MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT BASE INFORMATION FOR TARGETED RISK – BASED REGULATION FREE STATE PROVINCE STATUS AT JULY 2009 FREE STATE INDEX A. Context 3 B. Purpose of Report: Risk-Based Assessment 4 C. Overview of the Free State Wastewater Treatment Works 5 D. Licensing Status of Wastewater Treatment Works in the Free State 8 E. Receiving Plans Vs Design Capacity 11 F. WSA / WSP Arrangements, Technology used and Compliance Standards 17 G. Effluent Quality Non-Compliance Trends 21 H. Technical Skills Gap Analysis 30 I. Weighted Prioritisation of Potentially High Risk WWTW 42 J. Conclusions and Recommendations 47 All assessment data and information reflected in the Risk Based Assessments, its Executive Summaries and electronic data sheets are property of the Department of Water Affairs. It has been developed- and paid for under the national Wastewater Regulatory Programme 2008/09 (DWA Water Services Regulations). It is illegal to sell this material for profit. Would the material be reproduced or quoted, DWA should be acknowledged and referenced. Page 2 of 55 Page 3 of 55 A. CONTEXT South Africa has build a substantial wastewater management industry that comprises of approximately 9 70 treatment plants, extensive pipe networks, and pump stations, transporting and treating an average of 7 589 000 kilolitres of wastewater on a daily basis. The country runs a prominent wastewater treatment business with capital replacement value of >R 23 billion and operational expenditure of >R 3.5 b per annum. Frost and Sullivan (2006) estimate the value of the RSA water and wastewater treatment equipment market at US$ 135m, with growth at 3.8%. This revenue share was split by treatment segment as 34.5% water treatment, and 65.2% water treatment with an end producer breakdown as 44.2% municipal, 50.6% industrial and 5.2% commercial. South Africa is yet to explore and respond to the market sector that deals with reuse, reclamation and innovative technologies amidst increasing pressures on water resources (climate change, decreasing water quality, decreased dilution potential, etc). Free State owns and operations 101 small, medium, large and macro-sized wastewater treatment works (WWTW’s). For decades, South Africa has been recognised for their leading research in wastewater treatment technology, science and engineering, complimented by the development and management of sanitation infrastructure. However, a national survey on Wastewater Treatment in South Africa (DWA August 2006) reported findings indicating that a significant number of sewage treatment plants are not properly operated and maintained and discharge poor quality effluent to streams and rivers. This situation impacts directly on the downstream water users, the quality of natural waters and the cost & availability of potable water and its treatment in South Africa. At that time, Minister Hendricks expressed her concern “that a number of the wastewater treatment works have failed in recent times. DWA takes this very seriously and has initiated several actions to ensure that the sector takes suitable mitigation and preventative actions. Our primary focus is to gain a full understanding of the factors causing and affecting their recent wastewater treatment problems and to intervene appropriately so that all municipalities regain effective and sustainable services.” Recent investigations and audits quantify the status of wastewater services and compliance with the respective Water Acts and confirm that this situation must be addressed as a matter of urgency. The Minister’s message and concern regarding the state of rivers and the status of wastewater treatment in the country was carried throughout the year 2008 at a number of prominent events, including her addresses to Parliament, the National Water Summit, the WISA conference and the Municipal Indaba. She announced a number of measures, which include (but not limited to): that initial audit is to be extended to all wastewater treatment plants that special attention is given to the regulation of the sector which includes accountability, performance monitoring and legal intervention continuous one-on-one intervention is taking place. The Minister of DWA stated at the launch of Masibambane III that DWA has been going through institutional restructuring for some time and that the final phase of this restructuring is being entered into. The focus of support for Masibambane III is based on the need to address challenges mentioned above; to support the institutional realignment, build efficient institutions for effective water service provision, and support sustainable water resource management via (but not limited to): transferring department-owned water services schemes and operations to water service authorities (municipalities); and ensuring effective service delivery by competent water services authorities and institutions. The function of wastewater treatment lies primarily with Water Service Authorities and their Providers to operate and maintain the physical infrastructure and the chemical/biological processes. As Sector Leader, DWA has an oversight and regulatory role. DWA is intensifying its efforts to determine and improve the status of WWTW’s in South Africa. An extensive assessment and intervention plan is geared towards assisting WSA/WSP’s to improve their technically proficiency and legal compliance with effluent discharge specifications. Mobilisation of all necessary resources, funds and political commitment is required to rectify cases of non-compliances. Page 4 of 55 At the same time, regulatory role of DWA is strengthening and ‘regulatory driven support’ is geared to address areas of non-compliance and rectifying situations of continued non-compliance via the Enforcement Protocol process. To facilitate DWA’s role as Regulator, they have brought about the National Water Services Regulation Strategy (NWSRS), which provides a clear statement of strategic intent about regulating the water and sanitation services sector in South Africa. The Strategy is based on the logic that a prioritised and strategic use of the available regulatory resources will have greater impact if these resources are concentrated and used to address areas of key risk, at the same time as building the necessary foundations for the development of more comprehensive and effective regulation over time. High level assessment of wastewater management status in Gauteng, Western- and Free State are amongst the first to be done, in order to provide a scientific and factual basis from where DWA and municipalities can proceed to rectify, monitor and maintain wastewater services on a national scale. B. PURPOSE OF REPORT:RISK-BASED ASSESSMENT This Executive Summary is an extract of a more comprehensive desktop assessment of all the Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) within the Free State. The purpose of this report is to provide a priority list of WWTW with potentially high risk profiles based on: Status of hydraulic design capacity and actual flow received Status of effluent quality as compared to legal discharge standards Status of technical and health/safety skills and compliance to legal requirements In the national survey of wastewater treatment, as reported in the WRC report: “Wastewater Treatment in South Africa: Field Evaluation of the Status and Performance of Wastewater Treatment Plants” it was recognised that the performance of a wastewater treatment plant depends on a number of diverse factors including: The plants resources available to operate and maintain the plant Wastewater flow and pollution load received at the plant compared to the original design flow/load Appropriate treatment technology installed Stakeholder expectations and requirements. Therefore, the generic protocol for plant evaluation considers a facility within the context of the following: Resources available to operate and maintain the plant, including the plant treatment infrastructure, staff allocation to operate and maintain the plant, financial resources to cover all plant-related expenses and information resources to assist plant management Plant performance is based on developing an understanding of the wastewater flows and associated load treated at the plant, efficiency of individual unit treatment processes, plant effluent quality and acceptable sludge handling and disposal Stakeholders’ needs and requirements including the plant owners and operators, the community being served and the regulatory authorities. These needs are typically evaluated in terms of compliance with licences/permits, environmental impacts and risks to neighbouring communities This risk-based (desktop) assessment does not aim to provide an in-depth evaluation, but rather to provide high level management information and guidance to decision-makers. The Report will assist to describe and identify prioritise WWTWs in the Free State on a higher (first order) level, and may direct that more comprehensive assessments be commissioned to uncover specific details of compliance and performance, and causes underlying those. From the information that is available on from the Risk-based Assessment, the following summaries can be developed: Page 5 of 55 C. OVERVIEW OF THE FREE STATE WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS Generally accepted, wastewater treatment plants can be categorised in the following size categories: • micro size plants <0.5 Mℓ/day; • small size plants 0.5-2 Mℓ/day (General Authorisations could apply); • medium size plants 2-10 Mℓ/day; • large size plants 10-25 Mℓ/day; • macro size plants