Simphiwe Stemela is a Junior Geologist at Umvoto while completing his Masters in Water Quality Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from UCT and a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and BSc Applied Geology from the University of the Western Cape. His Honours research focused on the delineation of quality groundwater potential zones using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques in the Western Cape, South Africa.
During his studies at UCT, Simphiwe had the opportunity to work at the Department of Water and Sanitation Bulk Water Branch as an Expanded Public Works Programme student, where he assisted project managers with their day-to-day tasks including performing spatial analyses for pipeline infrastructure and groundwater monitoring (Table Mountain Group and Cape Flats Aquifers). Other responsibilities included performing analyses for water quality management for the City of Cape Town desalination projects (Monwabisi and Strandfontein), which provided insight into the water resource management field, and the importance of water and the sustainability thereof.
Simphiwe’s current tasks include field work to gather hydrogeological data, data analysis, GIS assistance, borehole drilling and test pumping onsite supervision, hydrogeological monitoring, and report writing. Simphiwe has applied to be a Candidate Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. He is skilled in the following software packages: ArcMap, QGIS, AquaChem, and SAP.
Simphiwe’s hobbies include sports, particularly soccer. He also enjoys hiking, running, and being outdoors with friends.
