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In 2008 the Department of Water Affairs introduced anassessment programme called Blue Drop that is aimed attesting the quality of drinking water provided by SouthAfrican municipalities, water authorities and providers.Municipalities must score at least 95% overall andachieve greater than 99% microbiological complianceand 90% chemical compliance to obtain the Blue Dropstatus. With concerns growing about the quality ofwater resources and their impact on the environment,the quality of life and the economy, it has becomeincreasingly important for South Africa to look atmanaging our water use and demand effectively at alllevels. We therefore have to manage our financeseffectively to sustain service delivery, as water comes ata cost.

The Green Drop regulation programme was establishedby the Department of Water Affairs in 2008 andculminates in the prestigious Green Drop awards. Thisis to certify the wastewater systems of all municipalitiesand water service providers in South Africa. It rewardsexcellence in the management of wastewater fromsource, in sewer networks, its treatment at wastewaterworks and its final discharge to the receivingenvironment. Treatment works and associatedwastewater networks are assessed by auditors to strictGreen Drop criteria. These criteria ensure a highstandard is maintained thus minimising risk to publichealth and the environment. The elusive Green Dropaward is held in very high esteem.

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Neil Macleod Head: Water & Sanitation

An achievable and worthwhile goal, almost always requires considerable effort and commitment. Weat eThekwini Water and Sanitation would like to share with you the 2011/12 journey we embarked onfor our Blue Drop and Green Drop assessments.

This annual report is a reflection of the synergy that both the Blue Drop and Green Drop regulationprocesses bring to eThewkwini Water & Sanitation in achieving results we can be proud of. Theseassessments bring about an opportunity for all departments in our organisation to work together as ateam towards a common goal, which is the attainment of these very sought after awards.It showcases the time, energy and dedication that each department endeavours to accomplish in thebuild up to these audits.Durban’s water is of a very high quality and we are one of the few cities in the world where it’s safe todrink water from the tap.This report also highlights eThekwini’s management of wastewater, and the scope of work entailed intreating this water before discharging it back into our rivers.The 2010/2011 Blue and Green Drop awards achieved by eThekwini Water and Sanitation were goodbut also an indication that there is scope for improvement.Our challenge is now to navigate the best way forward through a sustained and improved approach forthe next Blue Drop and Green Drop seasons.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent

direction and skilful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”

William A. Foster

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By 2030 eThekwini Municipality will enjoy the reputation of being Africa’s most caring and liveable City,where all citizens live in harmony.

Sustainability Economically successful city Caring city Smart city Poverty reduction and democratic & equal city

Human resource matters Initiative to better manage supply and demand in an area Asset management Integrated business processes Blue Drop and Green Drop

Municipal Manager: Mr Sibusiso Sithole

Chief Financial Officer : Mr Krish Kumar LED Manager/Officer: Mr Philip Sithole

Krish Kumar (Deputy City Manager: Treasury), Dr Musa Gumede (Deputy City Manager: Health and Social Services), Sipho Cele (Deputy City Manager: Governance and Human Resources), Phillip Sithole: (Acting Deputy City Manager: Sustainable Development and City Enterprisesand Bheki Cyril Mkhize (Deputy City Manager: Safety and Security), and Derek Naidoo (Deputy City Manager: Procurement and Infrastructure)

Neil Macleod: Head Water & Sanitation Bhavna Soni : Acting Deputy Head - Operations Frank Stevens: Deputy Head – Technical Support

Executive Mayor : His Worship Mayor, Cllr James Nxumalo

Cllr Nigel Gumede Chairman of Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee

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In a nutshell, Blue drop is a national measurement of theoperation of the potable water business, includingpotable water quality. The standards were devised andare strictly monitored by the Department of WaterAffairs (DWA). A team of water quality experts selectedby DWA do annual audits on the various Municipalitiesin the country, including the large MetropolitanMunicipalities.

EWS potable water is water that is safe to drink, straightfrom the tap!

Most potable water starts its transformation fromrainwater/runoff water, in a dam of some kind, e.g.Midmar Dam. The water is then pumped to a WaterTreatment Works (WTW), where it undergoes itsprocess of flocculation filtration, and sanitisation. Thewater is pushed through a mixing tank, where it is dosedwith a flocculent chemical, and then into a series ofsettlement tanks. The water in these tanks is mostlyundisturbed after its agitation to thoroughly mix theflocculent. This flocculent chemical makes the particlesof mud, called colloidal particles, attract themselves to

each other, which in turn increases their mass, and thusthey sink to the bottom of the settlement tank. This flockforms a sludge, which is decanted to drying beds, forother uses, such as fertiliser. Meanwhile, the clear, butunsanitised water ‘overflows’ into channels around theedge of the settlement tanks, and is piped away to sandfilter beds to further remove very fine particles of silt.The last process in the transformation of dam water intopotable water then takes place. From the sand filters, thewater passes through a holding tank where it is sanitisedby using either chlorine or a mixture of chlorine andammonia, known as chlorination, or chloramination,respectively. From the holding tank the water flows intoa reservoir, usually on the same site as the WTW. Fromthere it is distributed to other reservoirs and into thewater reticulation network of pipes to you, the esteemedConsumer.

The DWA is responsible for the building of the dams.Umgeni Water (UW) is responsible for extracting waterfrom dams, and processing it into potable water in bulk,and supplying it to EWS, for distribution to their variousCustomers, viz. Industry, Commercial and Domestic.

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The Blue Drop Certification was introduced in 2008 and isgoverned by strict policies, covering a multitude ofparameters that need to be measured and documented on adaily basis. This documentation is carried out by the Staff thatattends to field discrepancies in water standards. The variousStaff include Staff from the following Departments: viz. Laboratory; Water Networks (Ops); Water Bulk Infrastructure; Mechanical / Electrical; Water Construction; Water Plant; Water Customer Services; Water Special Projects; Treatment Works Branch; Policies and Practices.

This very important Department sends out Samplers on adaily basis to take water samples from points all over theEWS Area. These are taken back to the Laboratory for testing.These include pH and Chlorine contents, turbidity in thewater, as well as checking for pathogens. Should any of thesesamples be out of our limits range, Out of SpecificationReports are issued to the various Ops areas, in which theseanomalies are restored to our acceptable limits. In caseswhere the pathogens are out of specification, a standardincident protocol has to be followed, which is reported rightup the hierarchy to Head of EWS. The EWS Laboratorycarries the ISO 17025 mark, so you can rest assured allanomalies are properly attended to and documented.

This department is sometimes known as the “engine room” ofEWS, as the majority of faults, problems and anomalies arerectified by this department, which operates on a 24/7/365basis. Ops is divided into 5 operational zones, and each zoneis headed by an Area Engineer who is solely responsible forwhat happens in his/her area/region. The majority of workcarried out by this department is largely unplanned,although a section within Ops works on plannedmaintenance. Other Staff within this department attend tothe field faults, such as post-chlorination, for low chlorineresults, flushing of watermains for turbidity and highchlorine problems. One of Ops most important functions, isthe repair of watermains, and strategies considered tominimise the effects of water interruptions in supply.Strategies include the planned replacement of old existingwatermains, based on pressure zoning and positions ofexisting supply reservoirs. Another division within Ops, is theControl Valve Workshop. This is responsible for the placing,setting and maintenance of Pressure Control Valves (PRV).These PRV’s control pressures, placed at strategic points inthe reticulation, between high and acceptable pressures. EWStries to limit maximum pressure to Consumers at 600kPa (6Bars), but sometimes the general topography with in theeThekwini Municipal borders don’t allow even thismaximum pressure, necessitating higher pressures, to ‘push’water over hill tops.

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The Bulk Infrastructure division within Operations WaterNetwork Department is responsible for all the planned andunplanned maintenance to the various potable waterreservoir sites and the structures.

The various reservoirs are grouped into maintenance zonesand each zone has a maintenance team that carries outmonthly proactive inspections to all the reservoir sites as wellas the reservoir structures.

Based on these inspections, general and routine maintenanceare carried out by the respective reservoir zone teams. Thisensures that the reservoir sites and structures arecontinuously maintained to ensure that each water storagefacility is kept up to an excellent standard.

The division is also managing the grass cutting operations ofthe various reservoir sites by the use of emerging grasscutting contractors.

Inspection programme for reservoir sites, Routine maintenance programme for Building structures,

Pipe work and chambers, fencing, ladders and gates, Planned programme for reservoir inspections and cleaning, Planned programme for grass cutting.

As the name implies, this Department is responsible to bothWater and Sanitation Branches, for the maintenance andupkeep of all Pump Stations as well as the Treatment Plants,both in Water and Sanitation. This department also carriesout Planned and Unplanned Maintenance across the entireeThekwini Municipality.

This Department carries out new pipe laying Projects thathave mostly originated from the Ops Department. However,Water Construction also carries the special projects,originated from Special Projects. After any projectcompletion, Water Construction is responsible for thedraughting of ‘As-Built’ Plans, and the ‘Hand Over’ of thatproject to Ops.

This is the Department responsible for water metering –reading, maintenance and replacement offaulty/vandalised/stolen meters, for industrial, commercialand domestic Consumers. Water meters are also tested foraccuracy by this Department.

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Special Projects & Coordination Branch is responsible forcapturing and registering all water projects and theassigning of sequential project numbers. A record of allrequested projects is maintained and archived on iManage. Aspreadsheet of all opened projects is maintained on a dailybasis and updated with progress reports on a monthly basis.The spreadsheet is used to track the stage and status of all theprojects. Therefore it links the project initiation stagethrough to planning, design, construction andcommissioning phases and final handover to OperationsDepartment, Water Network Branch for operation andmaintenance (O&M) phase.

Projects are requested by different branches for variousreasons. Operations’ Water Network Branch requestsprojects for relays due to ageing material and poor pipequality causing frequent bursts resulting in interruption ofwater supply to consumers. Water Network may also requestprojects for upgrades and upsizing of water networks.

Planning and Design Branches open projects to meet newdevelopments and add new infrastructure to increase supplycapacity.

Each project is given a unique number, called the X-Number.These numbers are used for budget planning and forecasting.Project tracking is also facilitated by the X-numbers.

In addition to potable water supplied by Umgeni water, EWSalso operates four small Water Treatment Works(WTWs) that feed into the supply system. They areKloof, Mkhizwana, Umdloti and Ogungini WTWs. theaforementioned WTWs are operated by the EWS Works

Branch and are responsible for abstraction and treatment ofwater from the source and treatment of said water to potablestandards to supply or augment supply to the communitiesthey neighbour. These WTWs have similar treatmentprocesses as their larger Umgeni counter parts, albeit on areduced scale. The WTWs feed the supply system and it is theresponsibility of the Works Branch to ensure that this wateris safe for public consumption and will not adversely effecthuman health.

The City has a set of Water By-Laws and more recently, adocument which seeks to consolidate all the Policies andPractices in place for the supply of water and sewagedisposal.

Both sets of documents are available on the followingWebsite:http://www.durban.gov.za/Resource_Centre/Policies/Pages/default.aspx

This short Profile of EWS was prepared to portray theamount of hard work and dedication of all EWS Staff toattain and maintain the Blue Drop Award. This is thestandard of potable water that EWS is proud to distribute toyou, the Consumer.

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AQUEOUS CANAL

WATERPIPE LINE

eThekwini Water and sanitation is not only responsiblefor the provision of drinking water but also for thecollection and treatment of wastewater produced by thecity. A vast infrastructure network of sewers,wastewater pumpstations and wastewater treatmentworks is employed to achieve this. Treatment ofwastewater is crucial to the sustainably of any city andwithout it densely populated cities and town wouldsimply not be possible. To this effect the municipality haswon several awards for excellence in wastewatertreatment including 9 coveted and elusive Green Dropsand is a leading Green Drop Metropolitan Municipality.

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Wastewater or sewage is the collective term given towater from toilet flushing, wash water, sinks, baths, etc.This wastewater contains a high concentration ofharmful pathogens, bacteria, ammonia and otherchemicals. In nature this waste is easily broken down bynatural processes but in a city or a town, the amount ofwaste produced is too large for these natural processesto handle. Thus we need to transport this waste materialaway from our homes and process them so that they nolonger pose a threat to human health or theenvironment.

Also included in the broad definition of wastewater iseffluent produced by industries. This too needs to beprocessed and thus wastewater treatment is not onlyvital for human health and a clean environment but alsofor economic sustainability. Stormwater runoff is notclassified as wastewater. In countries like Americawastewater and stormwater are treated together but inSouth Africa stormwater and wastewater are dealt withseparately.

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As stated previously, wastewater needs to be transportedaway from homes so that it can be treated in a centrallocation. Water from domestic drains and toilets flowsinto a properties sewer connection and into thesewerage system. This system is a network of pipes andpumping stations designed to transport the wastewaterto the treatment facilities. The wastewater travels viagravity through the sewer pipes. Each smaller tributarypipe leads to a larger pipe which in turn leads to evenlarger pipes. These large pipes are called trunk sewers.Wherever possible the wastewater travels under theinfluence of gravity to the treatment facility. This is notalways possible and on occasion the wastewater needs tobe pumped to the aforementioned facility.

Once the wastewater has been transported to thetreatment facility known as a Wastewater TreatmentWorks(WWTW) it needs to be processed. First the largerparticles like rags, papers, cigarette butts, etc. areremoved. this is then followed by the removal of sandand grit that inevitably ends up in wastewater. This iscalled preliminary treatment.

The wastewater is sent to settling tanks where solids areallowed to settle out. The solids called sludge are thenremoved and thickened. Sludge is then digested at 35° Cin anaerobic digesters. Methane gas is generated in thisdigestion process which is used as an energy source forheating the digesters. Digestion stabilises the solids.After digestion, the sludge is dewatered and stored fordisposal.

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Each treatment works is authorized by DWA todischarge wastewater to the natural environment. Assuch each works has to treat the wastewater down toauthorized standards as laid out in its license or permitbefore discharging.

The Scientific Service Branch of EWS samples each of theworks to ensure these standards are met.

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EWS Wastewater Treatment Plants: Annual Average Compliance

The next step is the most important and where the bulkof the treatment actually occurs. The liquid from thesettling tanks is processed in a biological reactor. Thiswould be an activated sludge reactor or a biologicalfilter. In this reactor, biomass break down the pollutionin the wastewater as it would happen in nature, albeit ata much grater rate. The wastewater is once again sent tosettling tanks, this time called clarifiers, where theliquid is separated from the microorganisms. The liquidleaving these tanks is already of an extremely highquality and is virtually indistinguishable from normalwater. This entire process is called secondary treatment.

The water from the clarifiers is typically sent to adisinfection process where a chemical disinfectant likechlorine gas is used to eliminate any harmful bacteria,viruses and pathogens that may remain.

This disinfected final effluent is then returned to thenatural environment i.e. rivers and streams.

Each treatment works is authorized by the Departmentof Water Affairs to discharge this treated wastewater tothe natural environment. Each works is required by lawto treat its wastewater to the standard prescribed in itspermit or discharge license.

All works treatment processes are managed accordingto an Integrated Process Management System (IPMS).

The Scientific Services Branch undertakes compliancesampling of all our wastewater works.

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The Green Drop Certification programme wasintroduced by the Department of Water Affairs in 2009and is a method of incentive based regulation. Theprogramme recognizes excellence in the field ofwastewater treatment. This not only encompasses actualcompliance with discharge standards but also measuresa particular treatment system’s ability to cope with andreduce risk as well as provide responsible treatment.

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The Contact Centre provides services for customers tocommunicate with eThekwini Water and SanitationUnit (EWS). Services are available 24/7 through a Tollfree Telkom number 0801313 013. Cell phone userswho subscribe to Cell C can also use this same numberand benefit from the Toll free facility. Other channelsto communicate with the organisation are as follows: e-mail: eservices@dmws.durban.gov.za SMS: 0837073013 Mxit: 0837073013 Fax: 031-3118220

Contact Centre‘s primary task is to receive informationfrom the customers or recipients of the service. Thecustomers’ reports are captured into a customizedsoftware called Faultman(2) and the customer is issued areference number. Reports are routed electronically tothe various line departments for resolution. Oncompletion/closure of a fault report, a standard sms issent to our customers informing them that the fault hasbeen closed off and that if they have any disputes toplease contact the Toll free line and quote the referencenumber.

The various services have specific Service LevelStandards which the line departments have to abide by.These Service Level Standards are communicated to ourcustomers.

Dissatisfactions and disputes are addressed throughescalation procedures. The reports are routed to thevarious departments for resolution and feedback to ourcustomers.

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Contact Centre by Manager: Gaylyn Manikum

Complaints pertaining to seepage and dirty water areimmediately attended by the control room field staff.They are required to investigate and resolve the problem.If this is not possible it is escalated to the area services orScientific Services.

Samples , in regards to seepage water samples are takenfor testing and the customer is informed of the outcome.

In regards to dirty water, lines are flushed to removedirt/sand from the mainline and prevent it from flowinginto taps.

All burst, severely leaking pipes are attended to promptlyto prevent damage to property .

WFA's investigate illegal connections to prevent waterwastage and assist in the water loss project.

Water telemetry provides a 24/7 back-up to ensurecontinuity in our supply of water to the customers, byensuring that reservoirs are kept at the optimum levels .All alarms are attended to on time.

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Control Centre by Acting Manager: Lall Jugdeo

BURST PIPE

DAMAGED CONNECTION

BROKEN DOWN INTO TELEMETRY, WASTE WATEROPERATIONS, POLLUTION, PUMP STATIONS,TREATMENT WORKS

All sewer related complaints from customers arepromptly acknowledged and attended to. Escalated faultsare handed over to engineers/technicians.

Pollution complaints pertaining to sewer and tradeeffluent in rivers and streams that are received by theCall Centre are given to the pollution officers. Thepollution officers are on standby and are dispatched bythe Control Centre.

Daily maintenance and pump station checks are done toensure that all vital equipment are functioningeffectively in order for the treatment of sewer water tooccur.

All treatment works complaints and break downs interms of vital equipment is dealt with by the telemetryoperators based in the Control Centre , and sent out toelectricians and mechanical fitters. Machinery has to bein working order for the treatment of sewer water tooccur.

• FAULTMAN• GIS/C TRACK• SCADA• ADROIT• 2 WAY RADIO COMMS

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Control Centre by Acting Manager: Lall Jugdeo

Scientific Services handles the sampling and analysis ofthe potable water samples. Every month, two hundredand seventy-five sample sites are scheduled forsampling; some are done monthly others up to fourtimes a month. The South African potable waterstandard (SANS 241 (2011)) requires that a certainnumber of samples be taken monthly, based on thepopulation served. The figure below shows EWS’scompliance with this requirement.

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Scientific Services by Manager: Siobhan Jackson

Minimum samples required

That more than 1500 analyses are

performed by Scientific Services

daily.

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Scientific Services by Manager: Siobhan Jackson

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Microbiological compliance Jan –Dec 2011

As for the potable water, Scientific Services analyses theoperational samples as well as taking its own samples ofthe final effluent as well as river samples above andbelow treatment works outfalls. Samples are analysedfor forty determinands ranging from Escherichia coli tometals and Chemical Oxygen Demand. Priority reportsof operational data are sent to the engineers daily andout of specification reports are sent within twenty-fourhours of receiving the result. In addition, training isgiven to works staff taking samples or using analyticalequipment. The works branch is very active in researchprojects and Scientific Services participates whereverpossible.

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Scientific Services by Manager: Siobhan Jackson

That there are approximately 1 000

000 000 Ecoli bacteria per gram of human faeces. The limit for potable water is less than 1 per 100 ml.

As the Unit, we always firmly believe that it is through extraordinary and collective efforts that we will achieve extraordinary results. For us to collectively succeed, it becomes incumbent upon each and every individual to have an input to the attainment of the Blue Drop/Green Drop certificate. One's contribution is always at the level of ensuring that we prove to the panel of judges that indeed we have in place the programmes through which we reach out to our customers so that they will be informed of the programmes and projects the Unit has for them. We produce for the panel the portfolios of evidence with regards to the meetings that are held with the Focus Groups and User Platforms, minutes are produced and the panel checks on the topics that are covered, the electronic media programmes that we conduct on various radio stations whereby we also talk about blue drop/green drop. The panel also wants to see the communication plan that we implement to confirm that indeed we do go on various radio stations. They also want to see as to how we empower the staff with the information internally so that we will be assured that what we say out there to the listeners and customers is what the staff have been apprized of. We do this by proving to them that there are suggestion boxes that we have put in place in which the staff deposit their suggestions/views with regards to how the Unit can improve on its service delivery commitments and be responsive to the needs of the customers.

The panel further checks on the commitment that we make to the public when it comes to the Customer Services Charter and the service delivery standards which the Unit commits itself to. They validate if what is said in the charter and the standards is complied with as it is part of our outreach documents through which we convey the information to the customers we serve. All in all, when being interrogated by the panel, we always prove that we work inter-dependently and as a collective and one is part of that collective. In brief, communication/information dissemination is also one of the things the panel of judges checks on and this is the area in which one mainly participates in.

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Executive Department by Project Executive: Mandla

Malakoana

FOCUS GROUP RAISING CITIZENS VOICE

The NRW Branch is responsible for monitoring the NRW situation at eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) and reporting thereon, providing strategic direction for the Unit to reduce losses as well as implementing a number of programmes to reduce losses on a wide scale. The primary objective of the NRW reduction activities is to reduce the NRW levels from 37.5% by volume (731 litres/connection/day total water losses) to a targeted and sustained value of 25% by volume (420 litres/connection/day total water losses) by June 2019.

Over the last financial year the NRW position deteriorated from 33.2% to 35.4% loss, the Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) increased from 6.8 to 6.9.

Number of registered connections increased by 13470 Billed metered consumption has reduced by 15 Ml/day Average daily purchases from Umgeni Water increased by only 6

Ml/day NRW deteriorated by 2.2% Total Water Losses per Connection increased from 631 l/conn/day

to 655 l/conn/day On a macro scale however, it is important to note that 1185km of

the water mains are over 40 years old and 41000 water meters are over 20 years old. Staff attrition and loss of institutional knowledge is having a marked impact and it is estimated that there are some 40 000 illegal connections to the system. Due to the economic downturn, municipal budgets have been reduced and Supply Chain Management issues have significantly delayed a number of key contracts. It is against this backdrop that a continual improvement in losses needs to be made.

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Non-Revenue by Manager: Simon Scruton

AVERAGE MONTHLY TRENDS OF BULK WATER PURCHASES, TOTAL WATER SALES AND NUMBER OF CONNECTIONS

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

450000

500000

550000

600000

12000000

14000000

16000000

18000000

20000000

22000000

24000000

26000000

28000000

30000000

32000000

May-04 Dec-04 Jul-05 Feb-06 Sep-06 Apr-07 Nov-07 Jun-08 Jan-09 Aug-09 Mar-10 Oct-10 May-11 Dec-11

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Monthly Volumes and Connections May 2004 to June 2012

Total SIV - Monthly eThekwini Water Sales Total number of connections

12 per. Mov. Avg. (Total SIV - Monthly) 12 per. Mov. Avg. (eThekwini Water Sales)

Lower supply pressure standards from a maximum of 900kpa to 600kpa as well as lower the minimum supply pressure from 300kpa to 250kpa. Implement these standards to reduce the average zone pressure from 52m to 42m.

Improvements to the Custody Transfer Meters (where water to the value of approximately R1.1bn is purchased annually) to international best practice standards.

Conduct active leak detection to 4000km of the network annually

Implement the Debt Relief and Amnesty Programme Actively prosecute consumers found with illegal connections Rehabilitate and replace aging infrastructure Replace domestic and non-domestic meters in line with the

Asset Management Plan Improve internal processes to ensure that every consumer is

metered, the meter is read and the consumer is billed Some of the strategic directions and programmes that EWS is

currently implementing are: Use of hydraulic modelling software that will assist the

Planning Branch, Design Branch, Asset Management Branch, NRW Branch, Operations Branch and the Customer Contact Centre

Real time monitoring of the trunk main network and ultimately the reticulation network

Documentation of the Standard Operating Procedures

Job scheduling software to improve efficiencies Electronic capturing of pipeline fault data and analysis of the

same to provide guidance to the pipe replacement programme and thereby maximise the achievable benefits

Participation in the National Municipal Benchmarking Initiative

Development of the Centre of Expertise (COE) to pilot new technology and processes and provide dissemination on these programmes. A component of the COE programme also focuses of staff training based on the ‘Train the Trainer’ concept and this will help up skill the staff at EWS.

The above will assist eThekwini Water and Sanitation fulfil its mandate efficiently in order to provide world class services to the residents of the municipality.

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Non-Revenue by Manager: Simon Scruton

WATER METER CONNECTIONS

to meet a required level of service; in the most cost effective manner; through the management of assets for present and future

customers. Asset Management in eThekwini Water and Sanitation is in its

infancy and to move from this status to a mature organisation inasset management would take many years; other organisationshave taken more than ten years to implement the assetmanagement philosophy and the challenge in eThekwini Waterand Sanitation is no different; however, the implementationprogram would be based on the best international practices whichwould drastically reduce the time frame.

taking a life cycle approach; developing cost effective long term strategies; levels of service, demand management; risk management, continuous improvement practices; sustainable use of physical resources;

eThekwini Water and Sanitation infrastructure traverses theMunicipal area with the aim of providing basic services to ourcustomers. There are more than 11 000 kilometres of water trunkand reticulation mains which have been laid to provide piped

water to most of our customers and more than 7 000 kilometres ofsewer trunk and reticulation mains that collect water bornesewage from our customers. These trunk and reticulation mainsdo not function independently of other categories ofinfrastructure assets for water distribution and waste collectionbut are inter-dependent on other asset categories to form a systeme.g. water treatment, storage reservoirs, wastewater treatmentworks, pump stations, etc.

The trunk mains and reticulation network together with thefacilities are spatially recorded on the Geographic InformationSystem (GIS) database. Currently, the facilities are beingcomponentised which would need to be asset tagged/bar-coded. Aprocess has commenced to procure an asset management systemto warehouse this data and to also record other critical attributesabout the components e.g. condition, dateinstalled/constructed/rehabilitated, remaining useful life, risk,current replacement costs, etc.

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Asset Management by Manager: Roy Maharaj

The recording of the linear assets attributes would bemaintained in the GIS database whilst the attributes forfacilities components would be warehoused in the assetmanagement system which would interface with the GISsystem. This would enable EWS to easily identify thecondition, failure rates, planned/actual works orders, etc. forour assets spatially. This system would be coupled with awork force management tool to manage our resourceseffectively and efficiently.

The above data would be utilised for our capital renewalprogram, to prioritise our budgets and prepare short andlong term cash flows for eThekwini Water and Sanitation .This is done to identify spikes on the cash flow program andto strategise on how best to flatten these spikes due tobudgetary constraints. New capital projects and enhancedlevel of services to our customers would also need to befactored into the capital budgets; this together withoperational, overheads and maintenance costs have to becalculated to ensure affordable tariffs and a sustainableservice.

Training programs on various aspects of asset managementhave commenced to empower our management and staff onasset management practices. A Gap-Ex analysis, which isdone annually, identifies our status on asset management andbenchmark this against the Best Appropriate Practices in our

sector nationally. The areas with the largest gaps are easilyidentified and this becomes the key focus areas for the nextphase on the asset improvement program.

Many young professional and operational staff have recentlyjoined the organisation but at the same time we have some ofour staff who have a wealth of institutional knowledge thatwould soon be retiring. As part of our risk managementpractice the business processes and standard operatingprocedures are being reviewed to leverage the institutionalknowledge of the experienced staff.

The Current Replacement Cost (CRC) for each class ofstrategic assets have been calculated based on the keyattributes that determine the replacement cost. The combinedcurrent replacement cost for the strategic water andsanitation infrastructure assets are shown in the figuresbelow by asset category:

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Asset Management by Manager: Roy Maharaj

Design Branch fulfils the role of being the consultingcivil engineers to the Operational Branches, TreatmentWorks and Water Operations. Provision of capitalinfrastructure items, including all authorities (eg:enviromental, land and project), funding, feasibility,design, documentation, tender and constructiondrawings, tender process, adjudication, constructionsupervision, commissioning and handover to therelevant operational branch.

Design Branch fulfils the role of being the consultingcivil engineers to the Operational Branches, TreatmentWorks and Networks. Provision of capital infrastructureitems, including all authorities (eg: enviromental, landand project), funding, feasibility, design, documentation,tender and construction drawings, tender process,adjudication, construction supervision, commissioningand handover to the relevant operational branch.

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Design Branch by Manager: Dave Larkin

INSPECTION OF THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS WITHIN THE TREATMENT PROCESS CARRIED OUT IN CONJUNCTION WITH PROCESS AND M&E INSPECTIONS.

INCLUSION OF ENERGY SAVING EQUIPMENT IN THE CURRENT MAJOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS UPGRADE CONTRACTS. THIS IS LINKED TO BONUS GREEN DROP POINTS.

In support of the Unit’s Blue Drop Audit preparations,river catchments above the abstraction points for theCity’s waterworks were mapped. Risks to raw waterquality were identified with a view to minimisingtreatment costs and health risks to the community atlarge.

Industries were plotted within sewer catchments toidentify and characterise the effluents enteringwastewater treatment works. Regulation of the quality ofindustrial effluent discharges to sewer has resulted insignificant quality improvements.

Unregulated discharges to sewer can jeopardise theintegrity of the sewer infrastructure, the health ofmunicipal wastewater personnel and cause processupsets at treatment works. This would lead to pollutionof our rivers and beaches.

The City separates stormwater and sewerinfrastructures. Stormwater is prevented from enteringthe sewer system to prevent sewer flooding and riverpollution.

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That the Pollution and Environment Branch

monitor 1020 companies within the

eThekwini Municipality.

Pollution & Environment by Manager: Chris Fennemore

STORMWATER CANAL

TESTING RIVER QUALITY

TESTING OF EFFLUENT

TESTING FOR CROSS CONNECTIONS

INDUSTRY

As the Manager: Finance for the Water and Sanitationunit within Ethekwini my managers, accountants andsupport staff work with teams right across the Unit for acommon goal. Our main role is to sustain servicedelivery in terms of providing reports, financialstatements and analyses, decision and informationsupport, financial risk management, process re-engineering, benchmarking, financial planning,performance measurement and advanced capital andoperating budgeting to all the different stakeholders.Compliance with various legislation eg MFMA, SupplyChain Management, Asset Management and GRAPregulations is both obligatory and challenging in termsof service delivery and risk management It’s great to bepart of the Treasury team, providing a commercialsupport because its absolutely pivotal to a sustainableand affordable service delivery. It enables me to leadfrom the front and empowers me to make and influencecritical business decisions, as well as enabling others tomake decisions.

Working for a Unit within Ethekwini with a R5 billion

budget, the finance division has a lot of responsibilityand its very motivating to know that we are a making adifference.

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Financial Management by Manager: Rosh Maharaj

Sustainability of public finances is the ability of an entityto meet service delivery and financial commitments bothnow and in the future in all areas including Blue andGreen Drop programmes. The demand for funding isincreasing whilst the increase in revenue still eludes us.The economic climate does not justify additionalincreases in tariffs. Innovative ideas have to be devised tomake tariffs more palatable and to identify new sourcesof funding both local and international.

In one such partnership, Finance is now taking on anincreasingly important role in supporting the unit togain Blue and Green Drop status and minimizing ourcarbon footprint. The Water and Sanitation businessunits and cost structures have been reconfigured toprovide the detailed information required by the Blueand Green Drop assessments in terms of costing reportson the individual treatment, storage and distributionsystems. In addition a significant contribution was madeinto the RPMS model scoring system.

As the Finance support function transforms into afinancial engineer? (The mind boggles:)). The greatestcontribution will be in business partnering roles withoperations and technical management and these roles

will broaden the range of opportunities for our unit asthey can lead to international best practices. Perhaps thisis a story that can be used as a metaphor for our skills asmore than just blue and green bean counters!

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Financial Management by Manager: Rosh Maharaj

Community Education and Councillor Liaison Division provides community awareness and school education programs to the residents of the eThekwini Municipality to ensure that the public at large are well informed of water conservation and pollution prevention.

These initiatives are achieved by conducting school and community workshops and training.

There were over 80 schools and 50 community workshops conducted during 2010/11 financial year.

During 2010/11 we ran specialized workshops for teachers, councillors and nominated community leaders.

We have dedicated teams that are Education Officers who ensure messages reach schools, colleges and universities about water & sanitation services.

We have community Liaison Officers who make sure community outreach and training are undertaken.

We have Community Development Officers who ensure residents living in the informal settlements are

provided with and educated about uses of ablution facilities.

We have Customer Service Agents doing house to house education and attending to site visits to ensure that all those unreported sewer/water leaks are attended to immediately.

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Community Education Councillor Liaison Division by Manager:

Teddy Gounden

ABLUTION FACILITY

EDUCATION CENTRE

SCHOOL EDUCATION

Platinum : 2010/11 – 96.71%

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Green Drop Recognition for Top Provincial Performer KZN : eThekwini Municipality 2010/2011

Green Drop Excellence Recognition for Top 10 Municipality 2010/2011

Largest Volume of Effluent Discharged per Green Drop Requirement 2010/2011To this effect, EWS was awarded with 9 prestigious Green Drops in the 2011 certification. It was also highlighted as the best performer in KZN, 3rd best overall in the country and the best Green Drop Metropolitan Municipality. It is also the largest discharger of Green drop effluent and boasts the highest scoring works in the country, viz. Phoenix Wastewater Treatment Works with a Green drop score of 99.4%

Vandalism/theft of assets. Illegal connections Limited resources (human and tools) Budget constraints: this limits us from

upgrading infrastructures, recruiting more staff, improving planned maintenance, asset management etc..

Skills limitation. Aging infrastructures Support from higher management. Lack of interdepartmental processes/

procedures. Lack of law enforcement

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Wastewater treatment has never been seen as aglamorous field and very little about how vital afunction it is, is known by the general public. Theaverage person knows very little about whathappens once they flush a toilet or unplug a drainother than the water goes down the drain.

While efforts like Green Drop certainly do much toraise the profile of wastewater treatment in thepublic consciousness there is still much to be done.

The Green Drop programme has done much toraise the profile of the wastewater sector in SouthAfrica. However more education and awareness isneeded for the public to better understand theimportance of wastewater treatment to people’slives, their access to clean drinking water, to theirhealth, hygiene, the economy and to the protectionof the environment. All that we value so much, EWSis undertaking educational projects and awarenesscampaign (radio campaign, youth conference) tobring this important message to the attention of ourconsumers.

Neil Macleod & Kim Brackenridge

Aaron Mafunda

Bhavna Soni, Tony Holbrook, Mervin Govender & Sholiphi Mthimkhulu,

Bill Pfaff & Catherine Rowe

Siobhan Jackson

Mohammed Dildar, Agnes Naidoo, Akash Singh & Shenelle Emmanuel,

Lall Jugdeo, Cassandra Nayager, Komalan Padigadu, Lorraine Chetty,

Marcus Mahadasen & Mike Baldav

Gaylyn Manikum

Roy Maharaj & Steve Pietersen

Rosh Maharaj & Dina Dinanath

Christopher Fennemore & Mlungisi Mahlobo,

Dave Larkin

Simon Scruton

Mandla Malakoana & Makhosi Maphumulo

Teddy Gounden, Bernard Gabela & Tracey Naylor

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T‘Thank you to each one of you for your all

important contribution to this publication’.

Developed for eThekwini Water & Sanitation

by Kim Tifflin Sing

Email: kimtif@dmws.durban.gov.za

Tel: (031) 311-8685

Website:

http://www.durban.gov.za/city_services/water_san

itation/water_quality/Pages/default.aspx