JOYCE Moganedi, Sales Manager Power and Water at ABB Energy Industries, South Africa explains why it is critical for the nation’s water industry to embrace automation and technology to obtain higher efficiencies from their existing infrastructure and operate in a smarter and more sustainable way.

South Africa had a big wake up call two years ago when Cape Town came perilously close to being the first major global city to run out of drinkable water. The region was suffering from one of the most severe droughts in memory after a sustained period of low rainfall. This all transpired to put Cape Town on the brink of Day Zero, the time when the municipal water supply would be cut off.

If there was ever a doubt about the scale of this mounting challenge, then the stark figures will dispel that. In 2019, 66 per cent of the population of South Africa lived in cities and according to the WWF demand is set to reach 17.7 billion m³ by 2030 – up from 13.4 billion m³ in 2016. Estimates from the South African Government show that more than half of the wastewater treatment infrastructure is in poor or critical condition with 11 per cent of current infrastructure completely dysfunctional. The picture is equally as bleak when it comes to water treatment facilities with 44 per cent of infrastructure in poor or critical condition.

The fact that such a proportion of the current infrastructure is completely dysfunctional should be a big red flag to everyone concerned. But the solution is not just improving the current infrastructure; there needs to be significant investment to increase the capacity if we are to meet the growing demand for clean water. Certainly, investment in more wastewater treatment plants would help and there are also new strategies from the Department of Water and Sanitation with initiatives promoting desalination and water reuse.

It is not just consumers who will suffer if water is not managed sustainably, much of South Africa’s industry relies on water. In 2019, 2.5 per cent of water was directed to mining, three per cent to industrial use, two per cent goes towards power generation and a massive 61 per cent is taken up by agriculture – leaving only 27 per cent for consumption for a population of over 60 million.

Automation and digital technologies are key in supporting plant operators achieve efficiencies, optimising performance while reducing waste, but there is an urgent need for infrastructure upgrades. In terms of increasing efficiencies, ABB provides the integrated solutions by offering automation, electrical and digital solutions to improve the efficiency of the treatment process. We see our role here as crucial to increasing efficiencies and optimising performance so that we can make every drop count. We curb some of the issues that the end customer is experiencing that results in non-revenue water and that is where we solve problems with our digital solutions, such as our water management system.

Plugging the leaks

Loss of water through leakages is a huge problem with estimates indicating water losses between 15 and 30 per cent in developed countries and up to 70 per cent in developing nations. Given those figures leak detection is critical, and The Department of Water and Sanitation is addressing this problem with a strategy they call the no drop programme of certification. This targets water conservation with the aim of curbing water losses so that the result is zero losses. Municipalities can achieve a more sustainable water supply, and we can help municipalities with the water management system.

Within this solution there is an integrated geographical information system that allows municipalities to pinpoint leaks and burst pipes and act accordingly in real time. That saves them both time in increasing the efficiency of their maintenance and repair teams, but more importantly keeps any water losses to a minimum.
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A new, innovative decentralised water purification system was launched this month and is set to change the South African water purification landscape – one installation at a time.

The Kusini Water System, which was recently installed in the community of Extension 10, eMalahleni west, is a containerised, solar-powered water purification solution that uses locally sourced components to provide safe drinking water to communities in rural areas.

The system can treat water from any source, removing over 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses. It can also produce 40 times more water than reverse osmosis, the current best practice, using about half the energy.

The idea behind the system came from one man’s personal pursuit to change the narrative of access to water in rural communities. Murendeni Mafumo, founder of Kusini Water, grew up in Limpopo, a province acutely affected by limited access to safe drinking water, and says the image of young women collecting water from rivers has stuck with him throughout his life. It’s an image and practice he hopes to change.

Kusini Water System Container
The Kusini Water System is a containerised, solar-powered water purification solution
“I got involved with this issue mainly for personal reasons. The image of young women carrying water on their heads because there was never water at home is something I have carried with me throughout my career working in the big cities. As much as I enjoyed my work, I wanted to do more – I wanted to use my qualifications and skills in areas like the one I grew up in, where people are still dealing with these issues. Even today, when I go back home, it’s still the same image of the young girl collecting and carrying water on her head,” he explains.

To address this issue and provide a sustainable solution, Mafumo had to focus on two key factors: the cost of the infrastructure and the cost of the electricity.

“To tackle these issues, we decided that decentralising the water treatment system would be important, so ensuring that each site is producing water for that particular location and making it modular, meaning that the parts and components change according to the requirements of the location and the quality of the water we are treating. Finally, we opted to add some sort of off-grid power supply; in this instance, we chose to go with solar power, which we supplement with locally available power as a backup.”

Driving down costs

There are many opportunities for wastewater treatment in South Africa. However, they are yet to be. This is according to Carl Haycock, managing director of Talbot & Talbot. The company offers skill in the provision of water and wastewater solutions across Africa.

Wastewater includes domestic sewage, industrial waste and different types of run off. According to Haycock, some of these are treatable, some are not. However, for those that are there are good opportunities available.

Stigma
However much Talbot & Talbot recover water in the beverages space for ten years, the client still refuses to put that treated water back into the product used for drinking. To this Haycock insists is as good as bottled water, and even the one from the city council.

Last year, KwaZulu-Natal was in a similar position with crippling water shortages. Wastewater treatment provided a good solution. People are now able to access water through an installed water treatment plant.

Also read: South Africa launches first desalination wastewater plant

Water treatment does, however, come at a cost. Haycock said it requires funds to the tune of $760,000 for a small industrial plant and in excess of $38m in the municipal space. Inasmuch as there are opportunities for finance, it is not viewed as a profitable business.

Haycock commented that South Africa should first consider water recovery. The country’s water crisis, however, is opening up opportunities and the provinces’ infrastructure to deal with it does not support demand.

Haycock said humans consume two to four litres of water a day. The rest of water usage goes to wastewater, and much of it can be treated. Technology can as well be used to overcome the present challenges.

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