A school in Cape Town has reduced its water use by more than 90% and will continue working with JG Afrika to further mitigate its reliance on the municipal water-supply system.
We have earned a strong reputation for our expertise in water-resource catchment management, including attenuation facilities, bulk stormwater conduits, desalination process design, flood hydrology, floodline determination, hydrology, stormwater-management plans, sustainable-drainage systems, system and yield analysis, water recycling and water-conservation demand management.
Interventions at the school were selected based on the findings of the baseline assessment, used to model water flows to understand end-use quantities for various applications and determine the site water balance.
All toilet flushing devices were replaced with water-saving mechanisms, and similar interventions were taken at other existing plumbing fixtures.
As part of this full turnkey service, JG Afrika works closely with select installers and plumbers, which were placed on standby during the baseline studies to ensure swift turnaround times.
Moreover, all of the water-saving technologies deployed in the programme have been tried and tested by the team of water experts at the JG Afrika office.
We first ensure that we have identified all of the available so-called ‘low-hanging fruits’ available to us. Importantly, many of these technologies can be installed without having to make any major refurbishments to an existing building.
A rainwater-harvesting system with treatment at the school will be installed as part of the second phase. It will help reduce the school’s reliance on municipal water supplies by up to 95%.
It may also install a borehole on site to replenish stores of harvested water in the tanks.
The combined three phases will result in cost-savings of R150 000 per year under drought water restrictions and R450 000 per year under pre-drought conditions, while the school will be able to recuperate its investment in three years.