Working for Water role critical amid EC water crisis:

(Port Elizabeth) – As the water crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay and the surrounding region deepens, various Working for Water (WfW) projects are playing an increasingly critical role in squeezing out precious run-off to swell the rivers that feed the major supply dams.

Now, the additional water being harvested thanks to the various projects is proving a lifeline to the Eastern Cape’s major cities and towns as their supply dam levels dwindle fast.

Implemented across the Eastern Cape by Gamtoos Irrigation Board (GIB) and funded by the national Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the WfW projects focus chiefly on alien vegetation clearance and wetlands rehabilitation, while providing much-needed employment opportunities in rural communities.

According to GIB’s area manager for the western region, Edwill Moore, although there is not enough scientifically verifiable data to support claims of increased water flow, anecdotal evidence suggests a major improvement as a result of clearing activities.

“Numerous landowners will testify that after their property was cleared and maintained, the water flow increased dramatically, even during very dry periods,” said Moore.

First rolled out by GIB in 1999, the Kouga and Kromme River projects in particular are among the oldest in the DEA’s Working for Water programme. However, their role in increasing the flow to the Kouga, Churchill and Impofu dams has become even more critical as water levels reach crisis point.

In the Kouga catchment area, Moore said their primary focus was on alien vegetation clearing, with 12 teams from local communities – comprising 14 members each – working to clear mainly Black Wattle (90% of the workload), Pine, Eucalyptus, Hakea and other less common species.

The 282 000-hectare project extends from Haarlem in the west to Kouga Dam in the east, with the Kouga and Tsitsikamma mountains forming the northern and southern boundary respectively.

“To put it in perspective, that’s around 564 000 rugby fields,” explained Moore.

“The water from this catchment area flows into the Kouga Dam, which supplies irrigation water to farmers in the Gamtoos Valley and is also the main water supply dam to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.”

Running parallel to the Kouga project, from The Heights in the west to Churchill Dam in the east, is the 40 000-hectare Kromme River project area, where GIB manages both alien vegetation clearing and wetlands rehabilitation projects.

The water from this catchment flows into the Churchill and Impofu dams, which also supply Nelson Mandela Bay.

Although significantly smaller in area than Kouga, the Kromme workload was higher, with 13 teams of 14 working to clear vegetation, said Moore.

“The vision of the wetlands project is to facilitate the protection, conservation and rehabilitation of the degraded peat wetlands in the Kromme River System. Peat has the capacity to store up to 20 times its weight in water, which allows water to remain in the wetlands system for longer.”

Moore explained that a slower release of water and consequent slow-down of run-off would allow sediment to settle more effectively, leading to a cleaner in-flow of water into the Churchill Dam.

“If the wetlands aren’t functioning properly, the water will just flow at a high rate, cost a lot more to purify and there will not be a constant flow of water into the dam,” he added.

To this end, he said GIB’s three wetlands teams made it their priority to stop ongoing degradation and erosion by constructing various structures, such as gabions and concrete weirs, to prevent active head cuts from affecting the course and flow of the river.

“During a major flood in 1996, 1.5km of wetland was destroyed due to an active head cut. In 2000, we constructed a combined concrete and gabion weir to stop the head cut and prevent further erosion. Since then, there have been two major floods, and not even a metre of wetland was lost.”

Moore said it had initially been challenging to get buy-in from local landowners but that the long-term successes and benefits had instilled confidence and opened the door to greater co-operation.

“Over the past year, in both the Kouga and Kromme projects, it has been exciting to see these landowners being prepared to contribute to the cost of clearing operations, and we plan to build on this,” he said.

“The drought has naturally played a role. Currently, we can’t address all the requests we get for clearing but we are pleased to be working together.”

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.

– MyPR

Samsung’s 2017 QLED TV Line-up Awarded UHD Alliance Premium Certification:

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 26 April, 2017 – Samsung Electronics has announced that its 2017 QLED TV line-up has been certified by the UHD Alliance (UHDA) as ULTRA HD PREMIUM™. The certification encompasses the 2017 QLED TV portfolio, including the Q9, Q8 and Q7 models.

“It’s an honour to receive this stamp of approval from the UHD Alliance,” said MS Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung. “We are proud to continue offering our consumers a premium Ultra HD home entertainment set up with our 2017 QLED TV lineup.”

The UHDA’s ULTRA HD PREMIUM™ logo identifies products and services that meet or exceed strict performance levels for 4K resolution, high-dynamic range (HDR), and wide colour spectrum. These specifications enable televisions, content and other external devices, such as UHD Blu-ray players, to fully display content in its richest form, allowing the customer to realise a more accurate content experience from their living rooms.

Announced at CES 2017, the QLED TV lineup features dramatically improved colour performance displaying the DCI-P3* colour space accurately and – in another world first for Samsung – can reproduce 100 percent colour volume. This means Samsung’s new QLED TVs can express all colours at any level of brightness – with even the subtlest differences visible at the QLED’s peak luminance – exceeding UHDA requirements. This breakthrough is a result of Samsung’s adoption of a new metal Quantum Dot material, making it possible for the TV to express a significantly improved range of colour with much greater detail compared to conventional TVs. With picture quality a top priority for consumers around the world, Samsung’s 2017 QLED TVs represent yet another leap forward in home entertainment.

“Design is dynamic. It’s always changing, just like innovation. We are constantly challenging ourselves to think about how we can reward customers with something meaningful that will be the next big thing. We want to make products that don’t just look and feel beautiful, but actually improve consumers’ lives. That’s why our technology is designed to be more intuitive. ” says Mike van Lier, Director: Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa.

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.

– MyPR

Homemation Introduces the Newest Denon HEOS AVR : Surround Yourself with Sound, Not Wires  :

The HEOS AVR has arrived in South Africa, distributed exclusively through Homemation.

Enjoy surround sound with style – and multi-room audio made easy. Introducing the revolutionary Denon HEOS AVR: surround yourself with thrilling movie sound and fill your home with music – without the wires!

‘Surround yourself with sound, not wires’: that’s the idea behind the stylish new Denon HEOS AVR, the latest addition to the rapidly growing HEOS range of multi-room entertainment products. With striking style and the ability to deliver a surround sound experience without cables, the HEOS AVR is set to revolutionise your home theatre. Offering up to 5.1 channel, top-class surround sound with the simple setup and operation of a mobile application, the HEOS AVR has it all – simplicity, extraordinary sound and a versatile appearance to compliment any home.

With its sleek, slimline design, the Denon HEOS AVR doesn’t look like a conventional AV receiver, yet it encompasses the same expertise and technology revered by Denon enthusiasts worldwide. Constructed with versatility and simplicity in mind, the HEOS AVR is ultra-simple to set up and use. The cleverly designed HEOS app leads the user through the configuration process to integrate the HEOS AVR into your whole-house music system and achieve effortless surround sound.

The HEOS AVR revolutionises the AV receiver market, combining flexibility, ease of use and superb performance, all in a sleek aluminium chassis carefully crafted to create a statement in your living room. It combines 5.1 channel surround sound with HEOS wireless multiroom music streaming, integrating wireless HEOS speakers as surround channels, creating a cable-free multichannel system. It will drive conventional speakers with its powerful built-in Class D amplification, or will work with a mix of both wired and wireless speakers.

Its four auto-sensing HDMI inputs are compatible with the latest 4K UltraHD TV, Blu-ray and online video streaming formats. The ability to learn TV remote commands makes operation of your home cinema totally intuitive, with main AVR functions available from the TV handset, and Audio Return channel capability means just one cable is needed between your TV and the HEOS AVR for superb sound and vision.

As well as delivering your favourite TV shows and movies in thrilling surround sound, the HEOS AVR can stream music from your home computer or online services such as Deezer, TuneIn, Spotify Connect and Tidal for limitless entertainment. Make the HEOS AVR the heart of your home cinema entertainment system and the cornerstone of your multiroom music system.

Additional HEOS speakers can be added to the system at any time with a few taps on the HEOS app. You can play different music in every room, or bring the whole house together for a party, playing the same tune in every room. Six Quick Select pre-sets are provided for your favourite functions, and you can also stream music directly from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth.

The HEOS AVR really is home cinema reinvented, cutting out the clutter – and the cables – and creating a stylish, simple way to bring the full movie experience to your living room, while retaining all the superb surround sound quality for which Denon is famous. Inside that stylish chassis is in-depth Denon audio engineering, from advanced digital signal processing to the cool-running, energy-efficient Class D amplification, able to deliver a massive 100W per channel to drive any speakers.

Flexible, simple and stylish, not to mention great-sounding, the Denon HEOS AVR is the future of total home entertainment.

HEOS AVR 5.1ch Surround Receiver – Key Features: It combines up to 5.1ch top-class surround sound, wireless surround channels using a pair of any HEOS speakers – surround yourself with sound, not wires, unique industrial design with aluminium chassis and HEOS family style, 5x 100 W powerful class D amplification capable to drive your favourite speakers – use your existing beloved speakers and enter a new world of sound, latest HDMI and 4K UltraHD compatibility with 4 HDMI inputs – future-proof and ready for all modern playback devices, HEOS music streaming and multi-room technology built-in – access to the most important online streaming services, intuitive app-based set-up and operation; additional compact remote control – quick and intuitive access to most important features.

Denon is a trademark or registered trademark of D&M Holdings Inc. Available exclusively through Homemation suppliers: Innovating Your Lifestyle.

Homemation is the exclusive specialist South African suppliers of premium branded audiovisual and home theatre products. The brands in their stable offer some of the most advanced and sought-after AV and home automation technologies in the world.

Call Homemation on 011-781 8887 for your nearest stockist, email techguy@homemation.co.za or visit www.homemation.co.za ; Facebook ; Twitter and Instagram.

Recommended Retail Price: R16 990.

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.

– MyPR

Submit and get free press releases here: MyPR Free Press Release.

Click here to list your business on BuyPE.