NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 2149
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 05 NOVEMBER 2009
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO)
2149 Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs:
Whether the cost of purifying raw water for domestic use by water
service authorities has or is expected to increase as a result of the
need to augment purification regimes to counter high levels of
pollutants in the raw water reaching purification plants; if so, (a)
what augmentation of purification processes has been required and (b)
what are the costs for the metropolitan municipalities?
NW2837E
---00O00---
REPLY:
a) Yes, it is logic and also an international trend that when the raw
water at a specific point is more polluted then purification cost
will need to increase to pay for more sophisticated treatment
processes. This is introduced on a case-by-case basis and there
could therefore be no general statement made on raw water quality
and required treatment since this would vary from place to place.
In most instances where deterioration would be detected, amendment
in coagulation procedures and disinfection is most prevalent;
while pre-disinfection up to more advanced activated carbon
processes are introduced at certain treatment facilities. However
in most areas the robust nature of treatment procedures requires a
mere refinement of process controlling to counter fluctuations in
raw water quality.
b) The metropolitan areas are subjected to the same Blue Drop
requirements as all other water services institutions, and this
implies that future risk assessment findings would determine the
control measures required. It is therefore not possible to produce
general costing estimates for metropolitan municipalities or any
other municipality at this early stage of the regulatory process.
---00O00---