Q.In the local water industry we have produced many unique solutions to meet rural and urban water delivery challenges. As a company, what are some of the challenges you have faced and the solutions you have found in response to these challenges?

A.Competition for our water resources is becoming more and more intense as the demands from growing populations, industry and agriculture increase. Traditional approaches to water management and water treatment are not keeping pace with this challenge. Large, centralised infrastructure projects are expensive, inflexible and take too long to deliver. At Nuwater we are focused on providing decentralised water treatment solutions that can be rapidly deployed and, if necessary, redeployed to address immediate and often rapidly changing needs. Our water treatment plants and services are designed to extract maximum value from the water resources available in a specific location through the reclamation and reuse of otherwise unusable water.This approach has the added benefit of reducing the quantity of contaminated water that would otherwise have an adverse effect on the broader environment.A good example of the applicability of our solutions and services is our water treatment plant at Anglo American’s New Vaal Colliery near Vereeniging. Here Nuwater is paid to treat the mine’s wastewater to ensure there is no risk of contamination of the Vaal river, and this cleaned water is then supplied to a neighbouring Eskom power station. In addition to meeting the client’s operational and environmental objectives, this also reduces the overall water demand and frees up water resources for use by communities and other industries.Our technology is also in use at Sedgefield’s seawater desalination plant, which is used to supplement freshwater supplies during peak holiday periods. Our smaller, completely mobile units are in use in Namibia to recharge freshwater supplies for rural communities and to provide freshwater in emergency situations.Nuwaterhas a growing pipeline of similar projects both in South Africa and internationally, related to mining, oil and gas and drinking water provision.

Q.What is your take on the shortage of water resources in our country and what, in your opinion, are some of the effective distribution solutions needed thereof?

A.Water shortage in South Africa is here to stay and, if anything,is going to become more acute. Given the unpredictability of our climate and of climate change, water solutions and infrastructure that may be considered suitable today may become redundant in a very short period of time. A multipronged approach is therefore required including long-, medium- and short-term solutions as well as bothnational and local strategies.At Nuwater we are focused on providing highly flexible water treatment solutions aimed at shorter term planning horizons and more localised requirements. We believe localised, or what we refer to as decentralised, water reclamation and reuse projects will play an increasingly important role in ensuring water security in South Africa. Innovative financing approaches such as those offered by Nuwaterare also as important as world-class technology when it comes tosupporting the delivery of such projects.

Q.In terms of water resources management, water treatment, water laboratories, water storage and water distribution, how do your products and/or services benefit the water management sector, in terms of some or all the above topics?

A.Nuwater has a very interesting and relevant history when it comes to addressing the water challenges in South Africa. Our predecessor company, GrahamTek, was a pioneer in reverse osmosis technology in South Africa and internationally. Much of our patented and other proprietary technology wasdeveloped in South Africa before being further refined and proven in large-scale projects in Singapore.Although Singapore’s climate is very different from South Africa’s it also faces huge challenges with water security and still relies on significant imports of water from its neighbor Malaysia. In its battle for water security, Singapore has arguably become the international hub for water technology innovation and water reclamation and reuse. Reclaimed or recycled water is seen as one of Singapore’s ‘four national taps’ alongside local water catchment, seawater desalination and water imports from Malaysia. In addition Singapore has developed a national water education strategy through its water agency, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), to ensure water management is acollective responsibility of all its citizens.It is therefore telling that Nuwater’s reverse osmosis technology is in use at Singapore PUB’s premier water reclamation plant, the Bedok ‘NEWater Factory’. This plant reclaims 55 million litres a day of high quality water from secondary sewerage water for reuse by industry and by people. In fact the water is of such a high quality that much of it is used in the manufacture of sensitive electronic wafers. The Bedok plant also houses the PUB’s national visitors’ centre at which each and every school-going child is educated on the importance of water preservation and reuse. We believe that being a South African company with an in-depth understanding of the local market, combined with our proven world leading technology and experience, positions Nuwater to play a valuable role in addressing South Africa’s water security challenges.Nuwater’s modular water treatment plants can be rapidly deployed and redeployed as requirements change and are ideally suited to localised water reclamation and reuse applications. Whether it’s mine wastewater or seawater desalination, we have the technology and experience to offer competitive and innovative solutions.

At Nuwaterwe provide a range of modular, and where relevant, mobile water treatment plants for the desalination and regeneration of almost any water source including seawater, ground and surface water, and industrial wastewater. We provide a complete suite of products and services including innovative commercial options that allow clients to pay for the water we clean rather than investing in the equipment itself. Nuwaterspecialises in the use of the latest membrane technology such as our proprietary large-diameter (16 inches) reverse osmosis technology as well as the ultra and micro-filtration and membrane bioreactor technologies.