Mossel Bay Municipality News

MEDIA RELEASE: DESALINATION PLANT STRUCTURALLY COMPLETE

Date: May 25, 2011

South Africa’s largest seawater desalination plant at Voorbaai, Mossel Bay is structurally complete and on target for handing over to the owners, the Mossel Bay Municipality and PetroSA, on 21 June 2011. The plant is undergoing final commissioning tests at present.

The plant has a capacity to supply ten million litres of desalinated seawater a day to the Municipality and five million litres a day to PetroSA.

“The commissioning stage is going well and we look forward to the day that the first water from the plant can be fed into the Municipality’s water network. Although the dams, from which the Municipality traditionally draws it water, are in a healthy state at present because of good rains that fell in recent months, the plant is invaluable to Mossel Bay from the point of view of its longer term water security.

“The tender for the rehabilitation of the dune in front of the plant is also expected to be awarded soon. This involves the replanting and caring for thousands of dune plants that were removed when construction started and were preserved at another site in the meantime.

“The protection of the environment is very important to us but it will take several months for the dunes and beach to be rehabilitated fully.

“It will also take some time for the two marine pipelines to become completely buried in the tidal zone. It is a natural process but in the meantime we urge people to be careful in the vicinity of the pipelines, which are marked clearly with buoys. Some of the weight collars still stick out above the sand, and the public should look out for them when walking or swimming in the area. People operating jet-ski’s, yachts and fishing boats should keep a safe distance from the area marked with buoys at all times,” said the Municipal Manager, Dr Michele Gratz.

The level of the Wolwedans Dam, Mossel Bay’s main source of water, stood at 82,75% on Wednesday.