Derceto signs strategic sale with K-Water

Specialist New Zealand water utility software company, Derceto, has signed a highly strategic new sale agreement with Korea’s K-water, one of the world’s largest water utility companies responsible for bulk supply of water to most of South Korea including treated water to 25 million people and raw water for industrial use. 

K-water is government-owned and responsible for all of Korea’s dams and water treatment and reticulation to the point of delivery to individual municipal water authorities. Derceto’s CEO Wayne Spittal says the contract will see Derceto’s Aquadapt® software implemented at K-water’s Cheongju water system, which comprises three water treatment plants serving a population base of 878,000 people, as well as major industries such as Samsung.  

Wayne Spittal says the deal is worth more than $NZ1.3 million to Derceto, and will see Derceto working to provide energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions to satisfy a business case which gives K-water a three-year payback on the project. 

Implementation is now underway, with completion scheduled for April 2011.  Local support will be provided by Derceto’s Korean partner KC Samyang which has assisted with sales and marketing and will have ongoing delivery and support roles.

Dr Han Yung Park, Senior Manager of K-water’s Energy Audit Team, says “Our company sees Aquadapt® as an important new tool in not only minimizing energy use, but also managing the water system more efficiently to optimize quality and minimize waste.”

“We are very impressed with the ability of the Aquadapt® software to be easily integrated with our existing systems to create optimal pump, valve and water treatment plant schedules.  Aquadapt® is a real-time system which makes it easy to respond to changes in demand and unplanned events in the network.  We expect it will give us fine control over our management systems and that means important energy savings and it helps ensure best quality.”

“My Energy Audit Team is very focused on delivering water with as small a carbon footprint as possible, with the least waste. We are quick to try new tools such as Aquadapt® and because we control the entire water network we are in a good position to roll out new technologies quickly,” Dr Park said.  

Derceto’s Wayne Spittal says the contract is highly strategic for Derceto as the initial contract provides a good platform to prove the cost benefits of Aquadapt® and create a strong business case to roll out Aquadapt® more widely throughout K-water’s water systems. 

“Korea is one of the very few countries in the world where a single company is responsible for the entire water supply.  Korea is also right at the cutting edge of international water treatment and management technologies,” he says. 

“Korea exports water management technology and has a sophisticated water management infrastructure.  We’re delighted that K-water is giving us this opportunity to contribute to their integration and optimization strategy, which is truly world class.” 

About K-water
K-water has a daily water supply capacity of 17.2 million m3, or 46.5 percent of the nation’s tap water, supplying 3,088 million m3 of water to 1,707 institutional customers including 106 local governing bodies a year.  

For more information, visit: http://english.kwater.or.kr   

Related news | June 12, 2010: Korea's K-water starts two Phase 1 feasibility projects