uMngeni-uThukela Water Board, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Exploring Direct Potable Reuse
uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) is a state-owned entity, established in 1974 to provide water and related services to other water service institutions. UUW operates in line with the Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997) and reports directly to the Department of Water and Sanitation. UUW Supplies bulk services to seven municipalities, serving 52% of KwaZulu-Natal’s households. UUW utilises mostly surface water sources such as dams and river abstraction.
Due to water scarcity and the diminishing surface water quality UUW is looking at alternative water sources such as desalination and wastewater reuse. To this end, UUW has implemented a 2 million litre (0.5 million gallon) per day direct potable reuse demonstration plant with the objective of:
- determining skills requirements of operations and maintenance staff
- establishing a monitoring program and verifying technology removal efficiency
- developing a public acceptance strategy.
Three annual national forums were held at the reuse plant and multiple research partnerships established. The president of South Africa Mr Ramaphosa visited the plant in August 2023.