Infra needs innovative thinking
Former Finance Minister and Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel suggests that South Africa needs to take examples from successful international projects and inject new thinking into the engineering sector .
Speaking at a South African Institution of Civil Engineering ( SAICE ) Young Members leadership event late last year , Manuel pointed out that unless widespread corruption is addressed , the country will not be able to provide the “ kinds of engineering services ” that it ought to provide to its people .
He noted that a lack of proper planning and engineering created many of the social challenges facing the country . “ Transport engineering hasn ’ t found its proper place ,” he stated , noting that geographically , areas such as Soweto and Lanseria were still “ far away ” from Gauteng ’ s business hubs . Manuel said that in major metropolitans across the world , such as New York and Mumbai , the density figures were 9 600 people per square kilometre and 32 814 people per square kilometre , respectively , whereas the Western Cape ’ s density stood at 1 293 people per square kilometre .
Yet , South Africa is facing significant water and landfill issues , which he said could be solved through innovative civil engineering . He suggested reconfiguring the way South Africans live , saying : “ We cannot keep building further . If we build further south than Orange Farm , we ’ re going to be in the Free State .”
He also drew attention to the many landfill sites around Johannesburg and Tshwane , which create huge problems with seepage and smell . “ There ’ s the inability to manage what goes into landfill and there is the fact that we are quite a non-compliant society ,” he pointed out .
Acid mine drainage was also addressed , and he commented , “ Water is the biggest challenge for every engineer … I cannot for the life of me see why we haven ’ t been smarter about filtering acid mine drainage . There ’ s a large source of water ,” Manuel said , noting that the idea of
More water than expected staff
Former Finance Minister and Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel speaking at the SAICE Young Members leadership event .
recycled water had already been done in the coalfields of Mpumalanga , as well as in Singapore .
The FIFA World Cup 2010 also came under scrutiny and Manuel pointed out that the collusion that took place during the building of the stadiums was contributing to ongoing mistrust between government and the private sector .
He pointed out that there were “ a lot of opportunities for engineering — and then there was the collusion ,” he commented .
However , he stated that the private sector was not the sole perpetrator . “ There is undoubtedly so much corruption , so much violation of legislation ,” he said , noting that the current Eskom enquiry was symptomatic of the scale of the problem .
“ What the world needs now is a new approach to engineering ,” he said , referring to China as a prime example of how engineering could be applied for the betterment of the country ’ s citizens , citing the 87 metrorail systems built between 2009 and 2013 , adding 3 100km to the country ’ s rail network .“ It ’ s about finding solutions like that , that I think will bring engineering back into fashion ,” Manuel said . u
News
Cape Town City ’ s executive mayor Patricia De Lille revealed in a statement that the recent groundwater survey confirmed that the aquifers around Cape Town will deliver more water than expected . Estimates say that at least 150 million litres of water per day will be delivered by the Cape Flats , Table Mountain Group , and Atlantis aquifers .
Preliminary findings show that the Cape Flats aquifer will deliver 80 million litres per day , while the Table Mountain Group aquifer will deliver 40 million litres per day , with an additional 30 million litres per day delivered by the Atlantis aquifer .
Prime locations were selected to abstract water from these three aquifers and drilling rigs will be moved onto sites from February in the Cape Flats aquifer zone .
De Lille was at pains to stress that this action to help Cape Town survive the drought is based on an environmentally sensitive approach , ensuring sustainable water abstraction from which generations of Capetonians will continue to benefit .
The projects form part of the City ’ s programme to supply additional water from desalination , water recycling , and groundwater abstraction . u homebasecapetown . co . za
Cape Town aquifers are yielding more water than expected – a bonus to the water-starved city .
Water Sewage & Effluent January / February 2018 7