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Cape Town - The organisers of this weekend’s Cape Town 10s have ensured that no municipal water will be used during the event.
The event is expecting over 20 000 visitors and 5 000 athletes over two days, all of whom need to stay hydrated.
Despite the city’s water shortage, staying hydrated will not be a problem for contestants thanks to a company called Bluewater, organisers announced via a pres statement on Friday.
Bluewater, a Swedish clean drinking water technology and solutions provider, will generate 10 000 litres of clean water from a non-city source for visitors to the Hamilton Rugby Club in Green Point during the festivities (February 1-3).
It will be done in line with the Cape Town 10s tournament's commitment to drawing zero litres from the local municipal water grid and ensuring a “Zero to Surplus” event.
“The Cape Town 10s expects around 20 000 visitors over two days, including some 5 000 athletes, all of whom need to stay well hydrated by drinking water. To help provide that water and avoid the need for single-use plastic bottles, Bluewater will provide a unique water station without touching a drop of municipal water,” said James Steere, co-founder of Bluewater’s South African entity Bluewater (PTY) Ltd, which was created following a merger between Bluewater’s South Africa business and Johannesburg-based I-Drop Water.
“As a water brand, we align ourselves with people who care about themselves, others and the well-being of the planet, which is why we are working with sporting and lifestyle events such as the Zando Cape Town 10s,” said Anders Jacobson, co-founder and CEO of Blue, the sustainability-focused holding company behind Bluewater.
Jacobson noted how Bluewater worked closely with the iconic Volvo Ocean Race as its official water provider, race sponsor and sustainability partner to ensure access to clean drinking water throughout the race’s visit to Cape Town in December 2017. Bluewater generated safe drinking water from non-municipal sources to avoid putting any burden on the city’s shrinking reserves.
Harnessing patented second generation reverse osmosis technology, the Bluewater water station uses a compact Bluewater Pro water purifier, which can generate up to 8 000 litres of purified water every day, removing toxic metals, chemicals, pesticides and bacteria and viruses.
The clean water provided by Bluewater will be generated from two interconnected 5 000L JoJo tanks filled with water taken from a spring outside of Cape Town that has been approved by Minister Mokanyane for use in hospitals, schools and elsewhere.
“Turning non-potable or brackish water from boreholes, light grey water reservoirs, rainwater harvesting systems, and other sources into clean water, the Bluewater Pro is an ideal solution for public or office drinking stations, hospitals and care homes, hotels and other businesses in the hospitality sector,” Steere added.
Jacobson concluded: “Bluewater and I-Drop show how modern technology can drive alternative solutions to improve water access from non-traditional sources and disrupt the need to use environmentally unsustainable single-use plastics."
