GREEN LIGHT R1.2b potable water upgrade for Ugu

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08-01-2025
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South Coast Herald
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Construction of the first component should commence during 2025.

A bulk water upgrade project to the value of more than R1.2b has been given the greenlight for Port Shepstone.

The Ugu District Municipality Climate Resilient Cwabeni Bulk Water Upgrade project will ensure water security to the greater Port Shepstone area consisting of projected 370 000 people.

The water demand design life is 2052, and construction of the first component should commence during 2025.

The project is in collaboration with the National Department of Water and Sanitation’s plans to construct a new 15 million m³ off-channel storage dam in an area known as Cwabeni, 35km upstream of the Mzimkhulu River mouth.

Rowen Clark, is a senior engineer from ENsync Engineers, who are Ugu’s appointed lead consultant for the project.

He explained that the storage dam will abstract, store and release water back into the Mzimkhulu River during dry season spells, and this same stored domestic licensed volume of river water release will then be optimally retrieved at a weir 25km downstream and abstracted for domestic use.

“This will ensure 98% security of domestic supply even under 100-year drought conditions, while still allowing minimum flow of 1 m³/s to pass downstream ensuring the estuary health into perpetuity,” he said.

Clark explained that the Ugu District Municipality Cwabeni Bulks three components include a new modern state-of-the-art climate resilient heavy-marine-engineering designed river abstraction weir and a new 700mm diameter steel pipeline to the Boboyi waterworks that will ensure potable water to 21 wards within Ray Nkonyeni Municipality (RNM), as well as new water treatment supply into four wards within Umzumbe Municipality.

“The elevation of the weir notch is 4.3m above sea level, which is the same elevation as the closed river month allowing for climate change sea-level rise, which will permanently eliminate saltwater ingress into greater Port Shepstone’s water supply system, while equally ensuring adequate water flows for estuary health year-through.”

Clark said the primary function of the new modern abstraction weir will be to conserve and control river flow at a fixed elevation and position into the abstraction pump inlets 24/7 year-through, ensuring ideal hydraulic and power efficiencies to new modern and more powerful submersible pumps whilst ensuring adequate water flows into the estuary, also there is no ‘damming’ nor ’silt retention’ with the weir being only at 4,3m elevation same as the river mouth and mostly underground.

“Another climate resilient component of the project will be the establishment of a biodiversity stewardship programme that will improve and protect the health of this precious surface water resource into perpetuity for both man and nature’s shared needs,” he said.

France Zama, spokesperson of Ugu, said the Cwabeni storage dam will largely contribute towards the enhancement of security of water supply in the district.

“The Cwabeni dam will bring about the much-needed relief of water supply to many communities under RNM and we are working tirelessly towards its completion,” he said.

Clark said the Ugu and ENsync project team has also supported the district development model economic development principals towards raising public and private sector awareness to explore the potential for a similarly heavy-marine-engineering site outside of the river mouth for a potential Port Shepstone Small Craft Harbour.

“This could be a possible maritime gateway development into the eastern seaboard on a scale of Durban Marina and Cape Town Victoria and Alfred waterfront,” he said.