Water

An off-grid, solar-powered groundwater harvesting system has been developed by Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA). The Coke Ville Project, pictured, was launched in 2020 and not only harvests groundwater but treats it as well.

Over time, the project has expanded to several provinces and is proving of great benefit to communities, especially in times when power outages are experienced. Water wheelbarrows are distributed as part of the project to enable residents to transport water easily.

In KwaZulu-Natal an amount of R30-million has been set aside for 28 solar-powered boreholes with elevated tankstands to be constructed in the Harry Gwala District Municipality.

Phase 1 of the Vaal Gamagara Water Supply Scheme (VGWSS) has been completed in the Northern Cape, bringing much-needed water to several communities and mining companies. Some R10billion will be spent in completing phase 2, an extension of pipelines from the Vaal River to the town of Hotazel, including reticulation to communities living along the path of the pipeline. The private sector and national government are partners in the project.

One of the small towns that will benefit from phase 2 is Danielskuil, a town that in 2022 was briefly in the news spotlight. The town ran out of water because it had rained too much. Massive thunderstorms overwhelmed the town’s systems, already under pressure because of electrical outages and theft.

Places like the normally dry Northern Cape will increasingly be the focus of attention as the earth warms and extreme events become more common. Municipalities in the Northern Cape (as in many other provinces) have consistently struggled to supply good services to citizens. With the declaration of the entire province as a Priority Human Settlements Development Area by the National Department of Human Settlements, this situation could improve.

Another partnership between the public and private sectors will see the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme revitalised, leading to greater certainty for fresh produce producers, assistance for local municipalities in providing water to residents and a doubling of

Online Resources

National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa: www.ncpc.co.za

National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dws.gov.za

South African Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za

Water Institute of South Africa: www.wisa.org.za

Sector Insight

Phase one of the Vaal Gamagara Bulk Water Scheme has been completed.

the amount of land available to emerging farmers. The three entities involved are the National Department of Water and Sanitation, the Vaalharts Water User Association and the Infrastructure Fund.

The project was gazetted as one of the Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) in 2020 and falls under the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC). The existing scheme is one of the largest irrigation schemes in the world, covering 39 000ha under irrigation and extending it to Taung in the North West will give it even greater reach. The scheme currently has 1 000km of concrete-lined canals and more than 300km of concrete drainage. ■