Engineering

Ms Rene’ Hykes-Augustus
Secretary

 Technical Services 

The functions performed by Technical Services as outlined in the following legislative prescripts:

• Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996) 
• Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No. 32 of 2000)
• National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) 
• Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997)​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​The department of Technical Services is divided into 3 sections as follows:

1. Water Services Authority (WSA)
2. Water Services Provision (WSP)
3. Project Management Unit (PMU)

The department is responsible for the following functions:

• Development of Bulk water and sanitation services,
• Reticulation of water and sanitation network,
• Refurbishment of water services infrastructure,
• Development of Bylaws,
• Water services Development Planning,
• Water Demand Management,
• Water Services Provision through operations and maintenance of water Service Infrastructure and 
• Geographic information systems (GIS).

• Eliminate backlog on water and sanitation
• Provision of water and sanitation  
• Provide transport planning
• Maximise job creation through Expanded Public Works Programme
• Provide bulk and economic infrastructure
• Build the capacity of emerging contractors through EPWP

This section is responsible to ensure access to water and sanitation services through:

• Ensuring access – Equitable provision of Basic water and sanitation
• Planning, Monitoring and Reporting – Master plan, Water and Sanitation Development Plan (WSDP) Operational planning (IDP, SDBIP & Budget) Water conservation and demand management Plan, Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (IAM)
• Regulating through development of Bylaws and policies
• Water Services Provision – Management and Monitoring 
• Information Management – Geographical Information Systems and water services information system​​​​​​​
• Compliance Management 
  • ​​​​​​​Service Quality Compliance
  • Drinking water safety
  • Wastewater and process control
  • Blue-drop requirements
  • Green-drop requirements

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Project Management Unit (PMU)​​​​​​​

This section is responsible for the development of new infrastructure through the following grants: 

• Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) – Development of new water services infrastructure, refurbishment and upgrading of existing infrastructure
• Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) – Development of Bulk water and sanitation infrastructure
• Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) – Developing interim and intermediate water supply to reduce water and sanitation backlogs and also for refurbishment of existing infrastructure 
• Institutional and Social facilitation 

Provision of water and sanitation within 6 Local Municipalities through 8 satellite offices that have a water services office in each town. The provision of Operations and Maintenance of water and sanitation services through: 

• Planning, Monitoring & Reporting – Operators and Maintenance Plan (O&M) Monitoring and reporting
• Water Conservation and Demand – Conduct water conservation and demand management, including pressure reduction, pollution control and pro-active maintenance of water meters 
• Operate and Maintain – For water & sewer networks and plants. 
  • ​​​​​​​Daily and routine operations
  • Routine, preventative, and corrective maintenance
  • Re-active maintenance
  • Associated services (health & safety)
• ​​​​​​​Existing Infrastructure / Asset Management – Pro-active network and component upgrading, pipe replacement and pressure rezoning
• Compliance Management 
  • ​​​​​​​Service Quality Compliance
  • Drinking water safety
  • Wastewater and process control
  • Blue-drop requirements
  • Green-drop requirements