Author: Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe

Issued by George Municipality

10 May 2022

The Meul sewer pump station, one of George’s most critical pumpstations, which has in recent years experienced frequent and costly breakdowns that threatens the integrity of the sewage system it serves, as well as the surrounding environment, is soon to be upgraded to provide more energy efficient pumps that meet future flow needs, as well as providing additional safety by adding an emergency power generator to keep the installation operational during load shedding, amongst other critical upgrades.

The contract value is approximately R31.67 million and the new upgrade is expected to be completed in the next 12 months. The George Municipality’s Civil Services Department confirmed that the appointed contractor has already started with the design work of the upgrade at the Meul Pump Station. The pump station is more than 30 years old and requires refurbishment to ensure equipment is kept in working order as well as upgrading to provide sufficient capacity.

The upgrade comprises three main components which are civil engineering, mechanical refurbishment and electrical. “The civil engineering upgrades will include repairs to the pump station including refurbishment of the internal of the pump station, new Motor Control Centre (MCC) room, new generator room and new valve chamber to rising main and sump modifications,” said Gerard de Swardt, a project manager in Civils department.

“Mechanical refurbishment will incorporate upgrading of the pump station including pumps, pipework, valves, screens, equipment, while the electrical comprises electronic and instrumentation refurbishment including new bulk electrical, motor control centre, standby generator, instrumentation, and related cables,” de Swardt added.

It is envisaged that there would be no disruption in services during the construction. “The public will be informed through media and George Municipality’s communication channels should there be any planned disruptions in any related services,” he added.

Access to the site will be strictly controlled. No members of the public will be allowed to enter the working area. The site will comply with the relevant requirements in terms of the COVID19 regulations.

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Following the successful application for a Budget Facility for Infrastructure funding (“BFI”) grant, two components of the 12 have broken ground and are underway while others will follow shortly. The 20 Ml/d treatment plant extension to the New Water Treatment Works (New WTW Denneoord) is component 2 of the 12 and the Sludge plant is component 1. These two components are grouped together in a single project with two construction contracts.

The first contract for the civil engineering construction has been awarded and construction has commenced on site for both components. This is the largest single component of the Water Security and Remedial Works project (BFI)  and is valued at R263 million. The tender for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (MEI) works is currently live and will close shortly.

The potable Water Security and Remedial Works project will also include the refurbishment of the existing sludge discharge system; upgrade of Garden Route Dam outlet supply; new generator for Garden Route Dam pump station to ease supply of raw water during power failures; new 30Ml Balancing Dam and pipeline to New Water Treatment Plant; rehabilitation of Old water treatment works; replacement for Kaaimans River Pump station pumps; new Pacaltsdorp (West) Reservoir; new Pacaltsdorp (East) Reservoir, Tower and pump station; new Thembalethu (West) Reservoir and Pump station and a new Thembalethu (East) Reservoir, Tower and pump station.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk together with Portfolio Councillor Jackie Von Brandis ( Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects & BFI) and Portfolio Councillor Henry Hill (Planning and Development) undertook a site inspection last week.  “The size of the site works illustrates the enormous scale of the project being undertaken. Discussions with the engineers on site outlined the various components of this huge Water Security and Remedial Works project that will need to be managed over the next few years,” said Ald Van Wyk.

According to Gerard De Swardt, Project Manager for George Civil Engineering Services, the earthworks are currently under way with the major excavation for the Water Treatment Works extension consisting of some 20 000 cubic meters of earth material that will be excavated and stockpiled on site for re-use elsewhere. The high clay content of the soil renders the material useful for earth dam construction and possible other uses where low permeability is required to prevent groundwater pollution. Such projects have already been identified with one being component 6 of the Water Security and Remedial Works project, that is the construction of an earth dam to provide an additional 30 Ml raw water storage for water supplied to the two treatment plants.

The excavation for the 20 Ml/d WTW module is nearing full depth for the construction of the structures, depending on the outcome of Geotechnical testing which will determine the bearing capacity of the in-situ soil. Some further excavation and material replacement may be required if the conditions are not suitable. The placing of concrete will commence shortly and for this purpose two tower cranes of 23m height will be installed on site.

It is well-known that there is widespread concern about the state of water and wastewater infrastructure in South Africa and that significant amounts of funding will be required to rehabilitate this infrastructure within municipalities. The George management team recognised that the capital expenditure required for such a project would be significant and place enormous strain on the municipality’s financial resources. The initiative was taken to approach National Treasury to search for a solution. This approach culminated in the application being launched and in being awarded the BFI facility, George has become the flag-bearer among non-metro municipalities to lead the restoration of water treatment as well as wastewater facilities in the country.

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Caption: Group pic from left: Henry Hill (Portfolio Cllr Planning and Development),  Jannie Koegelenberg (Engineer, Royal Haskoning DHV), Gerard De Swardt (Project Manager: George Civil Engineering Services), Ald Leon Van Wyk, Jackie Von Brandis (Portfolio Cllr Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects & BFI) and Jonathan Bernon (Construction Manager, Icon Construction).

George Municipality is currently replacing a 40-year-old water pipeline infrastructure in Parkdene that is causing high water losses due to frequent pipe bursts. According to Lionel Daniels, Acting Director: Civil Engineering, the Parkdene pipe replacement is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation, worth approximately R3 million. The existing very old pipework is replaced with Un-plasticised Poli-vinyl Chloride (PVC-u) pipes with new fire and gate valves to facilitate maintenance and operations going forward.

Multi-year pipe replacement programme

Daniels said that this is the start of a comprehensive pipe replacement programme for the Parkdene, Conville and Protea Park Areas over a multi-year period.  The initial phase will be funded by the department through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant or WSIG programme, which aims to accelerate backlog reduction and enhance the sustainability of services.  This programme supports the Municipality in implementing water conservation and water demand management (WC/WDM) projects.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk noted during his site inspection that the administration endeavours to conduct pre-emptive placement of these water lines to ensure breakages can be dealt with efficiently. “PVC allows for the introduction of valves and metres. The valves make it easier to isolate areas and meters will help with the management of water flow. “

Job Creation

Currently, approximately ten people are being employed out of the community with accredited training to be rolled out through a number of municipal projects to increase the capacity of the communities served by the projects to enhance their job creation potential going forward.

Safety

The work is undertaken in short sections to allow the trenches to be closed at the end of each day’s work.  This minimises inconvenience to residents and ensures access to each property at the end of each day as well as the safety of pedestrians.  The work is challenging due to a number of existing services being located within the sidewalk.

Duration of Work

The four-month contract is currently just over the halfway mark in terms of time, with a due completion date expected in early June 2022.  There have been some delays in the recent past with the rainfall experienced in the region.

Next steps

Approximately 800m of a 160mm diameter water pipeline along Main Road, Parkdene, needs to be replaced, with all associated fire hydrants and isolating valves.  At the same time, new erf connection pipework will be provided under Main Street by directional drilling. To protect the recently resurfaced Main Road, a number of the existing erf connections will be reinstated with new connection lines being drilled under the road thereby saving the newly resurfaced road.

Captions:

164508: Trenches on site are closed off daily to ensure access to properties.

155512:  Sites are being rehabilitated after work is completed in a section.

135443:  Several existing services like electrical cables, provide challenges in laying a new pipeline.

Parkdene water: Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk, Adrian van Molendorff from Civil Engineering Services and Cllr Henry Hill visited the site in Parkdene.

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