Tencate to provide geotextiles for drinking water project

The water treatment part of this integrated system will be produced by Pentair, the water buffering and pipe systems will be manufactured by Wavin and the high-grade synthetic turf and geotextiles by TenCate.

The integration of the system will be carried out in South Africa by the firm Landscape Solutions with its local partner, Royal Turf South Africa. This innovative drinking water system will be installed in the South African province of North West with selected, local contractors. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, as a knowledge institute in both water and textile technology, will provide an important substantive contribution.

Training and supervision of the proper use of the drinking water systems will be provided by Mmapula Community Development, with which company Saxion has been working for several years. The Advanced Materials Manufacturing Oost-Nederland (AMMON) foundation will monitor this innovation.

Many periods of severe drought have persuaded the provincial government in the north-west of South Africa and the South African Water Research Commission to acquire the best possible water management for both agriculture and drinking water through innovations. At present the acute lack of adequate, safe water, including groundwater, is regarded as a factor that allows poverty to persist and impedes economic progress.

The provincial South African government also aims to increase the well-being of the local population by building more sports facilities near to schools. GreenSource enables both goals to be achieved in one go: on the one hand, sustainable water buffering, water filtration and water distribution, and on the other, high quality multi-sports activities on synthetic turf that is available for use all year round.

Moreover, instruction in sanitation will help the population learn how to use water more effectively. The project relates to the entire North West Province, an area of approximately 105,000 square kilometres, where twenty multifunctional GreenSource systems will be installed locally. This has been made possible by the Sustainable Water Fund of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, which promotes public-private cooperation in the water sector. The aim is to improve the safety and security of water supplies in developing countries.

Water problem in South Africa

The North West Province of South Africa has an arid to semi-arid climate with irregular rainfall. The quality of most surface water ranges from moderate to extremely poor. Only 27% of households in the province have access to safe drinking water, and various local communities are even faced with a total lack of sustainable drinking water.

Groundwater is becoming increasingly polluted, for example through intensive mining, industrial activities and unclean irrigation of agriculture. Another major challenge in water management is the ability to grow sufficient healthy food to feed a growing and more affluent population and at the same time to satisfy the many other demands made on limited water resources. Efficient and productive water consumption is thus essential.