Bulk water and sewerage service projects in Midvaal (Sicelo) and Vaal Marina (Mamello), undertaken by consulting engineering firm Gibb, are progressing according to plan and within budget.

The company is conducting multidisciplinary engineering services on bulk water and aged sewerage infrastructure in the low-cost housing areas of these communities.

Gibb project leader Carel Davids says, as a result of service inequality in the two areas, many people have not had access to adequate water and sanitation. “This poses health- related and environmental risks for the community at large.”

The Sicelo and Mamello bulk water and sewerage infrastructure projects started in 2012. Environmental-impact assessment (EIA) approvals are also under way for the Sicelo bulk sewerage and Sicelo bulk water projects, and both projects are planned for completion by 2017, Gibb notes.

Mamello Project
Davids says Gibb was appro-ached to provide an innovative, state-of-the-art concrete tower, with a 135 kℓ capacity and 22 m in height, to alleviate the water pressure problems in the Mamello area.

Construction of the lily-shaped tower is funded by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the Midvaal local municipality.

The tower will alleviate the issue of low water pressures, while not detracting from the aesthetics of the area. Gibb will also be instrumental in installing pumps and ancillary pipes to supply the tower.

Further, the water tower will also illuminate at night to provide a focal structure for the area. Solar panels charge batteries during the day, with the batteries powering the lights at night to reduce the electricity consumption of the tower and the overall carbon footprint of the project.

The project also included the construction of a sewerage pumpstation, a 110 mm rising main, an outfall sewer to the Vaal Marina Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) and refurbishments at the Vaal Marina WWTW.

Davids explains that Vaal Marina, within which Mamello is situated, is a typical holiday town, with low sewage flow during the week and high sewage flow on weekends, owing to the influx of tourists.

“During the week, the sewerage system operates vastly under capacity, while on weekends the system nears maximum capacity, but we have not seen the capacity exceeded yet. However, with the nearby low-cost housing initiative that is nearing completion, this sewerage network will soon have a lot more sewage to handle on a daily basis,” he says.

Gibb will refurbish an existing balancing pond at the works to help balance low and high sewage loads coming into the works.

Sicelo Project
Sicelo informal settlement is situated to the west of the R59 highway and is adjacent to Meyerton. The area is serviced by several bulk sewers along the Kliprivier onwards to the Rothdene Sewage Pump Station, which pumps sewage to the Meyerton WWTW.

Historically, the sewers and pumpstations have overflowed and, currently, the existing sewers are nearing capacity.

Gibb was contracted to increase the pumping capacity at the Rothdene pumpstation in the interim by adding temporary pumps. Davids says, although the pumps are functioning well, it is not a permanent solution and Gibb plans to put the upgrade of the pumpstation out on tender before the end of this year.

Gibb is also contracted to install flow meters, duplicate the 500-mm-diameter rising main to the Meyerton WWTW, provide new sewers for drainage from new areas to the west of the R59 highway and investigate localised areas where blockages are frequent.

To alleviate the water problems in the area, Gibb will construct a ten-million-litre reservoir with a new Rand Water connection to the reservoir, a 700-m-long access road to the reservoir and the construction of bulk and supply pipelines of 17.6 km in length – of which 6.2 km will be upgraded pipeline and the remainder being installation of new lines.

Davids says the current challenge regarding the Sicelo project is bureaucracy in terms of pending approvals for EIA’s. “Obtaining water-use licences is a significantly arduous process, mainly because there is no timeframe or urgency in terms of legislation and the Department of Water Affairs issuing a water-use licence.”

However, some sections of the Sicelo project have been completed, amounting to R11-million being spent to date. “The project is currently about 25% complete,” he says.

Davids suggests the project will be between 50% and 75% complete in the next two years, owing to the large cost of the rising main from the pumpstation to the new sewerage works. “This is currently in the EIA phase and we are planning to start construction in June 2015, depending on how quickly the EIA approvals are granted,” he says, adding that, once the EIAs have been approved, the bulk of construction work can commence.

To date, Gibb has also completed the first and second phases of the outfall sewers, with the third phase commencing shortly.

The estimated project cost is R75-million, with the first phase of the project amounting to about R9-million.

The project will service 12 700 existing indigent residents and 10 000 future low-cost houses.