Water purification and preservation company Watericon commissioned 11 storage containers around the island of Mauritius early this year.

Watericon has received a yearly tender to install and maintain storage containers to capture water during rainfall. The company is looking at installing 15 more containers in the next few years in areas that require water capturing outside of Mauritius.

This is the largest number of containers to be installed in one tender thus far, notes Watericon CEO Chris Ashmore.

The project’s aim was to capture lost rainfall and convert it into potable water fit for human consumption by ensuring an intricately planned strategy that met all proposed goals.

He explains that the challenge facing Mauritius is that, although the island receives adequate rainfall, the water is transferred by the rivers into the ocean, therefore creating vast amounts of water loss, resulting in water shortage for the island.

“The water treatment plant was put in place to capture rainfall, filter and store water in a local reservoir, then distribute it to surrounding residents in the Moka area, in Mauritius."

Ashmore states that if the filtering and disinfecting process is not done correctly, the water can cause disease and infection for those who drink the water.

Since the river water is unsuitable for human consumption, Watericon’s solution was to remove the turbidity and suspended matter in the water, and then use a conventional filtration method, such as multimedia filtration, to disinfect the water.

“Our performance target was to reduce the turbidity to below five Nephelometric Turbidity unit (NTU) and the suspended matter to below 5 mg/ℓ. We met this target and then created a fully automated system with telemetry, enabling operators remote control of the system,” adds Ashmore.

This was achieved by implementing a modular, rapid-response, containerised and decentralised plant.

“Watericon recognised the challenges facing the island and provided a solution within 20 weeks,” he concludes.