Civil Engineering June 2022 | Vol 30 No 5

60 June 2022 Civil Engineering Revised national drinking water quality standard open for comment T he South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) together with its Technical Committee 147-Water (SABS/TC 147) has been working to revise and update the requirements of the na- tional standard for drinking water in South Africa. The draft seventh edition of SANS 241 – Drinking Water Quality, is now open for public comment until 29 June 2022. The draft national standard (SANS 241 Ed7 DSS) document combines the technical requirements from the previous Part 1 and Part 2 of SANS 241:2015 and stipulates the revised framework for drinking water quality risk management and specifications for drinking water quality in South Africa. “While there are existing national standards to guide the quality of drinking water in South Africa, it is essential that these standards are reviewed and updated to reflect the latest knowledge and research, to ensure that quality drinking water reaches our communities. The requirements for the drinking water [standard] include the technical specifica- tions, monitoring, and evaluation and risk management. Microbiological, physical, aesthetic and the chemical determinants of water have been revised according to the latest research and the framework has been updated to incorporate risk management as well as monitoring and evaluation,” says Jodi Scholtz, Lead Administrator of SABS. All individuals and organisations involved in the process of delivering quality drinking water to communities will need to ensure that they are familiar with the changes contained in the draft national standard. When SANS 241 Ed7 DSS is published it will replace SANS 241:2015. The draft national standard is undergoing the public enquiry process of consulta- tion and will be published once due process has been concluded, including responding to the comments submitted by the public. The duration of the process will depend on the nature of the public comments which may include further stakeholder engagements in the standards development process. SANS 241 Ed7 DSS is available for free on the SABS website here . The front page of the draft standard contains a link to the commenting template, a guideline of how to comment and the contact details to send comments to.  I n br i ef South Africa nearing a “Landfill Day Zero” T hough South Africa does not have any formal statistics on its available landfill airspace, those in the waste manage- ment industry agree that it is rapidly filling up, and that the country is on the verge of a crisis. “We had pretty well-run facilities around the year 2000, but our landfill sites are currently in a terrible state; the worst they’ve been in decades. Until South Africa has a formal policy to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’, we will continue to fill up our landfill air space at this frightening rate,” warns Leon Grobbelaar, past president of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA). According to Grobbelaar, the problem is a complex one with numerous contributing elements, but legislation isn’t one of them. He points out that South Africa has some of the best waste management legislation in the world. “The South African Waste Information System, or SAWIS, is one example. Users are supposed to submit reports on the ton- nages of waste generated, recycled and disposed of to that system, but they don’t because they know there are no repercussions.” Grobbelaar goes on to say that a lack of future planning will soon be one of the major concerns that towns and cities will have to deal with. The last time the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane licenced or constructed a new landfill was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and they are filling up at an alarming rate. “The licencing and construction process for a new landfill typically takes three to five years, followed by appeals and possible legal processes. So even if our major cities opted to start this process tomorrow, we won’t have new facilities until approximately 2030.” Grobbelaar urges consumers to adopt a two-bag system. Recyclables like glass, tin, paper, and plastic should be put out for informal waste pickers to recover. The second bag should include the waste we generate in the kitchen, which has no real market value and should be disposed of at landfill. Garden greens should not be mixed with domestic waste, as it can be shredded and composted. “If you are unsure of where you can dispose of your recyclables, garden greens or builders’ rubble waste, you can contact the IWMSA who will gladly assist and point you in the right direction.”  South Africa’s landfills are filling up rapidly The new standard reflects the latest knowledge and research