You said it in WASA

“Established 24 years ago, Siza Water and Silulumanzi prove that PPPs within the water sector can work. However, procurement processes that were developed after 1999 have added a level of complexity to forming new PPPs. First, the public side needs to prove that they do not have the capacity to provide that service. There is also a rigorous process to get all the necessary approvals, and most municipalities do not have the capacity to even take part in that process. Fortunately, the Water Partnership Office that is headed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa can now assist municipalities with developing PPP frameworks and engaging with the private sector. SAWW is excited about the Water Partnership Office – it is a step in the right direction.” Shyam Misra, Group MD, South African Water Works (SAWW)

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“To fully realise the significance of water reuse in the South African water sector, it is essential to address some challenges and considerations. These include ensuring proper treatment and monitoring of reused water to meet health and safety standards, implementing appropriate regulations and policies, promoting public awareness and acceptance of water reuse, and investing in adequate infrastructure and technologies for wastewater treatment.” Dr Lester Goldman, CEO, WISA

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“Water services authorities (WSAs) receive grant funding from both the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Water and Sanitation. Water service providers (WSPs) fund their own projects through the water tariffs on bulk water and from the markets. Grant funding and even municipal funding instruments are often determined by a WSA’s asset register. Therefore, there is an understandable reluctance for WSAs to give WSPs control of their water infrastructure. This needs to be considered when reviewing regulations and strategic frameworks around WSPs and WSAs.”

Dan

Naidoo, chairman, WISA

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“New property developments in Mauritius must include their own water supply. Watericon recently installed a decentralised plant that will be scaled to produce 45 m3/h of treated water to service 5 000 to 10 000 people in a residential development. We predict South Africa will soon be going this route, where any new buildings or resorts will need to generate their own power and water supply.

Chris Ashmore, CEO, Watericon

“Neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Namibia, and Botswana are a lot more receptive to on-site wastewater treatment plants. Many of the developers in South Africa are reluctant to make the investment; they are still hoping that the municipality will install a sewerage connection. Furthermore, architects do not want to provide space on the site for these treatment plants. Often, in addition to the municipality not providing a sewage connection, they do not provide a stormwater connection either.”

Sebasti Badenhorst, sales and marketing executive, JoJo Tanks

“Of all the water on Earth, only 3% is fresh, with the majority of that tiny amount either unavailable or polluted. This means that the entire human race relies on 0.5% of the Earth’s water to survive.”

“Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s (NMBM’s) lowest combined dam capacity of 9.98% was reached on 21 July 2021, with only 3.43% of that water available.

I do not think anyone in NMBM’s Water and Sanitation Department slept much during that period. It was frightening. It was unprecedented. We had roughly 36 days left until complete failure of supply. We reached the lowest historical dam levels. But municipal officials, engineers, scientists, community members, and businesses pulled together, and several projects that were implemented to push back ‘Day Zero’ began to deliver results. Fortunately, after the recent torrential rains in the metro, many of our dams are overflowing.”

Matthew Hills, engineer, Nelson Mandela

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“The results of this project so far have taken the local sanitation industry by surprise. It is a completely new approach, showing a willingness of households in informal settlements to pay up to R350 per month for toilet rental and servicing, even in parallel to free, government-provided basic communal services.” Nick Alcock, managing member,

Khanyisa Projects

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“With the analytical information technology available to us, and the skills of data scientists, there is so much more that can be derived from data to assist with decision-making. What is critically important about consistent and comparable water monitoring is that it generates a trend. This allows scientists, engineers, clients, regulators, and other stakeholders to understand changes in water quality over time – to inform the necessary responses.” Dylan Harrison, data scientist, SRK Consulting

“Before the war, most Gazans relied on private water vendors and a few small desalination plants for drinking water.

Israel also piped about 10 million cubic metres of water each year into Gaza. But all told, the water supply is not large enough to meet the entire population’s needs. Now, because of the war, no fuel is entering Gaza to run the desalination plants, leaving them inoperable.” Clive Lipchin, adjunct professor: Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University 30 PAGE

“When requested by municipalities, Sanitech services ventilated improved pit latrines. The dry consistency of sludge and the high rubbish content that is found in many pits can present obstacles to vacuum removal. While pit latrines are estimated to last between eight and ten years, they are often the only discharge point for a household and are therefore filling up in two to three years.”

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“Single or sporadic samples have limited usefulness, as these could reflect just the result of an infrequent discharge or may be inaccurate for some other reason. Regular samples from the same point allow the accuracy of readings to be confirmed and highlight changes in quality that require investigation. To give value and purpose to the monitoring activity, it is also vital that the sampling results and analysis find their way into a responsive water management strategy. As important as monitoring is, it is really only the beginning of a broader and more demanding process.”

Manda

Hinsch, partner and principal scientist, SRK Consulting

“Last year, Magalies Water took over Sedibeng Water’s assets, operations, staff, and liabilities in the North West province. This was a huge undertaking. First, water utilities are graded according to their size: from grade A (a huge bulk water supplier scheme) to grade D (small water entity). Sedibeng Water had a grade B2 rating while Magalies Water at that time had a grade C1. So, upon the merge, we had employees performing the same job functions earning different salaries. Second, we absorbed close to 400 employees from Sedibeng Water, with an almost non-existent water production asset base. To put this into perspective, Magalies Water at the time had 320 employees and a R4.5 billion asset base.” Sandile Psychology Mkhize, chief executive, Magalies Water

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In 2018, Mergence Investment Managers acquired a majority stake in Siza Water and Silulumanzi from Sembcorp, a Singapore-based company. The management of these entities has since been entrusted to the South African Water Works (SAWW).