Royal HaskoningDHV to study bulk water supply scheme for province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Dutch-based consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV has been selected by South African water utilities Umgeni Water, for an 18-month planning study on the viability of a bulk water supply scheme in the country’s largest province of Kwazulu-Natal.

Umgeni Water, which is the largest bulk water supplier in KwaZulu-Natal, is seeking to have a reliable water supply to meet the rising demand of consumers in the Ndwedwe area, which has an estimated 150,000 people.

Minimize pumping of water
"The area is mountainous, with difficult accessibility, and it spans numerous catchments, which means that different water supply solutions may need to be found for different catchments"., says Royal HaskoningDHV team leader Ian Rushton.

"A single large bulk water supply of treated water would simplify operations, but this would involve pumping water up over several watersheds, with associated high energy costs that will be unsustainable in the long term. The study will seek a balance by locating suitable water sources for the supply of each area so that the pumping of water is kept at a minimum,” explains Rushton.

Comprehensive study
The study is comprehensive and will take into consideration a wide range of institutional, social, technical, financial, economic and environmental issues, as well as all relevant cadastral and land-ownership details, regulations and constraints that are likely to impact on the implementation of the preferred solution.

"We are required to define, evaluate and cost all mitigation measures required to address these impacts. Following the acceptance by the client of the prefeasibility recommendations, the second-phase detailed study will confirm the findings and elaborate on the base information in terms of suitability, feasibility and cost structure", concludes Rushton.

About Umgeni Water
State-owned Umgeni Water is the largest supplier of bulk potable water in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The organisation was established in 1974, and currently supplies 426 million cubic metres of potable water to its six municipal customers.

Umgeni Water’s infrastructure assets includes 13 dams, 11 water treatment works and 5 wastewater treatment works.

About Royal HaskoningDHV
Royal HaskoningDHV is one of Europe’s leading independent project management, engineering and consultancy service providers.

The consultancy firm carries out some 30,000 projects every year in planning and transport, infrastructure, water, maritime, aviation, industry, energy, mining and buildings. In combination with its international office network, Royal HaskoningDHV delivers world-class solutions locally to clients around the globe, for the public and private sector.

This news item was originally published on the websites of Royal HaskoningDHV and Engineering News.

More information
Royal HaskoningDHV
Amersfoort, the Netherlands
+31 88 348 20 00
www.royalhaskoningdhv.com