KOUGA LAUNCHES SMART LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGY

KOUGA LAUNCHES SMART LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGY

by | Nov 9, 2022 | Kouga Municipality, St Francis

KOUGA LAUNCHES SMART LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGY

Prevents millions of litres of water loss

SWEEPING Kouga’s water pipes with an acoustic listening device to detect ‘invisible’ leaks has prevented the loss of about 420 000 litres of water per day since September this year.

This at a crucial time for water supply in the drought-stricken region.

The Aqua AM300 Measuring Device (acoustic listening device) is just one element of the state-of-the-art leak detection vehicle that was officially launched by Kouga Municipality in Jeffreys Bay today (09 November 2022) – equipping the municipality with much-needed resources to swiftly detect and respond to leaks.

Leak Detection Vehicle

“The leak detection vehicle was procured through a NAKOPA Partnership Project between Kouga Municipality and Ilsfeld Municipality in Germany,” said Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks.

“The project is funded with more than 200 000 Euro through the German Competence Centre for Local Development Cooperation (SKEW) over a period of three years.”

Hendricks said the project, spearheaded by the Kouga Leak Detection Unit established in May this year, is a key part of the effort to minimise water lost to leaks and non-revenue water of almost 50% across the region.

Apart from the acoustic leak detection, which involves listening for signs of a leak by tapping a stick microphone to a meter or pipe connection – the vehicle is also equipped with a Lokal 100 Correlator (accumulator and PC with two measuring boxes and other attachments that are to be utilized for establishing where in the pipeline the source of the leak is most likely to be situated).

Other equipment used includes a pipe mic – used to detect and locate leakages within a drinking water pipe network.

“It also has the functionality to detect an underground pipe and a very sensitive microphone that is connected to the tip of the device,” said Hendricks.

Successes

“To date the Leak Detection Unit has identified and repaired three major water leaks with a combined estimated value of close to R1.3 million in water lost taken over a conservative timeframe of just one year,” said Hendricks.

“The leaks were situated at Platkroon Avenue, Pink Oak Crescent, and Silver Tree Road in Jeffreys Bay.”

Five district metered zones have, furthermore been established: Ocean View, Pellsrus, Aston Bay, St Francis Bay, and Sea Vista.

“Minimum night flows and trends are recorded to identify any anomalies,” said Hendricks. “Visual leak detection exercises, water meter audits, and acoustic detection on meters are also being conducted.

The Leak Detection Unit has embarked on a storm water tracking exercise over the past weeks.

“This entails walking the trail of all stormwater drainage from the outflow points at the lower elevations to the upper elevations,” said Hendricks. “Once flowing water is found in the drains, it is tested for chlorine.

“If chlorine is detected, which indicates the presence of potable water, the source of the leak is investigated and repaired.”

What’s On At The SUPERSPAR – Who wants To Win A R10k Travel Voucher? Also, An Inverter Combo Up For Grabs and Some Cool Recipes

What’s On At The SUPERSPAR – Who wants To Win A R10k Travel Voucher? Also, An Inverter Combo Up For Grabs and Some Cool Recipes

by | Nov 9, 2022 | SPAR, St Francis

First Up – The Inverter Combo Competition

Straight forward, buy chocolates, enter the competition, and hold thumbs.

Second Up – Crumbed Fish Burger With Slaw Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the fish

  • 1 cup SPAR cake flour
  • 1 SPAR egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 4 palm-sized hake fillets
  • Sunflower oil for deep-frying

For the slaw

  • 350g SPAR Freshline coleslaw mix
  • 2 Tbsp SPAR Freshline coriander, finely chopped
  • 2 SPAR Freshline spring onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup SPAR original mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp SPAR whole-grain mustard
  • Juice and zest of one SPAR Freshline lemon

To serve

  • 4 bread rolls, cut in half
  • Thinly sliced SPAR Freshline red onion
  • 8 SPAR Freshline cucumber ribbons
  • SPAR Freshline Lemon wedges

Method:

  • Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper.
  • Place the breadcrumbs, egg and flour in three bowls, respectively. Dip the seasoned fish fillets in the flour, then the beaten egg and lastly, in the breadcrumbs until well coated.
  • Half-fill a large pan with your preferred oil and heat to 180℃. Deep fry the fish in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden and crispy when the oil is hot enough. Drain on kitchen paper and season.
  • To make the slaw, mix all the ingredients well.
  • Assemble the burger, place the fried fish on the roll, and top with slaw, red onion and cucumber ribbons.
  • Serve with extra lemon wedges.

Third Up: Win A R10k Travel Voucher

Below are T’s & C’s for the Spar Juice competition

RULES OF THE COMPETITION

The competition mechanic is as per below:

• Consumers must purchase any participating SPAR Long Life Juice Product

• Take a clear picture of their till slip

• Whatsapp the photo to 084 481 1276 and follow the prompts.

COMPETITION DATES

The competition runs from 08 November – 04 December 2022 and is valid for all stores in South Africa

and Cross Border.

Failure to make contact and verify the winner within 72 hours will result in another winner being drawn.

• 10 Winners will be randomly selected from the valid entries from the Whatsapp Bot entry

mechanic.

• SPAR will contact the winners and make contact for the Prize Handover.

• The Prizes will be in the form of a Travel voucher to the value of R10 000 in the respective

currency (R, N$, P or E).

• The travel voucher will be valid for two years from the date of issue.

• The travel voucher may not be transferred, not transferable for cash, and may not be redeemed for

car hire or foreign exchange.

GENERAL

By entering the promotion in accordance with its terms, you are entering a promotion for the purposes

of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (“CPA”) and the promotion will be conducted in accordance with

the relevant provisions of the CPA.

 

Of Poop and Blue Flags

Of Poop and Blue Flags

by | Nov 9, 2022 | St Francis

As we emerge from winter, it is a shock to the system to realise that the big parties in St Francis start in 6 weeks. It seems like just the other day, we were getting kids ready for school’s first day of the year. It seemed like yesterday when we were planning our year, telling ourselves how this would be the best year ever, that our post-COVID life would be like the Roaring Twenties after WW1. How did that turn out?

A jol similar to Billy’s Beach

 

Accommodation is pretty much all booked out, and the restaurants are gearing up for what is bound to be a great season. The retail outlets are also stocking up and getting their systems finely tuned to deal with any sudden rush. 

There will be some problems – there always are, and the lack of beaches in St Francis Bay results in quite a big crew heading over to Seals daily, so it gets pretty busy over there. There are also so many dogs around, and the amount of dog poop left on the beaches daily is quite astonishing. 

The big difference is that Cape St Francis is a Blue Flag Beach this year, and there will be new regulations in place.  

The BLUE FLAG BEACH CRITERIA AND EXPLANATORY NOTES of 2020, as explained by WESSA (the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) is thus:

‘Access to the beach by dogs and other domestic animals must be strictly controlled.

Dogs or pets other than assistance dogs are not allowed on a Blue Flag beach or in the Blue Flag area if it is part of a larger beach. 

If the presence of pets is permitted by local and national legislation, animals are only allowed in parking areas, 

walkways and promenades in the inland beach area.’ 

At the time of publishing, the above extract could not be verified, and the rules might be stricter or more relaxed these days. Kouga Municipality will distribute a media release about the Blue Flag beach situation shortly. 

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Disclaimer: One of the Sunday Times’ golden rules of early morning publishing is not mentioning poop. Back in my youth, when I was a stringer for the Times, it was drummed into my head by my editor. In this case, it couldn’t be helped. Apologies in advance if I ruined your coffee, all bran flakes etc