Civil Engineering June 2022 | Vol 30 No 5

Civil Engineering June 2022 11 the sheer beauty of its surroundings. The lush green farmlands with the forest areas on the higher hills and the sight of the Drakensberg Mountains in the background attracts many visitors to the area. The water treatment plant had to blend into these surroundings, so the choice of colours for roofs and bricks were carefully considered. Environmental considerations were also addressed. The plant was not per- mitted to discharge any waste whatsoever into the surroundings, and to this end the dried residual waste from the sludge treatment process will be used as fertiliser on the surrounding farmlands. Due to the steep gradient of the site on which the plant was constructed, stormwater is reticulated into a number of retention ponds before being discharged into the nearby Mooi River. The problem of light pollution is a very real problem in a factory environment. This was addressed by creating shrouds above the lights, restricting the light to shine downwards only. The overall effect is that the plant illuminates only soft light at night. This benefits the birdlife in the area, especially the barn owls that habitat that part of Rosetta. The design was also suc- cessful in that the surrounding bed and breakfast resorts never complained about the lighting. Another challenge that had to be closely managed was the co-ordination and interface of other construction projects linked to the treatment works. It was necessary for these to be completed per schedule, so that the distribution reservoirs were ready to receive the final product when the water treatment plant was ready for commissioning. Unfortunately, the distribution pipeline project to Bruntville did not meet its target date and other issues delayed the Nottingham Road con- nection. This meant that alternate plans had to be made during the commissioning phase to deal with the volumes of water that are produced when the plant is run- ning. This places pressure on the Umgeni Water process team which is restricted to producing 1 Mℓ/day in a plant with the capacity to produce 20 Mℓ/‌day. This will be resolved when the Mooi River pipeline comes online. Lastly, the toughest challenge (which is not unique to this project) was dealing with community unrest and labour issues, despite the majority of the labour force being employed from local communities. The team experienced seven strikes during the construction phase of the plant, which had an obvious direct impact on the completion date. LESSONS LEARNT The lessons learnt are the most important part of a project. It is imperative that labour issues are addressed upfront before large teams are deployed on site. There must be a strategy in place for how to deal with intimidation from the surrounding residents, as well as a strategy/council in place to deal with on-site labour issues in a swift manner before management loses control of the labour force. Mutual trust, respect and coop- eration between employer, engineer and contractor goes a long way to delivering a project on time and within budget. Developing good relationships on site at the outset of the project, while complying with the contractual conditions of all parties involved, contributes to smooth operations both on site and off. Long-term planning becomes a critical priority when the project is reliant on third party SOEs (non-employer related) for commencement and commissioning of works. To deliver another infrastructure pro- ject, knowing how it will benefit the local community and beyond, is always a most satisfying conclusion to a project, despite any challenges experienced. Gratitude must be extended to the valuable people who contributed to a strong team of skills that all came together to create and deliver a highly technological water treatment plant. The skills all came from local South Africans who go about their business every day, working for a better future for this country.  Project team Employer Umgeni Water Engineer Umgeni Water Main contractor (civils) Basil Read Main sub-contractors (electrical and mechanical) Electron and WPCP Key project data Earthworks 116 915 m³ Concrete 6 778 m³ Formwork 18 576 m² Reinforcing 509 tons Structural steelwork 20.6 tons 5 Mℓ reservoir under construction