PROJECT PROFILE

DURBAN

i2O Water Revolutionises Water

Management in eThekwini Municipality

67%
TOTAL REDUCTION
IN MAINS PIPE
BURSTS

i2O WATER REVOLUTIONISES

WATER MANAGEMENT IN DURBAN

3.1
MILLION

LITRES
OF WATER
SAVED DAILY.

Second largest leakage reduction project

in South Africa reduces leaks and burst
frequency, extends asset lifespan, and
paves way for commercial growth.
When apartheid crumbled in 1994, an estimated
14 million South Africans lacked access to a
formal, safe water supply and about half the
country - 21 million people - had no formal
sanitation services. The government made
a strong commitment to both high service
standards and to high levels of investment
subsidies to achieve those standards.
Since then, access to water has increased
dramatically, thanks to South Africas strong
water industry with a track record in innovation.

However, backlogs persist, and issues around

ageing infrastructure, pressure management
and leakage are hindering commercial growth.
There are 231 municipalities in South Africa
which provide most retail services and are in
charge of water distribution and sanitation.
One of the countrys most forward looking
municipalities is the eThekwini Municipality,
which has been taking pro-active steps to
address the long term challenges around
water management.

01
DURBAN CASE STUDY

CHALLENGE

03

eThekwini Municipality was facing serious

challenges; highly variable water demand
and high levels of leakage and burst
frequency combined with inefficient
manual operations processes.
With a population of three and a half million, the
eThekwini Municipality includes the city of Durban
and surrounding towns.
As the third largest city in South Africa, and the
largest city in the eThekwini municipality, Durban
Central Business District (CBD) is the main
commercial hub and a particularly challenging
area for water supply.
With its coastal location, the high water table
means the majority of the city is just four metres
above sea level. As a result of its hilly landscape,
the highest point of the municipality is 844 metres
above sea level and its lowest point is six metres
below sea level. Durban CBD also experiences
highly variable water demand, driven by domestic
and commercial use, hospitals, tourist attractions,
sporting facilities and emergency services, such
as fire-fighting resources.

The supply zone also contains the Durban

harbour, which is the busiest harbour in Africa, as
well as the Moses Mabhida Stadium where many
of the 2010 soccer world cup games were played.
Previous design standards recommended supply
pressures of between 30 90m. The Durban CBD
is currently supplied under gravity from Montille
Reservoir, which has a top water level of 72m.
To complicate matters further, the size of the
municipality has grown 10 fold in recent years,
with eThekwini Municipality inheriting a myriad
of infrastructure problems with no formal records
and no additional support staff. Historically, if the
operations department in eThekwini Water and
Sanitation received a pressure complaint, they
would typically just increase the water pressure
rather than investigate the underlying causes.

DURBAN CASE STUDY

We had serious issues with our existing leakage

management, said Simon Scruton, Manager,
Non-Revenue Water Branch for eThekwini Water
and Sanitation. We were losing 22.6 Ml per day
in terms of leakage.
We also had numerous bursts across the network,
many of which were quite large. In one particular
case we found a 150mm Asbestos cement water
main crossing a storm water culvert blowing from
both ends. This had remained undiscovered for
some time as the culvert discharges directly into
the harbour and out into the sea. Although we
had existing pressure valves in place, these were
manually managed, and routinely prone to human
error. Some of the issues we have to contend with
include insufficient levels of maintenance, budget
cuts, low staffing levels and untrained staff. Illegal
connections, vandalism and theft are also common
and over a six month period last year, 82 pilot
valves were stolen from locked installations.

SOUTH AFRICA

DURBAN

SOLUTION

JOAT Group implemented i2O Waters

Advanced Pressure Management solutions
to reduce losses and improve the operational
performance of the network.

The core objective was to drive down high levels

of real losses to the lowest possible levels without
adversely affecting customer service levels or
compromising safety.

05
DURBAN CASE STUDY

eThekwini Municipality first came across

i2O Waters Advanced Pressure Management
system at the IWA Water Loss conference
in Brazil in June 2010, and was able to see
first-hand the financial and operational
advantages delivered by i2O Waters
Advanced Pressure Management solutions.
eThekwini Municipality has been working in
partnership with the JOAT Group for several
years to address some of its challenges around
water distribution management. As the exclusive
partner for i2O Water in South Africa and
sub-Sahara, JOAT were also ideally placed
to oversee the implementation.

JOAT have a lot of expertise in the field of

non-revenue water reduction, said Scruton.
They have a proven track record and we had
an existing pressure optimisation contract in
place with them. I knew theyd be a safe pair
of hands for our i2O implementation.

In September 2010, working in partnership with

JOAT Group, i2O Waters Advanced Pressure
Management solutions were implemented to
stabilise and then maintain steady pressures in
Durban. The core objective was to drive down
high levels of real losses to the lowest possible
levels without adversely affecting customer
service levels or compromising safety.
We worked closely with key stakeholders
throughout the feasibility study through to final the
implementation, said Mark Shepherd, Director,
JOAT Group. We had to ensure the fire-fighting
capabilities were not compromised, and the supply
of water to adjacent zones could be integrated into
the design of the system. We also had commercial
customers to consider, many of which were located
in tall buildings with no rooftop storage or booster
pumps. The significant levels of detailed design
and testing ensured that the implementation and
commissioning of the system were successful.

i2Os Advanced Pressure Management

solution was installed in Durban pressure
managed zones, providing near-real time
remote control of PRV pressure.
The project is the second largest leakage
reduction initiative focused on pressure
management in South Africa, and is the
largest in a central business district.
It incorporates multiple valves, including a large
400mm pressure reducing valve (PRV) the
largest that JOAT Group had installed at the
time. The PRVs were installed in a purpose
built building, providing easy above ground
access and maintenance for the assets
serving the137 km network.
The i2O Advanced Pressure Management
technology uses a combination of robust loggers
and controllers in the network, and software-based
services that continuously track and optimise water
network performance. i2Os Advanced Pilot Valve
and PRV Controller were retrofitted to Durban
PRVs to provide near-real time remote control
and increase network operational efficiencies.

07
DURBAN CASE STUDY

Burst repair costs reduced by 22k per year

with burst reduction from:
30 per 1,000
connections

down to 10 per
1,000 connections.

RESULTS

The results following the implementation

of the i2O systems have been quite
astounding,
It was critical that we had all the checks and
balances in place, added Scruton. We didnt
want to be saving money at the expense of
operational functionality. In Durban, we changed
our supply standards from a minimum of 30m
to 25m and from a maximum of 90m to 60m.
This is assisting our programme to lower the
average zone pressure from 54m to 42m, and
this is being achieved with the installation of new
PRVs and advanced control where appropriate.
We spent 14k overall on the installation and
we are seeing an annual saving of 71k per
annum just on leakage! Our daily leakage
savings are 195 per day, which equates to 35
cubes per hour.

Weve also seen a total reduction in mains pipe

bursts of 67 per cent, and a 41 per cent reduction
in service connection bursts. Service connection
burst frequency has reduced from an average of
30 per 1000 connections per year before i2O
Water to an average of 10 per 1000 connections
per year with i2O installed. Our average repair
costs are 1,130 per repair, so the burst reduction
is delivering average annual repair savings of 22k.

09
DURBAN CASE STUDY

eThekwini Municipality has seen leakage

reduced by 3.1 Ml/d, mains pipe bursts
lowered by 67% and estimates 5-10 year
asset life extension.
Prior to the implementation of i2O Waters solution,
the target pressure for the zone ranged between
30-80m.
Following installation the target minimum pressure
was 26m with a maximum limit on the PRV outlet
of 39m. Thanks to the step by step progression
and pressure management, eThekwini Water and
Sanitation is now saving 3.1 million litres of water
per day. Accumulated energy savings from all real
loss reductions, including bulk water purchasing,
as well as other efficiencies, including i2O Water,
is over 142k per annum.
i2O Waters Advanced Pressure Management
has not only reduced our leakage and burst
frequency, but also ensures we are providing a
much more reliable and consistent level of service
to our customers, said Scruton. The stable levels
and reliable performance are enabling major
residential, commercial and industrial developments
to move forward, which underpins our growth and
business investment in the area.

i2O Waters ability to proactively manage network

needs in real time and intelligently adapt to system
requirements is also helping to extend the asset
lifespan of eThekwinis existing infrastructure.
Conservatively speaking, we estimate that the
i2O Water solution will extend the life of our
existing infrastructure and assets by five to
ten years or more, concluded Scruton.
Moving forward, eThekwini Municipality has just
awarded a new three year contract for expansion
of the project to the JOAT Group. This contract
consists of active maintenance of the 1750
existing PRVs, the installation of 100 GSM
based failure warning devices, and the installation
of 40 additional i2O Water systems.

11
DURBAN CASE STUDY

Return on Investment

14k investment yielding leakage savings

of 71K annually from Advanced Pressure
Management.
Daily savings of 3.1 million litres of water.
Hourly water savings of 35 cubes per hour.
67% total reduction in mains pipe bursts.
41% reduction in service connection bursts.
Burst repair costs reduced by 22k per
year with burst reduction from 30 per 1,000
connections down to 10 per 1,000 connections.

Pressure zone reduction from 30-80m to

26m minimum with a maximum limit of 39m.
5-10 year asset lifespan extension.
Consistent service enabling major residential,
commercial and industrial development.
Total annual savings from i2O Water
technology of 93k
Second largest leakage reduction project
through pressure management in South
Africa, and largest in a central business district.

5-10
YEAR ASSET LIFESPAN
EXTENSION.

41%
35m
93k
REDUCTION
IN SERVICE
CONNECTION
BURSTS.

OF WATER
SAVED PER
HOUR.

OF TOTAL ANNUAL
SAVINGS FROM i2O
WATER TECHNOLOGY.

WWW.i2OWATER.COM

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