at their premises, where the water is
pumped into the building.
The system includes storage tanks,
a pump — Xylem’s Lowara BGM11/A
1.1kW — and pipework on site. From
the effluent point, a horizontal 5 000-
litre tank is filled and used both for
Xylem’s wash bay and to top up its test
bay. The effluent water is also used to
irrigate the gardens.
The system not only saves water,
it also reduces costs. Since the price
for municipal water is R24.54 per cubic
metre, and effluent water costs R7.00
per cubic metre, the Xylem office
spends 70% less for the same amount
of water.
Treating rainwater for
consumption
Two 5 000-litre vertical tanks for
rainwater harvesting were also
installed on site. With the possibility of
Cape Town’s taps being turned off, the
Xylem team decided to connect their
rainwater to a Xylem HydroInfinity unit.
This system treats the water with UV
and ozone technology so that Xylem
staff can use it for drinking water. If
sufficient rains come during the rainy
season, this will save Xylem staff time,
as they will not have to collect water
at various points around the city.
Xylem’s HydroInfinity is a chemical-
free water purification system
for businesses. It inactivates all
pathogenic organisms from the water
supply — including E. coli, salmonella,
legionella bacteria, and the
cryptosporidium oocyst — allowing
10
The recently installed effluent point at Xylem’s Cape Town offices.
Xylem to turn rainwater into high-
quality drinking water. With enough
rain, this will assist all the staff with
water collection when the taps run dry.
It will also serve as a working demo
unit for customers to view.
Since HydroInfinity was installed in
September 2017, water consumption at
Xylem’s Cape Town office dropped by
two cubic metres (from 18m 3 to 16m 3 )
in just one month. The aim is to reduce
consumption down to 10m 3 by mid-
2018.
“There is still a long way to go, but
every little drop counts,” says Peter
Wright, segment director: Residential
& Specialty AWS EMEA at Xylem. “If
Xylem can do it, so can every other
company in the Western Cape. It might
make a small difference individually,
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2018
but together we can all make a big
impact.” u
About the author: Alfred Fincham
is manager of Xylem South
Africa’s Cape Town branch.
Xylem’s HydroInfinity
inactivates all pathogenic
organisms from the water
supply — including E. coli,
salmonella, legionella bacteria,
and the cryptosporidium
oocyst — allowing
Xylem to turn rainwater into
high-quality drinking water.