Prof Marco van Dijk

Founder & Managing Director

BEng (Civil), BEng (Hons), MEng (Water Resources Engineering), PhD(Civil), PrEng, FSAICE, MWISA, MSANCOLD

Marco is a civil engineer with more than 28 years’ experience who specialises in the water engineering field, with a focus on bulk water supply pipelines, water distribution networks, pump stations and small hydropower development.

Marco is a seasoned civil engineer and academic with over two decades of specialist experience in water engineering. His core expertise lies in the design, analysis, and optimisation of hydraulic systems, including bulk water transfer schemes, pressure and gravity pipelines, pump stations, and hydropower development, particularly small, conduit and low-head applications. He has conducted numerous feasibility studies and economic evaluations for hydropower and energy recovery systems, contributing to renewable energy integration within municipal and industrial infrastructure.

Marco’s technical capabilities extend to hydrological and hydraulic modelling, flood risk assessments, stormwater management, culvert and bridge hydraulics, and the estimation of flood lines. He has led the design and review of drainage systems, performed advanced surge and transient pressure analyses, and developed tools for life cycle costing, air valve sizing, and system optimisation using genetic algorithms.

In addition to his consulting work, Marco is an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria, where he lectures in hydraulics and hydrology and supervises postgraduate research in water resources engineering. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and technical reports and is actively involved in applied research for the Water Research Commission.
His work is characterised by a commitment to technical excellence, sustainable development, and capacity building across Africa. He regularly conducts professional training courses and is passionate about knowledge transfer, using his experience to mentor the next generation of water engineers.

Dr Ione Loots

Hydrological specialist

BEng (Civil), BEng (Hons), MEng (Water Resources Engineering), PhD(Agricultural Engineering), PrEng, MSAICE

Ione is a professionally registered civil engineer with over 15 years of combined academic and consulting experience in the field of water engineering. She specialises in flood hydrology, hydraulic modelling, design flood estimation, and urban runoff and drainage systems.

Ione is a qualified civil engineer and academic with experience in the water engineering field, spanning both consultancy and academia. Her core expertise lies in flood hydrology, free surface flow modelling, urban drainage systems, and the assessment and optimisation of hydraulic structures such as culverts, reservoirs, and water distribution networks.
Ione has extensive experience in hydrological and hydraulic modelling, including the development of synthetic design storms, urban runoff analysis, and CFD-based investigations. Her technical portfolio includes flood risk assessment, culvert optimisation through structural improvements, and the co-development of tools for hydropower potential evaluation at existing infrastructure sites.
In addition to her research and consulting roles, Ione is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Pretoria. She teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in hydraulics, hydrology, and water resources engineering and supervises research on a variety of applied topics. She is a contributing author to numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, and WRC-funded research projects.
Her work reflects a strong focus on technical precision, interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing practical engineering tools that support infrastructure resilience. She is committed to building research capacity in water engineering and regularly contributes to professional training and industry knowledge-sharing initiatives.