WUC enhances Gaborone Water quality
Katlego Isaacs | Monday March 14, 2022 06:00
The donation paired with revised commercial water treatment agreements was handed over yesterday at the WUC Mmamashia treatment plant.
For several years, WUC has been informing the public to avoid dumping used fats, oils, and grease (FOG) into public drainage systems because of the strain that FOG contaminated effluence places on regional water treatment systems. Potable water microbiologist for WUC, Ronald Samaxa, stated that the reason for this advisory is because water treatment systems used by WUC rely on microorganisms to purify waste water, of which FOG contaminations hinder their ability to do so effectively.
“FOG contaminated wastewater develops a top layer film that blocks the purifying micro-organisms from oxygen. When microorganisms can’t breathe, they can’t function. If they can’t function then our water isn’t going to be adequately purified to our mandated standards.” Samaxa stated.
For years WUC has relied on simply adding oxygen to wastewater treatment to feed the purifying microorganisms, however rapidly increased FOG effluence from residential and especially commercial wastewater has pushed WUC to develop more proactive measures to ensure waste water purification meets international standards.
The increasing levels of FOG in Gaborone wastewater was first noted by researchers from the UNDP that noticed commercial businesses were pouring more and more used cooking oils, car oils, mechanical grease and more down public drains.
In response to this, the UNDP donated FOG quantifiers to WUC to enable the company to carefully monitor the FOG levels in Gaborone wastewater and ensure it never exceeds a certain level.
UNDP representative, Dr. Balasz Horvath, acknowledged that WUC needs the equipment to successfully achieve waste water purification at international standards.
“Our pilot studies in Gaborone found high levels of contamination in wastewater coming from commercial businesses which prompted our donation to the Mmamashia treatment facility.” Horvath stated.
He added, “we understand that this is just a small donation to a very complex operation, but hopefully this should make your job much easier”
Horvath concluded in stating, “this equipment seeks to give WUC the ability to better enforce the Trade Effluent Agreement (TEA) by monitoring the wastewater discharge into the environment and allow them to strategize on methods to limit water pollution.”
The TEA was developed as a major anti-FOG measure that sought to monitor and recommend pretreatment methods in June 2021. The newly revised agreement for 2022 seeks to ensure a greater scope of businesses and heavily restrict the amount of FOG that enters public drainage systems by performing onsite pretreatment.
For his part, WUC CEO, Gaselemogwe Senai said they found the TEA a necessary measure to sensitise businesses to the need for pretreatment at their facilities to ensure WUC can effectively carry out its mandate of dispensing clean water to both taps and the environment.
“We’ve seen increases in contamination in waste coming from businesses and we’ve needed to come up with measures that work for both us and businesses in order to limit this and reduce the pressure on our systems”, Senai stated.
“We’re currently working on developing affordable solutions to pretreatment for businesses across Gaborone and beyond so that we can both come into compliance with BOS 93:2012 standards for wastewater treatment” he further added.
Senai thanked Horvath and the UNDP for the donation noting that the equipment will go a very long way into ensuring that WUC can provide purified water that can enrich the lives of people downstream such as farmers as well as residents of Greater Gaborone that will not have higher quality tap water.
WUC Resources Director, Teddy Ditsabatho, noted that the implications of such equipment is huge for the supply of clean fresh water in the area as well as the further development of water infrastructure in the country.
“We inherited WUC from the government in a very sorry state many years ago, and we’ve encountered several challenges in ensuring effective treatment across the nation. This is where we welcome outsourcing from our partners like the UNDP, who allow us to fulfil our mandate to the country without placing further strain on our resources,” Ditsabatho stated.
The equipment will primarily be used in Mmamashia and Glen Valley water treatment facilities to monitor the wastewater and purification processes in Greater Gaborone and surrounding villages such as Molepolole. The Glen Valley water treatment facility is set for expansion in 2023 to allow recycled waste water to be further purified into potable water which would increase the supply of fresh water into the Greater Gaborone area.
WUC also noted that several other water purification projects are taking place across Botswana with multiple boreholes currently being dug in places such as Kgalagadi and surrounding areas.
However, standing at a confirmed P1.3 billion in debt, of which the prospects of recovery seems dubious, Senai has admitted to failed efforts to consult with customers and reach out to debt collectors. He said this may result in hindered national development and maintenance of water infrastructure. Senai continues to urge customers to check their water meters through digital means and ensure they make their payments in a timely manner.