WASA July/August 2016

Promoting professional excellence in the water sector

Water& Sanitation The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa

Complete water resource and wastewater management

Industry Alula Water flies the Insight transformation flag Dinao Lerutla Director: Operations and Strategy

Africa

Trenchless Technology Gearing up for No-Dig

Dams & Reservoirs Midmar goes the extra mile

Sanitation Lavatory savvy

VEOLIA Resourcing the world in the

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“We’re extremely proud of this new partnership with Organica Water, which gives us a unique edge in the local wastewater treatment sector.”

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July

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Contents

Vol. 11 No. 4

Promoting professional excellence in the water sector

Water& Sanitation The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa

Complete water resource and wastewater management

Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a r services in Southern Africa INDUSTRY Alula Water flies the INSIGHT transformation flag

Africa

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY Gearing up for No-Dig

DAMS & RESERVOIRS

Dinao Lerutla Director: Operations and Strategy

Midmar goes the extra mile

SANITATION Lavatory savvy

VEOLIA Resourcing the world IN THE

HOT SEAT

“We’re extremely proud of this new partnership with Organica Water, which gives us a unique edge in the local wastewater treatment sector.”

Harry Singleton Operations executive, Murray & Roberts Water

July

P12

Jul/Aug 2016 • ISSN 1990-8857 • Cover price R50.00 • Vol. 11 No. 4

On the cover Increasing pressure on SA’s water resources means we need more than just expanding infrastructure to meet demand. P4

9

wisa round-up

20 Provincial focus

2014/03/26 11:52:53 AM

REGULARS

Editor’s Comment 3 Africa Round-up 18 Product News 50

COVER STORY

Resourcing the world: Water security in an era of scarcity

4

WISA

CEO’s Comment 6 President’s Comment 7

YWP

What lies ahead 9 HOT SEAT Murray & Roberts Closing the water cycle – beautifully

35 DAMS & reser voirs

12

CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

News from WISA 2016 14

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Alula flies the transformation flag

16

PROVINCIAL FOCUS

Eastern Cape: Making the switch 20

SANITATION

Lavatory savvy 24

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Retrofit rules 28 Next-level membranes 31 Is reuse the answer? 32

46 steel pipes

DAMS & RESERVOIRS

Midmar goes the extra mile 35

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGy

Gearing up for No-Dig 41 Award-winning trenchless tech 43 Pipe solutions 45

STEEL PIPES

Stainless steel can save millions in water costs 46 jul/aug 2016

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Publisher Elizabeth Shorten Managing editor Alastair Currie Editor Frances Ringwood Head of design Beren Bauermeister Designer Ramon Chinian Chief sub-editor Tristan Snijders Sub-editor Morgan Carter Contributors Sam Efrat, Lester Goldman, Alaster Goyns, Valerie Naidoo, Suvritha Ramphal, Herman Smit Digital & marketing manager Philip Rosenberg Client services & production manager Antois-Leigh Botma Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise Distribution manager Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham Financial manager Andrew Lobban Administration Tonya Hebenton Printers United Litho Johannesburg t +27 (0)11 402 0571 Advertising sales Avé Delport / Jenny Miller t +27 (0)11 467 6223 avedel@lantic.net / jennymiller@lantic.net

EDITOR'S COMMENT

Leading leaders

A

ttending the recent WISA 2016 Conference and Exhibition, there was a definite theme running through the presentations I attended. Leadership is becoming an issue that municipal and civil engineers, and technocrats, can no longer ignore.

Neil Macleod was the plenary speaker at the event and he addressed the issue of corrupt leadership head on, noting that engineers don’t want to work in municipalities where they’re press-ganged into unethical behaviour. Yes, there are corrupt municipal engineers and it does indeed take two to tango when government contracts dissolve into mismanagement, cronyism and misallocation of funds. But, importantly, engineers as a group are standing up and stating clearly that they don’t want to work in environments that lack transparency in the tendering process.

A number of solutions to the leadership crisis were proposed by speakers and delegates on the floor at a number of sessions. Some suggested high-level discussions with the minister, deputy minister and director-general. Some suggested giving organisations already tasked with oversight, like MISA, “more teeth”. Another suggestion was to establish a new oversight body consisting of civil engineers to evaluate the tender process on a case-by-case basis. Such organisations do exist but, clearly, their political alignments are such that they are not adequately empowered to root out the corruption that currently dogs the water sector.

Publisher

Physical address: No 9, 3rd Avenue, Rivonia, 2191 Postal address: PO Box 92026, Norwood, 2117, South Africa t +27 (0)11 233 2600 • f +27 (0)11 234 7274/5 frances@3smedia.co.za ISSN: 1990 - 8857 Annual subscription: R300 (SA rate) subs@3smedia.co.za Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

All articles in Water&Sanitation Africa are copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publishers. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Water Institute of Southern Africa or the publishers.

Call to action One of the most positive outcomes of this year’s conference was a call to action echoed by so many administrators and invested individuals. In a panel tackling operation and maintenance, panellists made a point of saying that they are sick of their complaints and issues not being heard. The sentiment from the floor was that O&M professionals are no longer content to write emails and follow protocols to highlight problems with facilities like wastewater treatment works.

O&M professionals said they were ready to go to the press to highlight the difficulties in O&M and also formed a working group right there in the conference venue for taking the issue further. The experience made me proud to be associated with an industry that doesn’t sit on its hands, where the need for urgent action is recognised and taken.

WISA contacts: Head office Tel: 086 111 9472(WISA) Fax: +27 (0)11 315 1258 Physical address: 1st Floor, Building 5, Constantia Park, 546 16th Road, Randjiespark Ext 7, Midrand BRANCHES www.ewisa.co.za Eastern Cape Chairperson: Selby Thabethe Tel: +27 (0)41 506 2862 | Email: ssthabethe@vodamail.co.za Secretary: Christopher Maduma Tel: +27 (0)41 506 7527 | Email: cmaduma@mandelametro.gov.za Free State Chairperson: Sabelo Mkhize Tel: +27 (0)53 830 6681 | Email: smkhize@solplaatje.org.za Secretary: Noeline Basson Cell: +27 (0)71 362 3622 | Email: ndb@malachi3.co.za

Young professionals Nowhere was this energy and vigour more evident than in the young water professionals attending the event. Nora Hanke will be taking over from Shanna Nienaber as president of the South African Young Water Professionals and, although it’s sad to see her go, the industry wishes Shanna well in her future at the Water Research Council. Nora’s presentation at WISA 2016 continued in the spirit of action that the YWP has come to be known for, tackling the issue of drought readiness head on, with the message, “We’re going to be better prepared next time this happens.”

I end off with a note from the Director-General of Water and Sanitation, MargaretAnne Diedricks, who attended the opening night of the conference. She observed, “It is our young professionals in the sector who have the most energy.”

Seeing the power and confidence of our young water professionals, I truly believe in a better, more sustainable future for South Africa’s water supply.

KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson: Vishnu Mabeer Tel: +27 (0)31 311 8684 | Email: vishnu.mabeer@durban.gov.za Treasurer: Renelle Pillay Email: PillayR@dws.gov.za Limpopo Chairperson: Paradise Shilowa Cell: +27 (0)79 905 9013 | Email: paradises@polokwane.gov.za Secretary: Salome Sathege Tel: +27 (0)15 290 2535 | Email: salomes@polokwane.gov.za Mpumalanga Chairperson: Susan van Heerden Cell: +27 (0)82 800 3137 | Email: susanvanhd@gmail.com Secretary: Theo Dormehl Cell: +27 (0)83 294 0745 | Email: dormehl@soft.co.za Namibia Chairperson: Dr Vaino Shivute Secretary: Kristina Afomso Tel: +264 61 712080 | Email: afomsok@namwater.com.na Western Cape Chairperson: Natasia van Binsbergen A) is a (Pty) Ltd (WSS Africa South Africa hern Tel: +27 (0)21 448 6340 | Email: natasia@alabbott.co.za tation Services services in Sout Water and Sani of sustainable water provider specialised Secretary: Wilma Grebe Tel: +27 (0)21 887 7161 | Email: wgrebe@wamsys.co.za

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cover story

Resourcing the world Water security in an era of scarcity Increasing pressure on South Africa’s water resources means that more than just expanding infrastructure is required to meet rising demand. For Veolia, the need is to "resource the world" for more sustainable results.

B

y using water more sustainably across its life cycle, the stresses placed on natural water resources can be reduced and these resources can be replenished more effectively. Global energy consumption and CO2 emissions can be lowered and usable products can be created from waste streams, leading to more efficient production in industry and agriculture.

Veolia has supplied water solutions for over 160 years, during which time it has constantly grown and added to its technological capabilities. Having mastered the ability to convert even the dirtiest wastewater to potable and ultrapure standards, the company now helps its clients in the industrial and municipal sectors to lower their footprints with efficient, high-tech water treatment processes.

True Cost of Water “For Veolia, this begins with an assessment of the ‘True Cost of Water’,” explains Chris Braybrooke, general manager: Business Development, Veolia Water Technologies South Africa. This is something beyond a mere per-litre cost of water supply and wastewater disposal.

“The True Cost of Water model seeks to evaluate and mitigate the risk and consequences of feedwater disruption, in both the broadest and narrowest sense.

It considers the total role of water within

4

JUL/AUG 2016

a client’s processes and the overall costs that would be incurred should there be a disruption in its availability.”

For industry, this considers what the bottom-line costs would be in the event of an interruption in production, either because of feedwater problems that induce downtime, or in terms of discharge issues that may contravene environmen-

tal regulations and force a mandatory plant shutdown (or compel the client to implement costly clean-up of the resulting damage). Solutions might range from re-evaluating operations and maintenance, expanding existing infrastructure, or looking internally at how water can be reused or used more efficiently.

For municipalities, the most glaring water risk in South Africa currently is the effect of the nationwide drought. This threatens the well-being and prosperity

ABOVE This anaerobic wastewater treatment facility uses Veolia’s trademarked Biobulk CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor)

ABOVE The Durban Water Recycling Project recycles 47.5 Mℓ/day of municipal and industrial wastewater

of our communities. “With tools such as the True Cost of Water model, Veolia can help water authorities and municipalities prevent risk rather than react to it through ‘megaphase builds’ that offer an exponential capacity supply in a short space of time,” Braybrooke explains.

Package plants But this isn’t always possible – especially in the infrastructure backlogs that characterise South Africa. Where short-term solutions are required, Veolia is a leader in tailored containerised water solutions, which can be quickly fabricated and installed for a range of water requirements.

Veolia has an impressive portfolio of packaged plants it has supplied to Southern African countries that have used many of the company’s over 300 proprietary treatment technologies in a range of applications and configurations.

Braybrooke explains, “This means that the company has a large portfolio of engineered designs that can simply be adapted to each new specification. This results in quick turnaround times for plug-and-play water treatment solutions.” Modular plants have another advantage in that they can be modified, expanded and redeployed as treatment requirements shift.

cover story

ABOVE The Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant, in Windhoek, Namibia

Water reuse “Recycling water for human consumption remains an emotional subject for many.

But we embrace direct water reuse, because we can guarantee a supply as clean and safe as any potable water brought to the purest level,” affirms Braybrooke.

Water can be recycled directly (fed into the reticulation system) or indirectly (fed back into incoming streams at a variety of entry points).

Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant – Windhoek Veolia has played an important role in helping Windhoek become a modern, sustainable city with its central role in the new Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant, which has been reusing the city’s wastewater since 2001. The high-tech wastewater treatment and processing plant recycles wastewater and semi-purified sewage to a standard that is 100% safe for human consumption.

The plant, the first of its kind in the world providing potable water commercially on such a large scale, supplies 21 000 m3/day to serve the City of Windhoek – about a third of the city’s total potable water supply.

Durban Water Recycling Project Veolia’s design and construction of the Durban Water Recycling (DWR) Plant is a landmark achievement in sustainable water use in South Africa. For the last 15 years, the plant has treated 47.5 Mℓ/day of domestic and industrial wastewater to near potable standards for use in industrial processes by high-volume customers such as Mondi Paper and Sapref. Thus, a large volume of water that was previously drawn from the city’s potable water supply is freed up for use

by the city’s growing urban population, reducing the strain on the overall water supply infrastructure. The discharging of pollution into the marine environment is also significantly reduced.

Seawater desalination Seawater represents 97% of the planet’s total water supply. With almost one-quarter of the world’s population living within 25 km of the sea, seawater desalination will be an increasingly important solution in meeting rapid population growth.

But it remains a relatively expensive means of acquiring water with high energy costs. Desalination has been used in South Africa as a strategy to supplement water supplies during peak demand seasons and during droughts.

“But shutting down plants during lower demand periods doesn’t negate the need for operational maintenance, and this presents its own budget difficulties,” Braybrooke continues.

“Veolia supports and embraces desalination technology, but one must understand that there are both positives and negatives to it. The reality is that, in terms of our current circumstances, although it remains a relatively expensive form of water, we often have no other option for water supply.” Proactive water authorities and municipalities have already

ABOVE South Africa’s largest desalination plant, in Mossel Bay, desalinates 15 Mℓ/day of seawater

conducted, or are in the process of conducting, pilot trials to determine optimum pretreatment scenarios for desalination plants and are, thus, technologically ready to implement desalination in full-scale plants in the future. Veolia has played the lead role in Southern Africa’s major seawater desalination projects, including Saldanha Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Bushman’s River Mouth, Lambert’s Bay, Cannon Rocks and South Africa’s largest desalination plant in Mossel Bay, which supplies 15 Mℓ/day.

Alternative revenues Resourcing the world isn’t limited to more sustainable water use only. With the technology and expertise to harness the methane generated during anaerobic digestion processes, plants can become more self-sufficient, as up to 90% of a plant’s energy requirements can be provided by the use of this biogas by-product.

In addition, Veolia continues to help its clients harness the solid waste products of biological treatment processes as a secondary revenue stream in the form of agricultural fertilisers and energy recovered via incineration.

The fruits of experience The South African Veolia subsidiary is an important part of the company’s global operations, which, beyond just having a web of regional branches in over 50 countries, is a fluid entity of information, skills, and technology sharing and development.

Proprietary technologies form the backbone of the organisation and are the result of a 160-year-long journey that have laid the foundation for Veolia becoming a total water solutions provider.

“We will continue striving to deliver turnkey solutions that offer cradle-to-grave water treatment services, from lab analyses and treatment process development to a complete range of chemicals and operations and maintenance offerings for our municipal and industrial clients,” Braybrooke concludes.

www.veoliawaterst.co.za

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5

CEO's Comment

WISA

Dr Lester Goldman, WISA CEO

Looking back at WISA 2016

T

he WISA 2016 Biennial Conference, held in Durban during May 2016, has been hailed as a huge success by attending delegates. All credit to the well-run local organising committee, chaired by Dan Naidoo, WISA events and marketing manager Jaco Seaman, and the professional conference organiser, The Conference Company.

Despite some challenges, this team dug deep and ensured that good governance, armed with good project

The next WISA Biennial Conference will be held at the Cape Town ICC, from 24 to 29 June 2018

Big thanks and a look back at the Water Institute of Southern Africa’s successful premier conference. management and client-care principles, became entrenched in the entire conference lifeblood. Sue Freese, admirably heading the technical committee, ensured that the technical standard of all presentations were world-class.

Indeed, WISA showed the world what a committed South African team can achieve, something I am very proud of.

Think global, act local What is most amazing of this conference, though, is that almost all the sector stakeholders were present, and actively participated in robust debate – all in a very constructive and inspiring manner. We realise that we are in a serious drought, with consequent challenges, but everyone was focused on finding solutions.

Challenges were identified and, rather than pointing fingers, there was a commitment to addressing these. More of this commitment is required, though, to ensure that we overcome this crisis. Let’s think global, but act local, in resolving our challenges.

Networking forward Thank you once again to all our sponsors, exhibitors, presenters

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and delegates. Your attitude and exuberance during the conference were indeed contagious, and ensured that this will be one of the most remembered conferences. However, the value of the conference is not what we learnt throughout its duration, but what we can implement afterwards.

So, call on those contacts you made to ensure that you have the support and assistance to improve your local challenges. Contact that exhibitor to obtain the technical and resource advice you need. Call on WISA’s head office with your conference compliments, complaints or comments. We can only improve with your valued feedback.

Please check our website and Facebook page for more valuable info, and with feedback on conference-related reports and presentations.

The next WISA Biennial Conference will be held at the Cape Town ICC, from 24 to 29 June 2018. We look forward to building on the success of WISA 2016, and welcoming you to Cape Town in 2018.

Take care,

Lester

WISA

President ’s COMMENT

Valerie Naidoo, president, WISA

South Africa’s wastewater treatment works are not improving fast enough and process controllers need to be put first in nationally coordinated O&M efforts

Promoting O&M excellence When discussing the operations and maintenance of wastewater infrastructure, it’s important to consider the human factor.

A

lot has been written about the state of wastewater treatment works, the lack of best practice around the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the plants and their sewer systems, and the consequences to human health, the environment and the escalated costs on current and future infrastructure.

Depending on who is telling their story, the factors that are contributing to the poor state of O&M may include political will and interferences, finances, planning, urbanisation and migration patterns, competing demands, the funding models available to redress past inequities in infrastructure access, pricing or tariffing inadequately for services, lack of ringfenced budgets, O&M activities, and skills and capacity.

In fact, one of the first Water Research Commission (WRC) surveys of about 51

plants raised awareness on the state of operations and maintenance of a variety of wastewater treatment works. The development of the Green Drop incentive programme was a sector intervention to evaluate and change the trajectory of current wastewater treatment plant management. While the trends have been positive, the number of municipalities moving towards improved management has not been rapid enough.

This need for improvement in O&M of water infrastructure was highlighted by the 2014/15 Budget Speech of Minister Pravin Gordhan, where he outlined key steps to stop the deterioration of existing infrastructure such as “creating legislation to incentivise positive behaviour” to include “a minimum maintenance allocation of 7%”, supporting municipalities “to build internal technical capacity to progressively strengthen their capability”, and “establish

an advisory panel to improve on the integrity of municipalities’ supply chain management and procurement systems”.

The human factor These interventions help, but the human factor is central to all these challenges.

While we cannot necessarily or easily shift leadership and institutions into the kind of vision and actions we wish to see at technical and management levels, we need to chip away at the problem by “eating this elephant one piece at a time” – by growing the skills, competency and judgement within the sector professionals to manage not just a project but services and the systems within the water sector as well.

This means that all sector partners – such as WISA, the WRC, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Skills Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), training institutes, water sector institutes and business – have a role to play. A recent WRC study (K5/2476/3) showed that municipalities differ in their learning cultures and it appears to be largely individual and exposure driven.

There appears to be a gap for institutions to modernise their training methods to provide for basic and advanced skills and open their organisations to thinking about sustainable solutions rather than simply completing tasks. Some departments within municipalities still rely on “experienced or retired” operators and managers to transfer tacit knowledge, while others JUL/aUG 2016

7

rely on suppliers and consultants for their information on technologies. There appear to be few coordinated organisational approaches within and across departments towards continuous learning.

In the WRC’s research report entitled ‘Integrated water sector skills intervention map based on a sector skills gap analysis’ (No. 2113/1/15), funded by the DWS, it was concluded that there was a very large skills capacity and qualifications gap.

It recommended that HR departments and management should analyse staffing by examining gaps rather than figures to assess the full extent of the problem. It provides very simple formulae that indicate a recommended relationship between the staff number and infrastructure.

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Institute support In this regard, WISA acknowledges the challenges around O&M and has sought to play its role. WISA offers opportunities for technical professionals across the water services value chain to develop stronger collaborative knowledge-sharing networks using the existing divisions and branches at a local level.

At the WISA 2016 Conference held in Durban in May this year, three O&M workshop sessions that emphasised the need by the water sector to engage more fully with this issue were held.

In addition, WISA has focused its strategy on improving the capability of process controllers by driving professionalisation.

Thus, WISA has been registered as a professional body and aims to support the professionalisation of 5 There are few 000 process controllers. coordinated It has worked with the SETAs and the Water organisational Sector Leadership Group approaches, to advocate for alignment, within and across partnerships and coordidepartments, towards nation. The DWS FETWater continuous learning project, which the WRC is managing and WISA is supporting, focuses on the development of occupational qualifications for the water sector, according to the Quality Council for Trades and Operations Framework. In addition, the DWS is supporting the development of a Water and Sanitation Services Occupations Framework, which will hopefully be approved and used by the SETAs to support training in the water sector.

Recommendations So, while these various partner interventions try to reset and build new foundations to improve O&M skills and capabilities at the various municipalities and institutions in South Africa, it is important for sector professionals that are involved at all levels of O&M (planners, management, engineers, technicians and artisans) to become champions in this battle.

At the WISA 2016 O&M workshops, some specific recommendations were made, such as the need to form an O&M Division within WISA, but this requires passionate and driven volunteers.

The opportunity exists for such a group to explore continuing professional development (CPD) and short courses, and work with sector partners on possibly developing an O&M academy.

I, therefore, encourage O&M professionals and novices to look beyond their challenges and not be restricted by their boundaries, but to provide leadership and solutions with those that are willing to support and enable.

8

JUL/aUG 2016

WISA

YWP

What lies ahead

This year’s WISA Biennial Conference functioned as a creative space for YWP debate and forward planning. By Suvritha Ramphal, vice-chair, YWP-ZA

T

he 2016 WISA Conference, hosted at the Durban International Convention Centre, was notably one of the most successfully coordinated WISA conferences – with commendable, quality technical papers, creative exhibits from sector players, and a fulfilling YWP-ZA event programme. At the WISA Conference, YWP-ZA strategically aimed to engage with its members, and the sector, by hosting three interactive workshops to address the underlying issues influencing members’ career choices, challenges and solutions within the water sector in light of the

Some young professionals entering the professional environment today exhibit characteristics of over-confidence and self-gain, with unreasonable expectations

current drought, and the questions this raises about water resilience at its multiple nexus points. YWP-ZA, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Illovo Sugar Sezela and JG Afrika, successfully coordinated all three workshops, with positive feedback and remarks from delegates. These workshops were met with robust, thought-provoking discussions among peers, and have been summarised as a statement of responses from the YWPs in attendance.

Soft-skills development YWP-ZA acknowledged that the first years of a young professional’s academic and professional career can be daunting.

Thus, YWP-ZA coordinated a “Best Practices – Sharing from Lessons Learned” session specifically to address common career progression pitfalls and how to overcome such difficulties. Delegates were offered advice, exposed to the challenges of transitioning between and adjusting to academic-professional environments and provided with quick tips from the presenters: Sivuyile Pezulu of Milton Roy,

YWP-ZA’s key statement from this workshop: Some young professionals entering the professional environment today exhibit characteristics of over-confidence and self-gain, with unreasonable expectations.

This is an obser vation among peers and between managers and peers. This was the message that resonated throughout the workshop. To combat such an issue, young professionals make a plea to their peers to be humble, show initiative, acknowledge that which you know and that which you do not, remember to respect others, help your peers grow and develop, and always remain professional. In this respect, a priority action for YWP-ZA is to suppor t young professionals to develop soft skills in the areas of communication, team work and workplace conflict resolution, through developing emotional intelligence.

JUL/aUG 2016

9

YWP

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Suvritha Ramphal of the Royal Danish Embassy and Jo Burgess from the Water Research Commission. Thereafter, breakaway groups were formed as part of the workshop session, wherein each group had to tackle three areas as follows: • What is the most significant challenge encountered by young professionals today?

• How do they propose to overcome such challenges?

• What support can YWP-ZA provide for its members to address these challenges?

Water scarcity response Faced with drought conditions in many provinces of our country, South Africa is at a point where it has truly become a water-scarce country. It is of the utmost importance for the future generation of young professionals to analyse current responses and, where possible, provide support to related initiatives. Therefore, YWP-ZA hosted a two-part session on water scarcity; the first half of the session framed the current initiatives implemented to address water scarcity, and the second half presented five challenges to attending delegates, with the purpose of coming up with creative, innovative and locally implementable solutions.

The presenters each had to talk about preselected topics, which were as follows: Henry Roman, Department of Science and Technology, presented on drought resilience and innovation planning; Jason Hallowes, DHI-SA, presented on extreme event planning and operations; and Mark Schapers, JG Afrika, presented on policy and governance underpinning project efficacy. Thereafter, attendees broke away in five groups with the main aim of developing a single solution to one of the five challenges posed to them.

The winning idea was moderated by our presenters and presented with a prize sponsored by Illovo Sugar. The five challenges were: job security for young professionals in the water sector; poor planning at strategic levels; social and cultural perceptions to adopting sustainable practices; prioritisation of local and donor funding; and innovating for the future with technological advancements. The winning team came up with the “Name & Shame” idea, in support of innovating for the future with technological advancements. The principle behind this concept is to make water consumption data freely available online through the development of consumer category models.

The objective of the concept is to draw public and private sector

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WISA

YWP

Debate panellists during the Intergenerational Debate

attention to high water consumption users, making them accountable to the public, thereby encouraging the integration of water-use efficiency practices.

Climate change YWP-ZA teamed up with the WWF in this robust session on climate change resilience and adaptation in the launch of the ‘WWF Water: Facts and Figures Report’. Since the report dealt with future scenarios, launching the full report with the future leaders in the South African water sector was the perfect platform for the YWP-ZA Intergenerational Debate.

During the first half of the session, the WWF’s Christine Colvin presented a summary of the key findings from the report.

This provided the perfect framework that led into the second session – the Intergenerational Debate. Panel members

proposing the topic included Simangele Msweli, SA Youth Climate Change Coalition, and Jacqui Goldin, University of the Western Cape. Panel members opposing were Benjamin Biggs, University of Cape Town, and Dean Muruven, WWF. The debate reflected on South Africa’s capabilities to adapt to the +2° C world.

Key points in the debate centred on systematically unpacking South Africa’s strengths and weaknesses in living in a +2° C world. This was an excellent way to get the audience thinking about the issues and reminding us all to individually discern our contribution to managing resilience in a changing climate.

jul/aug 2016

11

HOT SEAT

Closing the water cycle – beautifully Wastewater treatment works have long been seen as messy, smelly eyesores pushed to the borders of urban centres. Now, a new solution that closes the water cycle using a combination of eye-catching, natural and nature-inspired technology is making waves in the local market.

a

t this year’s WISA 2016 botanical gardens rather than traditional Conference, Murray & works. Enclosed in glass houses or atRoberts Water announced tractive but simple shading structures that it had acquired the to protect plants from extreme weather, licence agreement for the groundbreaking these gardens boast a number of benewastewater treatment technology devel- fits, including better treatment characteroped in Europe by Hungarian architectural istics, a smaller physical footprint, lower and engineering expert Organica Water. operating costs, and positive aesthetics “We’re extremely proud of this partner- requiring no buffer zone. This ensures ship, which gives us a unique edge in the higher water quality; no reduction in the local wastewater treatment sector. The retail value of nearby properties; resource technology has been proved in countries savings, including energy and costs; and like France, China, Indonesia and its place an affordable upfront investment. of origin, Hungary. We see it having still “The latest in food-chain reactor (FCR) more potential in Africa, with its rapidly technology integrates fixed-film actigrowing cities as well as an increasing vated sludge processes (IFAS). FCR-IFAS need for upgrading ageing infrastructure solutions have developed over the last and energy conservation,” commented decade to become highly successful and Harry Singleton, operasustainable.

Organica’s Biomass is tions executive, Murray application of these water & Roberts Water. In a reclamation gardens significantly presentation delivered increased so that a stands out because of at WISA 2016 by Bertie these WWTWs’ potential substrate capable to change mindsets about Steytler, director of of housing over Prodromos Technologies wastewater reuse and – Murray & Roberts’ completely 3 000 species is recycling, technology consultant eliminating the urban provided – conference delegates planning barriers of learned more about this concept, which locating this type of infrastructure, uses natural root systems along with enabling placement in the middle of root-mimicking media for a process that neighbourhoods close to where the can be carried out in urban settings with wastewater is generated,” explained no bad odours... all this in a structure Péter Varga, business development manthat is simply stunning – effecting what ager, Organica Water.

Steytler described as “an improved psyUrban solution chological footprint”.

Since water reclamation gardens are Paradigm shift attractive and don’t generate unpleasant Organica’s wastewater treatment works odours, they overcome the need for (WWTWs) are called water reclamation municipal zoning requirements. This gardens by Organica Water cofounder, makes them ideal for construction in Attila Bodnar, because they look like cities. Varga explained “In today’s cities,

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urbanisation causes populations to increase rapidly – in Gauteng, for example, about 300 000 people are added per annum. This requires almost a new city’s worth of infrastructure to be built in the province every year, while existing water scarcity is further exacerbated.”

Presenting a massive cost-saving opportunity, water reclamation gardens reduce the need for expensive underground piped infrastructure to carry sewage out of cities. Further, if the technology is used to polish water at the final stage of treatment, it can also reduce spend through water treatment bringing fresh water to urbanites. “Sustainability means treating waste as close as possible to where it’s generated,” added Varga. “This is why the technology also represents a contribution to the circular economy.”

Innovative, sustainable, simple technology

In a process that Bodnar referred to as water alchemy, to describe our changing relation with wastewater infrastructure, biomass is significantly increased in the water garden’s reaction chambers via this rich habitat made possible by plant roots. As a result, instead of providing a breeding ground for the usual 800 species of microorganisms typically present in traditional WWTWs, a substrate is provided that is capable of housing over 3 000 species!

“In a conventional WWTW’s reaction chamber, the activated sludge concentration is between 3 kg and 5 kg per cubic metre. Filament-like structures of plant roots and Organica’s specialised media increase the surface areas for sludge attachment to take place, while also

HOT SEAT

creating a better habitat for microorganisms to live and multiply. This accounts for much greater biodiversity while also facilitating a biomass increase to as much as 12 kg to 15 kg per cubic metre.

“In addition, water clarity is improved within the reactors, resulting in more efficient oxygen transfer. Clearer water can dissolve much more oxygen, meaning that less air and, therefore, less power are needed by the system,” explained Varga.

A better biomass-to-volume ratio means the system can be up to 50% smaller in physical footprint than conventional treatment plants. This makes the purchasing of urban land for plant placement more affordable. A lower geographical footprint also makes the technology ideal for retrofit projects, because the FCR-IFAS process can be implemented at existing works to postpone or even prevent the need for building new reactors in areas where populations have outstripped the capacity of their local works.

Better living spaces

Varga added, “It’s not only the biofilm and subsequent increased biodiversity of the bugs within the sludge that result in more effective treatment and odour elimination; we also employ a strong architectural team at our firm and our plant’s design features optimised ventilation, among other innovations.

“This is why it is possible that citizens in China, for example, where our plants are located literally in the midst of neighbourhoods – can sit next to these gardens and eat their lunches quite comfortably, enjoying a green break in the otherwise concrete environment.”

Varga was also available after Steytler’s paper to discuss various plants around the world, citing one in his native Budapest that grew bananas, which he and visiting engineers had eaten during their lunchbreaks while viewing the site.

Market opportunity

South Africa is a country committed to reducing pollution, being more energy efficient and conserving its precious water resources. Water reclamation gardens accommodate all of these needs.

As the number of Organica facilities increases globally (there are over 80 today either under construction or in operation), historical commercial and operational data is becoming increasingly available; what these data show is that water reclamation gardens continue to be the leading technology in energy reduction – lowering power consumption by up to 30%. “Imagine if every wastewater treatment plant used 30% less energy.

This technology represents an opportunity to make wastewater treatment more energy efficient, subsequently lowering air carbon footprint on a national scale,” pointed out Varga.

As a result of the “food chain” that establishes with the presence of more complex organisms that can survive in the root-zone habitats, excess sludge is also reduced in the process, further lowering operating costs.

Numbers aside, perhaps most importantly, the attractiveness of an Organica facility has the power to change mindsets about wastewater reuse. It’s a way to overcome the “yuck” factor, bringing wastewater treatment to the middle of cities, making abundant water resources available through manageable reuse networks.

Flexibility

“We can and have built water reclamation gardens in urban and peri-urban areas. In warmer climates, we have even forgone the glass structures around planted reactors, replacing them with simple shading structures. The system uses indigenous flora and otherwise

OPPOSITE PAGE A 6000 PE Organica WWTP in a highly visible tourist region in Le Lude (Loire Valley), France LEFT A 7 Mℓ/day Organcia WWTP on the island of Hainan, China BELOW The construction site of the Bekasi, Indonesia, upgrade nearing completion

locally available plants. While it is possible to grow plants of economic value, the facilities are meant to fit into smaller areas and not provide horticulture production; this solution is an urban one and the main advantages will emerge most prominently in urban settings, where space is of great value, explained Varga.

Partnership forward

“We don’t build these plants ourselves.

Local South Africans will be building the plants; 90% of the equipment will be locally sourced. We’ve been working with Prodromos for almost two years to establish the optimum partner to roll out our technology in a way that reflects our corporate goals and values,” explained Varga.

“From our first meeting with the folks at Organica, I think we all sensed an alignment of cultures and synergies, which made all parties feel comfortable taking the next step,” added Singleton.

“We’ve agreed on our combined vision from the beginning – sometimes two organisations just gel, and Murray & Roberts Water was ideally placed as a small division within a large construction giant to use the energy of the former with the support of the latter to deliver on Organica’s environmental promise to the standards for which both brands are renowned,” concluded Singleton.

After the Murray & Roberts-ProdromosOrganica presentation, Singleton, Steytler and Varga were swamped by engineers and municipal technicians wanting to know more about the technology and its local applicability.

Judging from high levels of interest, South Africa will be rolling out its own water reclamation gardens very soon.

Watch this space for details.

www.murrob.com JUL/AUG 2016

13

CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

News from WISA 2016 T

he Water Institute of South Africa Biennial Conference and Exhibition took place from 15 to 19 May this year at the Durban International Convention Centre. The event tends to rotate between Johannesburg, Cape Town and eThekwini, and it was remarkably coincidental that this year’s event took place in the city that has been hardest hit by recent drought-related events.

It is in this context of difficulties that the discourse at the conference took on a sense of urgency and a need for action and implementation, all evident in virtually every one of the dozens of presentations delivered at the event.

Act now

One of the most well-regarded Durbanbased engineers, Neil Macleod, delivered WISA 2016’s open plenary discussion to kick off the event. He took a hard line against leadership inadequacies at a municipal level, saying, “South Africa’s Green and Blue Drop certifications are excellent

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but the results of these reports have not been released – probably since 2014.

It is my opinion that a reason for this is that the results will prove poor. This is not something the government wants publically available just prior to the local elections.

It’s certainly not something they want on the eve of the national elections.” Macleod pointed out that, according to information that he had received, only 50 of South Africa’s more than 1 000 wastewater treatment facilities had received accreditation.

“This reflects negatively on our profession – we who know what impact these failing systems have on the environment, and public health and hygiene,” he commented. This is not new information.

Anyone who has travelled throughout many small towns across the country will have been warned by residents not to drink the water – it’s a rising

BELOW Industry stalwart Neil Macleod delivered this year's open plenary discussion

phenomenon and it points to a worsening state of affairs.

“We need to take action to publish the latest round of Blue and Green Drops promptly,” asserted Macleod.

Skills shortage?

According to Macleod, “The problem is not a shortage of professional skills – our local skills and talent are outstanding. It’s also not the fault of financiers or funders.”

In the last 10 years, very few municipalities have spent the entirety of their grant funding. “To me, the problem is one of leadership and it is this lack of leadership that is hampering our ability to transform.” This may seem counterintuitive but what Macleod

CONFERENCE ROUND-UP

The WISA Biennial Conference and Exhibition is the number one event for Southern African water professionals. This year’s event proved to be a fantastic platform for building the energy needed to drive the water sector forward for the next two years, and beyond.

By Frances Ringwood

retirement and give them a platform from which they could share knowledge. “What I’m proposing is like an MBA, but not as rigorous; it’s an opportunity to learn from the ‘grey hairs’ and their mistakes.

By taking that institutional memory forward, we can avoid the type of situation in which we find ourselves in Durban now, where there is a drought but insufficient mitigation strategies in place,” commented Macleod.

As for addressing skills shortages in terms of municipal plumbers, Macleod called for action rather than talk.

“Back in 2005, I was calling for us to relook at how we train artisans; it was clear that learnerships don’t work. They are too theoretical and don’t prepare new market entrants for the job. We need to go back to the old-fashioned apprenticeship model, where plumbers receive hands-on training, particularly when it comes to operation and maintenance,” said Macleod.

Municipal plumbers aren’t the same as household plumbers – they require specialist skills for maintaining large pipe networks, pressure control valves and leak detection, among others.

Take-home

ABOVE Aeration tank: Macleod pointed out that only 50 of South Africa’s more than 1 000 wastewater treatment facilities had received Green Drop accreditation

said makes particular sense for the water sector: if water and wastewater infrastructure is broken or ineffective, this limits communities’ ability to thrive and flourish, in turn limiting transformation and the establishment of vibrant cities.

“My sense is that the management of today is more interested in compliance than creating organisations that are truly supportive and innovative. It seems that they are so concerned with managing risks that they aren’t prepared to take those chances that can make the biggest difference for their citizens,” he said.

Finding solutions

Members of the water sector have talked for years about the need to create water services provider managers; this system would bring water engineers out of

ABOVE Primary treatment: Leadership and oversight are crucial to improving the state of affairs in regards to South Africa’s water habitats, rivers and lakes

getting involved and engaged. To me, that was the critical message. This message is similar to what we say at WISA: we’re not about the conference, we’re about the quality due thereafter. It’s not easy for WISA members because they have a day job and are expected to give more of themselves in their spare time. But, the idea is that we want our members to get more involved, get more information out there and, ultimately, inspire people to want to be the change.”

“This brings me back to the importance of International opportunities leadership. In order to produce the new A notable aspect of this year’s conference skills needed to foster a new generation was the participation of a number of of municipal plumbers, we need ethical, high-level foreign delegates and compacompetent people to create a supportive nies. The ambassador of Denmark, Trine environment. Right now, there are more Rask Thygesen, and than 100 local mu“The problem in the the special envoy nicipalities in South water sector is one for international Africa that don’t have any municipal of leadership and it is water affairs for the of the engineering profes- this lack of leadership Kingdom Netherlands, Henk sionals. When you that is hampering our ask engineers why ability to transform.” Ovink, were present.

One of the Danish they don’t want to delegation members, Jørgen Erik Larsen, work in municipalities, the reasons they commented, “It’s not just about sharing give include not feeling supported by or our knowledge with South Africa. We are confident in their leadership, and that a small, island nation and we believe that they aren’t willing to be coerced into we need to foster partnerships such as unethical behaviour,” said Macleod. this to thrive.”

These are fighting words from the The general feeling of the conference eThekwini water veteran who comwas that it was a success, with visibly mands tremendous respect in the high foot traffic, and particularly successwater community. ful panel discussions where delegates Following Macleod’s plenary, Valerie didn’t just ask for the details of any given Naidoo, the new WISA president, comtopic but were investing in how to take mented, “I think he’s raised the serioustheir discussions forward to foster rapid ness of the water shortage issue; he’s also growth and change in the sector. raised the seriousness of professionals JUL/AUG 2016

15

industry insight

Alula flies the transformation flag The recently gazetted BBBEE Codes of Good Practice have challenged engineering firms, and other sectors of the economy, to transform and diversify. Alula Water took up the challenge, becoming a black-owned, and black-women-empowered, company with a Level 2 BBBEE contributor status, while simultaneously proving its mettle as a major water sector heavyweight in South Africa.

B

y seizing the opportunity to drive transformation and effect broader socio-economic development – especially at board and management levels – Alula Water has positioned itself as a front runner for major government and municipal projects.

“While there are many that say they are black-owned or black-womenowned companies, we bring to the market a 25-year history, along with the accompanying knowledge and experience,” says Dinao Lerutla, director: Operations and Strategy, Alula Water.

“If you look at the new BBBEE scorecard, there is a tremendous emphasis on the element of procurement. So, it’s not just about our compliance – it’s also about those purchasing from black entities that enable the company to maintain or improve their BBBEE rating.

As a black-owned business, we are well positioned, from a capability and transformation profile, to partner on water and wastewater projects, while enabling our partners to earn highly sought after preferential procurement points, comments Dave Sevitz, managing director, Alula Water.

Formerly Ovivo Aqua SA, Alula Water rebranded as of April this year, in a move that Sevitz explains is not merely a name change but reflects the company’s new

ABOVE Dinao Lerutla, director: Operations and Strategy, Alula Water

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structural changes, enabling it to respond dynamically to shifting industrial, political and commercial norms. “So, we are not a new company; we are a new-owner company, maintaining our skills and experience while repositioning ourselves to be more responsive to the market’s needs.

“I think it was synchronous in that the business was acquired at a time when the the BBBEE codes were being revised and the previous shareholder was considering repositioning their presence in the South African and African markets,” explains Lerutla.

Rebranding

“Alula” may sound like a phrase coming from a black African language, but it’s actually originally Latin, referring to a projection on the anterior edge of a bird’s wing. “We chose the name because the alula is what enables birds in flight to respond to change, effortlessly, while retaining stability and reliability in flight,” explains Lerutla.

“That is how we see ourselves in the changing conditions of the local market,” Sevitz adds.

Service offering

Alula anticipates receiving the handover notification for its Medupi Boiler Water Treatment Plant (awarded when it was still Ovivo Aqua) – a project exceeding R1 billion. Alula received this order initially as a grade 8ME and successfully executed this complex project.

Some of Alula’s projects generating buzz in the local market place are

ABOVE Alula Water is responsible for constructing one of the largest water treatment plants at Medupi – the largest membrane-based plant in Africa and the second biggest in the world

its WWTWs for concentrated solar power plants.

“Alula recently received an order for another water wreatment plant for a solar power station. As the fourth project of this kind for Alula in the past four years, we now regard ourselves as the local expert in water and demineralised water within the renewable energy industry.

Equipment offering

“Our suite of services includes design, projects, equipment, as well as operations and maintenance (O&M). We have largely been dominant in the design and projects space, as well as in providing equipment. We have done O&M very well and are now focusing on growing in that particular space.

“When it comes to equipment, we see this as an exciting area of innovation. We, as a company, are able to contribute to providing affordable, resource-efficient products that respond to the demands of current conditions.

For example, our retrofitting options to improve WWTW capacities and water storage solutions can be supplied in less time than comparable products and predominantly below the cost of comparative traditional solutions, which is particularly useful when rapid deployment of infrastructure is required in the water and wastewater industry,” says Lerutla.

industry insight

Fixed-film media

an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Over the years, there has been increased The discrete vertical sheets bound within development in the use of fixed-film a frame ensure that the air distribution media in the treatment of organic wastehas a uniform flux across the biofilm, water effluents. The benefits of a reduced preventing dead spots or biomass decay. footprint and improved efficiency to The increase in the biomass of the syscope with high-strength tem reduces the footprint of “We chose the wastes are some of the the plant, thereby reducing advantages that this techland requirements, and also name because nology has brought to the alula is what allows for the upgrade of the market. existing works in already enables birds in constructed “Some of these earlier biological flight to respond reactors. systems had drawbacks in that it was difficult to Alula is an agent for to change, retrofit existing plants. the Cleartec IFAS system, effortlessly, while The systems also used which utilises the Aerostrip low-efficiency aeration retaining stability diffuser – a high-efficiency, and reliability.” fine-bubble-diffused air sysdevices and required equipment to prevent tem for which Alula is also media loss or migration,” says Sevitz. “Our an agent. The diffuser is directly integratproprietary Cleartec IFAS (Integrated Film ed with the textile frame – which allows Activated Sludge) system overcomes the entire module to be installed as a these past inefficiencies,” he adds. single unit, saving both time and money.

Sevitz explains that the Cleartec system Conclusion consists of a high-surface-area textile In terms of its capabilities, track record curtain that serves as the carrier for the and empowerment credentials, Alula biomass. This system combines attached Water has positioned itself as a force and suspended biological growth, proto be reckoned with. These strengths, viding the best of both technologies in

Benefits of the Cleartec system: llows for significant expansion with A little or no additional aerobic volume; i.e. no additional infrastructure Saving in time for upgrading of plant construction requirement Improved solids settling Reduced energy costs No risk of media migration No media loss Modular design

combined with outstanding service and a dedicated focus on equipment innovation, will be what sets this company apart as the South African water sector evolves to overcome challenges relating to resource and capability scarcities, as well as economic pressures.

+27 (0)11 886 0266 www.alulawater.co.za

figurE 1 Cleartec sytems processes

JUL/AUG 2016

17

AFRICA ROUND-UP

Water and sanitation in Africa AFRICA

Three giants seek to bridge infrastructure gaps

Three international firms have partnered to help address infrastructure challenges in Africa through investments in equity projects.

The firms, General Electric Africa (GE), Mara Group and Atlas Merchant Capital, will invest in infrastructure projects to stimulate the continent’s economic potential through infrastructure development.

Jay Ireland, president, GE Africa, comments, “Adequate infrastructure remains critical in the economic development and integration of the continent.”

He adds that GE Africa, which committed US$2 billion three years ago in various investment programmes, wants to effectively contribute in addressing infrastructure gaps.

GE’s partnership with Mara Group and Atlas Merchant Capital will solidify efforts of improving access to water and sanitation, rail transport and power through reliable energy projects. “We want to dedicate ourselves to developing underdeveloped infrastructure in Africa through equity projects,” he says, adding that infrastructure is absolutely key for African countries to become middle-income economies.

Sanitation gap puts girls off school

Around the world, girls are struggling to stay in school when their menstrual hygiene needs are forgotten or ignored, yet the water, sanitation and hygiene, and education sectors have remained reluctant to address the issue. “Girls lack access to clean, safe, private toilets. There is no clean water within

Part of the ongoing projects in Tanzania includes rehabilitation of a 69 km pipeline

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or near the toilets, which means there is nowhere to clean up and discreetly dispose of used menstrual products,” says Darren Saywell, director: Water, Sanitation and Health, Plan International USA. “When girls drop out of school at an early age, they are less likely to return to education, leaving them vulnerable to early marriage, violence and forced sexual relations,” Saywell adds.

According to Unicef, girls who remain in secondary school are six times less likely to marry young. In sub-Saharan Africa and south and west Asia, child marriage would decrease by over 60% if all girls had secondary education.

Unicef has also noted the larger health benefits that come with educating women and girls, including decreases in maternal, infant and child mortality rates as well as poverty.

ETHIOPIA

Grand Dam on its way to completion

Ethiopia’s economy relies heavily on subsistence farming, with 85% of its labour force engaged in the sector. To achieve the government’s intended goals of reducing the nation’s reliance on agriculture and increasing its status as a manufacturing nation, the development of the country’s significant energy resources is necessary.

Two decades ago, Ethoipia’s government began developing massive hydropower projects in response to these needs. Dams such as Gilgel Gihbe I, II and III and Tana Belese in Tekeze were built.

The latest and most famous example is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will supply 6 000 MW upon its expected completion in July 2017. Dr Yakob Arsanoy, a senior staff

Darren Saywell, director: Water, Sanitation and Health, Plan International USA

member at the Political Science Department of Addis Ababa University, says, “The construction of the GERD will lead the nation and its neighbouring countries towards multifaceted and comprehensive development. Its location is relatively elevated compared to the down-riparian countries; hence, the evaporation rate is low.

As a result, water will be conserved, benefiting countries lower down the riparian zones of the Nile basin.

The dam will also prevent floods in Egypt and Sudan, regulating flow throughout the year. A further positive knock-on effect will be the protection of these countries’ dams from damage caused by silt.”

NAMIBIA

Desalination vital during drought

Had Areva not built its desalination plant six years ago, Hilifa Mbako, managing director, Areva Resources Namibia, said he shudders to think what would have happened in the current drought conditions overshadowing Namibia’s water supply capacity.

“It would have been a catastrophe,” he added at a media open day at the Erongo Desalination Plant north of Wlotzkasbaken recently.

The meeting was arranged to celebrate the desalination plant’s sixth anniversary of no time lost due to injuries, while Areva’s 2015 stakeholders’ report was launched at the occasion.

The desalination plant, which is wholly owned by Areva Resources Namibia and operated by Aveng Water Treatment Namibia, currently supplies NamWater with 5 million cubic metres of water a year. It has the

A prepaid water meter installed by the Bulawayo City Council in Cowdray Park

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News from around the African continent, including the latest industry, project and development news.

short-term capacity of 20 million cubic metres, which can be increased to a medium-to-long-term capacity of up to 45 million cubic metres.

According to Mbako, Areva is still waiting for government to come to the table with a counter-offer to the approximate N$3 billion (about US$200 million) offered by Areva for NamWater to take over the plant. Up to 75% of Swakopmund’s drinkable tap water is desalinated water.

TANZANIA

Improving village supply

Only 58% of the 2.5 million rural residents of Tanzania’s Kagera administrative region, in the north-west of the country, have access to clean and safe water.

This is according to Kagera regional commissioner John Mongela. In an effort to improve access, a number of villages in the Karagwe District, Ngara District, Bukoba Rural District, Muleba District, Misenyi District and Bukoba Municipal Council have been selected to be covered under Tanzania’s Water Sector Development Programme.

Completion of a water project being implemented by the Bukoba Water and Sewerage Authority (Buwasa) will increase water availability from the current 8.2 million litres to 11.2 million litres. Chaggaka Kalimbia, executive director, Buwasa, says the project was being co-funded by the French government, through its International Development Agency, in collaboration with the Tanzanian government and was being implemented by Technofab Engineering Limited from India. It is estimated to cost TSh27.5 billion (about

WATER

US$12.6 million) in total. Ongoing projects includes rehabilitation of a 69 km pipeline, construction of a sludge digester, construction of two water tanks with capacity of 3.7 million litres each and construction of a rapid sand filtration plant.

INDUSTRY

ZIMBABWE

Point of no return for prepaid meters

The Harare City Council is forging ahead with plans to install prepaid water meters, despite protests from residents.

Resident associations have reportedly petitioned the council over the issue, arguing that prepaid meters will deprive the poor of a basic necessity.

A pilot project has already been rolled out in Bluffhill, Sunningdale, Kambuzuma, Greendale, Avenues and Avondale.

The city’s acting corporate communications manager, Michael Chideme, has responded, “For one to get water in a municipal area, they need to invest in the service. In this case, people need to pay for water to get it. For us to remain relevant as a local authority, we need to move with the times.”

Local government’s Minister of Public Works and National Housing, Saviour Kasukuwere, is on the record saying prepaid water meters are necessary to support local authorities. “Water provision requires someone to pay for it. In as much as we understand that water is a basic human right, transmission of water should be paid for,” he said.

Prepaid water meters have been a success in Uganda, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, among other countries.

www.vovani.co.za

The Erongo Desalination Plant north of Wlotzkasbaken, Namibia

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam forges ahead, despite alleged political tensions JUL/AUG 2016

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Eastern Cape

Provincial Focus

Making the switch For years, the Eastern Cape has fared poorly compared with wealthier South African provinces in terms of water availability and bulk water and sanitation infrastructure. To what extent are new trends challenging old attitudes and ushering in a paradigm shift? By Frances Ringwood

T

he Eastern Cape’s water and sanitation woes have stemmed largely from the conditions endemic to the province. High poverty, high unemployment and historically low rainfall (with a knock-on effect on agriculture) have conspired to increase the general difficulty of providing the most basic infrastructure needed in the local and district municipalities that make up the area.

The good news is that national government has a plan to fix these

Water scarcity is a major, unresolved issue across the country

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problems. Nowhere is this more evident than the province’s progress in developing and funding long-term infrastructure delivery plans.

On the reverse side of the coin, South Africa will need to rein in some of its government officials who seem intent on running the country like a kleptocracy, if the province is to eventually thrive.

Here, sanitation delivery stands out as the most visible indicator of the province’s municipal health – specifically in terms of governance integrity.

Systemic issues Unemployment figures are high in the province with “an economy that records one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, which currently stands at 30.8%, while youth unemployment stands at 50%,” according to Eastern Cape Premier Phumulo Masualle in his State of the Province Address (SOPA), delivered in February this year.

Poverty is the most overwhelming factor leading to low rates of water and sanitation service uptake. Stats

Provincial Focus

SA records that only 42.9% of Eastern Cape households have flush toilets connected to either sewer infrastructure or a septic tank; 3% have chemical toilets, 13.9% use ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, 2.3% use the hated bucket system and as much as 12.7% of households are claimed to have no access to formal sanitation. The figure is unacceptably high, given that basic sanitation has been recognised as a basic human right by the UN, which further considers open defecation as an extremely unhealthy practice, propagating diseases like diarrhoea and cholera.

Nelson Mandela Bay had the highest proportion of flush toilets (87.4%), followed by Buffalo City (68.8%). Alfred Nzo recorded the lowest proportion with just 5.1%.

Dry days ahead Moreover, the Eastern Cape has been a largely silent victim of the recent drought across sub-Saharan Africa. Although not officially declared one of the five crisis areas where food security was severely affected in the last 12 months, water shortages in the Eastern Cape have been significant enough to warrant high-level action. In January this year, ten 18 000 litre water tankers were handed over to alleviate water shortages in the province by Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane.

At about the same time, national news agencies were reporting shocking statistics regarding soaring food prices and one young farmer, Krisjan Kruger (34), saw the situation as being so dire that he took his own life in response to seeing his farmland grind to an unproductive halt.

Apart from the drought’s negative effects on agriculture and the local economy, localised economic conditions are also affecting the amount of money national government is spending

on improving the Eastern Cape’s infrastructure. In the year’s SOPA, Masualle pointed out, “As a province, we have also received reduced fiscal transfers from National Treasury as a consequence of our slow population growth.” This is surprising, given the desperate need for bulk water

and sanitation infrastructure due to high existing backlogs. Nevertheless, government has pledged funding specifically for drought alleviation, with Minister Mokonyane promising, earlier this year, that “there will be a supply of water from the Katse Dam in Lesotho to Aliwal North, the development of the Eastern Cape Water Masterplan, and a new scheme for the Amathole District Municipality within the next six to eight months. There will be a provincial water and sanitation functional coordinating committee convened by the provincial representatives of the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs.”

In addition, future plans for infrastructure development in the province announced by the department include spend of R1.1 billion for the construction of bulk water and sanitation

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape faces considerable educational challenges, and youth employment sits at around 50%; there is desperate need for socio-economic upliftment in the province

service delivery in the O.R. Tambo District Municipality and the King Sabata Dalinyebo Local Municipality; the Xhonxa Bulk Water Supply and Middelburg Ground Water Supply projects in Chris Hani; the Mbizana Bulk Water Supply Project in Alfred Nzo; Sterkspruit Bulk Water Supply and Lady Grey Bulk Water Supply projects in Joe Gqabi; and the Nooitgedacht Coega Low Level Scheme.

Further, a series of infrastructure funding vehicles are available nationally to all provinces, including the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme (R164 million) and the Water Services Infrastructure Grant (R3.1 billion). However, the Bucket Eradication Project, freeing up funding to the value of R350 million, will only be rolled out to the provinces of Gauteng, KwaZuluNatal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Western Cape, since, according to the department, “The other four provinces have about 180 000 buckets that still need to be eradicated, with the majority of these being in the Free State.”

Industrial drivers While municipal supply and sanitation are not progressing fast enough, industrial water management services have been set as high priorities as a way to curb Eastern Cape unemployment. This has especially been the case for industries in need of wastewater treatment solutions.

These include the automotive industry, dairies, food and beverage producers, and aquaculture and agriculture in particular. In fact, from 2015 to 2016, provincial government has reported increased agricultural

As much as 12.7% of households claim to have no access to formal sanitation – the figure is unacceptably high given that basic sanitation is a human right JUL/AUG 2016

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Eastern Cape

Provincial Focus

graph 1 Percentage distribution of households by type of toilet facility, Eastern Cape Census 2011

opportunities, such as the R86 million agro processing facility at the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ).”

The province is also planning to develop industries in rural areas – these include abattoirs, dairies, aquaculture incubation schemes, and rural tourism facilities.

Focus on industrial development has proven to be effective, with a total of 24 737 jobs created in the province – almost 10 000 more jobs than original targets for job creation through IDZs. A further opportunity for the economic upliftment of the Eastern Cape lies in the potential of shale gas reserves in the Karoo Basin. This continues to be a contentious issue as it threatens the environmental and groundwater integrity of the area while also offering game-changing opportunities for the Eastern Cape – and the South African – economy.

Sanitation challenges and opportunities Some of the most remarkable strides are being made in the arena of dry and low-water sanitation, but this is an area with a fraught history.

A few short years ago, pit latrines littered Google Maps’ aerial views of rural properties, with more than two latrines often visible on a stand.

The reasons for multiple products per property are varied. A source for

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BELOW Councillor Phumulo Masualle, Eastern Cape premier

Water&Sanitation Africa within one of the municipalities where these images were taken (and who declined being named) clarifies, “These images don’t tell the full story; at our municipality, it was found that some of the earlier technologies were unusable because the correct quality-control procedures had not been followed. For this reason, the municipality was justified in putting new infrastructure on properties. An additional factor is that a number of new and changing players, including non-governmental organisations, were involved in these roll-outs and so there was no centralised method for finding out what had been delivered, and to where, over an extended time period.”

That’s not to say there isn’t a general challenge in Eastern Cape sanitation.

The source confirmed a backlog of about 20% in his municipality’s sanitation delivery. These figures don’t quite tally with Stats SA’s figures but, if true, they effectively mean that 20% of homes either rely on long drops or open defection in that municipality (and, by extension, many others).

“The real problem is that we, at the municipality, don’t have clear guidance about how to allocate budget for, or roll out maintenance of, VIP toilets.

It’s expensive and difficult, so what we need is a proper policy on this matter.

There are, in fact, high-level talks under way on the subject right now. But more than anything else, I think that a policy towards VIP maintenance needs to be drawn up clearly, otherwise it will always be ignored,” stated the source.

While there are project implementation, maintenance and policy problems around VIPs, dry sanitation remains a positive intervention since it is vastly more environmentally responsible than using fresh water to flush away human waste products.

Killing kleptocracy In February last year, Eastern Cape daily newspaper The Daily Dispatch reported that “a company with links to several high-ranking national ANC leaders was handpicked and awarded a tender in excess of half a billion rand to build toilets for a rural Eastern Cape municipality.”

The article implicates family members of three, high-ranking ANC officials in the wrongful awarding of a tender worth R631 million – that’s an incredible accusation, given that the Nkandla scandal that rocked the country had a price tag of just under R250 million.

The article and subsequent follow-ups implied that the project was running behind schedule and casts doubt on the contractor’s ability to deliver 66 000 toilets.

According to another source who did not want to be named, “The project was investigated by Minister Pravin Gordhan’s office last year and has subsequently been cancelled, although not before at least a third of the initial contract funding had been spent.” The Daily Dispatch corroborates these facts.

Corruption has been an ongoing problem in the Eastern Cape. Over the past five financial years, Eastern Cape municipalities have received some

The Eastern Cape has been a largely silent victim of the recent drought across subSaharan Africa and water shortages in the Eastern Cape have been significant enough to warrant high-level action

Provincial Focus

LEFT VIP toilets are more environmentally friendly than flush systems but the challenge is that they need to be maintained

of worst audit outcomes from the office of the Auditor General, which has constantly highlighted irregular, unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Tender processes have been open to interference, preventing the province from gaining maximum value from its projects. The implication is that the tender process in Eastern Cape municipalities lacks transparency and has been abused as a result. This will need to be rectified to fast-track desperately needed infrastructure.

Eastern Cape

Bucket toilets carry the risk of significant health problems

Road to redemption?

The Eastern Cape has long been South Africa’s great land of extremes. It’s subject to extreme poverty, joblessness, corruption, socio-economic hardships and weather.

It also boasts incredible economic potential and, through targeted government planning and support, provides a home for a number of large international corporations; an advent that is improving employment figures, the local economy and – by extension – infrastructure provision.

Given these developmental trends, it’s only a matter of time before the Eastern Cape’s sanitation services and other backlogs are rolled back – as long as the powers that be can keep their hands out of the cookie jar. jul/aug 2016

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Sanitation

Lavatory savvy When it comes to sanitation, alternative solutions – specifically innovative dry and low-water options – are leading the way towards a more sustainable path to hygiene and human rights.

By Frances Ringwood

H

istorically, rural community members have been resistant to accepting dry sanitation solutions as a compromise to flushing toilets. Flush toilets are seen as aspirational and, so, anything less is rejected. But attitudes have to change, given that South Africa’s existing water reserves are already oversubscribed and flushing away human waste products with relatively high volumes of clean, potable water just doesn’t make sense – whether in rural or urban settings.

According to Jaisheila Rajput, founder and CEO of economic sustainability think tank Tomorrow Matters Now (TOMANOW), “We conducted research to find out what was impeding the acceptance of alternate sanitation technologies. We

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discovered the most common answer was that people living in human settlements do not want solutions designed for human settlements, they wanted the same types of facilities as those living in urban centres.”

Changing negative perceptions of alternate solutions is absolutely crucial to water-stressed South Africa’s ability to meet basic human rights stipulations as set out by the United Nations. In 2010, the UN established “access to improved sanitation” as a basic human right, listing VIP toilets as being among those solutions that were acceptable as a dignified option. Since then, local and district municipalities in South Africa have strived to deliver enough of these systems to meet the Millennium Development Goals, which

ABOVE EaziFlush by Envirosan

were superseded in September 2015 by the Sustainable Development Goals.

These goals aim to provide impetus for developing countries to provide universal access to sanitation for all, but without a wide acceptance of alternate sanitation solutions, it’s doubtful these goals will ever be met.

Rajput has proposed a bold way to sway hearts and minds towards the alternative technologies concept. “We need to start prioritising the use of alternate sanitation solutions in cities. With the development of green buildings and the need to achieve ‘Green Stars’, there is a case to be made for introducing these technologies in the commercial

sanitation and industrial buildings sectors,” she says. This is just one of a number of ideas TOMA-NOW plans to explore at a series of alternate sanitation breakfasts, which the company will be hosting in conjunction with the World Wildlife Foundation later this year.

Some of the themes to be explored include future cities, practical innovations and technology, sustainable projects and a call to action. “During these discussions, sponsored by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, we will be looking at how the success of an alternative solution means building the supply chain behind it,” adds Rajput.

Environmental considerations Further, the South African government is committed, at the highest levels, to reversing negative perceptions concerning dry and low-water sanitation options. Last year, at the National Sanitation Indaba, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, “All stakeholders must demonstrate a willingness to explore new sanitation delivery models.”

He specifically added, “It’s not all about flushing. If we continue to use the old flushing methods, we are placing huge pressure on our scarce water resources and the environment into which we flush our waste.”

Government, engineers and technocrats are committed to a mindset change regarding dry and low-water sanitation.

Industry has been supporting the call, finding new ways to deliver and maintain environmentally friendly toilets and maintenance options.

Maintenance innovation One such organisation is Amanz’ abantu Services, a company launched in the Eastern Cape in 1997, in response to goverment’s need for development partners, whose subsidiary, Impilo Yabantu Services, champions a social franchising model to assist public authorities in solving the operation and maintenance issues of dry as well as plumbed sanitation, particularly for rural and developing urban communities. The company provides training, quality management and operation procedures and backup through off-site skills to

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

Left to right: Oliver Ive, MD of Amanz’ abantu, Eldred Fray of the Department of Education, Frank Kerwan of Irish Aid, Jay Bhagwan of the WRC and Kevin Wall of the CSIR receiving recognition and a token of appreciation for their hard work in carrying out the pilot project

locally based franchise owners (or franthe longer-term sustainability of the VIP chisees) who carry out maintenance latrine technologies. work on sanitation systems under the “By training and supporting local Impilo Yabantu brand. Not only does service providers to maintain toilets this model encourage in schools and other local employment and There is a deepening community gathering improved business lack of faith in VIP places where sanitation skills, but it tackles the and good hygiene are toilets’ ability to problem of providing key, water and sanitation meet the needs of sanitation system services can be delivered rural communities, reliably to a consistent maintenance head on.

“Around 2001, shortly standard,” adds Ive. and there are also after the ending of the Impilo Yabantu’s first questions around period of transitional successful pilot roll-out their longer-term local government and was conducted in partsustainability with the reformed and nership with the Eastern consolidated munici- latrine technologies Cape Department of palities assuming full Education (ECDoE) operational responsibility for water in 2009 at about 400 schools in the services provision, we at Amanz’ abanButterworth education district, whereby tu asked ourselves: why can people go six franchisees and their staff were into a fried chicken franchise anywhere trained and deployed. in Africa and buy chicken that is reliable Since the success of the Butterworth and of consitant quality but, when we pilot, the programme was expanded turn on the tap, we’re not guaranteed to include service provision to 1 200 a consistent and good quality water schools across four educational districts service? And so the concept for social in the province from 2013 using the franchising for water services was services of up to 22 small independent born,” explains Oliver Ive, managing franchised service providers. director, Amanz’ abantu.

Ive went on to note that Low-water option one of the biggest probAnother solution making headway in lems with the roll-out of the local market is the pour-flush toilet.

VIP latrines and other Although this technology was develdry and low-water sanoped in KwaZulu-Natal, it has fast taken itation technologies in root, with 93 pilot sites across the counthe Eastern Cape, where try. Again, the Eastern Cape case reveals Amanz’ abantu is based, the utility of the technology. is that the municipalities “Our technology is compatible as a struggle to ensure they are low-flush toilet with a conventional cismaintained. This has resulted in a tern where households want to pay for deepening lack of faith in the VIP toilets’ their own upgrades, as well as pour-flush ability to meet the needs of rural comtechnology (works as the name sugmunities and communities questioning gests). Both systems use only two litres jul/aug 2016

25

sanitation

Jaisheila Rajput, founder and CEO, TOMA-NOW

of water to flush. It’s been tested with toilet paper, newspaper and other different wiping media.

As a low-flush option with a cistern, it’s been used extensively by the Department of Water and Sanitation, in its bucket eradication programmes.

As a result, the product has been rolled out right from the Free State to the Northern and Eastern Cape provinces,” explains Brian Lewis, managing director, Envirosan – the company that’s bringing the innovative EaziFlush solution to market.

“Just looking at the Eastern Cape, it’s certainly been a significant growth market for us, because of the nature of the technology and the volatility of the Eastern Cape environment. Of the 93 pilot sites we have nationally, about 20 are within the Eastern Cape, ranging from Buffalo City to Amathole District Municipality, to Chris Hani and O.R. Tambo, among others. In fact, we’re

This Impilo Yabantu franchise has established a sustainable business through the ECDoE pilot project

just starting to roll out our first project in partnership with the O.R. Tambo District Municipality as a pourflush technology,” he adds.

The system was developed when the Water Research Commission engaged a research team, led by Partners in Development.

The first test toilets were unveiled in 2010, and what made them different from the popular VIP option was that they discharged waste via a short length of pipe to a localised leach pit, where the effluent was stored, with the notable absence of solid waste. Later trials in more densely populated areas saw the technology becoming more accessible through toilets being connected to a simplified sewerage network that discharged to a centralised biodigester.

Lewis emphasises the EaziFlush’s applicability, not only in rural and periurban areas, but also in cities where townships are in need of fast, effective, reliable solutions.

“The EaziFlush system is compatible with a variety of back-end solutions, be it mainline sewers, septic tanks, leach pits or biodigesters. You can see the utility of the product in the way it effectively bridges the gap between dry and fullflush sanitation,” he explains.

Meeting community needs Ultimately, what communities need, whether in cities or in the veld, is safe, clean solutions that don’t attract flies and which are properly ventilated.

In the past, there have been horrifying stories of young children falling into pit latrines and drowning as a result of poor installation combined with wet weather.

Given the health and physical dangers associated with inferior sanitation solutions, it’s vital that government and industry continue to cooperate on improving local perceptions of alternate sanitation technologies.

Importantly, these require stringent oversight mechanisms to ensure only good-quality products with realistic maintenance schedules and procedures are delivered to recipient communities. This is particularly important given that oversight is essential to achieving much-needed acceptance of these technologies.

As to whether or not the widespread use of such technologies will take root in cities, that’s another matter. Wealthy South Africans can afford to see themselves as eco-warriors, but whether that will eventuate in a more widespread acceptance of dry sanitation in urban areas remains to be seen.

One thing’s for sure; if these alternate technologies do take off in cities, then that’s so much the better for the country as a whole.

jul/aug jul/aug2016 2016

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wastewater management

Retrofit rules

R

South Africa’s wastewater treatment plants are in a sad state, with some members of the water sector community fearing serious health and hygiene issues. Retrofitting existing plants presents a fast, effective way to maintain standards while reducing expenses. By Frances Ringwood

etrofitting provides a useful alternative to plant upgrades, both for the long term and in interim situations where sewage treatment plants (STPs) need to maintain standards until funds can be recovered for intensive civil-construction-based solutions.

Some of the more common avenues for retrofitting include the installation of membrane bioreactors (MBRs), making physical changes to bio media and the introduction of other unique, proprietary

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Please provide caption for image above

technologies. The above methods promise a plant footprint reduction of a certain percentage, and increase plant capacity to treat more megalitres per day. Many of these methods are established overseas in places like England and Germany, but are still taking root in South Africa.

However, local operators and buyers are going to need to overcome their fear of the new if South Africa is to counteract its existing wastewater treatment issues.

The need Government’s most recent Green Drop report, detailing the effectiveness of wastewater treatment throughout the country, has not yet been released. Previous oversight reports revealed broad problems with a number of municipal STPs, and South Africans living near rivers these feeds run into will know that the odour and general environmental health of these facilities is unsustainable. One anonymous commentator recently told Water&Sanitation Africa: “You

When river health suffers, riverside communities’ health is affected negatively

can tell when there have been high flow rates at the local works because the fish jump out of the water.” The same source also alleged that independent tests showed high chemical oxygen demand (COD) in local river water. High levels of COD often correlate with threats to human health, including toxic algal blooms and bacteria from organic waste.

Similar stories are told throughout the country, particularly among farming communities that rely on river water to irrigate crops.

Enter retrofitting Retrofitting is not just a Band-Aid; the group of technologies used for these processes is truly incredible. It goes beyond buying time for upgrades to

LEFT Discharge into national river systems will be of an increasingly poor quality unless smart solutions are identified to upgrade existing WWTWs

Retrofitting technology can be so effective that it sometimes completely negates the need for planned upgrades create much more efficient, functional wastewater treatment facilities. In some cases, retrofitting technology can be so effective that it can completely negate the need for planned upgrades Enhanced sludge efficiency One example of a cutting-edge technology used in South Africa is the HYBACS system, available locally from Headstream Water Solutions. HYBACS was developed by London-based Bluewater Bio. “HYBACS is a niche product, particularly in the South African environment where we have so many overloaded plants, which makes it a perfect fit for what’s needed in the country at this time.

The cost-effectiveness, the speed of implementation, the efficiency of the process – everything is playing towards HYBACS. “By upgrading on your existing infrastructure, you’re capitalising on your existing spend and, as a result, you can as much as double a plant’s original design capacity, in some cases.

So, instead of building a new plant, you upgrade at a fraction of the cost,” explains Steven Pickering, principal engineer, Headstream. The technology is currently be rolled out at an Ekurhuleni-based plant, upgrading a 10 Mℓ/day plant to a 20 Mℓ/day plant. “ Conclusion Solutions such as the one outlined are essential for reducing the pollution in South Africa’s rivers, while simultaneously providing a method for municipalities to maintain the quality of their wastewater output. Given enough time, it is hoped that retrofit projects will become the norm rather than the exception.

Reducing capex and prolonging the lifespan of plant infrastructure provide municipalities with the opportunity to reallocate funds to other plants where the need for enhanced capacity has reached critical levels.

JUL/AUG 2016

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WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Next-level

membrane technology The biggest breakthrough in the development of membrane technology in the last 25 years is now available in South Africa. By Frances Ringwood

I

n the middle of this year, specialist water purification equipment supply company Aqua Resources SA gained sole distributorship rights for LG Water Solutions’ incredible new reverse osmosis (RO) product range.

What makes this product range unique is that it features thin-film nanocomposite membrane technology, developed by Los Angeles-based company NanoH2O, designed to be between 50% and 100% more permeable than other existing polymer technology.

According to Susan Cole, managing director, Aqua Resources, the membranes’ increased permeability results in the following benefits: “NanoH2O membranes offer best-in-class salt rejection, the highest boron rejection in the saltwater RO market, and lower energy consumption.”

Moreover, the membranes are Standard 61 and 58 NSF-rated, making them 100% safe for use in potable water production.

Leading technology NanoH2O’s membrane breakthrough proved to be so convincing that the company was bought voetstoots

by LG Chem back in May 2014. Since then, LG Chem has used the technology as a basis to expand its product portfolio to include high-rejection brackish water RO (BWRO) membranes, anti-fouling BWRO and residential RO membranes. LG Chem’s

Nanocomposite membrane technology

acquisition of NanoH2O was the company’s first big move into the commercial water treatment market. However, LG Chem had been assaying the market since 2007 with its own independently developed sea- and brackish water membranes. “The company was already known for its established expertise in the thinfilm coating technology,” explains Udo Kolbe, sales director: Europe and Africa, LG Water Solutions.

“The new membranes are specially designed to cater for a number of RO applications, including microelectronics, industrial process water, seawater desalination, mining applications, as well as municipal water and wastewater treatment, and residential point-of-use water treatment,” he adds.

Growing popularity Since 2014, the new NanoH2O membrane has been used at dozens of sites the world over, with the latest being in Oman, on the Arabian Peninsula, at an installation that was officially announced by the Sohar SWRO Company in June this year. For the Oman desalination plant, high-rejection NanoH2O seawater RO membranes were specified. Producing 250 million litres of water per day, the plant will have the capacity to serve about 800 000 local Omani residents.

The plant was designed by Valoriza Agua, one of the leading water technology companies in Spain. “We are extremely honoured to have been chosen by Valoriza

Pressure vessels containing LG Chem’s new membranes

Agua, a leader in desalination, as the membrane supplier for the Oman plant,” commented Chul Nam, vice-president, LG Chem, on hearing of the specification of his company’s membranes. “This is a significant project for LG Chem and it is a true testament to the hard work and effort of our sales and operations teams to deliver the highest-quality membrane products worldwide,” he added.

Conclusion Membrane technology is a highly specialist, site-driven sub-field within the water treatment discipline. For this reason, it’s a challenging field to innovate in, yet innovations have been achieved.

The upshots for users of the new technology are lower energy consumption for plants, increased production capacity and water quality, and a reduction in the number of RO elements needed.

South Africans often feel that leading technology developed elsewhere takes a long time to filter through to the local market, but that has not been the case with NanoH2O’s membrane technology.

LG Chem immediately recognised the market understanding and expertise offered through Aqua Resources and felt comfortable in the knowledge that its breakthrough technology was in the right hands to be rolled out expertly on sub-Saharan African projects – ultimately ensuring that these developing markets will enjoy access to world-leading, cost-saving water treatment technologies. jul/aug 2016

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WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Is reuse the answer?

South Africa’s water crisis demands creative thinking and problem solving to find the best solutions, and soon. Industrial water treatment has an important role to play if reuse scenarios are to succeed. By Herman Smit*

D

iminishing water supplies, population growth, intensification of industry and severe drought are all factors that contribute to wastewater reuse as a large part of the answer to the water crisis in South Africa. Using the right technologies, direct potable reuse can provide the answer.

In some cases, private industries will engage in an agreement with their local municipality; they treat their effluent and, in return, sell Sanas-compliant water back to the municipality to supply its constituents. This saves both parties money while ensuring sustainable supply for local communities living near the industrial facility – which could be a mine, a steel smelter or a pharmaceuticals manufacturer, for example.

However, these kinds of industries may produce fairly intractable pollutants. For this reason, it’s important to know the full picture regarding the treatmenttechnology cycle before embarking on such an undertaking – starting with the relative benefits of direct and indirect use.

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Indirect reuse Indirect potable reuse (IPR) is the reclamation and treatment of water from wastewater (usually sewage effluent) and the eventual returning of it to the natural water cycle well upstream of the drinking water treatment plant.

The point of return could either be into a major water supply reservoir, a stream feeding a reservoir, or into a water supply aquifer where natural processes of filtration and dilution of the water aim to reduce any real or perceived risks associated with eventual potable reuse. The practical distinction with potable reuse relates to the temporal and spatial separation between wastewater treatment, the environment and consumption. Existing planned indirect reuse schemes generally incorporate extensive separation to minimise health concerns and public opposition.

IPR can also happen unknowingly when wastewater enters the natural water system (creeks, rivers, lakes, aquifers) and is eventually extracted from the natural system for drinking water.

Direct reuse Direct potable reuse (DPR) can be defined as either the ejection of recycled water directly into the potable water supply distribution system downstream of the water treatment plant, or into the raw water supply immediately upstream of the water treatment plant. Ejection could either be into a service reservoir or directly into a water pipeline.

Therefore, the water used by consumers could be either undiluted or slightly diluted recycled water. In this definition, the key distinction of IPR is that there is no temporal or spatial separation between the recycled water’s introduction and its distribution to consumers.

Public perception of the acceptable extent of separation required for reuse to become indirect dictated the original definition. Some people are of the opinion that direct reuse should be

Direct potable reuse: Industrial water producers can contribute towards greater water and environmental sustainability

WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

TABLE 1 Treatment methodolgies depend on what contaminant needs removal

Contaminant

Treatment

Suspended solids

Sand filters

Microbiological

Ultrafiltration

Inorganic salts

Reverse osmosis

Microorganics

Granular activated carbon and advanced oxidation process

Disinfection by-products

Granular activated carbon

limited to industrial and agricultural purposes. With continued water shortages and municipalities’ increased efforts and expenses in a struggle to upgrade their water treatment facilities to meet the non-stop demand for water, it makes more sense to treat the water even further at the same plant for potable use than to dump the water back into the rivers and extract it again later downstream at another plant.

Direct reuse greatly reduces operating costs, conserves energy usage and creates a smaller carbon footprint. Water supplies derived from ground- or surface water like rivers – which normally act as an environmental buffer for treated wastewater – are the primary source of indirect wastewater reuse.

Technology for DPR In the area of wastewater reuse, advanced technologies are used to provide a multibarrier approach to achieve the logarithmic (Log) removal required for the specified contamination. Typical technologies used are ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, ozone, biological activated carbon, granular activated carbon and ultraviolet light.

Different contaminants The main contaminants can be described as follows: • Suspended solids – macro filtration in the order of 10 µm to 40 µm for removal of the bigger particles, typical gravity sand filters or disc filters are used for this purpose.

• Microbiological – includes viruses, bacteria and protozoa.

• Inorganic salts – this term includes the whole spectrum of dissolved inorganic solids like sodium and calcium.

• Metals – the most common metal would be iron.

• Microorganics – this group includes contaminants like pesticides, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors.

• Disinfection by-products – mostly

formed by the reaction of a disinfectant with organics present in the water. Trihalomethanes are also environmental pollutants, and many are considered carcinogenic.

Treatment options Each contaminant group is targeted with a different technology or a series of technologies to achieve the removal rating required. In Table 1, contaminants are linked to the treatment to explain the multibarrier approach used in reuse applications.

Municipal reuse The above scenarios represent the case for industrial reuse. But what about the core technology for municipal reuse projects? When evaluating the main contaminants and trying to understand the most critical component of a reuse process, ultrafiltration plays an important role in the removal of the microbiological contamination.

The viruses, bacteria and protozoa present immediate health risks that need to be addressed as a priority. In any treatment process, ultrafiltration will ensure the removal of the microbiological contamination as well as finer suspended solids to ensure acceptable water quality standards.

Conclusion Usually, when water professionals talk about DPR, it is assumed to apply to municipal environments. But, when the right technology is used in a multibarrier approach, there’s no reason that industrial effluent producers can’t enjoy the same cost-saving benefits, lower environmental footprint and enhanced risk management – in terms of environmental legislation and corporate good faith. *H erman Smit is the owner and MD of Quality Filtration Systems.

Minimum requirements for an ultrafiltration membrane filtration system: 1

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F iltration membranes must have a nominal pore size not greater than 0.1 µm.

Membrane material must be polyvinylidene fluoride and both membrane material and module components must be chlorine resistant.

Membrane material and module components must have cer tification from the international public health and safety third-par ty cer tification organisation, the NSF. Filtration must be ef fected from outside to inside of the hollowfibre membranes.

All sequences must be fully automated and suitable for unattended operation, including, but not limited to, backwash, maintenance wash, membrane integrity monitoring and clean-in-place sequences.

The membrane system must include a membrane integrity test that is capable of demonstrating that the membrane system is achieving a minimum of 4 Log removal of par ticles <3 µm.

QFS’s current reuse projects and the reason behind them Each reuse project is unique, as the final use of the water varies.

The different reuse projects QFS is delivering in 2016/2017 are proof of this statement.

Project 1 Driver: Insufficient potable water available – direct potable reuse Volumes: 3 megalitres per day (Mℓ/d) Technologies: Sand filtration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis Water use: Potable

Project 2 Driver: Supplement potable water available – indirect potable reuse Volumes: 2 Mℓ/d Technologies: Sand filtration, ultrafiltration and activated carbon Water use: Potable Project 3 Driver: Potable water replacement Volumes: 2 Mℓ/d Technologies: Sand filtration, ultrafiltration and activated carbon Water use: Irrigation

jul/aug 2016

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dams & reservoirs

Midmar goes the extra mile

T

he Mooi-Mgeni Transfer Scheme (MMTS) has been a continually evolving project since the 1980s, constantly meeting new supply challenges in the economic heartland of KwaZulu-Natal.

The latest completed step of a project that has been so crucial to the province’s socio-economic development is a new water transfer system (WTS), which has been delivering water since the start of the project trial phase in February 2016, and which has now been commissioned .

The trial phase was a contractual arrangement to ensure that the components are tested in accordance with all project specifications and that they meet the necessary compliance requirements, except the new sleeve valves at the Mpofana outfall. Once all criteria have been satisfied, the implementing agent

Following the completion of the Spring Grove Dam in 2014, the MooiMgeni Phase 2 Transfer Scheme was completed in June 2016, and is already supplying the Midmar Dam with much needed water for the Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas.

By Frances Ringwood

Kevin James, project director, AECOM SA

– Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) – will be able to take over the project and hand over the operation of the works to Umgeni Water.

“The WTS is the second crucial stage of the overall MMTS Phase 2 (MMTS-2) project and transfers raw water from the Spring Grove Dam (SDG) to the Umgeni River catchment area, which augments water supply to the Midmar Dam. The maximum transfer capacity of the new MMTS-2 is designed for 4.5 m³/s – determined as the maximum allowable flow in Mpofana River, which receives the water,” explains Kevin James, project director, AECOM SA – the company responsible for the design and construction monitoring of the WTS. Project

Reinforced concrete structure for the pump station

jul/aug 2016

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dams & reservoirs

Trenchless pipe jacking beneath a provincial road. The Umgeni Water DN650 rising main is on the left and the MMTS-2 DN1600 rising main is on the right

components include: a new pump station at Spring Grove Dam, bulk raw water rising main, a new break pressure tank, a bulk raw water gravity main, a weir at Mpofana.

Pump station specifics “The pump station is situated about 250 m from the SGD and the total maximum head of the MMTS-2 pumps is 68 m. It consists of two pumping systems, which are: three (two duty, one standby) 2 060 kW, 6.6 kV MMTS-2 pumpsets, which can transfer the maximum flow of 4.5 m3/s to the break pressure tank at Gowrie, and two 132 kW, 400 V Umgeni Water pumpsets (one duty, one standby).

The Umgeni water pumpsets will transfer 20 Mℓ/day of raw water to the new Umgeni Water Treatment Works (still to be constructed). Space was provided for a third and fourth pump so that the system can transfer a total of 60 Mℓ/day,” explains James. “The MMTS-2 pumps operate between a minimum flowrate of

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JUL/AUG 2016

1.3 m3/s from a single pump to augment the flow from Mearns Pump Station to the maximum of 4.5 m3/s (which is the maximum flow that the stream between Mpofana outlet and Midmar Dam can convey).

These duties, with a variety of heads as the level of SGD varies, could only be achieved economically with the use of variable-speed drives. Various options, such as a number of smaller pumps, were considered,” he adds.

The MMTS-2 pumps are KSB RDLO horizontal-split-casing pumps, which were manufactured and successfully tested by KSB in Halle, Germany. The eight-pole, liquid-cooled electric motors were locally manufactured by Actom. “The pumpsets can operate at a maximum speed of 746 rpm. The minimum Nett Positive Suction Head (NPSH) available to the pumps is 12.5 m with SGD at lowest drawdown level, leaving a very safe margin above the pumps’ critical NPSH requirement of 7.3 m at the maximum flow required,” says James.

Construction challenges Part of what makes the WTS such a fascinating project are the different engineering and design disciplines it brought together to overcome challenges and find solutions. For example, the trenchless technology of pipe jacking

was successfully carried out at two locations on the pipeline route. “The first successful pipe jacking was through soft material under the P147 road through Gowrie village, linking the N3 to the R103 at Nottingham Road.

The second, more complicated pipe jacking, was carried out under the R103 and the main railway between Johannesburg and Durban, which was completed without disrupting either service.

“The pipe jack under the R103 and the double track railway line consisted of two parallel jacks, of 2 250 mm and 1 117 mm ID, respectively.

It was completed under the two servitudes with an open-cut-and-fill process between the two.

The total length of pipe jacking and cut and fill was 72 m. “The contractor had to deal with a higher-level jack under the R103 and a deeper jack under the railway line, while contending with shallow rock conditions. Specialist subcontractors were secured to attend to the geotechnical conditions and provide for safe jacking during construction,” explains James.

Social and environmental component As with all modern projects, social and environmental performance was a core part of the MMTS-2 WTS from start to finish.

The project proactively addressed both the mitigation of social impacts for affected landowners, and the need for social responsibility within, and for, the wider community. “The MMTS-2 pipeline mostly traverses privately owned farmland.

Despite most of the pipeline running within an existing servitude, there were objections from landowners; however,

Pipe laying, with construction activities restricted to a temporary servitude corridor

Project summary The WTS comprises: A 5.8 MW pump station that abstracts water from the SGD, delivering a maximum flow of 4.5 m3/s against a pumping head of 68 m. The pumps are provided with speed control to enable operation at various duty points.

A new 6.5 km long, 1 600 mm nominal diameter continuously welded steel raw water rising main from the SGD pump station to the Gowrie break-pressure tank (BPT) located in Nottingham Road.

A new 10 m high, 825 m³ BPT in place of the old, smaller BPT that was demolished. The new tank is located on top of the watershed boundary.

A new 8.2 km long, 1 400 mm/900 mm nominal diameter, continuously welded steel raw water gravity main from the Gowrie BPT to the Mpofana River outfall works. The static head of the gravity main is 222 m. The outfall works discharges into the Mpofana River.

A new flow-gauging weir located within the Mpofana River, downstream of the outfall works.

A new 8.3 km, 650 mm nominal diameter, continuously welded steel potable water pipeline for Umgeni Water, constructed in parallel with the new 1 600 mm nominal diameter raw water rising main.

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The MMTS-2 WTS includes a 5.8 MW pump station taking water from Spring Grove Dam

equitable solutions were found, and impacts were positively mitigated. Throughout the design and construction phases, issues raised by landowners were considered and included in a critical balance between functional design and cost-effective construction.

“During construction, disruption and impacts were mostly short term, but all efforts were made to control vehicle speeds, noise and dust, and the team always engaged respectfully with the community,” explains James. To compensate a local community for the inconvenience experienced during construction, beyond short-term job creation, the project upgraded its sports facilities and has also committed to recycling some of the site offices into village sports wash- and change rooms, a kitchen and eating area for a local secondary school, and a crèche for a local informal housing settlement.

These partnerships and relationships were cultivated to ensure that the project leaves a positive legacy. “The local economy also boomed during the project, with the supporting industries rising to meet demand for the provision of materials and accommodation, and the supply of local artisans. While the landscape may have changed permanently, there has been overwhelming support for the project from the general public,” adds James. ▶ jul/aug 2016

37

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dams & reservoirs

Project team Project developer and ultimate owner: DWS Implementing agent: TCTA Operator: TCTA Design, monitoring and construction consultant: AECOM SA Construction contractor: WBHO Social development consultant: Nomad Consulting Environmental management consultant: ILISO Consulting Third-party inspection: Pipetech Cathodic protection: PPT

A new 1 600 mm nominal diameter welded steel raw water rising main extends 6.5 km from Spring Grove Dam to the Gowrie break-pressure tank

Drought mitigation The timely completion of the project has given the flexibility in supplying much needed water into the Mgeni River system to alleviate the water shortages due to the current drought.

Phase 1 background The then Department of Water Affairs (DWA, now DWS) originally implemented the MMTS WTS as an emergency solution to the droughts of 1983. At that time, the Mearns Weir had virtually no storage and the scheme was, therefore, essentially a run-of-river scheme that could only transfer water when there was sufficient flow in either the Mooi or Little Mooi rivers, or both.

In 2003, the scheme was upgraded as the Mearns Weir was raised to create sufficient storage to allow continuous abstraction using the existing 3.2 m3/s pump installation. This upgraded scheme, together with the raising of Midmar Dam in 2003, is now known as the MMTS Phase 1 (MMTS-1).

Since 2003, the Mgeni system has been unable to adequately meet domestic and industrial water requirements in the downstream Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas, and the exceptional growth in water use in recent years, as shown in Figure 1, has worsened the situation, despite the implementation of water conservation and demand measures.

The assurance of supply from the existing water resources of the Mgeni system has dropped, highlighting the urgent need for a fast-track solution to augment the system and stave off the negative impacts on the regional economy. By 2008, water demand in the Mgeni system was rising faster than anticipated and augmentation of the water supply was urgent.

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JUL/AUG 2016

dams & reservoirs

Phase 2 background The TCTA received a directive from the Minister of Water Affairs in 2007 to fund and implement the MMTS-2. In terms of the directive, TCTA would enter into an implementation agreement with the DWS to undertake the funding and implementation of the MMTS-2; the DWS would enter into a raw water supply agreement with Umgeni Water, and Umgeni Water would enter into off-take agreements with three municipalities that would be the primary water users from the MMTS-2. The Mgeni system (the Midmar, Albert Falls, Nagle and Inanda dams in KwaZulu-Natal, and the transfer scheme from the Mooi River) supplies domestic and industrial water to about five million people and industries in the Durban and Pietermaritzburg regions. The Mgeni system (the four dams and the MMTS-1) had a yield of 334 million m3/annum at a 98% assurance of supply. The SDG augments the yield of the Mgeni system by 60 million m3/annum, raising the Mgeni system’s yield to 394 million m3/annum, at a 99% assurance of supply.

Conclusion The new WTS required design and engineering expertise across multiple fields in order to overcome site challenges.

Optimum solutions were found in a timely fashion, which allowed the DWS the flexibility to mitigate the effects of current drought conditions for the

figure 1 The Mgeni system supplies domestic and industrial water to about five million people

socio-economic benefit of Durban and Pietermaritzburg residents. The completion of this project could not have come at a more opportune time, given the drought caused by El Niño-inflicted weather conditions in the area. Not only has the MMTS-2 WTS assured stable supply – bolstering livelihoods and preserving community health – it has also been a source of local job creation and fostered much needed economic upliftment around the project development site.

Pipe jacking launching pit

jul/aug 2016

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dams & reservoirs

Drought-proofing solution Quinton Coetzee, director: Marketing and Development, Rainbow Reservoirs, tells Water&Sanitation Africa more about the company’s purpose-built solution for staving off water shortages caused by drought.

What water storage solutions do you offer and which of these do you recommend for ensuring sustainable water supply during periods of extended drought?

QC Rainbow Reservoirs manufactures and installs Zincalume steel, bolted-panel, bulk water storage tanks ranging in capacity from 9 000 litres to 2.5 million litres. Our tanks are fitted with freespan dome roofs. Heavy-duty, potability-certified liners prevent water from coming into contact with the steel. We also supply open-top tanks.

What makes these products ideal for water storage in harsh conditions?

Zincalume is highly corrosion-resistant, thermal-efficient, hot-dipped 55% zinc-aluminium-alloy-coated steel with excellent yield and tensile strength properties. All the components of each tank unit are corrosion resistant. This, coupled with the strength profiles rolled into each steel panel component, enable our tough, durable products to withstand the harshest environments throughout Africa and beyond.

What makes your products stand out from other, similar water storage solutions?

Value for money, rapid on-site construction (even in the remotest areas) and immediate commissioning after completion

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JUL/AUG 2016

are huge advantages. Moreover, our modular, flat-pack configuration facilitates easy transport and also allows for installed tanks to be relocated.

Also, sealed units prevent the ingress of light, preventing contamination from algae, dust or insects. This makes Rainbow Reservoirs tanks a preferred choice in applications such as mining, industry, agriculture, community, food and beverage, firefighting, or wastewater and raw water containment.

Are you involved in any distribution partnerships or other supportive networks that provide your company a market advantage that translates to your clients?

Rainbow Reservoirs has an agency network within South Africa and throughout the African continent. We are, however, always keen to engage with entrepreneurs that fit our agency profile.

How are these advantages translated to your clients?

Localised agents have in-depth

ABOVE Quinton Coetzee: director: Marketing and Development, Rainbow Reservoirs

Tanks such as the above are becoming increasingly popular for industrial installations as a way to enhance business sustainability

knowledge of their regions, a strategic base near their customers and are able to provide personalised service. This translates into the accurate assessment of customers’ needs, rapid delivery and an on-the-ground ability to provide expertise, after-sales service and follow-up.

Can you provide a brief description of a case study where one of your products secured water supply quickly for a community or industrial client?

A major tropical fruit exporter requested our urgent assistance after its water storage facility had burst during a period of peak production. We mobilised immediately, installed a 500 000 litre tank and got the operation up-and-running again within three days.

On another occasion, we came to the rescue of a feedlot operation faced with a dire water emergency – Rainbow Reservoirs installed a 280 000 litre tank in one day! These customers were both thankful and amazed.

trenchless technology

Gearing up

No-Dig International event, the local conference will be incorporated into the 2018 international event.

In January this year, the South African Society for Trenchless Technology announced winning the bid to host the International Society for Trenchless Technology’s No-Dig International Conference.

SASTT vice-president Sam Efrat and board member Alaster Goyns share what lies ahead.

Selection process Each year, at the annual board meeting of the ISTT board, there is fierce competition from various countries vying to host the international conference and exhibition. This meeting is customarily held on the Sunday before the start of that year’s No-Dig International Conference and Exhibition.

Up to 27 worldwide affiliated member societies are represented at the board meeting, in addition to the executive committee members of the ISTT. Potential host countries first need to nominate their society’s intention to bid four years ahead of time. Thereafter, they are called upon to present their bids three years in advance.

for No-Dig

A

t the most recent 33rd annual No-Dig International Conference and Exhibition, held in Istanbul, Turkey, presentations were made to host the 2018 event by FiSTT (Finnish Society bidding for Helsinki), RoSTT (Romanian Society bidding for Bucharest) and SASTT (South African Society bidding for Cape Town). Following a hotly contested bid, the ISTT (International Society) board selected SASTT to host the 2018 No-Dig International in Cape Town.

The event is to be held over a three-day period, from 17 to 19 September 2018, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The CTICC was chosen as it is the most popular convention centre in South Africa, as well as being the premium destination for international tourism. It is expected that the event will attract as many as 1 000 local and international visitors from as many as 50 countries. In addition to the exhibition and conference, additional highlights of the event will include the Chairman’s Dinner, Opening Event, Gala Dinner, Partners’ Excursions in and around Cape Town, and various entertainment and festivities during the event.The Westrade Group has also been confirmed 1

as the professional conference organiser for South Africa in 2018. Westrade’s experience in organising No-Dig International events is second to none. Having organised the very first No-Dig International in 1985 in London, the Westrade Group has subsequently gained worldwide experience organising nearly 100 trenchless events in many overseas locations, including South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

South Africa’s local No-Dig South Africa (NDSA) event is usually held every two to three years, and was due to be held in 2017. However, in preparation for the

1 A horizontal directional drilling project reducing disruptions beneath a busy motorway 2 I nternational Society for Trenchless Technology award-winning spiral wound project (2012) 3 S ewer blockage detected using CCTV camera technology 4 B utt-welding in progress at the Parktown reservoir in the Johannesburg northern suburbs 5 Sewer sliplining in Pentz Drive, Cape Town 6 C ape Town cure-in-place pipe undergoing ultraviolet light treatment

2

Past No-Digs SASTT, in conjunction with ISTT, has previously hosted two NDSA events – NDSA 2011 and NDSA 2014. Both events were held over a two-day period at the CSIR International Convention Centre in the City of Tshwane, and attracted a large number of local and international exhibitors and delegates.

The events comprised an exhibition that was complemented by a conference programme incorporating the ISTT Trenchless Masterclass – led by international experts Dr Sam Ariaratnam and Dr Dec Downey, both former presidents of the ISTT. Local and international speakers participated in these events, providing case study presentations.

Delegates afterwards commented they’d found these platforms ideal for learning, debating, sharing knowledge, benchmarking, and networking with like-minded industry colleagues. A certificate of attendance was provided to all conference delegates and South African professional delegates received Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.

Past exhibitions Visitors to NDSA 2011 and 2014 were provided with a “one-stop-shop” exhibition of the highest quality, where they could 3

jul/aug 2016

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trenchless technology

4

5

examine and evaluate a wide range of equipment and services demonstrating trenchless technology and its capabilities.

Among the displays were horizontal directional drilling rigs, pipe rammers, moling and pipe bursting systems, CCTV pipe inspection and surveying systems, pipes of various materials and function, innovative pipe lining methods and materials, pipeline cleaning and location equipment, and consulting services.

• obtaining validation of these events so that attendees will be credited with CPD points • arranging promotional events in the country’s seven metros and other provincial capitals as well as through the various professional bodies that represent the construction industry • maintaining contact with attendees to ensure that they are aware of future events.

No-Dig 2018 A working group of SASTT board members has been formed to put together a promotional effort that has the twofold purpose of ensuring that relevant persons are aware of No-Dig SA and will attend, and to create an awareness of what TT can do and the techniques available locally.

Detailed activities include: • identifying key decision-makers in the municipal and water authorities • preparing a series of mini seminars (half day) and breakfast seminars that will cover TT in general and certain topics, which will be stand-alone events; in addition, looking for opportunities to piggyback on events arranged by other organisations. To date, generic presentations have already been prepared and delivered on six occasions through other infrastructure events • gathering or producing literature to support the presentations

Long-term benefits The fact that the services in urban areas previously only provided for about 20% of the population has been compounded by the fact that about 65% of the populace is now urbanised, and this figure is rapidly growing.

This is exacerbated by the fact that urbanisation has generally taken place through densification. As a result, there is a serious backlog in service provision. Under these circumstances, the services needed can’t be effectively installed using traditional open-cut methods.

Additionally, South Africa’s brain drain in recent years hit the engineering sector particularly hard. Due to the current skills shortage and lack of hands-on experience, there is a dearth of decision-makers that understand the benefits of TT for both rehabilitating existing services and installing new services. Events such as No-Dig

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6

fulfil an important need by bridging the knowledge gap. A typical example is the use of pipe bursting to upsize existing reticulation systems, where upsizing a sewer to double its diameter increases its capacity by more than six times. Sewers that are rehabilitated and upsized using this technique not only provide additional capacity, but will provide a service that will probably last at least twice as long as the original sewer.

In addition to the technical advantages of using these techniques, it is not realised that, in many situations, the number of people employed using trenchless techniques on a project would be the same as would be employed using open-cut methods on the project. This comes with the added advantage that the costs may actually be lower and the environmental and social disruption would be minimal.

Awareness raised by hosting No-Dig 2018 in South Africa will result in far more decision-makers considering and using TT for installing new and rehabilitating existing services, which would speed up the elimination of service backlogs.

This will grow the trenchless market locally, which could potentially be 7 to 10 times its current size. It would do this by building up the skills within the trenchless industry and, at the same time, providing sustainable employment opportunities.

JUL/AUG 2016

Trenchless Technology Specialist

Our range of services include: • Pipe Bursting • Horizontal Directional Drilling • Pipe Rehabilitation

• Pipe Ramming • CCTV Inspection • Dewatering

• HDPE Welding • Deep Excavation and Shoring • Underground Service Detection

• Slip Lining

• Industrial Pipe Cleaning

• Close-fit lining: COMPACT PIPE

For more information you can contact us: +27 (0)21 761 3474 F +27 (0)21 797 1151 E info@tt-innovations.co.za www.tt-innovations.co.za

Trenchless Technology

Award-winning trenchless tech

M

embers of the Southern African Society for Trenchless Technology (SASTT) once again competed for the coveted Joop van Wamelen Award of Excellence by nominating their best projects. The PRASA Park Station Sewer and Stormwater Upgrade was selected as the winning project for 2015, at SASTT’s 25th AGM held at Johannesburg Water’s Zandfontein Depot earlier this year.

Consulting engineering firm SMEC South Africa, in partnership with contractor Trenchless Technologies, showcased some groundbreaking work while completing

the R37 million project on behalf of client PRASA Corporate Real Estate Solutions.

Horizontal thinking

Conventional trenching techniques were not an option, as the line that had to be replaced ran underneath the railway lines at Park Station. For this reason, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) was selected as a solution. HDD was used to drill a new 250 mm HDPE pipeline diagonally underneath the train tracks at Park Station in order to connect existing manholes with the new main-line manhole constructed on platforms PF11 and PF12. A new 250

The proud winners of the SASTT Joop van Wamelen Award

mm HDPE line was also drilled from the new manhole on PF11 to PF12 to the municipal connection manhole under Harrison Avenue Bridge. All sewage flowing from the aboveground shopping outlets and toilets between PF1 and PF10 is now collected by four 110 mm diameter uPVC pipelines, supported by a service tray for easy access and visible inspection.

Four 110 mm uPVC pipelines drop vertically and offload sewage into platform manholes, as well as a new manhole constructed on PF9 to PF10. Easy accessibility was prioritised to ensure effective future maintenance. jul/aug 2016

+27 (0)86 006 6344 info@trenchless.co.za www.trenchless.co.za

43

RPM is a three layer co-extruded pipe with outer and inner layers of advance PE100-RC polymer and a

Trenchless Technology

Pipe solutions,

not pipe dreams One of the main problems in South Africa’s water pipelines is that our old infrastructure has been put under pressure through urbanisation and can no longer cope with demand. Trenchless technologies offer an ideal solution.

M

aintaining pipelines is a focus point that should always be carried out as a routine; unfortunately, due to a lack of funding and other related issues, this has been neglected. This not only causes a loss in revenue, but also a loss of our most precious resource, water. The rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, however, should always have 25 to 50 years of life in mind when done. Demand and pressure on water infrastructure will always increase.

Another focus point should be the proper management of the rehabilitated assets.

Pipe cracking and bursting

Pipe cracking and bursting is a trenchless rehabilitation technology that is used for the rehabilitation of existing pipe infrastructure.

The basis of the technology is the fact that pipe systems that deliver services can be rehabilitated without the need to open up the ground and excavate trenches to replace existing piping. New pipe cracking technology (with different processes) now allows pipes to be replaced efficiently, and with minimum disruption to existing infrastructure – a definite advantage when considering cost and time.

Given the correct parameters, certain pipe systems can even be upgraded to bigger capacity.

PE100-RC is a specifically developed advanced polymer that resists the effects of notches, scores, scratches, grooves and point loads.

“These types of damage are common when using standard PE100 material for pipe cracking or pipe bursting applications. An additional advantage of RPC pipe is that the pipe can be designed to suit a specific application. The wall thickness of the RC material can be altered and changed to suit different applications and ground conditions.

Additionally, rapid crack propagation and slow crack growth are prevented when using RPC pipe for trenchless re habilitation applications like pipe cracking and bursting,” comments Carl von Graszouw, manager: Pipeline Services, Rare.

The Rare Plastics Division recently launched a product aimed specifically at the pipe cracking market

BELOW Carl von Graszouw, manager: Pipeline Services, The Rare Group

Pipe range

The Rare Group offers a wide range of pipes, with Rare Trading offering a comprehensive range of products, combining steel and plastic pipes, fittings, couplings and valves in a complete package for the contractor or end user.

“All products represented by Rare conform to international or national quality standards. To enhance quality and traceability of products, Rare also offers a cut-to-length, hard-stamping and colour-coding service to the market. Rare’s services also include in-house fabrication of spools, closures and fittings,” concludes Graszouw.

Rare Trading customers are not just limited to the municipal water market and include petrochemical, mining and other engineering industries. The company also boasts major supply contracts with Sasol and other large, local mining groups.

Sasol plant

Market solution

The Rare Plastics Division recently launched a product aimed specifically at the pipe cracking market called the RPC pipe (Rare Plastics’ co-extruded pipe).

RPC is a three-layer co-extruded pipe with outer and inner layers of advanced PE100-RC polymer and a PE100 core.

JUL/AUG 2016

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steel pipes

Stainless steel can save millions in water costs A case study reveals stainless steel’s commercial value for municipal water distribution, improved energy efficiency and reduced water consumption.

M

arket developments in the international stainless steel industry have revealed the high value potential of using stainless steel piping in the service delivery of municipal water that can potentially save millions of rands in leaks and filtration costs as well as see a reduction in the usage of water per capita.

These findings have been revealed as part of a global collaboration between

46

the Southern Africa Stainless Steel Development Association (Sassda), the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) and other stainless steel development associations from around the world at the annual ISSF conference held in Finland recently. A 30-year case study, presented at the forum and documented in both Tokyo and Seoul, shows how stainless steel piping is non-corrosive, features sophisticated corrugated joints, which prevent leakage, and sophisticated

leak detection monitoring systems. John Tarboton, executive director, Sassda, who attended the federation’s conference, comments: “The successes of both the Tokyo and Seoul case studies reveal the opportunity of using stainless steel in water distribution and service pipes in South Africa to reduce maintenance costs and preserve our already strained water resources. “There is a clear case of cost savings both on the treatment of water that is lost through leakage as

JUL/AUG 2016

It’s one of the most corrosive environments imaginable, only one material can tough it out.

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6 – 8 September 2016 CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa Sophisticated leak detection monitoring tools were used to carry out the Tokyo and Seoul case studies

well as water for which municipalities are unable to charge service fees. Since South Africa is a water-scarce country, leak detection and water preservation are vital for our future.

Another factor is that, globally, 4% of electricity generation is used for pumping water. If one can reduce leakage, one can save electricity.”

A 30-year success story

Facing comparative challenges to South Africa’s water recycling, filtration and distribution systems in the 1980s, Tokyo replaced a total of 27 000 km of pipe with non-corrosive stainless steel piping, reducing leakage and losses from 15.4% down to 2.2% in 2013.

Total cost reductions in Tokyo’s water distribution system have now reached the US$480 million mark, with additional CO2 cost reductions in energy required for water recycling and water filtration pumps. The study also confirms that national stainless steel pipe replacements installed 30 years ago show no corrosion relating to chemical components in localised soils, such as chloride concentrates. Similar studies show a total reduction in leakage rates for Seoul of as much as 30%; Vietnam has reduced its leakage rate from 13% down to 7%, and Egypt from 29% down to 15% through the implementation of stainless steel piping.

South African situation

Currently, South Africa uses polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene piping, which have lifespans of about 20 years; a timeline that South Africa is currently facing as it undertakes a manifold service delivery challenge of leak detection and Evolution of service pipes

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steel pipes

the replacement of damaged service water pipes across the nation. The importance of tightening up South Africa’s water supply infrastructure comes into sharp focus when one considers statistics cited in a Timeslive.co.za report last year, which stated that up to 40% of Johannesburg’s water goes unaccounted for annually, costing the city R1.16 billion in the year ending June 30 2015. Of that, about R851 million worth of water was lost to leaks.

Delving into the reasons for these losses, Tarboton says the biggest issue currently causing leakage in municipal water distribution systems is the smaller service pipes, which pump water out from larger distribution pipes into high-density areas such as cities and communities. Leakages in this system are extremely difficult to detect, as leakage rates are typically low and go unnoticed.

A ‘flexible’ alternative

As the Tokyo case study reveals, with the use of corrugated stainless steel piping,

the need for joints in the system is reduced, allowing the corrugated stainless steel pipes to maintain their strength, improve workability and extend the piping systems service life.

Tarboton says; “The implementation costs of stainless steel could also be seen as a cost-saving opportunity, where initial outlay would be recouped through the savings gained in reduced energy costs and streamlined monitoring and billing systems.

If finance companies could see fit to finance the implementation of stainless steel systems based on the savings gained from wasted and unauthorised water usage costs, a return on investment and total project costs could be built into the financing structure and provide a compelling initiative for South Africa’s water distribution services.

“We also have the ability and technology available, here in South Africa, to manufacture the specified stainless steel pipes – something that could be a coup for the manufacturing industry in South

Corrugated steel pipe reduces the need for joints, improving pipe strength and flexibility to extend the service life

Africa, both at an incubator level and as a commercial enterprise. If our municipalities are already investing so heavily in leakage repairs and replacement piping, it makes sense to replace outdated pipe systems with stainless steel.”

Currently, the ISSF is embarking on a global awareness campaign following the success of the Tokyo case study and is on a mission to find the next country willing to grasp this opportunity, which it plans to actively contribute to, market and expose to planning departments. jul/aug 2016

300+ Exhibitors from 12 countries

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produc t news

Building

an earthmoving fleet In the water and sanitation industry, a number of key criteria – based on performance and reliability, rather than succumbing to a single-brand mentality – should form the basis of establishing or replenishing earthmoving fleets for dams, pipelines and other civil structures.

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ather than putting all their eggs in one basket, fleet owners should practise best-of-breed procurement, where the offerings of specialist manufacturers are purposefully weighed into the decision. Some of the world’s highest-rated plant equipment is made by these specialist manufacturers who concentrate their efforts on producing world-beating machines of a certain type, such as excavators, wheel loaders or crushers.

With their entire reputations and livelihoods invested in a single product type, manufacturers like Sumitomo (excavators), Kawasaki (wheel loaders), Dressta (dozers), Powerscreen (processing equipment) and a long list of others work tirelessly on perfecting their offerings.

Hand-picked partners According to Des van Heerden of ELB Equipment, fleet owners who want to simplify procurement through a sole supplier can do so by procuring from an established best-of-breed distributor, such as ELB. Over the past 100 years, the company has grown to become a leading earthmoving equipment supplier with decades-old agreements in place with

Fleet diversification is vital, as a range of vehicles are used in civil construction

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JUL/AUG 2016

a full range of specialist manufacturers.

Rather than concluding agreements with any one, large, multiproduct manufacturer, the company carefully seeks world-leading equipment and concludes distribution agreements with specialist distributors, provided they comply with key criteria regarding product availability, support and the like. As a result, local customers have the benefit of being able to access these best-of-breed machines with the full support of ELB’s entire branch and dealer network, which spans throughout the entire Southern African region.

The company’s hand-picked product offering covers the equipment spectrum for construction, mining and industrial purposes. Brands represented are household names within the relevant industries and are managed by seasoned product specialists who are able to assist fleet owners with selecting the right machines for their specific applications.

Choose right Van Heerden says the top 10 key criteria that fleet owners should measure relate to: • finding a machine that is fit-for-purpose • best available performance in terms of throughputs, among other parameters • superior quality of design and manufacture • professional and trustworthy service from dealer

• supplier’s proven record of support for parts availability and services • cost-effective and easy-tomaintain machines • lowest possible cost per tonne of material handled (overall cost) • proven track record of machine • high book value on the secondhand market • fuel efficiency.

Provided the supplier can satisfy all (or most) of these requirements, the buyer is on the right track to finding a suitable machine. “It simply does not pay to compromise in any of these departments purely to remain loyal to a brand. Also, never let cost price be your guiding light, as one usually gets what they pay for with cheap machines.

“Rather identify your top choices and research what the overall cost of ownership will be in terms of uptime and availability, parts prices, fuel consumption and services (on- or off-site).

Then take the time to get to know the people you are dealing with to see if they are accommodating and efficient and share your goals and business ethics. If so, you have found the perfect match for your fleet,” concludes Van Heerden.

produc t news

Bioremediation takes North End Lake by storm

dissolved metals and minerals now meet the national SANS 241 specifications for drinking water. Algae and bacterial levels have also dropped significantly, although they still remain above the acceptable standards for recreational use, as set by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

The highly effective bioremediation of North End Lake will have it “swimmerready” before the end of the year

T

he organic clean-up of the largest freshwater lake in Port Elizabeth is yielding positive results, with the water body set to be “swimmer-ready” during the course of this year.

Water quality test results from the North End Lake reveal a marked improvement in various critical parameters, suggesting that the tide is finally turning on pollution levels, which have previously made it unsuitable for swimming events as participants would come into direct contact with contaminants.

Bioremediation According to Sarel Bam, director, Rhino Water, whose company was appointed by stadium operator Access Leisure and Facilities Management to conduct the organic clean-up – or bioremediation – of the lake, the toxic blue-green algae, faecal coliforms and E. coli levels dropped substantially between January and March.

The most recent test results from the North End Lake – taken since the bioremediation of the water body began last November – reveal that inorganic materials such as

Process The bioremediation process has involved dosing the lake with an imported proprietary product containing natural bacteria and co-enzymes to effectively lift and digest sludge from the bottom of the lake and remediate the water. “Our dosing regime currently involves spraying 3 400 litres of product into the lake on a weekly basis,” said Bam. Gabions built by consulting engineers Africoast at various water entry points have also helped to contain the inflow of solid waste such as plastic bags. This two-part process was envisaged to work together to enable the holistic remediation of the water body.

jul/aug 2016

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Lower Thukela Scheme update

New, economical pump offering

new control system will automate the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme – one of the largest bulk potable water infrastructure projects in KwaZulu-Natal, constructed in a partnership between Umgeni Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation.

This scheme is situated in the iLembe District. As part of the scheme, a treatment plant will supply 55 Mℓ/day potable water to various towns within the iLembe District.

It was officially commissioned by Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane in March 2016. The control system was supplied by Rockwell Automation, the scope of whose contract included the supply of control and visualisation products for a control system that will automate the abstraction, treatment and distribution processes of the plant.

Located in Mandini, the plant will abstract water from the Thukela River through a low-lift pump station and, following pre-screening for the removal of coarse grit (as well as aquatic life), divert it to a water treatment process that includes filtration, flocculation, clarification, disinfection and sludge dewatering.

new, highly efficient range of submersible motor pumps for handling municipal and industrial wastewater in an efficient and cost-effective manner was recently released to the South African market. The Amarex KRT Amarex KRT submersible from KSB Pumps and Valves takes motor pump its cues from previous models.

KSB engineers have further improved the operating reliability and hydraulic efficiency to get more from the pump. By focusing on the typical operating ranges of wastewater pumping stations, the developers have adjusted the impellers’ free passages not only to comply with the applicable standard, but also to allow the pumps to offer as broad a range of applications as possible.

Available with four different improved impeller types, the submersible motor pumps can achieve a maximum flow rate of 10 080 m³ per hour and a head of 120 m. With 850 kW of power on tap, it offers the highest standard motor power available on the market today.

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JUL/AUG 2016

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HI 83099 COD Meter and Multiparameter Photometer

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HI 921 Auto Sampler Flexible, accurate detection of the titration endpoint with HI902C potentiometric titrator

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Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd (WSSA) is a specialised provider of sustainable water services in Southern Africa