MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER SUPPLY

1
MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF WATER SUPPLY

• By
• Nginani Mbayi Abednico Khumalo
• WATER UTILITIES CORPORATION
• BOTSWANA RESOURCE SECTOR CONFERENCE25 26 JULY
  2007

2
BACKGROUND

• A Parastatal established in 1970 through the
  Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) Act.
• Primary objective is to supply water to urban
  areas and major industrial centres in Botswana
  and any others mandated by Minister.
• Tariff structure is geared to support full cost
  recovery operations

3
Areas of Operation
Bulk Supplies Mogoditshane Tlokweng Mahalapye Pal
apye Gabane Metsemotlhabe Mochudi Environs Oodi
Modipane Otse Mogobane Sese Mmadinare Tonota M
atshelagabedi Matsiloje Mathangwane its
environs Masunga Tati Siding Dukwi

• Urban Centres
• Gaborone
• Lobatse
• Selebi- Phikwe
• Francistown
• Sowa Pan

4
Water Demand andDemand Management

• Rapid growth of the Corporation supply areas and
  the concomitant demand for water has reached a
  point where local resources are no longer
  adequate.
• The North South Carrier is a long-distance
  transfer scheme which provides additional
  resources.
• To maximize the use of these sources, local water
  supply systems have to be upgraded, extended and
  new infrastructure developed in order to accept
  the transfers.

5

• It has been established that more than 46 of
  the water developed from the scarce water
  sources in Botswana is wasted through losses and
  inefficient water use.

6
Challenges

• The Corporation continues to undergo a process of
  change in order to respond to and accommodate an
  enlarged role in water supply to the region.
• The regular update of water master plans in the
  supply areas addresses those needs and make
  recommendations as to what actions must be taken
  and when.

7
Water Demand Forecastsand Planning

• Available historic data on water demand for
  supply together with,
• The latest available population information is
  used to prepare detailed forecasts of future
  water demands.
• Uncertainties are inherent in any projection of
  this type, therefore alternative demand forecasts
  are also made.
• These are based upon different trends,
  representing both high as well as low demand
  forecasts. This has allowed for detailed
  projections to be compiled for each supply area
  thus facilitating other work such as the network
  analysis.

8
WATER RESOURCESDEVELOPMENT

• Botswana, a semi-arid country with poor rainfall
  and limited dam sites mostly located in the
  north-eastern part of the country, endures the
  costly task of having to bring water to the
  southern part of the country through long
  distance water transfer schemes such as the
  North-South Carrier Water Scheme.
• Dikgatlhong Dam.
• Second North-South Carrier Pipeline.
• Abstraction from internationally shared rivers
  such as Chobe and Zambezi.

9
WASTEWATER REUSE

• Strategic decisions must be made specifically
  defining the use of NEWater if the full impact of
  benefits is to be realised. These decisions must
  be made at national level if the real potential
  of NEWater is to be realised in full.
• The principle focus should be on improving the
  quality of treated effluent to a standard where
  any reuse can be considered and developing
  legislation, standards and guidelines which
  ensure the public and environment are fully
  protected.
• WUC has embarked on pilot project on proposed
  reclamation and treatment of wastewater for
  potable use.

10

• The project is currently at feasibility study
  stage and is based in Gaborone and focuses on the
  Glen Valley sewage treatment works. The way
  forward will be chartered by the outcome of the
  feasibility study, which is close to completion.
• One of the major concerns regarding
  implementation of this project was public
  perception related to the use of water that has
  been reclaimed from wastewater. The public
  participation exercise undertaken as part of the
  EIA process however did not identify this to be a
  major concern in all the areas that will be
  affected by the pilot study, which include areas
  currently supplied by WUC from Lobatse to Mochudi
  including Gaborone.
• The preliminary findings of the study shows that
  it is both technically and economically viable to
  treat effluent from the Glen Valley Works for
  potable use.

11
Financial Impact

• The financial analysis considers the various ways
  in which the costs of new infrastructure could be
  financed and their effects on the financial
  position of the Corporation. The influences of
  financial strategies, alternative tariffs and
  variations in demand growth are considered.

12
WATER SUPPLY TO THE MINES

• A major water consumer
• New requirements have to be assessed against the
  yield of the existing water resources and
  capacity of the infrastructure.
• It appears that development of new major water
  resources such as dams should partly address
  water supply problems at the mines.
• Groundwater is not a sustainable water resource,
  but the use of saline groundwater resources for
  purposes that do not need drinking quality water
  may extend the life of the remaining potable
  groundwater.
• There nature of mining industry, which sometimes
  can involve long term prospecting before
  actualisation tend not to provide readily
  information that assists in water demand
  forecasting. This tend to affect the accuracy of
  long term water supply master plans. This is
  mostly experienced with new mines.

13
Conclusion

• The implementation of the proposed National Water
  Master Plan Review, will go a long way in
  addressing water requirements for the population
  and the economic setup in the whole country
  including the mines.
• The Corporation recognises the importance of
  assessing other opportunities, such as water
  demand management strategies which would, amongst
  others, address leakage control and unaccounted
  for water and by thus defer certain capital
  investments.

14

• THANK YOU