2024 WATER Conservation Award Finalists
SPONSORED BY
For a product, service or technology that preserves or restores water quality or achieves significant savings of water resources.
Harmony Water Treatment Projects
Harmony recognizes that water is critical to mining, and development can only be assured with a secure water supply. Potable water is a crucial resource for our employees, our operations and the communities in which we operate, especially in water-scarce jurisdictions. In most of our mining jurisdictions, municipalities have been unable to maintain and operate state-owned Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) resulting in raw sewage being discharged into local streams, rivers, dams and pans. As such, we have refurbished 3 municipal WWTPs on behalf of the Stilfontein, Matlosana and Merafong municipalities.
Harmony has further implemented a group-wide campaign to re-use processed water to reduce dependency on existing groundwater and municipal supplies. In 2017 we completed the construction and commissioning of a 5Ml/day RO Treatment Plant at our Doornkop gold mine, another 0.9Ml/day plant at Kusasalethu, and in 2019 a 5Ml/day plant at Nyala Shaft. In 2023 we built a 2.1Ml/day plant at Target 1 shaft. In early 2024, we continued on our journey of converting mine-affected water to potable water, through the construction and installation of a 20 000litre/day water treatment plant at our own Kareerand TSF offices.
We also further assisted the residents of Tim’s Haven in the North West province with the construction and installation of a water treatment plant, to treat poor quality borehole water to drinking water standards, through a 20000 liters/day reverse osmosis plant. The residents of Tim’s Haven did not have access to municipal water lines, and Harmony supported this community in providing a basic need to them.
The South African Breweries/ AB-InBev: Water Security Through Catchment Restoration
AB InBev’s current global partnership with WWF started in 2018, but builds on a long-standing history, which first started with South African Breweries (SAB), dating back to 2009 when WWF and SAB pioneered the practice of ‘water footprinting’ – measuring the amount of water used in making beer.
A decade-long of clearing invasive vegetation with WWF-South Africa involves invasive vegetation clearing as a nature-based solution to improve the watershed health and biodiversity of the Waboomskraal and Herold catchment areas in George (both are strategic water source areas).
George is the only area in Africa that is suitable for growing hops, which is a key ingredient that SAB uses to make beer and is a water-intensive crop. However, the spread of alien vegetation in Outeniqua has made water conservation a challenge.
This presented a unique opportunity for SAB to ensure that not only is water conserved in the area, but to also provide a solution to this problem.
Woolworths & WWF-SA Water Stewardship Project
People, wildlife, & businesses all rely on fresh water. Strategic water source areas are crucial for food, water, economic growth, & energy security. In SA, 10% of the land provides 50% of surface water, 64% of the economy, & 70% of irrigated agriculture. These Strategic Water Source Areas, face increasing pressure with 98% already allocated. Woolworths(WW) recognises water as essential in its products & partners with WWF on water stewardship in SA. The WW-WWF project exemplifies collective action in water management, targeting areas like the Boland Mountains & Groot Winterhoek. The initiative includes community, farmer, & governance engagement for sustainable water use. Ryno Pienaar's appointment as catchment coordinator in Wolseley, funded by the WWF-WW partnership, has been pivotal. His model, praised & replicated in other projects, shows the impact of collaborative water conservation efforts & has resulted in 200 million litres of water being released into the catchment on a yearly basis.