A workshop held in Stellenbosch aimed to help industry role-players use water efficiently.
The workshop was hosted by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Ministry of Environment and Food (MEF) of Denmark.
Another aim of the workshop was to equip local small to medium-sized businesses with the newly developed easy-to-use tools that will help the industry to save water by improving their metering and monitoring.
According to visitor Søren Hvilshøj, who was part of the team that developed the tool, there are a number of South African businesses that do not do metering and monitoring of their water efficiently. For example, businesses will measure only what comes in and what goes out when, in fact, there are many other uses that can occur in the production of their products.
“The aim of this workshop is to engage the industry stakeholders on the latest developments in the field of water conservation and water demand management,” Hvilshøj explained.
“These developments and tools will help them with practical tools for cost-effective water-use in production lines.”
The tool will help to monitor everything in the production of their products including water used to clean the floor or machinery.
To get the best out of this simple Microsoft Excel tool, the industry will have to meter every day and over a week or month. The tool will be able to indicate where you use most of your water and what the benchmark is.
Industry businesses in attendance included dairy, energy, distillers and poultry abattoirs.
This self-assessment tool which was developed by the Danish and South African governments will help the industry to reduce their water usage, using international best practises.
According to the acting provincial head of DWS, Mashudu Morovhi, water use efficiency is important for all industries.
“Water-use efficiency in any industry will improve the productivity of that particular industry and will help them comply with the regulations,” he said. “For example, by using water efficiently, a company can save on energy.”
Xolani Hadebe, director for Water-use Efficiency in the DWS, added in the near future it will be compulsory for the industry to report using this tool.
In the meantime, businesses are requested to participate in the current study to pilot the tool.
