Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa subsidiary Veolia Water Solutions (VWS) Envig Botswana was awarded a contract to design, supply and commission a 6 000 m3/d pot- able water plant in Maun, northern Botswana.
A joint venture between a group of companies awarded the contract last month. The plant is located near the banks of the Thamalakane river and commissioning is scheduled for September. It will be operated and maintained by VWS Envig Botswana for six months.
The new plant will augment the supply from underground acquifers, which become impractical to maintain during the nearby Okavango Delta’s flood season. To maintain consumer demand during these periods, the plant will source water directly from the river.
River water is high in dissolved organic compounds, which give the water its characteristic brownish colour and earthy smell and taste, despite its normally low turbidity, says VWS Envig Botswana MD Peter Healy.
To make the water suitable for human consumption, it will be clarified through ballasted flocculation to remove the extremely lightweight organic particles that would otherwise settle very slowly.
Veolia will install its patented Actiflo high-rate water clarification system.
Featuring footprints that are five times smaller than conventional clarifiers, the Actiflo will achieve rapid settling with the help of Actisand – a ballast designed to rapidly flocculate and settle organic particles. The water will then be polished with multimedia and granular- activated carbon filters and disinfected before being fed into the town’s pipeline system.
Veolia is also responsible for a booster pump and delivery pipelines, which involve the replacement of the main distribution pump and connecting the new station with minimal disturbance to the current water supply.