With economic and social development, the pressure from population growth and urbanization has increased the demand for water resources in South Africa, and the local water resources are relatively tight, and the water treatment industry has become more and more important.
In order to better understand the local water treatment market, our South African colleagues conducted a field visit and research, Veolia Services Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, Zutari Solutionists, a large local water treatment integrated company, introduced us to the general situation of the South African water treatment market, which is shared below.
In South Africa, rainwater harvesting, water recycling, and desalination of seawater are the main ways to alleviate water stress. As a result, reverse osmosis technology is widely used in South Africa, especially in desalination and brackish water treatment.
In addition to this, other water treatment methods such as coagulation and flocculation, chemical and physical disinfection, adsorption, membranefiltration, ion exchange, ozonation and so on are used in South Africa.
According to local merchants, a small number of common chemicals, such as chlorine, alum and lime, can be produced in South Africa, while most chemicals, including activated carbon, ion exchange resins and membrane filters, need to be imported. Importing countries include China, Germany, the United States, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, etc., with China being one of its major importers.
In addition, South Africa** attaches great importance to water resources and has policies and measures in place. The South African National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998) sets out guidelines for the discharge of effluents and establishes a system of effluent discharge permits. The National Water Law requires all wastewater discharges to comply with relevant regulations, including limiting the amount of pollutants that can be discharged, treating sewage, and prohibiting the discharge of heavy metals and toxic substances.
The minimum requirements for drinking water quality in South Africa are set out in the South African National Drinking Water Standard (SANS 241), which sets out the maximum acceptable concentrations for a range of contaminants, including microbiological, chemical and physical parameters.
The importance of water treatment to water resources is self-evident, and as the demand for water in South Africa continues to grow, the local water treatment market will also be further developed.