The contract, valued at R24 million, was awarded through, a fair and transparent tender process, as a result of VWS Envig’s wealth of industry expertise, a competitive price and its ability to draw upon international technologies developed by its parent company Veolia Water.

The project consists of a pre-treatment plant situated at the Vaal Dam, where water is put through coagulant pre-treatment processes, as well as a clarifying system. Treated water is then pumped to the Grootvlei Power Station where it is stored in terminal reservoirs. Once the water leaves the terminal reservoirs it is treated in a flocculation chamber to remove suspended solids. The water is then put through two clarifying systems and rapid sand filters. From here the water is split into two separate streams one destined for potable drinking water, which is chlorinated and disinfected; and the other destined for the demineralisation plant. Demineralised water will be used to produce super heated steam to drive the station turbines.

VWS Envig has run the plant for a period of three months in collaboration with Eskom to ensure that plant personnel are adequately trained before the plant is handed over to Eskom.

“Each brownfield project has its own unique set of challenges which require unique solutions. The greatest challenge on the Grootvlei project has been adapting old technology commissioned in 1968 to meet modern standards. Adaptations require a different approach to engineering from commissioning a plant from scratch. Standing infrastructure needs to be evaluated to ascertain what refurbishments are required. Changes then need to be implemented to ensure that the plant gives reliable service over an extended period of time. VWS Envig has a wealth of experience gained on previous brownfield projects. As a result, the challenges presented by the Grootvlei project were overcome efficiently,” explains Julius Pistorius, Project Engineer, VWS Envig.