Water, Sewage & Effluent March April 2019 | Page 9

“The various disciplines open for
study to strengthen capacity in the
sector include water scientists;
hydrologists; geo-hydrologists; civil,
electrical, and chemical engineers;
and environmental anthropologists, to
name but a few,” the deputy minister
said. 
www.waterafrica.co.za
It is important to impress
upon all of us that the work
of the laboratory will impact
most positively on public
health in the locality.
She said the facility will ensure that
there is even closer cooperation
with its clients, municipalities, mines,
industries, and agriculture.
The deputy minister encouraged
young people to look into opportunities
in the water and sanitation sector.
She said the Department of Water
and Sanitation develops young
people through its Learning Academy.
“Part of the Learning Academy
Programme speaks to developing
graduate trainees in the Department
of Water and Sanitation in different
disciplines relevant to the water and
sanitation sector, in-service training
in partnership with Group 5, as well
as the availability of full bursaries
to follow different disciplines at
numerous universities in the country.
Residents of the North West Province
will benefit from the newly launched
Magalies Water Services Laboratory,
which provides services ranging from
water quality testing and sampling,
research and other services rendered
in a scientific laboratory.
This is according to the Water and
Sanitation Deputy Minister Pamela
Tshwete, who launched the state-
of-the-art laboratory located in Brits.
“It is important to impress upon all
of us that the work of the laboratory
will impact most positively on public
health in the locality. This will be
through the monitoring of drinking
water supplies, process monitoring
of water and wastewater works, and
environmental monitoring of rivers
and dams.”
She said the laboratory comes
at a time when the country is faced
with challenges of not just water
availability but of good quality water.
“As we know, the country has been
affected by drought, and this region
was not spared from it. The lack of
rainfall affected the work of the Water
Board as less good quality water
was abstracted from the sources.
The laboratory that we see here is
therefore an intervention that was
necessary in the region,” the deputy
minister said.
North West to benefit from water services lab
The newly launched Magalies Water Services Laboratory provides services ranging
from water quality testing and sampling, to research and other services rendered in a
scientific laboratory.
Water Sewage & Effluent March/April 2019
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