“All systems are designed and manufactured by our in-house design and manufacturing engineers. Our lead times are also shorter than our competitors’, and we use and upskill local talent.” Charmaine mabuza general manager, murray & roberts’ aquamarine water treatment P10 hot seat
IN PROFESSIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT
The Monash South Africa (MSA) Postgraduate Diploma in Water Management introduces a unique interdisciplinary approach to managing water resources.
Explore relevant topics including ways societies develop and nurture robust cities through modern technologies and urban designs; current global debates about climate change and the mplementation of effective planning systems that are responsive to the current water crisis.
With personalised attention and access to a global network opportunities, this one-year qualification will strengthen your knowledge, allowing you to make a real difference to society.
Visit our website for more information on the Postgraduate Diploma in Water Management as well as the Master of Philosophy in Integrated Water Management.
LEARN TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE COMPLEX WATER CHALLENGES
GAIN KNOWLEDGE ON PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO WATER AND SANITATION PROBLEMS
ACQUIRE SKILLS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN A WATER RELATED CONTEXT
Mava Gwagwa, new business and key accounts director, SBS Tanks, discusses the company’s
Publisher Elizabeth Shorten
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Editor Frances Ringwood
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South Africa’s water sector professionals have achieved much when compared with water professionals from other countries. Our water and sanitation delivery figures are up and, although the country’s wastewater treatment works could benefit from improvement, the situation out there is no secret: South African water professionals have been working together to find solutions and create awareness diplomatically. The Department of Water and Sanitation, too, has shown its engagement through its Green Drop certifications and the utilities that implement its excellent policies and procedures.
This spirit of cooperation is what sets successful national water management strategies apart. It was this spirit that infused the recent WISA Specialist Conference on Watershed and River Basin Management, held in partnership with the International Water Association, at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park. The event proved that not only do the people who make up the sector play hard, they also work hard, taking into account the needs and concerns of local community members in the areas pertinent to their work.
The conference slogan was ‘we all live downstream’, underlining the fact that water is essential for everyone; this life-giving element is ultimately the great leveller.
Cape cooperation
While a few dissident voices have spoken out about the coastal drought currently affecting Cape Town, there are many more who are saying that,
with cooperation and an agile response, current supply shortages can be overcome.
No one can plan perfectly for climate change and the Cape Town administration has not been sitting on its hands: plans have been made and requests for proposals have been issued so that the whole of the South African (and even international) water community can work together on finding the most elegant, sustainable solutions.
Endorsed by
New beginnings
Yes, there have been a number of news reports that read: ‘x days of water supply left’, but these have not been issued for the purpose of doomsaying. They have been published for the purpose of galvanising a thoughtful and resilient water community to action and necessary interventions are already under way.
It is with some sadness that I write my goodbye, as this will be my last editor’s comment for WaSa, to the excellent community of engineers, scientists, business people and administrators who form our readership.
Avid readers, do not fear. Our new editor, Danielle Petterson, is ready for the challenge and has a number of years’ experience in trade and technical publishing under her belt. I congratulate her on her promotion and endorse her skills and integrity, as she steers the publication into new and exciting realms of cross-platform and multimedia reporting.
Water value engineering
Meeting the current and future water storage needs of South Africa’s rural and urban communities is a top priority, as are future drought
countermeasures. Mava Gwagwa, new business and key accounts director, SBS Tanks®, discusses the company’s innovative responses to these challenges.
SBS Tanks’ current strategy for the municipal market is to ensure that every municipality in South Africa understands the advantages of our product line as a flexible solution. At SBS, we offer a turnkey package that brings true value to the end user. Our tanks have been engineered to last well beyond 60 years, with minimal maintenance. This means that municipal budgets are responsibly spent.
This doesn’t apply only to South Africa. SBS exports globally and has an expanding presence in key public and private sector markets that include the USA.
Tank applications
Mining is one of the most aggressive environments and puts any product to the test. Our tanks meet the most exacting requirements in this area and that means that our products are field-proven for virtually every other application. SBS’s
liners, which form an integral part of the tank system design, range from normal potable requirements to leachate and wastewater applications.
Our tanks have also been widely used in the waste management industry, because they can store leachate from dump runoffs and other waste management sites, assisting in the client’s requirements for stench control.
Public sector offering
For the public sector, we specialise in containing brackish water or wastewater for further processing. One of our flagship wastewater projects is the ongoing relationship we have with Sembcorp Siza Water in Ballito, KwaZuluNatal. Sembcorp extracts water from two sources: the local river system and processed wastewater. In November 2016, we provided a 1 Mℓ temporary storage solution to meet Sembcorp’s
Mava Gwagwa, new business and key accounts director, SBS Tanks
requirements over the December season, following a major tank failure on a non-SBS tank. Sembcorp sells its potable water to the local municipalities, so the implications were severe.
SBS replaced the failed tank with the 1 Mℓ SBS tank in just four days, and then installed an additional 2 Mℓ and 3.3 Mℓ tank as per client requirements.
Storage for communities
We advise on the best outcome for communities. Sometimes, this solution involves the interconnection of our tanks with existing supplies. At other times, it’s a standalone installation for rural communities outside the existing municipal grid. Often, the initial enquiry by municipalities is the starting point
for a proactive discussion that ends with the final best outcome, after exploring all the other alternatives. Here, we pride ourselves on providing objective professional advice based on our value engineering philosophy.
Our goal is to lower the cost for municipalities – e.g. by optimising gravity-fed systems, thereby reducing pump station and pipeline installations. Multiple smaller tanks can also be installed at higher elevations.
complete; an SBS installation of the same capacity could be commissioned in about 40 days. When it comes to municipal strategy, this is obviously a highly persuasive argument and we constantly reinforce the benefits through our national workshops.
In terms of cost impact and time, steel tanks are far faster to build when compared to concrete reservoirs, without compromising capacity
To achieve this, SBS provides site assessment services to assist municipalities and consulting engineers with the best tank system location and layout. SBS also runs a series of annual roadshows at municipalities, which are also attended by contractors and consultants.
Our smallest tank is 12 Kℓ (12 000 litres). However, because we’re modular, the capacity can be incrementally expanded. In other words, we can customise the volume, scalable up to a 3.3 Mℓ capacity, given available construction footprints.
Steel vs concrete
In terms of cost impact and time, steel tanks are far faster to build when compared to concrete reservoirs, without compromising capacity. A 3 Mℓ concrete reservoir would typically take around 18 months to
On another note, SBS is often appointed to remediate concrete reservoirs that experience major leakages. Here, we install the same PVC liner we employ in our own tanks.
Rural solutions
Many of our municipal projects are incremental and ongoing. Examples include the Sol Plaatje District in Kimberley, as well as in Aliwal North, both in the Northern Cape. At Sol Plaatje, SBS’s installations comprised of two 2.5 Mℓ tanks for potable water supply via municipal reticulation.
As for solutions aimed at informal settlements, SBS Tanks is engaged with municipalities and they are aware of what we can do. After many successful installations, we’re positive that further opportunities will be forthcoming.
These systems can also be metered, whether powered by solar or the grid, via telematics that record elements like consumption, inflow, outflow, level and even water temperature – so there are definite benefits for community projects.
Rainwater harvesting
We are especially proud of the meaningful impact our product can make when used for rainwater harvesting, having even installed our own system at our Pinetown facility. The solution is highly sustainable and every building, public or private, should
have a rainwater harvesting system. So far, we’ve installed systems at a number of companies and schools in KwaZulu-Natal, who benefit from saving on toilet water.
future opportunities
While ongoing drought has unfortunately taken its toll on the country, it has opened up a number of opportunities for water storage. Desalination, for instance, whether for seawater or inland brackish water, is a definite consideration now, despite its relatively high cost compared to conventional treatment. Cities like Cape Town have already started desalination projects as a critical drought intervention. That presents opportunities for steel tank reservoirs (before and after treatment), especially given their speed of installation.
At SBS Tanks, we have a vision of seeing our tanks filled, working and delivering water to all communities in need of reliable stored water. Making that happen comes down to building lasting partnerships with our public and private sector stakeholders. For SBS, we are proud to say that we deliver in terms of local and international quality and ISO standards and specifications.
www.sbstanks.co.za
rain to Skukuza Water gurus bring
The venue for the 14th International Water Association (IWA) Specialist Conference on Watershed and River Basin Management (WRBM) was the Skukuza Camp in the Kruger National Park. A famed conservation area renowned for its natural beauty and tourism appeal, the venue was also of interest for specialists because of its strategic placement downstream of various agricultural, mining and
The 14th IWA Specialist Conference on Watershed and River Basin Management brought together top professionals from around the world. Many joked that these water professionals brought the rain with them, as the event was punctuated by fantastic African thunderstorms, following a dry winter.
By Frances Ringwood
urban demands and upstream of neighbouring Swaziland.
WISA hosted the event in partnership with the IWA, since the two organisations are closely aligned in that the IWA’s Southern African chapter is a division of WISA. Gareth McConkey, organising committee chairperson, explained, “The objective behind the conference is to promote the understanding, benefits and utilisation of integrated catchment management
approaches for the beneficial and sustainable use of rivers, lakes and groundwater basins worldwide.”
Local and international experts
Bringing together some of the most renowned specialists from a wide variety of countries, the WRBM conference was attended by scientists, academics, engineers, policymakers, and representatives of government and industry, many of whom contributed either as programme
WISA CEO Lester Goldman and Jeroen Rijke from the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands
Members of the Japanese delegation, one of twenty international delegations representing countries outside South Africa
“The objective behind the conference is to promote the understanding, benefits and utilisation of integrated catchment management approaches for the beneficial and sustainable use of rivers, lakes and groundwater basins worldwide.”
or panel presenters, workshop facilitators or through poster presentations.
Participants included the likes of keynote speakers Professor Aaron Wolf – a geologist from the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University – and Brian D’Arcy – a biologist currently working at a number of British universities and in China on water pollution control and catchment planning. Representing South Africa were a number of top
Inga
FAST FACTS
The management of watersheds as integrated hydrological and ecosystem units is vital going forward, with an integrated approach to groundwater and surface water, water supply and water quality, climate change and its impacts on water resources, managing extreme events of flooding and droughts and integrated urban water management.
Whole system management approaches are key to a sustainable water future, because system management will lead to improvements in efficiency and the support of more sustainable systems. An integrated approach would allow greater system optimisation and better outcomes.
water professionals, such as Dr Thomas Gyedu-Arabio from the InkomatiUsuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA), Francois van Wyk from Rand Water, and Professor Mike Muller from the Wits School of Governance, to name a few.
everyone lives downstream
The slogan for the conference was ‘we all live downstream’, serving as a reminder that water users rely on one another to
ensure that shared global water supplies are of a high enough quality and quantity to continue meeting the demands placed on it by people, animals and the natural environment.
Remarking on the impressive number of international participants, WISA CEO Lester Goldman commented, “We have 20 delegations from different countries outside South Africa attending this conference and the shared learnings that result from that kind of
Managing river basins and watersheds
Left to right:
Jacobs-Mata, vice-chairperson of the conference organising committee (COC), Gareth McConke, chairperson of the COC, and John Riddiford, IWA WRBM specialist group chairperson
Skukuza Camp accommodation
Dr Augustus Odunze and Dr Luke Eme from the Nigerian delegation
engagement is invaluable. We are also grateful to our sponsors of course: Rand Water, the IUCMA, the Mpumalanga Convention Bureau and IDEXX, without which we could not host fantastic events such as this.”
He continued: “River basin management is a topical issue and I think that the venue of the conference added to what we have to offer our international guests, as well as the fact that Southern
A local choir providing entertainment
Africa continues to experience crisis and drought. In fact, some of the other delegates and I have been discussing that when we flew over Mpumalanga to get here, we could actually see how the rivers and dams below were drying up. The fact that we were greeted with the first summer rains and a gorgeous lightning show on the first day of the conference was a fantastic coincidence.”
Goldman added a special word of thanks
to the conference organisers from Savanna Skills and Consulting – Sonette Olivier and Nadege Shipley – who went above and beyond to ensure a pleasant and comfortable experience for all conference guests.
WRBM conference
One of the earlier WRBM conferences organised by the IWA and WISA happened to take place in Skukuza in
“The findings from this conference aren’t going to be lost. We’re going to use them to develop strategy and policy, through the IWA’s Basements of the Future programme.”
Dr Thomas GyeduArabio, CEO, IUCMA
Participants during the ‘Water Management 4.0’ session
Jaco Seaman, marketing and events manager, WISA
Dr Harrison Pienaar (right) of the CSIR and Bjoern Zindler from Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany
1996, also at the beautiful Nombolo Mdhluli Conference Centre. During the opening cocktails function taking place at this venue, IWA WRBM specialist group chairperson John Riddiford from Australia gave special thanks to McConkey and Inga Jacobs-Mata, vice-chairperson of the conference organising committee, for their role as key organisers.
He added, “I’ve come a long way from Australia, where we have the not-so-big
two: the kangaroo and the koala, to see South Africa’s big five. Since arriving, I’ve experienced magnificent hospitality. This week, we’ll see many important presentations so I encourage everyone to listen to the fantastic speakers we’ve lined up, to speak and to network with the people that are here.
The findings from this conference aren’t going to be lost. We’re going to take these findings and use them
to develop strategy and policy, through the IWA’s Basements of the Future programme.
“A few of the locals we’ve met have thought that, because we are here today, we brought rain, and they’ve been very appreciative of that. Now, I don’t think we can take credit for that but as the great philosopher and climatologist Toto said: ‘I bless the rains down in Africa’,” he concluded.
“We have 20 delegations from different countries outside South Africa attending this conference and the shared learnings that result from that kind of engagement are invaluable.”
Panel participants discussing new challenges and solutions in transboundary catchments
Professor Mike Muller from the Wits School of Governance
Professor Aaron Wolf, a geologist from the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University
Strong leadership and the ripple effect
With an impressive background across wide-ranging water profession portfolios, Charmaine Mabuza, new general manager at Murray & Roberts’ Aquamarine Water Treatment, is ready to effect continuing and widespread positive change for Africa’s water supply security.
What leadership qualities give you the edge in being able to put Murray & Roberts’ aquamarine at the forefront of water treatment in africa?
CB Without strong visionary leadership, no strategy will be executed effectively. I always lead by example, work with integrity, resourcefulness and am always aiming to enable others. This allows for a cohesive working environment and creates a synergy within the organisation.
When did you officially take up your new position and what background made you the outstanding candidate?
I started at Aquamarine on 1 September 2017. I have been involved in many different facets of the water industry for 13 years, and have worked in both the private and public sector. My experience ranges from being a microbiologist and a limnological scientist, to being in chemicals manufacturing sales and water and
wastewater treatment consulting. This aligned well with the strategic direction of Aquamarine.
What life events led you to choose a career path in the South african water sector?
When I decided to become a microbiologist in a water laboratory, I really didn’t understand the many facets of the water industry. I just knew that I loved the water sciences, and I wanted to play a pivotal role in the supply of good-quality and safe water. I also care about helping people and making an impact, and this career allows me to do that
South africa’s ongoing coastal water shortages are causing concern among many regarding supply security into the New Year. What solution or set of solutions would aquamarine recommend to solve this issue?
We have extensive knowledge in all processes from conventional water treatment to specialised reverse osmosis,
desalination and ultrafiltration systems. With all types of pretreatment equipment, including clarifiers, media filters, softeners, dealkalisers, demineralisers, deaerators, reverse osmosis, and mixedbed deionisers and EDI.
Aquamarine Water Treatment’s capabilities include the manufacture of skid-mounted desalination units with permeate flow rates ranging from 20 m³/h to 200 m³/h. These units make use of the latest energy-recovery devices to optimise power usage. Units are supplied on skids with separate skid-mounted, pre-filtration units to suit feedwater conditions, or they can be containerised with separate containerised pre-filtration units.
Aquamarine packaged desalination plant ready for delivery
Charmaine Mabuza, new general manager, Murray & Roberts’ Aquamarine
To watch a recorded video interview with Mabuza, visit www.infrastructurene.ws
What advantages does a Murray & Roberts company like aquamarine offer when it comes to the rapid deployment of desalination solutions at different scales?
All systems are designed and manufactured by our in-house design and manufacturing engineers. Additionally, our lead times are shorter than our competitors’, and we use and upskill local talent. We also offer retrofitting for existing customers’ systems. The head office of Aquamarine is in Cape Town, which ensures quick turnaround times. We also have two other branches able to provide services across South Africa.
What advantages do your solutions have over similar local offerings?
We offer financial assistance to customers, as well as rental options or build, operate, own and transfer systems. Our modular units provide clients with the flexibility to increase or decrease their facilities’ capacity. In addition, we offer unique energy-recovery units and custom design to meet every customer’s requirements. Over and above our technical offerings, our
“I just knew that I loved the water sciences, and I wanted to play a pivotal role in the supply of good-quality and safe water.”
people are what set us apart. Trained service technicians for after-sales support and plant maintenance ensure that our customers have the backing they need to operate plants optimally and with confidence.
Plant extras that are particularly desirable for packaged options include lock able, tamper-proof containers that are fitted with windows, doors, and air conditioners. Insulated panels are an extra option.
How successful has aquamarine been in its plans to become a leading service provider for the african market?
Over the past 16 years, Aquamarine Water Treatment has developed a complete line of efficient equipment and chemicals to ensure safe and sustainable treatment programmes for boiler water, cooling water, wastewater, and potable water applications across the African continent. We have a firm customer base and have seen significant growth as a company, both in revenue and resources.
Aquamarine is also a water treatment specialist for industry
What partnerships have enabled these successes and how?
To guarantee that we effectively and efficiently service our customers and offer the best technology and commercial solutions, we formed partnerships with key market players. These include:
• distributors across our network in Africa
• Water Components South Africa (WCSA), which is Africa’s largest supplier of quality water treatment components
• Aqua Life, a provider of advanced desalination equipment
• key specialist consultants in the water industry.
www.aquamarinewater.co.za
use and wastewater Industrial water management
In these times of drought and uncertainty, industrial water management brings major risks that businesses and state entities must manage appropriately. By
Valerie Naidoo
Research shows that the water-intensive industries include the automotive, food and beverage, textiles, pulp and paper, and chemical production sectors. Such industries, including the petroleum industry, also produce significant quantities of pollution, while industries like metal finishing and textiles produce specific health and environmental challenges if not regulated and managed effectively. Mining and the power generation industry are also major users of water and generators of wastewater and are, therefore, subject
to stricter disposal regulations. Due to the size of these industries, the impact can be significant and long-lasting.
The public sector that manages industrial water and wastewater should understand the following aspects for more effective regulation and outcomes: water use and wastewater generation, business size and sustainability.
Industries should drive strategies that support the following principles: water efficiency, resource recovery (wastewater reuse, recycling and beneficiation), sustainability, and collective action for water and the environment.
Traditionally, industries enjoyed a higher status than most people in the country, but with the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998) and, more specifically, the National Water Resources Strategy,
the department acknowledges the rights of people and the environment ahead of those of industry and agriculture in times of limited supply (such as droughts). While this change has come about in the legislation, the regulatory authorities at local level have been slower to create the kind of incentives that force medium to large companies to benchmark their water use according to global best practices.
Trends in brief
Currently, local governments have pollution control departments, which have varying degrees of experience. Many of these have concentrated largely on wastewater management from
Dr Valerie Naidoo, president, WISA
South Africa’s food and beverage sector is renowned for leading best practices in water use and wastewater management
A more integrated approach is also required from national government to provide incentives for small businesses to enhance their competitiveness
industry and are reasonably strong on the regulatory side of industrial wastewater management, due to impacts at wastewater treatment works. This has, however, made them less holistic in their total approach. Reports point to the need for the regulator to revise these departments’ organisational structure and not see industries only as net contributors to revenue generation from the sale of water and the payment of penalties. A better approach would be to work with industry to create sustainable business practices that can grow and contribute to the local economy. A more integrated approach is also required from national government to provide incentives for small businesses to enhance their competitiveness by changing their technology to improve efficiencies, adding technologies for the reuse and recycling of their wastewater, and to measure energy and water consumption more effectively. This would have the knockon effect of stimulating small technology and consulting companies to provide the relevant technical services and support to smaller industries. The overall impact will be stimulation of small green industries, technology suppliers, the economy and job creation at a local level with a reduced impact on the environment, health and wastewater treatment works.
businesses. First, they must move to greater efficiencies, water conservation and demand management approaches within their factory fence. Such industries should use their respective associations to understand benchmarks, adapt the various sustainably principled approaches that are available in the research domain, work with appropriate national entities, and set common targets with the buy-in from researchers, regulators, associations and industries. In this case, metering and raising awareness among staff would be a good start. Involved associations could work with relevant platforms such as the Water Technologies Demonstration Programme of the Department of Science and Technology and Water Research Commission to provide essential services like industry-specific scanning and sorting of appropriate reuse and recycling technologies, technology testing using crowd funding (since it’s non-competitive), and providing uptake guidance.
Benefits of collaboration
Collaborative pre-competitive development of new green businesses could remove some of the burdens of disposal of current waste streams in the long term, by creating beneficial products with a resale value. Additionally, depending on the type of business you are, it may be appropriate to look at your supply chain both
Three-pronged approach
All industries should take a threepronged approach to the management of water and wastewater in their
The mining sector is known for high water consumption and wastewater production, which have led to stricter regulation
FAST FACTS
The trends from some of the recent Natsurv reports show:
Larger companies have become more efficient in terms of specific water intake but there are still those that are highly inefficient
1 2
Companies do not have data due to limited or no on-site metering or a reluctance to share data
3 4 5
The size of the company determines its capability in making use of incentives or understanding policy due to the ‘survival or subsistence’ nature of surveyed businesses
There is a lack of implementation of reuse and recycling techniques
The industry make-up has changed significantly in some sectors
upstream and downstream and use tools like life-cycle analysis, cleaner production and water footprints to understand your impacts and where to invest in improving water efficiency within the supply chain. Such initiatives can significantly reduce the risks associated with constraints within your value chain. Finally, collective action by industries to improve the industry compared to individual company goals can be a powerful enabler that increases certainty for all businesses. Water transcends all boundaries and industry needs to value the resource more.
The Water Research Commission is in the process of revising the national survey (Natsurv) that was done among 20 different industries in the late 1980s and 1990s.
South Africa’s pulp and paper sector is another large-scale wastewater producer
Provinces’ tide rising
This year was, once again, an incredible passage around the sun for the South African Young Water Professionals (YWP-ZA). With thoroughly developed initiatives coming from different YWPZA provincial chapters, young water professionals have reaffirmed their dedication to the sector.
By Nora Hanke-Louw*
YWP-ZA highlights from 2017 have included the Imvelisi Enviropreneur workshops for young entrepreneurs. The amount of energy and keen interest in contributing to a growing biodiversity sector is staggering and cause for celebration. Another highlight has been the incredible level of activity in the various provincial chapters.
The provincial chapters form the backbone of YWP and, indeed, that is where most of our members come in contact with the network. The fact that we are one of the only countries in the world to run a multinodal network shows the strength of the South African YWP chapter. A large part of our energy this year also went into preparing, organising, managing and being excited about the 8th International Young Water Professionals Conference (IYWPC) taking place in Cape Town from 10 to 13 December.
Every two years, the YWP National Committee hosts this must-attend event and, this year, we are thrilled to be hosting the International Water Association International YWP Conference, for the first time in the Global South. This conference is the most important meeting place for members, where many email
YWP-MP has engaged with grade 9 and 10 pupils from different schools around Mpumalanga
conversations finally gain a face and voice. Coming together in this way allows an almost magical energy to inspire our many active volunteers over the next two years. Personally, I can’t wait to win the Water Olympics with my team, listen to the brightest young minds, and hang out with the committee while overlooking the V&A Waterfront, among other fun-filled activities.
KwaZulu-Natal chapter
At the beginning of March 2017, the KwaZulu-Natal YWP visited the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses for the Universities Career Roadshow and raised awareness about developing careers in the water sector and the importance of aligning postgraduate research with relevant water sector challenges. Final-year and postgraduate students were given an opportunity to interact with employed young professionals. The KZN chapter aims to repeat this initiative every year, alternating between local universities.
Then, the YWP-KZN participated in the eThekwini Water & Sanitation (EWS) Schools Education Programme. This was part of Water Week celebrations where YWP-KZN delivered talks to pupils, advising them about careers in the water sector and promoting pursuing science and engineering careers. On 22 March 2017, YWP-KZN coordinated a
recently held in kzn
Event: Process Controller
Open Day
Date: 12 October 2017
Organisers: YWP-KZN and WISA
Process Controller Division
This event was aimed at promoting the professionalisation of process controllers, developing a vibrant Process Controller Division in the province
professional skills session and delivered a presentation on the water sector’s skills status quo during the UN World Water Week conference at the Durban ICC. This presentation was attended by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) CEO, ECSA president and the WISA president, among other dignitaries. The presentation was well received by young professionals all over the country who attended the conference.
In addition, an educational and technical tour to a wetland was organised and hosted on 13 September 2017 in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. This was followed by a site visit to a waterworks operated by EWS, where EWS’s leadership presented eThekwini’s master plans for meeting high water supply demands, and strategies for managing their water infrastructure.
YWP and EWS leadership deliberated on future trends versus current norms and agreed to have another gathering where ideas can be exchanged between current and future leaders.
Limpopo chapter
The Limpopo chapter reopened on 10 October 2016 at the Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet) department auditorium in Polokwane. An interim committee was elected to revive the provincial chapter. Almost a year since its revival, the chapter has grown with over 30 active members. The chapter has had amazing success in partnering with Lepelle Northern Water, the Association for Water and Rural Development (Award), University of Venda, University of Limpopo, Mvula Trust and Green Youth Network. The chapter has hosted two events thus far, and participated in an event hosted by Green Youth Network.
The first event was the Limpopo World Water Week hosted at the University of Venda over two days from 22-23 March 2017 with over 58 delegates from all over the province, including students from the University of Venda, Award, Ledet and the National Department of Public Works. The theme was ‘Water in the Circular Economy’, where opportunities and threats faced by young people in the circular economy were discussed.
The second event was the 2017 Open Science day with the theme ‘Open Science, Open Data, Open Source’
Northern Water, Award, University of Venda, University of Limpopo, Mvula Trust and Green Youth Network
hosted in Polokwane at Lepelle Northern Water on 14 July 2017. During this event, a new committee was selected and over 34 members attended. The last event, which was hosted by Green Youth Network, was the Rural2Rural initiative where YWP-LP was part of the panel to discuss job opportunities in the water sector.
The chapter has plans for partnering with more sector partners in the future to host an Adopt-A-River campaign, as well as establishing environmental clubs in primary and secondary schools.
Mpumalanga chapter
The Mpumalanga YWP chapter is happy to announce that it has a new exciting and zealous committee in office. This committee was elected on 24 July 2017 and consists of young water professional members from government structures and private entities. The YWP-MP’s primary objective is to integrate youth in the water sector and those aspiring to join the sector from around the province,
YWP-LP has partnered with Lepelle
YWP-ZA will be organising the 8th International Young Water Professionals Conference on 10 to 13 December 2017 in Cape Town
exchange and inspire each other with new insights and engagement on national and global water issues. Its calendar has lined up events and activities for the year 2017/18 to keep the committee moving at pace. For example, since its inception, YWP-MP was able to participate in the Mpumalanga Science Festival through partnerships. This was a great ice-breaker event that was attended by grade 9 and 10 pupils from different schools around Mpumalanga. YWP-MP believes that in order to meet the global water challenges, the water sector needs a new generation with a fresh perspective and a bold and unconventional mind-set that enables them to think outside the box. YWP-MP believes that the youth are the future of the province and country.
North West chapter
During March 2017, the North West chapter engaged in YWP awareness campaigning at a workshop that was held by the microbiology subject group of the North-West University (NWU) in Potchefstroom. The opportunity was used to present the advantages of involvement and membership at YWP and WISA. A short presentation regarding the involvement of YWP in the community and industrial water sector was given.
Since a large group of young waterrelated researchers were together, the opportunity was greatly appreciated. Various follow-up questions from the students were answered. The most passionate question was from the older students who were jokingly hoping to join YWP with disregard to their age. In the future, we will see these students’ involvement and the impact of their research in the water sector. YWP-NW also collaborated with the NWU Water Research Group in June 2017 to do a clean-up of the Mooi River, which was a great success.
Future activities include a technical tour to the Midvaal Water Company, a mine, as well as a seminars and workshops. Keep an eye out for the dates of these exciting events on the YWP-ZA website.
Western Cape chapter
The Western Cape Young Water Professional (YWP-WC)
The YWP-WC has planned several events next year, including WISA 2018
chapter also elected an entirely new board of members for its committee, which has several events planned for the coming year. The election and inauguration took place in August 2017 where Paul Viljoen was elected as the new chairperson for the YWP-WC chapter. He obtained an academic qualification in geology from Stellenbosch University, and then started working in the field of environmental consulting where he quickly identified his love for water and water management. As a result, he changed his focus to water management, where he’s currently working in water pollution control in Cape Town.
Johann Killian was elected as the vice-chair. His background is also in geology and he is currently working in the environmental consulting field with a specific focus on aquatics and wetland management. The elected treasurer for YWP-WC is Ncumisa Mpongwana and she is busy with her chemical engineering PhD at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Estella Zandile Jingxi was elected as secretary; she is currently busy with her master’s in chemical engineering at CPUT.
The committee has planned several events next year, although the 8th IYWPC and biennial WISA Conference in June 2018 are keeping YWP-WC busy. In addition to these two big events, the committee decided to partner with Aurecon’s Cape Town office for other events to be confirmed during the course of 2018. The committee members are an enthusiastic group of people, eager to prove their mettle at the coming events, as well as to engage with new ideas.
*Nora Hanke-Louw is the chairperson of the YWP. She was assisted in writing this article through participation from many different members of the different YWP-ZA provincial branches.
If any reader is interested in being involved in the provincial chapters, please email YWP-ZA: NationalEvents@gmail.com
YWP-MP participated in the Mpumalanga Science Festival, which was a great ice-breaker event
Hosted by Green Youth Network, YWP-LP participated in the Rural2Rural initiative to share information about jobs in the water sector
The YWP-MP Science Festival was a fantastic opportunity for students to investigate possible future careers in the water sector
water crisis WISA speaks on Western Cape
The water sector is filled with scientists and engineers trained to design, operate, and maintain a very complex system that needs to collect, treat, and distribute water to sustain life and business for South African citizens. Submitted on behalf of the WISA Board
Some of the challenges that these professionals face do indeed stem from unethical practices in both the public and private sector, but the current drought crisis adds an environmental component that places the existing water structures under extreme pressure.
Raising public discourse
Water professionals have already been consulted on all possible alternative supply methods – including grey water reuse, stormwater harvesting, groundwater management, water efficiency at the City of Cape Town and in businesses, managed aquifer recharge, desalination, and wastewater reclamation as options. The city has also now adopted water-sensitive design principles and we hope it leads the way for the rest of South Africa around integrated water supply and management. The water sector is caught
The conversation in traditional and social media should not be around the format of the eventual solution, but of the various roles that need to be played in its implementation
between a rock and a very dry place, and the worst response would be one that brings immediate relief that is not balanced by longer-term responsibility.
The conversation in traditional and social media should not be around the format of the eventual solution, but of the various roles that need to be played in its implementation.
WISA is not a regulatory body, and neither is it a platform for environmental activism. It does not act as watchdog but rather provides facilitation opportunities for water professionals to share and grow their knowledge. We have, however, been implored by our members to raise our representative voice on their behalf.
We urge all water professionals to have the courage to blow the whistle on activities they are aware of that hinder the timely implementation of a responsible solution. There are several independent whistleblowing lines in South Africa that are equipped to deal with sensitive information and protect the identity of those who decide not to stand for corruption any longer.
Turning plans to actions
We commend the City of Cape Town for its efforts in facilitating exploring solutions and communicating with its citizens, and the significant reduction of water use since the implementation of its
The Cape water crisis has left water professionals between a rock and a dry place
crisis management strategy. However, we also call on the city for acts of boldness in its decision to move plans into action; now is not the time for analysis paralysis. While procurement policies have their place in business as usual, and we strongly support adherence to those policies in normal circumstances, the circumstances that threaten the lives and livelihoods of Capetonians are anything but normal.
We request from national government its strongest support for what the City of Cape Town needs to make the bold decisions it has to, and to be ready to act as soon as it’s needed.
Shared resource
We warn anyone that considers creating their own solutions to stay within the boundaries of the law and the city’s regulations, as those have ultimately been created to protect shared resources for all. Contravening these regulations will be seen as an ultimate act of selfishness once the crisis has been averted.
In the end, if we do not all take a hard look at what we’ve condoned so far in terms of our water use and systems, we will soon run out of time to look.
first hardfill dam SA's
Building affordable, smaller-scale municipal dams requires flexible design solutions and, here, hardfill construction provides one of the best methodologies in terms of time and cost. The Eastern Cape’s new Ntsonyeni Dam will be the first local project to test the world-proven benefits of this technology.
By Alastair Currie
The recent completion of the Ambarau Dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has once again reinforced the benefits of hardfill construction techniques, particularly for remote locations characterised by challenging access routes. That’s because remote locations within Africa tend to increase the costs of importing materials, internally and across borders, particularly if more advanced technologies are being considered, along with capital equipment requirements like batch plants.
Another major plus is that hardfill developments do not require high-tech equipment. The methodology for the wall construction is very similar to a road layer works stabilisation project. In this case, a recycler formed the backbone of the works, which is believed to be a world-first application. Then, for the upstream impermeable liner, there are alternative options beyond the conventional concrete membrane.
AMBArAU dAM
Completed: 2016
Contractor: M&T Construction Engineer: ARQ Consulting Engineers
MAteriAl detAils:
• 80 kg/m3 OPC – no FA
• Aggregate: 85% crushed granite + 15% river sand
• Density: 23.5 kN/m3
• 56-day cube strength: 5 MPa
• Stepped CVC for spillway – hybrid GEVR-GERCC for all other faces
• Carpi membrane for impermeability
Maximum height: 21 m
Spillway width: 100 m
Dam length: 210 m
Slopes: 0.75 H:1 V Hardfill volume: 30 000 m3
These include PVC liners, which were adopted for Ambarau. “Hardfill is also a highly cost-effective and fast-tracked approach, and relatively simple to build, given an optimal design solution. On the DRC project, for example, we only had a brief ‘dry season’ window to work within in a country that typically has one of the highest annual rainfalls in Africa,” explains David Cameron-Ellis, director: Dams and Hydro, ARQ Consulting Engineers – a local and international leader in this field.
“From a funding perspective, the priority is to complete projects in the shortest timeframe; hardfill, in the right application, achieves this goal as a highly viable dam type,” he adds.
Another lower-cost method is rubble masonry construction, in which ARQ also has extensive experience. A recent example is the completion of the Port St Johns Dam for OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. This arch gravity dam, essentially a reservoir, is situated some 6 km upstream from the coast and serves as an off-channel storage system fed via pipeline from an abstraction works on the silt-laden uMzimvubu River. A pipeline system
from the dam gravitates down to a treatment plant. From there, potable water is pumped to command reservoirs built on surrounding ridges for subsequent reticulation to households. The steep valley dictated a very narrow dam footprint, ideal for an arch dam, and the labour-intensive contract stipulation meant a rubble masonry project would be ideal to maximise community involvement and employment.
“Given the hilly terrain, constructing a conventional earthfill embankment would have required massive cuts for side spillways, or a spillway over the embankment. For this reason, the
rubble masonry route was a simpler and appropriate technology to use,” explains Cameron-Ellis. ARQ was the dam designer, working with Thuso Development Consultants, and the contractor was Ruwacon.
Ntsonyeni project
Following the Port St Johns project, ARQ again worked with Thuso for the design of the new Ntsonyeni Dam, situated several kilometres further upstream. This is a particularly significant development as it will be South Africa’s first hardfill dam. ARQ’s design for Ntsonyeni has been influenced and refined by the experience gained on the Ambarau project. Both the Port St Johns
and Ntsonyeni dams meet a critical need within this Eastern Cape region in terms of current and future water infrastructure, helping to sustain and grow rural economies. Spread over three years, construction of the Ntsonyeni Dam is scheduled to commence during 2018.
So what is a hardfill dam?
By definition, a hardfill dam is a symmetrical trapezoidal structure that utilises cemented sand and gravels for its body. Notably, the typical strength is around 5 MPa, compared to 10 MPa to 25 MPa for pure concrete structures, and this passes on major savings thanks to lower cement volumes. Irrespective of the water levels, the whole structure is constantly in compression. “That’s the main advantage: you are never going
BULK WATER S TORAGE SOLUTIONS
A downstream aerial perspective of the Ambarau Dam
The hardfill mixing platform Placement
to have tensions that require a highstrength concrete or extensive lift-joint treatment,” Cameron-Ellis points out. Typically, the cement specification for hardfill structures ranges from 50 kg/ m3 to 80 kg/m3, depending on the fines composition and the quality of the aggregate materials. This compares to 110 kg/m3 to 160 kg/m3 for an RCC-type (roller-compacted concrete) structure.
As Cameron-Ellis explains, hardfill’s symmetrical shape allows for distributed pressures on the foundation without tensions at the heel. “In the final stages, dams can be fitted with an integrated, erosion-resistant concrete spillway capping, in the form of concrete, or grout-enriched hardfill.”
Countering weak geology
At the future Ntsonyeni site, the geotechnical conditions are generally poor. The clay sources identified and tested were not ideal, exhibiting high shrinkage properties and limited quantities. This therefore ruled out a rock-filled structure with a clay core. The next option to consider was a concrete-face rockfill dam (CFRD). Like CFRD structures, hardfill dams typically feature an impermeable concrete membrane on the upstream face; however, unlike CFRD dams, the wall profile for hardfill structures is much steeper and consequently the materials required for the impermeable barrier are reduced.
geomembrane instead, which proved to be much cheaper than the concrete option and far faster to install, taking around three weeks,” says Cameron-Ellis.
Hardfill mixing and placement
On the DRC project, ARQ innovated a hardfill mixing technique that utilises a road recycler/stabiliser on a mixing platform for the cement-stabilised soil materials used to form the Ambarau Dam. A similar approach is planned for Ntsonyeni Dam. ARQ is also recommending the specification of an impermeable geomembrane. “If a concrete membrane approach is proposed, this will need to be slip-formed, which would add significantly to the overall project cost,” he adds.
At Ambarau, five mixing lanes were set up, but the number can be greater or smaller depending on the scale, time constraints, maximum daily placement required and space available. The mixing depth here was up to 540 mm thick for each lane. As in the DRC, gravels for Ntsonyeni will be sourced from a local quarry; in this case, they will be sourced in the dam basin and crushed using a mobile crushing plant.
Hardfill’s symmetrical shape allows for distributed pressures on the foundation without tensions at the heel
“The slowest production phase tends to be the separate impermeable concrete membrane. So, at Ambarau, we decided on a different approach, given the concerns about the approaching wet season. We opted for a 4 mm PVC
In terms of method, and as per a road stabilisation project, cement bags are placed at predetermined intervals in preparation for the mixing phase.
Mixing with the recycler is immediately followed by compaction to ensure an effective seal. This ensures that the mixture doesn’t dry out. The edges on each completed mixing lane are then cleaned off with a grader to remove the unmixed material. The final cement-stabilised gravel product is then picked up using a front-end loader and loaded into articulated dump trucks, which travel down
FAST FACTS
Hardfill mixing technique at Ambarau Dam
Gravels laid down, graded and levelled
Sand dumped at specific spacings, graded and levelled
Two layers mixed using the recycler
Cement bag spacing and required water dosage calculated
Cement bags broken open, spread and mixed, then sealed
Once mixing in the second of the three mixing sublanes has commenced, the potentially unmixed edges of the first lane are trimmed off using a grader, and the first sublane picked up by front-end loaders and deposited into ADTs for transportation to the dam
to the dam wall. The material is then laid, spread and compacted in 300 mm layers in a similar fashion to RCC construction. Conventional formwork was used in the DRC to form the outer faces of the hardfill structure. At the Ntsonyeni Dam, however, ARQ plans to take an alternative approach using extruded concrete kerbing, which has been proven on a number of CFRD projects globally.
“In the spillway section, conventional concrete will be used to provide a surface resistant to over-spilling. In this case, we will place reinforcement rods with plates at every second layer to anchor the spillway facing back into the dam,” Cameron-Ellis continues. Another advantage is that, similar to RCC, placement and compaction procedures can be interrupted at any time if scenarios like flooding or a change in the construction sequence occur, without any impact on overall quality, and without compromising dam safety or construction planning.
“We’re really looking forward to the Ntsonyeni project as a test case for future hardfill developments in South Africa,” he concludes. Hardfill
POLIHALI UPDATE
The most high-profile dam construction project in South Africa is the multiphase transboundary Lesotho Highlands Water Project. With a new jointventure team being appointed to the Polihali Dam, actual dam construction is expected to start around the end of 2019 or early 2020.
The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) announced in July that the Matla a Metsi Joint Venture (JV) has been appointed as the successful bidder on the design and construction supervision of the Polihali Dam. The dam is one of the two main water transfer components of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The cost of this portion of the project is estimated to be about R445 million. Refiloe Tlali, chief executive of the LHDA, confirmed that the pre-qualification process had achieved its objective of yielding a shortlist of well-qualified firms for the dam design while maintaining free competition among the bidders.
“We are confident that the Matla a Metsi team has the capability, skills, experience and depth of resources to undertake the engineering design and construction supervision of the Polihali Dam,” she said.
The JV, which combines Lesotho, South African and international experts, comprises GIBB and Mott MacDonald Africa (both from South Africa), Tractebel Engineering SA and Coyne et Bellier (from France), and LYMA Consulting Engineers (from Lesotho).
Scope of work
The scope of services includes reviewing the geotechnical and other project information, the engineering design of the Polihali Dam and appurtenant structures, the procurement of construction contracts, and supervising the construction on behalf of the client. Skills development and technology transfer to Lesotho and South African nationals and the training of LHDA staff for the purposes of operating the
Mohale Dam
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FAST FACTS
Polihali appointment
The Matla a Metsi JV has been appointed as the successful bidder on the design and construction supervision of the Polihali Dam
The JV includes GIBB, Mott MacDonald Africa, Tractebel Engineering SA, Coyne et Bellier and LYMA Consulting Engineers
The design period will take about 18 months from July 2017
Dam construction is expected to start in December 2019 or January 2020
Impoundment is scheduled for the 2023 wet season
dam are important components of the consultancy contract.
The Polihali Dam comprises a 164 m high concrete-faced rockfill dam (CFRD) on the Senqu River, a 50 m high CFRD saddle dam, a concrete side-channel spillway, a freestanding compensation outlet tower and appurtenant works.
The design period will take about 18 months, followed by the procurement of the construction contractor. The dam construction is expected to commence in December 2019 or January 2020. The dam is envisaged to be impounded during the wet season of 2023.
Project background
• The LHWP is a multiphased, multibillion-rand project between the governments of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa
• It comprises water transfer and hydropower generation components with associated ancillary developments. The water transfer component entails the construction of dams and tunnels in Lesotho, enhancing the use of water from the Senqu (Orange) River and its tributaries by storing, regulating, diverting and controlling the flow to affect the delivery of specified quantities of water to South Africa. This delivery system will also be used to generate hydroelectric power in Lesotho
• The major works of Phase I included the construction of the Katse Dam, the transfer and delivery tunnels, the Muela Hydropower Plant and the Mohale Dam. Phase II focuses on the water transfer component of the project, comprising a dam at Polihali and a gravity tunnel that will connect the reservoir at Polihali with the Katse Reservoir. The envisaged hydropower component will include the Kobong Pumped Storage Scheme, or something similar. The implementation of the hydropower generation scheme is subject to an agreement on the outcome of a further feasibility study, which is currently under way
Multiphase project
Phase II of the LHWP builds on the successful completion of Phase I in 2003. It delivers water to the Gauteng region of South Africa while generating hydroelectricity for Lesotho. Phase II will increase the current supply rate of 780 million m2 per year incrementally to more than 1 270 million m2 per year. At the same time, it will increase the quantity of electricity generated in Lesotho and is a further step in the process of securing an independent electricity source to meet Lesotho’s domestic needs.
The Polihali Dam comprises a 164 m high CFRD, a 50 m high CFRD saddle dam, a concrete side-channel spillway, a freestanding compensation outlet tower and appurtenant works
A mountain village overlooking Mohale Dam and the Maluti Mountains in winter time
Water and sanitation in Africa
Debt, disease and disasters – both natural and man-made – have rocked the African water sector in recent months. Better infrastructure development is crucial to dampening the impact of these hard socio-economic blows.
BURUNDI
Mugere River bloodied by butchers Burundi’s DG of Water Resources, Emmanuel Ndorimana, has said that a clandestine abattoir set up along the Mugere River is one of the sources of pollution affecting Lake Tanganyika.
“We plan to carry out strenuous activities in collaboration with the local authorities to permanently prevent these butchers from working in this place,” said Ndorimana. Butchers use the river to clean their carcasses
FAST
and equipment rather than municipal tap water because it is cheaper and more convenient for them to get their product to local markets.
In May, Burundi’s Ministry of Environment, together with the local authorities, destroyed a pigsty near the Kanyosha River. “No activity is allowed to be carried out in this zone,” said Ndorimana. As part of environmental protection efforts focused on Lake Tanganyika, all rivers flowing across Bujumbura are protected.
Lake Tanganyika is shared between the DRC, Tanzania, Burundi and Zambia. It is the
FACTS
second oldest freshwater lake in the world, second largest by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia.
Source: IWACO English News
ETHIOPIA
GERD funding still going strong
Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has reached 60% completion. The Ethiopian government and Ethiopians at home and abroad are financing construction costs totalling US$4.8 billion.
According to Hailu Abraham, director: Communications, GERD Public Coordination Office, the GERD Trophy and GERD Bond have continued to involve all parts of the society, with a considerable amount of money having also been collected as a result of GERD Tombola and GERD Lottery.
“The GERD Trophy, GERD Tombola and GERD Diaspora wing have helped us get 10.3 billion birr (R5.96 billion) only this year,” he says. In addition, Ethiopians living outside
of the country have also been contributing towards the dam’s construction. This year alone, over 1.3 billion birr (R750 million) has been collected from the diaspora.
Source: Ethiopian Herald
NAMIBIA
Namwater to pay
Salini’s debts
The Namibian government has said that it wants NamWater to borrow N$600 million (R600 million) to settle Salini Impregilo invoices for work done so far at the Neckartal Dam.
Salini, the company awarded the N$2.8 billion tender in 2013, suspended operations at the dam site, and sent about 600 workers home.
September’s work stoppage is the third taken by the company this year, after government’s repeated failures to pay up.
The project was expected to have been completed within 36 months from September 2013, but is currently only about 90% complete. Minister of Agriculture John Mutorwa
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is now 60% complete
BURUNDI Lake Tanganyika is shared between the DRC, Tanzania, Burundi and Zambia
ETHIOPIA Rendering of the area to be taken up by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as done by International Rivers
revealed that the NamWater arrangement was agreed to during a meeting with Salini management at the dam site in September.
Source: The Namibian
NIGER
Floods leave thousands homeless
In and around Niger’s capital of Niamey, tens of thousands of people have been left homeless as a result of flooding.
According to Katiellou Lawan Gaptia, head: Meteorology at Niger’s Met Office, climate change in the Sahel is creating warmer conditions where the atmosphere can hold more moisture – often increasing the volume of rainfall.
“This year’s rain is just extraordinary,” he said. “In Niamey alone, the season’s rainfall has increased by 84% since 2010.”
Before the start of the rainy season, the government advised people living in flood-prone areas to leave their homes before the rains began, said Boubacar
Sidikou, secretary general for the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management. Few heeded the advice “because they refused to abandon their homes or had nowhere else to go”, he said.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
NIGERIA
Better information needed to beat Lassa fever
Lassa fever was first discovered nearly 50 years ago in Nigeria. Since then, it has been reported in other West African countries including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Each year, the number of Lassa virus infections in West Africa is estimated at 100 000 to 300 000, and between 5 000 and 10 000 people die each year. About 80% of those infected do not show any symptoms, the remaining 20% suffer severe multi-organ damage. These estimates are crude, because there isn’t uniform surveillance of cases.
A new outbreak in 19 Nigerian states and in Lagos
city has sparked fears that the disease will get out of control and result in a public health epidemic.
In spite of the devastation caused by Lassa fever, there is still no definitive vaccine –unlike similar haemorrhagic disease Ebola.
Fears raised among the international community about the spread of Ebola led to unprecedented efforts to license a vaccine against the disease. The challenge in developing a vaccine is that as long as the threat category of Lassa fever is lower than that of Ebola, foreign donors and
agencies will not have the same focus and motivation to address the disease on the scale required to combat it.
Lassa fever is spread through rodent droppings. Common areas where people come into contact with the disease include dirty kitchen counters and floors. Food and water sources can also become contaminated. Tapped water and better sanitation and hygiene education and facilities have critical roles to play in reducing the number of people infected.
Source: The Conversation
NIGERIA Unlike Ebola, there is still no definitive vaccine for Lassa fever
NAMIBIA The Neckartal Dam in Namibia is currently running behind due to work stoppages resulting from non-payment
NIGER Recent floods in Niger have been caused by unprecedented rainfall
CCommunity project
scores blue gold
Moedwil Secondary School needed better sports facilities. The surrounding community also needed better access to clean water. Corné Theunissen, director of Mmapula Community Development, saw these needs as an opportunity to champion a unique project using soccer pitches to harvest rainwater.
Two truisms for South Africa are that the nation loves soccer and that the country suffers from severe water scarcity, especially in the North West province where Moedwil Secondary School is located. Driven to source a new soccer pitch for the school and to provide clean, safe drinking water for the community, Theunissen partnered with non-profit organisation GreenSource, funded by the Netherlands Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, along with a host of other local and international partners. Their collective goal was to make Moedwil the first school to pilot a project that installs soccer pitches to capture and filter rainwater for under-resourced communities.
Getting started
“Clean drinking water is an issue affecting so many communities in South Africa. Not only do we find that water is highly polluted in certain areas but it’s also very unevenly distributed. That is why GreenSource was born,” Theunissen explains.
“GreenSource’s solution combines the provision of clean drinking water with quality sports fields for communities across the country. The technology is based on ultrafiltration. Water is pumped from the borehole into a filtration unit. Then it is stored. When it’s needed, it goes to another filtration unit and you end up with bottled-water quality in your tap.” Water taps are situated right around the pitch
itself; from these, enough water is made available to supply 200 nearby households. “That, combined with sports, is a unique offering that we’re bringing to communities. It’s our duty to make sure that everybody’s got access to clean, drinkable water,” says Theunissen.
Built in 2015, the GreenSource solution can be altered for other uses, such as replacing the artificial pitch with soil for small-scale farming.
Scope and technology partners
“Not only do we find that water is highly polluted in certain areas but it’s also very unevenly distributed.”
The ultimate aim of the project is to install 20 such pitches across South Africa. “If 20 of these are built, they could provide potable water to 30 000 people in the next five years. The storage unit has a lifespan of 25 years, while the artificial turf will remain intact for at least a decade,” Theunissen explains.
Technology partners include Pentair for water filtration, TenCate for artificial turf, Drain Products for water buffering
Corné Theunissen, director of Mmapula Community Development
(Source: Beautiful News)
products, Landscape Solutions for systems integration, Royal Turf for systems integration, and Saxion University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands for skills transfer. “Local community members are employed and upskilled during installation, as well as trained on the maintenance of the systems, making them self-sustainable,” she adds. Through this incredible idea, Theunissen and her team have found a unique way to solve the water crisis for communities, while creating jobs and investing in South Africa’s economic and social development.
Multinationals from the Netherlands and South Africa worked together to ensure successful skills transfer (Source: Beautiful News)
Water caught through the pitch’s turf is filtered twice using ultrafiltration technology (Source: Beautiful News)
SENSIBLE SYNERGIES
Why harvesting rainwater from soccer pitches makes sense
• Playing sports occupies schoolgoers’ time, making them less likely to engage in drug use or other antisocial activities
• Team sports develop young people’s confidence and self-esteem, teaching them valuable lessons outside the classroom that will help them succeed in their future careers
• Playing sports helps provide oxygen to keep students alert and able to retain knowledge and absorb their lessons more successfully; it also helps prevent obesity and diabetes
• Having clean water readily available on school campuses helps keep schoolgoers hydrated, keeping their bodies and minds healthy
Unpacking water safety
How do South Africa’s utilities ensure safe tap water? Mapula Brenda Mametja, water quality advisor, Rand Water, talks about how South Africa’s largest utility implements its water safety plan (WSP), specifically by bridging the skills gap and creating awareness through education. By Frances Ringwood
Globally, about 1.1 billion people do not have access to improved drinking water. The mortality rate from diarrhoeal diseases, caused by drinking unsafe water, is 2.2 million each year. South Africa, too, has experienced its share of outbreaks of these diseases. For example, in 2001, cholera broke out throughout large parts of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2008, in Delmas, another outbreak was reported. These events have considerable implications,
both financial and for those whose health is affected. Mapula Brenda Mametja, water quality advisor, Rand Water, says that the utility uses a WSP as a simple tool for ensuring the delivery of safe drinking water.
She adds that all those involved in the water sector should adopt some sort of water safety planning to ensure the supply of drinking water that complies with the relevant safety standards.
By the book
“Section 27 of the Constitution of South Africa states that everybody has the right to safe and sufficient food and water. To this end, the Water Services Act (No. 108
of 1998) mandates the Minister of Water and Sanitation to prescribe regulations that will ensure the provision of safe water,” Mametja explains.
“One such regulation prescribed by the minister is Regulation 5. This stipulates that if water that has been analysed shows the potential to cause harm to human health, this must be communicated to all of the relevant stakeholders, including end users,” she explains.
“Within that communication, there should be an action plan, stating what steps will be taken to resolve the issue.”
Mametja notes that the other regulation prescribed by the minister in relation to water quality is Regulation 813.
“This regulation sets out how water treatment plants are supposed to be classified and who is supposed to be working at treatment plants with different classifications,” she says.
These classifications are also used in the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS’s) Blue Drop certifications, which have five criteria for measuring whether a water treatment plant is compliant. One of these criteria is water safety planning – hence Rand Water instituting its WSP. “A WSP shows how a utility conducts its risk assessment
South African tap water must comply with SANS 241
Allowing staff to self-asses and improve themselves is an important part of Rand Water’s strategy
and monitoring programme. The aim of the plan is to ensure that the drinking water from people’s taps complies with SANS 241, which is our national
drinking water standard. It also includes steps for proving the credibility of your laboratories’ data,” explains Mametja. “Lastly, it addresses incident management; how do you manage the incidents within your system?” she adds. Incident management will often involve assessing staff competencies, developing a support programme where necessary and then
Water Care
continuously providing feedback on how the situation is improving.
Capacity building
One of the biggest issues at South Africa’s water utilities is the need to develop workers’ skills and capacities.
“The process that Rand Water uses to build capacity involves identifying the gap and then coming up with an
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There needs to be a process recognising prior learning. At Rand Water, we call this grandparenting
intervention. We then conduct training and a competency assessment; this is followed by an awarding process,” explains Mametja. Identifying the gaps, in practice, means first allowing
draw up a personal development plan. Next, and this is applicable for process controllers in terms of Regulation 813, there needs to be a process recognising prior learning. “At Rand Water, we call this grandparenting,” says Mametja.
“Grandparenting is when someone with, say, a primary school level of education but 10 years of experience is given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Through this model, a process controller can go to their supervisor and ask to be assessed to see if they are competent to do their job. The
Key points to consider for safety planning
Regulation 813 sets out how water treatment plants are supposed to be classified and the skills required by operators working at those plants
The biggest issue facing South Africa’s utilities is developing internal skills and capacity
candidate will then undergo a series of exercises and be assessed on their competencies. Once those core competencies are determined, a plan is put in place to educate that person on what they may not be properly familiar with. These education interventions are recognised by the South African Qualification Authority,” she explains.
“The unfortunate thing about this process is that once a process controller has their certificate for one plant, they cannot move to another and work there. They would have to undergo the whole grandparenting process again,” she says.
Rand Water also offers a learnership programme aimed at new people entering the water business. For everyone else who wants to develop their competencies, on-the-job learning is available so that the water production process isn’t held up.
awareness and education training
Rand Water educates not only schoolchildren and communities about saving water through its Water Wise campaign but also all of its staff, from engineers and scientists to people working in the finance department and process controllers.
“We also educate all stakeholders about the WSP because it is compulsory that everyone working at Rand Water understands the business,” says Mametja. The DWS does assess different utilities’ WSPs but Rand Water
Positive
change costs money; for this reason, it is important that water safety plans are supported by top management
Smaller municipalities battle more than large utilities to implement proper Water Safety Plans because of their remote locations and the accompanying unavailability of skills
A WSP should include steps for verifying the data from utilities’ laboratories
The DWS does assess different utilities’ water safety plans but Rand Water also assesses its own outcomes on a more regular basis to ensure continuing, reliable compliance to SANS 241
Grandparenting is when someone with, say, a primary school level of education but 10 years of experience is given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills
also assesses its own outcomes on a more regular basis to ensure continuing, reliable compliance to SANS 241.
Challenges and solutions
The few key challenges that Rand Water has experienced in implementing its WSP have largely been overcome by ensuring buy-in from top management.
“This is because positive change costs money,” says Mametja. “Sometimes the reason there is a deviation at a plant is not personnel related. Sometimes there will be a need to refurbish the plant. Sometimes there will be a need to replace many kilometres of pipeline; this can cost millions,” she adds. This need for support from the top also relates to the fact that it is extremely difficult to accurately prioritise risk. Underestimating the cost of an intervention may make it difficult to secure the necessary finances if support from management is not assured. “Therefore, it is extremely important to prioritise your risk accordingly,” says Mametja.
Wider challenge
While staff numbers are not a big challenge for a large, centrally located utility like Rand Water, other, small municipalities that are more remote face a huge difficulty in that they’ll often have one person doing several other people’s jobs. Rand Water is arguably the most successful utility in South Africa. Some of the reasons behind this include
it capitalising on economies of scale and its location near talent and skills hubs. The real roadblock to ensuring the safety of drinking water across the whole of South Africa is finding ways to properly resource those water services authorities that do not have the same advantages.
‘Grandparenting’ is a training process where an employee is given the opportunity to demonstrate their existing knowledge and skills
South African drinking water from people’s taps needs to comply with SANS 241
Cape's Christmas crunch Beating the
A local company has plans to leverage international cooperation to install Cape Town’s first 8 MLD desalination plant in as little as seven weeks. If the proposal is accepted by the city, this smart solution will provide crucial additional water supplies before the December peak season. By Frances Ringwood
Critically low dam levels recorded across many of South Africa’s coastal towns and cities have prompted members of the local water sector to step up, offering innovative solutions to provide the necessary water supply to keep the existing infrastructure operational.
In August, City of Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille announced an ambitious plan to augment the city’s supply by 500 MLD. Of this figure, 200 MLD will come from seawater desalination. The emergency phase of the scheme is set to run till the end of June 2018, with a further tactical phase being launched thereafter.
In the meantime, Cape Town’s dam levels have reached critically low levels.
As of September, the Berg River catchment was at 47% and the Gouritz River catchment at just 17%. The average dam levels are about 36%, with only about 25% of that supply being usable due to silting.
As South Africa’s Christmas holiday period draws nearer, the city can expect a swell in the number of people needing water and sanitation services. Cape Town’s population for this year is estimated by Stats SA to be about 3.7 million, and in 2015, Cape Town Tourism recorded as many as 1.7 million foreign arrivals, many visiting in December. Given the expected influx, finding water supply solutions that will meet these growing needs quickly and without technical or quality issues is of crucial importance.
Ryan Beswick, managing director, Circuit Water Engineering Equipment
Request for information
As part of its larger plan to implement desalination for augmenting supply, the City of Cape Town recently sent out requests for information (RFIs) to leading local desalination companies. One of these companies, Circuit Water Engineering Equipment, responded with a very unique suggestion: import an entire packaged treatment plant.
“We’ve got a highly developed system of international suppliers. Most local suppliers will represent one or two companies and then supply their products to the local market. What differentiates us is our network of highly regarded different suppliers, which we leverage to build the ideal solution for
every client. When we received the RFI, I contacted members of Circuit’s large global network to find out what seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) equipment is immediately available. Since these components are highly specialised and therefore extremely expensive, it was unlikely that anyone would have stock of exactly what was needed,” explains Ryan Beswick, managing director of Circuit.
Despite slim odds, Beswick managed to find a SWRO plant of the correct capacity that was complete and ready to be installed at another site where the project had been delayed. “As a result, we are able to offer that specific equipment to the City of Cape Town immediately,” says Beswick. At the time of writing, he could
More than 1 600 downloads of the first request for proposal pertaining to land-based SWRO desalination plants have been logged
1 3 5 2 4
6
FAST FACTS
Only 25% of Cape Town’s dam water is currently available for use
The population of Cape Town, 3.7 million people, is expected to swell over the December holidays
Importing existing packaged landbased desalination plants could help augment Cape Town’s water supply before the December peak
The City of Cape Town has laid out an ambitious plan to add 500 MLD in supply capacity, 200 MLD of which will be provided through desalination
Cape Town’s current rainfall band is short by 200 MLD
If rainfall stops completely, Cape Town will run out of water by February 2018
not yet reveal where the plant is located but has promised to supply these details to Water&Sanitation africa if Circuit’s proposal is accepted.
The City of Cape Town has already released two tenders for 8 MLD desalination plants at Granger Bay and Harmony Park. “These tenders conform to what we can supply: an 8 MLD SWRO system that can be delivered immediately, as the equipment is ready and waiting in containers to come to South Africa,” says Beswick.
“The cost of transporting the plant equipment from overseas would be about R3 million, and capital costs would be about R150 million. It would be delivered using sea freight and a civil contractor would be required to install the bases, concrete platforms and other fixed elements. Getting the site ready and making sure the piping is in place would take about four or five weeks. We
could have the unit up and running in about seven weeks,” he adds.
Tender landscape
A number of tenders have already been issued for SWRO by the City of Cape Town, none of which had yet been awarded at the time of writing.
Interest in supplying desalination-based solutions for the city’s current water crisis is unprecedented. More than 1 600 downloads of the first request for proposal pertaining to landbased SWRO desalination plants have been logged.
Desalination using land-based containers has been proposed at Koeberg, Silverstroom, Woodbridge Island, Granger Bay, Hout Bay, Red Hill, Strandfontein, Monwabisi and Harmony Park. Other, smaller systems have been proposed for installation on barges in the Cape Town harbour.
The Granger Bay and Harmony Park tenders are for plants of about 8 MLD. The two tenders for Strandfontein and Monwabisi are for 7 MLD and another South African company, Quality Filtration Systems, is also investigating importing a plant of the correct capacity for either one of these sites.
international network
As for the localisation of technology, even if time were not a factor, this would be virtually impossible to achieve. Most
individual pieces of equipment need to be imported. For example, the best SWRO membranes in the world (of the kind particularly ideal for operating in the high pressures and conditions associated with Cape Town’s extremely cold seawater) are manufactured by the Dow Chemical Company in the US. Moreover, not just any pump will do. The type of pumps needed have to be fabricated from 2507 super-duplex stainless steel.
“Circuit is a 40-year-old company started by my father in 1974. It was founded in Brakpan, where it had three separate manufacturing facilities producing mild steel, stainless steel and machining. Then in the 1980s, when import sanctions were lifted, my father travelled abroad and was exposed to some of the advanced technologies being developed for other markets all over the world. It was then that we started importing leading technologies into South
Despite slim odds, Beswick managed to find a SWRO plant of the correct capacity that was complete and ready to be installed at another site where the project had been delayed
Africa,” says Beswick. The South African water and wastewater sector is different in many respects from the conditions in European countries. For example, we still extensively use pond systems for our wastewater treatment.
The density of European cities has meant that much higher volumes of water need to be treated much more quickly, while using limited space. These market pressures, combined with much higher budgets for research and development, have resulted in many of these countries becoming world leaders in the production of specific technologies and components.
This is the reason why Circuit chose to focus exclusively on importing its technologies, like aerators from Aeration Industries in the US, screens from Meva in Sweden, belt presses from EMO in France, and vertical shaft aerators from Kamps in Belgium, among others. “It is this focus that led us to specialise in products for the water and wastewater treatment market,” Beswick concludes.
FIGURE 1 Western Cape dam levels January 2016 and 2017
Cape drought facts
The Cape drought is the worst in over 100 years
Only 25% of dam storage capacity is available
The City of Cape Town has released a plan to add 500 MLD
200 MLD is slated to come from sea-water reverse osmosis
Water restrictions are at level 5 for the city
Collectively, city residents can use no more than 500 MLD
Cape Town’s emergency plan will cost R2 billion in capital funding and R1.3 billion in operating costs 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2
87 litres per person per day is the current limit
If Cape residents don’t decrease usage sufficiently, the city could run out of water by February 2018
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Water security, then, is about more than implementing adequate technologies timeously. That being said, given South Africa’s susceptibility to drought and other natural disasters associated with climate change (such as floods and fires), certain strategic sites around the country cannot maintain water security without implementing advanced technologies. Given that drought and other natural disasters affect water quality, in turn lowering the volume of water available for social, industrial and economic development, advanced electromechanical filtration technologies are becoming essential for speeding up the water cycle. They do this
by removing contaminants to meet the unique needs of different end users (for example, farmers, utility customers or mines) more quickly. Man-made pollutants also have an effect on the quality of water, impacting water security. Agricultural and industrial run-off still remain the biggest pollutants, and as the number of people who need to be fed and served by industry rises, so too does pollution. As much as human beings add to the problem, mankind has also invented the means to solve them.
Barriers to implementation
In the past, one of the biggest barriers to implementation was the cost of these technologies. However, as the need grows, economies of scale mean that pumps are being built that use less electricity. The Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 mean machines can now be networked to save energy and other resources. Desalination remains costly, which is why it is important
According to the UN handbook on Water Security and the Global Water Agenda (2013), the term ‘water security’ refers to: “The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and waterrelated disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”
to partner with trusted and quality suppliers to ensure the maximum effectiveness and service life from membranes. Without question, the biggest growth area for water-security-related technologies is in wastewater reuse. Clarifiers, screens, ultraviolet disinfection and other technologies will see rising uptake in the local market as the need for sustainable water supply continues to deepen. It is often pointed out that the political will needs to be in place for these technologies to be more widely adopted. What is less frequently acknowledged is that there is an abundance of support for new technologies coming from the presidency, the Department of Water and Sanitation, virtually all of South Africa’s major water utilities and from metropolitan municipalities.
all things go
The will is there, the technology is available and the need is unquestionable. In this Panel Discussion on water security, we take a look at the visionary companies investing in the technologies that will secure South Africa’s future water supplies.
QUALITy FILTRATION SySTEMS (QFS)
Your latest wastewater reuse project was for the town of de doorns in the Western Cape wine belt. What technology choices did you make and why?
HS De Doorns’ population and associated industries are rapidly expanding. The town needed a way to ensure sustainable water supplies to meet the growing demand. QFS was contracted to design, manufacture, install and commission a 1.5 Mℓ/day reuse plant to help save water. The plant can be upgraded to 2.5 Mℓ/day.
For the De Doorns process flow, wastewater first filters through the inside of a drum screen – the Ultrascreen, trademarked by Italian company Nuove Energie. It filters out by gravity pressure and then flows into an ultrafiltration (UF) feed tank. From there, water is pumped through a Memcor CPII UF system, which is trademarked by one of our other technology partners, Evoqua. This is then treated with UV light and granular activated-carbon filters, with potable water resulting as the final product.
What are the benefits of the Uf system specified by QfS for this system?
The Memcor CPII UF system is pressurised, pre-engineered and uses membranes in a modular building-block configuration that simplifies design and operation costs. It’s also easy to install.
The system uses the latest advancements in membrane technology: its enhanced
HeRmAn SmIT managing Director
polyvinylidene difluoride membrane is 20% to 25% more permeable, translating to lower energy use and a reduced cost of ownership.
What are some of the advantages of the Ultrascreen drum you installed at the site?
The drum is fully automated and self-cleaning, making it easy to use and maintain.
How does the plant handle micropollutants like trace pharmaceuticals and polychlorinated biphenyls? By combining an advanced oxidisation process with UV light, hydroxyl radicals target micropollutants.
The final stage in the process uses granular activated- carbon media to remove the last of the unwanted organics and persistent micropollutants to produce irrigation water at potable qualities.
ANDRITz
although andritz is a world-renowned name in engineering products and solutions, tell us a bit more about the company and the solutions it offers the local market.
US International technology group
Andritz was founded in 1852 in Graz, Austria, as an iron foundry; 165 years later, the Andritz Group is still headquartered in Graz and has more than 25 000 employees at 250 locations in over 40 countries. The international technology group is a leader for the supply of plant, equipment and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, for solid and liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors, and for animal feed and biomass pelleting. In addition to turnkey hydropower plants, Andritz develops and manufactures highquality large and standard pumps for many different industries and applications worldwide.
Coastal drought has stimulated interest in reliable, cost-saving pumping solutions. Why is choosing the right pump important and can andritz’s range cater for the many different sizes of pump required by existing requests for information?
Our longstanding experience in hydraulic machine manufacturing and complete process know-how form the basis of the high standard of Andritz pump engineering. Our quality and high-efficiency products as well as our understanding of customer requirements have made us a preferred partner for pumping solutions worldwide. We offer everything from a single source – from development work, model tests, engineering design, manufacture and project management, to aftersales service and training. We also perform complete start-up on-site, or off-site based on our Internet of Things (IoT) technology products that we sell under the umbrella brand Metris.
How does andritz foresee its industry 4.0, ioT and ideaS simulator software being applied successfully in the local water sector?
Our IoT activities were launched back in 2005. As IoT will be a core capability in the future for maintaining and
DR UWe SeeBAcHeR Director: Global marketing and communication, Pumps Division
enhancing water services providers’ ability to compete, Andritz has combined its innovative IoT solutions, which are field-proven in many reference plants, under the Metris technology brand. Metris technologies include the latest state-of-the-art Industrial IoT solutions, as well as smart digital services that can be fully tailored to individual customer requirements. Based on extensive and longterm experience as a supplier of technologies and systems for various branches of industry, Andritz offers a broad portfolio of intelligent, digital solutions that provide significant help to customers in achieving their production and corporate goals.
“Desalination
is one way to solve this issue, but water management includes much more. The current trend seems to be huge infrastructure projects for irrigation, but also drinking water supply.”
desalination is not the whole answer to solving South africa’s water security challenges. What other solutions are (or will be) in high demand and why? Due to climate, weather, population growth and other factors, there are ongoing water shortages worldwide. Desalination is one way to solve this issue, but water management includes
much more. The current trend seems to be huge infrastructure projects for irrigation, but also drinking water supply. Over the years, Andritz pumps have been removing water from pits or wells for water transport and distribution. Our large, double-suction submersible motor pumps, for example, are operating next to Las Vegas, and Atlanta shortly, in order to secure a sustainable and reliable water supply to these cities. In Las Vegas, our pumps convey about 17 200 m3 of water to the city from a depth of 80 m from neighbouring Lake Mead. In Atlanta, on the other hand, the largest drinking water reservoir in the US is currently under construction in order to provide drinking water for the next 100 years. Here, our submersible motor pumps are part of the project. In preparing for the future, it seems it will be important to identify water resources and develop suitable, significantly more efficient but still highly reliable infrastructure to transport, and reprocess, water to where it is needed.
High-pressure pumps in Andritz’s MP series in operation
AQUA RESOURCES SA
What technologies do you foresee becoming more central to achieving sustainable water supply for South africa’s coastal regions and remote mines?
SC South Africa’s surface water sources are becoming increasingly polluted, both by suspended solids and dissolved salts. Couple this with drought conditions and surface water becomes much less sustainable as a water source. This makes alternative technologies such as ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) more likely sustainable water supply sources for the longer term. The current urgent need for alternative sources of potable water in Cape Town has highlighted RO as a desalination option for our coastal cities.
What new membranes are available through aqua Resources Sa and why would you recommend them?
As a Dow Water & Process Solutions RO membrane distributor, we now have access to some exciting, newgeneration membranes that Dow has recently launched. To quote Dow, “The SeaMaxx elements are desalination without oceans of energy.” SeaMaxx RO elements minimise operating cost, reduce capital costs and maximise plant efficiency.
What are some of the challenges experienced by utilities associated with the cost of ownership of desalination plants and how do dow membranes overcome these challenges?
Many of the larger seawater RO (SWRO) desalination plants in the world are operated by consortiums on a buildown-operate basis. The plant is usually structured as an independent water provider and the utility purchases the potable water produced by the plant under a water purchase agreement, usually with a term of 20 years.
SUSAn cole Technical Director
does aqua Resources Sa offer any support services to further enhance the expected lifespan of membranes?
Over and above Aqua Resources SA’s usual technical support and backup to our client base, we partner with Dow regarding membrane support services. Dow provides the end user with both local and overseas technical support capability with comprehensive membrane autopsies available at its R&D facility in Tarragona, Spain.
Why is it important to partner with a trusted membrane supplier that offers comprehensive guidance and support? Compared to other filtration technologies that rely on a screen or filter to remove particles, RO is a pressure-driven separation process that employs a semi-permeable membrane and the principles of cross-flow filtration. There are a number of factors that can influence the performance of an RO system. A trusted membrane supplier will assist in mitigating these issues and ensuring optimum performance from day one.
Could you please provide an example of a significant project dow has recently been involved in?
“Oman's new desalination plant has a capacity to deliver 281 MLD of safe drinking water, positively contributing to the security of water supply in the country.”
Dow’s SeaMaxx elements have the lowest energy consumption and the highest water permeability available in the SWRO product market today.
Oman’s new desalination plant has a capacity to deliver 281 MLD of safe drinking water, positively contributing to the security of water supply in the country. Sited in the coastal city of Barka, this independent water project plant will become the largest SW desalination plant in the Sultanate of Oman and will also be in the top 10 largest SWRO desalination plants worldwide.
A key innovation in this plant is the use of the innovative Dow Filmtec SeaMaxx
SWRO elements. These were selected as the most efficient solution to minimise the total water cost for the project.
The new Barka SWRO plant will be one of the 10 largest in the world
Celebrating world toilet day
Each year, World Toilet Day is observed globally on 19 November. This year’s theme is wastewater, highlighting the Sustainable Development Goals’ aim to halve the amount of sewage entering international waterways by 2030.
By Frances Ringwood
On 24 July 2013, World Toilet Day became an official day adopted by the United Nations. It was conceived as a way to address the global sanitation crisis in which one-third of people living around the world do not have access to improved sanitation.
The health and social implications of promoting the use of dignified sanitation facilities are well documented. For one thing, clean and safe toilets help keep more girls in school and increase attendance rates. Far too many girls miss out on education because they lack access to a clean and safe toilet.
The connection between child safety, mortality and clean toilets is one that is often drawn. Diarrhoea caused by poor
sanitation and unsafe water kills 315 000 children every year, or 1 000 children per day. These deaths are preventable.
Global agenda
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out to provide everyone on earth with improved sanitation by 2013. SDG 6, in particular, states the aim of “achieving access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations” by 2030.
Current research indicates that the majority of countries where human health is affecting by a lack of proper sanitation are developing nations in Asia
World Toilet Day is all about breaking the taboos concerning toilet talk
The WTO was founded in 2001 with the purpose of raising awareness about the silent sanitation crisis
and Africa. The World Toilet Organisation (WTO), which was founded in 2001 with the purpose of raising awareness about what it terms the “silent sanitation crisis, which is a ticking time bomb that affects billions of people from around the world”, highlights the urgency of the situation.
The organisation advocates for fastpaced solutions to address the sanitation crisis in order to overcome associated social ills relating to gender inequality, education, nutrition, environmental health and economic growth. A lack of proper sanitation has a real and adverse effect on the economy. The International Labour Organisation found in 2003 that “disease transmission at work, mostly caused by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, causes 17% of all workplace deaths”.
Another study found that the loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by a lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of GDP.
The experts all agree that a major barrier to overcoming the situation is the taboo surrounding talking about toilets. Jack Sim, founder, WTO, famously said: “What we don’t discuss, we can’t improve.” So the purpose of World Toilet Day is that it creates a platform to talk about sanitation, how it can be made hygienic, and also about other health and hygiene issues otherwise swept under the rug.
Local picture
Perhaps the largest and most prominent programme being undertaken in South Africa to combat the
A large-scale programme to install a dual-reticulation system reusing grey water in toilets would be expensive but ultimately necessary to achieve water security, better wastewater management and the creation of more jobs
Jack Sim, founder, WTO, famously said: “What we don’t discuss, we can’t improve.”
SDG 6 aims to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women, girls and the vulnerable
lack of access to basic sanitation is the Accelerated School Infrastructure (Asidi) programme. Being rolled out by the Mvula Trust, under the auspices of the Department of Basic Education, the Asidi programme, including grants and funding, is aimed at eradicating so-called ‘mud’ schools predominantly found in the Eastern Cape – although there are at least a few schools targeted in each of the country’s other eight provinces.
While the scope of this project is ambitious and its aims praiseworthy, it has seen its share of controversy. By 29 November 2016, the aim was that all schools – including their sanitation facilities – built out of inappropriate materials would be eradicated.
As of August last year, only 55.87% of this backlog had been eradicated out of 585 sanitation projects allocated. Severe underspending and ‘sluggishness’ on the part of implementing agents have been alleged as the causes by community-based movement Equal Education. The
FAST FACTS
2.4 billion people live without improved sanitation
1 in 10 people has no choice but to defecate in the open
Diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kills 315 000 children every year
Disease transmission at work, mostly owing to poor sanitation and hygiene practices, causes 17% of all workplace deaths
Loss of productivity due to illnesses caused by a lack of sanitation and poor hygiene practices is estimated to cost many countries up to 5% of GDP
A strong foundation for infrastructure success
Mvula Trust could not be reached for comment regarding the latest quarterly report putting figures to the success of its sanitation roll-out.
in closing
World Toilet Day is all about discussing the real roadblocks that threaten the goal of bringing sanitation to all South Africans. In this spirit of straight-talking, it may be time to say that government and its implementing organs need to do more to address the situation. There needs to be more transparency regarding who tenders are awarded to and the status of project completion. Community groups require more regular interaction and updated information, and they have a right to want more responsiveness from their liaisons working on behalf of the state.
After all, the health, safety and education of future generations hang in the balance.
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Virtually all South Africans prefer flush toilets but the truth is that the country has too little water for us to keep using fresh water to flush away human waste
The politics of piping
Demonstrating a more international flavour than ever before, this year’s annual SAPPMA PIPES conference saw presenters tackling more controversial topics, including sustainable invention, infrastructure spending in Trump’s America and the proposed South African Mining Charter.
By Frances Ringwood
On 4 and 5 September this year, South Africa’s plastic pipes fraternity gathered at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni for PIPES XI – a two-day conference where design engineers, plastic pipe manufacturers, regulators and other stakeholders met to discuss the latest innovations and industry trends. Held annually, the Southern African Plastic Pipes Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) conference has always drawn a respectable number of leading industry experts from all over the world. In his welcoming address, SAPPMA CEO Jan Venter noted, “This year sees even more international speakers as the conference is being hosted jointly with the Plastic Pipes Conference Association (PPCA).”
With a little luck, we will see relatively modest growth in the second half of this year, rising in 2018, especially after the electoral conference in December.
The PPCA is the global organisation advancing technical skills and expertise in the effective and sustainable use of plastic pipes.
“This partnership has resulted in a two-day event, rather than just one, necessitating a larger venue and making this a landmark conference for SAPPMA,” Venter added.
Pipelines are among the most important elements of a developed country’s infrastructure. As Venter pointed out, “There can be no civilised life without the underground piping that many take for granted.
“Over the years, SAPPMA has worked hard to maintain quality and standards in South Africa, and to dispense useful technical information. That is one of the
Jan Venter, CEO, SAPPMA
SAPPMA conference attendees this year reached higher numbers than ever before
main reasons we hold this conference every year: to get technical information to the people who are interested in it and those who need it.”
Venter’s ultimate takeaway was that, in spite of the difficult economic conditions over the past few years, the importance of what the plastic pipes community does is undiminished. “We
The good news
is that inflation is dropping like a stone. The Consumer Price Index has come down since December by 220 basis points and it is a certainty that interest rates will continue dropping.”
will continue doing what we can to maintain the integrity of this industry, the quality and all the other good things that will sustain the industry over the long term,” he said.
inventing for sustainability
Also delivering his welcoming address was Zoran Davidovski, vice-president: Marketing and Innovation at the Pipelife Group, representative of the European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association and PPCA organising member.
In his address, he noted that PIPES XI is also the sixth PPCA spin-off conference undertaken in conjunction with a local plastics pipes association or organisation, with previous iterations being held in China and Russia, among others.
“As you know, the Cradle of Humankind lies but a few kilometres from today’s venue. Perhaps the connection between the Australopithecus discovered there two years ago and today’s Homo plasticus is not fully
obvious, but what is apparent is the fact that, for survival, we need inventions: the axe, the plough, the wheel, etc.
“Not only do we need inventions, we also need sustainability. We need to take care of our communities, water supplies and arable farmlands. During this conference, the two major topics being discussed are invention and sustainability,” Davidovski pointed out. He also noted that last year’s was the 80th anniversary of the first polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe and how, during the talks presented at PIPES XI, the audience would hear about the latest innovations in PVC-O – a type of PVC oriented at high temperatures so as to be as strong as any steel pipe and more economical.
international guests and ‘fake news’ Presenters flew in from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the US to join local plastic pipes experts in mapping the global plastic pipes market and determining how local trends impact upon the bigger picture.
One of the more controversial presentations came from native Texan Tony Radozewski, from the Plastic Pipe Institute (PPI) in the US, who argued that, from the point of view of GDP growth and infrastructure development, US President Donald Trump is actually doing a good job.
Mr Trump said he was going to make the US energy dominant. A headline from Investors Business Daily on 3 July was ‘Trump Launched An Energy Revolution While Everyone
Was Obsessing On (sic) His Tweets’. Radozewski then went on to criticise the previous Obama administration for cancelling the XL Keystone pipeline and congratulate Trump for opening the Arctic for drilling.
The presentation was ultimately about how the manufacturers of Middle America were benefitting considerably from deregulation. South Africa is a developing nation with different stakes and commitments in global clean energy and carbon debates. Naturally, members of the audience wanted to know how Radozewski could possibly support Trump’s environmental position.
He responded, “I disagree that Trump has a total disregard for the environment; that’s a perception generated through the poor coverage the president gets through the national media. It’s fake news.”
Not wanting to be outdone on his the home turf, award-winning South African economist and now three-time SAPPMA conference veteran Roelof Botha delivered an equally controversial presentation, rubbishing South Africa’s proposed Mining Charter, which will put 51% of mining shares in the hands of BBBEE partners as benefitting “people from India and Dubai or anybody else who gets fast naturalisation thanks to Malusi Gigaba”.
While both of these presentations featured some charry content, they did ultimately have a bearing on the important issue of the need for manufacturing support and infrastructure spend, and their role in GDP growth.
FAST FACTS
Around 140 000 t of plastic pipe is produced annually in South Africa
This represents upwards of R2.5 billion in sales
Bank is not playing its part regarding the interest rate.”
Botha took this opportunity to remind the audience that he is self-employed.
“The Reserve Bank has a mandate broad enough to decide if it wants to increase or decrease interest rates. If it were to lower the interest rates, this would lower the cost of credit, making it easier for businesses to invest in new productive capacity, and making it easier for consumers to go buy things. In South Africa, what we’ve experienced of late is declining capital formation and declining endurable consumption because of political uncertainty and high interest rates.
Good-news economics
Botha’s presentation was part of a mainstay of SAPPMA conferences, where an economist provides an overview so that attendees can situate themselves and their businesses within a broader context. He started by lashing the Reserve Bank’s failure to drop interest rates, saying: “Without wanting to agree with the new Public Protector, the Reserve
”The plastic piping industry is, ultimately, involved in infrastructure. Infrastructure creation is also a function of interest rates – of the capital costs because infrastructure is expensive. There are a host of indicators that should have signalled the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates but it has not woken up to these as yet,” said Botha.
In spite of this issue, Botha says South Africans have reason to be more optimistic as the year progresses. “The good news is that inflation is dropping like a stone. The Consumer Price Index has come down since December by 220 basis points and it is a certainty that
Growth of about 1.5 to 2.0 times GDP and installed capacity of close to 200 000 tpa is expected in the next five years (or thereabouts)
About 85% of the polymer used is locally produced, consisting predominantly of PVC and HDPE
Plastic piping is used across the complete spectrum of all industries: mining, civil, irrigation, industrial, telecommunications and building
interest rates will continue dropping. That is going to lower the capital costs in South Africa and with a little luck we will see relatively modest growth in the second half of this year, rising in 2018, especially after the electoral conference in December. This is because, no matter who wins, there will more certainty then than there is right now.”
Exactly one day after the conference, Statistics South Africa announced that the economy had grown by 2.5%, moving the country out of a technical recession.
decade of learning
As the 11th PIPES conference drew to a close, audience participants went away with new clarity on important issues affecting the industry.
This year also saw higher participant numbers than ever before, ushering in what looks to be a new decade where cooperation will foster even higher standards of technical excellence for plastic pipe manufacturing, design, installation and innovation.
Ian Plaatjes, corporate services executive at SABS
Bringing water to Botswana
A unique project has brought a reliable supply of water to Habu village, while providing a precedent for the imminent roll-out of more water-security measures in other rural areas of Botswana.
The project serves about 1 500 people in north-west Botswana and was completed by JG Afrika’s Botswana office, in partnership with local firm Initiatives, acting on behalf of the Paul G Allen Family Foundation through its philanthropy programme.
Robyn Tompkins, water, sanitation and health (WASH) development expert and executive associate at JG Afrika Botswana, says that the project has again demonstrated that development initiatives in rural regions of Southern Africa stand a greater chance of success when there is a larger overlap between the political, social and technical aspects. This project has demonstrated that when social considerations are allowed to lead, there is usually greater interplay between the social and technical components, and buy-in from the community.
Social engagement
JG Afrika Botswana was appointed by Initiatives in December 2014 as the specialist WASH consultant to maximise the overall development impact of the project. Work started on developing and negotiating an ownership model, as well as an operation and maintenance model for the project, while establishing a formal handover protocol for what would be a first of its kind in the country.
This process was aligned with the state’s new policies to introduce water-user associations and committees
in rural areas. The proposal for government to take ownership of the assets that would be operated and maintained by a water committee and financed from tariffs collected from the community was accepted in August 2016.
“Having now received the necessary political endorsement, we could proceed with the social components. They took the lead, as success relied on the development of an effective governance system and toolkit to train the committee. Technical training in the basic maintenance of the infrastructure also took place during installation,” says Tompkins.
An umbrella committee was established to communicate with the broader community, and comprised representatives from all relevant organisations, while a dedicated field-service support representative, fluent in Setswana, was appointed to regularly engage with the public.
Technical components
The simple system comprises five tanks on stands that supply taps located at a central point for each of the five wards. The pumps are powered by solar energy with manual switches.
While a manual system does not intimidate community caretakers, it also ensures that they are in constant contact with the infrastructure.
The infrastructure can also be easily maintained and repaired by community members, decreasing the overall unit costs of the infrastructure.
TOP The pipeline route in Habu
Part I of III
URBAN NETWORK RE-ENgINEERINg
A group of researchers and experienced water professionals from Griffith University and Seqwater in South East Queensland, Australia, got together to find out how advanced sensors, big data and artificial intelligence can be used to improve urban network management. By Edoardo Bertone1,2, Khoi Nguyen1, Oz Sahin1,3, Guilherme Franklin de Oliveira2, Rodney Stewart1,2, Hong zhang1,2 and Kelvin O’Halloran4
Although it is predicted that available water resources will drastically decrease in some regions (such as Southern Africa, South-Eastern Australia, Middle East) due to changing climate, human interventions potentially play a more significant role for some other specific basins.
These changes affect every aspect of the water supply process. An increasing number of extreme wet weather events in some areas of the world pose greater risks of spills from reservoirs and an overall higher frequency of extreme flood events, leading to substantial socio-economic losses, and poor raw water quality following the event. On the other hand, increasing temperatures and evaporation, as well as water demand, will lower the available water stored
in a number of reservoirs. This will also have water-quality implications, such as more concentrated nutrients and contaminants, lower dissolved oxygen, and an increased number of algal blooms. In addition, the combination of extreme events (i.e. from floods following drought or fire) can further exacerbate the negative effects on water quality compared to a single event. This further compromises the ability of the water treatment plants (WTPs) to deliver treated water of acceptable standards.
High nutrient and lower oxygen levels can result in more algal blooms, lowering water quality
On the other end of the spectrum, an increasing urban population and improving quality of life lead to increased water (and associated energy) demands. Over time, this puts more stress on local water utilities, implying higher costs in terms of energy and infrastructure upgrades. In recent decades, technological progress has led to advanced sensing tools being available for water utilities to remotely and independently control a number of critical parameters, both upstream and downstream of the water treatment process, and in general for natural resources managers. In several reservoirs, for instance, automatic remote stations have been developed; a number of them, such as the ones installed in several Australian reservoirs called vertical profiling systems (VPSs), have profiling capabilities (i.e. they can remotely monitor, for the full water column, parameters such as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, or turbidity). More recent advanced probes
can apply fluorescence to provide insights on the amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM) or cyanobacteria present in the lake at different depths. Despite providing a useful support tool, especially in the case of sudden water quality variations, some of the VPS probes have quite substantial calibration issues. This results in diminished end-user confidence towards outputs.
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In addition, a number of critical parameters (e.g. manganese) still have to be monitored using costly and time-consuming lake sampling and laboratory analysis, limiting the ability to proactively manage the whole drinking water treatment process. From a water demand point of view, smart meters have been increasingly adopted around the world, and they represent a fundamental component for the development of smart cities. However, despite several studies predicting large returns on investment through the deployment of smart grids or simply due to the value of the collected data, a number of technical, societal and economic impediments have so far hindered the wider implementation of smart water meters. As a result, most of the data collected by these sensing tools is typically stored away and not properly used (despite several beneficial applications). Nevertheless, the relentless advancements in computing capabilities have led to massive growth of data-driven modelling applications in relation to water resources management and urban water fields. The ability of advanced algorithms to intelligently and efficiently identify patterns in large datasets has led to great benefits for water utilities through costs reduction and better management of resources. Given the large dataset collected by VPSs and smart water meters, potential was identified to exploit such datasets to add value to such sensors – therefore effectively transforming them from monitoring tools to intelligent tools, which can lead to more proactive management of the whole water supply chain (from catchment to tap).
In addition, qualitative data (such as experts’ inputs) is extremely valuable to reduce the uncertainty of certain water systems where numerical data is limited or highly uncertain,
Mudgeeraba Creek, Queensland, Australia
and modelling with stakeholders has become increasingly popular when dealing with environmental systems. Opportunities have also been identified to develop hybrid models (i.e. based both on sensor/monitoring data and expert inputs) to assist stakeholders with, for example, policy assessments or long-term planning. The objective is to exploit and integrate quantitative and qualitative data through data-driven predictive modelling, in order to assist water utilities in reducing costs and optimising the management of their water resources, both in the short and long term (Figure 1).
The first four objectives focus on the optimisation of what lies upstream of the WTP, and would lead to a better and proactive management of the drinking water treatment process, as well as of spill and depletion risks. The last two objectives focus instead on improving the understanding and management of the water demand. The scope of this study is limited to the locations where data and
partners were available – i.e. a number of reservoirs and households in South-East Queensland (SEQ) and a reservoir in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. However, the methodology can be transferred to any location where the required inputs are available.
Methods: data collection
Data was collected from a number of different sources. To develop the manganese prediction model, VPS data for Hinze Dam in SEQ was made available by Seqwater, the main bulk water supplier in SEQ. The VPS was installed in 2008, with full water column profiles collected with a one-to-three-hour frequency. In addition, historical lake sampling and weather data was also retrieved. This data was also used for the development of the chemicals dosage prediction model for the Mudgeeraba WTP in SEQ, since it receives water from Hinze Dam. The same type of data was collected for the other reservoir supplying water to Mudgeeraba WTP – i.e. Little Nerang Dam. This was
Whenever the system to be modelled was uncertain due to missing data, an integrated participatory approach, where stakeholders helped in developing the conceptual models of the system, was deployed
the location of the medium-term water storage forecasting model, and more historical data on inflows and flood events was collected from different sources. In order to instead generate data for the fDOM probe calibration and modelling work, raw water samples from Lake Tingalpa in SEQ, the location of the fDOM probe, were collected on a weekly basis in 2017 for a three-month period. The water was tested for turbidity, DOC, UV254 and SUVA (=UV254/DOC).
Laboratory experiments were then conducted, where fDOM readings were taken at different water temperatures, turbidity and DOC concentration values (changed within the experiments). The generated dataset was used for data analysis and preliminary model development. Smart water metering data used for the development of the model was sourced from 252 residential households fitted with a smart meter and data logger, and located in the urban south-east corner of Queensland, Australia. Text files containing 0.014 ℓ/pulse water consumption data for every five second logging interval for each sample household was collected. These households were consenting participants in the recently completed SEQ Residential End-Use Study (SEQREUS) funded by the Queensland State Government. Three separate water end-use analysis reads occurred during the study. The first read was conducted
in
FIGURE 1 Data and modelling integration for optimised water resources management
in winter 2010 from 14 to 28 June. The second read was taken in the 2010/11 summer between 1 December and 21 February. The final two-week period of analysis occurred in winter 2011 from 1 to 15 June. It was important to obtain a dataset for this study that included the entire spectrum of events across seasonal periods (i.e. irrigation).
Whenever the system to be modelled was uncertain due to missing data, an integrated participatory approach, where stakeholders helped in developing the conceptual models of the system, was deployed. Bayesian networks and system dynamics modelling (or both) were used, given the ability, especially of Bayesian networks, to integrate qualitative and quantitative data and deal with uncertainty and missing information. This helped in creating: (1) a conceptual model to predict water quality (namely, turbidity, water colour and Cryptosporidium) based on weather, catchment, land-use, and management strategy data in a NSW reservoir; and (2) a conceptual model for water consumption based on water tariffs in SEQ.
Methods: models development
Manganese prediction model
The challenge with such a model was the need to predict soluble manganese concentrations in the epilimnion of Hinze Dam seven days in advance. This allows for different approaches to be used: the first consists of finding lagged inputs strongly correlating with manganese
levels, i.e. parameters that, one week earlier, gave a strong indication of what the manganese level would be at any given day. Different approaches were used to identify such variables and develop a reliable model, including evolutionary algorithms, artificial neural networks, and a developed input selection optimisation algorithm. The second approach consists of finding unlagged predictors, and forecast such inputs one week ahead in order to obtain future manganese concentrations. Water temperature data, in particular the gradient of the water column, was found to correlate well with epilimnetic manganese as it represents an index of the strength of the lake stratification (i.e. when the lake destratifies, manganese levels spike in the epilimnion). A model was then developed to predict water temperature one week in advance, based on current water temperature and air temperature forecasts.
To be continued in the Jan/Feb 2018 issue of Water&Sanitation Africa
For a full list of references, contact the lead author: e.bertone@griffith.edu.au
1 Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, South East Queensland, Australia
2 School of Engineering, Griffith University, South East Queensland, Australia
3 Griffith Climate Change Response Program, South East Queensland, Australia
4 Seqwater, South East Queensland, Australia
Methods: objectives identification
Based on project partners and associated data availability, the following objectives were identified:
• Using historical VPS data, the development of a short-term manganese prediction model for the lake water, and a chemicals dosage prediction model for the WTP
• Based on historical water-level data and weather forecasts, the development of a medium-term dam level prediction model
• Integrating historical data, experts’ opinion and climate change prediction, the development of a long-term decision support tool to assess the effects of future extreme weather events on water quality, and potential coping strategies
• Calibrating the VPS’s fluorescence DOM (fDOM) probe and correlating its readings to commonly measured parameters representing DOC concentration (e.g. UV254, SUVA)
• Based on smart meters’ data on residential water consumption, the development of an autonomous and intelligent system for residential water end-use classification, customer feedback and enhanced urban water management, which could interface with customers and water business managers via a web portal and a computer or mobile phone application
• By integrating water consumption data, experts’ inputs and available documentation, the development of a decision support tool to assess how water demand is affected by changes in water price
Lowest temperature uncertainty unlocked
The most basic method for judging temperature calibration is to use a reference sensor that is of higher accuracy than the device to be calibrated.
Endress+Hauser’s Temperature Calibration
Laboratory, located in Apex, Benoni, has been named one of the highest performing temperature calibration laboratories in the country, boasting among the lowest uncertainty of measurement when compared to other labs (that is, at 0°C ± 0.008 K/°C).
“This is due to the ultramodern technology used, which is of the highest precision and is mirrored in other Endress+Hauser factories in Europe,” says Benjamin Mlangeni, product manager: Temperature System Components and Registration, Endress+Hauser South Africa.
Measuring up
To ensure that it continuously offers the lowest uncertainty of measurements, the South African facility not only conducts interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) with other local labs, but also performs an annual ILC with two European laboratories situated in Germany and Italy. The latter proves its traceability at a global level. The Endress+Hauser lab is accredited
We normally calibrate new instruments manufactured in our factory. However, we also calibrate used instruments that our customers need to fine-tune periodically for their internal regulatory requirements.
Benjamin Mlangeni, Endress+Hauser South Africa
in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2005 to calibrate instruments from -20°C up to 1 550°C. “This allows it to cover a wide scope when compared to other calibration labs,” says Mlangeni. “The accreditation demonstrates technical competency for a defined scope and the operation of a laboratory quality management system.”
The reference equipment employed by the lab includes high-precision multimeters that are annually sent to the National Metrology Institute of South Africa for calibration, again evidencing traceability to national and international standards.
Other South African labs also use the local Endress+Hauser lab as a reference for the calibration of their master reference sensors. “This means that other labs send their master temperature sensors to us to calibrate so that they can use them as reference sensors to calibrate their customers’ units,” explains Mlangeni.
expanding capacities
The Endress+Hauser Temperature Calibration Laboratory was initially
built to support production, yet, over the years, it has expanded its offering to include recalibrations of third-party instruments and other laboratories’ reference equipment.
“We normally calibrate new instruments, which are manufactured in our factory. However, we also calibrate used instruments that our customers need to fine-tune periodically for their internal regulatory requirements,” says Mlangeni.
A standard, three-point calibration takes about 2.5 hours, depending on the type of instrument, temperature range or number of calibration points.
“Temperature calibration is a critical process to make certain that an instrument performs within set specifications. Due to the very low uncertainty of measurements at our lab, customers are assured that calibration results are as close as possible to the real deviation of the instrument,” concludes Mlangeni.
Inside Endress+Hauser’s Apex Temperature Calibration Laboratory
to
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Engineering leadership
Professional civil engineer
Louis Uys has been appointed as the head of UWP Consulting’s Water Division, a promotion effective from 1 September this year.
Uys holds a BEng (Hons) in Water Resources and has more than 20 years of industry experience. He began his career at the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, moving to the private sector with Kwezi V3 Engineers before joining UWP in the role of principal engineer in 2001.
internal
promotions
In the past 16 years, he has added great value to the firm, with promotions to associate and technical director in 2007 and 2011, respectively. Since 2015, Uys has led UWP’s Water Division for the northern region including Gauteng and the northern provinces of South Africa. He was also appointed to the UWP Board in 2016.
Since joining UWP, Uys has been the lead design engineer and project
manager on many water-related projects. He has extensive experience in water and sanitation supply to mines and was, amongst others, the lead engineer for water and sanitation infrastructure of the Mmamabula Energy Project – a privately developed 1 200 MW power station and coal mine in Botswana.
Winning project
Showing his management skills, Uys led an extensive and challenging project for the construction of 980 km fibre optic infrastructure from Johannesburg to East London. This project was completed in record time, within budget and specification, and won the South African Institution of Civil Engineering award for best project management in 2013.
Jobs portal back online
Josh’s Water Jobs has become an invaluable online tool for pairing jobseekers with the jobs of their dreams for nearly six years. After announcing a brief hiatus due to technical difficulties in
August this year, the international jobs site is back online.
about the site
What started out as an informal email newsletter containing job listings has grown into a powerful way to connect employers and jobseekers, incorporating useful career development and an entertaining blog section. Founder Dr Josh Newton populates his blog with news on the job searching front informed by his experience as an independent consultant focusing on global political processes and governance related to water.
enhanced-user experience
What makes this site unlike other jobseekers’ portals is that it caters to the
Dr Josh Newton of Josh’s Water Jobs fame
international water sector, giving users a much wider field to work with. It also solely on the water sector, encompassing two broad categories, namely water (policy, governance, law, economics, management, finance, advocacy, science, communications, etc.) and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). With useful add-ons like ‘Josh’s pick’, where exciting jobs (like working for Facebook as a data centre water specialist) are featured, becoming a part of the Josh’s Water Jobs community is essential for water sector professionals wanting to propel their careers forward.
Louis uys, head: Water, uWP consulting
Upcoming events
WiSa 2018
date: 24 to 27 June 2018
Venue: CTiCC, Cape Town
Contact: Jaco Seaman at events@wisa.org.za
Every second year, the Water Institute of Southern Africa holds its national conference for all water sector players in the region. The organising committee has already been selected, and the theme for next year’s event is ‘Breaking Boundaries – Connecting Ideas’.
2nd international Peri-Urban Conference date: 26 to 29 November 2017
Venue: Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town
Contact: www.wisa.org.za
The Water Research Commission and WISA are bringing Peri-Urban 2017, the second international conference, to the continent of Africa. The conference will be supported by the Water Innovations Division of WISA.
Western Cape Process Controllers Workshop date: 29 November 2017
Venue: Plettenberg Bay Municipal Hall, Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape
Contact: Chriselene davids at cdavids@wamsys.co.za
WISA and its Process Controllers Division (Western Cape) will be hosting the 8th Process Controller Workshop. This event is being hosted in collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation and Bitou Municipality. The theme of the workshop will be ‘Serving the Water Sector with Professionalism’.
8th international Young Water Professionals Conference date: 10 to 13 december 2017
Venue: Cape Town, Western Cape
Contact: iWaYWPconference@iwahq.org
Following seven successful International Young Water Professional Conferences (IYWPCs) in the UK, Netherlands, Singapore, the USA, Australia, Hungary and Taiwan, the International Water Association together with the Water Institute of Southern Africa and the South African Young Water Professionals will organise the eigth edition of the IYWPC.
Through technical paper sessions, topical workshops, soft skills learning sessions, networking opportunities and a career fair, the IYWPC will be the must-attend event for young water professionals, especially those wishing to develop their career and progress further into the water sector.
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