Schneider Electric plans to put water at centre stage this month, as it participates in the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) biennial conference and exhibition, taking place in Cape Town from 24-27 June 2018.
“Scientists of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission's Science and Knowledge service, have just released technical report, analysing Southern African weather patterns and precipitation over the past 36 years,” says Marc Ramsey, Vice President for the Industry Business Unit at Schneider Electric South Africa.
“The report found that there exists a strong probability of 50-70% monthly precipitation deficit every 5 years (more moisture lost through evaporation and transpiration than is gained through rainfall). In addition, they found an increasing number of moderates to extreme heat waves in Southern Africa over the last decade. These two factors combined – the repeated occurrence of high precipitation deficit and more frequent heat waves – exacerbate water shortages and could lead to crises that are more frequent in the future.
“Critical for Cape Town, this information has significance for all of South Africa and will be uppermost in the minds of all participants at the WISA conference, with its timely theme of ‘Breaking barriers, Connecting ideas’. At this conference, Schneider Electric intends to expose its major involvement in the water and wastewater sector and the technological advancements it can offer to mitigate the growing crises around the world.
“Scarcity of water resources, growth in urban population, environmental regulations and process inefficiencies are all contributing to the crises. Only 0.3% of our global water resources can be used as clean drinking water and the energy to provide it accounts for 30-50% of total operating costs. It is estimated that the amount of energy wasted through traditional methods of water processing and delivery can be cut by up to 25%.
“Key to the reduction in water losses is that a comprehensive, integrated strategy be implemented by utility owners to leverage savings, implement infrastructure improvements, address non-revenue water and drive maximum benefits from an existing capital investment that may or may not be performing to its highest potential.
“We recommend a few performance contracting improvements that can save millions in energy costs and untold kilolitres of precious water:
- Pump efficiency
- Cogeneration
- Dynamic pump station optimisation
- Technology process improvements
- Advanced metering infrastructure
“The future of precious water resources may depend on how well municipalities can find ways to fund these important energy- and water-saving upgrades,” concludes Ramsey.
Schneider Electric helps the water and wastewater segment treat and deliver safer water 24/7, while lower operating costs and using less energy.