The Department of Water and Sanitation appointed BKS (Pty) Ltd in association with four sub-consultants (Africa Geo-Environmental Services, KARIWA Project Engineers & Associates, Scherman Colloty & Associates and Urban-Econ) with effect from 1 September 2010 to undertake the Feasibility Study for Augmentation of the Lusikisiki Regional Water Supply Scheme.

Background To The Project

In the 1970s Consultants O’Connell Manthé and Partners and Hill Kaplan Scott recommended that a regional water supply scheme based on a dam on the Xura River and a main bulk supply reservoir close to Lusikisiki (located within the then defined “administration area” of the Zalu Dam) would provide potable water supply for the entire region between Lusikisiki and the coast, extending from the Mzimvubu River in the south west to the Msikaba River in the north east. Some areas up to 15 km inland of Lusikisiki would also be supplied. A White Paper describing the scheme was tabled by the Transkei Government in 1979. It was envisaged that the scheme would be constructed in phases (details of the proposed phasing of the scheme are provided in Hill Kaplan Scott’s 1986 report).

After the reincorporation of the Transkei Homeland into the Republic of South Africa (RSA) in 1994, the DWS took over responsibility for further development of the scheme. The Directorate: National Water Resource Planning commissioned the Eastern Pondoland Basin Study (EPBS) in 1999 to further investigate the water supply situation in the area, with a specific focus on further development in the area originally earmarked for the Lusikisiki Regional Water Supply Scheme (LRWSS). This detailed investigation was undertaken for surface and groundwater sources, which re-affirmed that the Zalu Dam was the preferred source of surface water and recommended further investigation of groundwater sources to augment water supply to the entire area or to sub-areas.

In 2007, SRK Consulting undertook the Lusikisiki Groundwater Feasibility Study to investigate groundwater potential and compare the new data with data produced by earlier studies. This study reported that there is a relatively strong possibility of finding high yielding boreholes, and that a combination of surface water (Zalu Dam) and groundwater would be the most feasible solution for the LRWSS.

Objective, Scope and Organisation of the Study

The objective of this study was to complete a comprehensive engineering investigation at the feasibility level for the proposed LRWRS, including the possible Zalu Dam in the Xura River, and to define the most attractive composition and size of the water supply components, taking augmentation from groundwater resources into account.

This feasibility study provided for the assessment of all aspects that impact on the viability of utilising a combination of surface water (via the Zalu Dam on the Xura River) and groundwater (via boreholes) for the expansion of the existing water supply scheme to provide all water users in the study area with an appropriate level of water supply. The study is therefore required to:

• Identify all of the technical issues likely to affect implementation, and to define and evaluate all of the actions required to address these issues;

• Provide an estimate of cost with sufficient accuracy and reliability to ensure that management decisions can be made with confidence;

• Decide whether to irrigate or not, and how much; and

• Provide sufficient information to enable design and implementation to proceed without further investigation.

The required activities for this project have been grouped into 14 modules, as shown in the table below.

Table 1:  Study Structure

GOVERNANCE OF THE STUDY

Integration management is crucial to the successful completion of this project and requires sound project management and a strong working relationship within the project team and between the project team and the Client and key stakeholders.

Effective liaison between the DWS Project Manager and the Study Leader and his team is ensured through the establishment of a Project Management Committee (PMC). The PMC is responsible for governing and driving of the study, and will include the DWS Project Manager, the Study Leader, representatives of any DWS Directorate and other key stakeholders wishing to participate. A representative of the OR Tambo District Municipality has also been invited to the PMC meetings to ensure that the local considerations and situation of interested and affected parties are also accounted for at the appropriate level.

Figure 1: Governance structure for the Lusikisiki Feasibility study