Commercial water purification means a plant sized for a business, not a kitchen: larger reverse osmosis units, multimedia and carbon filters, softeners and UV, built to deliver hundreds or thousands of litres a day. Restaurants, hospitals, factories, schools, lodges and refill shops use them for steady quality, protection for equipment and lower bottled water bills. Every site is different, so plants are quoted per site. Send one request and specialist suppliers in your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation.
Which plant for which business?
The right plant depends on what the water is for:
- Restaurants and coffee shops: filtration and softening to protect coffee machines, ice makers and combi ovens from scale.
- Hospitals and clinics: multi-stage treatment, often with RO and UV, to a design agreed with infection control.
- Factories and food processors: process water to a set quality, with monitoring and records.
- Schools and lodges: central treatment of tank or borehole water with taps and dispensers around the site.
- Refill businesses: RO or filtered water into 18.9 litre bottles, with sanitising and bottling equipment.
How big a plant do you need?
Size comes from three numbers: litres a day, litres an hour at peak, and storage. A plant that makes 500 litres an hour with a tank behind it can meet a much larger peak than the figure suggests. Tell suppliers your daily use, the busiest hour, the working hours and the space you have. Also give your incoming water source, as municipal water, tanks and boreholes need different pre-treatment. For smaller needs, compare with a home-scale reverse osmosis system or filtration system.
Running costs, space and compliance
A plant is more than the purchase price. Reverse osmosis sends part of the feed water to waste, so ask for the recovery rate and where the reject water goes. Add membranes, cartridges, salt and sanitising, plus power and a service contract. You need a plant room or a corner with a drain, a plug, good lighting and a floor that takes the weight of filled vessels and tanks.
If the water goes into food, drink or patient care, ask for regular lab testing against SANS 241 and written records. For bottled products, ask the supplier which rules apply to your operation. Cleaning and monitoring should be on a schedule.
Comparing supplier quotes
Give each supplier the same brief and a recent water analysis. Compare the output at the quoted feed water quality, what stages are included, installation and commissioning, training for your staff, spare parts, and a service plan with response times. Consider renting or leasing if you prefer a monthly cost. Visit a working site if you can. Ask who looks after it when the plant stops, since downtime hurts a kitchen or a production line more than a slightly higher quote. For bottled supply alternatives, see bulk water delivery.
What to include in your request
- Litres needed per day and in your busiest hour
- Your water source and a recent water analysis
- What the water is used for: drinking, kitchen, process
- Space, drain, power and storage tank available
- Buy, rent or lease, and service plan wanted
Commercial Water Purification for different sites
- Households: a larger treatment set-up for a big estate or complex sharing one borehole or tank
- Offices and business parks: central filtration and RO feeding dispensers and kitchens across several floors
- Schools, crèches and colleges: a plant for the whole school, with filtered taps and dispensers in each block
- Clinics, practices and care homes: a multi-stage plant with RO and UV for wards and theatres, with lab tests and records
- Lodges, hotels, restaurants and events: softening and filtration for kitchens, laundry, ice and coffee at a hotel or lodge
- Factories, mines and building sites: process and canteen water to a set quality, with monitoring and a service plan
- Shops, gyms and refill stations: an RO plant that fills 18.9 litre bottles and refill containers for customers
- Farms, smallholdings and villages: a plant treating borehole or dam water for a packhouse, farm village or lodge
Frequently asked questions
What size commercial plant do I need?
Is a commercial RO plant expensive to run?
Can I rent or lease a plant?
Do you build water plants?
Commercial Water Purification by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg