GEORGE NEWS - The project for which George Municipality received a R1,107b Budget Facility for Infrastructure Funding (BFI) grant from National Treasury in 2021/22, is well on track.

There has been significant progress in the project with its various components, as well as the expenditure of the grant in the 2022/23 financial year, and the project is to be completed in the next 30 months.

George Municipality is actively working to keep our economy on the go by ensuring sufficient long-term planning and investment for our resources – that is water, sewerage and electricity.

The municipality provides water services to over 212 120 residents from 62 722 households (STATSSA 2017) across 28 wards, including the coastal areas of Kleinkrantz, Wilderness, Victoria Bay, Herold's Bay and Gwaiing. 

The aim of the project is to ensure adequate potable water supply to meet the demand of the current population and to provide security for future development, both social and economic, and to reduce pollution of certain main water courses.

The project consists of 12 components, some of which will be executed in more than one construction phase.

Residual tank floor construction.

Component 2

The 20Ml/d (megalitre per day) extension to the New Water Treatment Works (NWTW) is component 2 of the 12.

Status: The first contract, valued at R263-million, has been awarded for the civil engineering works and construction has commenced. The tender for the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (MEI) works was awarded for R217m. Component 2 is the largest single component of the BFI project.

Earthworks have been completed, with the major excavation for the NWTW extension consisting of some 20 000 metric cubes of earth material stockpiled on site for re-use elsewhere on other components of the BFI project as well as other municipal projects. Placing of concrete is progressing well and the structures are now above ground level.

The construction on the 600m long, 900mm diameter, clear water HDPE pipeline started near the end of 2022 and is nearing 50% completion. The forestry permit was issued early in January and the remaining construction through sensitive indigenous forest can now proceed.

Component 2 of the dewatering facility for the water treatment process residuals (not sludge) is also progressing well. It includes preventing the residuals from being discharged to the sewer system by directing it into three tanks, for which the first concrete wall was cast at the end of January. 

This will reduce the load on the sewage conveyance system and pump stations, as well as on the wastewater treatment processes and the main sludge dewatering facility.

Component 1 & 3

The refurbishment of the existing sludge discharge system phase 1 and 2 will take place at the Eden, Meul and Schaapkop pump stations.

Status: Construction of the first phase is progressing well at the Meul and Eden pump stations.

Phase 1: The first phase of the upgrading and refurbishment of the Meul sewage pump station is underway and certain components have been completed, including a standby generator and new motor control centre panels. This is also the case for the new motor control centre at the Eden sewage pump station. Despite having to manage challenges such as regular flooding of the work during high rainfall, civil construction on the Meul sewage pump station is progressing well. 

Phase 1 of the Schaapkop sewage pump station implementation was delayed, and the design process is underway to incorporate both phases 1 and 2 to be implemented as a single project.

Phase 2: Consultants have been appointed for the design of the second phase of the pump station upgrades of the three sewage pump stations.

Component 4

The upgrading of the Garden Route Dam Outlet and Supply Project includes the replacement of the existing 600mm diameter raw water pipeline from the intake tower at the Garden Route Dam to the raw water pump stations, with a new 800mm diameter stainless steel pipeline to accommodate a higher flow rate in accordance with the future raw water flow requirements.

Status: The project is currently in the procurement stage, with construction tenders closing mid-February, and construction to potentially commence in May.

Component 5

2 x 1 250kVA generators will be installed at the Garden Route Dam raw water pump station. This will mean that during load-shedding or any other power outage, raw water can still be pumped uninterrupted to the water treatment works for processing for drinking water supply.

Status: The construction contract has been awarded and construction is progressing well. The delivery of the generators to the site is expected by mid-February, with the full operation of the generators scheduled for the end of June.

Component 6

An additional 30Ml raw water storage balancing dam will be constructed, that includes a 340m long 800mm diameter raw water pipeline, to secure sufficient raw water storage capacity to supply the 20Ml/day extension to the water treatment works. The new raw water dam will supplement the existing storage dams that provide raw water to the two water treatment plants.

Status: The preliminary design process has been completed with consideration of two alternative positions to enable selection of the most cost-effective solution. Final designs are nearing completion, to be followed by the procurement of a contractor to construct the works.

Component 7

The rehabilitation of the Old Water Treatment Works (OWTW), located at 9th Avenue Denneoord, will allow for the refurbishment of the 25Ml/d treatment plant which is currently rated at only 20,5Ml/d.

Status: This component consists of four separate contracts and the tenders were awarded at the beginning of 2022. Despite the unforeseen delays of having to make design changes at the start of the contract after the condition of the existing infrastructure was assessed, construction is underway. The air extraction from the filter galleries was completed and the emergency chlorine scrubbers have been ordered. Both shipments of filter media arrived in 2022 and fence construction is under way.

A temporary package water treatment plant was installed and commissioned in mid-December 2022 to facilitate scheduled plant shutdowns to enable work to proceed uninterrupted. This temporary plant also increased the volume of potable water available to meet the peak holiday season demand.

Construction of the clear water pipeline for the New Water Treatment Works

Component 8

Refurbishment of the Kaaimans River pump station equipment will include the installation of six new submersible vortex impeller pumps in the sump, a strainer system and six new high-lift centrifugal pumps, as well as the replacement of the electrical control equipment. The Kaaimans pump station discharges into the Garden Route Dam and contributes significantly to the George raw water resource requirements.

Status: The project is currently in the procurement phase, with tenders closing in February, and it is anticipated that construction will commence in May.

Component 9 and 10

The new 14,5Ml Pacaltsdorp West reservoir; 3Ml Pacaltsdorp East Reservoir, 300kl tower and pump station will address the inadequate emergency and balancing storage in this suburb.

Status: The designs are in process, to be followed by the procurement of a contractor for the construction. The detailed design process will be aligned with the environmental and town planning processes.

Component 11 and 12

A new pump station and control valves will be provided at the existing Thembalethu West reservoir and tower. A new 8Ml Thembalethu East reservoir with 1 000kl tower and pump station will provide adequate potable water storage and increase security of potable water supply to Thembalethu, and is expected to provide capacity to meet future development water demands.

Status: The design of the works is in progress and will be followed by the procurement of a contractor for the construction of the works.

The concrete contruction of the New Water Treatment Works in progress.

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