MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Council, at itsr monthly meeting yesterday, Thursday, 27 August, approved that the future maintenance and operation of the Mossel Bay desalination plant be moved in-house.
"As more and more people migrate into cities from rural areas, the pressure for any local government to meet the water demands is ever increasing. Without the drought of 2010, Mossel Bay would have faced the need for a desalination plan earlier rather than later. As a result of the drought, however, the desalination plant was partly funded by drought relief funds and is a major asset to the community of Mossel Bay," said Municipal Manager Dr Michele Gratz.
With water becoming an increasingly scarce commodity in South Africa, the desalination plant is regarded as a major asset to the Mossel Bay community, as the town is one of very few municipalities to boast better than average water security.
At present, the plant is placed on stand-by mode, but still has to be maintained as a fully functional installation in compliance with various legislative parameters, processes and standards.
Both the Mossel Bay Municipality and PetroSA, major investors in the desalination plant, having considered various options for the operation and maintenance of the plant, recommended that the management be transferred to the municipality. The operating and maintenance agreement with the third party contractors Veolia Water Technologies terminates on 2 October and as of 3 October, the control will therefore revert to the municipality.
At present, the current contractor, Veolia Water, is paid approximately R420 000 per month to operate and maintain the plant. When the management reverts to the municipality, the cost to tax payers will be in the region of R120 000 per month and based on current maintenance cost at zero mode, the total monthly expenditure will probably be R200 000. This will translate into a saving of R220 000 per month on the desalination plant's operational budget.
Certain items, such as the required membranes, installation and commissioning of the reverse osmosis membranes will still require tenders when required.
In terms of the existing Operations and Maintenance Agreement, PetroSA contributes one third of the operating cost of the plant.
Council delegated Dr Gratz to enter into negotiations with PetroSA to renew and finalise this agreement.
Will Day, fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, who last week spoke at Old Mutual Investment Group’s first responsible investment conference, mentioned predictions that almost all of Africa will be facing very real physical or economic water scarcity by 2025.
Alderman Emil Scheepers told Council: "This decision finally brings the desalination plant under the control of the municipality, as it was intended all those years ago."
ARTICLE: NICKEY LE ROUX, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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