It's Simply about Excellence
Mhlathuze Water, a state-owned water utility, was established in 1980 to design and construct a major regional water treatment plant and an offshore wastewater disposal system to service the growing town of Richards Bay in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. As a service provider and partly as part of its mandate, the organisation has increased its service delivery to local and regional municipalities, assisting the water service authorities to provide potable water to urban and rural communities. The organizations area of supply now covers 37 000 square kilometres in northern KwaZulu-Natal with assets in the region of R 3.1 billion.
Treated Water
The flagship of the organisation is the NseziWater Treatment Plant situated on the banks of Lake Nsezi, located between Empangeni and Richards Bay and commissioned in 1984.
The Board of Mhlathuze Water very recently approved an amount of R189 million for a further upgrade to increase the water supply, sufficient up to 2014.This upgrade will make it possible to pump water directly from the weir on the Mhlathuze River, where the organisation owns and operates two pump stations, into the plant.
In the near future this will necessitate the development of a water resource master plan for the three main catchments, to allow for further augmentation into the Mhlathuze River to supply the growing needs of Richards Bay and Empangeni beyond 2014.
The plant provides clarified water, supplied to the local municipality for use in the industrial operations and purified water to the SANS 241 Standard for drinking water of 2001 for specialized manufacturing processes and domestic use.
This installation, one of the biggest dissolved air flotation water treatment plants in the southern hemisphere, is capable of treating 150 000 cubic metres of water per day, due to increase to 204 000 after the present upgrade.
Wastewater Disposal
The other core business of the organisation is the removal of industrial and domestic wastewater for the municipality and the industries in Richards Bay and Empangeni. The scheme consists of two off-shore pipelines, monitored regularly and by independent surveys carried out bi-annually, with the findings reported at public meetings twice a year. The pump station and pipelines were commissioned in 1984 and 1985.
This system is one of the largest in South Africa with a capacity of 330 000 cubic metres per day and was constructed at a cost of R41 million. An extension to the pump station and a new pipeline for the transportation of dense wastewater was completed early in 2009 to provide a continuous service to the contributors.
This R 150 million project was the recent recipient of the Highly Commended Award for technical excellence by the Durban Branch of South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE).
