Jay Bhagwan, executive manager of water use and wastewater management at the Water Research Commission, a public entity set up in the 70s for water research and innovation, explained the background behind the current water shortages and overall picture of water scarcity in South Africa.
Bhagwan explained that water security is central to economic and social growth. “Current water resources and infrastructure in Gauteng will be continuously under pressure in the future. Today we are dealing with a population of 14 million, and growing,” he said.
According to Bhagwan, internationally, cities should be migrating away from sewers and concrete storm water networks in favour of more water sensitive designs which provide greater water security.
This includes replacing hard surfacing with green infrastructure, which can take the form of a wetland, park or permeable paving, also known as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.
The Water Research Commission received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private foundation in the world, to demonstrate new off-the-grid sanitation technologies which could replace standard conventional flush toilets.
Rather than using nine litres per flush, these technologies only use about 1 litre of water for flushing and are able to treat and dispose of human waste (faeces and urine) at the source.
This removes the need for sophisticated sewerage networks and waste water treatment.
The net beneficiary is also the environment which will be free from pollutants and return flows, as well as an availability of 30 percent more water from flushing activities. While these are not in mass production as yet, they are being readied for the market.
Bhagwan said, “The opportunity exists for Kyalami to be a leader in this change and could possibly be a pilot area for new technologies which will become widely used in the near future.
“It can also be demonstrated how an urban community can evolve responsibly by going off the grid with sanitation solutions and become a green area with green solutions. This could be a world first,” he said.
Residents in attendance supported the suggestions and asked if these technologies can handle bulk sewage to replace a proposed sewerage line that they are opposing. It was explained that the technology can accommodate households or larger scale projects.
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