As it wraps up a successful 2019/20 in terms of performance, the Water Research Commission (WRC) is eying ambitious goals as it outlines its visions for its 2021 corporate plans.

During 2019/20, the WRC continued to play a key role in the sector as a knowledge hub, promoting coordination, cooperation and communication in water research and development, establishing water research needs and priorities, stimulating and funding water research according to priority, promoting the effective transfer of information and technology, and enhancing knowledge and capacity building within the water sector.

The WRC achieved a number of performance highlights in 2019/20, despite the challenges experienced in the last quarter as a result of the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

These achievements included the launch of the Covid-19 wastewater surveillance programme and the initiation of 92 new research projects in various disciplines in water and sanitation, said WRC CEO Dhesigen Naidoo, during a virtual stakeholder update and feedback session on March 2.

Built on strong partnerships and stakeholder relationships, the WRC, over the past five years, completed 480 research projects, 120 of which were completed in 2019/20, ensuring a continuous contribution of new knowledge to the sector.

These studies include microplastics and their occurrence in water sources; the use of human waste in a much smarter way, such as biobricks made from urine; and projects that guide the implementation of safe water reuse in municipalities to increase water security.

During the year under review, the WRC projects led to 44 new innovations, technologies or services.

Further, the WRC invested in 18 other innovations to progress them past the initial stages of development and out into the market.

Naidoo also highlights the 109 community-based projects undertaken during the year, including the conclusions of the multiuse water scheme project in the Vhembe district, in Limpopo, which had impressed the African Development Bank to the point that the bank aims to replicate the project across Africa.

Now, the WRC is turning to the future, outlining its ambitious plans in the new Corporate Plan (CP) 2021/22 to 2025/26.

Celebrating its fiftieth year, the organisation is, on the back of knowledge, innovation and partnerships, in a position to catapult South Africa into a more stable water management domain.

WRC group executive Dr Mandla Msibi says that the CP21 builds on the current strategy and continues to address the challenges and opportunities relating to water and sanitation in South Africa through its research and development portfolio.

The pandemic further created an awareness of the challenges of access to clean water, as this is a vital part of the hygiene process to prevent the spread of the virus.

The WRC also recognises the complexity of the sector, noting that the past can no longer be used to predict seasonal weather events and precipitation. The sustainability of the critical resource is the core of the WRC’s primary purpose.