WATER BOARDS
Highs in a year of lows – Umgeni Water delivers on its mandate The supply of water and sanitation services across difficult hilly terrain and vast rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal is a familiar challenge that Umgeni Water has faced for nearly 50 years. But Covid-19 provided entirely new issues that forced the water board to drastically change the way in which it operates.
“
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hile classified as essential workers, people working within the water and wastewater sector are unfortunately not considered ‘frontline workers’ like our colleagues in the health sector. This is strange because there has been a justifiable increased focus on water and sanitation infrastructure and service delivery as a means of combatting the virus. While a lot of our support staff (human resources, finance, corporate services) could work remotely, many other staff members work in the frontline and are crucial to the supply of water and wastewater services,” explains Dan Naidoo, regional manager of Umgeni Water. In a bid to protect its core staff, who are fundamental to the provision of water and wastewater services, from the virus, Umgeni Water had to make operational changes. These company employees were
Lower Thukela Water Works
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transported to work and back home via specially arranged vehicles. Access to all plants was also restricted – making sure that only the necessary personnel were onsite. During the second wave of Covid-19, key members of the operations team left their families and were put into isolation in various hotel rooms or bed and breakfasts to keep them safe. “This was a huge sacrifice; many of our staff members lived away from their homes and families for close to three months. However, infection rates among Umgeni staff members remained extremely low and there was minimal disruption to our water and sanitation services,” adds Naidoo. In addition to protecting its staff, Umgeni Water prioritised the implementation of technology that allowed for operations to be controlled remotely. “Over the years, Umgeni Water has used remote monitoring and control solutions;
Dan Naidoo, regional manager of Umgeni Water
with Covid-19, we further built upon those capabilities. Presently, we can now remotely operate nearly all key infrastructure (with a margin of safety),” says Naidoo. Over the past 18 months, Umgeni Water has successfully evolved into an organisation that is largely running remotely. The water board has continued to fulfil its core mandate by responding timeously to breakdowns and repairing any failures, while meeting all water quantity and quality requirements. “In addition to water and sanitation supply services, Umgeni Water worked closely with municipalities to make sure that a greater number of people had access to water, with boreholes and water storage tanks. The past few months have been challenging but also very rewarding for Umgeni Water,” adds Naidoo.
