Already seeing the water quality at the intake of the tower, Luyolo Ndenze, operator of a water treatment plant at BCMM, was impressed by the little turbidity. In East London water is released from the Bridle Drift dam into Buffalo river, where the water intake for the treatment plant is located. The water runs for a couple of kilometres through Buffalo River, which increases the load of suspended solids in the water due to the turbulence in the river.

During his stay in Germany he had the opportunity to not only visit the dam of Kleine Kinzig but also the Eibsee in Bavaria which are both located within water protection zones – which is common for water reservoirs in Germany.  In Germany the drinking water reservoirs are protected by the Water Resources Act. This law protects the water resource from contamination by specific bans and restrictions within certain areas. Not only the protection zones around the water resource but also the treatment of water is very controlled and all treatment processes are undertaking indoors – unlike the current treatment at BCMM.

This is one of the topics the utility partnership is discussing within the project and we are all looking forward to the months to come!