Capturing and reusing water and stormwater on industrial sites will go a long way towards reducing pollution and water use, says environmental solutions company Procon Environmental Technologies environmental 
engineer Jacques Steyn.

Captured water and stormwater can be a low-cost source of water, and closed-loop water capture and reuse systems can save between 75% and 80% of water used in processes, whereas stormwater can be stored and can possibly be a significant source of water for small and medium-sized businesses, he explains.

The company recently undertook a project for recycling company Reclam’s site, in Benoni, where Procon was approached to treat the water that Reclam used in its operations and any stormwater that runs off site to ensure that all hydrocarbons are filtered out. The company had to design a sytem to collect the runoff and then treat it. This means that Procon had to redesign and rebuild the stormwater system so that the lowest point had a silt trap and a retention facility. 
From the retention facility, the water overflows into a canal that has filtration media inside it that filter out any hydrocarbons in the water.

“This is an opportunity where businesses can easily install 
100 000-ℓ or 200 000-ℓ tanks, 
depending on their water consumption and, in smaller industries, this can be a significant reserve of water. In this way, companies can eliminate the 
intake of fresh or potable water. Reusing captured and filtered water will make a big change in water consumption,” says Steyn.

Reclam is in the process of having an oily-water separation solution installed for the water capture and filtration system to create a sustainable solution for possible water runoff pollution, says Steyn.

Mines are significant users of water and Procon has, accordingly, focused on creating water reuse systems for this industry. He says that some wash bays can use up to seven-million litres of water a month for its processes. A closed-loop water recycle and reuse system removes silt and 
hydrocarbons from the water and supplies the washing equipment directly with treated water. This enables mines to reuse 75% of the water consumed by a wash bay, reducing the water consumption and ensuring that pollutants are recovered and remain at the source.

The Department of Mineral Resources’ water guidelines for mines state that mines must 
reduce water consumption and must reuse water wherever possible. This means that, if mines can keep their water in a closed-loop system at the point of pollution, they can ensure there is no downstream pollution and can use the water at the point where it is needed. Reducing the intake of fresh water and not being forced to use settling dams that have to be treated at a significant costs at a later stage result in mines removing a costly component of their water use systems.

“Procon grew during the 
recession, indicating that there is a need for these systems in the market. Companies also capture and recycle the hydrocarbons filtered from the water, which helps businesses to be more cost effective. Water reuse and filtration systems are important and necessary because most industries use water, and these systems can be installed on a microscale as part of companies’ environment-friendly policies, which, cumulatively, will have a big impact on water demand,” explains Steyn.

Social and Corporate Responsibility

Hydrocarbons are the most common pollutant in stormwater and also in industrial runoffs, because industries often use 
hydrocarbons as fuels and 
lubricants. Creating a catchment area for capturing runoffs and stormwater means that busi-
nesses and industries will have low-cost reusable water at the site, where it is needed, and can 
ensure that they do not pollute the watercourses or stormwater 
systems in the area, which will improve the water quality for users downstream from the business, he explains.

Procon focuses mainly on providing water filtration systems for the mining and oil and gas industries, but Steyn says that most pollutants come from 
industries and, if many businesses and industries can ensure that their water or stormwater runoff is pollutant free, then this will have a significant impact on the water quality of South Africa’s watercourses.

He says that Procon’s oily- water capture and filtration systems cost between R50 000 and R200 000 to install. He compares these figures with the R100 000 monthly fine that municipalities can impose on industries found to pollute stormwater runoffs and watercourses in their area. Further, he says that, if found to be liable, a company must then pay for downstream pollution cleanup and remediation of its own and other companies’ pollutants, which can cost significantly more than having a water filtration system in place.

He believes that there needs to be a greater awareness of, and planning around, water use in 
industries and businesses in South Africa. Businesses use reticulated water too readily without considering recapture or the filtration of runoff. He gives the example of oil giant British Petroleum which has 
vehicle wash water reclamation systems, in all its European and Australian car filling stations, which use Ultraspin water and oil separation systems to filter 
out hydrocarbons and reuse the water.

“Globally, many countries have embarked on sustainable 
water use programmes and strategies by levying a high cost on industries that use water unsustainably. The enforcement of sustainable water consumption is controlled by the price of water and this forces the private sector to adapt their processes to 
better use of water. In South Africa, we need to look at similar strategies as the private sector is not focusing on reusing and recycling its water because the cost of water is minimal,” says Steyn.

Government and the public must be more aware of water and its importance and, if the country does not take measures to prevent water wastage, this could create a crisis similar to the electricity shortage in South Africa, he says.

“If car wash businesses alone embrace this water recycling technology and reuse water, there would be a significant improvement in our water demand and the cost of treating the effluent generated by this runoff will 
decrease as the consumption is reduced,” he explains.

“Large-scale governmental 
infrastructure projects are essen-
tial to deal with future water needs in South Africa, but, on a small scale, it is more important to get people’s approach to water use right so that they install 
small-scale solutions that, 
together, have a significant 
impact on water use in the country,” says Steyn.

He adds that South Africa has advanced water regulation laws, but believes that cases of water pollution are often only investigated following complaints, by which time watercourses could 
already have been polluted, 
necessitating costly cleanup measures.

“If officials in South Africa can ensure that legislation is 
enforced, this will have a ripple effect throughout industry as businesses start to install pollution containment systems to comply with legislation. This will help to deal with many of the current pollution problems in South Africa,” he says.

Technology enables countries to quickly and effectively 
deal with problems, he says. Technology is not only about more complex machines, but also about understanding the principles more thoroughly and then designing simple and effective machines.

Steyn concludes: “Reusing, recycling and treating at source prior to discharge must become a priority for all businesses and society.”