CEO argues for desalination to mitigate EC’s drought

Water infrastructure was misplaced, says Qweleka

Rain is failing the province and now the Amatola Water Board wants to draw water straight from the sea.

Acting CEO Sazile Qweleka also announced that a number of the Eastern Cape’s water treatment works plants had been decommissioned by the board because of the drought.

Qweleka said their water infrastructure was “misplaced” and the board was appealing for funding to extend a desalination plant in Ndlambe municipality in Port Alfred.

He was speaking at their infrastructure master plan presentation at East London’s International Convention Centre (ICC) this week.

Qweleka appealed to the room of officials and stakeholders to buy into the master plan to make Amatola Water viable.

The decommissioned treatment works are Dabi, Wesley, Ngwekazi and Tyhefu in Ngqushwa municipality.

Bulk water which used to be treated at the plants would be diverted to the nearest functioning treatment works. Amatola has 14 works under its jurisdiction. The board has proposed major upgrades to some of their plants. These include:

● Albany coast — R1,3bn;

● Binfield — R848m;

● Laing — R139m; and

● Sandile — R270m;

“The extension of the existing desalination plant in Ndlambe can be a solution,” Qweleka said. “If it could be assisted by funding, it could be the solution to the water issue.

“Why can’t we look at growing the existing desalination plant? We can use that as our flagship in the province. Yes, the running costs are high but once it’s extended the costs will be mitigated.”

He said the scarcity of water caused by the drought was their most critical issue.

“We are sitting with infrastructure that we will say is misplaced because you will find times where treatment works are there, but there is no source [of water],” Qweleka said. “Dams have run dry.

“We cannot run away from the fact that desalination is expensive. Capital costs are high and running costs are also high, and it solely depends on energy, and the energy that it utilises is very high.

“The major and easier way of dropping costs is by making the plant bigger.”

He said building the Bushfontein Dam, also in the Ndlambe area, could mean the availability of brackish water (surface water that is somewhat salty). Bushfontein’s dam upgrade is estimated to cost R298m.

“By building the Bushfontein Dam, similar technology used in desalinating seawater will be used and the amount of energy used when treating seawater will be lower when treating brackish water,” he added.

“It’s a similar technology but this one uses a little bit of energy because the concentration of the salts is not the same as the seawater.”

Ndlambe mayor Khululwa Ncamiso said people were struggling with water in her municipality and surroundings, and that mitigating measures were crucial.

“We have this very old desalination plant servicing the Bushman plant. If there can be [another] standing plant in support of the existing one, maybe we could see a difference,” she said. “The existing one has its own challenges and dams have run dry, but with sufficient funding and support that plant can be one of the possible solutions to our water problems.”

The national department of water and sanitation issued a statement on Thursday saying the Eastern Cape dam levels had declined to 54.7% compared to last week’s 54.9%.

The statement said six dams in the Amathole Water Supply System supplying Buffalo City Metro and surrounding areas experienced a slight improvement, but the system remained low at 35%.

The Gcuwa Dam, which supplies Butterworth and surrounding areas, was currently at 87.7%, while Xilinxa in the same area is sitting at 10.7%. Mthatha Dam was at 100.8%.

“The department of water and sanitation appeals to all water users to use water sparingly,” department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said.