Mauritius: The collaboration of the public and private sectors to accelerate and catalyse the adoption of innovative and technology-driven solutions to manage scarce water resources was highlighted by the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard, today, in Ebène.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a Water Technology Spotlight organised jointly by his Ministry and Business Mauritius in the context of World Water Day 2023. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Business Mauritius, Mr Kevin Ramkaloan, and several representatives of public and private bodies were present.
In his keynote address, Minister Lesjongard dwelt on the adverse effects of climate change globally and locally in terms of prolonged dry months, high-intensity rainfall over a short duration, rise in sea level and coastal erosion. The Minister also referred to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released on Monday, 20 March 2023, indicating that global temperatures have risen by 1.1 degrees.
Speaking about Governmental initiatives, he emphasised that significant efforts are being undertaken to support the water sector and enhance water security for better resilience to climate change.
He mentioned the recent workshop which was conducted earlier this week with outcomes related to a stronger call for rainwater harvesting at household, commercial and industrial levels; greater use of treated wastewater in the industrial and agricultural sectors; greywater recycling for non-potable reuse or groundwater recharge; increased leverage and application of technology; and reduction in water consumption with awareness campaigns, water metering, water-efficient plumbing codes and mandatory water audits.
The need to adopt new technologies in the water sector was also stressed by the Minister. To this end, he spoke of the project that the Central Water Authority has embarked upon with the assistance of the Agence Française de Développement for the modernisation of the water sector through the use of technologies such as telemetry and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition).
“The consultants from the ‘Société du Canal de Provence’ have submitted their report, which has designed the telemetry system for an island-wide coverage of the CWA infrastructure inclusive of its water production, transmission and storage facilities”, he said. Funds are currently being mobilised for the implementation of the project, he indicated.
For his part, the CEO of Business Mauritius stressed the importance of sustainability and inclusive growth with regard to the water sector. Mr Ramkaloan spoke of private and public partnerships for better water resource management. The workshop, he added, will enable the sharing of experiences so as to address a number of issues pertaining to water efficiency and infrastructure.