khumalotk@durban.gov.za pressure germans sponsor … · the ethekwini citystars 2009 awards evening...

NEWSPage 2 11 September 2009

THEMBA KHUMALO

IF WE ARE to reduce thedemand we place on theEarth’s ecosystems to a levelthat the planet is able toregenerate itself, we will needto work together.

That’s the message on our“ecological footprint” fromPooran Desa, InternationalDirector of BioRegional OnePlanet Communities.

Desai said, “Doing little

things such as using waterwisely, energy saving utensilsand recycling can play a bigrole in creating low carboncommunities.”

Desai was speaking at aseminar hosted by the City’sImagine Durban projecet, atthe Botanical Garden’s Visi-tors Centre recently.

One Planet Communities isan international initiativethat works with housingdevelopers and the construc-tion industry to create mixed-use communities wherepeople can live healthy liveswith a fair share of the Earth’sresources.

“We are consuming more

than we have to and morethan the planet can renew. Allof this can be avoided if wewere to make eco-friendlydecisions,” he said.

Desai said, “We need to takeaction now if we are toreverse the damage alreadycaused. We have witnessedthe collapse of fisheries,

diminishing forest and freshwater systems. All of this hasresulted in climate change.”

Imagine Durban ProjectManager Margaret McKenziesaid, “We are starting to talkabout climate change and itseffects on our lives, howeverwe are battling to take action.

“We need to learn a lot from

the rest of the world becausethere are a lot of innovationsout there which can help usdeal with these issues.”

McKenzie said people caneasily reduce their ecologicalfootprint if they have the willto do so. “All they have to do ismake the right decisions.Saving energy and water, andgrowing organic gardens cansave you money in the longrun,” she said.

khumalotk@durban.gov.za

KEN MCHUNU

A CITY project to manage andreduce water pressure in theCBD has led to savings of 18million litres of water a day –the equivalent of nearly eightOlympic-sized swimmingpools.

The project, started by theeThekwini Water and Sani-tation (EWS) Unit in January,is expected to save about R20-million a year.

Unit Head Neil Macleodsaid the service now providedall consumers with aminimum acceptable waterpressure of 25m, which wassufficient for a five-storeybuilding.

Mcleod said if the plumbingand water systems in high-rise buildings complied withby-laws and national buildingregulations they should begetting water.

Before the unit beganreducing pressure it ran anawareness campaign toadvise CBD consumers of theplan and to remind them oftheir responsibilities.

Macleod said water

pressure in the CBD wasbeing managed so thatmorning and evenings peakdemand is not affected whilereducing unnecessarily highpressures during off-peakperiods.

He said precautions weretaken to ensure the fire-fighting capacity of thenetwork was not harmed.

Tests had been done toconfirm this.

BylawsMcleod said the drop in

pressure would have littleeffect on consumers –provided the water supplysystems of their buildingscomplied with bylaws andnational regulations and hadsound plumbing.

Further refinement of thepressure managementsystem would take place overthe next few months, he said.

He said the changes inpressure were being in-troduced gradually to giveconsumers time to improvetheir buildings.

mchunuk@durban.gov.za

Pressureplan savesmillions

KEN MCHUNU

MORE than 1 000km of newpipes have been laidthroughout eThekwini aspart of the Municipality’sasbestos cement pipe re-placement project.

Alan Kee, Project Executiveat eThekwini Water and Sani-tation, said the project, whichis scheduled for completionby June 2010, “is going well”.

Work is now underway inDurban North and UmgeniPark in the north, AthlonePark and Doonside in the

south, Kloof and Gillits in thewest, and Queensburgh.

At the same time, some15km of the new modifiedpolyvinyl chloride pipes arebeing laid in the CentralBusiness District (CBD).

Kee said, “From the begin-ning of the project, priorityzoning for pipe relay wasallocated to areas where theold asbestos pipes were mostprone to bursting.

“The City’s faults systemhas records of bursts and weuse this information to iden-tify areas where new pipes are

most urgently needed.”The R850-million project

aims to cut water loss due toburst pipes, saving an esti-mated R248m each year.

Trenchless pipe-crackingtechnology is being used insome parts of the CBD to cutdown on traffic disruptions.

Project Spokesman, JochenDedekind, said, “We are usingthe same type of machines inDurban, as are being used inFirst World cities such asLondon and Brisbane.”

He said trenchless methodscould not be used through-

out eThekwini because inmany areas soil was too hardor too soft, to allow themachines to work effectively.

Dedekind said more than12 000 unskilled labourerswere being employed a yearon the project. “In addition,security guards, plant andmaterial are sourced fromlocal companies.”

Dedekind said the fourlarge, mainstream contrac-tors on the project eachmentored four emerging sub-contractors.

mchunuk@durban.gov.za

Pipe replacement project ‘going well’

‘Together we can save the planet’

ROMITA HANUMAN

A DELEGATION fromGermany visited eThekwinirecently to hand over 12 000(about R133 000) to a schoolin Umlazi to help with energysaving and to buy furniture.

Thanks to the donation, theCity’s Energy Office will soonbe installing solar panels andcells which will chargebatteries using energy fromthe sun. This will slash theschool’s electricity bill andprovide standby powerduring electricity outages.

Mayor Obed Mlabawelcomed the Germanfunding. “There are a lot ofthings lacking in our schools.Education is our first priorityand we want the best to bedone for our future leaders,”Mlaba said.

Manoj Singh of the EnergyOffice said the donors held aseries of activities in Germanyto raise funds for theeSizibeni ComprehensiveSchool in Umlazi.

Principal Sipho Gumbi said,“We will be saving so much,as electricity is expensive. Iam glad this partnershipbetween eThekwini andGermany is working so well.”

Iris Ruschmeier, known asthe “mother” of the project,said, “We want to createrelationships with schools allover the world. In Germanywe also want to save energy.We are now trying to teachchildren how to do this”.

Pupil Mtobisi Shoba said, “Itis interesting to meet othercultures and it is good that weare learning to save energy.”

Fiona Coordes, a memberof the German delegation,said, “We have found the bestway to learn is to meet peoplefrom other parts of theworld”.

hanumanr@durban.gov.za

CARSTEN Laugesen of Danish InternationalDevelopment Agency (Danida) and Manoj Singh of theCity Treasury’s Energy Office with a heat pumprecently donated to the City by Danida. The heatpump, which has been installed at the Malacca Roadelectricity depot, extracts heat from surrounding air tomaintain the temperature of unused water in geyers atthe depot. Unused water loses heat and electricity isrequired to bring it back to geyser temperature. Theuse of heat pumps prevents the loss of heat fromunused geyser water and so saves electricity. Thedonation was co-ordinated by the Energy Office

Picture: MACK MAKHATHINI

Germanssponsorsolarsystem

On the Boil

Stars come out to shineTHEMBA NYATHIKAZIand ALYSSIA BIRJALAL

THE eThekwini Citystars2009 Awards evening washeld at the Inkosi AlbertLuthuli InternationalConvention Centre last week.The annual awards recogniseservice excellence byMunicipal employees.

Family, friends andcolleagues from Municipaldepartments attended theevent, which paid tribute tonominees for their hard workand dedication.

“We are gathered here

tonight to honour and showour appreciation to all ofyou. You are all worthy ofbeing recognised for the hardwork you do in yourdepartments,” said CityManager Michael Sutcliffe.

Nominations were made inseven categories and thewinners were:

Best Community Outreach:Blessing Ngidi fromElectricity;

Best Team: Roads Provision(North);

Best Leader: David BryanThomas from Engineering;

Best Batho Pele People’s

Person: EmmanuelNkosinathi Ngcobo fromTreasury;

Most Innovative Idea: CityBudgets Forum;

Best Woman Achiever:Jayshree Pershad fromElectricity; and

City Manager’s Award ForBest Department: eThekwiniHousing Projects

Guests, including MayorObed Mlaba and DeputyMayor Logie Naidoo, enjoyeda five-course meal and liveentertainment.

birjalala@durban.gov.zanyathikazit@durban.gov.za

WINNER: Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo hands Emmanuel Ngcobo the Batho PelePeople’s Person award