Zululand Chamber of Business and Industry

Reconciliation Study Programme Background

8 March 2012

Niel J van WykChief Engineer: National Water Resource Planning

RSA Department of Water Affairs

Structure of presentationStructure of presentation

• Broad situationBroad situation• Key demand centre reconciliation overviewKey demand centre reconciliation overview• All Town overviewAll Town overview• Regional water availabilityRegional water availability• Key demand centre exampleKey demand centre example• Key reconciliation findingsKey reconciliation findings

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3

Water reconciliation

Sources of Water

Water resources planning recognises the source of water:Water conservation and demand management Surface water (runoff, surface dams)Groundwater Return flows/dischargesReclamation/re-use/desalinationRainwater harvestingCatchment rehabilitation and managementWater trading

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NSDP: Key demand centres

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Reconciliation Strategy Studies

• Develop future water requirement scenarios in consultation with users

• Investigate all possible water resources and other interventions

• Investigate all possible methods for reconciling the requirements with the available resources

• Make recommendations for development and implementation of interventions

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Assumptions and principles

• Planning based on high future requirement scenarios– Final implementation could be delayed if necessary– Very difficult to bring forward

• Availability determined taking account of normal fluctuations in climate, but also climate change

• Monitoring and adjustment is crucial

Reconciliation Strategies for large systems and metros

• Completed– Western Cape– Amatole system– Vaal River– Crocodile West (finalising Stage 2 strategy)– KZN Coastal Metropolitan areas– Algoa

• Current– Bloemfontein – Olifants system

• Next– Mbombela– Richards Bay

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Electronic copies

http://www.dwa.gov.za/documents/ Search for Other: Integrated Water Resource Planning –

National DocumentsReports listed alphabetically

Next level – all other towns• Studies started in 2009• Three year programme to cover all towns and

villages• Priority to towns with largest growth potential and

biggest water resource problems• Some was already covered by metro studies• Mechanisms are being put in place to maintain

strategies after completion of first level studies

Strategy Web-PortalStrategy Web-PortalAvailable StrategiesAvailable Strategies

Portal allows for searching on a

Provincial, District and Local municipality level

Interactive map allows for the selection of a

specific area

Statistics and links to all available strategies are displayed for the

selected area

Water availability in area (1)Water availability in area (1)Mhlatuze RiverMhlatuze River• Probably most studied river in South AfricaProbably most studied river in South Africa• Over allocated but underutilizedOver allocated but underutilized• Water Allocation Reform in progressWater Allocation Reform in progress• More water can still be transferred in from More water can still be transferred in from

ThukelaThukela• Water re-use can be extendedWater re-use can be extended• Umfolozi River can be developedUmfolozi River can be developed• Desalination of sea water within reachDesalination of sea water within reach

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Water availability in area (2)Water availability in area (2)Thukela RiverThukela River• Major river systemMajor river system• Many water transfers to neighbouring Many water transfers to neighbouring

catchmentscatchments• Substantial water allocated to Mhlatuze not yet Substantial water allocated to Mhlatuze not yet

utilisedutilised• Last surplus water in Thukela will be allocated Last surplus water in Thukela will be allocated

soonsoon• Storage development can make substantial Storage development can make substantial

quantities of water available stillquantities of water available still15

Water availability in area (3)Water availability in area (3)Umfolozi RiverUmfolozi River• Little surplus water at presentLittle surplus water at present• Largely undeveloped – storage development Largely undeveloped – storage development

can make substantial quantities of water can make substantial quantities of water available stillavailable still

• Large storage required to counter sediment Large storage required to counter sediment problemproblem

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Reconciliation exampleReconciliation example

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KZN Coastal Metropolitan Area

Mgeni Supply Area

Mdloti Supply Area

Mvoti Supply Area

Lower Thukela

Supply Area

Existing System Yield (I ncluding Growth in Darvill

Return Flows)

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030

Water Balance – Mgeni SystemWater Balance – Mgeni SystemWater Balance – Mgeni SystemWater Balance – Mgeni System

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Wa

ter

Re

qu

irem

en

ts /

Yie

ld(m

illio

n m

3 /

an

nu

m)

Spring Grove Dam

Re-use of TreatedEffluent

Mkomazi River Development(Smithfield Dam)

Deficits

November 2010 Water Requirements

Scenario

Pipeline from Spring Grove Dam

Mooi-Mgeni transfer Ph 2

Re-use of water

Lower Thukela Scheme

Mkomazi-Mgeni Transfer -Phase 1 (Smithfield Dam)

Mkomazi-Mgeni Transfer -Phase 2 (Impendle Dam)

Isithundu Dam

Desalination of seawater

Umzimkulu River Dam

Re-use of water

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0 50 100 150 200 250

Mar

gina

l Cos

t -

UR

V (R

/m3)

Volume (million m3/a)

KZN Coastal Augmentation Options

Legend

(0.85) - Unit energy requirementkWh/m3 of raw water

(0.15)

(7.5)

(0.24)

(0.88) (1.9)

(0.16)

(0.79)

(0.86)

(3.2)

KZN Strategies

• Build Spring Grove Dam and transfer scheme• Prepare for water restrictions• Implement WC/WDM• Feasibility study and implement re-use

scheme• Feasibility study on desalination• Feasibility study on Mkomazi development

Key strategic messages (1)

• Water management is complex• Solutions entail much more than just addition of

dams• WC/WDM extremely important in all areas – SA can

not afford to waste water, anywhere, anytime• Groundwater important, currently under-valued and

under-used• Huge potential for increase in re-use, at coast but

also in inland systems i.e. Vaal River system

Key strategic messages (2)

• Limited opportunity for more dams• Dams and interbasin transfers inevitable in certain

areas – very expensive• Desalination

– Small scale seawater desalination already being done– Mine water desalination important– Large scale seawater desalination imminent

• Possible to make more water available anywhere in the country in the future, but at steeply rising costs

• Zambezi water too costly

Key strategic messages (3)

• Water for increase in irrigation in SA very limited• Moving some water from irrigation to other use

must already be considered in certain areas • Food could be grown by SADC countries and traded

to SA – regional perspective important• Catchment rehabilitation, clearing of invasive alien

plants and rainwater harvesting can be undertaken to optimise rainfall (both at catchment and household level)

Key messages from All Town Studies

• Improved management will solve largest portion of immediate problems– No metering – WSAs have no idea how much water is used or wasted– Large wastage of water evident– Per capita use much too high– Free water provided far above indigent level obligations– Poor cost recovery– Consider implementation of “Purple Drop” certification for efficient

water use– Lack of proper maintenance and skilled operators– Technical competency low

• Groundwater a very important resource for towns

In summary• Water management is complex• Is SA going to run out of water? • If we use water more efficiently we can go a long

way with the current developed water resources (water services infrastructure roll-out remains a challenge)

• We can also make more water available as needed, but it must be accepted that it is going to cost more and more as we go into the future

• Therefore, to meet the future, it is critical that plans to reconcile water supply and demand are developed and timeously implemented. This means coordinated action at all levels of the water sector.

Thank you

Contact Details

Niel J van Wyk (Pr. Eng.)Chief EngineerNational Water Resource Planning (east)Department of Water Affairs Private Bag X313Pretoria 0001Landline +27123668327Cell +27828085651e-mail vanwykn@dwa.gov.za