THE weather is getting wilder in KwaZulu-Natal. This year has been a record breaker, with unprecedented rainfall causing floods, landslides, and the loss of lives, homes and businesses.
Infrastructure and warehousing have been severely damaged or destroyed over large parts of the province, and many residents and businesses have been left without a consistent water supply.
A renewed focus on disaster management and restoration planning is essential to prevent a repeat of the April disaster. This is according to Miles Murray, Director of Business Development at Veolia Services Southern Africa.
In the aftermath of the floods, Veolia has been supporting clients with clean-up services, repairs and maintenance. It has also assisted eThekwini Municipality to address restoration of wastewater discharge management.
“The burden on the eThekwini Municipality is huge and resources are constrained. This is where Veolia can assist as we have the expertise in water and wastewater management,” says Murray.
Veolia operates and maintains the Durban Water Recycling Plant (DWR) on behalf of the municipality, which recycles wastewater from households for industrial use. The floods caused a week-long power outage and damage to the feed supply infrastructure from the Umlaas River/ Chatsworth catchment area.
“The floods caused severe damages and blockages to the supply network and we saw a reduction in feed water,” says Siva Chetty, Regional Services Manager for Veolia. The plant also faced reduced sewage flows, which increased the risk of environmental pollution and posed a health risk to surrounding communities.
To restore adequate flows to DWR, Veolia surveyed damages to the catchment system and identified three acute failure points. The first fault was damage to a section of 660 mm-diameter steel line in Silverglen, Chatsworth. “The steel line had washed away and spillage was polluting the river, causing reduced feed flow to DWR,” says Chetty. Veolia used a sub-contractor to repair the pipe failures at two points in the Chatsworth feed line.
The second catchment system fault was due to damage to the sewage transfer pipeline from Umlaas to DWR. This also included wash-away of the road system. The third fault was a blockage on the Chatsworth line near RK Khan hospital.
In the case of the pipe blockage, the municipality used its network team to unblock the pipeline to restore flows into the pipe line. “The Umlaas feeder fault is complex. Veolia has advised the municipality that it will require a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach, involving roads, storm water systems, land reinstatement, river course management and social involvement. Veolia will provide strategic level input,” says Chetty.
Mop-up operations
Most of Veolia’s clients in KZN were flooded and experienced extensive damage to infrastructure and plant equipment. “Mondi and SAPREF both declared force majeure as a consequence of damages to their respective infrastructures,” notes Murray.
While each client is undertaking repairs, Veolia has supported the process. “We supplied reclaimed water to facilitate mopping up, and assisted staff with cleaning up and repairs. Our maintenance and electrical teams also assisted in assessing damage to motors and equipment,” says Murray.
Resilient disaster management approach
Murray says Veolia is well-positioned to support and address the emerging challenges of climate change-induced disasters and risks. “We have technology, for instance, that can be rapidly deployed to produce drinking water from dams, rivers or groundwater,” he says.
The company is knowledgeable in storm water management and employs ecologically friendly practices, such as creating wetlands in flood plains and in storm water collection points. Veolia is able to advise authorities on the various aspects of the water, waste and energy cycles and how to intervene in sustainable ways. “Most importantly, Veolia’s expertise lies in its ability to understand the root cause of a problem and to develop and implement innovative, workable and practical solutions,” says Murray.
Equipped with these specialist capabilities, Veolia is promoting the concept of disaster planning, which includes engagement with stakeholders to identify risks and map the interventions to address them. “Veolia will also promote its vision for ecological transformation within the framework of multi-faceted performance. In the context of flood risk management, it will involve understanding weather warnings and communicating risk management strategies to avert risk failure,” says Murray.
