On a national level, brilliant engineers are looking to re-engineer toilet systems that meet user expectations and use less resources.

The United Nations (UN) note that to fully implement and monitor progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), decision makers need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently disaggregated, relevant, accessible and easy to use.

The GLAAS update process is assisting DWS to identify reporting drivers, bottlenecks, and knowledge gaps.

To take a few steps back, it is useful to provide an overview of the Water Safety Planning application in the Flood and Drought Portal.

Interpreting climate information for water utilities.

Two questions remain to be answered, which include identifying those hazards and hazardous events that would be affected by ‘wetter’ or ‘drier’ conditions, and how these conclusions can be incorporated into the WSP process.

One of the difficulties experienced by water utilities when using the Flood and Drought Portal is how to incorporate the datasets into their respective water safety plans.

In my previous blog, I briefly introduced the Flood and Drought Portal, and indicated that the portal has tools that can be used individually or collectively to incorporate information about floods and droughts and likely climatic scenarios into planning.

Floods and droughts are naturally occurring disasters, that bring with them considerable challenges.

Emanti has a unique culture and always strives to keep the team spirits up!

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) is working with international partners to address the global challenge of Faecal Sludge Management (FSM).

Helping Develop Shit/Excreta Flow Diagrams for South Africa.

The MPAP forms a critical part of the Five Year Reliable Water and Sanitation Services Delivery Implementation Plans, from which funded remedial projects will emanate.

Water Services Master Class (WSMC) 6 was held during February/March 2018 in Durban, Paarl and Bloemfontein, with 202 persons registering for WSMC 6, and 150 persons attending (excluding the MBI team).

South Africa is ranked as the 30th driest country in the world, with extreme climate and rainfall fluctuations.

Benchmarking is internationally recognised as an effective means towards performance improvement…

WSA interaction is via peer networks, and for a peer network to be successful, the WSAs must know the strategic purpose of participating. Peer networks are encouraged to start small (low hanging fruit), learn and build upon successes.

The International water Association (IWA) held their Water Loss 2018 Conference at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town from 7 – 9 May 2018.

The Flood and Drought Portal contains a data and information application, which provides near real-time satellite based data, seasonal and medium range climate forecast…

Emanti continues to assist the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) with improving and refining the Local Government Management Improvement Model (LGMIM).

Recognizing the critical role monitoring and reporting plays in rational decision-making for water and sanitation sector development, AMCOW has implemented water and sanitation…

The Water Research Commission (WRC) invited Emanti to participate in the 3rd Biennial WRC Symposium that was held in Johannesburg, 18-20 September 2017.

National Treasury (NT) is driving a local government financial and budgeting reform process, and as part of this process, the City Support Programme (CSP) of National Treasury…

A key part of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) is to engage and interact with various sector champions and key stakeholders to both understand needs and challenges, and identify and share good and best practice that will benefit municipal services.

Emanti were invited by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to participate in a Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) workshop in Seattle, Washington, USA in early July.

Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is a significant problem for many municipalities in South Africa, with average national NRW of approximately 39% and average per capita consumption approximately 223 litres.

Emanti has developed interactive awareness training sessions that highlight water safety planning (drinking water), wastewater risk abatement planning (waste water) and integrated risk management (water, wastewater and sanitation). This very simple yet effective awareness training tool allows a group of people to see how the activities of different water sector related stakeholders or groups affect the water cycle and the…

Municipalities in South Africa are mandated to provide a range of services that promote social and economic development and that ensure adequate environmental protection to communities.

The fifth round of Water Services Master Classes (WSMCs) was held during March 2017 in Durban, Bloemfontein and Cape Town…

A Sanitation Safety Planning (SSP) thematic session was held at the World Water Day Summit in Durban, South Africa on 22^nd March 2017.

The Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI, including the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Water Research Commission (WRC), and in partnership with eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation…

Philip de Souza from Emanti was invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to participate in the Global Water Safety Planning (WSP) Trainer of Trainers Event held in Thika, Kenya from 23 – 27 January 2017.

Emanti has been appointed by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) of Uganda to assist in developing a national framework for water quality management and regulation in Uganda.

In addition to previously assisting City of Cape Town with water safety planning for the Bulk Faure and Steenbras Water Treatment Works and associated Reticulation, Emanti has recently been awarded the Water Safety Planning for the Bulk Conveyance.

Emanti has teamed up with the Entsika Water Group consortium for a Department of Public Works project aimed at improving the Green Drop Status of 82 wastewater treatment works around South Africa.

In many ways, the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) is a “change management process” as it requires municipalities to both think and act differently.

South Africa is ranked as the 30th driest country in the world. Management of South Africa’s water resources involves catchment and river systems management, water storage, water abstraction, and return flow management.

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) developed the Local Government Management Improvement Model (LGMIM) tool to measure/benchmark the institutional performance of municipalities across a number of six key performance areas, namely…

Water provision (i.e. access to water) in Liberia has progressed well to meet the MDGs. Despite this progress, to-date, Liberia has never conducted water safety planning (WSP).

Emanti Management has assisted Serieka’s further education by supporting her in completing a certificate in Executive Financial Secretary studies at Boston City Campus, Somerset West.

Emanti is in a process of Business Process Re-engineering, i.e. tidying up on our various business processes and efficiencies through a thorough rethinking of all business processes, job definitions, management systems, organisational structure, work flow, and underlying assumptions and beliefs.

Despite the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) making good progress with monitoring and evaluating Water Services Authorities (WSAs) status and performance, the DWS does not currently have a core set of Performance Indicators…

Emanti was recently appointed by the WRC to develop a web-enabled mine water management vulnerability assessment tool and as part of this initiative, we felt it’s important to sharpen our mine water skills.

Emanti was well represented at the IWA Global Water Safety Conference and Exhibition held from 25 – 29 April 2016 in Puerto Princessa City, Palawan, Philippines.

Emanti Management has intensified efforts in supporting the development of Water Safety Plans (WSP) in Uthukela and Uthungulu, as part of the Department of Science and Technology’s WSP project.

Emanti was appointed by City of Cape Town (CoCT) to facilitate Water Safety Plan development for two bulk water supply schemes, namely: Faure (CoCTs largest water treatment facility) and Steenbras.

The new National Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) Report was launched at a prestigious event at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park on 4^th March 2016.

National Water Week is an awareness campaign by the Department of Water and Sanitation which is a powerful campaign that re-iterates the value of water…

In the latter half of 2015 Emanti was appointed by Mercedes Benz South Africa (MBSA) to conduct a Water Assessment and Gap Analysis of their East London vehicle assembly plant.

Mulilo Thermal Project Developments (Pty) Ltd (Mulilo) and its partner, Uniper Kraftwerke GmbH (Uniper) is proposing to develop electricity from Gas-to-Power (GTP) projects in Saldanha Bay, referred to as the Uyekraal GTP (UGTP) Development.

The Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) required a service provider to assist with web-enabling their Local Government Management Improvement Model (LGMIM).

Using available literature and information gathered from the East and West African WSP/SSP Sensitization Workshops held in Kenya and Ghana in September/October 2016…

The latest round of the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA) has been completed and the team are analysing data and developing associated provincial and national reports.

Critical analysis of the progress made with MuSSA over the last 3 years has shown that many municipal water services entities are often taxed to positively harness the outcomes of the MuSSA, and a risk exists that below par performance will continue despite the exercise.

Philip de Souza was invited by the IWA to participate in and contribute to the IWA Water and Development Congress and Exhibition held at the Dead Sea in Jordan from 18 – 22 October 2015.

Water Safety Plans (WSPs) are widely recognized as the most reliable and effective way to consistently manage drinking water supplies to safeguard public health.

The Water Research Commission (WRC) hosted the Research, Development and Innovation Symposium and Water-tech Summit, its global conference, at the Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, from September 16 to 18.

Ms Unathi Jack has been recognised by the WRC for her achievements in the field of Water and Wastewater Engineering.

Emanti to develop site specific Water Safety Plans for some City of Cape Town Water Supply Schemes. 

Emanti has been conducting a project for capacitating small community water systems on the health and safety of the water services (emergencies).

Ms Rivonia Pillay recently joined Emanti as part of a DWS secondment and will be working with us for the next several months.

Emanti aims to develop a web based mine water management vulnerability assessment tool to determine areas of vulnerability and adherence to water use licence requirements.

An article about Emanti Management was recently published in the Eikestadnuus, the local Stellenbosch newspaper.

No computers at remote wastewater treatment facilities? No problem, the WRC W2RAP template will help you! 

Water Services Master Class 4 shows that Municipal Benchmarking continues to gain momentum

Water Services Master Class (WSMC) 4 was hosted February and March 2015 in Durban, Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch, and attended by 126 persons (excluding the MBI team). 

Many municipal water services entities are often taxed to positively harness the outcomes of the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA), and a risk exists that below par performance will continue despite the exercise.

Block A, 1st floor, Unit 8, Octo Place, Elektron Street

Sisanda Booi, an intern at Emanti, attended the Groen Sebenza 3rd National Induction held on the 4th to 6th November 2014 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Gauteng.

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) facilitates an annual process across all 152 municipal Water Services Authorities (WSAs) of establishing the baseline vulnerabilities affecting water services performance…

The Department of Science and Technology has appointed Emanti to assist in capacitating District Municipalities (DM) of KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape…

Emanti has been awarded an 18-month Water Research Commission project to develop a spreadsheet-and web-based wastewater technology decision-support tool to assist with determining the most appropriate technology for a particular circumstance.

Emanti were appointed by DPME to develop an Excel-based LGMIM tool which provides a consolidated view of a municipality’s performance across several critical key performance areas.  

Management of wastewater risks by municipalities is essential for securing human health and long term sustainability of natural resources.

In the spirit of honouring Madiba, Emanti in collaboration with Siyazama C&P Contractors devoted 67 minutes to cleaning a section of the Plankenberg River in Khayamandi, Stellenbosch. 

The International Water Association (IWA) appointed Emanti to assist in the support of Water Safety Plan (WSP) implementation in six West African countries. This compliments the existing IWA programme to support WSP implementation in East-Africa. 

Emanti Management was appointed by the International Water Association to conduct a Training of Trainer (TOT) on Water Safety Planning in Ghana on the 3^rd and 4^th of June.

Unathi Jack of Emanti Management received an invitation from Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to attend a 5 day seminar.

Mpumalanga province played host to the 2014 Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) Biennial Conference held at the Mbombela Stadium from 25 – 29 May 2014.

In July 2014, The Republic of Korea will play host to the 2014 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Incheon, with 16 countries participating.

Water Services Master Plans underpin the Water Services Development Plans (WSDPs) and as such must address all the topics of the WSDP.

The Water Services Master Classes (WSMCs) form an integral part of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI), and have been a very successful platform for peer learning and establishment of peer networks amongst municipalities.

Emanti Management was appointed by SALGA to assist with the facilitation and development of Water Safety Plans for two of the SALGA member municipalities namely; Hessequa and Kannaland Municipality.

The development and introduction of appropriate tools to guide these activities will contribute significantly to ensuring that appropriate wastewater risk abatement planning is occurring in South Africa.

A vulnerability/risk assessment is a step by step evaluation that aims to identify vulnerabilities/risks and, the ability to reduce these vulnerabilities/risks through corrective actions.

Through the tracking of current and likely future performance, the key areas of vulnerability identified, allow municipalities to effectively plan and direct appropriate resources that will also enable DWA and the sector to provide more effective support.

A group of celebrities, the media and other partners including Emanti, joined Sanlam and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on a 4-day journey of water from the Boland Mountains into Cape Town.

The first round of piloting of the WRC W2RAP tools was recently completed at 3 municipalities.

Emanti recently attended the 2013 Blue Water Service Audits training sessions which were held on the 7th to the 9th October 2013.

All municipalities were invited to attend the National Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) Annual Workshop which was held in Port Elizabeth on the 21st and 22nd of October 2013.

The 3rd IWA Development Congress and Exhibition was held in Nairobi 14-17 October 2013. The conference was very well attended with Unathi Jack and Philip de Souza from Emanti attending and showcasing a number of projects and initiatives.

In order to support good and effective decision making, primarily at the local government level and yet also to support alignment with other regional and national role-players, South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs (DWA)…

Emanti was amongst institutions and companies invited by the Water Research Commission (WRC) to showcase the projects funded by the WRC at their recent symposium held at the CSIR Convention Centre.

The focus of the W2RAP process is on spurring internal performance improvement, through an emphasis on regular performance measurement and better information to inform management decision-making.

The Office of the Presidency has approached Emanti to assist in the development of a Municipal Assessment Tool (MAT) which will be used to determine the performance of municipalities across a range of key performance areas…

Emanti’s four Groen Sebenza interns recently assisted Kannaland Municipality and Hessequa Municipality with water safety planning.

Stockholm World Water Week is an annual event hosted and organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and focuses on addressing global water issues, with the 2013 theme being Water Cooperation: Building Partnerships.

A Water Research Commission (WRC) project which aims at developing Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) for rural community water supplies emanated through a realisation of a need to equip rural communities to effectively manage their water services.

Emanti is a proudly Level ONE Contributor to B-BBEE.

Overview of the Groen Sebenza Programme.

Emanti supports effective skills development through guiding the professional development of young professionals.

Emanti showcased some of the tools developed through Water Research Commission (WRC) projects at the recent 4^th Municipal Water Quality Conference held in Sun City, North West Province.

The workshop will form part of the pre-conference activities of the IMESA 2013 Conference.

The Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) aims to assist local government practitioners through learning and sharing experiences and practices to improve performance and achieve targets.

As part of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI), City Working Groups (CWGs) have been established to structure peer learning among the nine cities (the eight metros plus Msunduzi Local Municipality).

The Forum was arranged by the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Overberg water (Strategic Partner) and drew some 50 participants from across the Western Cape.

The aim of the Munibench system is to…

Emanti has been appointed by Cederberg Municipality to provide assistance to their Blue Drop, Green Drop and Regulatory Performance Measurement System (RPMS) programmes…

Emanti to facilitate and co-ordinate the drafting of both the Water Safety Plan (WSP) and Wastewater Risk Abatement Plan (W2RAP) for the Uthungulu District Municipality.

Through both the National and KwaZulu Natal Regional Department of Water Affairs offices, Emanti is rolling out Municipal Priority Action Plans (MPAPs) to 8 WSAs.

Following on from the Water Services Master Class has been the establishment of the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) peer based learning for the nine cities of South Africa.

Water Research Commission Projects Awarded: New Water Services Tools and Guidelines on the Way!

The programme included presentations on a variety of water safety aspects from household water treatment technologies to the latest developments in water quality regulation.

Emanti Management:  Showcase of Services at the IMESA Conference 2012.

Establishment of peer groups and networks within the Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) has been facilitated through the establishment of the very successful development Water Services Master Classes and associated Cities Working Groups.

Recognizing the rapid worldwide use and dissemination of risk assessment and risk management methodologies for water supply systems, the IWA formed the Water Safety Planning Specialist Group (WSP SG) in September 2011.

Emanti Management (Pty) Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Emanti”) has improved its Level 3 B-BBEE rating for the year of 2011 to an outstanding Level 1 B-BBEE.

Emanti Management is proud of the acknowledgement given by the Msunduzi Municipality in attaining the Blue Drop Silver Award at the DWA Blue Drop Awards …

Department of Water Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, announced the results of the 2012 Blue Drop Certification Programme at the WISA conference on Monday, 7 May 2012.

The conference was attended by approximately 600 water and wastewater professionals from South Africa and abroad.

Subsequent to the profiling of the Water Safety Plans (WSP) within the third addition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (2004) …

The publication of the Department of Water’s (DWA) Green Drop Certification (GDC) results highlighted that wastewater treatment remains a challenge for many Water Services Institutions (WSI). A critical part of the GDC process is the need to develop and implement Waste Water Risk Abatement Plans (W2RAPs).

A CSIR-led multi-disciplinary team is aiming to find an Effective Rural Community Integrated Sustainable Development Implementation Model. 

Municipal Benchmarking Initiative: Water Services Master Class #1 – Blue Drop, Green Drop and Water Loss Management.

World Water Day was declared an international day in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly and was first celebrated in 1993.

The National Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) for Water Services was re-launched during 2011 by SALGA and WRC. The primary objective of the initiative is to support improved municipal water services provision through benchmarking. 

Emanti’s Grant Mackintosh and Philip de Souza attended the recent International Water Week (IWW) held in Amsterdam, Netherlands from 29th October to 4th November 2011.

A National Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (MBI) workshop was held on the 25th of October 2011 before the 75th IMESA Conference 2011, held at Birchwood, Johannesburg.

The Emanti Team attended the 75th IMESA Conference which was held from the 26 to 28th October, 2011 in Birchwood, Johannesburg.

Owing to the great success and strong demand for the Water Research Commission’s web-based Water Safety Plan tool…

At the recent WRC 40th anniversary celebrations, Unathi Jack was given the honour of proposing toast at the prestigious celebratory conference dinner.

The report for the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) Blue Drop Certification programme was released on Thursday, 30 June 2011.

The main objective of the South African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (SANEC) is to stimulate business links between Southern Africa and the Netherlands.

On Tuesday, 22nd March, Emanti Management in collaboration with the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) 2012 Local Organizing Committee organized a World Water Monitoring Day event for the scholars at the Anna Foundation Centre in Franschhoek.

On Tuesday, 22nd March, Thabisa Manxodidi and Aimée Sutherland attended the main event which included a panel discussion with the Hon.

On Sunday,20th March Philip de Souza from Emanti Management attended a session on water conservation and demand management, with focus on the water loss challenges South Africa municipalities are facing and highlighting how these problems have been tackled.

Cape Town (South Africa) were the proud hosts of the United Nations World Water Day event held from 20-22 March 2011, and co-organized by AMCOW (the African Ministers’ Council on Water), UN-HABITAT and UN-Water.

Water Services Authorities will be pleased to hear that the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment has now been web-enabled via the eWQMS.

Have you ever conducted a vulnerability assessment to see what the biggest threats are to your water infrastructure?

In 2008 the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) introduced an incentive-based regulatory programme, Blue Drop Certification (BDC). An integral part of BDC is the development of Water Safety Plans (WSPs).

Emanti Management kicked off their World Water Monitoring Programme for 2011 at Masiphumelele Library in the informal settlement of Masipumelele (near Kommetjie) outside Cape Town, South Africa, 29th January 2011.

Effective water quality management in both rural and non-rural areas is crucial to public health and environmental well being.

As part of the national Department of Water Affairs’ “Ensuring the Sustainable use of eWQMS for WSAs”  project, the eWQMS provincial team leaders have increased their support in assisting municipalities in the improved use of the eWQMS and raising awareness of the various WSA oriented tools located on eWQMS…

The Water Research Commission (WRC) has teamed up with Emanti Management, developers of the international award-winning Electronic Water Quality Management System (eWQMS), to incorporate water safe plan guidelines into this system.

The Emanti Team will be kicking of their WWMD programme for 2011 the 29th Jan 2011 at Masi (Masiphumelele Township on Kommetjie Road).

Since 2005, Department of Water affairs (DWA): Water Services – Planning and Information has also conducted a “Strategic Gap Analysis of Water Services” survey (also known as the “Strategic Self-Assessment (SSA)” survey) at all WSAs in South Africa.

Emanti became an active WWMD partner during 2010, distributing WWMD kits to more than 377 scholars! This was made possible by joining forces with Stellenbosch Local Municipality in the Western Cape province, South Africa.

In the last 3 months, the eWQMS team have compiled and refined an extensive register of current eWQMS users and have populated the eWQMS with this information. On 1st December 2010, improved user management was implemented.

In order to address Blue Drop Regulatory certified data and associated data audit trail requirements, the eWQMS team, in close consultation and collaboration with Department of Water Affairs (DWA), has introduced a number of improvements to eWQMS functionality.

On the 25th November 2010, the eWQMS team was trained by Mr. Wessel Steyn of Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in the use of the Department’s Drinking Water Regulation system, i.e. the Blue Drop System (BDS).

Philip de Souza from Emanti attended the recent Water Safety Conference held in Kuching, Malaysia from 2 – 4 November 2010.

The Institute for Municipal Engineers of South Africa held the yearly conference in East London from the 26th October 2010 to the 29th October 2010.

The Emanti Team got their hands and feet wet (yet again) together with other “South African Young Water Professionals” at two schools in the Franshhoek area participating in World Water Monitoring Day.

The Emanti Team will be attending the annual IMESA conference to be held 27th – 29th October 2010 in East London, South Africa.

Emanti Management, together with Stellenbosch Municipality, has been organizing WWMD events in the greater Stellenbosch area, already reaching more than a 1000 scholars, creating awareness around the importance of water quality and environmental protection.

Grant Mackintosh from Emanti attended World Water Week held from 5 – 11 September 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Philip de Souza participated in the Techneau Project arranged Training Seminar on Risk Management of Drinking Water Systems in Southern Africa held at the Water Research Commission in Pretoria from 18th – 19th October 2010.