RAND WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2023

HOW WE CREATE VALUE

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

The processes of integrated infrastructure development entails identification, prioritising, planning, scheduling, and execution. This process of all assets related project activities is governed by Rand Water’s Project Management Procedures Manual and associated Project Life Cycle Model (PLCM). This forms the basis of the Portfolio Project Management (PPM) module within Rand Water’s SAP financial system. The PPM System caters for the creation, screening, and approval of project requests to proceed to a feasibility phase where a Pre-project Investigation Report (PPIR) is prepared and submitted for approval to the Asset Review Committee (ARC). The ARC reviews PPIRs and considers project priorities at ARC meetings. Once projects are created, capital investment processes (guided by the capital investment framework) and project management principles effectively execute asset related projects. They are the responsibility of the Finance and Capital Projects Execution Department, respectively. The alignment between capital investment and project execution is mapped in the annual Integrated Development Plan (IDP). Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) The purpose of the IDP is to present a high-level picture of the infrastructure augmentation, renewal programme and the investment programme. These programmes are informed by Demand Monitoring and Capacity Management, as well as the Condition Assessment and Performance Monitoring. The IDP is updated annually with an outlook of projects over the next five (5) years. Projects are also identified in the Integrated Bulk Water Sustainability Master Plan (IBWSMP). A systematic approach is adopted by Planning, wherein infrastructure augmentation requirements are combined with asset condition and performance and other business areas. Growth rate, asset condition, bulk water requirements and capital projects provide input to formulate required project dates, based on an overall approved growth rate. The approach adopted for the IDP is as follows: • Infrastructure is split into defined corporate systems. • An asset management programme exists to determine asset condition, informing renewals, as well as performance criteria. • A 20-year summary view of planned augmentation projects is presented. Infrastructure Augmentation Through the Master Planning function, Rand Water manages its manufactured capital infrastructure assets by determining the location, size and timing requirements of required augmentation or renewals. The process of renewal is informed by asset management practices: relying on factual, captured condition and performance information. This draws on historical information, asset condition assessments, obsolescence factors, root cause analysis reports and predictive modelling. Sufficiently deteriorated infrastructure is identified, and appropriate projects are raised to ensure mitigation and ability to continue supplying water. Augmentation considers the ability of infrastructure to meet the adopted demand projection in the medium-to-long term future. The demand projection combines customer-based information, Rand Water historical information and demographic information. This permits identification of augmentation project location, as well as the required size and completion date. Augmentation includes expansion of potable production capacity at the river stations, as well as infrastructure that radiates away from river stations (pipework, pumps, reservoirs and associated automation and electrical infrastructure). When pipelines, pump stations and additional potable capacity at river stations is upgraded, outright additional capacity can be delivered to customers. However, augmentation does not only add physical capacity to the network, it may also improve pressure in a pressure-sensitive area, or improve flexibility (new interconnections between systems), or improve infrastructure standby (reservoirs), or in specific risk cases it can also lower the risk for medium-risk single-pipe routes. Two (2) aspects of current augmentation methodology assist the process of renewals and refurbishment. The first point to mention is that Rand Water considers a 15-year timeframe; it is not cost-effective to return to the site every 5 years, as excavation is time-consuming, expensive, and disruptive. The second point to note is that new augmentation infrastructure is generally at least the same size as (if not larger than) existing infrastructure. Thus, when augmentation infrastructure is put in place (to meet demand in 10-15 years’ time), older infrastructure can generally be taken out for maintenance. On a programme that completes

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