality

criminal. Making a difference starts with

by push-through from the overloaded

was losing money and wasting water, due

making people aware of how precious water

treatment system, but the reduced

to issues arising from ageing infrastructure.

is – and how every drop that comes out of a

volumes of water available for distribution

NuWater, with our mobile and modular

tap has a price, and that every drop wasted

resulted in increasing water scarcity.

solution, was able to augment the current

or going down the drain has a cost. Through

Having less product to sell to consumers

water treatment plant and is currently

addressing the issue of NRW (which is mostly

resulted in a reduction of income

treating 6 000 000 litres of water per day

associated with ageing infrastructure), one

from water sales, as well as some very

at a lower cost.

could possibly start seeing the turnaround of

disgruntled residents who simply had no

bankrupt municipalities in South Africa.

water over long periods.

How does NuWater ensure that it stays ahead of the curve when it comes to technology development? NuWater is constantly developing solutions

Not only was the quality of the water

NuWater has intervened with a solution that is not only very efficient, but also affordable and can be rapidly implemented and redeployed when required.

to truly address water insecurity.

SEPT/OCT 2016

EASTERN CAPE

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

QUALITY FILTRATION SYSTEMS (QFS) Herman Smit Managing director

What contracts is QFS currently undertaking in support of water conservation and water de mand management (WC/WDM)? HS On the supply side, QFS is busy with three secondary effluent treatment plants for various municipalities. These solutions generally employ a form of pretreatment and then an ultrafiltration process, followed by a reverse osmosis process in certain instances. This method of treating secondary effluent is a highly effective way of saving water. Our most recent secondary effluent treatment plant was installed in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal – we achieved some truly impressive results, recovering 91.5% of the plant’s original feedwater.

Can you provide an example where QFS approached WC/WDM creatively? QFS is proud to have been involved in numerous water-saving solutions for the industrial and mining sectors. For example, the implementation of a gas-energy-mixing (GEM) system as the core technology at a major poultry abattoir in Rustenburg saw the successful treatment of 5.25 Mℓ/day of effluent. This process not only results in a major saving for the client (in terms of penalties) but it also opens up further treatment and reuse options. There are also numerous industrial process water treatment solutions installed where QFS’s solutions are effectively reusing millions of megalitres of water per year.

Why is WC/WDM essential in South Africa and how can it be implemented effectively? South Africa’s water scarcity and droughts provide a stark reminder as to how valuable and scarce clean water actually is. QFS plays a significant role in many communities across South Africa, in terms of providing real and immediate solutions that enhance people’s lives through access to clean water.

QFS offers bulk water purification solutions suited to industrial, mining and municipal applications

SEPT/OCT 2016

LEAK MANAGEMENT

World-first pipe reaming for Tshwane A new pipe reaming method never before used in a single pass on a bulk pipeline has proved optimal in replacing ageing pipeline infrastructure, causing no disruption to overhead powerlines. By Frances Ringwood

he use of one-of-a-kind pipe reaming technology was recently demonstrated at the Temba Water Purification Plant upgrade and extension project. The demonstration saw older asbestos pipelines reamed out and replaced on a 130 m portion of the pipeline situated in Hammanskraal, some 50 km north of Pretoria. The trenchless component of the project is being carried by Trenchless Technologies on behalf of the contractor, Group Five, for the City of Tshwane.

Site specifics

Sam Efrat, managing member, Trenchless Technologies, explains, “The pipe reaming phase of the project entails replacing the existing 800 mm asbestos cement (AC) pipeline with a new 800 mm OD high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline over a distance of 1.3 km. “Pipe back reaming is a modified boring process where the existing pipe is reamed out and the new pipe is pulled through the existing pipe and newly created bore using a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine,” he explains. “The process of pipe reaming starts by placing the HDD rig at a designated location (behind an excavated receiving pit). This

should preferably be downstream and at a lower point, which allows a gradient for the injected bentonite mud mix, and the outflow of the AC cuttings and particles,” he adds.

ABOVE LEFT Pipe reaming just outside the Temba Water Purification Plant in Hammanskraal

World first

existing pipe to the upstream launch pit. The HDD rig is capable of pullback forces of up to 50 tonnes and a rotation force of 18 982 Nm. “The drill rods are connected to the pipe reamer, which is, in turn, connected by means of a swivel to a bull-nose. This is then connected to the new 800 PE 100 PN 16 pipe,” Efrat adds that a shield is positioned over the swivel in-between the bull-nose and the back of the pipe reamer. Each 18 m length of HDPE pipe is welded into a long, continuous section (depending on site conditions and required length) as it is pulled into the bore behind the reaming assembly. The pipe reaming process begins when the HDD rig pulls back and applies a rotational motion and force on the rods. A stabiliser is positioned in the existing pipe on a rod in front of the back reamer to centralise the reaming head. This turns the specialised back reamer (pipe reamer), which is equipped with teeth that cut through and break the existing AC pipe into smaller fragments, mixing the pipe cuttings into the

The process described above has been used worldwide for several years, predominantly on small-sized host pipelines up to about 300 mm D. “The method we’re using is, to our knowledge, a world first because a host pipe of 800 mm OD has not been done before. The process would also normally involve fragmenting a smaller host pipe and increasing the diameter of the bore over several runs to fill the pipe and bore with bentonite, or where a large host pipe is concerned, first reaming the pipe wall out, filling the bore with bentonite, and then reaming in a second operation to install the new pipe. What differentiates this project is that we’re doing it in one pass – in other words, we are fragmenting the old pipe and pulling through the new pipe in a single, seamless installation,” explains Efrat. In order for a project of this size to be carried out, a DD10 American Auger drill rig was purchased. The rig’s 6.1 m long drill rods are threaded together by the HDD rig to form a long, continuous drill stream. This is pushed from the HDD rig through the

ABOVE Electrofusion welding of a saddle for air valve installation

SEPT/OCT 2016

LEAK MANAGEMENT surrounding soil and into the inflowing bentonite mud mix. The mixture of bentonite and water helps to maintain the integrity of the bore, in addition to lubricating and surrounding the new HDPE pipe.

Catchment pits

At intervals, catchments are constructed between the launch and receiving pits, as required, to assist with the pipe reaming operation, either to carry out repairs to equipment, remove any obstacles, relieve pressure on the bentonite or to act as catchment pits to contain the bentonite. Connection between the installed HDPE lengths is achieved by means of electrofusion couplings – or by HDPE stub ends and backing flanges. Excavated (virgin) material from the launch, receiving and catchment pits will be stockpiled for later backfilling of all pits. The launch and receiving pits, as well as any additional catchment pits, are all lined using 250 micron plastic sheeting and used as sumps to contain the bentonite, spoil, asbestos and water. Asbestos elements are removed

downstream, using a Kosun KSMR-250 mud separation system. Once separated, the bentonite and water mix will be reused in the pipe-reaming process. The separated spoil, containing AC particles, is deposited into bulk containers by a front-end loader and removed from site for disposal, in the appropriate manner, by an approved asbestos contractor. Once all phases have been completed, the plastic sheeting is then removed from the pits and water is pumped out, double bagged and disposed of. The remainder of the launch and receiving pits, as well as any additional catchment pits are then backfilled and compacted using the excavated and stockpiled virgin material.

Conclusion

“Trenchless Technologies pioneered this system in South Africa and is now refining it,” adds Efrat. “As on other projects, at the Temba site, we have again shown that this technique is an innovative and affordable practice well-suited for the refurbishment of ageing or damaged infrastructure, especially where it needs to be replaced or upsized under challenging conditions.”

HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILL (HDD) RIG SPECIFICS

The HDD rig is a DD10 from American Augers and it’s a midi-machine. Categories of HDD machines are mini (up to about 12 t), midi (from 12 t to about 70 t) and maxi (70 t up to about 1000 t). Although the DD10 is considered a large machine in South Africa, worldwide it’s technically considered a midi. It has a rod basket with nine rods that can be automatically loaded. The rods themselves are 89 mm in diameter; this increases to 106 mm at the joints. SEPT/OCT 2016

+27 (0)86 006 6344 info@trenchless.co.za www.trenchless.co.za

LEAK MANAGEMENT

Managing

the ultimate constraint By targeting large water users, South Africa has an opportunity to radically reduce its non-revenue water losses. These methods feed into the requirements of upcoming No Drop certification for clear and comprehensive demand-side management and water conservation. By Frances Ringwood

rofessional engineer at WRP and No Drop expert Willem Wegelin presented a paper at the recent WISA 2016 Conference in which he outlined the importance of monitoring data for the purposes of water conservation and water demand management (WC/WDM). He used the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) tracking of the Vaal Dam supply to draw conclusions about the importance of timely, accurate data. “My presentation is on the benefits of remote logging, not just in municipal systems but also for large industrial users. “The DWS has, for many years, consistently and successfully monitored dam levels, river flows, canal flows and the like. It has monitoring information coming through from numerous discreet sites and typically, at times of the year where there is high rainfall, these systems reflect high rainfall. As an example,

SEPT/OCT 2016

its dam level information is regularly kept up to date,” said Wegelin. Wegelin put up a slide of Vaal Dam water levels for attending delegates and the information showed a series of peaks and troughs – the peaks indicating summer rain and the troughs indicating winter months and low rainfall. The data reflected that there is a drought in South Africa just about every 10 years, where the trough descended into the portions of the year where high rainfall was expected. “We can see in this data that there was a drought in 2005 and then again in 2013. Then last year, again, we see a significant drop in dam levels in the Vaal River system. It went from about 68% in November down to 61% – the current situation. The real-time logging and monitoring systems have been highly accurate and have been working well. It’s frightening to think the dam levels have dropped by as much as 7% in just six months. Classical analysis such as this indicates, based on historical

LEFT Willem Wegelin, engineer, WRP

consumption and predicted demand, that dam levels will soon reach critical levels. The data indicates that we will need to start implementing water restrictions soon.” KwaZulu-Natal, where the conference took place, is no stranger to water restrictions. Other areas in the country facing harsh restrictions as a result of the current drought include PE, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. “We’re reaching a point where almost all of the metropolitan municipalities in the country are facing some form of water restrictions,” added Wegelin. “The department is prepared for this eventuality and we’re starting a demand-side management intervention that will see the situation managed and controlled.” Data-logger technology Data-logger technology allows organisations such as the DWS and its organs to keep a finger on the pulse of localised

LEAK MANAGEMENT

water demand throughout the country. Wegelin added that he’d recently sat in a No Drop session aimed at keeping the situation under control through demand-side management. “The above example is a clear indication of the benefits of continuous monitoring of the system. Dams were closely monitored and, within three months, we picked up that dam levels were lowering fast and also that we needed to improve the operation and maintenance of the system.” Distribution systems Looking at a normal distribution system, municipalities log data for these systems on a continuous basis, and this process is referred to as “doctor” – just as a human body needs to go to a doctor for a medical check-up, distribution systems require monitoring to determine their general health. “What we do is take information like the flow and pressure rates, and use those figures in conjunction, to determine where there might be a leak or some operational problem within a distribution system,” explains Wegelin. He then put up on screen a graphical representation of a typical flow scenario. As with the line diagram he’d shown earlier, the graph represented a series of peaks and troughs. The peaks showed daytime water consumption and the troughs indicated low-flow periods at night. From looking at data such as this and comparing it to design standards, it becomes immediately evident when leaks are causing major,

consistent water loss – because the troughs in a graphical representation don’t reach low enough during night-time readings. Wegelin then showed the audience a number of flow and pressure graphs taken from various system around the country. Targeting industry Data loggers are not just useful for municipal systems; they can be used to manage the consumption of human settlements, buildings and factories. An example Wegelin provided was taken from a residential community. “At one of the facilities we monitored, made up entirely of offices, we expected the flow to drop to zero at night. This was not the case and we discovered a severe leakage problem. Considering the leak had lasted for at least the last 365 days, 50 cubic litres an hour were lost. At a cost of R20 per kilolitre, the facility was losing in the vicinity of R9 million per year,” explained Wegelin . He proceeded to give numerous examples of industries and industrial centres losing millions per year on their municipal water bills, through leaking pipes. “We often find that the leaks are invisible. They occur under concrete or brick paving and factory floors, where they would never be detected unless someone goes in with a data logger looking for leakages,” said Wegelin. Technology There are a number of data loggers available on the local market. The latest technology allows for consistent

information sharing over a network; the information will typically cover flow, pressure, reservoir level and water quality, among others. Newer units can provide data transmitted by GPRS to web Scada systems, providing daily data, creating “real-time” and more consistent information than the older technologies. Rod Glatt, managing director, N&Z Instrumentation & Control – one of the companies that has developed and locally manufactures its own proprietary data SEPT/OCT 2016

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LEAK MANAGEMENT The Vaal’s water levels have dropped dramatically over the past six months

logger – explained how his company’s units work and what municipalities can do to manage their information, giving meaningful reports and supporting effective decision-making. “The most important thing about a data logger is that it logs the data correctly, which depends on the input it’s getting from the flow meter. A mechanical pulse often has ‘relay bounce’. So for one pulse, you might measure two pulses, which will cause the data logger to log incorrect information. Pulses from an electronic unit are not prone to this type of error. A highspec logger will automatically distinguish

between the two types of pulses and process them accordingly,” he explained. “Our submersible, battery-powered loggers will typically be installed inside a manhole. They also include an added security feature to prevent theft,” added Glatt. These programmable loggers send information to a Scada system. N&Z has developed its own user-friendly Scada program, which collects information over the GPRS system,” explained Glatt. “A single ‘smart’ logger takes inputs from a number of pressure sensors, flow meters and reservoir level sensors. The water management Scada not only presents pressure and flow information for leak identification, it also gives a comprehensive view of the operations of the complete water system. Management now has the information at its fingertips to proactively manage its water-loss reduction programme.”

A bonus for municipal clients who don’t want to overextend their staff with new responsibilities is that third-party service providers can be contracted to manage and analyse logged data and trouble-shoot water system problems. “Our system is simple and easy to use, ‘plug-and-play’ as they say. And municipalities have the option of using a service provider if they choose to manage their data that way,” says Glatt. Large water users Both Glatt and Wegelin commented, in interviews with WASA, that large water users are an ideal place for municipalities to start their WC/WDM interventions using data logger technology. Large water users – such as those in the food and beverage, mining and automotive industries, among others – use far more water than households and, as such, they form the ideal starting point in municipal strategies to reduce non-revenue water losses through monitoring and control.

SEPT/OCT 2016

H5000 Hybrid Woltmann Water Meter

• This meter records ultra-low flows while supporting high flow capabilities, all with one register. • H4000 body can be retro-fitted with new H5000 measuring cartridge (40 -100mm only). • Convert existing bulk meters to combination meter equivalent – field exchangeable mechanism. • Electronic register pre-equipped for AMR/AMI with pulse, encoder, M-Bus L-Bus outputs.

The first choice for municipalities For more information, please visit Elster Kent Metering (Pty) Ltd www.elstermetering.com or call +27 (0)11 470-4900 © 2016 Honeywell International. All rights reserved.

BULK ME TERING

While smart metering and automated meter reading (AMR) technology save domestic users water, bulk water users – including municipalities, water boards, industries and mines – feel the benefits of smart metering much more immediately. John Alexander, marketing manager, Krohne South Africa, explains why.

Water-saving strategies for bulk users What products does Krohne South Africa recommend for achieving water savings, given the broad-scale water restrictions across the country?

JA Our WaterFlux 3070 water meter integrates pressure and temperature sensors for flow and pressure management as well as leak detection, and the product is specifically aimed at district metering areas (DMAs). For DMAs’ bulk feeder lines, municipalities need to be able to measure water losses at night, which relies on pressure measurement. If there’s a pressure drop, that represents a potential leak and, for that reason, it’s quite important to measure both flow and pressure. Krohne also produces units without integrated pressure sensors, which are essentially just general, high-specification, high-accuracy flow meters for measuring flows accurately. These also make smart information available regarding what is happening on the network.

However, the WaterFlux 3070’s integration of leak detecting functionality is more suited to current drought conditions, given government’s present drive to reduce non-revenue water (NRW). NRW is a huge problem for municipalities and bulk suppliers, as I’m sure your readers are already aware. Moreover, unregistered flows are a major contributor to NRW and some of the mechanical meters in use today just don’t have the capability of measuring very low flows very quickly – these meters cannot be used for leak detection. By contrast, the WaterFlux is designed specifically for measuring low flows and being able to respond quickly when a leak is detected.

How does the WaterFlux 3070 differ from a data logging system? The WaterFlux is essentially a sensor – that is to say, the part of a system that actually measures flow. Data from the unit is then sent to a logger. The logger then sends the

John Alexander, marketing manager, Krohne South Africa

data on to a network via GPRS, or some other platform. In this way, users receive data on their flow’s current condition. If the flow drops below a certain parameter, an alarm will be set off, alerting technicians of a potential leak.

How long has the WaterFlux 3070 been available on the local market and in what environment does it function best? It has been available for about six years, which is a relatively short time, given how long various mechanical-type meters have dominated the market. Municipalities are expected to consistently improve on their cost efficiencies and not having to deal with the maintenance issues typically involved with mechanical meters goes a SEPT/OCT 2016

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m3/h The WaterFlux 3070 is ideal for municipalities, factories and mines, particularly given the current drought conditions that require more careful water use

gal/h

mm cm

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long way. Krohne is promoting smart metering options in these environments because the units require no maintenance.

What’s your response to the communications revolution in metering? It’s difficult to say in that the domestic metering market has generally been promoting AMR. These solutions’ upfront costs are typically higher than standard domestic-type meters because they have some intelligence built in to transmit data to automated reading devices. Since South Africans tend to be more conservative when it comes to price, we may not be realising the full benefits of the technology yet. In my opinion, there is an even stronger argument for integrating communications technologies in bulk meters. The reason for this is that, although domestic metering adds up to large volumes of water, individual consumers consume very little. Bulk users such as factories, plants and mines consume much higher quantities of water and they will, therefore, see more immediate cost and water savings following the implementation of smart metering. I believe this is going to be the sector where the trend really takes off in South Africa in the next decade.

fact Flow measurement in partially ﬁlled pipes TIDALFLUX 2300 F – technology driven by KROHNE • Electromagnetic flowmeter with integrated contactless level measurement • Minimum fill level only 10 % of pipe diameter • Sensor and converter approved for Ex zone 1 • Broad diameter range up to DN1600/64“ • High abrasion and chemical resistance

Have you seen more industries showing greater levels of interest in managing their water consumption given the current drought? Very much so. It’s had a huge impact in most industries, especially mining, where, for example, the measurement and abstraction of water has become extremely important to large users. Mines are under considerable pressure to conserve water because of the amount of water they use for their processes. Also consider the cost to mines of not managing their water, who run the risk of losing their water-use licences. Due to the high costs involved with such a loss, mines need to ensure they can report accurate and detailed information regarding their water consumption. If their metering isn’t carried out correctly, they could be in breach of their actual licence conditions. SEPT/OCT 2016

KROHNE South Africa 8 Bushbuck Close, Corporate Park South Randjiespark, Midrand, Tel.: +27 113141391 Fax: +27 113141681, John Alexander, j.alexander@krohne.com, www.za.krohne.com

PRODUC T NEWS

Ensuring the integrity of geomembranes

Nadia Minnaar, MD, NGQ Consulting

ompanies involved in the handling of wastewater must pay special attention to the correct containment of pollutants through suitable geomembranes that have been correctly installed, maintained and monitored. Geomembrane quality and installation specialist Nadia Minnaar, managing director, NGQ Consulting, explains that ever-tightening requirements for the containment and handling of waste materials requires careful management to avoid falling foul of environmental legislation and regulations. Not only are severe penalties in place to punish offenders, but they may cause reputation damage that could be costlier in the long run. She says the mitigation of these risks has led to companies involved in the specification, construction and management of containment areas taking extra precautions to ensure that their facilities are 100% compliant and regularly monitored

to ensure that the ever-important linings remain fully functional at all times. “This has given rise to a whole new breed of specialist consulting firms, such as ours, who are able to monitor, in real time, the daily installation and progress of all geomembrane materials on-site through custom-designed software programs. These state-of-the-art, cloudbased quality assurance and control programmes address every aspect as set out in international standards, SANS 10409 and material manufacturers installation guides,” says Minnaar. In addition, a modern-day consultant can act as an independent, third-party construction quality assurance (CQA) professional on behalf of the company, its appointed engineer or the construction contractor or installer on-site. They are also able to provide independent inspections for geomembrane installation on-site during receiving, throughout field installation and during any remediation processes.

“Our CQA services are an essential element that helps to ensure a compliant project with the correct geomembrane installation methods in place. We are also able to verify geomembrane installation procedures as well as certify the safety, purity and integrity of installed materials. We make sure that all project-specific requirements, CQA plan requirements, industry best practices and internal specifications are met. We also ensure compliance with current national and international standards as well as with legal and regulatory requirements. “Third-party consultants should also be technically qualified to determine lining material compliance, lining surface preparation, as well as ensure installation methods are correct. Thereafter, they should perform daily quality control testing and live monitoring of the installation process,” she concludes.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Air Liquide South Africa

Kaytech

APE Pumps

Keller AG

Chillisoft

Krohne South Africa

DPI Plastics

NuWater

Elster Kent

OdorCure

Envirosan Sanitation Solutions

Prei Instrumentation

Quality Filtration Systems

SMEC South Africa

Stefanutti Stocks

Swan's Water Treatment

IBC

Trenchless Technologies

Vega Controls

Vovani Water Products

Water Research Commission

Festo

OFC

EAPIC

Rainbow Reservoirs

WEC Projects

Johannesburg Water

IFC

SAPPMA

WorleyParsons

SEPT/OCT 2016

Water & Sanitation Services SA

OBC 12 8

Water Purification Plant & Equipment INTRODUCTION SWANSA (PTY) LTD trading as SWAN’S WATER TREATMENT is a privately owned South African company specializing in the design and manufacture of the full spectrum of water purification equipment. Cost effective innovations are incorporated in our process and equipment designs with the plant being customised for each installation. Our extensive in-house expertise, ensures that out advanced technology is applied to the clients best advantage. PRODUCT RANGE • Water filters • Moore Airlift Rapid Gravity filters • Steel pressure filters • Steel rapid gravity filters Liquid/Solid Separation • Sludge Blanket Vertical Upflow Clarifiers • Diminishing Intensity Floc Conditioners • Incline Sheet Clarifiers • Upgrading of Horizontal Flow Clarifiers Chemical Dosing • Helical screw feeders • Rotary disc dry feeders • Water operated dry feeders • Gravity solution feeders • Metering pumps • Gas Chlorinators Effluent Treatment • Biofilter rotary distributors • Aerators • Clarifiers Miscellaneous • Package plants • Ammoniators • Sulphonators • Pilot operated diaphragm valves • Laboratory floc testers • Automatic pH control • Comparators • Domestic and industrial cartridge filters

Swan’s Water Treatment | Prop. Swansa (Pty) Limited | Reg. No. 80/11814/07 Plot 91, Honingklip, Muldersdrift PO Box 777 Muldersdrift 1747 Tel: 010 594 9999 | Fax: 086 609 1595 www.swanswatertreatment.co.za P Swan

Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a specialised provider of sustainable water services in Southern Africa