Water wellness A Cape Town hospital has become the first private healthcare facility in the Western Cape province to install an on-site water filtration plant. The Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital commissioned the plant in accordance with regulations set by the City of Cape Town and Department of Water and Sanitation as a result of the water crisis in the area, according to ESI Africa. The plant, which treats contaminated water from a local aquifer, is expected to yield an anticipated 200 000 litres daily. ‘The municipal water supply has been switched off and the hospital is now operating off the grid. We have an emergency storage supply at the hospital, which is sufficient for at least 48 hours,’ says Lourens Bekker, CEO of Life Healthcare Southern Africa. The project is part of the hospital group’s plans to reduce demand on municipal water supply and to eliminate any impact on patients, doctors and employees, should the City of Cape Town ever have to turn off the taps. 13 March 2018 Image: Gallo/Getty Images