JÜRGEN MENGE’S WATER REUSE STORY

Menge grew up on a farm near Grootfontein, Namibia, and studied at the University of Stellenbosch on a bursary. "I was a 'social academic student' and took six years to complete my Bachelor of Science (BSC) degree – one year for academics, one year for social activities, and so on. I played soccer, took part in mountain climbing and boxing, enjoyed partying, and unfortunately did not whole-heartedly focus on academics. When I applied to do an Honours degree, my lecturer advised that I start to work instead,” states Menge.

Membrane research

Fortunately, during those six years, Menge did part-time work with the then Dr Ron Sanderson, who was involved in membrane research and would later become a well-respected professor in polymer chemistry. At the time, the Water Research Commission (WRC) was developing membrane rigs and focusing on mechanics at the Durban Technical University, while Stellenbosch University was working on the chemistry side doing the membrane research. Ed Jacobs (later Professor Jacobs) was completing his Phd and was working under Dr Sanderson.

“I worked under Ed Jacobs as a student research employee. We had a large research team of 12 and 15 students, who were either undergrads or working on their MSc or Phd. I met some extremely clever people among them and developed a love for research in the membrane field,” adds Menge.

On completion of his degree, Menge took his lecturer’s advice to heart and started to look for a job. “I promised to give a bottle of brandy to the person at Polymer Chemistry who would provide me with a solid job advertisement. This happened within three weeks. I applied for a microbiologist position advertised by the City of Windhoek and was successful. The City of Windhoek employed me for the next 35 years, during which I was promoted from microbiologist to chief scientist.”

First water reclamation plant in the world

Working for the Windhoek Municipality proved to be a positive experience for Menge. Windhoek became the first city in the world to produce drinking water directly from municipal wastewater.

The original Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant in Windhoek was developed by the National Institute for

Jürgen Menge presenting at the WISA 2024 Conference

Water Research (NIWR) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) during the 1960s. The design and operation was based on the results of a pilot plant operated by the NIWR in Windhoek over the period 1964 to 1968 located at the Gammams Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In 1971, the WRC immediately embarked on an ambitious research programme at the Stander Reclamation Demonstration Plant in Pretoria, to expedite the development of the technology of water reclamation and to study the health effects of such water. Successful research was then implemented in Windhoek. In 1976 the Windhoek plant was upgraded and extended.

At the inauguration ceremony Dr Stander, chairman of the WRC, stressed

Surface and groundwater could not sustain Windhoek