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Gauteng, with a population of at least 13.4 million, is experiencing a strain on basic services such as bulk water supply.
There has been an unprecedented demand for water as migration patterns show that Gauteng continues to attract more people than any other province in the country due to better economic prospects, according to Statistics SA. For the period 2011 – 2016, Gauteng and the Western Cape are estimated to have experienced an inflow of migrants of approximately 1 106 375 and 344 830 respectively.
The demand has forced the Water and Sanitation Department to commission three more water augmentation projects to ensure the province was able to supply its growing population.
Eddie Singo, executive manager of Zuikerbosch (a water treatment plant in the south of Gauteng) said Rand Water is already making preparations to meet the projected water demands of 2030 and beyond by focusing on infrastructure renewal and development.
R3 billion water infrastructure project
Rand Water spokesperson Justice Mohale said the water projects that comprise of the construction of water purification and sedimentation facilities are being built at Zuikerbosch Pumping Station.
Phase 1 of the project, which was launched in May, will provide an additional 600 mega litres per day to the system at a project value of R3 billion. This plant will eventually have a 1200 mega litre per day capacity and is scheduled to be completed and fully operational by 2018-19.
Included in this phase will be additional sedimentation tanks built for water treatment, recovering an additional 100 mega litres per day. The value of this project is R260 million. A sedimentation tank allows suspended particles to settle out of water or wastewater as it flows slowly through the tank, thereby providing some degree of purification.
Another aspect of the project includes the construction of an additional filter house to increase the daily volumes of water that Rand Water purifies. This section is valued at R760 million, said Mohale.
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said water purification projects were set to not only meet the increasing demand of water in Gauteng, but also extend the service to some parts of Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State.
Water conservation programme
According to Singo, Rand Water primarily draws raw water from the Vaal River System. There are two river stations – Zuikerbosch and Vereeniging – that extract, purify and pump into the infrastructure pipe network that supply some 98% of the water to customers.
“About 90% of this water is further pumped by four primary booster stations situated on the southern side of the Witwatersrand ridge,” he explained.
The challenges experienced by the bulk water supplier from these dams is that they are prone to large evaporations due to heat waves which reduces their capacity.
Coupled with prolonged periods of low rainfall or drought, this has prompted Rand Water to engage the public in campaigns aimed at improving water conservation in the country.
To inculcate a culture of water conservation, Singo said Rand Water has been creating public awareness in schools and other public platforms to ensure the public was responsive to the need to value water and to use it sparingly.
- Currently, some 92% of its (Rand Water) water is supplied to municipal customers, for on-supply to domestic, industrial, commercial and other end users. About 75% of supply goes to Gauteng’s top three customers – Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane Metros. Most of the remainder is supplied to mining customers.
- The water is supplied to 58 reservoirs through approximately 3056 km of pipeline. The core product is then delivered in bulk from the reservoirs to Rand Water’s customers: three metropolitan councils; 15 municipalities; the Royal Bafokeng administration; 45 mines and approximately 770 industries and direct customers.
- Currently, Rand Water pumps 4 800 mega litres per day to households, industries and mines.
- The Rand Water Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant (ZWTP) was awarded Blue Drop certification on quality assurance, issued and governed by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The treatment process and its supporting functions are evaluated and audited every two years while the water quality is monitored on a continuous basis.
- Rand Water has adopted the South African National Drinking Water Standard – SANS 241 – which requires that water be tested online every 15 seconds. This is followed by physical sample tests every two hours.
