Featured
Solving environmental law confusion: Lawyer Lizette van der Walt launches innovative app
Lizette van der Walt is a lawyer specialising in environmental law. In her 27 years of experience, she noticed a general confusion around environmental laws in South Africa and decided to help by creating the Enviro Legal app. This app is designed to help users...
Featured
Turning The Tide To Achieve SDG 6
Coming off the back of the WISA 2024 Biennial Conference and Exhibition, we can all agree that accelerated change is needed in achieving SDG 6 by 2030. As we celebrate 30 years of democracy this year and honour women during the month of August, it is fitting that we...
Featured
[Industry Personality] Carin Bosman: Make noise and have a code
The water sector is filled with passionate people, Carin Bosman is one such passionate person, and she serves to remind us of all that water is for the betterment of humanity, and when you are tasked with doing what is right, you have to make some noise. Early on in...
Featured
[Cover Story] 40 years strong: Lethabo Intake Pumping Station’s historic refurbishment
A part of Rand Water’s proactive infrastructure maintenance project comprised the refurbishment of pumps and electrical boards at the Lethabo Intake Pumping Station. This key facility pumps water to ESKOM Lethabo Power Station and supplies over half of Gauteng via the...
Latest News
Managing your solar panel waste
While solar panels have a lifespan of several decades, it becomes increasingly important to consider reuse and recycling options as time passes. South Africa’s prolonged energy crisis has been described as the biggest risk to the country’s economy....
Sanitation solutions can reduce school absenteeism
The Clear Enviro Loo Backend Sanitation Treatment Plant has achieved good results, following the two-year evaluation and pilot testing of the recycling toilet system in two schools, as well as in an informal housing development. The pilot testing...
Desperate need for SANS 30500 certification scheme
Due to the high level of South African representation on the international panel that supported the creation of ISO 30500, we were one of the first countries in the world to identically adopt the standard as SANS 30500 in 2019. However, setting up...
If sanitation is an engineering problem, it would be already solved
The Tamil saying ‘Nothing grows under a Bayan tree’ rings true for the sanitation crisis. We need a complete paradigm shift (moving away from the old Bayan Tree) to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2. There is a need for a fresh,...
If you value water, value sanitation
Poor sanitation (open defecation, leaking pipes, overloaded wastewater treatment works) reduces the value of water. Faecal contamination from sanitation systems pollutes water resources. What is the link between sanitation, water and disease? The...
[IN THE HOT SEAT] South Africa’s water crisis: We are knee-deep in very little water!
The demand for water will exceed the available supply by 2030 – that’s a 10% to 15% deficit. Kate Stubbs unpacks how creating a much more diverse and sustainable water mix can alleviate South Africa’s water crisis. Seven of the 13 major water...
Sustainability
Plastics industry calls for evidence-based decisions in the fight against climate change
The 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) which has just drawn to a close in Egypt, once again placed a strong emphasis on climate change and the importance of making the shift from...
South Africa unveils R300bn green-hydrogen pipeline which will be given priority status
A R300-billion investment pipeline has been identified under South Africa’s Green Hydrogen National Programme, which has been designated as a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) for accelerated development under the...
[IN THE HOT SEAT] South Africa’s water crisis: We are knee-deep in very little water!
The demand for water will exceed the available supply by 2030 – that’s a 10% to 15% deficit. Kate Stubbs unpacks how creating a much more diverse and sustainable water mix can alleviate South Africa’s water crisis. Seven of the 13 major water...
[THOUGHT LEADER] How loadshedding is hitting the business bottom line
The current power provisioning landscape in South Africa is unstable and mercurial. Limited visibility into loadshedding volumes, extended power cuts and unreliable supply are making it increasingly difficult for companies to run effectively and...
HEINEKEN is brewing a better world
Heineken South Africa has taken a bold step toward reducing carbon emissions in all its operations and reaching its 2030 net-zero goals. Heineken South Africa has taken a bold step in moving closer to reducing carbon emissions in all its...
Waste sector income and plastic recycling on the up
More than 40 local, district and provincial municipalities countrywide have benefitted from strategic sustainability partnerships in 2021/2 – not just improving waste collection and PET plastic recycling rates, but also creating much-needed income...
Events
Industry News
Plans afoot for recycling of e-waste in iLembe
While the iLembe District Municipality has developed plans to improve waste management, there are significant challenges around disposal of waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) in the district, writes Paul Jones, Director of Lumec and...
Six-month ban imposed on export of copper and scrap metal
The annual cost of copper and scrap metal theft to the economy was estimated at about R47bn a year, and has amplified both loadshedding and the disruption of freight and passenger rail services. This is according to the Minister of Trade, Industry...
Emerging contractors are key to construction sector recovery
The construction sector can lead South Africa’s recovery as the country emerges into a post-Covid 19 economy, but only if emerging contractors are empowered. According to the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Construction Industry Development...
Water
Metro News
Working together ensures more water services and security – Minister Mchunu
Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu has implored the KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial and local government, Umgeni Water Board and the private sector to work together to ensure water security in the province. Mchunu was speaking during an event...
High stages of load shedding impact water supply operations in Cape Town
The City of Cape Town has once again urged residents to use water sparingly, especially during prolonged stages of load shedding to prevent water supply limitations in higher-lying areas. The City issued a statement following the move to stage six...
Using data to fix South Africa’s water challenges
The municipality of eThekwini, which includes the holiday playground Durban, is gearing up for a bumper tourist season. But it faces many challenges, including sewage leaking into the sea—forcing the closure of beaches—and losing revenue from its...
Waste
Engineering
70 years of partnering for engineering excellence
Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), representing close to 600 member firms employing approximately 17 000 people, is celebrating 70 years of engineering excellence in 2022. CESA’s Platinum Jubilee celebrates the organisation’s remarkable and...
Almost a quarter of SA’s strategic infrastructure projects delayed
Almost a quarter of South Africa’s R340 billion worth of strategic infrastructure projects have been delayed or put on hold. This is according to Standard Bank Group. The South African Government adopted a National Infrastructure Plan in 2012. With...
An agile approach adds quality to transportation projects
Mariswe has a large and diverse team of technical experts with a proud reputation of excellence in designing and managing transportation construction projects in South Africa and several other African countries. During 2022, Mariswe celebrates its...
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Water & Sanitation Africa
The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), the magazine publishes content dealing with the supply, governance, financing, treatment and measurement of water and sanitation in southern Africa.