Water Cycle

FromJohannesburg Water (Pty) Ltd

JW has to ensure that all wastewater discharged into its sewers and conveyed to its treatment plants is treated to a high standard, before being discharged into the natural environment. To ensure that the wastewater is conveyed to the treatment plants without leaking into the environment, JW is currently cleaning about 65km of sewers and clearing over 2000 sewer-blockages per month. Of the four treatment plants in the North, the Northern Works is by far the largest. It treats 300 million litres of wastewater every day from an estimated 1,6 million people. This plant serves all the areas north of the Hillbrow ridge including Alexandra, Edenvale, Randburg, Sandton and parts of Midrand and Roodepoort and is situated in the Diepsloot area, about 35km north of and about 300m lower, than the Hillbrow ridge. As with all of JW’s plants, it has to purify the incoming wastewater to very high standards enforced by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). These standards are of the highest in the world. Treated effluent from this plant is either discharged to the Jukskei River or used to irrigate JW’s farm lands and various golf courses, or pumped to Kelvin Power Station (near Johannesburg International Airport) for use as cooling water.