OVERVIEW Water Bulkwater
OVERVIEW Water Bulkwater schemes are coming on line. The R50-million uMshwathi Bulkwater Scheme was officially inaugurated in November 2020 as part of a broader scheme to improve water supplies across the province. Two new dams will add 800-million litres of water per day to the available supply in KwaZulu-Natal. As part of the lower uMkhomazi scheme, utility Umgeni Water will spend about R26-billion on the Smithfield Dam and R2.4-billion on the Ngwadini Dam. The provincial government has listed some major projects currently in progress: • Lower uMkhomazi Bulkwater Scheme, Umgeni Water, R3-billion, estimated to be completed in 2023 • Cwabeni Project, R1-billion estimate, completion in 2022 • Stephen Dlamini Dam, R1-billion estimate, completion 2023 • uMkhomazi Water Project, R23-billion, once phase two is complete, it will be one of the biggest water transfer schemes in the country A new tender was issued in 2020 for the completion of a 35-megalitre-per-day upgrade of the Darvill Waste-Water Works. The facility receives and treats both domestic and industrial wastewater from the city of Pietermaritzburg. A provincial Water Intervention Plan is being rolled out in hotspots where municipalities are struggling to provide consistent services. The main pipelines of Kokstad and Underberg are receiving upgrades, as are the water supply systems at Bergville, Skhemelele and Moyeni Zwelisha. The area north of the Durban central business district is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in South Africa, with a number of large office and accommodation projects going ahead simultaneously. This is a welcome development for the economy, but the new buildings also create pressure on infrastructure. The multi-year, R250-million Northern Aqueduct Augmentation project was initiated in 2014 and the fifth phase of the project is underway. This will provide water for Durban North, Umhlanga, Newlands, KwaMashu, Phoenix and Cornubia. Umgeni Water currently supplies more than 400m³ of potable water to its six large municipal customers. The company has five dams, 10 waterworks, five water-treatment plants and two wastewater works, including Darvill. ONLINE RESOURCES Mhlathuze Water: www.mhlathuze.co.za National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za Umgeni Water: www.umgeni.co.za Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT The Northern Aqueduct Augmentation project is a massive undertaking. Anaerboic digesters at Darvill Waste-Water Works. Credit: Umgeni Water Large parts of the northern part of the province are served by Mhlathuze Water. The utility has assets valued at more than R3-billion and its area of supply covers 37 000m². New technology has been installed at the Verulam Wastewater Treatment Works of the eThekwini municipality. Murray & Roberts Water and its European technology partner, Organica Water, has installed an environmentally-friendly system that uses 30% less energy and produces 30% less sludge. Richards Bay has installed a 10-container desalination plant next to the municipal water treatment plant at Alkanstrand. The first mobile sea water purification unit in South Africa, it comprises 10 containers and is located adjacent to the water treatment plant at Alkantstrand. It can deliver 10 megalitres of drinking water. ■ KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2022/23 38
The CSIR Water Centre has the capabilities to support the water sector Touching lives through innovation. FOCUS network can be identified and repairs done at the same time. Legally, water incidents should be recorded as part of a Risk Abatement Plan. A Corrective Action Request and Report System (CARRS) application is used for water incident reporting. The Water Centre of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is wellequipped to support agencies and utilities working in the water sector. Some of the problems of water supply and distribution came into sharp focus in the wake of the 2022 floods in KwaZulu-Natal. Pinpointing water infrastructure damage ICT-based Dynamic Hydraulic Models (DHM) with real time/near real time data are used for the optimisation of water distribution networks (faulty pipeline diagnostics). Pressure monitoring and control are used to reduce the amount of non-revenue water due to dilapidated water treatment plant (WTP) infrastructure. Therefore, damages on the distribution Water quality monitoring and treatment A decentralised (mobile) water and wastewater treatment system (WWTS) is used to as an emergency or temporary treatment system directly from source. Water is treated at the source for human use. The CSIR Laboratory has the capability to test water quality as per the drinking water standard (SANS 241). Through this testing procedure, acceptable water quality can be guaranteed. Amadrum is a point-of-use water treatment system which treats raw water to an acceptable drinking quality. The CSIR can prepare comprehensive assessments and monitor water resources over a period of time. Additionally, drinking water pollution incidents which are caused by interruptions in water supply can be addressed. Decentralised wastewater treatment systems Decentralised systems can be used to augment existing WWTSs. Decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) are renowned for low operation and maintenance requirements. They require smaller-scale investment commitments compared to centralised solutions. ■ Contact: Manager, Water Research Centre, Dr Rembu Magoba Email: RMagoba@csir.co.za
