MEET SOUTH AFRICA’S BEST WSA

The country’s best performing water services authority (WSA) –Overstrand Local Municipality (LM) – received eight of the 26 national Blue Drop awards. All eight of their water supply schemes received Blue Drop status, with an overall Blue Drop score of 99.99%. Kirsten Kelly talks to the team about the reasons for their success.

Overstrand LM is situated in the Overberg District of the Western Cape Province and covers the areas of Hangklip-Kleinmond, Greater Hermanus, Stanford and Greater Gansbaai. With an average bulk supply input volume of 23 Mℓ/day and a combined design treatment capacity of 60 Mℓ/day, Overstrand LM supplies around 8 379 Mℓ of bulk potable water per annum.

The municipality has a population of nearly 130 000 people and eight water supply systems, with each system receiving a Blue Drop award:

• The Baardskeerdersbos Supply system abstracts raw water from boreholes for treatment at the Baardskeerdersbos Water Treatment Plant (WTP)

• The Buffeljags Bay Supply system abstracts raw water from boreholes for treatment at the Buffelsjags Bay WTP

• The Buffelsrivier Supply system abstracts raw water from the Buffels River Dam for treatment at the Buffelsrivier WTP

• The Greater Gansbaai Supply system serves 20 479 people. The system abstracts raw water from the Klipgat and De Kelders Grotte Fountain for treatment at the De Kelders WTP and the Kraaibosch and Franskraal Dams for treatment at the Franskraal WTP

• The Greater Hermanus Supply system abstracts raw water from the De Bos Dam, Gateway Borehole Field (5 boreholes) and Volmoed and Camphill borehole fields (7 boreholes) for treatment at the Preekstoel WTP

• The Kleinmond Supply system abstracts raw water from the Palmiet

River and Dorpsfontein for treatment at the Kleinmond WTP

• The Pearly Beach Supply system abstracts raw water from the Pearly Beach and Koekemoer Dams for treatment at the Pearly Beach WTP

• The Stanford Supply system abstracts raw water from the Stanford Spring Kouevlakte Boreholes for treatment at the Stanford Water Treatment Works

Veolia Services Southern Africa

“Like most WSAs, our challenges are a growing population, aging infrastructure and budget constraints,” explains Hanre Blignaut, Principal Engineer: Civil Infrastructure Planning, Overstrand LM. It was in this light that Overstrand LM decided to subcontract the operation of all their treatment plants to gain better efficiencies and preserve assets. They also needed additional skilled personnel to continuously operate plants with advanced technologies like ultra filtration, biofiltration, Nereda, and reverse osmosis.

After a thorough tendering process, where factors such as experience, skill set, financial health and pricing were considered, Veolia Services Southern Africa was awarded the 15-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract at the end of 2018.

Veolia is managing the day-to-day operations of Overstrand’s water and wastewater infrastructure that stretches over 250 km. They have also conducted a number of process optimisation studies. A central management team in Hermanus manages and coordinates all aspects of operation, including teams that are available to assist and maintain the municipality’s infrastructure on a daily basis.

“With the implementation of this long-term O&M contract, efficiencies have improved, and the available funds are utilised optimally – to the benefit of our taxpayers. Other benefits include having the fulltime involvement of focused, highly skilled engineers who can train and upskill our existing staff,” adds Blignaut.

Veolia is measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) such as water and effluent quality compliance, infrastructure downtime, energy efficiency, water losses and staff training. Penalties have also been built into the contract.

REGULATOR’S COMMENTS ON BLUE DROP AUDIT

“All representatives were very well prepared for the Blue Drop assessment, well informed of all aspects of their systems, and provided an outstanding portfolio of evidence which made the audit process easy and efficient. The regulator would like to applaud Overstrand LM for their commitment to a high standard of service delivery by taking the initiative in appointing Veolia for the operation of their treatment plants. During the assessment, it was clear that the relationship between Veolia and Overstrand LM is built on trust and mutual respect, with continuous communication between the two entities being key to their operations. With very-low risk ratings, and excellent compliance for both microbiological and chemical acute health across all their systems the value added by this appointment is plain to see, which resulted in a praiseworthy overall Blue Drop score of 99.99%.”

According to Coenie Loubser – the Operations Manager at Overstrand for Veolia Services Southern Africa – the contract gives Overstrand access to Veolia’s global wealth of technical expertise, which can be utilised for problem-solving and projects within the area. “As part of a worldwide company, Veolia Services Southern Africa has access to over 160 years of knowledge and experience in the management of water and wastewater services for public authorities and industrial companies. With a solid background in water treatment technology, chemistry, plant design, construction, and O&M, we can offer municipalities like Overstrand a truly holistic water solutions offering.”

He believes that the O&M partnership has given Veolia the opportunity to showcase its skills within the Overstrand municipal environment and ultimately improve and optimise processes to ensure a beneficial relationship between contractor and client.

“Since Veolia has been appointed, there has been improved monitoring and improved reaction time in case of emergencies, with the creation of more than 20 additional full-time posts. There is a respectful, open-door relationship between Overstrand and Veolia where we tackle any problems that arise together, in a collaborative manner. There are dedicated, professional people on both sides that have a common interest. The team from Overstrand LM have an excellent knowledge of water infrastructure, making communication and understanding of any problems that arise that much easier,” states Loubser. Goosen Le Roux, senior engineer: Bulk Water and Sanitation, Overstrand, says that the partnership has given Overstrand LM the opportunity to better focus on service delivery to the end user as well as long term planning and implementation of capital projects for new infrastructure while Veolia focuses on the operation and maintenance of the bulk infrastructure.

“With the appointment, the procurement process is slightly easier, and Veolia can implement quick fixes and small changes without having to engage with regular municipal supply chains.”

An annual plan is submitted by Veolia annually for input into the municipal budget cycle. Upon termination of the contract, the optimised bulk water services function and up-skilled staff will transfer back to Overstrand LM.

Recipe for success

Patrick Robinson, Senior Engineer: Water Infrastructure and Quality at the municipality, believes that Overstrand’s success lies in merely following the basics. “We did not do anything special; we merely incorporated the Blue Drop Certification Scheme into everyday operations. Fundamental to our success is the skill, experience and attitude of our staff working in our department that do more than what is merely required of them. Overstrand LM also has great support from its council and top management. Then we have Veolia that has played a key role in Overstand receiving these Blue Drop awards.”

Overstrand LM also targeted the bonus points that could be achieved in the different sections of the Blue Drop audit

Overstrand Overview

Water Sources

• 5 Dams

• 1 River Abstraction

• 17 Boreholes

• 3 Springs

Bulk Water Infrastructure

• 9 treatment plants

• 46 reservoirs

• 19 pump stations

• 90 km bulk pipelines

Bulk Wastewater Infrastructure

• 6 treatment plants

• 51 pump stations

• 45 km bulk pipelines

Reticulation Infrastructure

• 716 km water reticulation

• 323 km sewer network process. “Furthermore, our team are not new to the Blue Drop process, Hanre and I have been present at previous audits and are actively involved in preparing for the audits,” adds Robinson.

When asked what advice the Overstrand team would give to municipalities looking to improve their scores, Robinson emphasizes the importance of uploading information onto the IRIS system before the assessment and to have all documentation available during the assessment. “Take notes and remember that you have another chance to give the auditors information that you may have not had on the day. Also, organise your information and clearly label the type of documents that you upload on the system and make sure that everything is uploaded in the right place. Identify gaps flagged by the previous Blue Drop assessments and focus on filling those gaps with improvement interventions.”

In conclusion, Overstrand LMs remarkable achievement as South Africa's best-performing WSA, recognised by eight Blue Drop Awards and a 99.9% score, is a testament to their unwavering commitment to excellence in water management. A large part of their success story is rooted in collaboration with Veolia Services Southern Africa, and a dedicated, skilled team that goes beyond the basics to integrate best practices into daily operations. By focusing on the fundamentals, maintaining rigorous standards, and continuously seeking improvements, Overstrand LM has set a benchmark in water services that other municipalities can aspire to. Their approach not only ensures high-quality water for their community but also positions them as a model for effective water service delivery in South Africa.