INDUSTRY INSIGHT
MAGALIES WATER
EXTENDS ITS FOOTPRINT TO SERVE ALL OF NORTH WEST Headquartered in Rustenburg, Magalies Water is now the North West Province’s sole water board following the recent integration of the previous operations managed by the now disbanded Sedibeng Water entity. IMIESA speaks to Chief Executive, Sandile Mkhize, about the entity’s strategy going forward.
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n addition to being a major agricultural region, North West is a vibrant mining hub for one of the world’s richest platinum group metals deposits, alongside diamond, granite, and limestone operations (the essential ingredient for cement production) – and all central to driving South Africa’s domestic and export economy. These are all highly water-intensive industries, requiring sustained supply. Alongside this is an equally important community priority, especially given that the province has an approximately 80% rural population, not all of whom are currently connected to serviced potable water and waterborne sanitation.
1969, with raw water now sourced from four major dams owned by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). They comprise Bospoort (surface area: 378,8 ha; abstraction source: Hex River), Roodekopjes (surface area: 1 571 ha; abstraction source: Crocodile River), Vaalkop (surface area 1 110.5 ha; abstraction source: Elands River and Hex River) and Roodeplaat (surface area: 403 ha; abstraction source: Pienaars River). All these dams are situated in the North West Province, with the exception of the latter, which is located in Gauteng. Roodeplaat is presently dedicated to supplying the City of Tshwane.
Extended mandate Historical context From a historical perspective, the current trading operation was originally founded in
Following an agreement with Rand Water in 1999, Magalies Water expanded the Vaalkop Water Treatment Works to meet current and future demand within the Rustenburg region. Then in 2003, the Magalies Water board took a strategic decision to explore retail water operations and maintenance (O&M) as part of its secondary obligations. This followed the promulgation of the Municipal Structures Act and Municipal Systems Act. Magalies Water Board’s mandate was further reinforced and extended by Section 29 and Section 30 of the Water Services Act, (Act 108). This enables Magalies Water to provide solutions for all Water Services Authorities (WSA) within its area – for both core and non-core related business activities. In addition to O&M, this includes management services and training, as well as catchment management.
Crocodile West Catchment Water Resource Management Project A prime example of the latter is the Crocodile West Catchment Water Resource Management Project, which includes the Hartbeespoort Dam, where Magalies Water has been appointed by DWS for a 36-month term. Included within the scope is the profiling of the water quality, the removal of invasive vegetation, and the implementation of remediation technologies to restore the dam’s natural water balance. So far, results obtained from the Magalies Water Scientific Services Laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited) have confirmed a wide range of contaminants that include the presence of E. coli, ammonia and orthophosphate. Aside from the environmental threat, these and other pollutants negatively affect the cost of Magalies Water’s downstream treatment costs, especially for its Vaalkop water treatment plant, which is currently the largest in its network, producing some 270 Mℓ daily. However, as Mkhize points out, the issues affecting Hartbeespoort Dam are part of a much broader problem nationally to address rising water pollution concerns within riverine systems.
The way forward
“One of my major focus areas as CE is to smoothly streamline the amalgamation of Magalies Water and Sedibeng Water. Working with the Magalies Water board of directors, proposed and accepted recommendations will shape the future operational strategy,” says Mkhize. “Our objective is to provide quality bulk water, sanitation and other related services to our public and private sector stakeholders using the most efficient fit-for-purpose technological processes. Examples include lower cost chlorine dioxide purification – where applicable – and energy efficient variable speed drive motors for our treatment plants,” says Mkhize. Prior to its dissolution, Sedibeng Water (established in 1979) serviced parts of the North West, Free State and Northern Cape, Sandile Mkhize, Chief Executive, Magalies Water the latter two regions now
12 IMIESA October 2023
