The global population is growing, and our economies have become increasingly industrialized over the centuries. As a result, 57% of all people live in cities today – and the trend towards greater urbanization is continuing. As people move from rural to high-density urban areas, the demand increases for better access to work, transportation, education and health, as well as social, cultural and political activities. Experts predict that by 2050, more than two thirds of the global population will live in cities. The development of safe energy supplies, modern health facilities and stable infrastructures for clean water are key to ensuring this shift will be successful.

Anyone who looks into the subject of water will come across impressive figures: 2.5% of water on Earth is fresh (drinkable) water. Expressed in liters, that would be 35 followed by 18 zeros. However, more than 126 billion cubic meters of drinking water are lost every year in the world due to leaks in pipes and valves during transport. That is enough water to fill Lake Zurich, the fifth largest lake in Switzerland, 32 times over.

Water is precious. We drink it, use it in our households, produce goods with it and then use it to transport those goods.

Saving water is one way to make water consumption more sustainable. But industry, for example, uses certain production methods that require a huge quantity of water, much more than in private households. Chemicals, paper, metal and food production are just a few industries where companies rely on clean and high-quality water.

The Belgian company Ekopak is specialized in water treatment and recycling, both for industrial and municipal use. It offers customized and decentralized mobile systems in containers that treat water through reverse osmosis – a water purification process that removes 90–100% of pathogens, particles and bacteria. The purified water can then be reused. GF Piping Systems provides valves, actuators, measurement and control technology, pipes and fittings for the mobile containers – the equipment varies according to the requirements, but the average container bringing water where it is most needed features about 500 fittings, 80 valves and 20 sensors. Because fresh water and sewage water do not have to be transported over long distances but remain in a closed loop, decentralized water treatment saves a substantial amount of energy.

From Tielt near Ghent (Belgium), Ekopak supplies customers all over the world including food and textiles manufacturers as well as chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Municipalities, from rural to urban areas, are also among Ekopak's customers. They use the containers, for example, to install temporary drinking water supplies or for crisis support. Ekopak recently delivered 140 energy self-sufficient containers, equipped with solar panels and chemical waste purification, to dry areas in Africa for drinking water treatment.

"Drinking water is basically the lowest quality level of treated water," says Sandra Schiller, Head of Process Automation & Global Product Management in the Industry Business Unit at GF Piping Systems. "While people can deal with slight fluctuations in water quality, companies in the process industry or food production require a much higher and constant water quality. This places completely different demands on the containers." GF Piping Systems and Ekopak have been working together successfully since 2007. "By listening to each other, we can gain more knowledge about sustainable applications in water treatment and continuously improve our solutions," Schiller says.

Ekopak's containers are customized and decentralized mobile systems that treat water. Several sensors and valves at the intake, output and in between constantly monitor the water quality, which increases with every step. The challenge is to ensure consistent water quality, no matter how polluted the water is. The average Ekopak container features about 500 fittings, 80 valves and 20 sensors, all manufactured by GF. This infographic explains how the system works.