The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has awarded the City of Cape Town’s waste water treatment plant a certificate for achieving the requirements of SANS/ISO 50001: Energy management system. 

The certificate was presented at a ceremony at the wastewater treatment plant in Bellville, on November 10, coinciding with World Quality Day, which is observed yearly.

SANS 50001 is the South African National Standard (SANS) for Energy Management. The national standard was adopted in 2019 from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

“The City of Cape Town is a beacon for all municipalities to drive quality and to certify their delivery of services against South African and international standards,” avers SABS lead administrator Jodi Scholtz.

“The wastewater treatment plant, included in the Directorate of the Department of Water and Sanitation in the City of Cape Town, has undergone intensive review of its energy use and has implemented solutions in accordance with the requirements of SANS/ISO 50001.  We are proud to acknowledge this achievement.

“With better energy management and more efficient operational management, it can only result in cost savings and improved service delivery to communities,” Scholtz adds.

Scholtz explains that the wastewater treatment plant had to develop an energy baseline, implement performance criteria, procure devices to measure the energy consumption and then develop an energy policy, as well as an energy management system, to ensure efficiency of operations.

“The entire organisation had to shift its culture to embrace energy management and efficiency as a goal to achieve consistent and reliable operations of the plant.

“Since the plant also has SANS/ISO 9001 certification to validate its quality management, it became easier to facilitate the certification process for their energy management system,” explains Scholtz.

The SABS will conduct surveillance audits over the next two years, as part of the terms and conditions to maintain SABS certification.

Recertification shall occur in the third year before the current certificate expires.

The Engineering and Asset management branch of the Water and Sanitation Department in the City of Cape Town is currently certified to SANS/ISO 14001: Environmental Management System and SANS/ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety management systems.