The agreement will help Mpumalanga province find sustainable solutions to its water challenges
The agreement will help Mpumalanga province find sustainable solutions to its water challenges
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered between the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) and Water Research Commission (WRC) is expected to strengthen the provincial water and sanitation resilience through groundbreaking research and innovation.
The partnership was signed last Wednesday by the Chief Executive Officer of WRC, Dr Jennifer Molwantwa, and UMP Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Internalisation, Professor Aldo Stroebel.
This was during the WRC Mpumalanga provincial follow-up engagement that was held at the tertiary institution’s Multi-Purpose Hall.
The partnership will see UMP play a catalytic role in addressing water and sanitation interventions to find solutions to the water challenges faced by Mpumalanga province.
Speaking after the signing of the MoU, Dr Molwantwa said the agreement will be followed by further engagements, where both institutions will craft out the assessment and needs analysis.
She said as the WRC, a lot of models and guidelines are developed that find a home in the curriculum of higher education.
“This MoU provides a framework to guide, coordinate and support water research, development and innovation collaboration with the sharing of existing knowledge and information, generation of new research and innovation products that will contribute towards building greater water sector capabilities, as well as finding sustainable solutions to the water challenges experienced by the province,” explained Dr Molwantwa.
The Agricultural Research Council presents its groundbreaking Plant-In-The-Bag innovation technology, which helps to retain water.
She said through the MoU they will be creating future leaders who will be able to effectively address water challenges in the country.
Among the stakeholders that participated in the road-show were the Department of Water and Sanitation Mpumalanga (DWS), Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA) and Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA).
Professor Stroebel said the agreement plants a seed in the development of strategic engagement going forward. He added that it builds a strong environment to co-invest beyond the funding contribution of the university, its partners and researchers: “This is the first step for a long road ahead. The UMP as an engaged university has many partnerships, which have enabled the institution to thrive to reach greater heights.”
The UMP was established in 2013 and the first cohort of students was enrolled in February 2014, when the doors of learning were first opened. The celebration of the 10 years since the establishment of UMP took place in November 2023.
Student numbers increased from 169 in 2014 to 10 191 in 2024. The increase in academic programmes from three in 2014 to 75 in 2024 (two Higher Certificates, six Diplomas, seven Advanced Diplomas, four Postgraduate Diplomas, 15 Bachelor’s Degrees, 20 Honours Degrees, 16 Master’s Degrees, and five Doctoral Degrees).
Their research performance was recognised by the National Research Foundation (NRF) through the NRF Acceleration Awards in 2022 and the NRF CEO’s Special Recognition Award in 2023.
The partnership will see UMP play a catalytic role in addressing water and sanitation interventions to find solutions to the water challenges that stakeholders in the province have expressed concerns about.
The province is not presenting unique water and sanitation challenges, but it is evident from the latest State of Municipalities Report that conditions have deteriorated, even in municipalities that had previously performed well.
Dudu Sifunda, Regional Head for the DWS, said they were looking forward to strengthening the province’s water and sanitation resilience through research and innovations that this partnership will foster. She said the DWS has supported the initiative taken by the WRC of working together with partners in the water sector.
“We believe that partnership is the right path to economic growth and coherence. And as DWS, we believe that this long-awaited partnership will assist in solving the province’s water and sanitation challenges and the country’s as a whole. This partnership should encourage knowledge-sharing sessions on key needs identified during the pre-engagements that have already been undertaken,” said Sifunda.
The DWS is the custodian of the policies and prescripts that govern water management, regulation, provision and to carry the mandate of providing support across the country.
There are vast challenges the department is faced with. These include limited skills, deteriorating drinking water quality, high water losses, illegal connections, ageing infrastructure and non-revenue water, among others.
Sifunda said there are high expectations of the partnership with UMP in the communities of Mpumalanga: “We expect the UMP to provide a relevant curriculum to address the water skills challenges in the province, helping with water research and technologies, and water research laboratories for the whole value chain, as the department is currently outsourcing.”
Sydney Dhlamini from KOBWA shared these sentiments, and said that the partnership was a great milestone that will enhance the success of achieving shared goals.
KOBWA was established through a treaty signed between the Kingdom of Eswatini and South Africa in 1992. Its core mandate is to operate Maguga Dam in Eswatini and Driekoppies Dam in South Africa, and supply bulk raw water to Eswatini, South Africa and Mozambique.
Dhlamini said KOBWA supports this partnership to strengthen water and sanitation resilience through research and innovation: “We have no doubt that the collaboration and partnership will enhance our success in achieving our shared goals. We are excited that this endeavour provides an opportunity to bridge the gap between research and practice.
“Traditionally and historically, researchers and operators have worked in silos and the challenge has been to convince operators to make use of cutting-edge research; I am talking about developed tools, technologies and products that are better than what operators currently have or use.
“On the other hand, researchers have developed products without effectively consulting or collaborating with the end users, resulting in many research reports collecting dust on the shelves,” elaborated Dhlamini.
He further said there was also a need to deliberate on the issues of sustainability of the projects or interventions in the long term.
“It is common knowledge that catchments in Mpumalanga are faced with the challenge of water availability and scarcity. Growing populations and economic development result in higher demands for water,” said Dhlamini.
He said there was a need for robust and versatile decision making and for supportive tools.
“We must address water availability in the long, medium and short term. One of the challenges is inadequate or unavailable flood forecasting tools. Drought prediction is another issue — the prediction of drought onset, and its severity, duration and cessation. There are inadequate early warning systems, and inadequate monitoring infrastructure.
“We need to examine issues of automation and artificial intelligence. Data and information sharing will be critical to the success of some of the projects. All these issues, even though non-exhaustive, may not be addressed in one go, but we believe this is a great start,” added Dhlamini.
Dr Nicolette Mhlanga-Ndlovu, Chief Executive Officer for ICUMA, said it has in the past and in the present collaborated with WRC on a number of research projects. She said since its establishment, the IUCMA has made tremendous contributions in attaining transformation of South Africa’s water sector.
“In discharging its legislative mandate, the IUCMA has contributed to the development and implementation of water sector policies, strategies, legislation and re-alignment of institutions. The IUCMA, through its mission and vision, strives to promote and strengthen the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, which is key in informing the resilient WASH [drinking water, sanitation and hygiene] future,” said Mhlanga-Ndlovu.
She said the IWRM approach forms the basis upon which participatory water resources management is promoted.
“In furtherance of the IWRM framework, an enabling environment for all role players within Mpumalanga province is considered vital, in addition to data collection, information dissemination, knowledge generation, and sharing as well as documenting lessons learnt in the formulation of evidence-based WASH policies,” concluded Mhlanga-Ndlovu.
Inventors present innovative water and sanitation solutions
The spirit of innovation was alive and well in Mpumalanga as inventors delivered their proposed solutions to the province’s biggest water and sanitation challenges.
This was during the Water Research Commission (WRC) visit to Mpumalanga on a strategic two-day multi-stakeholder engagement to address water challenges, held at the University of Mpumalanga (UMP).
Chief Executive Officer of WRC, Dr Jennifer Molwantwa, with the innovators who are helping South Africa to overcome the challenges of water scarcity and climate change.
Founder and managing director of Water, Hygiene, and Convenience (WHC) Paseka Lesolang was among the innovators.
He said his company’s leakless valve innovation is a control mechanism that mitigates water loss in toilets due to leaks when toilets are not in use.
Lesolang said his valve is placed in the toilet cistern and locks at a predetermined level after each flush, prohibiting an excess influx of water and preemptively stopping water flow in the event of a leak.
“The water control mechanism prevents 70% of water loss due to toilet leaks when the toilet is not in use. This leakless valve solution prevents water wastage, which would effectively contribute to the country’s water shortage issues and could save households 10% of their monthly water bills,” explained Lesolang.
He said he invented the device in his grandmother’s garage when he was in matric, after he became annoyed with the incessant hissing of her leaking toilet. Today, his company is at the centre of South Africa’s green economy.
Among other achievements, his product was endorsed as a smart solution by Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal in 2009. In 2010, Lesolang was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Pretoria, and WHC was selected as one of 15 delegate companies at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
Lesolang also won first prize in the City of Johannesburg’s Green City Startup Awards in 2015, winning R1 million for his innovation – the Leak-Less Valve.
Nohlanhla Mhlongo, research assistant and innovator from Carin Bosman Sustainable Solutions (CBSS), said they deliver sustainable solutions for environmental and water management and governance challenges throughout the country.
She said that the Leguaan and Water Monster Appliances system creates water quality graphs that everyone can understand.
“The Leguaan system will save you time and money when dealing with your water quality and quantity data. It will help you to turn unmanageable spreadsheets or hundreds of lab reports into easily understandable and visualised management information that is scientifically correct,” explained Mhlongo.
Dr Nicolette Mhlanga Ndlovu (middle), Chief Executive Officer for ICUMA, is accompanied by other dignitaries who participated at the WRC Mpumalanga Follow-Up Engagement.
She also explained how their Water Monster Appliances (WMA) digitised field data collection app works.
“Using our appliance means you will have less of a hassle. The appliances capture all the critical field data directly on your mobile device when you are taking water samples for laboratory analysis. These include the type of water sample, the weather conditions at the monitoring location, and your observations about the colour, odour and flow of the water.
“All your captured field data is immediately available in electronic format and by the time you arrive in the office, all your data is already there. You will never have to struggle with muddy field-sheets or data-transfer errors,” explained Mhlongo.
Dr Hintsa Araya, a senior researcher in Crops Science from the Agricultural Research Council presented the groundbreaking Plant-In-The-Bag innovation technology.
He said the province of Limpopo, where drought is high, has since adopted his innovation. Through the bag system people can not only plant vegetables to consume — they can also take them to the market.
“Leafy vegetables can be successfully planted in the bag system. Families can feed themselves successfully with the bag system and can also sell the vegetables,” said Dr Hintsa.
He added that not having enough space to produce vegetables at home should not stop people from growing leafy vegetables, as the bag system is a way to grow them successfully.
This method of planting has numerous advantages, including that the bag holds water for a longer time, without water and nutrients draining into the soil. The plant leaves are also not in contact with soil, resulting in less cleaning before eating or selling them.
All that you need to plant is an empty polyethylene maize meal bag, fertilizer, a growing medium such as compost, sawdust or soil with good drainage, a watering can and seedlings. The growing medium requires a good distribution of water during irrigation.
Because the bag retains water, the plants only need to be watered every second day. An 80kg bag, for example, requires just 60 litres and 90 litres of water per week.
Thaphelo Mokwela, Business Development Manager from Enviro Options PTY LTD, presented their waterless toilet system, which provides a safe, non-polluting, cost-effective sanitation solution.
The Enviro Loo Clear is a wastewater treatment system that uses a natural biological process to provide a recycling toilet experience.
“The Enviro Loo Clear Non-Sewered Sanitation System can transform the lives of individuals and empower communities by providing a full recycling and aspirational quality flushing toilet experience. This sanitation technology offers a cost-effective, sustainable and dignified sanitation system that is scalable, adaptable and environmentally efficient,” explained Mokwela.
Options offered by the Enviro Loo Clear include six kilolitres per day connected to 50 seats or 24 kilolitres per day connected to 200 seats. The system can be increased or decreased as required, and installed solutions can be relocated or decommissioned should the need arise, as the technology is geared for deployment at various locations. These include schools, informal settlements or areas with little or no access to adequate sanitation.
Stephanus Pretorius, Managing Director for Empowering Water Solutions PTY LTD, talked about their patented Sand Water Extraction (SWE) system, which he said is an ideal system to extract water from sand or other water-bearing mediums.
“The patented SWE system is an ideal solution for the efficient extraction of water from sand and supplying communities with valuable water during times of drought. The system can be used to supply large towns, small rural areas and farming applications with low-cost water,” explained Pretorius.
He further said the design is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to extract water from sand. The unique patented design allows the units to be completely submerged under the sand, which allows year-round water extraction, irrespective of the level of water in nearby rivers.
The design allows water to be extracted from the sand at rates up to 10 times faster than the standard infiltration rate of the sand.
Dr Jennifer Molwantwa, Chief Executive Officer for WRC, said the roadshow was a great success.
She said the partnership signed with UMP will culminate into a structured project plan that will respond to some of the issues raised.
“As we leave Mpumalanga, we are honoured that you heard our call and responded to our invitation. We have used our convening ability to bring you together and find our strengths from which to leverage, and seen our weaknesses that require individual and collective effort.
“We acknowledge and thank the exhibitors showcasing real WRC-funded project innovations and products with us. I believe we are slowly demystifying RDI [research, development and innovation] products and showing that it’s not all theory, but real solutions,” said Dr Molwantwa.