DUT: ENSURING CLEAN WATER FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES

Water is the most important need for any living species in the world. This may have inspired Vishwanath Gianpersad to pursue a career in water treatment after completing his diploma and a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering at the Durban University of Technology.

Born and educated in Durban, Gianpersad was recruited by Umgeni Water at the Reservoir Hills Plant to do his internship for a year. He is proud that he applied his skills in various roles at the Umgeni Water plant which further enhanced his knowledge of water purification and the industry in general.

After one year of internship he enrolled for further studies and did a BTech in Chemical Engineering rather than seeking immediate employment. He then began his career in the area of water treatment. This paved his future professional career in this field and he is currently the Chemical Technician for a company called Intaka in Tokai, Cape Town. He is part of the team that deals with the water purification plants. Intakatech division specializes in water purification plants and oxygen generation plants.

“I deal with packet water purification plants. Our product is a patented design package plant that deals with getting raw water supplies to potable water (suitable for human consumption) for communities. This product is used as a medium to long term solution to the problem of purified water supply to rural and under-developed areas in particular. It combines old process methods with modern day technology. Our product is recognised throughout Africa with plants being sold in various Southern African countries. There are also projects in the pipeline for other North African countries,” says Gianpersad.

Gianpersads personal involvement with the product was being part of the team that implemented a design upgrade for the optimisation of the plant. He was responsible for the chemical dosing systems as part of this team. His day to day responsibilities at the company include site visits; chemical testing of raw and purified water; plant installations and commissioning; chemical dosing parameters and quantities to optimise processing.

For comment, please contact Vishwanath Gianpersad:
Cell: 0726129590 Tel+27 21 702 1559Fax+27 21 702 1555Mail to vgianpersad@intaka.com http:// www.intaka.com