Clearford Signs Contracts for Two New Clearford One Systems in India, and Update on Tata and Essel MOUs

OTTAWA, Ontario, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearford Water Systems Inc. ("Clearford" or the "Company"), (TSXV: CLI), winner of the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Best Practices Award for Enabling Technology Leadership in the Global Decentralized Water and Wastewater Treatment Industry, today announced that it has signed contracts for two new Clearford One^® systems in Gujarat State with McCain Foods (India) and Hilti Manufacturing India Pvt. Ltd.

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Clearford will provide complete on-site wastewater solutions for the collection and treatment of sewage from toilets and washroom facilities at the McCain plant in the Mehsana District and the Hilti plant in Navsari. The ClearRecover^® treatment option for both sites is a low-cost facility by Vision Earthcare Pvt. Ltd using the CAMUS‑SBT soil biotechnology that was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai. The facilities are specifically engineered to treat Clearford One effluent to a quality that is suitable for beneficial reuse for on-site irrigation of landscaping around the facilities.

Complete Clearford One systems will be delivered at project values of INR 73,52,832 (CAD $145,000) and INR 20,68,235 (CAD $40,000) for the McCain and Hilti sites, respectively.

"We are pleased to offer wastewater solutions that meet the strict environmental and water conservation objectives of the McCain and Hilti organizations," said Kevin Loiselle, President & CEO of Clearford. "Industrial operations worldwide are facing increasing pressure to minimize their environmental impacts, and Clearford will continue to seek opportunities to implement beneficial wastewater reuse enabled by our affordable Clearford One system. These projects are another step in our strategy to offer effective solutions to a broader client base in the Indian market."

Mr. Loiselle also gave an update on progress to jointly pursue opportunities with Essel Group Pvt. Ltd. and Tata Projects Ltd. following the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) previously announced on February 5, 2016 and September 20, 2017, respectively. "While efforts are only recently underway with Tata to identify potential communities for Clearford One^® servicing, our work with Essel Group has advanced to identify two candidate sites that would clearly demonstrate the impact of the Clearford wastewater servicing approach," he said.

"We are also finalizing negotiations with the Nalanda Foundation for wastewater servicing of a village in Jharkhand State that is three times larger than the community in Gujarat where the first Clearford One^® system was installed with support from IL&FS," Mr. Loiselle continued. The Nalanda Foundation is a corporate-social responsibility (CSR) initiative by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance companies. "The Indian market is showing confidence in the Clearford sanitation solution," he concluded.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as term defined in policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Clearford Water Systems Inc.

Clearford Water Systems Inc. (TSX-V: CLI) is a provider of unified water management solutions for the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater infrastructure systems. The Company's technology-based water solutions include the Clearford One^® wastewater infrastructure systems, Clearford M‑brane™ packaged treatment solutions, and a full range of UV Pure^® water disinfection products. Clearford is the winner of the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Enabling Technology Leadership Award for Global Decentralized Water & Wastewater Treatment. For more information on Clearford Water Systems, please visit www.clearford.com.

About McCain Foods (India)

McCain Foods (India) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCain Foods Ltd., one of the world's largest producers of French Fries and Potato Specialities with over 50 manufacturing facilities around the world. Headquartered in New Brunswick, Canada, McCain has grown to become a global leader in the frozen food industry. Since 1998, McCain has been engaged in agriculture R&D and in development of the frozen food market in India and subcontinent countries. McCain products are used by leading fast food chains, hotels, restaurants, catering companies and are popular for in-home consumption. For more information on McCain Foods (India), visit www.mccainindia.com.

About Hilti Manufacturing India Pvt. Ltd.

Hilti Manufacturing India Private Limited produces cutting discs, large-blades, cup-wheels, core-bits for the global mainstream and the diamond-service contractor markets. The company is owned by the Hilti Group, a worldwide supplier of technologically leading products, systems, software and services to the construction industry. Hilti Manufacturing India is located in Navsari, Gujarat and employs over 500 team members with in-house research, development, and testing teams and facilities. The company is ISO certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 standards, and is the only member of the Organisation for Safety of Abrasives from India. For more information about Hilti Manufacturing India, visit www.hilti.in/.

About Essel Group Pvt. Ltd.

For over three decades, Essel Group has been a leading business conglomerate having diverse business presence across media, entertainment, packaging, infrastructure, education, precious metals and technology sectors. Essel has created an impressive track record of value creation in all their businesses that compares well with their respective industry peers. The companies strive to bring the latest innovations and the best value offerings to all consumers in a quest to deliver the best in class. With worldwide operations and a workforce of over 8000 employees, Essel Group is growing in strength day by day. Essel Infrastructure is engaged in construction of roads, power plants and urban infrastructure development and has built an impressive order book. For more information about Essel Group Pvt. Ltd, visit www.esselgroup.com.

About TATA Projects Limited

Tata Projects Limited is engaged in the engineering, procurement, and construction of industrial infrastructure and utility projects. It operates through four strategic business units: Industrial Infrastructure; Urban Infrastructure; Quality Services; and Utility Services. The company provides end-to-end solutions to set up power generation plants, power transmission and distribution systems, fully integrated rail and metro systems, commercial buildings and airports, chemical process plants, water and wastewater management solutions, complete mining and metal purification systems. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Hyderabad, India with a branch office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It has offices in Mumbai and Noida, India; and Nairobi, Kenya.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to the Company and its management. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management's current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as "believe", "expects", "will", "intends", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "continues" and similar expressions. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this news release, Clearford will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: industry cyclicality; the ability to secure third party agreements; successful integration of Clearford's system with third party technology; competition; reduction in demand for products; collection from customers; relationships with suppliers; product liability; intellectual property; reliance on key personnel; environmental; interest rates; uninsured and underinsured losses; operating hazards; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; credit facilities; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; restrictions on potential growth; effect of market interest rates on price of securities; and potential dilution.

For further information: Kevin Loiselle, President & CEO, Clearford Water Systems Inc., Phone: (613) 599-6474 ext. 303, www.clearford.com