Adaptation, not decarbonisation,
Join our investor syndicate to back technology innovations that support industry and society to adapt to an uncertain water future.
Contact us at: info@mazarineventures.com
Hello and welcome to our quarterly issue magazine, where you can discover the best the global water industry has to offer - all in one place!
Firstly I’d like to thank all our readers, partners and stakeholders for their continued support and commitment to our publication and the industry as a whole.
As H2O Global News grows from strength to strength, we look forward to consolidating our existing collaborations, forming new ones and doubling-down on our commitment to offer quality, though-provoking editorial from the cutting-edge of the water industry.
The focus of this month’s edition is climate adaptation technology.
The hydrological cycle is shifting as a result of climate change: more water in some places and less of it in others. Weather events are also becoming more extreme and less predictable, and water quality is deteriorating in many regions.
This new water reality has severe economic, social, and environmental consequences, particularly for lower income communities.
To avert the worst of these impacts, we must decarbonise the global economy.
But there’s a catch. Even if we stop all emissions today, scientists predict we are still on track for significant warming. Whether we like it or not, we need to adapt to an uncertain water future.
However, to date, the international community has tended to focus its efforts on mitigation - leaving adaptation technology largely underfunded.
The good news is that there are dedicated individuals and companies pioneering new water technologies and approaches that help us build a more climate resilient future.
This issue aims to highlight these people and give climate adaptation technology the attention it deserves.
Happy reading!
Publisher Abby Davey abby@h2oglobalnews.com
Editor Sion Geschwindt sion@h2oglobalnews.com
Creative Director Louise Davey louise@bluemantamedia.com
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H2O Global News delivers news from around the world covering the Drinking/Potable Water, Hydropower and Wastewater industries incorporating technology, companies, legislation, the environment and case studies. The H2O Global News Magazine is published four times a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) by Blue Manta Media Limited, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
H2O Global News t/a Blue Manta Media Limited has used utmost care to ensure and maintain the accuracy, completeness and currency of information published on this site. We, however, take no responsibility for any errors or omission, though if notified of any we will endeavour to rectify such.
1 H 2 O GLOBAL NEWS MAGAZINE September 2022 Issue 3 Siôn Geschwindt Editor
ENABLING
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Climate Adaptation is Mostly a Water Story
Why is Climate Change More than a Carbon Story?
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Climate Adaptation Tech
12 Metrics to Monitor Climate Adaptation
16 How do we Raise the Profile of Climate Adaptation?
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Investor Spotlight
18 Water Quality in a Changed Climate
24-25 Best Practice Guidelines: Helping Industry Navigate the Climate Challenge
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Solar: The Future of Desalination
34-35 Moleaer: Tiny bubble tech makes a big splash
40-42 How Tech is Helping Water Utilities Answer the Big Four Sustainability Challenges - Greg Moyle, Head of Energy at SAP UK & Ireland
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Preparing for an Uncertain Water Future - Aquatech, Executive Chairman, Venkee Sharma
10-11 Innovation is Key - Solenis, Chief Sustainability Officer, Lotta Kanto Öqvist
13-14 Smart Water Treatment - Pani Energy, CEO, Devesh Bharadwaj
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Improving Access to Water Quality Testing - SimpleLab, Chief Science Officer, Dr Jess Goddard
Putting Climate at the Heart of Water Treatment - Aqua Metrology, CEO, Rick Bacon
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Canadian Water &
Syrinix
Interview with Boreal Light
Interview with LG Sonic
36-37 Interview with Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
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Interview with Evoqua
39 Interview with Bentley Systems
Decarbonisation efforts will continue, but the climate is already changing and technologies that address water challenges will be key for industry and society to adapt to our new water reality.
Forthe last few decades the technology vertical in climate - ‘ClimateTech’ - has almost entirely focused on minimising or eliminating carbon emissions, often labelled ‘Net Zero’. And while renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon sequestration efforts must continue, a changed climate is already upon us - destroying lives and livelihoods, especially in lower income communities around the world.
Even if we stopped all carbon emissions today, industry and society face rapidly escalating risks associated with an already changed climate.
A key consequence of a warmer atmosphere is changes in the hydrological cycle, as evidenced by the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, flooding and droughts.
This is resulting in a growing segment of companies and investors who recognise that ClimateTech includes technology innovations that address not only the transition to a low-carbon economy, but also innovations that manage a growing list of waterrelated risks and challenges.
While most of these technology innovations are water-focused, they are not necessarily waterindustry (think utilities) related, and address water risks in a wide range of industries spanning aquaculture, transportation, power generation, and real estate.
If we make the assumption that industry’s and society’s decarbonisation efforts will not be able to reverse climate change in the next 10-20 years, we must adapt to new climate patterns.
Climate change will manifest through changes in the quantity of water, be it too much - in the form of flooding - or not enough - through droughts and desertification. It will also have knock-on effects on water quality due to changing weather patterns and increasing surface temperatures.
This will alter the aquatic ecosystem, for instance, by increasing the severity of algal blooms, and/or force municipalities, wellowners, and industry to find alternate ‘new’ water sources, many of which are of lower quality than what is currently used, and likely will need to be treated in new and different ways before being used.
“There are two equally important components of ClimateTech: 1) Limiting, and ideally reversing the decades-old trend of atmospheric warming, and 2) Adapting to the consequences of the changes in climate patterns we are already experiencing, and preparing for the changes predicted by climate models.”
Dr. Anders Hallsby, Partner, Mazarine
We sat down with Venkee Sharma, Executive Chairman at Aquatech, to learn more about his views on climate adaptation and the steps the company is taking to prepare for an uncertain water future.
What do you understand about the term ‘climate adaptation technology’?
The future is uncertain, and an inevitable consequence of climate change will be the requirement of society and industries to adapt to changes that have already occurred and are ongoing.
From a water context, we consider climate adaptation technologies as those that help address water scarcity and water quality concerns in a cost-effective way.
Many customers will not have enough water to deliver on their business needs in the future or will face challenges related to water quality.
Regardless of the industry, everyone will have to tackle the challenge of unpredictable climatic conditions.
How do you think climate change will impact your business?
Aquatech enables and supports our customers in achieving their decarbonisation goals as well as climate adaptation and resilience needs. We believe decarbonisation and climate adaptation are of equal
importance and are both growing business and innovation areas for our business.
We are already feeling the impacts of climate change – it is not just a concern for future generations but for us all. The changes we are seeing and the rate at which they are occurring are unprecedented. Adapting will require new perspectives, technologies, and innovative models to deal with this uncertain future. It will also require more investment.
“Adapting will require new perspectives, technologies, and innovative models to deal with this uncertain future”
While we are determined to deliver solutions for current issues like water scarcity, challenging wastewater, and decarbonisation, we are also focused on developing solutions that will allow our customers to address the uncertainties of climate in the future.
How do your water solutions help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
Our solutions are proven to deliver optimised energy and water usage while addressing increasingly challenging and complex water and wastewater.
These solutions include LoWatt low-energy solarpowered desalination technology, wastewater treatment, reuse and contaminant removal technologies, in addition to high-recovery and zero liquid discharge for addressing high organics with our patented high recovery reverse osmosis and membrane distillation technologies. We also use AI-based digital tools to drive efficiencies across many of our solutions, such as our BioFilmPro predictive biofouling monitoring technology
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of your technology?
While admittedly improving, most industries and governments do not recognise the true value of water. This makes recycling projects unfeasible and curtails the progression of water-positive goals and net-zero targets.
Barriers within existing facilities relate to technologydue to higher capital expenditures, the need for rapid deployment of technologies, footprint requirements, as well as risk - and people - due to lack of skills and labour shortages.
A way to overcome these challenges is through business model innovation. We believe that operations outsourcing, or as Aquatech likes to refer to it - Water Technology as a Service - will drive the conversation. Outsourcing operations allows for reduced costs and risk, increased reliability, and the ability to consistently achieve sustainability targets over the long term.
Decarbonisation efforts are already well established – most businesses are already working towards achieving goals and sustaining sustainability metrics. However, climate change adaptation goes one step further to address future uncertainties of a healthy water supply, and it deserves equal attention and investment.
Companies like Aquatech, the media, governments and financial institutions will need to continue to prioritise climate change mitigation to ensure everyone understands the urgency of the situation and the need for focused action.
Industries and municipalities need to think about both short- and long-term options regarding their water, and we must start preparing now to ensure that we can adapt to the changing climate landscape.
A practical reference for investors looking to invest in companies with innovations that support industry and society adapt to a changed climate
What problem is being targeted?
Observe Technologies that allow us to measure, monitor and see how the physical world is changing
“We don’t have reliable data with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution”
Tools to gather more accurate data from the environment, processes, equipment & infrastructure and from the water itself.
• In-situ sensing
• IIoT
• Earth observation (eg: satellite)
• Connectivity
The sensing toolbox of innovations that observe, quantify and digitize anything related to water quality and quantity and sends the data to the cloud.
Analyze Technologies that help us interpret and understand trends and risks in the physical world
“We have lots of data, but we need better ways of determining what the data is telling us.”
Tools both for data management (scrubbing and normalization) and to help correlate the datasets and draw inferences.
• Artificial intelligence
• Machine learning
• Deep learning
• Neural networks
• Bioinformatics
The data science toolbox of innovations that convert data from disparate sources into actionable insights.
“Current approaches are too expensive / complex / slow to implement, or are ineffective in helping us adapt.“
Engineering, process and business innovations that address the challenges of the new “water reality” in the most effective and cost-efficient way.
• Tech addressing water quality
• Purification: Membranes, Filter media, Electrochemistry, Biomimicry, etc.
• Tech addressing water quantity
• Flood protection: Earthworks, Green infrastructure, etc.
• New water sources: Atmospheric water generation, Desalination, Reuse, etc.
• Efficiency & Stewardship: Smart home, Smart agriculture, Smart city, etc.
Adaviv, Asterra, Conservation Labs, CloudtoStreet, EQO, Flume, GorillaLink, Hohonu, Rezatec, SimpleLab, Smart Cover, StormSensor, Upstream, Virridy, Welintel, and hundreds more.
Airborne Snow Observatories, Ambiental, AQUAOSO, ClimateAi, HabiTerre, FoundrySpatial, Lumo, PANI, Salient Predictions, WaterClick, WaterPlan, and hundreds more.
Altered, AquaMembranes, Agro, ElectraMet, Gradient, Greyter, Hydraloop, Jain, Nebia, Netafim, Oneka, Orbital, PaveDrain, Permulation, Rivulis, SourceWater, Segula, StormTrap, Swirltex, and hundreds more.
The above ‘CAT’ framing and taxonomy is the intellectual property of Mazarine Ventures LLC, available to all under the Creative Commons (CC) license CC BY-NC.
We caught up with Lotta Kanto Öqvist, Chief Sustainability Officer at Solenis, to find out how they are helping their business, customers and society prepare for an uncertain water future.
How will climate change impact your business?
Climate change will increase water scarcity in some areas, reduce the amount of fresh water and process water available, and cause more extreme weather and flooding events.
This presents a huge challenge and will force our customers to adapt to changes in both water quality and quantity.
It also presents us with an opportunity. For more than 100 years, we have been driving value for our customers by helping them solve complex water treatment and process improvement challenges. As such, we are well positioned to help our customers improve the efficiency of their operations and optimize their use, reuse, and recycling of water.
How do your solutions help your customers adapt?
Our customers, which include paper manufactures, power producers, petroleum refiners, chemical processing operations and more, use millions of liters of water daily. We make sure that the water they use is fit for purpose and the water that flows out of the facility back into the environment is as clean, if not cleaner, than before.
Optimizing the process allows manufacturers to reuse more water, reduce overall water intake, cut emissions, and minimize waste.
For instance, our ClearPointSM biofilm detection and control program improves our customers’ waterrelated environmental performance by helping them to use their freshwater more efficiently, thereby
conserving water. Additionally, the program offers the following benefits: reduced corrosion rates, reduced halogenated organics and reduced operating costs.
We are also working on several innovative digital solutions that enable our customers to map their water use across their entire operation so they can identify opportunities for optimization. This data provides insights that enables our customers to be more resilient to climate threats.
What is the role of water-tech innovation in climate adaptation?
Technologies and innovations that enable waterintensive industries to adapt to a new water reality are key.
We provide many differentiated chemical and digital technologies that make industrial processes more efficient, including innovative chemistries for controlling scale, corrosion and microorganisms and advanced monitoring and control systems for optimizing the performance of water and wastewater treatment programs.
We also work with venture capital firms who help us look for early-stage companies and startups who have
developed cutting-edge technologies that can improve the sustainability of our customers. We may partner with these companies or may acquire them.
To help our customers tackle their challenges, we must provide them with the best technologies, which is why these partnerships and acquisitions are so important.
How should society and industry tackle the climate challenge going forward?
We need to broaden our perspective. Climate change is not just about decarbonizing the energy system. Many of its greatest impacts will be felt in the way water is distributed globally and this is a reality we must adapt to.
One thing is certain, digital technologies will be central to climate adaptation. The data and insights these tools provide offer situational awareness about water use, which empowers all that use water to manage it more efficiently.
Finally, we need to work together across industries and between governments, sectors and the public. We cannot adapt to climate change without an “all-handson-deck” approach.
The decarbonisation side of ClimateTech enjoys a relatively straightforward set of metrics around greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Whether renewable energy, energy efficiency, or carbon sequestration, investors, corporates, and a wide range of stakeholders operate under the same goal: less, or ideally no carbon emissions. This is measurable under global standards.
Measuring adaptation is slightly more challenging because there are such a broad range of ‘assets’ facing risks associated with changed climate. However, there is a growing realisation that measuring climate risk and our ability to adapt is critical, as evidenced by the U.S, SEC’s proposal for Climate Change Disclosure where they state: “We believe that disclosure of the material and systemic risks of climate change will help companies and investors to understand, price, and manage climate risks and opportunities.”
Understandably, the finance and insurance sectors sit near the centre of climate risk, and are actively
Improvements in water ratio, e.g. less fresh water per car manufactured, per household per month, per gallon of beer produced, per bushel of wheat produced, etc.
seeking innovations to help manage and mitigate the outcomes of a changed climate.
Success metrics in Climate Adaptation side of ClimateTech are a function of the specific market and application. Metrics are often categorised in 3 ways:
Reduction in financial loss due to water ‘events’, e.g. flooding, drought, property and infrastructure damage.
Quantifiable improvements in drinking, waste, and stormwater compliance (e.g. less violations)
‘‘“Wind and heat certainly matter, but quantification of climate risk is largely a story of water risk. Multi-variable ‘scoring’ of a region, a city, a neighbourhood, or specific asset is humanity’s most effective metric for understanding risks associated with a changed climate.
Chris Peacock, CEO, AQUAOSO
Watertreatment plants can unlock significant savings without making a single upgrade to their infrastructure. How? Through what Pani Energy CEO, Devesh Bharadwaj, calls ‘process optimisation intelligence’. We sat down with Devesh to find out more…
What is Pani all about?
Pani is a Canadian software company helping water treatment facilities reduce their operating risk, cost, carbon emissions and water usage.
We do this through our AI-based software that works as a decision-making tool for operators and helps them reduce their operating cost by up to 20% and risk by up to 20%.
We’ve helped our customers save millions of litres per year without a single hardware change.
Why do water treatment plants need this tech? Many facilities have trouble managing their operations efficiently. They are firefighting increasing risks, costs, water supply shortages, and greenhouse gas emissions on a daily basis.
This is largely due to a lack of digitisation. Over the years the hardware for water treatment has advanced, but the software has not caught up. This means that most facilities simply don’t have access to the data they need to make informed decisions.
How are you disrupting the status quo?
We are breaking down silos and antiquated ways of working by accelerating the digital transformation of water treatment plants.
Our AI-driven software helps plants optimise their processes through actionable insights - unlocking hidden value from their existing infrastructure.
We know that not every plant has the resources to start their digital journey, which is why we have adopted a purely SaaS model that requires no capex.
We use a plant’s existing sensor network as well, meeting the facility where they are.
How can you help operators adapt to climate change?
Water treatment has a role to play in both mitigation and adaptation.
On the mitigation side, water treatment accounts for a lot of emissions and as the impacts of climate change
An interview with Pani Energy CEO Devesh Bharadwajworsen, increasingly energy-intensive methods will be needed. These include processes like liquid thermal discharge and desalination that actually help society adapt to climate change.
However, unless these technologies are made to be more energy efficient they may emit more carbon in the long run. This creates a vicious cycle.
At Pani we use data driven intelligence to break this loop, helping operators do more with less energy and less water.
How do you think climate change will influence the way water-intensive industries ‘do business’?
Many industries, including oil & gas, beverage, and big pharma, are making huge investments into figuring out how to sustainably manage their water supplies. Water utilities are in a similar boat, especially those operating in regions most vulnerable to climate change.
Water has been basically free for most of history but that is beginning to change. Many companies are now seeing that water directly impacts their bottom line.
The need for climate adaptation from a water perspective is something big industries can no longer ignore. It will shift business models and fundamentally change the way we value water.
Sustainable water management will become a matter of business survival.
We need to begin the transition to climate resilient infrastructure. This should not only be seen as a cost; it’s an investment in the economy, the future, and is even a great business transition opportunity.
According to a report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the net benefit on average of investing in more resilient infrastructure in low- and middleincome countries would be $4.2 trillion with $4 in benefit for each $1 invested.
A critical part of these investments should be made in water technologies - water can make or break how we manage the climate crisis.
Going forward, both mitigation and adaptation need to be front and centre, with adaptation requiring similar investment to the energy transition.
The good news is that people in the right seats know that they need to act on climate adaptation. The challenge is making a business case for it and looking at it like an investment.
The real question is: will decision-makers make this investment now when it’s easier or do it later when it’s much harder and more costly?
Water scarcity is forcing significant investments in the development of new water management around the world.
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or the transition to a low-carbon economy, remains the single most tangible and measurable way for corporations, cities, governments, and even individuals to demonstrate they are ‘doing something’ to combat climate change.
Much like the ‘war on drugs’ and the ‘war on terrorism’, the ‘war on climate’ is positioned as a war we must win - at any cost. Anyone advocating Climate Adaptation has traditionally been labelled a ‘defeatist’, or adaptation was best left up to legislation, environmental media, and conservation organisations.
Yet, a recent high-profile piece in the Harvard Business Review, here, and a growing list of conferences suggests a not so subtle inflection appears to be raising the profile of Climate Adaptation, and the technologies that support industry and society’s efforts to adapt to the new water reality.
In our collective effort to save lives and livelihoods, as a result of an already changed climate, software and hardware technologies need to play a larger role. Many of these innovations are rooted in WaterTech, with solutions for managing a wide range of water quantity and quality risks.
Whilst the water industry has embraced Net Zero, the Climate Adaptation side of ClimateTech is increasingly seen as where WaterTech companies can have the greatest impact.
Unfortunately, WaterTech corporates, as well as startups, still see their offerings as water innovations for the water industry (i.e: utilities), which keeps them off-radar from the climate community seeking innovations to help farmers, cities, households, and a wide range of industries adapt to a new reality where water security is not guaranteed anymore.
Many are suggesting that WaterTech companies should explore and highlight how their innovation supports their customers’ Climate Adaptation, which would allow them to also position themselves as part of ClimateTech.
It's a relief that the mitigation vs adaptation debate is over and it's clear we need to do both. Reuse and recycling, particularly in agricultural and industrial contexts will be vital - so filtration, zero liquid discharge, nutrient management are all on the mind.
There is also a ton to be done on efficiency - both in terms of use and operations of water systems, but also capital deployment. Adaptation will take trillions of dollars and we need to make sure they are deployed as carefully and accurately as possible.
As a water technology impact fund, Echo River Capital invests to digitise, decentralise and decarbonise the water economy to protect the environment, advance human health, and strengthen climate resilience.
Globally, water networks are severely undermonitored. There is a critical need to understand and manage in real-time the stocks, flows and quality of water
Legacy, centralised treatment systems are over-burdened and don't address a raft of emerging contaminants such as biopharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
And finally, over 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are generated from managing water. Together, these are massive climate resilience challenges that we as investors can help solve together with entrepreneurs, technologists and policymakers
Climate adaptation is one of 4 pillars of our thesis around “water as a risk” for industry and society. The consequences of a changed climate are creating water quantity and quality risks for water utilities; however, most of the investment opportunities we are purusing are ironically outside of the so-called ‘water industry’.
Our strategy takes us into companies with IOT, data science, and hardware/ engineering innovations that support the waterrelated climate adaptation efforts of agriculture, aquaculture, buildings, finance & insurance, manufacturing, mineral processing, and transportation
As a venture capitalist investing specifically in water technology, we feel the entire system is broken. The top-down regulation/policy driven approach just doesn’t work.
Distilled, the core issue of climate change is water and how we access it.
The modernisation of infrastructure and consideration of the ever-changing water cycle instead of traditional watershed management is the first step toward truly making an impact. Water connects all sectors and until water is the centre of all climate discussions and raised in funding priority the climate spiral we are experiencing will not only continue it will get infinitely worse.
The compelling market opportunities to address the impact of climate change on water are in; dramatically reducing water demand at a hyper local scale (conservation and reuse), alternative sources of water (e.g., air moisture capture, solar desalination) and real time data acquisition and analytics (e.g., satellite data, IoT/edge computing and AI). The application of exponential technologies (digital and advanced materials) will lead the way to these solutions.
We asked five investors to briefly describe climate adaptation technology trends or market opportunities they find most compelling.Peter Yolles John Robinson Partner at Mazarine Ventures Alex Crowell Partner at PureTerra Ventures Will Sarni Founder and CEO at Water Foundry
Thewater quantity aspects of climate change - like droughts and floodsunderstandably grab most of the headlines, but many experts point to water quality risks becoming an equally significant issue in the near future.
With warmer temperatures, as a result of climate change, the temperature of the epilimnion (water at/ near the surface) will also warm which can result in the spread of invasive species and the loss of native and potentially endangered species.
Furthermore, when you combine warming with excessive nutrient runoff, there is a high likelihood that communities will experience annual harmful algae blooms blanketing their local surface water assets that function as a drinking water source, as well as the foundation of the local commercial fishing and recreation.
Moreover, changing patterns of precipitation also impacts water quality. For example, flooding may release toxic materials from landfills and waste ponds, contaminating both surface water sources and aquifers, and drought may force the use of water sources that contain “new” and unexpected contaminants, such as PFAS, radionuclides or arsenic.
So what’s the solution? Communities will need to invest in both diagnostic and data science tools that enable to them to see changes early and take action, and in technologies that reduce the nutrient levels in watersheds, such as phosphate removal in water treatment plants and the deployment of constructed wetlands.
A changed climate is putting stress on ALL water infrastructure, creating water quality risks.Inthe wake of incidents like the Flint water crisis, demand for water quality testing equipment has skyrocketed. But accessible, affordable, and effective solutions can be hard to come by - especially for individual consumers.
What is SimpleLab?
SimpleLab is an environmental testing and data company that provides high-quality certified lab testing for individuals through our TapScore solution, and businesses and government through our SimpleLab platform.
Tap Score got started as a series of send-away testing kits that are easy to use. You take samples of your water, ship them off to one of the labs in our network, and then receive a report that gives a detailed breakdown of what’s in your water, any potential health risks and ways forward. We can test over 500 compounds, including heavy metals like lead, bacteria, nitrates, and even PFAS.
SimpleLab for professional clients offers businesses, governments, and organisations access to lab infrastructure overnight. SimpleLab software allows these clients to manage large-scale testing operations all in one place. We handle complex lab coordination, shipping and sample logistics, and data management problems that have long hindered cheaper, faster and more efficient testing and data interpretation.
Why can water quality testing be such a tricky process?
Historically it’s been expensive, complicated and often uninterpretable once the results are in.
Someone looking to test has to figure out several things. Firstly, what you want to test for and what’s
important. Secondly, who is going to do the testing, and thirdly, once you receive the results, how you are going to act on them.
The amount of decision-making can be pretty overwhelming, especially at the consumer level. Even for qualified individuals it’s still a complex process.
By developing our marketplace of labs we’ve been able to drive down the cost for consumers and businesses and optimise the entire process. We also provide the right solution for the client at hand - homeowners require a different level of accuracy than a government department testing for compliance does, and we cater to all of these needs.
Crucially we help users interpret and gain actionable insights from the results. My team in particular maintains the largest database of private and publicly sourced water quality results, as well as up-to-date information about health, aesthetic, and plumbingrelated impacts of water quality. All of this supporting and contextual information is available through SimpleLab data APIs.
Do you think there is more awareness around water quality than there used to be? Definitely. A lot of the national news has begun emphasising water quality - Flint was a huge catalyst. People are also more interested in having more information about what they are buying, and they value that data.
In the beginning stages of TapScore, before we were hardly doing any marketing, most of our growth came from people searching for the answer to “what’s in my water?”online.
We caught up with Chief Science Officer at SimpleLab, Dr Jess Goddard, to find out more about their testing solutions and how water quality insights can help us prepare for an uncertain water future.We have always thought about TapScore as a way of getting your health score for your drinking water. In the same way you can read the ingredients of the food you buy, you should be able to see and understand the impacts of the water you drink. We don’t have the same level of awareness around water, but this consciousness is definitely shifting, which is exciting.
When more people become aware of their water quality, it also helps demystify a lot of misinformation around tap water and can help consumers make more informed decisions.
How will climate change impact water quality? The direct impacts of climate change on different water sources have really different implications for what water quality challenges industry and society will face. To sum it up: water quality problems are becoming more complex and expensive as climate change damages existing sources and society is forced to amplify treatment interventions and draw from less-than-ideal sources.
Groundwater impacts like saltwater intrusion and drought have already necessitated drilling deeper wells or turning to alternative sources when well failures persist. When you change groundwater depths on wells, you run into potentially new water quality issues that water systems may not be equipped to treat without extensive investments. On the surface water side, in drier climates, reduced freshwater runoff in combination with rising sea-levels can lead to decreased water quality. Rising temperatures in wetter climates are likely to see increased algal blooms, and increased flooding can yield more stormwater and agricultural runoff, which increase pollutants in our waterways.
There are many interconnected challenges, and the ability to keep up, both from a water quality testing perspective and from a systems capacity perspective, is in rapid decline due to aging infrastructure and a growing population.
When addressing these climate challenges we often risk succumbing to carbon myopia - where we focus solely on decarbonisation but neglect solutions that can help us build resilience to its inevitable impacts and all the environmental damage associated with climate change-generating activities. We need a holistic approach that considers both the mitigation and adaptation sides of the climate equation.
How do your solutions help us adapt to an uncertain water future?
SimpleLab can provide a lot more flexibility around adapting to rapidly changing conditions. From an individual perspective, if for instance someone is concerned about the effect of a recent wildfire on their water quality, they can quickly and easily test and get the results back rapidly.
Many industries will need to begin water testing in response to new regulation or changes in their underlying water supplies due to climate change. There are also benefits for industries that might already have testing infrastructure but urgently require a test for a different set of contaminants, are looking to cut over-head on management of data and testing logistics, or are looking to digitise and modernise their testing and data work. SimpleLab can help with that.
It’s not just water quality either. From a systems capacity perspective, a major part of climate adaptation is resilience. Whatever we’re doing or building needs to consider how to enhance resilience. This includes the capacity for redundancy and diversity of your system. One would hope most businesses work this way but we also want products, software and technology to meet those needs as well.
Having a large network of labs constantly keeping up with the latest methods gives us resilience in our capacity to meet ever-changing demands for industry, and the ability to quickly serve a need when and where it arises.
Unsustainable approaches to water treatment are pervasive, partly due to a lack of real-time data. We caught up with Rick Bacon, CEO at Aqua Metrology Systems (AMS), to discover how a potent combination of accurate insights and eco-friendly treatment methods can help build an industry fit for the future.
in Silicon Valley, AMS provides real-time analytical and remediation solutions to predict, control and treat regulated contaminants in water and wastewater supplies.
Founded over 10 years ago, the company started out developing and offering water monitoring solutions, and has since branched out into water treatment as well.
Why water treatment?
Monitoring for inorganic and trace metal contaminants gave us a unique view into the inherent inefficiencies of traditional water and wastewater treatment plants (WTPs/WWTPs). Our data revealed that facilities were wasting energy and chemicals, which was not only affecting their bottom line but environmental impact as well.
That is why we launched SafeGuard™ H2O, which is a low carbon, environmentally sustainable in-situ reagent generation technology proven to remove a wide range of heavy metals and nutrients from water and wastewater. The system is calibrated to treat various contaminants, for example, arsenic or hexavalent chromium, and works in tandem with an online water quality monitor—so you know that it is removing the right contaminants and in sufficient quantities.
By integrating real-time analytics and monitoring with our water treatment system, we can offer an all-in-one solution to WTPs/WWTPs that reduces the overall operational carbon footprint and the handling of toxic bulk chemicals.
What are some of the climate challenges facing the water industry?
When most people think of the ‘water industry’ they picture municipal water utilities, but it is bigger than that. Industries like agriculture, mining and semiconductors have an equal if not greater role in managing water resources and adapting to climate challenge.
For the coal fired plants and mining industries, floods and storms threaten to overwhelm their process waste containment systems which can cause pollutants to enter our waterways. While for municipalities, their biggest concern is dealing with a severe reduction in water quality and quantity.
More broadly, the whole water sector needs to prepare for, and adapt to, extreme weather events that result from climate change.
How do you help the water industry rise to the challenge?
With real-time data, WTPs/WWTPs can make informed
decisions. If you know the quality of your water, you can reuse more of it—reducing net intake. Monitoring also provides an early warning system for contaminant outbreaks, which improves compliance and reduces pollution downstream.
Overall, it helps water managers, both in industry and municipalities, to optimise [NA1] the entire system and reduce carbon emissions.
This also applies to the planning and construction of new treatment works. Without good data you can’t design an efficient plant because engineers will always build bigger—and produce more carbon—to accommodate uncertainties. However, if you have real-time, accurate insights you can build a more efficient, adaptable facility that is suited to the actual demands of that specific site.
On the treatment side, SafeGuard™ H2O reduces the need for bulk toxic chemicals like ferric salts, organosulphide and ozone, which produce substantial emissions across their supply chain. The reagents produced by the SafeGuard™ H2O system are harmless to the environment and they can be produced using renewable energy. The SafeGuard™ H2O process can also recover valuable resources that would otherwise be disposed of wastefully.
Something else that we feel very strongly about is the issue of equity. The impacts of climate change are felt most acutely in small, underserved communities and part of the problem is that large, centralised [NA2] treatment systems are not scalable to the needs of small communities, especially in remote areas. The great thing about our monitoring and treatment systems is that they can cater to the needs of both very small and very large communities. When it comes to adapting to climate change, that flexibility is critical.
A barrier to innovation in water technology is industrywide inertia. People are still doing things the way they have been done for the past 50 years. Given the emergency of the climate crisis, the water industry can’t afford to keep making uniformed decisions today that will compromise our ability to reach net zero in the future. The more unsustainable infrastructure we build today, the harder it will be to clean up the mess tomorrow.
Innovations must be sustainable. It’s no good inventing a new ion exchange resin or reverse osmosis process, for instance, that still leaves behind toxic contaminants that require yet further treatment.
Furthermore, innovations must be scalable to utilities of every shape and size. If we just keep solving for big cities the rest of the population will get left behind.
When it comes to accelerating innovation in water technology the buck stops with the stakeholders. Engineers are one of the key decision-makers who need to start putting sustainability at the heart of water treatment plant design and operation.
It’s not just the engineers that have a responsibility for driving change, water technology vendors must look beyond making a quick sale and then moving onto the next client. They need to tackle the lifetime costs of their technology and the client’s long-term needs.
We need to act now and without innovation we won’t be able to rise to the climate challenge or remain profitable in a context of diminishing margins and ever-tighter regulations.
We need more data. With proper water monitoring, stakeholders can see exactly where their systems are performing and where they are failing, and they can innovate or adopt new technologies based upon that information.
We need more education. It is shocking how many young engineers have never been trained to look at sustainability in their designs and build a sustainable water treatment plant.
Furthermore, the way projects are planned, evaluated, budgeted for, and approved must consider the costs across the lifecycle.
Regulators also play a role. Whether it is the EPA in the U.S., the EEA in Europe or the AECEN in Asia; federal, state and local regulatory agencies need to make sustainable, safe, energy-efficient water treatment plants the standard, not the exception.
And last but not least, we need to hold the solution providers’ feet to the fire. Clients should demand that suppliers offer performance-based pricing that is backed by data.
CWWA is the professional association for Canada’s municipal water sector and we are THE voice for the sector at the national and international level.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree? Absolutely! Altered weather systems leading to severe storms and unprecedented droughts while increased temperatures are dramatically affecting the quantity and quality of our source water supplies.
How do you think climate change will impact your organisation?
Municipal utilities are at the front line, working for their communities to secure and preserve safe and reliable water services while preparing to mitigate the impacts of extreme storms.
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of water technologies?
Water and wastewater utilities have historically been underfunded and as we raise rates to just manage the basics, there is resistance to paying further fees for stormwater (seen as a tax on rain). Senior governments need to see the value of investments in preventative measures over the cost of disasters.
Do you think your members are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
Yes. Climate change is at the forefront of the minds of most water professionals, but the smaller the community, the fewer the resources to address it.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
Climate adaptation must become a priority for senior governments to support the investments needed at the local level. There must be financial support to build the capacity of communities to address climate change and then the infrastructure funding to
implement those plans. Smaller communities will need greater support to develop such plans. Governments must also do more to educate the public to understand the impacts of climate and the need to support critical investments.
Are you confident that we can achieve SDG 6 - “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” - by 2030?
I believe we have the ability with both technology and finances to achieve anything, but it will take a far greater political will....which demands public support for the investments and the acceptance of change.
What does a ‘water positive’ future look like to you?
Water is recognized as the most critical and most precious resource on the planet - we protect it and use it far more wisely and we make the investments needed to secure reliable water, wastewater and stormwater systems.
The record-breaking heatwave that swept across Europe this July brought to the fore the stark realities of global climate change.
thought is that despite concerted efforts to decarbonise, scientists predict that we are still on course for significant global warming.
In many ways, the greatest impacts of climate change will be on the hydrological cycle - droughts, floods, and water quality issues are already worsening and this trend is set to continue.
To adapt to this uncertain future, society and industry must develop ways to build climate resilience, which is the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to hazardous events.
When it comes to the water-related impacts of climate change, the water industry has a huge role to play in building resilience, but so do other water-intensive sectors such as mining, agriculture, and energy.
Building, operating, and maintaining built assets in a way that is efficient, sustainable, and doesn’t compromise the quality of ever-dwindling water resources, will be crucial to the future of our planet.
From source to tap, water passes through a complex array of infrastructure and equipment, which puts it at risk of being lost or polluted.
To mitigate these risks, infrastructure must be fit-forpurpose and engineers need to make sure assets and equipment are designed, installed, operated, and maintained to the highest standards. The pressure of climate change demands it.
While technology and policy play a crucial role in these
efforts, the development and sharing of engineering expertise and best practice will be equally important.
EEMUA is one such organisation offering a source of best practice guidance and information for the engineering industry that helps improve the safety, environmental, and operating performance of industrial facilities in cost-effective ways.
EEMUA offers a range of best practice guidelines, forums and courses that help us adapt to an uncertain water future. Resources like the EEMUA Publication 231, which is delivered through live online, in-house and MIPC blended training courses, helps wastewater plant managers reduce the chances of leaks and hazardous spills.
Another best practice document, EEMUA Publication 159, offers a guide to the inspection, maintenance and repair of above ground flat bottomed storage tanks. Resources like these, and many more, help increase the operational efficiency of a plant, leading to a deduction in energy use, and thus emissions.
“Climate change brings with it extreme weather which can cause critical systems to fail,” says the organisation’s technical executive Reece Riley. “This can cause leakage, and contamination through the loss of hazardous substances, so it is vital that the infrastructure and equipment is up to the task and the people operating it are equipped with the best information.”
As part of its portfolio, EEMUA also offers training and competency courses that play a key industry role in developing and testing the knowledge, understanding,
and competency of engineers. These workers come from a range of backgrounds, and a key part of EEMUA’s work is encouraging collaboration and knowledge exchange across industries.
“EEMUA offers an opportunity for the water industry to collaborate with other sectors, share best practice and learn about how to build, operate, and maintain assets that are more resilient to the threats of climate change,” says Riley.
In its drive to equip engineers for the future, the non-profit organisation runs forums on topics such as carbon capture and hydrogen,and facilitates a range of seminars such as the Mechanical Integrity Seminar and the Inspection Seminar which provide a noncompetitive framework to share expertise in good practice for the benefit of members, industry and society as a whole.
The importance of engineering knowledge, collaboration and capacity-building cannot be understated. Engineers are responsible for making critical decisions that affect our future, and education that upskills current workers and inspires the next generation is therefore paramount.
The key to developing the skills and knowledge required – and remaining at the leading edge – is a deep understanding of, and responsiveness to, the needs of the people working on the ground.
“EEMUA’s guiding principle has always been ‘by the industry, for the industry’, and, at a time when transformation that can stem the effects of climate change is being rapidly sought, this principle is more important than ever,” says Riley.
Online learning, an area where EEMUA has a rapidly growing offering, is a flexible and effective enabler of knowledge dissemination that appeals particularly to young engineers - the future changemakers. As the UN puts it, “Education empowers all people, but especially motivates the young to take action.”
These offerings foster the skills and expertise required to adapt to an uncertain future at a time where the decisions engineers make today, will create ripples of impact for decades to come.
Click here for more information on EEMUA’s best practice guidelines, forums and courses.
Providing hardware monitoring for supply and pressurised wastewater utility systems, an advanced user platform and extensive advisory support capabilities, Syrinix’s solutions span leak detection, immediate burst detection and locating, pressure transient monitoring and mitigation and rising/force main monitoring and alerting.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree? The management of water supplies is certainly a key element in responding to the challenges of climate change, however the impacts are far broader. Witness for instance the rail and road failures in the UK during the recent record-breaking heatwave.
As the economic cost of net zero by 2050 becomes apparent, and as the global economic outlook deteriorates, there are broad issues to address of which water is but one.
Utilities can no longer afford to manage their networks on a purely reactive basis
What is the role of innovation?
The need for innovation in the sector is increasingly apparent beyond the traditional early adopter utilities.
On the US West Coast, as utilities face federal cuts to Colorado river allocations, new, and previously unacceptable solutions are being embraced.
In the UK meanwhile, the entire ownership basis of the sector is being challenged in response to perceived delayed responses to climate change issues. After years of false dawns, for companies that can truly work alongside utilities and deliver effective innovations, the outlook is consequently positive.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
An asset cannot be managed unless the asset owner understands how the asset is actually performing. The challenge of course is to provide not just large amounts of data, but accurate high resolution data that allows users to identify and manage/mitigate challenges quickly and effectively.
It is Syrinix’s combination of high frequency and high accuracy, with advanced automated and manual data filtering, that transforms how utilities can identify, manage and mitigate issues to optimise the performance of their networks.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
Government must have a role in setting targets and encouraging innovation but with the emphasis on aligning those aims with market forces i.e. set the framework and then get out of the way. Only then, with the prospect of real reward for those taking the risk in backing innovations, will transformational solutions emerge.
Richard Simons Head of Application Science AquiSense Technologies
AquiSense Technologies is the global leader in the design and manufacture of UV-C LED water disinfection systems. They work with leading UV LED manufacturers to evaluate their devices and using a combination of patented technology and in-depth know-how, AquiSense integrates LED devices into products that solve real world problems in water, air, and surface applications.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
Of course! Our water courses are critical both to the natural and built worlds. Reduction in the availability and quality of fresh water is a major stress to the viability of natural, agricultural, and urban environments alike. If we are to continue with any semblance of our current way of life we have to accept and protect our water supplies.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
UV-C LEDs offer the disinfection benefits of conventional UV water treatment, but with the added capabilities of unlimited on-off cycles and much higher physical durability. This allows for rapidly reactive systems in potentially intermittent operational modes, responding to dynamic water distribution and delivery needs.
For example, a UV-C LED system could be deployed in a dynamic use case to help manage storm waters and the impacts of effluent overflows under high loads. Since LED lifetime is not damaged by power cycling such a system could be maintained on stand-by without performance loss, or even considered as a mobile state/national resource and relocated on a needs basis.
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of your technology? Are there any barriers?
UV-C LED technology is relatively young and in an exponential growth phase, as such, the benefits of a mature technology platform have not yet been realised and price remains relatively high.
However, price and performance have recently tipped in the favour of a growing number of applications. Barriers to implementation are cost and awareness, though both are reducing day-by-day.
Do you think your clients are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
Absolutely! Working in an emerging technology market we speak regularly with forward-thinking customers who are cognisant of not only economic impacts, but also environmental impacts and dynamic future needs.
If we are to continue with any semblance of our current way of life we have to accept and protect our water supplies
Amane Advisors is a leading international strategic advisory firm focused on water and resource recovery in the circular economy, with eight offices around the world (UK, France, USA, Switzerland, Spain, Bahrain, Singapore and China). We help our clients achieve sustainable growth while also helping to protect and regenerate the Earth’s resources. Our clients range from innovative start-ups to large global industrial companies and private equity investors worldwide.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
At Amane we see water as being the central point of the entire climate change challenge. Climate impacts the Earth’s entire water cycle, which in turn has direct effects on food and energy supplies, economic production, biodiversity and ocean health. Any serious attempts to either minimise climate change or improve climate resilience will have to address a range of water-related issues.
Do you think your clients are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
All of our clients - whether technology providers, water users such as utilities or industrials, or even financial investors - are now including the impacts of climate change in the ongoing development and adaptation of their strategies, assessing its relevance as a challenge or an opportunity (or sometimes both).
The next big challenge will be for corporations in “non-water” sectors to develop strategies to adequately address the growing water risk to their own operations.
If you could make one type of water innovation mainstream overnight, which would it be?
Water reuse, which could be expanded exponentially utilising existing technology and would make a major difference in many water-stressed areas.
Are you confident that we can achieve SDG 6 - “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” - by 2030?
Not very confident, unfortunately. That target date is now less than eight years away and I’m afraid that, despite the real progress being made in some regions and the great work being done by a number of organisations, the gap is still too large to be closed on time.
I would love to see a future in which water is automatically considered as a significant factor in any strategic business decision
What does a ‘water positive’ future look like to you?
I would love to see a future in which water is automatically considered as a significant factor in any strategic business decision, both as an irreplaceable input to production and as a likely area of environmental impact from that same production. I expect that a whole range of investment decisions will look very different if they start to be assessed with that sort of “water positive” approach.
Exclusive interview: H2O Global News editor Siôn Geschwindt caught up with Louise Bleach, vice president of business development at Desolenator, to find out more about their unique approach to solar desalination.
Whenastronauts first went to space they looked back and marvelled at the mighty blue planet we call home.
Over 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. But crucially, only 0.5% of that water is fresh and available for use.
This freshwater – found in our lakes, rivers and underground – is essential for our survival. But as populations grow and climate change accelerates, water scarcity worsens. Even today, 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water.
Ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, as outlined in UN SDG 6, is one of greatest challenges of our time and requires significant investment, and immediate action.
The first port of call is to conserve and restore the quality of the 0.5% of freshwater we have available and make it equitably accessible. But what about those parts of the world where freshwater simply isn’t available?
According to UNICEF, over two billion people live in countries where water supply is inadequate, and half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025.
Globally, more than 300 million people depend on desalination
In some situations, the best option is to turn to the remaining 97% – the oceans.
Desalination of saltwater for drinking isn’t knew. In its simplest form it has been practiced for centuries, but was formalised more recently in the 50s and 60s.
The most popular methods are thermal desalination and reverse osmosis. Thermal desalination uses heat to vaporise fresh water from seawater or brackish water.
Reverse osmosis separates fresh water by forcing seawater or brackish water through a membrane at high pressure.
Globally, more than 300 million people depend on desalination, with several countries, such as the Bahamas, Maldives and Malta, relying on the technology for all their water needs.
The Middle East accounts for just under half of total capacity, while Asia, China, the United States, and South America are scaling up their desalination capacity fast.
Today, there are more than 17,000 desalination plants globally, producing 107 million cubic meters of desalinated water every day.
So what’s the catch?
“The current approach to desalination is simply unsustainable,” says Louise Bleach, vice president of business development at Desolenator. “It is highly
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energy and carbon intensive, costly, and produces a toxic brine that is often discharged into the marine environment.”
According to one report published in Nature, Each 1000 cubic meters of seawater processed releases as much as 6.7 tons of CO2. And with new desalination plants popping up across the world each year – that’s a whole lot of emissions.
the production of a toxic brine.
The company is currently looking to certify their brine as ‘ocean safe’. In fact, Desolenator is one of the only desalination companies to be funded by an ocean impact fund – a testament to their proactiveness on the problem.
After years of R&D and pilot projects, Desolenator launched their first fully operational solar thermal desalination plant in Dubai in March. The pilot plant has a capacity of 20,000 litres per day and was launched in collaboration with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
Furthermore, in most desalination processes, for every litre of potable water produced, about 1.5 litres of toxic brine – a combination of salty water and chemicals –is created.
These two factors hinder the viability of the desalination industry and threaten the health of the planet.
Thankfully, in recent years there has been a surge of innovations and new ideas looking to drive a stepchange in the way we extract freshwater from the sea.
One of these innovators is Desolenator, a Londonbased startup founded in 2014, that says it has developed the world’s first solar thermal desalination technology which delivers net-zero water.
The company aims to provide water to communities in dry and often remote regions, but with minimal environment impacts. It does this by tackling desalination’s current pitfalls head on.
Desolentor uses solar panels to power the entire system. More specifically, a ‘hybrid’ type of solar panel which is a combination of regular PV and solar thermal technology – known as Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT).
“Harnessing both the electrical and thermal properties of the sun makes it up to four times more efficient than regular solar panels,” says Louise.
The electrical energy is used to power the control systems, auxillary systems and pumps, while the thermal energy powers the Multi Effect Desalination (MED) unit. An MED evaporates sea water at low temperatures in order to produce clean distillate water.
While most MEDs are the size of a house, Desolenator has reduced there’s to about the size of a car – making it modular and easier to setup in remote areas.
By using this method, the company avoids using membranes or harmful chemicals which in turn avoids
The success of the pilot plant would technically validate Desolenator’s technology, which would have significant implications for the region and beyond, the company said.
After the successful completion of this project, Desolenator and DEWA intend to establish a joint venture company with the aim of commercialising this technology.
“The partnership between DEWA and Desolenator embodies the importance of fruitful cooperation between the public and private sectors to develop new solutions based on the latest technologies to meet the various challenges,” said Khalfan Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Future Foundation.
The pilot plant was installed at DEWA’s Jebel Ali Power Plant and Desalination Complex. This gas- and -oil powered facility is the largest seawater desalination plant in the world – producing a whopping 2 billion litres of freshwater per day.
The two plants now stand side by side – the old and the new.
Countries like Dubai rely on desalination for their livelihoods but up till now this process has been completely reliant on fossil fuels. As solar power becomes increasingly price-competitive and the climate emergency ever more urgent, solar desalination increasingly becomes the only viable option.
“To address the global water and climate crisis, we need new forms of collaboration between innovators and organisations and DEWA have shown a vision and support that stands as a great example for the world,” concludes William Janssen, CEO of Desolenator.
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The current approach to desalination is simply unsustainable
A world leader in water treatment solutions, IDE specialises in the development, engineering, construction and operation of enhanced desalination and industrial water treatment plants for clients around the globe.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
Climate change is impacting our planet’s water resources. Long-lasting heat waves directly impact water availability - and ultimately, add to the already problematic water scarcity. By 2025, two-thirds of the global population may be struggling with water shortages, so it’s vital that people and organisations explore every avenue to mitigate the scarcity, including the technology available to us.
How do you think climate change will impact your business?
Climate change is undeniably getting worse and now we see people increasingly taking a stand on the issue through government funded relief packages to fight climate change. With climate change now top of mind for many, leaders will more frequently turn to IDE (and companies alike) to adopt desalination technologies and industrial water treatment solutions. In short, IDE’s capabilities will become more needed as climate challenges worsen.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
IDE’s solutions are designed to alleviate water challenges while simultaneously minimising the environmental impact. We continuously invest in reducing the ecological footprint of our offerings, achieving the industry’s lowest energy consumption for all three dominant desalination technologies and industrial water treatment solutions. We keep our finger on the pulse of all water-related environmental challenges and bring our innovative technologies to regions in need around the globe.
If you could make one type of water innovation mainstream overnight, which would it be?
Desalination technology is in the limelight right now as much of the country’s household drinking water relies on this process. Yet, it is pertinent that industry applications adopt brine minimisation technologies, given that 20% of total water withdrawals globally are used for industrial purposes. We need to get everyone enthused about desalination capabilities - including large companies and municipalities - to see real change.
‘‘By 2025, two-thirds of the global population may be struggling with water shortagesWhen we attain a ‘water positive’ future, we will be able to sustain the needs of people and nature, keeping ecosystems thriving and feeding the growing human population. Water scarcity can only be overcome with advanced technology and earthconscious people working towards the same goal: preserving our natural resources. IDE can play an instrumental part in forging the path to a “water positive” future by providing high-quality, clean water to areas dealing with detrimental scarcity.
Boreal Light GmbH is a young Berlin-based company that designs and manufactures affordable solar water desalination and filtration systems for off-grid communities around the globe.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
It is undeniable that climate change directly affects water resources through drought, flooding and saltwater intrusion. Climate change will impact every aspect of our lives and change the way we live and think. It will have devastating consequences for many countries, especially those in the developing world. For these reasons it is critical that water is put at the centre of the climate conversation.
How do you think climate change will impact your business?
We make it our mission to provide off-grid communities with solutions to minimise the water-related consequences of climate change. Therefore, not only do we believe that climate change directly impacts our business, we also believe that climate change fosters the development of our product in a time where the call to action is urgently needed.
What water technologies do you currently use?
The Winture PlanetCubes use three different technologies, depending on the nature and quality of the intake (raw) water: Ultrafiltration, Microfiltration and Reverse Osmosis (for saline water). The machines also have a pre-filtration mode that consists mostly of either Ultrafiltration membranes or a sand and activated carbon filter.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
Solar water desalination is a sustainable way to provide freshwater in water scarce and remote regions because it is off-grid, relatively simple to operate, and affordable. This technology can help communities adapt to the realities of climate change where water is likely to be less available and increasingly contaminated.
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of your technology? Are there any barriers?
For the system to run effectively, there has to be enough sunlight to power the pumps and the desalination/ treatment process. Other than that, a short course on how to operate and maintain the machinery is very important, especially in remote rural areas that might not be too familiar with the solution.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
Given that climate change is one of the biggest global challenges, we believe that governments boost investment in climate change adaptation technologies such as solar desalination.There are lots of good technologies to combat the detrimental effects of climate change, but the political environment must foster these solutions and encourage people to take risks and innovate.
Are you confident that we can achieve SDG 6 - “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” - by 2030?
We need to look at the progress we have made in the last 10 years and admit that this goal is too ambitious to be reached in 8 years time. There are millions and millions of people that die from water-borne diseases like cholera and have to fetch water from kilometres away that is not even safe to consume.
What does a ‘water positive’ future look like to you?
For us, a water positive future begins with a global understanding and respect for the human right to safe and freshwater.
Personally, we would ban the privatisation of common water sources, especially in continents like Africa.
Furthermore, we plead for the use of renewable energies in water obtainment and treatment in a way that it would benefit especially the people that will suffer most from the consequences of global warming and climate change.
We’re leaders in sustainable algae management, with headquarters in the Netherlands and offices around the world. We deliver smart solutions to fight water pollution and reduce harmful chemical usage in the water treatment industry.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
Water change is undoubtedly impacted by climate change. Water quality is potentially deteriorating as a result of rising temperatures and unpredictable, extreme weather. Higher water temperatures combined with an increase of nutrients can result in conditions favourable for algal blooms. As a result, toxic algal blooms may occur more frequently, in more freshwater or marine water bodies, and may also be more intense.
SDG 6 won’t be easy to achieve but with strong global partnerships and cooperation, it can be done.
How do you think climate change will impact your business?
Climate change is a catalyst for harmful algal blooms (HABs). For over 10 years, we’ve invested in research and development to become leaders in algae management. We are committed to keep our innovation at the cuttingedge and answer the ongoing challenges raised by climate change in the water treatment industry.
What water technologies do you currently use?
We deliver smart solutions to fight water pollution and reduce harmful chemical usage with ultrasound. Our award-winning technology is MPC-Buoy, an eco-friendly algae control that integrates real-time water quality monitoring for large water bodies.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
The MPC-Buoy provides cost-effective monitoring and early algal bloom warning solutions for lakes and water reservoirs. The buoy continuously monitors water quality in real-time and is able to signal changes in water conditions.
One of our projects with American Water Maryland, was awarded a national honour for excellence by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent algae growth and guarantee water supply during times of drought or other water supply emergencies.
Deploying our eco-friendly algae control helps to preserve water quality for an unexpected water crisis in the future.
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of your technology? Are there any barriers?
The uptake of new innovations requires education. Of the end-users but also the stakeholders involved in our projects. They will need to know that the technology is tested, proven and safe for the environment.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
The government should play a role in supporting people and businesses to utilise climate adaptation technology. Raising awareness on this issue to the public and through policies are imperative to encourage the acceleration of change and improvement.
If you could make one type of water innovation mainstream overnight, which would it be?
Hydrovolta, an innovative solution to desalinate sea water. Making drinking water more accessible in regions where freshwater sources are even more limited.
Are you confident that we can achieve SDG 6 - “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” - by 2030?
Yes, we are confident we can realise SDG 6. It won’t be an easy target to achieve but with strong global partnerships and cooperation, it can be done. Bringing companies, academia, government, civil society and other groups together to deliver on a common purpose is a powerful recipe that can unleash innovative ways of problem solving to achieve the goal.
Exclusive interview: H2O Global News editor Siôn Geschwindt caught up with Nick Dyner, CEO of Moleaer, to find about more about nanobubble technology, its myriad benefits, and how it can help the water industry on its journey to net zero.
The quantity of dissolved oxygen (DO) in water directly impacts its quality and its ability to support life. Just compare a fresh mountain stream to an algae-infested pond and the importance of DO becomes clear.
This is why a whole industry exists to provide aeration products and services – to keep water oxygen levels at or above a certain threshold.
But there is a new technology on the scene disrupting the norm and promising a host of other benefits too: nanobubbles.
Small is beautiful Nanobubbles are tiny bubbles between 70-120 nanometers in size – 2500 times smaller than a single grain of salt.
Due to their microscopic size, they possess distinct properties from regular bubbles. They aren’t buoyant, they have a strong negative surface charge, and they release hydroxyl radical (HO) when they destabilise – a naturally-occuring oxidiser commonly used to destroy contaminants.
“These unique properties translate to notable water
quality, water treatment, and efficiency benefits for a number of different industries,” said Nick Dyner, CEO of Moleaer, to H2O Global News.
Based in California and founded in 2017, Moleaer was born after its co-founder Bruce Scholten discovered a new method to produce billions of nanobubbles at an industrial scale.
The first company to bring nanobubble technology to market, Moleaer creates nanobubbles and uses machines to diffuse them into water supplies, sustaining the level of dissolved oxygen.
Dyner says the solution is far more effective than typical aeration technologies which generally achieve less than 3% oxygen transfer efficiency. This means that only a small fraction of the injected gas dissolves in the water – the rest bubbles up to the surface and is released back into the atmosphere.
However, Moleaer claims its proprietary technology is 30 times more efficient, enabling dissolved oxygen (DO) levels to increase while using far less oxygen.
This helps various sectors like agriculture and the water industry to reduce their water, chemical, and energy footprint, Dyner says.
Doing more, with less Aeration alone makes up an estimated 70-80% of all energy consumed at a standard Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).
This is because WWTPs clean water and remove contaminants primarily by circulating air to
encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria.
The problem is that in the UK, for instance, WWTPs only source about 8.5% of their electricity from renewables.
Many water companies have committed to delivering a net zero water supply to customers by 2030. But in order to achieve this ambitious target they will need to come up with innovative ways to boost the efficiency of their processes.
The Fallbrook WWTP, California, was one such facility that faced challenges associated with inefficient aeration performance, largely due to the detrimental impacts of surfactants.
Surfactants reduce the surface tension of water and deplete oxygen levels – making typical aeration processes less effective. Typically 40-60% of the energy required to dissolve oxygen into wastewater can be attributed to the negative impacts of surfactants alone.
oxygen was transferred and 45% potential energy savings were made.
“The data collected showed how the adoption of the Moleaer nanobubble technology nearly doubled the energy efficiency of our existing fine-bubble aeration system, due to the ability of nanobubbles to remove surfactants from the influent wastewater,” said a Fallbrook WWTP representative.
These results are not isolated. Hundreds of use cases and several peer-reviewed studies show that nanobubbles can replace or improve the efficiency of water aeration processes.
To tackle the issue, Fallbrook called in Moleaer. The company conducted two 25-day pilot studies using one of its nanobubble generators.
The nanobubbles were injected into a headworks basin upstream of the primary clarifiers to treat an average daily influent flow of 1.4 million gallons per day. Data on water quality and operating parameters, including dissolved oxygen (DO) and oxygen transfer efficiency, were measured throughout the pilot studies.
Nanobubble technology will become 'standard kit' across many industries in the futureMoleaer’s nanobubble generator at Fallbrook Wastewater Treatment Plant
Third-party verified results showed that Moleaer’s nanobubble technology was able to reduce the organic and surfactant loads, resulting in an aeration energy savings that averaged 30% of the plant’s historical annual aeration expenditures. 60% more
They also have a big role to play in agriculture, another industry that uses aeration technology extensively and also consumes a huge amount of water – 70% of the world’s total in fact.
“Nanobubbles cut costs for farmers, but they also oxygenate the water which brings higher crop yields and builds resilience in the root zone,” said Dryner. “This is proven to lower the water demand of plants – helping to reduce the water intake of agriculture.”
The benefits of nanobubbles are hard to deny, and clearly investors agree.
In May, Moleaer raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by cleantech investors Apollo, bringing the company’s total funding raised to $61 million.
The company plans to use the fresh funding to ramp up every aspect of their business – from expanding their R&D lab to growing their international presence.
Dyner believes that nanobubble technology will become ‘standard kit’ across many industries in the future, driven by the demand for more efficient and sustainable solutions.
“If we are to mitigate and adapt to climate change, we need to start thinking about how to manage our water more effectively,” he added. “Nanobubbles just make sense – they are low risk and have so many benefits, and for this reason will no doubt be the go-to aeration technology of the future.”
Moleaer’s nanobubble generator at Fallbrook Wastewater Treatment PlantNanobubble technology will become ‘standard kit’ across many industries in the future
The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) is an organisation of the largest publicly owned drinking water systems in the United States. AMWA's membership serves more than 160 million people – from Alaska to Puerto Rico – with safe drinking water.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree?
Absolutely. Scientific research has found that climate change is impacting the hydrological cycle and threatens drinking water supplies in the United States in a number of ways, including increased evaporation reducing water storage volume, rising sea levels bringing saltwater intrusion to inland water supplies, changes in seasonal rainfall patterns, reduced mountain snowpack, and increased water contamination as a result of heavier storm intensity and increased turbidity and sedimentation.
How do you think climate change will impact your membership organisations?
Climate change already affects the business of AMWA members and will continue to do so. As a result, adaptation to these changes will continue to require investment in operational, technological, and infrastructure upgrades and development.
AMWA led the charge for one of the first cost assessments of climate change adaptation on drinking water and wastewater utilities back in 2009. The report estimated the costs of adaptations to address the likely impacts of climate change on our nation’s drinking water and wastewater utilities through 2050 and found
the costs to utilities could range from $448 billion to $944 billion based on climate projects available at the time.
Do you think your members are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
Many AMWA utilities are leaders in the field of climate change adaptation and take the opportunity to collaborate with other utilities to share how to incorporate climate change in their long-term operations and planning.
The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) is an alliance of twelve water utilities that are all AMWA members across the United States. WUCA provides leadership and collaboration to advance climate change adaptation, planning, and decision-making at water utilities. In 2021 WUCA led the sector by releasing a report on leading climate adaptation practices and case studies.
WUCA and AMWA have long partnered to develop and share best practices with the water sector, including initiatives like assessing and mitigating heat impacts on the water workforce and water infrastructure.
AMWA member organisations have led efforts to make the business case for adaptation. From finding cobenefits and low-regret adaptation strategies, AMWA members from coast to coast are demonstrating how adaptation strategies across core business areas including financial planning make for a more resilient water supply and community.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
Government should prioritise making its climate and forecasting science available and actionable for businesses and other decision makers.
Furthermore, America’s water infrastructure needs billions of dollars’ worth of improvements in the coming decades, not accounting for the additional stresses that climate change imposes. Increased government investment in this infrastructure and the development of alternative water supplies will help utilities adapt to these serious challenges.
Likewise, the federal government should offer incentives for carbon-emitting operations, including water utilities, to take proactive steps to reduce their emissions and increase the efficiency of both their plants and customers’ water usage.
What promising policy changes have we seen so far in the US?
The US federal government has recently taken some promising steps. For example, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorised $250 million over five years for the Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program that will offer new EPA grants to help drinking water systems counter threats associated with climate change and extreme weather.
AMWA is urging Congress to begin appropriating those funds now. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act provides $25 million to support projects in the American west to cover water conveyance facilities with solar panels to generate renewable energy or similar solar projects that increase water efficiency.
That law also carries $4 billion to support certain drought mitigation activities in states where water supply is overseen by the Bureau of Reclamation. Eligible activities include voluntary reductions in water consumption and system conservation projects that reduce water demand in the Upper or Lower Basins of the Colorado River.
If you could make one type of water innovation mainstream overnight, which would it be?
Water smart and efficient technologies, such as those labelled by Water Sense, a program of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Ubiquitous uptake of water efficient technologies is low hanging fruit that will move us toward a more sustainable use of water and energy.
In the past twenty years, the majority of large urban drinking water utilities have reduced their production due to a reduction in water use even though
populations have increased. In addition to low-flow toilets, showerheads, and more efficient home and industrial appliances that reduce both water and energy use, the mainstream use of soil moisturesensor and weather-based irrigation controllers would also help homeowners and others reduce their water use.
If water efficient technologies were employed wherever possible in every household, hundreds of billions of dollars in water and energy costs would be saved, resulting in more sustainable water use and a reduction in greenhouse gases.
What does a ‘water positive’ future look like to you?
A water positive future would ensure water security, resilience, and sustainability, and that all water users do their part to minimise their impacts on water supplies and quality.
In this future, technological innovations that allow for water supply flexibility by local water utilities and other water users would be available, affordable, and supported by the most stringent environmental and public health research.
A water positive future requires innovative approaches to the use of limited water resources and may include the use of technologies like direct and indirect potable water reuse or non-potable water recycling, which have the potential to augment traditional water supplies.
Approaches to potable water reuse may involve diverting a portion of return flows either into an existing supply reservoir or directly into a water treatment facility. Water utilities must be diligent while implementing these new technologies to ensure continued protection of public health. This new supply may serve both human consumption and emergency response purposes. Similarly, in a water positive future, recycling of non-potable water used by manufacturing and other businesses would meet environmental and ecological sustainability goals.
Ubiquitous uptake of water efficient technologies is low hanging fruit
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Evoqua Water Technologies (Evoqua) is a leading provider of mission-critical water and wastewater treatment solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products, services, and expertise to support industrial, municipal and recreational customers who value water.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree? Water is one of the primary mediums through which we will feel the effects of climate change through less predictable water availability, increased flooding, and water scarcity. There is also a lack of infrastructure built to withstand the water stresses we are witnessing and will see in the future. Additionally, our traditional sources of water may not be sufficient. We will have to develop more flexible means of reusing water. This will require more energy-efficient solutions, renewable energy, and circular waste streams.
How do you think climate change will impact your business?
Evoqua is dedicated to developing and delivering solutions that help customers and communities protect the world's most valuable resource. With the urgent need to do more about climate change and the increasing water risk facing our customers’ facilities, we expect to see investments in water systems increase and more companies establish sustainability goals tied to their water footprint.
What water technologies do you currently use?
At Evoqua, we work daily to build a more sustainable, healthy, and safe water system by providing various water treatment solutions to communities, companies, and organisations worldwide. Key offerings from Evoqua include: clarification, contaminant removal, disinfection, electrochlorination, filtration, recycle/ reuse, separation, waste-to-energy, and wastewater treatment.
What are some of the barriers to the adoption of your technology? Are there any barriers?
We hear from our customers that they are challenged with establishing the business case for change. They recognise there are opportunities, whether it be an economic return on investment or their environmental impact. Being able to properly scope and scale the available solutions is becoming a primary topic of interest.
Do you think your clients are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
You would be hard-pressed to find an industry not reliant on a stable water supply, whether used to power that enterprise, required to feed its supply chain, or instrumental in creating a product itself. We find many customers are at different stages in their sustainability journey in how they are integrating resilience and adaptation. Fortunately, we have solutions to help them at every step of the way.
What does a ‘water positive’ future look like to you?
Water positive is having the quantity and quality of water needed for all. This can be achieved through water efficiency, reuse, and recycling initiatives, but it also needs to include a holistic watershed approach. If we look at communities, industries, municipalities, the natural environment, and more, we can see that this approach is necessary to have an impact on water quality and quantity.
You would be hard-pressed to find an industry not reliant on a stable water supply
Bentley Systems is an infrastructure engineering software company providing solutions for the design, construction, and operations of water and wastewater, public works and utilities, roads and bridges, rail and transit, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities.
Climate change is water change. Do you agree? Climate change will most directly be felt as water change. UNICEF reports that 74% of all natural disasters were water related. But extreme weather isn’t the only water-related problem we’re Facing. Climate change-induced water stress will cause ripple effects across global supply chains, many different demographics and all socio-economic classes.
utilisation of more advanced monitoring and operations means they’ll have the tools they need to be more resilient in times of chronic AND emergency shocks and stressors.
What role should the government play in promoting climate adaptation tech?
Some governments have begun to promote climate adaptation and those are the communities that are able to fund specific strategies for resilience.
It’s well-known that $1 of preparation saves $6 of emergency work. For governments that have placed mandates on utilities, they’re more likely to save money after a climatic event.
There are also some examples in the UK and Australia of how government initiatives to build infrastructure more equitably have helped to prepare vulnerable communities by measurable value in what is known as the social return on investment.
How does your water solution help us prepare for an uncertain water future?
Bentley provides powerful solutions spanning the many degrees of water-related changes. We’re using digitalisation and access to technology to make it more reliable for users, transparent to communities, and adaptable to change.
We’re proud to offer solutions to design and operate more resilient water systems, assess flood risks, and monitor dam safety. Another important initiative for us is to help marginalised communities, who will feel the full financial and social impacts of water change.
Do you think your clients are adequately considering climate change adaptation in their business strategies?
We’ve seen many large utilities begin to consider climate in their business plans. But what’s great about Bentley technology is that even if a project’s focus is not directly stated as ‘climate change adaptation’, the
If you could make one type of water innovation mainstream overnight, which would it be?
Incremental innovations are often just as important as big, disruptive changes. In the case of water and climate adaptation, we will need both to prepare our communities for the future.
A big topic right now is the One Water philosophythe understanding that all the earth’s water is interconnected. If we can change the public mindset then we can begin to reuse and adapt water technologies to more efficiently suit the needs for humans and ecosystems.
The ability to have real-time monitoring across the water distribution network, all the way from the water source to individual customers. Being able to quickly detect events such as leaks, pipe breaks, energy wastage, water quality issues and immediately respond to them - saving water, energy, money and lives.
‘‘ Marginalised communities will feel the full financial and social impacts of water change.
By Greg Moyle, Head of Energy at SAP UK & Ireland
The UN’s High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action aims to fully decarbonise water and wastewater services in 20 countries by 2030. Not only is achieving net zero an imperative for water utility companies to ensure the future of this planet and this essential natural resource, but it’s now a key expectation of customers and regulators alike. Alongside the sustainability challenge, water companies are also facing uncertainty over demand and population growth, environmental instability and water scarcity.
With these competing priorities, water suppliers face multifaceted issues which can make hitting net zero seem an insurmountable challenge. Yet according to research, in comparison to other industries, utility executives lead the way in sustainability action within their organisations. However, half also say that increased process complexity is standing in the way of meeting their sustainability targets. As a result, many are turning to technology to help to solve this complicated matrix. Water is an industry keen to innovate; players within this space are more advanced than those in other industries in adopting technology. In fact, almost half use big data and the cloud to power operations versus approximately a third in other industries.
Here we explore how these technologies are powering success for water companies across the four key sustainable challenges.
Under pressure to meet ambitious sustainability targets, many water companies have started to make progress by recognising the need to be held accountable and to reduce harmful gases. For instance, Water UK has found that the UK’s water industry uses 2% of national energy consumption but produces one-third of total national Greenhouse Gases from its operations. Fundamentally, this is a key barrier to meeting net zero.
Reducing emissions is therefore a market priority, and with OFWAT introducing mandatory reporting of emissions, it has become essential to digitalise systems to monitor usage effectively.
Increasingly, water companies are turning to remote monitoring and real-time data analysis to aid energy
optimisation and reduce consumption. Through enhanced analytics, powered by IoT sensors and the cloud, water companies can collect and read vast amounts of data in real-time. Not only does this support overall measurement of consumption but it helps to forecast usage, which means that utilities can better identify where to optimise their output and reduce their footprint.
However, it is not enough to reduce energy use; the energy itself needs to come from renewable sources. Through the cloud and big data, utility companies can analyse their service and the supply chain to make more accurate, informed choices on where nonrenewables are present, and seek ways to convert to greener alternatives.
It is estimated that non-revenue water (NRW) has reached over 126 billion cubic meters per year - a staggering loss in a world where water scarcity is a very real issue. As a result, water utilities must look to promote a range of water-saving initiatives and continuously monitor for and control leaks across the network.
While NRW is a constant thorn in the side of utility companies, it is another area where IoT sensors, the cloud and advanced analytics are paving the way for a more sustainable future.
Smart water solutions, incorporating real-time network monitoring, can identify water loss incidents. While predictive asset insight makes it possible to identify operational inefficiencies, instantly detect repair issues, and even predict maintenance needs before problems arise.
In this sense, digital transformation can act as an early warning system, reducing non-revenue water and providing invaluable data on the network’s health, feeding into broader analysis that can support sustainable goals. What’s more, water companies no longer need to tolerate the often expensive, slow hardware associated with legacy processes. Instead, IoT sensors and the cloud can support a cost-efficient business model while powering scalable insights from rich data sets.
The supply chain is at the heart of driving a sustainable business model for water companies and reaching that crucial net zero target. It’s here that the cloud and real-time analytics is playing a key role in delivering critical end-to-end visibility to allow utility leaders to make smarter, more informed purchasing and planning choices.
But delivering supply chain sustainability is not a responsibility that water companies need to shoulder alone. Success is driven through collaboration, not just with suppliers but partners too – regardless of their type or size. As such, many have opted into flexible and scalable networks which gather end-to-end data to support in-depth supply chain insight and measurement. This approach means it is possible to work with suppliers to assess and reduce the collective carbon footprint, innovate, and adopt circular business models, reduce waste, and drive social responsibility across the supply chain.
Water utility companies have goals in both Capital Carbon, emissions associated with the creation of an asset, and Operational Carbon, emissions during the in-use operation of a building, which are continuously monitored and reported. However, customers, regulators, investors, and employees want transparency in sustainability and for clear targets to be set, monitored, and actioned.
Measurement is the foundation of net zero success, so monitoring progress and gaining actionable insights from dependable sustainability data is crucial. As such, water companies should seek to draw insights from a
central data source that can improve Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) transparency and sustainable business performance, while also promoting trust in robust and auditable ESG reporting.
Moreover, by drawing insights from a central data source, water companies can take a proactive, rather than reactive approach, to science-based targets. With real-time analysis and the cloud, utilities can integrate and acquire sustainability and ESG data, and build models that offer resilience against global volatility and uncertainty, and support current and future strategies across business divisions, from finance, HR, real estate to operations.
According to the UK government, between 2025 and 2050 Britain will need more than 3.4 billion additional litres of water per day to meet future demand for public water supply. Emerging technology such as analytics, AI, IoT, machine learning and smart metering have enormous potential to reduce utilities’ water footprint and reach net-zero. To achieve this, water utilities need to engage technology partners with specific industry expertise and the digital solutions to match. This is not a challenge that water utilities companies can answer in isolation but requires collaboration and innovation, where technology can be harnessed to support an encompassing sustainability strategy.
Date: 8th October - 12th October 2022
Location: New Orleans, USA
Discover innovative technology and solutions to the water sector’s most important issues. Meet more water quality suppliers in 5 days than you can all year at this WEF conference. Earn CEU credits. Innovative Suppliers. Global Water Sector. Access education.
Date: 15th November - 17th November 2022
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Taking place in Los Angeles, a city pioneering innovative water reuse strategies, the American Water Summit will explore key drivers that are fuelling transformative change across the continent.
Date: 22nd November - 23rd November 2022
Location: Birmingham, UK
The conference provides an essential annual update on the latest innovations, best practice, cutting-edge technology and research in bioresources and biowaste processing.
Date: 29th November - 2nd December 2022
Location: Bilbao, Spain
On the 29 November 2022, the first edition of the IWA Digital Water Summit will take place under the tagline “Join the transformation journey” designed to be the reference in digitalisation for the global water sector. Water technology providers and water utilities are the main participants that will discuss and shape the agenda of this first IWA Digital Water Summit.
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Future Water Association is a modern, innovative and dynamic membership organisation that inspires, supports and leads the water supply chain. We want to make a difference and aim to shape the future of the water sector by:
We will strive to keep our members informed about opportunities, the regulators about challenges and Government about policy direction.
We will encourage and support innovation through Water Dragons and delivering the ‘Innovating the Future’ roadmap, where creativity has a route to market.
We will influence and inspire the supply chain to develop innovative solutions and new ways of thinking to shape the future of the water sector.
Membership provides you with a cost effective way for you to be better connected, better informed and more empowered to win work, grow your business and network within the water sector.
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