Managing perceptions about
waste recovery
In light of the fact that South Africa has a water deficit, we need to research
and consider alternative sources to meet growing demand. Recovery from
waste is such a resource.
By Dr Anthony Turton
Early root growth one week after planting in the first-generation
prototype of the VUF-MEWS technology. These roots provide the
habitat needed by the archaea and bacterial colonies.
36
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2018
S
outh Africa is at a developmental
crossroad. To achieve the level
of job creation needed to meet
political aspirations, there must be a
concerted effort to grow the economy
in an inclusive way. But — and here’s
the challenge — we simply have
insufficient water to do this. We have
around 38 billion cubic metres (bcm)
of water storage in dams, but we will
need about 63bcm by 2030 to create
full employment.
So, do we ruthlessly apply increasingly
aggressive demand management to
drive efficiency, and disregard the
economic implications, or do we get
more water from somewhere?
This is our choice. If we take the
former route, then unemployment will
grow, disinvestment will accelerate
as companies fail to meet growth
targets, and social instability will
increase as the aspirational gap
balloons. If we take the latter route,
we can learn from places like
Singapore, Australia and Namibia.
Singapore has a vibrant economy.
It overcame water constraints by
creating ‘New Water’. The company
that developed the technology
and strategy is Cape Town based
(Graham Tec), so we have the local
experience. Sewage return flows
became the source for high-quality
water of a reliable nature. After all,
sewage flows constantly, irrespective
of drought conditions. The problem
was not a technical one, but rather
a public relations one, so a major
perception-changing initiative was