GLOBAL EXPERTISE FOR SA MUNICIPALITIES

Municipalities struggling with potable water distribution and wastewater control issues can get assistance from one of the world’s leading suppliers of pumps, valves and related services to governments around the world.

KSB Pumps and Valves in South Africa again made its expertise available to local municipalities and water authorities following a fact-finding trip by KSB’s global specialist, Emilio de Paz, who toured and assessed several plants and substations across the country. Where possible, the team also provided input to overcome some of the problems faced at the sites through easy-toimplement preliminary solutions.

During his visit, the charismatic Argentine, who resides permanently in Germany, committed the very best of KSB’s technical expertise to assist municipalities and water utilities to deal with current challenges and to future-proof existing operations with custom solutions for each application.

“We visited a number of sites across the country over two months and culminated the trip with a two-day conference including role players from disaster-hit eThekwini and further afield in KwaZulu-Natal. Municipal and consulting engineers, as well as specialists from a number of water and wastewater utilities, were also in attendance,” says De Paz.

The conference took place on 22 to 23 November 2022 at the Coastlands Hotel in Musgrave, Durban. “We covered many topics and shared the latest finding from operations across the globe, including complex systems in countries like China, Indonesia and Mexico.” The topics were diverse and touched on general to highly technical issues such as water hammer, cavitation and free passage of pumping systems. The design of pump stations, sumps, etc. for maximum efficiency and reliability was also covered.

De Paz explains that currently, KSB is one of the only suppliers in the country that can provide the resources and expertise to ensure that potable and wastewater infrastructure can be maximised and upgraded wherever serious problems occur. “In some instances, big gains can be made with comparatively small changes – and in these instances, we can assist with immediate remedial action.

“It was a great interaction and it’s clear that our products and services are already well known in the industry, and it is currently a matter of encouraging municipalities and utilities to engage with us to address current and future challenges,” he adds.

Hugo du Plessis, acting market area manager: Water, Wastewater and Irrigation at KSB Pumps and Valves, says the two-day conference was attended by more than 100 people, with 85 on-site and 24 online participants on Day 1 – with nearly all returning the following day, which indicates the quality of the information shared.

Du Plessis explains that De Paz delivered a hardhitting technical presentation on ‘Wastewater Pump Station Design’ on Day 1 and followed up with an equally informative presentation on ‘Water Transport Systems’ on the next. “This type of knowledge is hard to find and visits like this help us to share knowledge across the country and help ensure our customers have access to the highest possible expertise when dealing with water distribution and wastewater issues,” concludes Du Plessis.