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paper products, fruit and vegetables and red meat industries
contributed 75% of the wastewater volume, 78% of the COD load
and 75% of the total dissolved solids load discharged by industry, to
sewage works in the Vaal Barrage catchment area. On an overall
basis, industrial return flows of wastewater either via sewage works
or directly to watercourses (within or outside the study area)
amounted to 140 Mt day-t, or 48% of the total daily industrial
water intake in the Vaal Barrage catchment area. (The WRC report
provides a useful list of the various industrial categories in terms of
wastewater loads on sewage works in the Vaal Barrage catchment
area).
(vii) Reference should also be made to the specific CSIR and Water
Research Commission reports dealing with wastewater on an
individual industrial category basis - see the section on Water quality
problems in South Africa in the chapter on water quality.
(viii) The volume of water needed for crop and vegetable production
varies and depends on several factors including the type of
crop/vegetable; the climate; the soil; the use of irrigation, and the
growth stage of the plants. Nel (1991)* estimated typical water
consumption as follows: maize (500 t kg- 1 of harvested product);
wheat (600 t kg-'); livestock feed - such as lucerne (500 t kg- 1 );
cabbages (34 t kg-'); green beans (88 t kg- 1 ), and tomatoes
(48 t kg-' of harvested product).
12.3 Major infrastructure projects in the black townships of NatallKwaZulu
12.3.1 Historical background
Many of the projects (in recent times), were undertaken in the Durban Functional Region
and in the Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Area (the primary urban concentration in
NatallKwaZulu, subjectto rapid population influx and movement from one area to another).
A mostimportant programme was the RSA-KwaZulu Development Project, which followed
on from work begun by the Kwazulu/Natal Planning Council. The function of the RSA­
KwaZulu Development Project undertaken jointly by the South African and KwaZulu
governments, was to upgrade the infrastructure and living conditions in several large
* Nel. P.. 1991. Personal communication. Department of Plant Production, University of Pretoria,
Pretoria. Further brief data on crop and vegetable water consumption in terms of physical water use
efficiency. can be found in: Baclleberg, G.R•• Bembridge. T.J.• Bennie. A.T.P.• Groenewald. J.A.•
Hammes. P.S•• Pullen, R.A. and Thompson. H•• 1996. Policy proposal for irrigated agriculture in
South Africa: discussion paper. WRC Report No. KV 96/96. Water Research Commission. Pretoria.
119 p.