A Desalination System Is a Real Solution to Rising Water Tariffs in the Western Cape, and South Africa at Large.
How to reduce water consumption in business parks, and office blocks is a common concern for body corporates (BCs), property owners associations (POAs), trustees, and owners alike.
With municipally supplied water costs rising at rates well above the consumer price index, the need for addressing alternative water solutions is pivotal for commercial spaces’ financial health. A desalination system may be the solution to your troubles.
The graph illustrates the difference between CPI inflation rates and the rate at which water tariffs have increased in South Africa as a whole.
Source: The price of water and electricity in South Africa: A tale of two tragedies.
Improving Office Park Water Efficiency
Office park owners and managing agents can expect water costs to continue to rise and affect bottom lines in more and more meaningful ways. Compounding this is the fact that climate-dependent methods of supplying water are not always guaranteed. Cape Town’s Day-Zero water crisis hangs in recent memory… Establishing future-proof operational models for office buildings is how Water Utility Solutions brings these two concerns together and makes green building methods the financially viable choice.
Reduce Costs & Meet Green Goals
One of the proven methods WUS engineers implement to reduce water utility expenses is combining a borehole with a desalination system using reverse osmosis. While this may seem simple, it’s an ingenious solution to the constantly increasing water tariffs in Cape Town. The reverse osmosis system is able to completely desalinate coastal groundwater, remove bacteria, with a final chlorination step render the water safe for drinking (i.e. ‘potable’).
The borehole water, once purified through the WUS installed system is safe for sanitation, and even drinking.
The Boulevard Office Park
In 2013, WUS engineers installed such a system at the Boulevard Office Park in Woodstock. The particular desalination system installed at this upmarket office space is able to produce in excess of 600 000 litres of metered water per month. Due to the fact that this system is metered, the body corporate is also able to bill tenants appropriately for the provision of this high quality water. As such, the water solution at this site has become an important revenue generator for the body corporate.
What is the Biggest Problem with Desalination Systems?
Historically, desalination systems have been high energy consumers because older methods used distillation. Distillation involves heating water past boiling point such that it evaporates, separating the salt. The evaporated steam is then recollected, leaving salt and impurities behind. However, more modern advancements such as the one installed at the Boulevard Office Park by WUS engineers has a substantially lower energy requirement.
The Boulevard’s desalination system uses reverse osmosis to provide safe drinking water with a low energy profile.
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