Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 20

The water mix —
Overstrand got it right
About the author
Helgard Muller, Pr Eng, is a regular
contributor to Water, Sewage &
Effluent (WSE). His vast knowledge
in policy and regulations while
at the Department of Water and
Sanitation adds huge value to WSE.
Preekstoel biofiltration plant.
Any city or town must plan to use and manage a
portfolio of water sources. This means investing in
and managing a more diversified water supply for
a sustainable ‘water mix’. Overstrand is setting an
example of best practice in this regard.
By Helgard Muller
I
n the media as well as at conferences
and workshops, it is common to go
on and on about the poor state of
all our municipalities. In one such a
workshop session, Abri Vermeulen,
consultant at Pegasys, remarked, “Be
careful. Do not generalise. We have a
couple of world-class entities as well
as a bunch of average performers and
then unfortunately the real sad and
poor cases.”
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So, which category does Overstrand
Local Municipality fall into? It is located
along the Atlantic coast between Cape
Town and Cape Agulhas, within the
Overberg District Municipality. The
principal towns in the municipality are
Hermanus, Gansbaai, and Kleinmond.
The last census counted a population
of 80 432. In my opinion, this medium-
sized municipality is doing very well in
terms of integrating additional water
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
sources into its water mix whilst
effectively using the private sector to
the great advantage of its consumers.
The lesson from other parts of the
world and now also from Cape Town is
that any city or town must plan to use and
manage a portfolio of water sources.
That means investing in and managing
a more diversified water supply for a
sustainable ‘water mix’. Overstrand is
setting an example of best practice in
this regard. Underground sources have
been developed in time to augment
surface water supplies from De Bos
Dam. The well fields at Gateway,
Camphill, and Volmoed (total of 10
production boreholes) already provide
35% of the total bulk water supply to
the greater Hermanus area. Treated
effluent from the WWTW is being used
for the irrigation of sports fields and the
golf course. The result? While Cape
Town was on severe restrictions, the
consumers in Hermanus benefitted
from ‘soft’ limitations and the crucial
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