The installation of Sea Harvest’s desalination plant has been completed with capacity to supply the company’s operations with all the water needed at its at its Saldanha Bay plant in South Africa.
Since the country’s Western Cape was declared a drought-stricken region in 2016, Sea Harvest has reduced its fresh water consumption by 35%. The multi-million Rand investment, which features desalination and reverse osmosis (RO) capabilities, will enable it to operate sustainably.
Sea Harvest operations director, Terence Brown said: “The most important deliverable of the plant is 1.15 ML of potable water per day. This will ensure that there is no disruption within our business should we reach ‘day zero’. In this way we can remain sustainable and profitable but most importantly protect jobs.
“Sea Harvest is the single largest employer within the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM). Anything that negatively affects our ability to operate will have dire consequences on the communities in and around which we operate. As a responsible corporate citizen, we have to do our best to prevent this from happening.”
Drinking quality
Mr Brown said that the quality of the water produced by the plant will meet the drinking water specification of the South African National Standard (SANS 241), which states the minimum requirements for potable water to be considered safe for human consumption.
He added: “The plant is designed in such a way that the quality of the water will be monitored continuously. In addition, the SBM will provide further quality assurance by testing the water to ensure compliance with the required standard.”
