South African Business 2020 edition

OVERVIEW
Water
Cape Town has learned big lessons from a harsh drought.
Pipes before installation in the Western Aqueduct project, the massive scheme to bring water to Durban from
the Midmar and Spring Grove dams in KwaZulu-Natal. Image: Knight Piésold.
In 2030 South African demand for water will be 17% greater than supply.
That is the verdict of the 2030 Water Resources Group. The Water
Resources Group, an international consortium of private companies,
agencies and development banks has established a South African
chapter, the Strategic Water Partners Network.
The Western Cape, which bore the brunt of a fierce drought for
several years, in fact fares well in terms of providing water infrastructure
and maintaining its wastewater treatments plants. The Western Cape
Department of Agriculture has launched a climate action plan called
Smart Agri which includes doing studies on conservation agriculture.
When the long-term drought was at its worst, tourists to Cape Town
were encouraged to “Save like a Local”. Together with a range of technical
and legislative measures, the campaign to use less water worked
remarkably well. Where residents and businesses were using 1.2-billion
litres per day in 2015, by the middle of 2018 the figure was 516-million
litres. While the taps were not literally turned off (the dreaded “Day Zero”
was averted), pressure in the pipes was reduced. The International Water
Association’s Water Loss Conference in Cape Town reported that two of
the world’s largest advanced pressure control systems are operating in
Cape Town.
The drought also led to creative thinking by corporate South Africa.
Old Mutual’s large Pinelands campus (accommodating approximately
9 000 staff members) is producing its own water by purifying wastewater.
The City of Cape Town is thus relieved of the need to supply 15 000kl of
water every month as a result of the plant.
SECTOR INSIGHT
An inventor is using
macadamia nut shells
to filter water.
Technology and
innovation
Although Cape Town had an urgent
need for desalination plants
when drought came to the region,
the province of KwaZulu-Natal is
taking a lead in this technology.
Richards Bay has installed a
10-container desalination plant
next to the municipal water treatment
plant at Alkanstrand. The
first mobile sea water purification
unit in South Africa, it comprises
10 containers and is located adjacent
to the water treatment plant
at Alkantstrand. It can deliver
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