Taking a walk through the water purification process
Rand Water partnered with the metro to host Caxton journalists in their latest purification process tour at their biggest water treatment plant in Vereeniging.
The metro and Rand Water collaborated in giving Caxton journalists a tour of their Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant last Friday.
The plant is the biggest of two water treatment plants within the water utility company responsible for 70 per cent of the total capacity of Rand Water.
The tour was led by Yvonne Rakobane, a process quality manager at Rand Water.
Before you can quench your thirst with a tall glass of water straight from your tap, Rand Water needs to ensure the quality of the water is good for consumption by undergoing a purification process.
Rand Water extracts water from the Vaal Dam and it then goes through screening.
During the screening process, water passes through and sticks, fish, leaves and other particles are blocked.
The water then flows into the buffer dam, proceeding into the filtration process.
The filtration process consists of seven phases, namely, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, carbonation, filtration, chlorination and pumping.
Coagulation:
In this phase, water is mixed with raw limestone in the poly dosing plant. This is done to destroy bacteria or algae in order to stabilise the water, separating it from germs.
Flocculation:
The particles which coagulated in phase one are now visible and cling onto one another, forming floc. The floc remains on top of the water which now moves at a high velocity in the spiral flocculates.
Sedimentation:
As the water flows into the sedimentation bay, the floc settles at the bottom of the bay and is referred to as sludge.
The water at the top is clean and ready to flow into the carbonation bay.
Meanwhile, the sludge is pumped out by desludging bridges.
Carbonation:
When the water reaches the carbonation bay, carbon dioxide is added to stabilise the pH levels as they were raised in the first phase when raw limestone was used as a coagulant.
Filtration:
This phase is conducted in a dark filter house to prevent algae from growing.
Although the water has been stabilised it may still contain germs or algae, which is why it has to pass through pebbles and sand filters that will trap small living organisms.
This phase also includes the backwash method which cleanses the water thoroughly before the disinfection phase.
The process could take from 36 to 72 hours.
Chlorination:
Chlorine is used to disinfect the water, killing germs which may still live in the water. In the odd chance that chlorine cannot be accessed or there is a chlorine leak, HTH is used as a substitute disinfectant.
This stage is vital because it ensures minimal bacteria grows in the water as it travels to pumping stations.
Pumping:
The final product is pumped to four boosting stations, namely Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes, Palmiet and Mapleton.
According to Smuts Marais, a water quality manager from the metro, once the water leaves Rand Water’s reservoirs and is in the metro’s reservoirs, they are required to take two samples of water a month for testing, to ensure the water quality complies with the set standards.
The metro also revealed a large number of consumers are unaware of the process Rand Water undertakes to ensure they are providing quality drinking water, which is why they still assume every worm or insect they find in their glasses of water come straight from the reservoirs.
“In most cases, we find insects had laid eggs in the mouths of the taps or the overflow of the basin and consumers had rushed to lodge a complaint with the metro or Rand Water,” said Elsie van Staden, a water quality technician from the metro.
“Although there is currently no indication of water restrictions being implemented this year, we still urge consumers to be mindful of their water usage,” said Lebogang Ramasha of the communications department.
Water Saving Tips:
• Take shorter showers. Make it fun, time yourself by playing your favourite song and hop out when it ends.
• Use a tumbler when brushing your teeth.
• Next time you wash your car, ditch the hosepipe and fill up a bucket instead.
• Practice reuse. Water the lawn with water discarded from the washing machine or use it to wash your car.
• Monitor your flushing habits.
• Use as little water as possible, try using 25 litres of water a day for your cooking, cleaning, bathing, flushing and drinking needs.
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist) kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za
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