In an effort to ease the pressure on public water sources Sun International’s GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Cape Town has announced the completion of a water purification plant on the property.

The plant, which will treat borehole water to potable standards, includes four groundwater wells and a treatment plant with iron removal, sand filtration, reverse osmosis and stripping capability to comfortably deliver up to 10 000 kilolitres per month.

Mervyn Naidoo, GrandWest General Manager says it was important for the casino to change its water supply mix to ensure continuity and reduce reliance on public resources. “The severity of the situation has taught us the importance of having access to alternative resources. By not drawing water from public reserves there is substantially more for the residents of Cape Town,” he explains.

“We are mindful, though, that underground water is not an unlimited resource and its management is critical. We intend to apply the same Level 6B restrictions to our borehole water as we did to municipally-supplied potable water,” he adds.

Unpacking the plant

The plant consists of four boreholes and water drawn from these is passed through a set of pre-filters that removes most of the metals and suspended solids. The filters are aerated to assist with oxidisation of the water and from there, it is stored in a holding or buffer tank.

The water is then taken through a set of reverse osmosis RO filters from where it is finally pumped into a 400 000 litre holding tank. As required, the water is later pumped to the main water reservoir by means of a UV generator unit which stops bacteria and further purifies the water.”

Johan Gelderblom, GrandWest’s Engineering Manager says borehole solution was built in phases.

“First we established the boreholes and tested the quality of the water. The appropriate purification process was then designed and, once City approval was obtained, the actual purification plant was built. The geohydrological measurements for the boreholes commenced in May 2017 and the plant produced its first purified water on 15 May 2018.”

Regular tests are conducted to ensure that the water quality complies with drinking water standards as laid down by the City.”