News
In 2019 the Orange Knowledge Programme ‘Bridging the Water’ took off. The project, funded by Nuffic, is a collaboration between Dutch and South African partners to improve the skills and knowledge of water professionals in South Africa and to develop sustainable knowledge-exchange and collaboration.
The second interactive Masterclass Anammox was held on November 2nd, 2021. A total of 32 participants from South Africa and the Netherlands were eager to learn more about the Anammox process and its applications.
In November 2021 the second virtual living lab of the Liesbeek River in Cape Town took place, guided and organized by prof. Kevin Winter (UCT), Mariska Heijs (RUAS) and the OKP team. This year there was a special focus on plastic pollution in river systems. 12 Students from the Netherlands and 8 from South Africa co-created solutions to combat plastic pollution. They developed research questions and came up with innovative solutions to improve water quality in the Liesbeek river, but also elsewhere.
The training for Ekurhuleni Water Care Company (ERWAT) kicked off during October 2021. ERWAT water is responsible for 19 treatment plants. The ERWAT trainers and plant managers, Mr. Norman Mahlangu and Mr. Livhuwani Mathomu successfully completed the Training of Trainers programme in March 2021. As a result of this, they are now training ERWAT process controllers in the Basics of Wastewater Treatment course.
As most of you are aware, Agnes Maenhout will officially retire from World Water Academy on 17 October 2021. We greatly appreciate all her hard work and valuable contribution towards World Water Academy.
The first interactive online Basics of Wastewater Treatment course was held from June 22nd till July 13th. Participants from the European and African continent joined the sessions together with World Water Academy trainer Helle van der Roest, wastewater expert from Royal HaskoningDHV. Participants had a wide variety in background experience and existing knowledge, and a communal wish to learn more about the wastewater treatment processes.
After completing this course you will understand and recognize possible causes of pollution and contamination in the distribution of drinking water. You will learn various methods and ways to prevent contamination even without chlorine. You know how these methods are correctly applied in practice. The content of the training course is based on the hygienic working practices in the distribution of drinking water as defined by KWR Water Research.
Do you want to learn everything about the different process steps on a wastewater treatment plant? After completing this course you will understand the wastewater treatment process in practice. You will recognize how your actions influence the performance of your wastewater treatment plant. To make the course as effective as possible for you, we encourage you to share your own knowledge and experiences with the other participants.
The OKP project WATRA has started with an inception mission to Amman, Jordan. WATRA stands for "Strengthening skills development for WAter Treatment and Reuse in Agriculture". Peter van der Steen (IHE), project coordinator Poolad Karimi (IHE) and Agnes Maenhout (World Water Academy) were the Dutch representatives. In two days we were introduced to the Jordanian team of the Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU) in Salt (near Amman) led by project director Naser Almanaseer.
The project ‘Bridging the water: co-create to learn & experience’ has officially been launched on the 1st of February at the Durban University of Technology. The project aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the South African water sector. Dutch and South African partners co-create solutions in water education in order to improve water management, water services and the livelihood of citizens.