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GREEN DROP CERTIFICATION

01 / 01 / 2015

Wastewater Management is our concern

Green Drop Certification is awarded to wastewater systems that obtain scores of 90% when compared against the criteria set for wastewater management.

Johannesburg is the economic hub of Gauteng and South Africa and has found its place as being rated among the places with the cleanest and safest drinking water in the world. However, wastewater within the region is not often given the platform it deserves.

The City of Johannesburg, together with its service provider, Johannesburg Water, manages 6 wastewater treatment plants treating up to 930 million liters of sewage daily. Since the inception of the Green Drop Certification Programme in 2008, the City of Johannesburg was able to secure 6 prestigious Green Drops for excellence in waste water management.

Green Drop Certification is awarded to wastewater systems that obtain scores of 90% when compared against the criteria set for wastewater management. This assisted Water Services Authorities to strive for improvement in their management of wastewater as part of the incentive-based regulation approach.

Ms Antonino Manus (Director: Water and Sanitation at the City of Johannesburg) said that for the first time everyone knows what is expected of them. The Green Drop seems to have assisted the City in thinking beyond best practices initiatives, for example, the implementation of other requirements which are not specifically ‘operational,” such as biogas to energy since electrical energy cost increases are going to make activated sludge plants unaffordable within the next 10 years.

The Green Drop encouraged the Municipality to produce effluent of a much higher quality than prescribed by its authorization limits, especially at Northern Works. For example while a 0.9mg/l Phosphate limit was set by the Department, the municipality committed itself to operate at a limit of 0.1mg/l purely out of a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

The Green Drop programme led to increase commitment, for example, the Bushkoppies wastewater treatment works was flooded during the high rainfall period in December 2010, which eventually led to spilling into the environment due to a broken blower.

Ms Manus states that the team at the plant worked day & night to rectify the problem and it weighed heavily on them that they tried everything within their means and still, it was not enough. She indicated that it was heartwarming to witness the commitment and pride. In great contrast with Johannesburg the Department noted the improvement in wastewater services management at smaller municipalities as well.

The Local Municipalities of George (Western Cape) and Karoo Hoogland (Northern Cape) impressed with the impressive house-keeping and general management of wastewater facilities within their area of jurisdiction. These two municipalities made a clear statement that size (in terms of revenue base) does not matter, but rather the levels of passion and commitment towards effective and excellent management of wastewater services.

These serve as examples of excellence that exists in some of smaller towns even though there might be valid concern for the general state of wastewater management in most of the towns of equivalent size.

The Green Drop process allows for objective differentiation and informs the appropriate action to be taken to ignite improvement. Even though the municipality of Karoo Hoogland erred in not availing itself for the Green Drop assessment in 2009, there has been a remarkable turn around in 2010.

Robust low-end technology such as oxidation ponds was recently commissioned as part of the capital investment in wastewater services in Carnavon and is being operated with the finesse required in their quest towards excellence.

The South African water sector portrays renewed energy to sustainably improve the manner in which wastewater services is managed since the introduction of the Green Drop Certification programme. Yet it would not serve as a magic wand but rather as a stimulus for the desired improvement which starts at home where sewers are to be used responsibly and not as solid waste disposal conduits.

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