Civil Engineering January/February 2021 | Vol 29 No 1

Civil Engineering January/February 2021 23 technologies; water quality and reuse; biorefining for chemical recovery; energy recovery; and greenhouse gas manage- ment for the cities of the future. Another sound example of the extent of ongoing innovation by companies in the field of new sanitation technology is a community-scale faecal sludge-treatment unit that is being developed by a partner- ship between Tide Technocrats, Biomass Controls and BMGF. The technology is integrated into a transportable shipping container and can be established on site in a few days to service communities of between 10 000 and 50 000 people. POLOKWANE PROJECT Notably, these are also among some of the technologies that Tompkins and her team will be assessing for their suitability for end-use processing in a faecal sludge management pilot project in Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa. It is being undertaken in collaboration with the South African Department of Water and Sanitation as part of the USAID Resilient Waters Program. JG Afrika is a subcontractor to lead consultant, Chemonics International, on the programme, with Tompkins fulfilling the role of the Senior WASH Advisor. The project is an extensive undertaking that entails using tools, such as a faecal flow diagram and a city service delivery assessment, as well as the World Health Organisation’s Sanitation Safety Plan. “This project will entail creating a platform, through improving sanitation management, to develop a broader urban resilience toolkit in the context of the circular economy in Polokwane. We will use the evidence generated by this and other projects to develop a faecal sludge management strategy for South Africa,” explains Tompkins. “There is a growing realisation that we cannot use resources as we have done in the past. The problem cannot just be flushed away. We need new and in- novative thinking to deal with a growing challenge, especially in southern Africa where we are caught between inadequate sanitation facilities and a high risk of climate change, which will impact the resources we do have.”  REFERENCE 1 Septein S, Singh A, Mirara SW, Teba L, Velkushanova K, Buckley CA. 2018. ‘LaDePa’ process for the drying and pasteurization of faecal sludge from VIP latrines using infrared radiation [Online]. South African Journal of Chemical Engineering. Volume 25, June 2018, Pages 147–158. Available at: https://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S1026918517300938 . “We need new and innovative thinking to deal with a growing challenge, especially in southern Africa where we are caught between inadequate sanitation facilities and a high risk of climate change, which will impact the resources we do have.” – Robyn Tompkins AutoCAD ® World-Leading CAD Software WaterMate Water Reticulation Design SurfMate Survey & Digital Terrain Modelling AeroTURN Aircraft Movement & Space Analysis RebarMate Reinforced Concrete Detailing & Scheduling Autodesk Civil 3D ® Site Development & Transportation AutoTURN Vehicle Manoeuvre Simulation & Analysis DatumMate Datum Conversion of Drawings RoadMate Urban & Rural Road Design ParkCAD Automated Parking Area Layouts Architecture Engineering & Construction Collection PipeMate Sewer & Stormwater Design and Analysis