MechChem Africa November 2018

P art of the Lower Thukela Bulk Water Supply Scheme (LTB- WSS), a new water treatment plant, constructed at a cost of R1.4‑billion and funded byUmgeniWater and theDepartment of Water and Sanitation, will eventually supply approximately 340 000 people in the iLembe district – from inland of Mandini to Bal- lito in the south –with potable water. This will be the first time many of the people in this region receive a reliable supply of safe drinking water. Inwhat is oneof the largestmunicipal potablewater treatment plants undertaken byVeolia SouthAfrica, Veoliawas responsible for supplying the required mechanical and electrical components for the treatment plant as well as for the customised abstraction works that will pump water from the river. “The remote location of the construction site required careful plan- ning and logistical accuracy amongst each of the project stakehold- ers,” explains Pierre Michallet, senior project manager, Veolia Water Technologies South Africa. Veolia and its EPCM partner as well as the primary stakeholder in theproject, UmgeniWater, and theengineers and civil contractors worked in close collaboration throughout the project to ensure successful execution and delivery. Rawwater is abstracted from the uThukela River through a boulder and gravel trap system that prevents largematter frombeing deposited into the water treatment works. The stream is screened as it is split into four canals designed to allow finer sediments and sand particles to settle. The flow is then pumped from the low lift pump station up to the hydrocyclone at the beginning of the water treatment circuit. Additional filtering for sediment, grit, organic matter and heavy metals then takes place via gravity using clariflocculators, the Pulsator ® pulsed sludge blanket clarifier and sand filtration. Underflow sludge accumulated across the treatment processes is dewatered through decanter centrifuges. As part of theCPGproposal, Veoliawas responsible for fostering and developing relevant professional and technical skills among the region’s communities that can be utilised in the operation and maintenance of thewater plant. A coordinated recruitment planwas created to identify locally trained engineers, mechanical and electrical fitters, boilermakers and other vocations that could be used in the plant’s operation. Provisionhasbeenmade toscale theplant’spotablewater production capacity from55up to110M ℓ /day, should it be required in the future. q Veolia Water Technologies South Africa recently completed its contract for the 55 Mℓ/day potable water treatment plant in the iLembe District in KwaZulu-Natal. Water treatment plant handed to Umgeni Water

Online and ready to go, the 55 M ℓ /day potable water treatment plant in the iLembe District has been handed over to Umgeni Water.

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