Pipelines to be tested for leaks
In a bid to minimise water wastage, the agriculture ministry has teamed up a French engineering firm to inspect underground pipelines.
Three underground pipelines that are connected to Namibia's dams have been identified to undergo leakage detection which could lead to massive water savings of up to 30%.
A French company, G2C Engineering, will this week conduct field visits and studies on several of Namibia's underground pipelines before they will on Friday deliver their preliminary findings to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.
The three pipelines that have been identified are the Von Bach-Windhoek pipeline, the Omatako-Von Bach pipeline and the Naute-Keetmanshoop pipeline.
According to the agriculture minister John Mutorwa, the proposed project was originally initiated by France's ambassador to Namibia, Jaqueline Bassa-Mazzoni.
He said that Mazzoni approached NamWater and the ministry last year and informed them that the French government is willing to fund a study that will look at the numerous and extensive pipelines of NamWater to identify leaks along these pipelines.
“Leaks that contribute to massive but unnecessary water leakages,” said Mutorwa.
He said that French companies like G2C have the expertise and technology to detect leaks along any pipelines and to do repairs speedily and timeously.
According to him most of the pipelines are underground and especially if the leak is small or the pipeline is deep, the water seepage may not be visible and can therefore go undetected for a long time.
Mutorwa said that NamWater was requested to identify pipelines where detection can be applied and the above-mentioned three pipelines were identified.
Concept notes were prepared on the pipelines by the ministry and NamWater and these provided the rationale and reasons why these pipelines needed to be tested for leaks, said Mutorwa.
“It also highlighted the importance of the pipelines in the process of supplying water to the nation as well as industry, and fauna and flora.”
According to Mutorwa, should the team detect any leaks on the pipelines identified NamWater is then expected to replace or repair the leaking portions of the pipelines.
Christian Laplaud the chairperson of G2C said that priority areas for Namibia should be to find water, manage its water demand, reduce water losses and maintain infrastructure to secure water sources in the future.
“At this stage we believe that the scope of the project must include the Omatako-Von Bach pipeline rehabilitation in three phases.”
He said that this should include identifying weak sections on a limited part of the pipeline, to train Namibian personnel on technical diagnoses and make recommendations for the construction of a new parallel pipeline.
Laplaud said that they also strongly believe that the scope of their study should include long-term solutions such as the implementation of an asset management department for utility services, with state-of-the-art water asset geographic information systems (GIS), as well as an expert system for forecasting defaults and promoting timely renewal and capacity building.
“Rehabilitation of main pipelines will only be successful if leaks are managed in the distribution network, he concluded.
NamWater's pipeline network covers over 4 000 kilometres across the country.
ELLANIE SMIT
A French company, G2C Engineering, will this week conduct field visits and studies on several of Namibia's underground pipelines before they will on Friday deliver their preliminary findings to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.
The three pipelines that have been identified are the Von Bach-Windhoek pipeline, the Omatako-Von Bach pipeline and the Naute-Keetmanshoop pipeline.
According to the agriculture minister John Mutorwa, the proposed project was originally initiated by France's ambassador to Namibia, Jaqueline Bassa-Mazzoni.
He said that Mazzoni approached NamWater and the ministry last year and informed them that the French government is willing to fund a study that will look at the numerous and extensive pipelines of NamWater to identify leaks along these pipelines.
“Leaks that contribute to massive but unnecessary water leakages,” said Mutorwa.
He said that French companies like G2C have the expertise and technology to detect leaks along any pipelines and to do repairs speedily and timeously.
According to him most of the pipelines are underground and especially if the leak is small or the pipeline is deep, the water seepage may not be visible and can therefore go undetected for a long time.
Mutorwa said that NamWater was requested to identify pipelines where detection can be applied and the above-mentioned three pipelines were identified.
Concept notes were prepared on the pipelines by the ministry and NamWater and these provided the rationale and reasons why these pipelines needed to be tested for leaks, said Mutorwa.
“It also highlighted the importance of the pipelines in the process of supplying water to the nation as well as industry, and fauna and flora.”
According to Mutorwa, should the team detect any leaks on the pipelines identified NamWater is then expected to replace or repair the leaking portions of the pipelines.
Christian Laplaud the chairperson of G2C said that priority areas for Namibia should be to find water, manage its water demand, reduce water losses and maintain infrastructure to secure water sources in the future.
“At this stage we believe that the scope of the project must include the Omatako-Von Bach pipeline rehabilitation in three phases.”
He said that this should include identifying weak sections on a limited part of the pipeline, to train Namibian personnel on technical diagnoses and make recommendations for the construction of a new parallel pipeline.
Laplaud said that they also strongly believe that the scope of their study should include long-term solutions such as the implementation of an asset management department for utility services, with state-of-the-art water asset geographic information systems (GIS), as well as an expert system for forecasting defaults and promoting timely renewal and capacity building.
“Rehabilitation of main pipelines will only be successful if leaks are managed in the distribution network, he concluded.
NamWater's pipeline network covers over 4 000 kilometres across the country.
ELLANIE SMIT
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