This visit forms part of our Sister City in Germany from OOWV- Water Authority, the City of Oldernburg, Wupperverband an Institute working with water in Germany, Aanchen University in Germany – EC WASA who are working with Rhodes University.
Speaking about the importance of the project, Manager for International and Intergovernmental Relations Darby Gounden said, “This is a one-year project and this visit is an exploratory visit to understand our challenges in ensuring a stable water network in the Metro.”
Gounden further added that, “The delegation will also be visiting all the City’s facilities which include our water treatment works, sanitation works, water reservoirs and our dams to have a better understanding of our problems and also investigate what we as the Municipality are doing currently in order to help us develop a concrete action plan to ensure water security as well as a stable water network through proposed interventions that could be explored.” The project is being funded by GIZ.
It was also highlighted that the project also falls in the Municipal Climate Change Programme with Germany which focusses on water, sanitation, waste, environment and environmental education.
The aim of the Water Operators Project is to look at:
- Adaptation of water resources in terms of resilience and climate change
- Grid management
- Asset management and
- Water and Environmental Education
The partners met with various relevant officials from the City from all different departments and engaged with counterparts in order to derive the maximum project benefits for the Metro.