Industrial industry must wisen up to water wastage
South Africa is currently suffering through terrible water scarcity.
While we stumble through trying to find sustainable solutions to assist us with this issue, we are faced with the reality that the lack of water resources in South Africa is part of a greater issue.
The truth is that our entire Earth is suffering from water concerns.
The 2017 United Nations World Water Development Report has streamlined its focus to addressing wastewater recovery and treatment. This is in an effort to demonstrate that the improved management of wastewater will deliver social, economic and environmental benefits that are essential for sustainable development. And because all industry depends, to some extent, on the water we are in need of improved sustainable practices of water usage and robust strategies that mitigate water wastage.
In fact, almost half of the entire world works in water-related sectors
That’s 1.5 billion people who require water for their companies to succeed. This means that water needs protection. And the people who need water to do their work must focus on ensuring it is used in a way that saves as much of this precious resource, as possible.
The United Nations are constantly working hard at assessing the current state of water resources globally. They have a mandate to reach six goals by 2030, that will assist the countries who require clean water the most. These goals are focused on efficient water usage, the protection of sensitive water-related ecosystems, expanding capacity-building support systems and having international powerhouses cooperate in creating sustainable water and sanitation-related activities and programmes. These programmes include water harvesting, wastewater treatment, water efficiency, desalination as well as recycling and reuse technologies.
Agriculture is not the only industry to blame
Agriculture has long been considered the industry that uses the most amount of water for its business activities. This is why water scarcity threatens our food security too. But right behind agriculture is heavy industries. For, the global demand for water within the manufacturing sector is set to increase by 400 percent by 2050. In fact, global demand for water is estimated to completely exceed the available water and water resources by 2030 if we don’t make a change. We’re running out of this precious resource and fast, we cannot just continue with business as usual.
There are water technologies available that can assist to mitigate water wastage
There are a variety of ways that businesses and individuals alike can save water and make sure it’s a protected resource. In South Africa, the government is clamping down on households who are exceeding the predetermined amount of water allowed for each person in the home per day. The outcome of these stringent guidelines has been positive. But it won’t help if major industries aren’t doing the necessary to save water too.
The reuse of wastewater is a must with both industry and households alike. Individuals can set up greywater systems in their homes. Whereas industrial plants and major corporations can make use of cleaned wastewater for cooling systems, boiler feed and process water requirements. In the agricultural and horticulture sectors can use it for watering lawns and maintaining golf courses and the like. It’s also used often for fire safety and protection.
Desalination is another technology that is currently being put in place in Cape Town to assist with the lack of clean water. This is the process which removes all the salt and excess minerals from water so as to obtain fresh water that can be used for animal consumption or irrigation purposes. If the process removes all the salt the water can be considered fit for human consumption.
Most power plants and some other heavy industries make use of a closed loop cooling system which means that the water is reused throughout the system. It’s a technical system but it’s one way of ensuring excessive water use is minimised in processes.
Work with a professional
Big businesses that make use of water in their operation are not expected to understand all the technicalities of water conservation. But the modern world dictates that the business world must make an effort to ensure their activities are done in an environmentally responsible way. Water management falls in line with this sentiment.
Professional water management companies have the sophisticated expertise necessary to implement water-saving infrastructure. For instance, the heavy engineering industries working with PROXA Water (a leader in water management) are enjoying optimised water life-cycle costs within their operations. These companies are able to confidently boast environmental responsibility and a consciousness about their water usage.
Ultimately, big industries need to be more responsible with their water usage and make an effort to invest in systems that conserve water and the environment around their operations.