Major Water Supply Link in Namib Desert
NamWater has successfully completed the highly media acclaimed Langer Heinrich Water Supply Pipeline to the Uranium Mine with the same name.
A large segment of the pipeline is constructed on the surface with the exception of a 15 km distance towards the mine in the Naukluft Area Park where the pipeline is hidden underground to allow for animal crossings. However, the most critical phase of the project was the need to pump the water over the famous Kuiseb River. The pipeline could not be laid under the river since it is always wet and doing so would have created instability for the pipeline as water flows through it.
It was decided then to construct a bridge over the Kuiseb to solve this problem. It was a design that required good planning coupled with accurate and complicated mathematical calculations.
One of our young engineers, Rudy Van Wyk, was the man behind this engineering marvel. Rudy joined NamWater on 01 July 2002 from the University of Stellenbosch. He says as engineers who are involved in civil design, they were tasked to come up with the most workable and cost effective solutions to cross the bridge. He came up with five solutions of which one appeared to be the most feasible as he had confidence in the calculations he carried out. However, this solution was not approved as it turned out to be costly. He then came up with another design, “three pipes crossing the bridge”.
Rudy did some calculations, which predicted that once the pipes are filled with water from one side, the water would eventually deflect at the top of the bridge and pass through without creating instability in the water pipes. His calculations turned out to be correct and verified after testing.
About this scientific achievement, Rudy says he felt thrilled for a moment, but he quickly forgot. “I am now looking for new challenges”, he concluded.
Rudy, was born in Rehoboth 26 years ago and attended the Windhoek Technical High School before he was awarded a bursary by NamWater to study engineering.
