The Role of Civil Engineering in a Changing Environment
By Baloyi, Phumudzo
IN THIS ARTICLE, the author describes his experiences from the time when he grew up in the area previously known as Venda until the present. In the early 1980s this area was underserviced and lacked adequate water supply and other services. As a result most of the people sourced water from rivers, fountains and boreholes. Although the water was not purified, it was fit for drinking because there was less pollution in the river systems.
With time, some communities started to receive services and communal taps were installed at closer walking distances. This has certainly changed and improved people’s quality of life. Instead of walking long distances to fetch water, people could now use their time for other activities. This all was made possible by civil engineers, who have contributed to bringing about an improved quality of life.
Things continued to improve to the extent that some of the communities have running water in their yards, which is a vast improvement on the situation in the past. However, these improvements came with more challenges that continue to confront the people in the area. These include a lack of adequate resources and skills to maintain the facilities.
Although there is an infrastucture for the supply of portable water to many households, the supporting infrastucture that enables continuous uninterupted supply is inadequate. This is very similar to experiences in across the country and indicates that our resources are limited. It is therefore important that everyone takes care of this limited resources through conservation and awareness of the scarcity of resources.
An added challenge is that since people now have access to clean water, the rivers are being neglected and they are not an option for sourcing water anymore. Maintenance of existing infrastructure is a major challenge because the demand for skills, as well as urbanisation, is depleting the skills base.
The lack of skills and resources has affected many areas including road infrastructure, which has deteriorated in many instances and requires re-construction.
The following issues need to be addressed as a first step towards resolving the current situation:
* Stimulating the local economy This could be achieved by promoting decentralisation and encouraging firms to open factories in the area. As the area is known very fertile and produces a significant part of South Africa’s fruit, this could be used as a starting point
* Attracting appropriate civil engineering skills There is a need to come up with strategies to attract civil engineers with much- needed skills who have historically been responsible for delivering a visible service
* Training and development Providing prospective students with bursaries and similar support
Text Phumudzo Baloyi
Goba (Pty) Ltd
phumudzo@goba.co.za
www.goba.co.za
Copyright The South African Institution of Civil Engineers May 2008
(c) 2008 Civil Engineering : Magazine of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.