Updates on the water situation in South Africa

Cost-effective water treatment solutions imperative

South Africans have to reduce water use and wastage by optimising existing processes such as serge-gating, recovering, treating and recycling effluent waters for reuse, reducing the overall water footprint, says water treatment specialist Proxa business development director Elspeth Grahn.

Engineering News, 2 March 2018

Water filtration system launched at Cape Town hospital

A Cape Town hospital has become the first private health care facility in the Western Cape to install a water filtration plant in compliance with the City of Cape Town’s regulations.

Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital, part of the Life Healthcare group, has commissioned an onsite water filtration plant, which meets the City of Cape Town and Department of Water and Sanitation's strict water crisis regulations.

The project forms part of the hospital group’s measures to reduce the facility’s demand on municipal water supply and to eliminate any impact on patients, doctors and employees should Day Zero materialise.

ESI Africa, 2 March 2018

Water preservation and treatment industry expected to grow

Water preservation and treatment industries – from harvesting rainwater to the recycling of grey water and purification to potable water, as well as desalinating seawater – will vastly grow in importance globally, says Johannesburg-based valves manufacturer and supplier AVK Holding Southern Africa director Tjaart van der Walt.

He notes that drought cycles can last for years and it is, therefore, imperative that steps are taken to secure alternative water sources in the short term and more resilience in the long term to mitigate future potential water crises in the region.

“Recycling wastewater and desalination, in particular, offer immense opportunities to secure an alternative water resource,” he adds.

He further notes that the council, for instance, has planned to spend more than ZAR3.3 billion on investing in urgent alternative water supply projects to remedy the emergency situation and secure resources in the region for the future.

Engineering News, 2 March 2018 

The above reflects a summary of certain news articles published during the preceding week.