Students collect drainage data
By Tabisa Mntengwana
04 November 2009
MORE than 150 stormwater drainage systems in East London have been checked and logged into the system by students from Welland College, in Leiden, and Walter Sisulu University (WSU).
The Dutch students arrived in Buffalo City on Monday, 26 October to help the city collect data on its stormwater drainage system. They will be here until the end of the month. They are working closely with Buffalo City’s engineering department and the students from WSU.
Already the group has surveyed the systems on Beach Road, in Nahoon, and on streets in Vincent and Cambridge. They will still visit Duncan Village, the city centre and Beacon Bay.
Speaking from the corner of Sprigg and Dominion streets in Cambridge, Welland student Joost Tuithof said: “There’s a lot of work that we have already covered but at the same time we are still left with so much to do … This is a very challenging job as it varies from area to area.”
Supporting his sentiment, Willem Oberholzer from V and V Consulting Engineers, the engineering company hired by the municipality to help the students, said: “The work is different in each area and the findings differ with each suburb.”
He added that the work would not only benefit the Dutch students but would also help the local students with their year-end marks.
Oberholzer described their days as knowledge-sharing sessions rather than work. “Our days are full of exciting news about each others’ cultures, countries and families, but we still get the job done.”
The stormwater project, which is expected to create a platform between local and regional stormwater authorities, will end at the end of November.
According to a report from the City’s international relations and development co-operation department, the aim of the project is to help the municipality with data collection so that it can determine the extent and condition of the existing stormwater infrastructure.
Darby Gounden, the department manager, added that the project was specifically targeting Duncan Village but other areas would be covered “in order to obtain our objective”.
It was concentrating on Duncan Village because “the area is too dense and living conditions are bad … This is [one] way we can help.”
Along with data collection, the project will help to improve people’s living conditions and increase awareness about the importance of keeping the drainage system unblocked.
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