The world is clearly getting warmer: 2016 was recorded as the hottest year since records have been kept. This trend will no doubt continue over the years to come.
With this situation, the demand for water amenities like swimming pools is bound to increase. People want to keep cool, and swimming pools are seen as one ways of doing so.
However, at the same time as the world heats up, the availability of water supplies to meet water needs is coming under pressure. Currently, large parts of South Africa face drought conditions, and the scarcity of water makes it problematic for individual families to maintain the swimming pools they have at their homes.
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“Current conditions suggest that public facilities make far better sense than individual swimming pools,” comments Alastair Sinclair, Regional Director for Africa at multinational water innovation company Crystal Lagoons.
But, even conventional swimming pools serving communities can be problematic because of the amount of water and energy they use and the costs related to keeping the water clean. Crystal Lagoons’ business model of partnering with public and private entities, in order to provide recreational facilities to the population at large, will have a profoundly positive impact on this dynamic. These partnerships will provide a more versatile, energy- and water-efficient amenity.
Crystal Lagoons, The World’s Top Amenity, takes water recreation to a whole new level. Crystal Lagoons technology enables the construction and maintenance of unlimited size crystal-clear bodies of water, at low cost. There are 600 projects in various stages of development and negotiation in 60 countries. This unique concept allows for the creation of beachfronts at any location.
12-hectare man-made lagoon
In the heart of the Egyptian desert, at Sharm El Sheikh, for instance, a sought-after residential development with a 12-hectare man-made lagoon with a sandy beach, has turned otherwise unusable land into prime property. Crystal Lagoons recently announced a partnership with Madaar Development in Egypt, which will see the addition of a cast, turquoise lagoon in the Azha resort at Ain Sokhna. Construction of the first such lagoon in South Africa is already underway
Crystal Lagoons’ technology addresses the concerns around the use of potable water and the energy needed to maintain conventional swimming pools. Ground water, salt water and even brackish water is suitable for a crystal-clear, and a typical lagoon uses 30 times less water than a standard golf course.
The filtration system
The filtration system consumes only 2% of the energy required by conventional filtration systems. In addition, whereas a swimming pool is suitable for one activity only – swimming – it offers a far more extensive range of family friendly things to do: water sports like kayaking, paddle-boarding and water-skiing are possible.
“A big positive for us in South Africa is that the water usage of these lagoons places far less pressure on existing water infrastructure than a swimming pool,” Sinclair explains.
“Most significant is that any type of water can be used to fill the lagoon, not only water of the quality needed for a swimming pool, which is essentially the water we need for human use. The evaporation of water is insignificant because of the use of a microfilm technology that can reduce evaporation by up to 70%, which means that the lagoon does not have to be topped up with water regularly as with a swimming pool. In fact in some areas, rain water alone fulfills these requirements.”
Sinclair explains that 100 times less chemicals are needed to clean and disinfect the water in than for a swimming pool. The crystal clear lagoons are monitored and operated from a centralised location via the internet. The Control and Monitoring Centre (CLCL) guarantees water quality 24/7.
The company also recently launched a new business model where these Caribbean-style lagoons will be offered to the public as an amenity for the first time ever, potentially lessening the demand for private pools.
New Public Access Lagoon
“The benefits of our new Public Access Lagoon concept are twofold; existing venues are not only able to increase attendance figures, the creation of a wide array of new activities retain visitors for a longer time, therefore positively impacting revenue generation. In terms of vacant land, these sites can become self-sustained, paying off investment in a short time whilst generating revenue almost immediately,” says Sinclair
With access to a Public Access Lagoon, the need for private swimming pools will decrease, and ultimately save a great quantity of water while providing the best of water recreation to everyone.
Sinclair is upbeat about the prospects for the adoption of this unique new water feature by the African markets. “With the appeal of the beachfront lifestyle enabled by Crystal Lagoons’ patented technology, we have no doubt that, once local developers and investors witness the increased prices as well as faster sales rates at residential developments that include a crystal-clear lagoon, many more such developments will be planned. We are confident that the proprietors of spaces open to the public will realise that including a Public Access Lagoon in their existing developments will cause footfall to increase dramatically, creating a fast return on low investment.”
About Crystal Lagoons
Crystal Lagoons is a multi-national company with offices Worldwide. Crystal Lagoons has developed an innovative concept and technology, patented in 190 countries, allowing for the construction and maintenance of unlimited size bodies of water, in crystal clear conditions, at low cost.
Crystal Lagoons’ impressive turquoise waters are revolutionizing not only the real estate world but also water and energy production. Applications range from bringing idyllic beach life to locations otherwise thought unimaginable, to providing industrial solutions for closed-circuit cooling systems for thermal power plants and data-centers, among others.
For his work developing industrial applications solving worldwide problems such as energy and water scarcity, Crystal lagoons’ founder, Fernando Fischmann, was recently honoured by the International Business Awards. He was named ‘Innovator of the Year’ and the patented Crystal Lagoons desalination technology was awarded the ‘Energy Industry Innovator of the Year’. Fischmann is also one of the 5 finalists for this year’s Real Innovation Award, organised by the London Business School and is a nominee for the European Patent Office’s ‘Inventor of the Year’ award.
