Gauteng will face serious water problems by 2015 if innovative measures are not implemented to conserve water and bring more into the province.

Gauteng will face serious water problems by 2015 if

innovative measures are not implemented to conserve water

 and bring more into the province.

Speaking at a Mail & Guardian Critical Thinking Forum, held last week, Mike Muller, a member of the National Planning Commission, said Gauteng had actually run out of water 70 years ago. And since then it had made up the difference by importing water at huge expense from as far afield as Lesotho. This uneasy balance required a careful balancing of water needs across the country, he said. 

A severe shortage in skilled staff was putting this in danger, he said. Most municipalities and metros are running with very few qualified engineers – Nelson Mandela Bay recently lost its last one, when it should have 50 – and this is a serious threat. “We need to be active citizens and build a capable state with sufficiently qualified people under active leadership, or we must lose hope,” he said.

 He also said the thinking about water needed to change. Where now it is a single department and a sub-sector of the economy, it needed to become prevalent in all thinking because water is the base of the whole economy, he said. 

Seef Redemeyer, chief engineer at national water resource planning in the Department of Water Affairs, said Gauteng had always got its water by throwing money and infrastructure at the problem. This has seen the city relying on pipelines stretching all the way to Lesotho for its livelihood. 

But now this infrastructure was decaying and the sources of water were decreasing. The department therefore had to spend even more money on sources like desalination to ensure Gauteng, and the other big metros, had water. “The bottom line is we have the plan, but the implementation is crucial. And if we don’t implement, we have a problem,” he said. 

Andries Meyer, Sasol manager of sustainable water, said it was critical for private companies and government to work together to avert a crisis. “Gauteng will run dry if we do not work across sectors,” he said. 

With local municipalities losing anywhere near half of their water in leakages – infrastructure can be a century old and does not get maintained – there was a big opportunity for companies to help, he said. Especially since they had the expertise to do so and municipalities struggle to attract engineers. The company is doing this kind of a project in Sebokeng, near its refineries, and this has led to more water being saved than Sasol uses in a year. And these are the kinds of partnerships that are needed, he said.

 Christine Colvin, senior manager for freshwater programmes at the WWF, said the proper treatment of acid mine drainage would make or break Gauteng’s water future. The current plan will see the water treated to a level where it will be released into the Vaal River system with high salt levels. This will require fresh water to be released from the Vaal dam to dilute the water, wasting scarce clean water, she said. 

“We need to make sure we avoid these things in the future. At the moment we have piecemeal planning for the mining sector, and we need to change that to a more strategic view so we don’t have these failures again,” she said. 

If the current piecemeal continued it would lead to mines endangering the areas where Gauteng’s water comes from. “We are still heading off in a direction for new mining that does not acknowledge the problems of the past, and it will be up to the taxpayers to pick up the cost,” she said .     

Uphill battle

Dr Anthony Turton, a private water expert, said South Africa’s economy had been built on externalising all the costs of the mining industry. But now these costs – environmental, social and water damage – were coming home and future industry and taxpayers were going to have to include these costs in everything they did. 

With many of the water catchment areas ruined by mining, the country would have to start recycling all of its water if it was to survive, he said. This was particularly important for Gauteng, which sits on the continental divide so all its water flows away and any new water has to be brought uphill. 

“There are three numbers that we need to think about;

• 48-billion cubic metres, which is the total rainfall for the country every year,
• 38-billion cubic metres, which is the total amount of water available in our dams
• 63-billion cubic metres which is what our water demand will be by 2035 

To solve this the country would have to recycle all its water 1.6 times, he said. “This is not a crisis, but we need to draw on an enormous amount of ingenuity to create the solutions we know are there,” he said. 

The supply of water should also be split. At the moment water that is fit to drink is supplied to most users, which is very expensive. Instead clean water should be given to households and those who need it to drink, while untreated water can be given to industry. 

Helgard Muller, chief director of water services at water affairs, said the department wants there to be no-go areas for mining, and was working with the department of mineral resources to create these. 

Gauteng was only in danger if the current plans were not implemented properly. “Water is different from Eskom because there isn’t a national grid where you suddenly have no power. Water will not be like that, but all of us will gradually suffer if we do not work on these issues,” he said. 

A farmer from Nkandla said people in his area do not have water for animals or for consumption, because their water is being sent to Gauteng. “When are rural communities going to have access to their own water? This is not a luxury, it is a basic need and we do not have a say in what happens to our water,” he said.   

And Motsepe Matlala, president of the National African Farmers Union, said many rural farmers did not have access to water, even if they lived next to a dam. This was because the water had been allocated to bigger farmers or elsewhere, and they had had no access to the process of allocating the water. 

He warned that food security was becoming a serious problem as farmers were squeezed out. “Our food security margin was around 120% in 1995 and now it is nearly 85%,” he said. The water being sent to Gauteng needed to benefit people in the areas that the water is coming from, he said. 

Rademeyer said that 11 of the 19 water management sectors that the country is split into were under stress. This meant that water had to be taken from other areas to supply these. The immediate problem for Gauteng was that somewhere around 2015 the water system was going to go into deficit, and there would be no respite until the next phase of the Lesotho Highlands scheme came online in 2020.

Energy efficiency in buildings, up to recently, has been a matter of choice. Having an energy efficient building is now, however, no longer just the preserve of those wanting to do the right thing – what was a voluntary standard was written into law in Sept 2011 and was implemented and has become applicable as of 11 Nov 2011. These are the new SANS 10400-XA: Energy Usage in Buildings, and SANS 204: Energy Efficiency in buildings. The only exception, as with the other new building regulations, is that where the design work on a project had commenced prior the publishing of the standard, an application may be submitted to the Local Authority within 6 months of the standard’s publication date, requesting that the application be dealt with in accordance with the prior regulations.

Energy is so much a part of life that we often use it without thinking, especially when it’s in the form of electricity. Most electricity in South Africa is produced from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas or oil which produces carbon dioxide. The build-up of carbon dioxide (Co²) in the atmosphere contributes to global warming, or as some refer to as “The Greenhouse Effect”.

Energy efficiency is not only about the energy produced by burning fossil fuels and the like. Sustainable energy efficiency includes making better use of these finite, non-renewable natural resources, like solar energy; and includes incorporating the principles of passive solar design in our buildings. 

With new regulations on energy efficient building coming into play in 2011, the imperative requirements for ecologically aware building and design have become more than a moral issue. Worldwide, the issue of energy saving is top-of-mind and in many countries a norm that has been practiced and perfected for some years. 

These regulations/standards will stipulate the planning and design of buildings which includes aspects such as orientation, shading, window design, choice of building materials, solar heating, natural cooling and day lighting.

Energy efficiency in construction

Green Building and Energy Efficient Building Solutions

The news that Eskom has decided to increase its electricity tariffs substantially, each year by 25% for the next three years, has been greeted with justified alarm by South Africans in all sectors of society.

In a related development, the South African delegation to the climate change meeting held in Copenhagen, Denmark during December 2009 pledged to reduce our country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 34% over the next ten years, and 42% by 2025.

Regardless of the proposed tariff increases or whether the emissions reduction targets are achieved, the harsh reality remains that South Africa faces energy challenges on several fronts. Until now, we have been one of the most wasteful and inefficient societies on Earth in terms of energy usage. We must start using energy more wisely and efficiently if we are to achieve the sustainable wealth that we all want.

The good news is that South Africa is already taking steps to help our people to improve our energy usage. One such step is the proposal that all new buildings constructed in South Africa must be built in accordance with the National Building Regulation Part XA and supported by SANS 10400 Part XA, Energy Efficiency in Buildings.

The National Building Regulation Part XA

The regulations specify what has to be done to design minimum requirements that will satisfy the energy efficiency in buildings. These regulations are supported by SANS 10400 Part XA. The South Africa’s national standards provides the how to satisfy the regulations to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements, in a format called the deemed to satisfy requirements. All the regulations covered by the National Building Regulations follow the same format.

What does SANS 10400 Part XA entail?

Much standardisation work has already been done around individual energy-saving devices such as energy-efficient light bulbs and solar water heaters. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the National Building Regulation Part XA and supported by SANS 10400 Part XA incorporates these existing standards into a holistic overview of the entire construction process, which then serves as a single reference document to help architects, building construction companies and other stakeholders to ensure that their buildings comply with energy efficiency requirements as described in the standard.

SANS 10400 Part XA, through relevant requirements of SANS 204 also address’s other energy efficiency factors (described in further detail in the publication) such as:

• The      orientation of the building, with well-used areas facing north to make      best use of natural sunlight and warmth
• Suitable      roof overhangs to keep out the high summer sun but let in the winter sun,      when the sun is lower in the sky.
• Sensible      fenestration (windows) to let in light and sun, but not so much that      natural warmth or coolness cannot be retained
• The      use of appropriate heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installations      where required, and
• Solar      water heaters become mandatory with new buildings being erected.

Scope of the standard

SANS 204 specifies the design requirements for energy efficiency in buildings and of services in buildings with natural environmental control and artificial ventilation or air conditioning systems.

 Requirements

This section of the standard deals with the following:

Energy Efficient Building Requirements

• Site      orientation
• Building      orientation
• Shading
• Building      design (which includes; general, floors, External walls, Fenestration,      shading, roof assemblies and roof lights.)
• Building      sealing (which includes; Building envelope, Air infiltration and leakage,      and permissible air leakage.)
• Services      (which includes; Lighting and power, Hot water services, and appliances.)
• Mechanical      ventilation and Air Conditioning (which includes: General, Air side system      design criteria – Distribution System, Air Side System Design Criteria –      Fan System, Water Side System – Design Criteria, Pipe and Duct      Distribution System Insulation, Cooling and Heating Equipment,      Air-Conditioning Controls, Air and Water Economizers, and Unitary and      packaged Equipment.
• Installed      Equipment

Visit Agri Water’s Site

17th June 2010
ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has drafted a new section of the National Building Regulations…….

The regulation would make it compulsory for buildings to be designed and constructed within a standard making it possible for the user to minimise the energy required to meet the functional requirements of the building, and use it efficiently. It would affect all new buildings, except those used for industrial purposes.

The NRCS also highlighted that changes to the building regulations to regulate the energy usage in new buildings alone would not meet South Africa’s energy savings targets. In this regard, government was “putting in place a number of other initiatives to address energy consumption”.

The National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act requires the Minister of Trade and Industry to consult with the board of NRCS regarding the introduction of new or amended building regulations.

The regulator explained that the regulatory research and development division of NRCS drafted the new regulation that will be considered by stakeholders before submission to the NRCS board for approval. When approved by the board, and the Minister, the draft would be published in the Government Gazette for public comment.

The regulation would set targets for energy consumed yearly by large commercial buildings to meet the functional needs of users.

The NRCS said that large commercial buildings usually used air conditioning systems, high levels of artificial lighting, elevators, and hot water supplies, all of which consumed a substantial amount of energy. Significant savings can be achieved by users, and relieve pressure on the electricity supply grid by using it efficiently. The different elements of the building envelope, such as roofs and ceilings, walls, and windows, would have to meet minimum requirements for preventing heat loss in winter, or heat gain in summer, in order to meet the targets, added the regulator.

Alternatives were provided for naturally ventilated smaller buildings used for other purposes, such as housing. The building could be designed and constructed by ‘rational design’ so as to meet energy consumption targets, or be built according to ‘deemed to satisfy’ rules for the different parts of the building envelope. Minimum heat resistance requirements would apply to walls, floors, windows, roofs and ceilings, and the building should be optimally oriented as close as possible to true north.

South Africa faces increased risks of power cuts from 2011 to 2013 unless co-generation projects come on line and consumers try to conserve more electricity, a government minister said on Friday.

Africa’s largest economy is battling a chronic power shortage that has curbed production at the world’s top platinum producer and a major producer of gold because of electricity rationing by government.

The national grid almost collapsed in early 2008, costing South Africa billions of dollars in lost output across all sectors as government enforced rolling blackouts to save the grid.

Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said if demand management initiatives aimed at saving energy were not successful, and if industrial co-generation projects did not come on line, the risk of blackouts would increase.

“This risk progressively worsens through 2011 to 2013 until the capacity from Medupi power station comes on line,” Hogan said in a written response to questions in Parliament.

Power utility Eskom plans to invest R461-billion to boost generating capacity and diversify away from reliance of coal-fired power stations, which provide about 95% of the country’s power.

South Africa is expected to sign contracts in March to source up to 1 143MW from industry, including petrochemicals group Sasol, the world’s biggest coal to fuel producer, and Sappi, the world’s biggest producer of fine paper.

The 4 800MW Medupi plant is expected to produce first power by April 2012 when the first of six 800MW units will be commissioned, although funding concerns could delay the project.

“The electricity supply-demand balance during and after the winter 2010 period will be finely balanced. The risks of interruptions will increase as Eskom enters its summer maintenance season for the Eskom generation fleet,” Hogan said.

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