Page 39 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e
GAUTENG PROVINCE

imported from overseas and the bridge was opened in ◊ Below: Leeubrug after completion and today
1894 by the well-known president of the South African ◊ Centre: Zuikerbosch water purification works
Republic, Paul Kruger. ◊ Bottom: Dainfern pipe bridges

25°44’43.74” S, 28°12’04.88” E

7. Zuikerbosch water purification works,
pump station and reservoirs. These are managed by
Rand Water which was established in 1903. The water
comes from the Vaal River as a mix of local but also
Lesotho Highlands Water Project water hundreds of ki-
lometres away. It is almost certain that nowhere in the
world so much water has to be pumped to elevations
more than 300 m above the river to Gauteng to supply
the needs of this complex with its 12 million people and
the industries in the area.

Its distribution network includes over 3 056 km of large
diameter pipeline, feeding 58 strategically located ser-
vice reservoirs.
Its customers include metropolitan municipalities, local
municipalities, mines and industries and it supplies, on
average, 3 653 million litres of water to these custom-
ers on a daily basis.
At present Rand Water supplies water to more than
three provinces.

8. Sewage purification works and pipe
bridges in and around Gauteng feature several unique
aspects, including one of the first facilities in Pretoria
to recycle sewage water to the level of drinking water
once more. Mostly hidden away from the public eye, the
enormous sewage pipe networks of hundreds of kilo-
metres and hectares of facilities ensure the health and
safety of the millions of residents in this province.

There are six wastewater treatment plants across
Johannesburg, the largest being the Northern Works.
It treats 400 million litres of wastewater every day.
Johannesburg Water cleans 144 km of sewers and
clears more than 3 000 sewer blockages every month.

The biggest facility is at Diepsloot and the treated water
is used to irrigate Johannesburg Water’s farm lands on
which large numbers of cattle graze, or is pumped to
the Kelvin Power Station for use as cooling water. This
ensures that expensive high quality drinking water is
not used for this purpose.

There are however some major points of interest
including the two viaducts or pipe bridges near Dainfern

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