Water-leak detection and control systems provider AquaTrip South Africa is investigating the possibility of locally manufacturing its valves and other water-leak detection systems next year, AquaTrip South Africa sales director Chris De Wet Steyn tells Engineering News.

The AquaTrip system is manufactured in Australia at present, but De Wet Steyn says, if the costs of localising its operations are feasible, which will take into account labour, material and manufacturing facility costs, as well as current and future prospective demands for the AquaTrip system, localisation could follow.

De Wet Steyn says the advantages of localis- ing even a part of its operations will not only decrease lead times for customers but will also create several job opportunities for local artisans.

However, he says discussions on partially localising the company’s operations are still in the early stages and no date has yet been fixed for a final decision on the matter.

The lithium battery-operated AquaTrip is a permanently installed water-leak detection system that acts as a trip switch in any type of water-supply system.

“The AquaTrip monitors the flow of water to a property and is able to shut off the water automatically in the event of a leak or if a tap is left on inadvertently,” states De Wet Steyn, adding that the system is designed to save water and money.

He says the company has registered a signifi- cant increase in the sales of its water-saving technology in the past 18 months, as people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of saving water.

Water and Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said in June last year that South Africa could “dry out” by 2050 if sufficient action to conserve water was not taken.

De Wet Steyn believes that if the local and national government implement water-saving technologies, such as AquaTrip, the amount of water wasted, owing to leakages and other wastages, will be significantly reduced.

In August, Engineering News reported that the nonrevenue water – all the water lost through physical leakage or other commercial losses – was estimated to be as high as 37%, with losses attributed to physical leakages estimated to comprise one-quarter of that figure.

“By encouraging fitment of the AquaTrip, authorities can reduce nonrevenue water and ensure that all the water supplied by government or municipalities is used; it also eliminates the need to provide rebates to private users and businesses for claims of unknown leaks,” he states.

Moreover, De Wet Steyn says revenue water can be used more efficiently by employing the AquaTrip technology, as water waste is reduced.

He says about 10% of all water is lost to leaks after being measured by a meter and that the installation of the company’s valves and other water-saving technology “could play an important role in decreasing the R7-billion in revenue lost owing to municipal water leaks throughout South Africa.

“To reinstate water flow within a matter of seconds, the valves have various options, such as manual, automatic and passive infrared movement sensors and push button, as well as remote-controlled and hardwired, integrated systems.”

The AquaTrip can protect pipes of between 15 mm and 80 mm in diameter and can be used to eliminate water damage to properties.

The system was introduced to South Africa in January 2011 and has made great inroads into saving water in the local market, says De Wet Steyn.

He adds that the company faced challenges during the early stages of the system’s introduction, as there were many sceptics who doubted the company’s claims about the AquaTrip system’s capabilities.

“However, the results that the AquaTrip system has produced speak volumes, as many individuals and companies have noted signifi- cant water and financial savings,” De Wet Steyn states.

He points out that the AquaTrip system was installed in February at the Douglas Mbopa Senior Secondary High School, in Motherwell, in the Eastern Cape, resulting in an 85% saving on the school’s water bill in the first month.

De Wet Steyn stresses that public schools like Douglas Mbopa can ill afford to pay high water accounts because of leakages and, consequently, the company is in talks with the Department of Basic Education to roll out its AquaTrip at all public schools requiring the water-saving technology.

Further, he states that the relatively low cost of water has impacted negatively on the sales of the AquaTrip system, as people are not feeling the full effect of water prices as yet.

“However, as water prices rise and people become more aware of the critical water challenges that South Africa is facing, AquaTrip will no longer be regarded as a ‘nice to have’ by large companies and individuals, but as a critical solution,” asserts De Wet Steyn.

The AquaTrip system can be used for rental properties, commercial buildings, industrial complexes, institutions, universities, office blocks, schools, parks and public facilities.

It has also been installed by property invest- ment company Growthpoint Properties at its head office, in Johannesburg; by JSE-listed telecommunications group Vodacom, in Johannesburg; and diversified mining major Anglo American, at its mines in the Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the North West.

Further installations involve several community centres and civic centres in Lentegeur and Manneburg, in Cape Town, in the Western Cape.