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Wastewater; the untapped resource

Wastewater; the untapped resource

Date: 2017-03-31

Delegates to the 2017 World Water Day Summit, held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban from 22 to 24 March, were inspired by Sembcorp Siza Water's exemplary achievements in the global drive towards re-using water to address rising global water shortages.

The summit, hosted by the United Nations and the Department of Water & Sanitation under the theme "Wastewater: The Untapped Resource", received more than 1000 local and international delegates including high ranking officials from the UN, UNESCO, AMCOW and the World Bank, South African president, Jacob Zuma and Water and Sanitation minister, Nomvula Mokonyane.

The 2017 UN World Water Development Report, launched at the summit, was aimed at highlighting the plight of those who lack water and sanitation worldwide and encourage countries to re-use water.

Water scarcity kills jobs, prosperity and economic growth, multiplies the risk of conflict, drives migration and is to blame for millions of deaths annually linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water.

As the planet's population continues to rapidly expand and climate change tightens its grip on the world's already strapped water resources, the need for unconventional water harvesting techniques becomes key to combating water shortages.

According to the report, more than 80 per cent of waste water is released back into the environment without proper treatment, polluting rivers and depriving communities of access to treated water.

At the peak of the worst drought South Africa has seen in 100 years, Sembcorp Siza Water embarked on an initiative that Water and Sanitation Director General, Mr Ashley Starkey said saved the Hazelmere Dam, the region's only dam, from failing.

The water recycling plant at Sembcorp Siza Water's Frasers plant in Ballito, uses the same technology as the award winning Singapore Changi NEWater plant to augment the Ballito area's drinking water supply by three million litres per day and today supplies a quarter of the area's 12 million litres per day demand for SANS water quality requirement approved water. This was one of the projects selected by the conference for a site visit for delegates, to showcase that Waste Water was indeed an important and untapped resource.

The success of the water recycling project was largely due to huge public buy-in with 97 per cent of Sembcorp Siza Water's customers who participated in the voting process responding positively.

Shyam Misra, Sembcorp Siza Water's Managing Director, added that it was important to be innovative during the drought so that the water supply was not a hindering factor to the growth in the area and that investors and tourists would have confidence in local service providers to make Kwadukuza and especially the Ballito area their destination of choice.