FEATURE
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consists of old steel and asbestos cement water pipes
that were installed in the early 1960s or earlier. These
pipes have a limited lifespan of no more than 50 years
before they start to corrode, start to spring leaks and
need to be replaced.
“We could see from our members’ dwindling sales
figures over the last few years, that no orders were
being placed for new pipes, despite the fact that
municipal budgets were allocated for upgrades and
maintenance. Irregular expenditure of R13-billion wasn't
accounted for in 2016 and 2017 in the Eastern Cape
alone – making up almost half of the country's wasteful
expenditure of the same year. As a result, plastic
pipe manufacturers were forced to close down and a
significant number of jobs were lost,” Venter says.
By far the biggest culprits of wasting water are
municipalities who do not repair leaks or fail to
maintain their water pipelines. The Water Research
Council recently conducted a survey of 132
municipalities in South Africa, which revealed that
close to 40% of the country’s potable water was
being lost as a result of leaks, incorrect metering and
unauthorised consumption. By comparison, Australia
(also classified as a water-scarce country) loses less
than 10% per year.
“The two main causes of water loss are corrosion
and the poor joining of pipes. Not only does South
Africa suffer financial losses of more than R7.2-
billion/year, but we have lost a significant supply of
water that we might never be able to replace again.
Despite the good rains that have fallen in large parts
of our country recently, we can still run out of water
if we do not protect and look after what we have
now as a matter of urgency. People can still live
without electricity and as South Africans we have
almost started to get used to regular power cuts.
But nobody can live without water. Government must
realise the seriousness of the situation and plan
for the generations to come through installing the
correct plastic pipes that are capable of meeting
the infrastructure needs of a growing South African
population,” Venter urges.
He adds that although the minister’s plans for water
restrictions, drought measures and recycling of water
are important, she fails to address the real cause of
the country’s water crisis. Additionally, it is important
to remember that plastic pipes are not just used to
supply water to towns, cities and communities, but
that almost all infrastructure relies on these pipes to
improve people’s lives and enable day-to-day, modern
living. Electricity, gas and telecommunication supply
are all possible thanks to the use and installation of
plastic pipes.
February 2020 Volume 25 I Number 12
In South Africa and the rest of the world, plastic pipes
are the material of choice to replace ageing pipes and
infrastructure as they do not corrode or perish, and
the joints are leakproof if installed correctly. They are
available in various diameters and wall thicknesses,
offer a much longer lifespan, are cheaper and more
efficient to install and offer significant savings to
municipalities thanks to them offering less friction,
resulting in lower pumping costs, less maintenance
and fewer interruptions.
SAPPMA held its annual AGM in November.
SAPPMA CEO, Jan Venter.
In conclusion
“We urge municipalities and the water engineers
writing the specifications for the pipeline upgrades to
specify in their planning documents that only HDPE
and PVC pipes bearing the SAPPMA logo will be
installed. Any other pipe will be untested, runs the risk
of being inferior quality and can put entire pipelines at
risk. Plastic pipes that don’t clearly bear and display
the SAPPMA logo are likely to contain dangerous
heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, or recyclate
which could leach into the pipes and will almost
certainly not deliver the longevity or performance that
is required.
“We hope that the current crisis will act as a
much-needed wake-up call to our leaders and that
they will recognise the need to appoint competent,
qualified technical personnel at national, provincial
and municipal level. Decision-makers need to be
educated and encouraged to invest in buying the
best quality products they can afford and commit to a
disciplined maintenance regime for pipe systems. We
can turn the situation around if we work together and
they are willing to listen to advice from the industry.
SAPPMA’s door is always open and we are offering
our assistance in any way needed. Together we can.
Thuma mina!” concludes Venter. PA
“Although
the minister’s
plans for
water
restrictions,
drought
measures
and recycling
of water are
important,
she fails to
address the
real cause of
the country’s
water crisis.”
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