Water, Sewage & Effluent November December 2018 | Page 39

In the offshore industry,
iceberg management, is
actually nothing new. There
wrangling icebergs, aka
are companies and vessels
in the world that already,
innovations
regularly, tow icebergs.
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.
Water Sewage & Effluent November/December 2018
37
References
• MacKenzie-Hoy, T. (2018).
The
Elephant
in
the
Room. Engineering News.
Available from: http://www.
engineeringnews.co.za/print-
version/the-elephant-in-the-
room-2018-10-12
• Dockrill, P. (2018). Sinister
hunger stones. Business
Insider. Available from: https://
www.businessinsider.com/
sinister-hunger-stones-dire-
warnings-surfaced-europe-
2018-8?IR=T
• Smedley, T. (2018). Cape
Town Ice Berg Proposal.
BBC.
Available
from:
http://www.bbc.com/
future/story/20180918-the-
outrageous-plan-to-haul-
icebergs-to-africa
• “Towing an Ice Berg to
Cape Town”. Captain Nick
Sloane. Produced by www.
contentelounge.africa
and
available on YouTube.
• Schuler, M. (2016). Russia
tests towing million tonne
iceberg. Available from http://
gcaptain.com/russia-tests-
towing-million-tonne-iceberg.
www.waterafrica.co.za
quarters where it is anchored offshore,
or even fly in by helicopter and dine on
the iceberg. Maybe it is worth a try?
Certainly, our taxes have been wasted
on far less spectacular enterprises like
PRASA, SAA, and Nkandla. u
that already, regularly, tow icebergs.
Off the coast of Newfoundland,
expensive oil platforms need to be
protected from the regular flow of
icebergs — this is the sea where the
Titanic was sunk. Organisations such
as C-Core and Atlantic Towing are
hired by oil companies for iceberg
protection. For example, in 2015,
Atlantic Towing vessels were used
to intercept an iceberg found drifting
near offshore rigs in the North Atlantic.
Russia did a successful, albeit limited,
tow of a million-tonne iceberg.
Is this idea totally outrageous? Let
us look at the benefits. Assume this
will be possible and the first mountain
of ice is anchored off the Cape. It is
possible that a single iceberg drifting
from the Antarctic ice shelf can be 100
million tonnes, and even if 25% of it
would melt away by the time it reaches
the Cape, it will still contain more
fresh water than a full Wemmershoek
Dam (at 58 644 megalitres). An iceberg
such as this has the potential to supply
Cape Town with pure water for 150
days (at the restricted rate of 500Ml/
day) or augment the current supplies
sufficiently to lift all water restrictions.
So, why not bring the first iceberg?
Allow rich Capetonians and the
thousands of tourists with deep
pockets to pay the council a basic rate
for use of their infrastructure, with
an option to buy additional iceberg
water through the same distribution
system. Look at the spin-offs and
added commercial value and slogans
like: “Pure water from the Antarctic
available here!”, or, “Blue iceberg ice
in your favourite drink!” Add a tourism
twist to see the iceberg at close
Hunger Rock – Elbe River in Decin, Czech Republic.