Making waves
I
n order to prepare and inspire
other companies during the grip of
the relentless drought, Xylem has
installed two innovative systems for
rainwater and wastewater use at
its office.
2017 was one of the driest years in
recent decades in South Africa’s
Western Cape region. In addition to low
rainfall in 2017, the region had two dry
winters in a row. Such severe multiyear
droughts are very rare — occurring
perhaps once in a millennium — and
water supply systems are not designed
to withstand their impact.
All hopes for a natural solution
vanished with the end of the rainy
season in September. It is clear now
that water storage in the dams will not
be enough to supply the city, and it will
be depleted before the May–June rains
next year. Given the situation, Xylem
decided to prepare its office to use
alternative sources of water.
By Alfred Fincham
innovations
Cape Town’s water shortage escalated to the level of a disaster, with
the city planning to shut off taps to homes and businesses by mid-July.
Solutions had to be found.
Drinking treated rainwater is safe with the system.
To take pressure off Cape Town’s
potable water system, the Potsdam
Wastewater Treatment Works has
been making treated wastewater
available to local businesses. Xylem’s
office has installed an effluent point
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2018
9
Reusing treated
wastewater