Engen owner builds own desalination plant in response to water crisis

In response to the water crisis in Cape Town, Engen False Bay 1Stop owner Kobus Pretorius has built his own desalination plant to ensure customers have access to purified water.

The rationale behind the project, Pretorius explained, is owing to the current water shortage in the Western Cape and the urgency in saving water to prevent Day Zero from coming to fruition.

As a responsible business owner, he says he “had to do something”.

This led to a borehole being sunk and, while there was water in abundance, Pretorius says it needed to be purified of various metals and solids in order to be pure and drinkable.

“I decided to deal with the professionals,” Pretorius recalls, adding that after discussions with Water Purification Solutions, the company suggested the installation of a treatment plant to get the water to a quality that exceeds that of municipal water.

Within six months, Water Purification Solutions designed, manufactured and installed a primary water treatment plant that is capable of providing the daily needs of the business.

Pretorius believes the effort is well worth it as by controlling his own water resource, he ensures that every customer enjoys a fine water quality.

As a result, a number of head office and regional managers, as well as fellow service station owners, visited the Engen False Bay 1Stop on May 23, for what Pretorius calls his ‘Water-baby Shower’, and their introduction to a model for ensuring continuity of water supply in drought-stricken areas.

False Bay 1Stop is an Engen flagship highway site with between 800 and 1 000 vehicles stopping there on a daily basis.