Gavin Van Tonder’s creative passion and determination to build a better future have driven him to be one of the brightest minds in the water industry.
The water sector is rapidly evolving in response to rising population demand and climate change.
That is considerable pressure on the water industry to develop sustainable water management strategies and technologies.
This increases the need for creative, effective and inspirational heads to manage water for sustainability.
This article will discover who Gavin van Tonder is and what motivates him in his journey.
Who is Gavin van Tonder?
Gavin van Tonder is from South Africa, holding a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Gavin has over 17 years of global expertise in the water sector and has worked with water utilities all around the world to improve their efficiency by delivering ideas, systems and products.
He began his career as a Process Chemical Engineer for Sasol Oil Company.
He joined Schlumberger Oilfield Services in South Africa in 1989 and has since worked and resided in Italy, Scotland, Singapore, Vietnam, India, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Malaysia in the Oil, Gas, Electricity and Water industries.
Gavin joined the Water business in 2001 as Asia Pacific Vice President and was relocated to Itron’s headquarters in France in 2010 as Global Marketing and Systems Vice President for Itron Water and Heat.
Gavin van Tonder was appointed President of the Itron Water Division in France in 2013 and relocated to Austin, Texas in 2016.
He has started factories, facilities and water infrastructure from the ground up in China, India, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and Mexico.
Gavin presently serves on the advisory boards of many water technology companies across Europe and the Americas.
Gavin van Tonder was approached in 2018 to join NEOM as the Water Sector Head to construct greenfield water infrastructure ranging from desalination with 100% zero liquid discharge to a Smart IoW network and full reuse of treated wastewater, including stormwater runoff preservation.
Gavin van Tonder and NEOM
For Gavin, NEON represents fresh motivation and sustainability.
According to him, Neom is the opportunity to develop something brand new to create a model for what the world should look like in the future.
He believes that the biggest difficulty nowadays is appropriately and efficiently processing wastewater.
Nearly 50% of wastewater is being returned to our environment without sufficient treatment around the world, damaging our finite freshwater supplies.
Because of the population expansion, this has become the most pressing issue in today’s water sector.
At NEOM, we are committed to developing sustainable energy desalination by capturing 100% of wastewater through treatment, recycling and reuse.
Most intriguingly, we are investigating the use of smart sensors to reduce water losses, which are a big impediment to sustainable water consumption around the world.
By conquering this, we will contribute to environmental protection, reduce infrastructure sizes, and cut energy demand and chemical usage.
Gavin van Tonder answering the main questions about NEOM
What are the water solutions plan to ensure a sustainable and cost-competitive water supply with zero liquid discharge?
We intend to discontinue all groundwater abstraction and transition to a 100% desalination water source.
To lower overall infrastructure and operational expenses, we will use renewable energy for all energy needs and commit to a 3% water loss limit.
We are also committed to 100% wastewater recycling to cut water desalination production by 20% while safeguarding the marine environment from stormwater runoff and capturing the water for reuse and groundwater injection.
How will digital technologies help NEOM’s water systems?
Digital technologies improve operational efficiency, lowering overall water costs and providing a far better quality of service.
Currently, our technology’s primary job is to collect data and enter it into a digital twin, which will guide initial construction and, more importantly, manage ongoing operations.
Digital technology will serve as our eyes and ears on the ground, allowing us to respond to situations and occurrences as they arise.
From a safety standpoint, digital technologies will ensure that any water quality issues are avoided.
Reference
[1] GAVIN VAN TONDER, BIOGRAPHY available at [online]: https://www.watermeetsmoney.com/speaker/gavin-van-tonder/
[2] https://www.neom.com/en-us/brightest-minds
[3] “We have been given an opportunity to show what a high-performing water utility can look like”, smart water magazine available at [online]: https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/neom/we-have-been-given-opportunity-show-what-a-high-performing-water-utility-can-look
