Water Pollution and Water challenges in Ukhahlamba District Municipality

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Water Pollution and Water challenges in
Ukhahlamba District Municipality

• Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Public hearings
  3 and 4 June 2008

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Map
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Basic information

• 4 local municipalities in the district area
  Gariep, Maletswai, Senqu and Elundini
• About 300 - 340 000 people live in the district
• 80 live in Senqu and Elundini and 20 live
  between Maletswai and Gariep
• Only 17 of people live in towns
• Over 25 of the population is on child support
  grants
• Households with an income of less than R1500 per
  month (2006)
• Elundini 80.6, Senqu 65.1, Maletswai 58.4,
  Gariep 58.1
• Government, Agriculture and Trade are the main
  sectors supporting the economy
• Prevalence of Hiv and Aids is at 29.1 (among
  those who have tested.)

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Briefing how Ukhahlamba addresses water quality
in the WSDP

• The first WSDP (2004) did not sufficiently
  address Water Quality
• The new draft WSDP (2008) is more detailed and
  discusses water quality under the following
  headings
• Situation assessment
• Future trend and goals
• Strategic gap analysis
• Implementation strategies

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Strategies in draft reviewed WSDP to address
water quality

• Appointment of competent water service providers.
• Upgrade water treatment plants within 2 years to
  provide reliable and sustainable SANS compliant
  water.
• Assist with the elimination of informal
  settlements to meet the national target by 2014.
• Return flow quality from sewerage treatment works
  to comply with SANS standards.
• All rural households to be provided with
  sanitation by 2010.

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Challenges to meet interventions with regards to
water quality as per the WSDP

• Appointment of competent water service providers.
• Section 78 process completed in 2006.
• Report indicated Local Municipalities (LMs) did
  not have sufficient capacity at the time, however
  Council decided in terms of its mandate to
  Support and Capacitate Local Municipalities, to
  appoint them as Water Service Providers as they
  were historically providing this service.
• Despite capacity building efforts by the WSA the
  LMs have not advanced sufficiently nor geared
  themselves to become efficient WSPs able to
  provide the service at the quality required.
• The WSA is in the process of reviewing water
  provision services in the District.
• The challenge
• The previous Service Level Agreement did not
  sufficiently address performance nor water
  quality. This has been rectified in new Service
  Level Agreements.
• Financial resource challenges over the past year
  restricted the WSA from taking sufficient
  proactive action to intervene in the WSPs and
  rectify the situation.

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Challenges to meet interventions with regards to
water quality as per the WSDP

• Upgrade water treatment plants within 2 years to
  provide reliable and sustainable SANS compliant
  water.
• Arising from fluctuating water quality, in
  October 2007 an investigation to determine which
  water treatment works needed prioritized
  intervention was undertaken.
• Based on this report the WSA invited DWAF to
  visit the treatment works and based on this an
  application for funding was submitted.
• In April 2008 DWAF did a situation analysis of
  some of these prioritized water treatment works
  in the District. Out of the 5 assessed, only
  1(Sterkspruit WTW) was in good state of repair.
  The others were is a serious state of collapse
  and likelihood and impact of failure was deemed
  to be high. The study did not however indicate
  the remedial measures and the cost to rectify the
  problems.
• DBSA support is currently identifying remedial
  measures and costing all 12 WTW in the District.
• It is now proposed that the Local municipalities
  will only provide reticulation services and a
  separate water provider (such as a water board)
  will run all the water and sanitation treatment
  works. A further provider will oversee water
  demand management and catchment management.
• The challenge
• We expect the cost for the remedial works to be
  exorbitant (in excess of R30million)
• Prior to 2006/7(adjustment budget) the
  municipality did not have a capital replacement
  fund.
• The Municipality has been in financial difficulty
  and has not been in a position to apply for loans.

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Challenges to meet interventions with regards to
water quality as per the WSDP

• Assist with the elimination of informal
  settlements to meet the national target by 2014.
• Bulk service provision is the responsibility of
  the WSA (Ukhahlamba DM) and fully dependent on
  MIG funding.
• The MIG fund for Ukhahlamba is fully committed
  over the MTEF on water /sanitation projects to
  meet backlogs.
• Ukhahlamba DM has a good history of spending MIG
  funds.
• The challenge
• Insufficient capital funding for new bulk
  infrastructure development. Amounts are uncertain
  at this stage as the housing sector plans are
  still being developed by the Local Municipalities
  in conjunction with the Dept of Housing.

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Challenges to meet interventions with regards to
water quality as per the WSDP

• Return flow quality from sewerage treatment works
  to comply with SANS standards.
• This is an area that has been ineffectively
  monitored due to the Service Level Agreement with
  WSPs not being sufficiently performance based.
• Within the WSA there have been capacity
  constraints (as the tariffs were below cost
  recovery and there were a number of unfilled EHP
  posts). Tariffs have been amended and posts have
  now been filled.
• DBSA is currently assisting with a baseline study
  on return flow quality (and also leachate from
  landfill sites).
• The challenge
• Competent water service providers to
  appropriately implement systems and procedures
  around return flow quality
• The distance to laboratories to test water or
  effluent quality is in time distance further than
  the standards, resulting in potentially
  compromised results as bacteria growth continues
  whilst in transit.

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Challenges to meet interventions with regards to
water quality as per the WSDP

• All rural households to be provided with
  sanitation by 2010.
• The DM has currently 76 sanitation backlogs
  (64945 households) and requires R335m to
  eradicate them.
• Presentations made to DPLG and DWAF to solicit
  additional funding to deal with backlogs have not
  been successful to date.
• Plans to implement projects are in place as
  identified in the Sanitation Master Plan but
  funding is lacking
• The Sanitation Master Plan also highlights the
  increased operations and maintenance costs of all
  newly built infrastructure.
• Challenge
• The MIG fund of Ukhahlamba is fully committed
  over the MTEF on other water / sanitation
  projects to meet backlogs (55 on water and 45
  on sanitation)
• Insufficient capital funding for new
  infrastructure and subsequent operations and
  maintenance.

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Relationships around compliance mechanisms

• National compliance (DWAF)
• Policy, support, regulation and information
• Local compliance (WSA)
• By-laws Promulgated By-laws are in place
• Develop and implement policies Reviewed indigent
  policies and credit control policies are in place
• Tariffs Tariffs have been revised to be
  realistic from 1 July 2008
• Planning WSDP is under review and Sanitation
  Master plan is complete
• WSP arrangements under review, Service Level
  Agreements not signed
• Monitoring of WSPs monthly coordination meetings
  - poorly attended by LMs.
• Local compliance (WSP)
• Provide water and sanitation services to meet
  required standards.
• Prepare water sector plans.
• Identify projects to improve water and sanitation
  services.

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How does Ukhahlamba respond to poor water quality

• It has been understood that the WSP had the
  responsibility to inform communities of failures
  or potential failures in water quality.
• Due to this not happening despite our monitoring
  identifying problems, the Water Services
  Authority instituted boil notices across the
  district area (to all potentially compromised
  communities) in April 2008 and these are all
  still in place
• Prior to this the WSA had been informing the WSP
  that the monitoring had identified poor water and
  were pressurizing them to take action through
  administrative and political avenues
• As a last resort Ukhahlamba WSA has carted water
  in instances where there has been a total failure
  in water provision.

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Awareness Programmes around water quality issues

• Prior to March 2008
• Sanitation resource centre undertakes health and
  hygiene awareness in the rural areas of Elundini
  (mainly at schools and clinics) (ongoing
  programme).
• Health and hygiene training provided to hawkers (
  ongoing programme in the entire district area).
• Health and Hygiene training in Ugie in Schools
  around water demand management and health and
  hygiene, linked to the upgrading of
  infrastructure to respond to the PG Bison
  investment.
• Health and Hygiene awareness as part of the
  implementation of all sanitation projects
  including the eradication of buckets.
• Premises inspection of public facilities and
  reports prepared for their management on how to
  improve health and hygiene ( such as Empilisweni
  Hospital and Cloete Joubert Hospital).

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Awareness Programmes around water quality issues

• Clinic awareness through tabling of water quality
  reports in the District Health Advisory committee
  ( a structure of the Department of Health).
• Water committees at ward level, have been
  established in Senqu and Elundini to deal with
  all water related problems. ( This is a link
  between the community and the WSP and WSA).
• Political awareness through the provision of
  water quality reports to District Municipality
  structures ( standing committees, Mayoral
  Committee and Council), as well as the District
  Mayors Forum.
• Water quality a standing item on the WSP/WSA
  monthly coordination meetings and DWAF bilateral
  meetings.
• Tabled a draft water quality communication
  strategy to council in April 2008 to improve
  communication to all role-players and the
  community.
• Observe national water week and sanitation week (
  on a annual basis) to add further impetus to the
  health and hygiene awareness programme currently
  undertaken to communities.

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Awareness Programmes around water quality issues

• Post March 2008
• Issued Boil notice at the end April 2008, when it
  became clear that the monthly water quality
  results ( that were disputed by WSPs based on
  testing by independent service providers) had
  been affirmed by DWAF. Issued to all potentially
  compromised communities ( only excluded the towns
  of Sterkspruit, Barkly East, Rhodes, and
  Steynsburg). All Boil notices are still in place.
• Notices issued to all schools, crèches,
  hospitals, clinics, and community organisations.
• Intensified health and hygiene training for all
  communities where diarrhoea among infants had
  occurred.
• Intensive sanitation week awareness linked to
  broader awareness around poverty, government
  assistance and health undertaken together with
  the social cluster ( Dept of Social Development,
  SASSA, Dept of Health and Ukhahlamba District
  Municipality).

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Monthly water quality reporting

• Ukhahlamba tests for E.Coli, Total Plate Counts
  and Coliforms.
• Water quality has fluctuated over the past
  months.
• The needs attention is usually due to high
  number of Coliforms.
• The failures have been due to the presence of
  E.coli.

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Reporting to DWAF

• Ukhahlamba DM takes on average 52 samples per
  month to monitor WSPs and has been consistent
  with water sampling since 2006
• Samples of all urban schemes and only rural
  schemes at the rural nodes as defined in the
  District Spatial Development Framework are taken

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Anomalies in Water Quality

• E.coli indicates a lack of chlorination
• Total Plate count and Coliforms indicate poor
  operations and management of the water systems
• These are exacerbated by
• Overall poor condition of water treatment plants
  due to ageing infrastructure, insufficient
  preventative maintenance due to lack of funding.
• Lack of skilled operators responsible to operate
  Water and Sanitation Treatment Works.
• Inadequate supervision of operations and
  maintenance as well as management of
  infrastructure.
• Insufficient funding to implement programmes to
  meet the sanitation and water backlogs
• Lack of understanding by local municipalities of
  the magnitude of responsibility they have taken
  on, through signing a service level agreement to
  be water service providers.

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Funds available to address water quality issues

• Water Service Providers (currently R23.5m
  direct costs excluding personnel)
• Elundini water services ( Elundini LM and
  Sintec)
• General maintenance (including rural areas)R5.4m
• Chemicals R220,000
• Senqu water services (Senqu LM and Bloemwater)
• General maintenance (including rural areas)
  R15.6m
• Chemicals R150,000
• Maletswai water services
• General maintenance R785,000
• Chemicals R700,000
• Gariep water services
• General maintenance R301,000
• Chemicals R370,000

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Funds available to address water quality issues

• Water Services Authority (23 of the current
  total operating costs of the municipality)
• Training of staff R305,000
• Monitoring and evaluation R169,000
• Municipal Health Services Water quality testing
  R306 000
• MIG budget relating to water quality
• R21.8m committed to new infrastructure which
  equates to 22 of the MIG allocation
• Maclear waste water works R3.5m
• Ugie new water treatment plant R12m
• Steynsburg new water treatment works R6.3m

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Technical and scientific skills to purify water

• WSA (District Municipality)
• Technical Director B.Tech Civil engineering
  degree, 20 years experience in engineering field
• WSA Manager N.dip Civil Engineering, studying
  towards a B.Tech degree, 9 years experience
• WSP Manager N.dip Civil Engineering, studying
  towards a B.Tech degree, 6 years experience
• Currently on advert for the filling of 4 water
  technicians posts (1 per LM area)
• Manager Municipal Health Services B.Tech
  Environmental Health. 16 years experience
• 1Snr EHP, B.Tech Environmental Health with 4
  years experience
• 16 Jnr EHPs, with either N.Dip and B.Tech
  Environmental Health and ranging in 5months to 3
  years experience(9) and 2 with plus 18 years
  experience. (Large staff turnover)

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Technical and scientific skills to purify water

• WSPs ( Local Municipalities)
• Gariep no engineer, post advertised
• Maletswai N.Dip civil engineering
• Senqu N3 electrical engineering
• Elundini N.Dip civil engineering, post being
  advertised.
• In general, water supervisors are not skilled,
  however, Elundini has appointed from 1 April 2008
  a supervisor with 7 years experience in water
  treatment.
• WSPs ( Bloemwater and Sintec) have extensive
  capacity in engineering and water quality.
• Water and Sanitation learnership underway whereby
  38 school leavers are being trained. Complete
  training by October, and will be drafted into the
  Water Treatment facilities.
• With DWAF support, have provided short course
  training for all current water treatment
  supervisors (Feb 2008)

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Role and assistance by DWAF, DPLG and water boards

• DWAF
• Long term and constant support provided by DWAF
  over a number of years
• Water specialist assigned to the WSA from 1 May
  2008 for 3 months to assist in improving systems
  in water treatment and management
• Initiated more detailed training of water
  treatment operators
• Provided bleach and soap during the time of
  crisis
• Provided additional hands on support around
  health and hygiene awareness for two weeks in May
  2008
• Provided collaborating water tests to cross check
  WSA results
• Tested stools to check for pathogens and to do
  DNA profiling to ascertain if the pathogens were
  from water
• Water treatment audit to ascertain gaps and
  determine critical areas of intervention
• In process of revising the eWQMS to better
  respond to the needs of water management in the
  area.

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Role and assistance by DWAF, DPLG and water boards

• DBSA
• Water specialist assigned to the WSA from 19 May
  2008 for indefinite period to lend capacity to
  the WSA and WSPs
• Verbally committed to provide funding for
• testing equipment to all treatment works and for
  Environmental Health Practitioners to test
  turbidity and chlorine levels of treated water
• support to do a situation analysis and determine
  costs to refurbish water treatment works
• Baseline studies of raw water sources, return
  flow quality, rural water quality
• Health and hygiene awareness programmes (
  training of trainers EHPs and CDWs)
• Database development for the capturing and
  analysis of performance data
• Bloemwater (Water board providing services in the
  rural areas of Senqu Municipality)
• supported the WSA with additional chlorine
  tablets and canisters, carting of water to
  potentially compromised areas, cleaning of the
  Epilisweni hospital water treatment works (on
  behalf of the Dept of PW and Dept of Health)
• DPLG
• The report on the cost of the refurbishment of
  water treatment works will be forwarded to DPLG
  for funding

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• Thank you.