Following the first highly successful interactive round table discussion on South Africa’s imminent water crisis, Cape Business News in partnership with the SA Water Chamber ran the second episode of our hard hitting discussions which addresses the critical demand for water in South Africa.
Unless drastic interventions are implemented NOW, we face a serious threat to water security, as predictions indicate a 17% shortfall between water supply and demand by 2030 – less than nine short years away.
Without water security we cannot grow the South African economy.
Our latest discussion topic is that of water re-use; a sustainable technology which is used throughout the world to help meet the demand of growing economies. In fact in neighbouring water scarce Namibia, the Windhoek wastewater treatment plant recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of producing safe, potable water from wastewater inflows.
But not so much in South Africa where a stigma appears to exist despite tried and tested technologies which make this mature process a perfectly safe and virtually inexhaustible supply of potable water.
Following the Western Cape’s water crisis, water re-use is now part of the Cape Town’s sustainable water strategy, but let’s not wait for another drought to implement measures to protect our water security. So instead of wasting this precious resource, what can be done to make water re-use part of every existing and new treatment plant, thereby capturing this critical commodity?
These are subjects that will be addressed by our panel of concerned experts who will discuss solutions to this vexing issue.
Critical influencers include Architects, Engineers. Property Developers, the Agriculture Sector, Government and Municipalities – all have their parts to play in making re-use a reality by recognising the imperative and promoting the technology.
Please watch the second in this three part series where we face up to the realities, discuss the solutions and how best they can be implemented.
Our panellists include:
- Moderator: Dr Nonhlanhla Kalebaila, Vice-Chairperson, WISA Water Reuse Division
- Megan Schalkwyk, Process Engineer, Umgeni Water; Chair WISA Water Reuse Division KZN Chapter & Vice Chair WISA KZN Branch
- Chris Swartz, Independent Water Utilization Engineer & WISA Water Reuse Technical Committee Member, former Division Lead & currently Chairperson, WISA Water Reuse Western Cape.
- Achim Wurster , Independent Process Engineer & former WISA Board Chair and WISA Membrane Technology Division Lead.
