For mining and industrial operations, water is no longer just an operational input or compliance issue – it is fast becoming a strategic asset that must be managed holistically across the entire water cycle.

WASA talks to Chetan Mistry – Xylem‘s strategy and marketing leader for water solutions – on the future of water.

Can you give us an overview of what Xylem supplies to the mining and industrial water sector?

Xylem provides water solutions across the full water cycle – from abstraction and treatment to distribution, monitoring, discharge and reuse. Rather than solving isolated problems, our large basket of tools delivers integrated, end-to-end water solutions that address the full lifecycle of water within an operation.

Our water solutions and services division in particular focuses on three critical areas:

1) Dewatering: Xylem’s dewatering offering is primarily focused on Africa, where water needs to be removed from mines, as well as in construction and municipal applications.

An example would be creating a bypass for a municipality that moves water out as quickly as possible to allow for repair or maintenance. That said, 85% of this business is through mining.

2) Services: It includes (but is not limited to) repairs, services, and warranties as well as preventative maintenance agreements, energy audits and ensuring the correct asset management system is in place. Xylem and our partners also provide rental options for temporary and ad-hoc use cases, which include skilled operators and help companies avoid ownership and maintenance costs.

3) Industrial treatment: This part of the business focuses on treating industrial water, particularly wastewater, for reuse or responsible discharge. Xylem approaches each challenge holistically, recognising that a wastewater issue affects the entire water value chain. Our solutions are focused on finding the right technology for an organisation.

While Xylem has technologies that meet the majority of requirements, we sometimes look at additional technologies outside of Xylem to create a solution that meets the required key performance indicators (KPIs) from a water discharge point of view. We have the capabilities to build, own and operate these solutions, allowing industrial clients to offload non-core water management activities, freeing them to focus on their primary business while maintaining compliance and operational reliability.

Xylem’s industrial treatment offering has been strengthened through strategic acquisitions such as the Evoqua Water Technologies Corp – that is focused on advanced treatment technologies such as filtration, membranes, disinfection, biological treatment and water-as-a-service models.

What are the biggest challenges facing mining and industrial water management?

In terms of mining and dewatering, one of the biggest challenges we face is the seasonality of water. Rainfall is beyond our control and can significantly disrupt mining operations and the dewatering systems that support them. Increasing mine depths present another challenge, as deeper operations introduce more complex technical and operational demands for effective water management. These increasing depths sometimes result in equipment that can be forgotten or damaged.

Energy and water are tightly interlinked, making energy one of the most significant challenges in water management. Abstracting, pumping, treating and reusing water are all energy-intensive processes, and as mines and industrial operations grow deeper, more complex and more remote, energy demand increases sharply. In many African contexts, unreliable power supply, rising electricity costs and the need for backup generation place additional pressure on water systems.

Another challenge is the treatment of contaminants in both mine and industrial water. There is a wide range of these contaminants and an increased focus on new regulations on water discharge and responsible water management. A food beverage manufacturing plant will have its own contaminants and compliance requirements, while a mine has a completely different set of contaminants and compliance requirements. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. However, the benefits of wastewater treatment are applicable to most industries. Water reuse is a major advantage as access to water becomes a greater operational risk and water scarcity leads to rising costs. Water quality is another area where sites gain more control through wastewater treatment.

Ageing infrastructure and legacy equipment also remain key issues, requiring both modernisation and the adoption of smart technologies such as real-time monitoring and necessitating new skills development.

What technologies are proving most transformative?

Digital monitoring and management have become a major focus for mines, particularly because they can deliver quick gains through greater operational visibility. Some even call this the Internet of Mining Water, a combination of Internet of Things systems and the many variations of mining water. Applications range from monitoring water flow, levels, and quality, to predicting acid mine drainage and tracking the stability of tailings dams, to automated dewatering systems that drain areas and reduce exposure of personnel and equipment.

Handling solids and debris is also improving with technology. The abrasive nature of mining environments, coupled with the high solids content in water, makes reliability and long-term durability critical requirements for these pumping systems. We are also engaged in perpetual research and development, coming up with new solutions such as abrasion-resistant impellers within our pumps. Xylem designs and manufactures equipment that can be accessed, maintained and returned to operation quickly.

Another key consideration is modularity, ensuring systems can be easily expanded as operational needs evolve. This includes the ability to increase storage capacity, add additional pumps or introduce extra pumping stages as mines and plants develop and expand. A modular approach also allows equipment to be reconfigured or relocated, making it easier to move pumps between sites and adapt systems quickly to changing conditions.

On the treatment side, Xylem is seeing the emergence of new membrane systems, along with more refined and efficient treatment design approaches. Advanced oxidation and disinfection technologies are also gaining traction, with ozone and ultraviolet (UV) being used more frequently. In addition, processes such as dissolved air flotation are increasingly applied as enhanced pre-treatment steps, helping to reduce downstream treatment loads and improve overall plant performance. However, what may work very well with one process or site isn’t guaranteed to work elsewhere. The effectiveness of these systems depends on outcome-based systems design that suits a site’s conditions and requirements.

At the same time, there is a clear move towards package and mobile treatment plants. This shift is driven by their rapid deployment, more flexible capital expenditure requirements, and their suitability for short-term or demand-driven treatment needs at site level.

Remote monitoring and predictive analytics are helping operators improve uptime, reduce unnecessary site visits and optimise maintenance schedules. Sensors that track vibration, temperature, flow and water quality provide real-time visibility into system performance, allowing issues to be addressed before they escalate into failures.

Digital twins are also playing an increasing role in planning and modernisation, enabling operators to model future scenarios – such as increased flows or tighter discharge standards – before investing in physical infrastructure.

From your experience, what are the critical factors that determine whether a digital water solution delivers real operational impact — or fails to gain traction?

There is often a tendency to view digital solutions as a quick fix, by simply layering technology onto an existing problem. Xylem takes a different approach. Digital adoption must be deliberate and strategic, starting with a clear understanding of the objective — what problem are we trying to solve through a digital lens?For example, if the goal is to

reduce the need for technicians constantly travelling to site to manage pump systems, remote monitoring becomes a practical solution. It allows us to dispatch teams only when required and to do so more intelligently. We can identify multiple assets that need attention at the same time and consolidate maintenance activities, rather than responding reactively with repeated site visits. This is where digital delivers real operational value.

From Xylem’s perspective, organisations must approach digital as a strategy and engage original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) early in that process. At Xylem, we understand our equipment in depth and how digital tools can be applied to solve real-world operational challenges.

The second critical aspect is data. Digital systems generate large volumes of sensor data, but data on its own has little value without interpretation. Crucially, data only delivers value when it is translated into actionable insight. Having water-specific expertise to interpret operational data is therefore essential to ensuring digital solutions deliver meaningful outcomes. At Xylem, particularly on the digital side, we combine water expertise with data analytics to translate operational data into meaningful water and wastewater solutions.

Additionally, smart technologies enable real-time, on-site adjustments. This includes applications such as smart dosing, where chemical dosing adapts automatically to changes in water quality, as well as optimisation of aeration and energy use. There is significant potential in the digital space, and when applied strategically, it becomes a powerful enabler of more resilient, efficient and sustainable water systems.

How is environmental social governance (ESG) changing how water systems are designed?

The reality is that in South Africa, we do have stringent regulations, but we believe the starting point has to be an organisational mindset. It is not only about complying with regulations; as organisations, we need to take responsibility and aim to go beyond minimum requirements wherever possible. When we adopt that mindset, real opportunity emerges.

If we approach water purely as a compliance risk, the focus is often on treating and discharging water to meet regulatory limits. However, when we view water as a resource, the dynamic changes. Instead of simply discharging, we ask how that water can be repurposed or reused. In a mining context, for example, water can be reused for dust suppression or treated further to enable higher-value applications. This shift opens up opportunities rather than positioning ESG as a constraint on operations.

An ESG-led approach also encourages greater transparency. We are seeing growing awareness of greenwashing, alongside changing consumer behaviour, where stakeholders increasingly support organisations that demonstrate genuine responsibility and purpose. Using ESG principles to guide strategy, therefore, strengthens both operational decision-making and organisational credibility.

From a systems perspective, this mindset influences how we design and operate infrastructure. It encourages planning for the future, implementing the right reuse protocols, capturing every possible drop, and optimising systems to minimise wastage. These are practical outcomes of embedding ESG into decision-making, rather than treating it as a regulatory checkbox.

There are also broader ESG considerations, particularly as water and wastewater treatment plants are increasingly located near urban areas. Issues such as odour control, noise pollution and community impact become more prominent.

Where is the biggest growth coming from?

We are seeing increasing demand for more robust, higher-head pumping solutions as mines deepen and expand. From a dewatering perspective, the focus is not only on removing excess water, but on what we do with it afterwards. Rather than simply disposing of it, we see a growing opportunity to reuse and repurpose that water.

Climate change is also driving greater variability, with more frequent rainfall that many mines were not designed to handle. This is increasing demand for flexible solutions, such as supplementary or rental pumping capacity, to support existing fixed systems during peak events.

We also expect continued growth in digital solutions, driven by skills shortages and the need for more efficient operations. Remote monitoring, optimised system management and predictive maintenance are becoming essential parts of modern mine water management.

While mining executives generally understand the importance of water, it is still often viewed as a cost or compliance issue. At Xylem, we believe water should be seen as a value driver – one that, when managed strategically, supports operational resilience, efficiency and long-term sustainability.

As you reflect on your role, what is the one message you want CEOs in mining and industry to understand about water?

CEOs need to think about water holistically across the entire water cycle of their operations. Rather than managing dewatering, treatment or discharge in isolation, water should be viewed as an integrated system – and critically, as a strategic resource rather than a business risk.

With this mindset, meaningful opportunities emerge to reduce costs, improve efficiency, conserve resources and repurpose water in ways that create long-term value. When water is managed strategically across operations, it delivers measurable benefits not only to the business, but to employees, communities and regulators alike.

By integrating dewatering, treatment, reuse and digital management into a single water strategy, mining and industrial operators can develop systems that are compliant and reliable, while also being resilient to climate variability, regulatory change and increasing water scarcity.

When managed intelligently, water is no longer a constraint on operations. It becomes a shared resource that strengthens operational performance, sustainability outcomes and long-term business resilience.