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few , still functioning boreholes and 20 % of municipal water comprising recycled sewerage water to quench their thirsts . The Gamka Dam , which is the main source of drinking water for the town ’ s residents , is empty , and the little bit of water left on the dam surface is unusable . To remedy the dire situation , the town requires R23-million to develop its water infrastructure .
As South Africa struggles with ageing infrastructure and a bankrupt Department of Water and Sanitation ( DWS ), the Minister of Water and Sanitation , Nomvula Mokonyane , said in a media briefing about the water infrastructure investment summit that took place in November , that South Africans need to adopt a different mindset around water usage . “ There is no such thing as waste water ,” she stressed , referring to technologies that extract water from diverse sources , including sewage .
Meanwhile , in parliament , the DWS warned about the inadequacy of water-services infrastructure , revealing the mammoth annual R30- billion funding gap , and the Water Research Council ’ s ( WRC ’ s ) Jo Burgess said : “ We are in trouble , big trouble .” She commented that the response to drought warning signs came too late and even if rainfall was normal , or above normal , it would take three to four years before the aquifers and reservoirs “ are back to what we think is normal . We are just going to have to adapt . It is very frightening .”
Climate change , too , is impacting rain cycles in South Africa , which is getting less rain annually over shorter periods and with fewer rainfalls in number . One solution is to capture rainwater , which presently simply drains away . Part of urban design historically , however , has been to ensure that cities are not flooded during heavy rainfall , with stormwater systems that effectively drain away excess water , disgorging the run-off into the rivers and out to sea .
While towns like Beaufort West ( the first town in South Africa to officially be declared ‘ dry ’ by the end of last year ) serve as a dire warning of how dreadfully the situation might evolve for the rest of South Africa if the drought persists and crumbling water infrastructure collapses even further , there is light on the horizon . Siyabonga Mbanjwa , the regional managing director of Sener Southern Africa , maintains that over the next three years , plans by government are
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afoot to invest R234-billion in energy infrastructure — which , while not impacting on the drought with any immediacy , tacitly , will impact on water infrastructure in the long term . Without power , there is no water infrastructure , so this bodes well for the sector .
The Integrated Resource Plan
The Integrated Resource Plan ( IRP ), which has already been updated by the Department of Energy ( DoE ) but has not been gazetted or publicised yet , will be the driver for energy industry players to commit to investment in the sector and also energy-intensive users and the economy at large will benefit from it , he points out .
Mbanjwa says that in the broader context of infrastructure , “ The resolution of the scarcity of safe , drinkable water and the backlog in the provision of sanitation services also present prospects for investors , contractors , and water industryfocused suppliers to scout for opportunities to participate in the roll-out of water infrastructure across the country over the next three years . The roll-out is estimated to cost about R125-billion ,” he adds .
A gas market will be established in South Africa with the finalisation of the IRP , and the DoE will invite independent power producers ( IPPs ) to bid on the expansion and operation of gas-fired power stations , set to feed 3 126MW of electricity into Eskom ’ s national grid , he assures .
He explains that the gas procurement programme “ will be similar to the Renewable Energy Power Producer Procurement Programme ( REPPPP ), whereby gas IPPs will produce and sell gasgenerated electricity to power parastatal Eskom through 20-year power purchase agreements ( PPAs ).”
As natural gas and liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) become crucial sources of power generation , production and distribution infrastructure will be necessary , including gas-fired power stations , pipelines , and terminals as part of the expansion .
“ Companies like ours will benefit from incubating diverse solutions such as onshore terminals , liquefied natural gas virtual distribution systems , and offshore solutions such as floating storage regasification
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units ( FSRUs ), depending on specific infrastructure needs of the country ,” Mbanjwa says .
As part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement , by 2030 , South Africa plans to reduce carbon emissions by 30 %. The industry is therefore playing its part in promoting energy efficiency through investing in R & D to bring new technologies to market , Mbanjwa adds .
He outlines that his company is developing a prototype hybrid solar energy plant “ that will combine concentrated solar power ( CSP ) technology and photovoltaic ( PV ) solar technology into a single technology platform .”
CSP is effective in producing solar energy 24 hours a day , even when the sun does not shine . “ While PV solar energy is considered ‘ cheaper ’ to produce , PV plants , however , are known for being effective in producing electricity only during the day . Batteries for PV plants are in the process of being developed ; however , they are currently not economically viable at a large utilityscale level ,” he adds .
He explains that both technologies ( CSP and PV ) have been combined to bring down costs and increase reliability , while also boosting production .
In 2018 , Mbanjwa says that on the back of the severe drought and ageing water infrastructure , investors are keen to get involved in providing a reliable water supply to communities and businesses .
Good news indeed and hopefully , not too late to undo the lack of maintenance and maladministration throughout the water sector that has all but crippled the country .
Siyabonga Mbanjwa is the regional managing director of Sener Southern Africa , a global engineering and technology group . The company ’ s work includes hydraulic and hydrological planning studies , hydraulic construction projects , technical support in construction , technical support for start-up and operations , and R & D projects .
Sources Times Live : ‘ The great thirst : water crisis paralyses rural towns ’ EWN : ‘ Beaufort West dam runs dry ’ IOL : ‘# WaterCrisis : Beaufort West runs out of water ’ u
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