Morton Jaffray upgrade enters final phase

Remember Deketeke-Municipal Correspondent

THE rehabilitation of Morton Jaffray Waterworks has entered its final phase, with engineers now working on the plant’s clarifiers, which are central to the water purification process.

The works are targeting an eventual production capacity of at least 500 megalitres of water per day.

The rehabilitation programme covers six clarifiers with a combined capacity of about 450 megalitres and is expected to improve the efficiency of the treatment process while increasing the volume of potable water produced for Harare residents.

Project engineer for Consolidated Water Industries, Eng Shelton Kwashirai, said the clarifiers were at the heart of the water purification process and that their rehabilitation would complete the major cycle of works at Morton Jaffray.

“What you are seeing here is a process in which we are rehabilitating the clarifiers. The clarifier is a critical component in water production. This is where most of the activity on a water treatment plant takes place,” he said.

“We are now left with this component to complete the whole cycle of water treatment at Morton Jaffray.”

The works include removing accumulated sludge, debris and dirt from the clarifiers before replacing pipework and installing new baffles.

Eng Kwashirai said six clarifiers were scheduled for rehabilitation under the final phase, collectively adding about 450 megalitres of capacity once the works were completed.

“The activities we are seeing here involve the desludging process, where we are removing all the debris and dirt that has remained in the clarifier for some time,” he said.

“As you can see, the team is busy removing all the sludge that had accumulated in the clarifier.

“Once the desludging process is complete, we will redo the pipework and replace the baffles.”

A major component of the rehabilitation programme is the replacement of asbestos-cement (AC) baffles with glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) baffles.

Eng Kwashirai said the GRP technology, being introduced from France, would replace the old AC baffles, which contain asbestos and are no longer considered suitable for potable water treatment.

“The baffles are a critical component that ensures the efficiency of the clarifier. The baffles we previously used were AC baffles made from asbestos, and asbestos has been declared unsuitable for use in food-grade and potable water systems worldwide,” he said.

“The baffles we are now introducing will be GRP baffles. This means we have now moved into a modern way of doing things.”

He said the new baffles were expected to have a longer lifespan and improve the efficiency of the clarification process.

“They offer greater longevity in terms of performance and warranty. We are also expecting to improve our efficiency to around 95 percent once we begin the actual water purification process,” Eng Kwashirai said.

He said improved clarification would also increase the volume of water that could be processed daily.

“With the new baffles, we expect to improve efficiency within the clarifier. The retention time of water is going to improve significantly,” he said.

“This means we will be able to meet daily water demand and achieve the treatment cycles required per minute and per hour.

“The ultimate benefit will be an increase in daily water production.”

The completion of the clarifier rehabilitation works is expected to mark the final phase of the Morton Jaffray rehabilitation programme as authorities work towards restoring the plant to its target capacity of 500 megalitres per day, significantly strengthening Harare’s water production capacity.

Source: Morton Jaffray upgrade enters final phase – herald

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