Feasibility of groundwater abstraction and treatment for urban water supply

Water is one of Earth's most valuable resources and one of Earth's most threatened resources. Continuously increasing population growth coupled with changing climate has resulted in the depletion of water sources. As a result, investigations into alternative water sources are being conducted worldwide. One such alternative water source is groundwater abstraction. Groundwater abstraction involves the abstraction of water from an underground source. The volume of water that can be sustainably abstracted is governed by legislation. Groundwater typically requires treatment before it can be distributed to the general population for use, and thus the implementation of large-scale groundwater abstraction projects involves large capital outlays, as well as monthly operational outlays. The feasibility into the implementation of large-scale groundwater abstraction projects is therefore of interest to stakeholders involved in the water supply industry. The lifecycle of a recently implemented large-scale groundwater abstraction project was analysed in order to determine its feasibility. The project was implemented by Drakenstein Municipality in the Western Cape in 2017. The project involved identifying groundwater abstraction points that could provide sustainable volumes of water. The water quality of each groundwater abstraction point was then investigated for any outlying parameters according to SANS 241-1:2015 guidelines for potable water. Groundwater abstraction water treatment plants were then designed in order to treat the combined sustainable flow rates of water at their specific water qualities. The treated water from each groundwater abstraction water treatment plant was then analysed in order to confirm compliance with the SANS 241- 1:2015 guidelines, before the booster pumps were commissioned and commenced with their continuous supply of potable water into the network. The capital expenditure associated with each of the groundwater abstraction water treatment plants was obtained from the Engineer, Aurecon. In addition, the estimated monthly operational expenditure was computed. These expenditures were used to determine the feasibility of the large-scale groundwater abstraction project by computing the payback period and comparing this period to the design life of each of the groundwater abstraction water treatment plants. In addition, the monthly savings applicable to the municipality as a result of the project's implementation was computed. Finally, the feasibility into varying flow rates of groundwater abstraction water treatment plants, and varying water quality of groundwater abstraction points was investigated. Two sites were identified within the municipal area, each with four groundwater abstraction points capable of delivering a combined 5.18 ML/day and 1.62 ML/day. These sites were identified as Boy Louw Sportsgrounds and Parys Sportsgrounds respectively. Although the sites were only 2.60 kilometres apart, the water quality of the combined flow rates indicated that the groundwater abstraction points were accessing two different water sources. The combined sustainable flow rate at Boy Louw Sportsgrounds required turbidity, iron and manganese removal, as well as disinfection. The combined sustainable flow rate at Parys Sportsgrounds required turbidity removal and disinfection. Groundwater abstraction water treatment plants were then designed to treat the water at Boy Louw Sportsgrounds and Parys Sportsgrounds. Boy Louw Sportsgrounds involved the distribution of equipment across seven shipping containers, whilst Parys Sportsgrounds involved the distribution of equipment across three shipping containers. It was found that the groundwater abstraction project was feasible with a payback period of three years. This payback period fell well within the 10-year design life of each groundwater abstraction water treatment plant. In addition, it was found that the municipality would be subject to a 72% monthly saving in water costs as a result of utilising the groundwater abstraction water treatment plants, as opposed to purchasing water in bulk from the City of Cape Town. It was found that the payback periods of Boy Louw Sportsgrounds and Parys Sportsgrounds were two and five years respectively. Although Boy Louw Sportsgrounds delivered almost three times the potable water flow rate than that of Parys Sportsgrounds, its payback period was three years sooner. In addition, it was found that the municipal savings as a result of Boy Louw Sportsgrounds was 8% more than that of Parys Sportsgrounds. It was therefore concluded that the larger the flow rate of water to be treated, the more financially feasible the project. In addition, it was determined that the more water quality parameters lying above the upper limits of SANS 241-1:2015 guidelines for potable water, the more treatment processes would need to be implemented resulting in additional capital and operational expenditure. It was therefore concluded that the more water quality parameters requiring treatment, the less financially feasible the project. Finally, it was determined that the feasibility of the large-scale groundwater abstraction project is limited by the rate at which the municipality purchases water in bulk from the City of Cape Town. As long as the bulk water purchase tariff remains above R 2.85/m³, the project will remain feasible. Should the bulk water purchase tariff fall below this value, the project no longer remains feasible as the payback period of the project exceeds the design life of the groundwater abstraction water treatment plants

Structural-metamorphic imprint on part of the Namaqua mobile belt in Southwest Africa

The cross-section of the part of the Namaqua Mobile Belt investigated, comprises tectonic domains differing in structural and metamorphic character. The upper-crustal Richtersveld Province is separated from the lower-crustal central zone by a marginal zone across which there is a sharp increase in P and T. A continuous prograde metamorphic zonation is established which is bounded on the low-grade side by the 'hornblende in' reaction and includes with increasing grade 'muscovite+ chlorite out', andalusite/sillimanite inversion, minimum melt line, •·epidote out', 'K-felspar + sillimanite in' and a brown hornblende zone. The PT conditions inferred for the K-felspar + sillimanite zone is in the order of 6 kb and 740°c. This metamorphic zonation is defined by the metamorphic peak at any one point and is associated with the early structures. Subsequent deformations indicate a continuous retrogression. The early kinematic event includes at least two phases of coaxial and coplanar folding giving rise to the main planar fabric which is interpreted as a shear surface. It is concluded that the first kinematic event constitutes a thrust regime. The latE kinematic event is represented in the central zone by two phases of macroscopic folding which yielded basin and dome structures. To accommodate the resultant lateral shortening in the central zone, the Kanabeam shear zone developed between the central zone and the more upper-crustal domains where the late phase folding is not developed. Two discrete magmatic events, yielding differentiated intrusive are closely related in time to the early kinematic event. These intrusives underlie at least 50 per cent of the area. The Vioolsdrif Suite (1900 Ma) is genetically related to the Orange River volcanics. The intersected volcanics (2000 Ma) and intrusives form the Vioolsdrif igneous complex which is correlated with the grey gneiss of the lower-crustal domains. In the high-grade central zone aluminous paragneisses structurally overlie the grey gneisses and are interpreted as a mudstone/wacke sequence. The early kinematic event, associated with thrusting, the main metamorphism and extensive intrusion, constitutes the main phase of the Namaqua tectogenesis which connnenced at least at about 1900 Ma. The late kinematic event is associated with lateral movement and shortening during the waning stages of the Namaqua tectogenesis at about 1000 Ma

Islet-cell adenoma of the pancreas

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Protocols and guidelines for telehealth applications

This booklet has been developed to assist you in planning, implementing and evaluating telehealth applications using videoconferencing. It is basically a compilation of existing information and should be regarded as a general introduction to this area

Systemic isotretinoin in the management of acne – a patient questionnaire survey

Background: The primary aim was to investigate the appropriateness (as outlined in the South African Acne Treatment Guideline1) for the prescription of systemic isotretinoin in the management and counselling of acne in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to patients receiving systemic isotretinoin by 30 community pharmacies. The response rate was 29.2% (57 respondents). Results: The acne medication history revealed that commercial brands of beauty products were used by 57.9% of respondents, topical benzoyl peroxide by 22.8%, and systemic cotrimoxazole by 19.3%. Only nine females used an oral contraceptive as acne treatment prior to isotretinoin. The average daily dose of isotretinoin was 44.2 (SD=16.9) mg. Half of the respondents received a suboptimal cumulative dosage of isotretinoin. The average prescribed duration of isotretinoin therapy was 6.2 months. Adequate counselling was received by only 57.9% of patients. A third of the patients who were able to fall pregnant received recommendations for contraception. Pregnancy tests were conducted in only two females. Just over 40% of patients reported a complete clearance of acne lesions. Conclusions: Many prescribers did not follow the recommendations for isotretinoin prescription. The counselling of patients regarding isotretinoin therapy was substandard, especially with respect to pregnancy prevention

Audit of community pharmacy activities

In South Africa the pharmacy profession has experienced a number of changes around the turn of the century such as the introduction of the National Drug Policy (NDP), pharmacy ownership and price regulation. With this the role and earnings of the pharmacy profession, as well as to what extent the pharmacist adds value to the profession and society, are being questioned. Community pharmacists are thus faced with the challenge to prove that the value that they add to society is meaningful. Therefore, the aim of the study was to document community pharmacy availability and activities in South Africa and based on this to quantify the perceived value that the community pharmacist adds to society through the delivery of pharmaceutical services and pharmaceutical care. In order to determine the pharmacist’s true value added two surveys were conducted in 2006; an original pharmacist survey and a general public survey. The results obtained were verified by a follow–up pharmacist survey in 2009 to confirm or reject the results obtained in the original survey. The study was representative of both the community pharmacies and the general public in South Africa and was primarily quantitative in design and analysis. More than half of the responding pharmacies (63.16%) were open seven days a week. The average hours of service per day ranged from 10 hours (Monday to Friday) through to 6.45 hours on Saturdays and 3 hours on Sundays. Pharmacists continuously upgraded their professional knowledge. More than three quarters of pharmacies had the necessary equipment available to perform the services investigated in the study. The general public was not aware of all the services provided by pharmacists and as a result, depending on the service, many people did not make use of these services. The general public that made use of services delivered by community pharmacies mainly perceived the services delivered to be of good quality. The main barrier to practicing pharmaceutical care was indicated by pharmacists as not receiving payment for the advice given followed by pharmaceutical care being time consuming, and that there was not enough time to talk to patients. The general public indicated that they found it difficult to ask questions in pharmacies because other patients could hear what was discussed, or other patients had to wait longer if they asked something, and pharmacy staff being too busy. The results of the original pharmacist and the general public survey were confirmed by the results of the follow-up survey with the exception of dispensing prescription medicine (8 minutes 28 seconds), OTC medicine (7 minutes 23 seconds), counselling of prescription medicine (8 minutes 51 seconds) and OTC medicine (8 minutes) which on average took longer to conduct than in the previous analysis. The study highlighted the value added to the wellness and quality of life of the community of South Africa through the delivery of pharmaceutical care and pharmaceutical services by community pharmacy staff, and proved that pharmacists are committed to the provision of pharmaceutical care and pharmaceutical services

Psychosocial aspects of occupational overuse disorders

An investigation of the psychosocial aspects of occupational overuse disorders was conducted with 146 keyboard operators in the Australian Public Service. Forty four were machine compositors, 65 were data processing operators, and 37 were either designated keyboard staff or clerical staff who used keyboard equipment. At initial assessment information was obtained on job characteristics and working conditions, social and psychological employee characteristics, and health and well-being of employees. At a six-month follow-up subjects were reassessed for health and well-being. All major statistical analyses were carried out on the cross-sectional data. Examination of the associations between symptoms of overuse disorder and other variables taken individually yielded few significant results. The majority were for measures of job characteristics and working conditions. Multiple regression analyses identified work pressure as the single significant risk factor for symptoms in the upper arms and body; duties, work pressure, and peer cohesion as significant risk factors for symptoms in the lower arms; and autonomy, pushing oneself, and work pressure as significant risk factors for symptoms in the upper limbs and body i.e. overall. A second set of multiple regression analyses indicated that the presence of overuse disorder by itself and the nonperformance of usual duties due to overuse disorder each made a significant contribution to psychological symptomatology. The implications of these findings for the management and treatment of these disorders are discussed

Design, development and analysis of the friction stir welding process

The development of a CNC-based technology FSW machine to accurately produce friction stir weld samples that can be analyzed for research purposes is implemented and discussed. A process diagnosis and control scheme to improve the process monitoring and weld evaluation capabilities of an FSW machine are proposed and implemented. Basic CNC-based hardware implementation such as optical encoders and inverters for process control are explained and verified. The control scheme and framework of interfaces to the digital I/O cards for PC user interface are explained. An advanced monitoring system which senses process performance parameters such as tool temperature, 3-axis tool forces, torque and spindle speed are explained. Mechanical designs and manufacturing techniques such as tool, clamp and backing plate designs are explained and verified. The process parameters for quality optimization are investigated and optimized by making use of Correlation and Regression Analysis. The statistical data and analytical relationships between welding parameters (independent) and each of the performance parameters (dependent) are obtained and used to simulate the machining process. The weld research samples are tested for strength and integrity making use of various scientific testing techniques. The reliability of the samples are also evaluated and compared to that of other institutions. Process variables and the optimum operating range of the Friction Stir Welding machine is determined and a framework for further research into weld quality optimization is set

A framework for preferred practices in conducting culturally competent health research in a multicultural society

Background: Improving the health and well-being of the whole population requires that health inequities be addressed. In an era of unprecedented international migration, meeting the health care needs of growing multicultural or multiethnic societies presents major challenges for health care systems and for health researchers. Considerable literature exists on the methodological and ethical difficulties of conducting research in a cross-cultural context; however, there is a need for a framework to guide health research in multicultural societies. Methods: The framework was informed by “research on research” that we have undertaken in community and primary health care settings in Sydney, Australia. Case studies are presented as illustrative examples. Results: We present a framework for preferred practices in conducting health research that is culturally informed, high-quality, safe, and actionable. Conclusions: The framework is not intended to be universal, however many of its aspects will have relevance for health research generally. Application of the framework for preferred practices could potentially make health research more culturally competent, thus enabling enhanced policies, programmes and practices to better meet population health needs. The framework needs to be further tested and refined in different contexts