There will be no day Zero in Gauteng!
Information Session: Looking Ahead – Water Supply for Businesses in Johannesburg
Many cities in South Africa are currently experiencing interruptions in water supply due to flood damage, vandalism, aging infrastructure, as well as emergency and scheduled maintenance. On Thursday the 11 July 2024, the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry facilitated an information session on the future of Johannesburg’s water supply in midst of the most intense maintenance schedule that Rand Water has implemented thus far. Overall, despite the inconveniences encountered, we should maintain a positive outlook on the ongoing maintenance efforts. These activities are essential for preventing the long-term deterioration of our infrastructure.
Watch the online information session recording here:
Mogan Padayachee and Obby Masia from Rand Water, as well as Dr. Zakhele Khuzwayo from Johannesburg Water updated the listeners on the current, medium- and long-term strategic interventions to keep the taps running in Johannesburg and Gauteng at large. Luntu Ndalasi from the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent gave a national perspective and outlines the support that MISA is providing to the municipalities and Water Supply Authorities.
While Johannesburg Water and Rand Water are working hard to maintain and restore water supply to the city, businesses must keep running to keep their doors open. Carl Haycock, CEO at Talbot highlighted that, businesses can help themselves and gave the following very valuable advice “Measure, assess, develop your strategy. Start simple and evolve; seek the opportunity, it is not always a cost.”
Carsten Orzol from Memcon brought product recovery from wastewater and utilities recycling to the forefront of our minds. He called on the listeners to “think about going upstream, think about never mix, think about what the low hanging fruit are and where we can add value”.
Businesses can also help themselves by following best practices as offered in the various ISO Standards that can help businesses in becoming more resilient to water supply interruptions. Francois Labuschagne from DQS South Africa shared his expertise on how companies can create robust systems to manage their water resources effectively.
Finally, Beatrice Abel Roeseler from the City of Johannesburg highlighted how the Department of Economic Development can support local and international businesses in navigating among other departments Johannesburg Water, Department of Development Planning and City Power.
Download the presentations and contact the speakers:
Memcon
Carsten Orzol, Founder and Managing Director
Tel +27 (0)11 534 3938/9
Cell +27 (0)82 573 0356
Email carsten(at)memcon.co.za
web www.memcon.co.za
DQS South Africa
Francois Labuschagne, CEO
Tel +27 11 787 0060
Cell +27 82 851 2902
Email francois.labuschagne(at)dqs.de
Web www.dqsglobal.com/en-za