Express Water (Vol.1, No.7) June, 2018

CONTENTS TECH UPDATE

Vol 01 No 7 June 2018 Pages60 Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka

22

Sr Vice President - BPD

Neil Viegas

DESIGN WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS IN AN EVEN MORE USERFRIENDLY PROCESS

Editor

Mayur Sharma*

TECH FOCUS

DESIGN National Design Editor

Bivash Barua Assistant Art Director

Pravin Temble Chief Designer

Prasad Tate Senior Designer

Rekha Bisht Graphic Designer

Gauri Deorukhkar DIGITAL TEAM Head of Internet

Viraj Mehta Web Developer

Dhaval Das

The Seawater Desalination - Dream Coming True?

Senior Executive - Online

Pushkar Worlikar Executive - Online

Salil Sule SCHEDULING & COORDINATION

Santosh Lokare Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil MARKETING

Kailash Shirodkar

Is desalination finally the answer to water scarcity in arid regions of our planet? As the countries are increasingly depending on seawater desalination to provide drinking water for the fast-growing coastal population, how big a role will desalination play?

Express Water aims to explore if the right application of current and future desalination technologies at the right place can make this dream come true or not.

CIRCULATION

23-33

Mohan Varadakar

34

SAVING ENERGY ONLY WORKS IF IT IS EASY

36

THREE DECADES IN GEORGIA - SCREW PUMPS SHOW THEIR STRENGTH

37

CUTTER CLEARS CLOGS

MUNICIPAL WATER

38

LEAD IN DRINKING WATER: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

OUT OF THE BOX

42

ALL THAT DOES NOT GLITTER IS ALSO GOLD SEWAGE IS AN ASSET, NOT A LIABILITY

URBAN WATER

44

100RC AND NIUA ANNOUNCE NATIONAL LEVEL EFFORT FOR URBAN RESILIENCE IN INDIA

PRODUCTION General Manager

SMART WATER

INTERVIEW

B R Tipnis Manager

Bhadresh Valia TM

Express Water

REGD. WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2017/74894.

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VIETNAM'S KEY WATER CHALLENGES AND LESSONS FROM THE REGION - DR. THANG NAM DO, VISITING FELLOW CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Printed by The Indian Express (P) Ltd. and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on

48

SMART WASTEWATER/ SEWERAGE TREATMENT FOR SMART INDIA

PROJECT TRACKER

behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and Published from Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021.

(Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman

P06 : EDITOR’S NOTE

56

THE GOVERNMENT HOPES TO CLEAN 70-80% OF RIVER GANGA BY MARCH 2019: NITIN GADKARI

57

WATER TREATMENT FIRST AS SCOTTISH WATER TRIALS NYEX

P08 : IN THE NEWS P14 : PRODUCTS

Point, Mumbai – 400021) Copyright © 2017 The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. *Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act

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EXPRESS WATER

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Seawater Desalination - Dream Coming True?

Is desalination finally the answer to water scarcity in the arid regions of our planet? As the countries are increasingly depending on seawater desalination to provide drinking water for the fast-growing coastal population, how big a role will desalination play? This month, in our cover story, we have aimed to explore if the right application of current and future desalination technologies at the right place can make this dream come true.

Over the past few years, the global water desalination industry has grown a lot, reaching 99.8 million cubic meters per day (m3/d) in 2017, as per recent reports. While the Middle East has always been the front-runner, Asia Pacific is likely to show an exceptional growth in this sector due to increasing need for water utilization, especially in the manufacturing sector.

We can understand this situation in the light of a recent news from India. In the Kutch region of Gujarat state, where water supply situation is getting worse, the industrial units are now looking at the captive seawater desalination plants in the region as alternative solutions to meet their water needs. For the same, the regional industrial-association has requested the state government to allow water supply from private desalination plants. The Gujarat state government has also announced that it will set up a seawater desalination plant of 100 Million Liter per Day (MLD) capacity near Jodiya town in coastal Jamnagar district. The state government eventually aims to set-up 10 seawater desalination plants along its 1,600-km long coastline to address the issue of water shortage.

In another announcement by the Government of India, to meet the potable water demand, three ma-

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”

- Isak Dinesen

jor ports of India - Paradip, Ennore, and Chidambarnar - will now install plants to recycle and desalinate seawater. The initiative is expected to benefit the nearby areas and cities.

The desalination is a high-cost option when compared to many other water-recycling technologies.

And it still requires a lot of energy. But as water scarcity will become a bigger challenge, the coastal regions will have to increasingly turn to desalination as the solution.

One of the more encouraging statements comes from Yoon Seok-won, Head of Water BG Group at Doosan Heavy Industries, when he speaks on the occasion of winning a 470 billion won (USD 422.05 million) Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination (SWRO) plant construction deal in Saudi Arabia, “We hope to move more aggressively to tap into the global RO seawater desalination market, which will worth USD 4.5 billion (5.01 trillion won), by 2020.”

From this month, we have introduced a new section ‘Tech Focus’ - where we will specifically focus on current and upcoming technologies, their applications, and products. This section will be a significant part of our editorial calendar apart from our cover stories.

In our next issue (July 2018), we will focus on “Storm Water Management & Floods” and “Water Supply, Transportation & Distribution”. I welcome editorial contributions on these and all other topics which you find significant for the water sector.

MAYUR SHARMA Editor mayur.sharma@expressindia.com @TheExpressWater

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EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

WABAG Secures Repeat Order Worth INR 296 Crores from Delhi Jal Board,and Also Announces FY18 Results Company’s consolidated revenue is INR 3,457 crores, Profit After Tax (PAT) of INR 132 crores is up by 28%, and its board recommends a final dividend of 200%.

Mayur Sharma India VA TECH WABAG Limited has secured an order for INR 296 Crores from Delhi Jal Board towards rehabilitation and up-gradation of the 182 MLD Wastewater Treatment Plant at Rithala under the Yamuna Action Plan. The scope includes design, supply, construction, commissioning

including operation and maintenance for 11 years. The project will be financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The up-gradation includes WABAG designing and constructing a Biogas power generation unit from sewage, reducing dependence on the power grid. This is another fine example of promoting the waste-to-energy concept.

Rajiv Mittal

Commenting on this development, Pankaj Sachdeva, CEO -

BASFand Solenis to Join Forces byCombining Paper and Water Chemicals Businesses EW Staff Germany BASF AND SOLENIS have signed an agreement to join forces by combining BASF’s paper wet-end and water chemicals business with Solenis. The combined entity with proforma sales of around €2.4 billion and around 5,000 employees in 2017 aims to deliver additional value for paper and water treatment customers. For the water treatment industry, the customers of the joint organization will benefit from Solenis’ high-quality service capabilities and BASF’s broad water treatment chemicals platform.

BASF will hold a 49% share of the combined entity that will operate under the Solenis name and be headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. “The transaction under-

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lines BASF’s active portfolio management and enables us to share in the future success of this promising joint entity,” says Dr. Markus Kamieth, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products.

The transaction comprises BASF’s global paper wet-end and water chemicals business with 2017 sales of around €800 million and around 1,300 employees globally. The transfer includes production sites and plants of the paper wetend and water chemicals business in Bradford and Grimsby, UK; Suffolk, Virginia, USA; Altamira, Mexico; Ankleshwar, India, and Kwinana, Australia. BASF’s paper and water chemicals production plants strongly embedded in the Verbund in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and

Nanjing, China, are not transferred and will deliver products and raw materials to the combined entity under mid- to long-term supply agreements.

“We will remain committed to the paper and water treatment industries through our 49% ownership of the combined entity and bring our excellent technologies, products, and production processes. Combined with Solenis’ service capabilities, we will create additional value for our customers”, says Anup Kothari, President of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division.

“Together, we have a unique opportunity to create a customer-focused global specialty chemical company with an enhanced focus and expanded offerings”, underlines John E. Panichella, CEO of Solenis.

India Cluster, said “We at WABAG are excited at the continuous flow of orders.

This repeat order reflects the client’s confidence in us and our capabilities. This is a testimony to the fact that WABAG continues to enjoy the status of “Most Preferred Supplier” in water and wastewater treatment space.”

Commenting on company’s annual results, Rajiv Mittal,

Managing Director, VA Tech WABAG Ltd, said, “I’m very pleased that as a group, we continue to deliver profitable growth consistently. The order flow momentum which has picked up recently and our favorable positions in upcoming jobs in India and overseas gives me the confidence that we will continue to grow with a healthy order book and margin expansion.”

ANDRITZto Refurbish Dewatering Equipment for TMPWashing Stage at Hallsta Paper Mill

EW Staff Sweden ANDRITZ HAS RECEIVED an order from Holmen Paper, a part of the Holmen Group, Sweden, to refurbish and install dewatering equipment for a new TMP (thermomechanical pulp) washing stage at PM 12 in Hallstavik.

ANDRITZ will refurbish two used ANDRITZ twin wire presses and relocate an existing ANDRITZ pulp screw press. After re-installation as the TMP washing stage, the dewatering equipment will

improve the pulp quality, thus ensuring higher product quality on the paper machine.

PM12 manufactures book paper and newsprint grades.

The scope of supply is: refurbishment of two used ANDRITZ twin wire presses, relocation, and overhaul of an existing ANDRITZ pulp screw press used in the former deinking plant at Hallsta paper mill, installation of a new conveyor for pulp dilution and shredding after washing, and rebuild and relocation of two existing screw conveyors.

ANDRITZ’s broad knowhow on the refurbishment of dewatering equipment as well as its longstanding and excellent relationship with Holmen Paper was decisive for the order award.

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

SPMLInfra Declares Profit of INR 431.16 Million in Financial Results The company has recorded gross revenue of INR 14,117.11 million. The Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year rises to INR 431.16 million.

Mayur Sharma India SPML INFRA LIMITED has declared the financial results for the quarter and the financial year ended March 31, 2018.

The company’s board has approved the Standalone Audited Financial Results for the quarter and the financial year ended 31st March 2018 and declared that the company has recorded gross revenue of INR 14,117.11 million. The Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year rises to INR 431.16 million.

Subhash Sethi

Financial highlights of the financial year 2017-18 are: standalone EBITDA for FY 18 at INR 2,581.9 million against INR 2,143.18 million in FY 17, standalone FY 18 Net Profit

up at INR 431.1 million against INR 14.4 million in FY 17, reduction in administrative & other expenses from INR 1,226.4 million in 2016-17 to INR 762.8 million in 2017-18, and successfully implemented S4A scheme.

INR 5,469.2 Million debt has been restructured under S4A Scheme by a consortium of banks for repayment from 2023 onward for the next five years.

The moratorium on the interest for the first five years will make it possible for the

Fluence Awarded Aspiral™ Wastewater Project in Changping District,Beijing,China This is the first MABR plant in Beijing area and with its new local partner Glory Land (Beijing) Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

Company to strengthen its working capital management and larger cash flows will make it possible for SPML Infra to complete projects within time and budgeted cost.

Subhash Sethi, Chairman, SPML Infra commented, “Our journey to provide sustainable infrastructure with profitable growth continues to be our focus with the consolidation of finances and optimization of resources. We completed a prestigious project for drinking water supply and irriga-

H2O Innovation (Piedmont) Positions Itself Strategicallyon the International Desalination Market with ISO 9001: 2015 Certification EW Staff Canada

EW Staff China FLUENCE CORPORATION LIMITED has secured a contract from the Changping District government for the purchase of an Aspiral™ S1 smart-packaged MABR-based solution (formerly known as CMABR) for use in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The plant will be located in Changping District, Municipality of Beijing, Hebei province, China.

This is the first contract won through Fluence’s new local partners Glory Land (Beijing) Science & Technology Co., Ltd., which will also provide the civil

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works. Once completed, the plant will be used by the Changping District government to treat domestic wastewater from an innovative underground treatment installation.

Fluence’s Aspiral™ S1 unit is designed to treat wastewater to effluent standards which exceed Class 1A quality in order to comply with Beijing local standards. The unit will treat 20 m3/d (5,000 GPD) and is scheduled to be commissioned as soon as October 2018.

Commenting on this most recent award in China, Fluence Managing Director & CEO Henry Charrabé said: “Following yesterday’s unveil-

ing of the rebranding of our Aspiral family of wastewater treatment solutions, it gives me great pleasure to announce today that we continue to make progress on our growth strategy in China with this sale of an Aspiral™ S1 in a new province and with a new partner. We’ve standardized features and options of our packaged units that make these innovative solutions easy to customize, install, use, maintain, and even expand.

We’re confident that, within this family of products, we have a solution to satisfy any customers’ need for any municipal domestic wastewater treatment challenge in China.”

tion in Gujarat, which was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. Our expertise and proven track record of developing robust water infrastructure and providing drinking water facilities to over 40 million Indian population have made SPML Infra among the world’s top 50 water companies. SPML Infra is currently executing about 40 water supply and power transmission and distribution projects and we are confident of delivering these projects on time.”

H2O INNOVATION INC recently obtained its ISO 9001:2015 certification, ensuring quality management, from design to manufacturing, of all its products and components for water treatment systems.

This is a major milestone in its strategic positioning with the major players of the desalination industry.

By 2025, the international desalination market is expected to reach $27 B, representing a 103% increase compared to 2016, mainly driven by rapid industrialization, population growth and depletion of freshwater bodies. The Middle East & Africa are the largest markets. This is why Piedmont wants to position itself strate-

gically to better meet the price, quality and delivery requirements of its international customers. “This certification is part of a positioning approach on the international desalination market that will certainly allow us to adequately meet the needs of our large customer base. It is also a prerequisite for most of the large EPCs (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) involved in the manufacturing of large desalination plants”, stated Ties Venema Commercial Director of Piedmont.

H2O Innovation has also been awarded five new water and wastewater projects in North America. These new contracts, worth $4.1 M, will bring the Corporation’s project sales backlog to $56.6 M.

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

Singapore’s Advanced Wastewater Treatment Technologies Wins Global Recognition The novel treatment process is a shining example for others, as it brings down energy use, saves land and reduces manpower reliance.

EW Staff Singapore PUB’S WASTEWATER TREATMENT demonstration plant at Ulu Pandan, set up specially to test advanced used water treatment processes before full deployment in future, has captured global attention and won the Water/Wastewater Project of the Year Award at the 2018 Global Water Awards.

The Ulu Pandan wastewater treatment demonstration plant, which started operating in 2017, was jointly developed by PUB and the Black & Veatch + AECOM Joint Venture. The demonstration plant enables PUB to test and validate advanced wastewater treatment technologies, allowing it to mitigate any operating risks before incorporating the tech-

nologies at a larger scale, at the future Tuas WRP. When completed in 2025, Tuas WRP will be the largest membrane bioreactor (MBR) facility in the world, with a 30% more compact footprint compared to conventional plants. This 12,500 m3/day (2.75 million imperial gallons per day) facility is currently housed at PUB’s Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant.

These tested technologies will enable the future Tuas

WRP to be more energy efficient - doubling the energy recovery while consuming lesser energy compared to conventional plants.

“R&D is the key driver to Singapore achieving a robust management system across the entire water loop and PUB continues to innovate to increase the efficiency of water and wastewater treatment. The Ulu Pandan wastewater treatment demonstration plant has allowed us to

validate and set new standards for wastewater treatment while fulfilling our need to bring down energy use, keep things compact in landscarce Singapore and reduce reliance on manpower. The success of this demonstration plant will ensure that the future Tuas WRP and its integrated NEWater factory can contribute sustainably towards the goal of increasing Singapore’s overall water recycling rate,” said Harry Seah, Assistant Chief Executive (Future Systems and technology), PUB. The Black & Veatch + AECOM Joint Venture serves as the program manager for Singapore’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System Phase 2 project and the consultant for the Ulu Pandan wastewater demonstration plant.

“This award recognizes the

results of harnessing advances in digital water technology together with latest advanced water treatment processes to realize operational, economic and environmental sustainability goals at the Ulu Pandan wastewater plant,” said Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Black & Veatch’s Water Business.

“The BV-AECOM joint venture is proud to partner with PUB to continually set global standards in integrated water management that ensures sustainable highquality water for Singaporeans. This award is a milestone in our partnership with PUB, and we look forward to contributing further to new advances in Singapore’s water management efforts,” said Billy Wong, Regional Executive for Southeast Asia at AECOM.

EVOQUANamed Companyof the Year byFrost & Sullivan HYFLUX Announces its Exit from the Desalination Project in Saudi Arabia The distinction follows being named ‘Company of the Year’ by GWI last month.

EW Staff Singapore EW Staff USA EVOQUA WATER TECHNOLOGIES has been selected as the Water Technology Solutions Company of the Year by Frost & Sullivan, the leading global research and best practices firm.

“At Evoqua, everything we do begins and ends with exceeding the expectations of our customers,” said Ron Keating, Evoqua Chief

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Executive Officer. “We are proud to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for not just our industry leadership but for the positive impact we make for our customers each day as we transform water and enrich life.”

In naming Evoqua Company of the Year, Frost & Sullivan highlighted Evoqua’s range of technologies and how the company leverages a vast amount of “experience and industrial know-how to deliver top-notch, customizable cus-

tomer service.” Additionally, Frost & Sullivan cited how Evoqua finds avenues for using IoT technology to deliver quicker, more efficient products and services for its vast customer base.

Last month, Evoqua also was named Water Company of the Year by Global Water Intelligence (GWI), the leading market resource for the water industry, as part of the Global Water Awards held in conjunction with GWI’s Global Water Summit.

HYFLUX LTD HAS announced its decision to exit from a desalination project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Subsequent to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hydrochem Saudi Limited, receiving the Letter of Award from the state-owned Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) to design, build, supply, test and commission three seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants in Duba, Wajh and Haql (the Project) in the western region

of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hyflux was informed by SWCC of its intention to convert the project into a BuildOwn-Transfer structure which requires Hyflux to inject capital to fund the development of project. In view of the recent developments, Hyflux has decided not to commit capital to this project at this time, and both SWCC and Hyflux have reached mutual agreement to terminate the project. As part of mutual agreement, Hyflux received payment amounting to USD 3.5 million from SWCC for work done thus far.

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

Sulzer Awarded Large Pumps Orders from GE Power India Limited Sulzer India has been contracted to supply 21 barrel-type boiler feed pump sets for GE Power India Limited.

EW Staff India THE PUMPS ARE destined for the new three thermal power plants, i.e., 3x660 MW Ghatampur, 2x660 MW Obra “C” UPRVUL, 2x660MW Jawaharpur JVUNL. Those plants are being built in Uttar Pradesh, India, and owned by Newveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd, Uttar Pradesh Rajya

Vidyut Limited Vidyut

Utpadan Nigam and Jawaharpur Utpadan Nigam

Limited, respectively. The delivery is scheduled from mid-2018 to mid-2019.

Included in the orders are 21 barrel-type boiler feed pumps (20MW drive) and 21 booster pumps. The pumps are specifically designed for use in arduous industrial applications and are optimized for high-efficiency operations. The scope of supply also includes 12 condensate extraction pumps and 14 heater drain pumps. All pump sets will be engineered,

assembled, and packaged in India.

Sulzer is a key player in the supercritical power segment and investing in employees and sites in India, setting up a new 8MW test bed in Mumbai. After a detailed evaluation, the customer has chosen Sulzer as its partner in this important project thanks to its technology and well-recognized global experience.

Veolia’s HPD® Black Liquor ACCIONAWins Contract for Operation and Maintenance Evaporator System Chosen of 16 Wastewater Treatment Plants in Madrid

by Chung Hwa Pulp The contract awarded by Canal de Isabel II represents revenues of 24 million euros.

EW Staff Taiwan CHUNG HWA PULP has selected Veolia Water Technologies’ HPD® evaporator technology to upgrade its Hualien Mill in Taiwan. This upgrade requires raising the capacity and Heavy Black Liquor concentration of the black liquor evaporator trains, in order to meet the future production of fiber line.

The main design requirements from the client were the optimization of the steam consumption while making sure not to overload the existing equipment and with minimal interaction with the existing plants.

Of the two evaporation

EXPRESS WATER

trains (#3 and #4), only train #3 was modified, adding the seventh and eight effects, a parallel second effect and a backup condenser. The output of both trains is concentrated at a new concentrator, integrated on train #3.

The project will involve an additional 80 t/h H2O evaporation and a solids increase from approximately 66% up to 75%.

“The optimized OPEX offered by Veolia’s solution to Chung Hwa Pulp was ultimately the difference maker in this project, consolidating Veolia’s positioning as an important partner in the Pulp & Paper industry” commented Klaus Andersen, CEO Veolia Water Technologies Americas.

Chung Hwa Pulp produces, sells, and trades in pulp and paper products primarily in Taiwan, and mainland China.

EW Staff Spain ACCIONA AGUA HAS been awarded the contract for the operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) of Grupo Cuenca Guadarrama, a division of Canal de Isabel II. It will run for 4 years and came into effect on 19th April this year.

ACCIONA’s proposition represents revenues (excluding VAT) of 24 million euros. It will provide a service to a population equivalent of 2 million people, with a maximum overall treatment capacity of 1.75 m3/s and a treated flow per year of more than 30.5 million cubic meters.

These plants have biological treatment processes for the elimination of nutrients, tertiary treatments and future cogeneration by microturbines in the Boadilla WWTP, one of the facilities. There is also a new WWTP at Arroyo Valenoso, which has ultrafiltration technology with membrane bioreactors, whose application allows the separation of sludge through the filtering process, removing the

need for traditional secondary settling.

Likewise, the WWTP at La Reguera will be equipped with a biogas enrichment process that works through the anaerobic digestion of sludge, which is later used as biofuel for selfconsumption or injection into the natural gas network.

The cogeneration and biogas enrichment processes will produce around 5,000 megawatt-hours a year (MWh) of electricity, sufficient to supply a population of around 4,000.

Several of the WWTPs in Cuenca Guadarrama also have tertiary treatment, in which water goes through different stages using sand and mesh filters, UV light equipment and disinfection with sodium hypochlorite. Through this treatment, 100% self-consumption of industrial water is obtained for the facilities and to cover the sending of regenerated water to Boadilla and Móstoles for watering parks and gardens.

With this new contract, ACCIONA Agua also consolidates its O&M leadership position in the Region of Madrid.

June, 2018

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PRODUCTS Alfa Laval Alfa Laval is now expanding its range of the UltraPure Pharmaceutical Pumps with an even larger selection.

Whether a pharmaceutical or biotech process requires a centrifugal or PD (positive displacement) pump, the complete range of Alfa Laval UltraPure pumps covers virtually any pharma or biotech need. The expanded UltraPure range includes the newly released Alfa Laval LKH Prime UltraPure, a greater selection of well-known Alfa Laval LKH UltraPure, the new Alfa Laval SX UltraPure and the streamlined high-performance Alfa Laval Solid-C UltraPure.

Designed for the demands of pharmaceutical and biotech industries, the UltraPure range of pumps offer features that can help to optimize production.

Fluence Corporation

Fluence has unveiled its Aspiral™ family of decentralized, smart packaged wastewater treatment solutions, based on its innovative Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) technology. Fluence MABR is a spirally wound, self-respiring membrane that provides aeration for the wastewater process and functions as the biological reactor. The Aspiral™ L3, which treats up to 300 m3/day (80,000 GPD) of raw municipal wastewater, is equipped with all internal air and wastewater piping and arrives ready for fast installation and start-up. The Aspiral™ S1 and M2 models treat up to 50 m3/day (14,000 GPD) and 115 m3/day (30,000 GPD) of raw municipal wastewater, respectively, and include internal clarifiers, integral pre-treatment screen and arrive fully equipped and ready for fast installation and start-up.

Mueller Water Products Mueller® Resilient Wedge Gate Valves now have an option for a purple pentagonshaped wrench nut, intended for reclaimed water service installations. This wrench nut introduces two distinguishing features: a unique shape requiring a special key for improved security and a purple finish to quickly identify reclaimed water. Purple is recognized by the

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WILO Wilo’s vision for a smart sewage pump station is a solution that offers outstanding operational reliability, energy efficiency and connectivity.

These modules are the latest devel-

opments in motor and hydraulics technology and offer integrated control intelligence. Other features of the Nexos Intelligence are the intelligent energy-efficiency optimization function and the highly sophisticated clogging detection function.

The Wilo-Rexa SOLID-Q sewage pump was designed for conveying untreated sewage in

American Public Works Association to identify “reclaimed” water line components and was adopted in 1980 by the AWWA California-Nevada Section for reclaimed water pipelines.

Opto 22 Opto 22 has released PAC Project Software Suite R10. This release supports their new groov EPIC® system, adds eight new control commands, and provides the ability to designate individual I/O and variable tags as Public Access for read-only or readwrite use in IIoT data communications via MQTT/Sparkplug. PAC Project Professional adds an OPC server, database connectivity, PC-based control configuration and support for legacy Opto 22 I/O units. The Pro version sells for just under USD 1000.

The suite’s control programming software, PAC Control, is full-featured and easy to use, with more than 450 commands in plain English, plus graphical PID tuning and debugging. The most important new feature with this new release is support for groov EPIC.

Paques Paques has launched a new version of the Astrasand sand filter: the ASTRASAND®COMPAQT. This filter, which is 30% lower than the original version with the same filtration process, is based on the reliable continuous sand filtration technology that has been proven in the last 35 years. The reduction of height leads to a 20% saving on energy, it makes the filter easier implementable on existing sites and it is even possible to place it inside. ASTRASAND®COMPAQT can be utilized for many types of wastewater, with unit capacity varying from only a few to several thousand m3/hour. The highly efficient and reliable system offers a short lead time

medium-sized pumping stations, both in wet well and dry well installation. Using the integrated web-server, the Rexa SOLID-Q is controlled and monitored via the network interface or directly via the externally connected touch panel. The system interface is conveniently accessible via a web browser and supports all operating systems.

and a better sand velocity distribution than conventional sand filters. With a non-metal tank and use of materials that are resistant to chemicals and corrosion it also offers lower operational and maintenance costs.

Schaeffler

Schaeffler is introducing advanced new condition monitoring technologies to Australasia, which are setting new benchmarks for predictive maintenance of rotating equipment such as pumps, fans, and electric motors. The new globally proven technologies, including the latest evolutions of Schaeffler’s SmartQB and SmartCheck condition monitoring systems were featured at this year’s Hannover Messe exhibition along with a whole host of digitalization and cloud-based technologies that harness the advantages of industry 4.0.

SUEZ To help oil and gas producers scavenge sour gas effectively, SUEZ has formulated a new version of its ProSolv HS line to effectively scavenge H2S without phase separation upsets that affect water quality or salt in the condensate. ProSolv HS is a non-nitrogenbased chemistry that does not impact downstream refining processes. It is safer to deploy compared to nitrogen-containing scavengers, which adversely impact refining processes with the formation of salts and costly corrosion. The new ProSolv HS is formulated specifically to address sour gas production conditions. The product can scavenge H2S levels to customer target KPIs without impacting process PH. This means no costly scale buildup occurs. It can be a game changer for the customers that now can effectively utilize produced water without further treatment and are able to sell gas condensates with the correct salt level and sales specifications.

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INTERVIEW

Vietnam's Key Water Challenges and Lessons from the Region Dr. Thang Nam Do, visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy in Australian National University, speaks about the water challenges and possible solutions in Vietnam.

By IWC for the Australian Water Partnership (AWP)

Please tell us a bit about yourself, and the current important water challenges in Vietnam.

Dr. Thang: It’s my great pleasure to share some of my understanding and knowledge about water issues in Vietnam. I’m currently a

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Visiting Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University in Canberra Australia. I have worked for more than 20 years for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam,

focusing on different environmental issues, including water and environment. Right now [at ANU] we’re doing some research on water issues in Vietnam and solutions to those issues.

Vietnam is facing many water challenges. First: water quantity, water scarcity.

Although Vietnam receives around 2000 mm of rainfall on average per year, water availability is highly seasonal and unevenly distributed across the country. Water scarcity has become very severe in many parts of the country.

For example, in the Mekong Delta and central highlands in 2016, there was a severe drought. It caused losses of US$700 million and affected more than two million people just in that year.

Another reason for water scarcity is Vietnam’s growing population - over 90 million people now - with associated rapid industrialization and urbanization. The groundwaters are being exploited, and we are facing issues with competing water users in agriculture, industry, households and the environment. They are all competing for the same water sources.

The question is: How much water should be allocated for what purposes? That is a very hard decision to make.

There are also water quality issues, and they also are being caused by urbanization and industrialization.

Vietnam is facing serious water pollution now.

Let me give you an exam-

ple. Only about 10% of domestic wastewater and about 25% of industrial wastewater is treated before being discharged into the rivers.

Polluted wastewaters have caused big costs in the rivers and lakes surrounding the big cities and industrial zones.

And they have damaged the health and livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the water.

Both water scarcity and pollution are being exacerbated by climate change. As we know, Vietnam is one of the five countries most affected by climate change. Further, these issues are being made worse by the development of hydropower upstream.

One study estimates that a sea-level rise of 1 m by the end of this century could displace about 11% of Vietnam’s population, mainly in the Red River delta in the north and in the Mekong River delta in the south, and among people living along the coast. Vietnam’s coastline is more than 3000 km long, and lots of people in that coastal area will be affected by a rise in sea-levels through climate change.

On top of that climate change impact, recently Vietnam has suffered from severe typhoons and storm surges as well as other extreme weather events such as drought and flash floods.

The cost last year is estimated at around US$1.7 billion.

These are enormous costs and impacts, and they are having serious effects in the Mekong River delta - a very

important region for Vietnam.

The Mekong River delta produces more than 50% of our rice, and Vietnam is a big rice exporter - the second or third biggest in the world.

In short, water scarcity and water pollution, exacerbated by climate change, are posing great risks to Vietnam’s economic development and the livelihoods of millions of people in Vietnam.

What has the Vietnam Government done to help resolve these water issues?

Dr. Thang: Yes, the Government of Vietnam has been aware of the issues and is trying to address them. The Law on Water Resources was promulgated in 2012. The Law on Environmental Protection was issued in 2014, addressing water resources management, governance, water environmental regulations, and enforcement. Those laws provide a legal basis to address the water scarcity and pollution. The government also issued a National Action Plan on Climate Change, and that strategy also addresses and details water issues. Many measures have been taken to address the water issues.

Do you think Vietnam could learn anything from Australia?

Dr. Thang: Yes, Australia is well known internationally for the ways it has been dealing with water issues - and particularly water scarcity. I think Vietnam can learn a lot from Australia’s experience,

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INTERVIEW especially in relation to three key issues.

First, river basin management. In Vietnam, the need for management of river basins has been discussed for quite a while. The government issued a decree on river basin management about 10 years ago, but so far no organization for interprovincial river basin management has been established. It is very difficult to manage water running through many provinces, so I think Vietnam can learn from the example and lessons learned in Australia in the Murray-Darling Basin, and the computer model for river basin management. I think it’s fair to say we could learn from both the successes and the failures of the model.

A second lesson we can learn from Australia is about the legal reformation of water and the environment’s share, meaning that the environment has a legal right to receive water. In Vietnam, that has not been explicitly mentioned, nor properly provided for. We still have a lot of water pollution, and many environmental issues because of lack of water, lack of environmental flows.

The third point where I think Vietnam can learn from Australian experience is in value-based water allocation.

As I mentioned earlier, right now we are facing issues of water allocation for different competing uses, such as industry and the natural environment. We need information about the values of water resources and the values of different uses so that we can allocate water to maximize social benefit and social welfare. Which use has the highest value? Which one needs more water? We need scientific evidence and also data to help in the policy-making process for water allocation.

We lack fundamental data: both biophysical data and economic data on water use.

How are ‘gender equality’ and ‘social inclusion’ seen in Vietnam, especially in

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relation to water issues?

Dr. Thang: It is interesting: gender is mentioned in many matters, including water issues, in Vietnam.

Women have a very important role in daily household decision-making, especially on water. We have run some projects assisting women – wives and mothers – to raise awareness of water use within their local communities, and campaigns to make people more aware of how to protect water resources: not to contaminate the water resource; not to waste water; and so on. The role of women in this is highly regarded and very important, both at the household level and in whole communities.

I’m hopeful and positive that if we pay more attention to the gender issue, and social inclusion, and involve women more in water governance, then we can have better results.

Right now, Vietnam is trying to promote the participation of women in governance in many areas. We are aiming to raise the percentage of women officials in various departments, in the national assembly, and in local people’s councils. People care about this and are trying to bring in the local participation of women.

Do you have any tips for water practitioners interested in going to work in Vietnam, or advice on specific areas young water professionals should focus on?

Dr. Thang: For someone who hasn’t been to Vietnam, there will be many things they need to know and would like to know when they go there to work. But the most important part is to get to know people because without knowing the people without having a network, it’s very difficult to work in Vietnam.

By ‘people’ I mean everyone: government officials, local state people, local community - everyone. Whether you decide to approach the government first or the local

community first will depend on the purpose of your work.

But either way, it is very important to get to know them, to get them to be your friends, to build relationships.

And then you move on to the second part, which is getting to know the issues that are being worked on at the time. For example, the Government might be looking to frame policy and effect policy in terms of water governance. If you know what they are working on and are familiar with that issue yourself, then you can work with them and assist them - maybe propose a solution or help in other ways to find an answer.

The local community may have a different issue. It might be lack of funding to build their own water treatment plant, or changing people’s behavior in terms of saving water, or not polluting the rivers, and so on. Once you know what they really need, then that would be very helpful for them and for you.

So, the first thing is building connections, and then getting to know the issues they are facing, and then working with them.

Vietnam has quite a few external water consultants from other countries, not just Australia. They come to work with the local people because the demand to address water issues is increasing.

I think right now that the local start-ups in Vietnam have good knowledge - better than they were thought to

have, by some people from outside. That is because of our quite rapid development and now our overseas trade. These people know what needs to be done: it is just a matter of how to apply that theory in practice. Vietnam is a developing country, so a lot of issues need to be addressed at the same time. Which one should be addressed first? If you come into Vietnam from outside and try to help, please accept that. It is not that the people in the water sector don’t understand, nor that they don’t have the knowledge.

However, they could use external assistance and advice in applying their knowledge, and they might welcome some objective views on how to address the issues. If you have that kind of understanding, I think you could help them to work more efficiently. Twenty or 30 years ago they may not have known what to do, but now it’s more a matter of needing to know where to start, and how to prioritize the issues...and how to apply theory in practice.

There are no specific areas that young water professionals should focus on more than others because Vietnam has many, many issues. I think you, as a young professional, should focus on what interests you. If you are an engineer you may be most enthusiastic about technological and engineering solutions. If you are learning or want to apply economics, you could help with the issue of value-based water

Dr. Thang Nam Do is a visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, following over 20 years working with Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. He has served as the Ministry’s Deputy Director General of International Cooperation, Global Environment Facility (GEF) Operational Focal Point, member of GEF public involvement policy review panel, Asia and the Pacific’s representative at the GEF7 replenishment discussions, national focal point of Clean Technology Fund, Chair of Association of Southeast Nations Association (ASEAN) Working Group on Climate Change, national

allocation that I mentioned earlier. If you are interested in public participation, you may like to help get civil society

Only about 10% of domestic wastewater and about 25% of industrial wastewater is treated before being discharged into the rivers.

Polluted wastewaters have caused big costs in the rivers and lakes surrounding the big cities and industrial zones. involved in water governance, or to try to convince different stakeholders - government, industry, agricultural industry and local community - to work together. There are many options.

The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is an Australian Government development initiative enhancing the sustainable management of water across the Indo-Pacific.

focal point of ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities, and national focal point of Water Environment Partnership for Asia (WEPA). He has led research projects on water environmental management for river basins, reviewing environmental economic instruments for revision of the Law on Environmental Protection 2014, assessing environmental co-benefits of climate change mitigation policy, pollution damage, and national park valuation. In addition, he has acted as a resource person for various regional and national environmental policy issues, including water environmental management and sustainable cities.

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SUEZ First-Quarter 2018 Results Fully in Line with Annual Targets • In first-quarter 2018, SUEZ posted €4,058m revenue, up 13.9% at constant exchange rates.

Momentum in the International division improved with 3.0% growth at constant exchange rates. Recycling and Recovery Europe reported revenue growth of 1.3% at constant exchange rates. This division was bolstered by the sharp improvement in the volume of waste treated (+3.6%) but was negatively affected by the adverse trend in paper and cardboard prices following China’s decision to restrict imports. The Water Europe division grew by 1.4% at constant exchange rates, driven by higher water volumes sold in Latin America which offset the lack of inflation in Europe. Water Technologies & Solutions (WT&S) revenue stood at $611m, up 4%.

• EBITDA at end-March 2018 stood at €635m, up 8.8% at constant exchange rates. EBIT rose 10.2% at constant exchange rates, to reach €289m.

• Group net financial debt was €8.8bn versus €8.5bn at end-2017 or 3.3 times EBITDA.

Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO, SUEZ

IN THE FIRST QUARTER, SUEZ accelerated its growth by renewing and winning a number of contracts across all its activities and regions.

In the Water Europe division, the Durance Ventoux Water Authority chose SUEZ to manage its drinking water service and deploy 57,000 "On'Connect" smart meters in 28 cities.

The urban community Paris-Saclay also entrusted the water management for 12 years, with a 15-year water supply agreement. Alongside local teams, SUEZ will preserve the territory's water

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resources by strengthening the network performance, thanks to AQUADVANCED® solutions.

In the Recycling and Recovery Europe division, the Group will manage the public service concession contract in Ardèche (France) for a new waste-to-energy and material recovery facility.

This new 20-year contract, worth a total of €80m, will include the design, construction, and management of this future recovery facility, which is expected to be commissioned in the spring of 2020.

The Group also strengthened its presence in England, in the county of Devon when it won the contract to build a transfer center and treat 46,000 tons of household waste from two districts, as well as six recycling centers.

This 10-year contract worth about €68m may be extended for five years.

Abroad, SUEZ also won in the United States, alongside its partners AECOM Technical Services and C.H. Nickerson, the design and the construction of the drinking

water facility in Woonsocket (Rhode Island). This $43m project is part of the municipality’s comprehensive plan to improve its water quality.

SUEZ will operate this new water treatment plant for 20 years.

On the same continent, the Group won its first contract in El Salvador to renovate the

Q1 2018 Results: • Revenue: €4,058m, up +13.8% at constant exchange rates • EBIT: €289m, up +10.2% at constant exchange rates • Net debt: €8,817m; net debt / EBITDA ratio at 3.3x

Las Pavas drinking water treatment plant in San Pablo Tacachico and secure the water supply for the population.

In Africa, SUEZ and the Ivory Coast's Ministry of Economic Infrastructure signed a €19m contract to supply and install 40 compact

modular drinking water production units.

With a total production capacity of 92,000 m3/day, these units will supply 18 cities across 17 regions.

In Asia, the City of Coimbatore in India also awarded SUEZ the management and the operation of the drinking water distribution system for the entire city to ensure a 24/7 supply of water to its 1.6 million inhabitants.

This 26-year, nearly €400m project is SUEZ’s largest drinking water services management contract in this country.

The Group was awarded the contract for the extension of the drinking water production plant in Medan, the third largest city in Indonesia. The extension of this build-operate-transfer contract for 25 years, worth €191m, provides for the funding, construction, operation, and transfer of two additional water production units for the Medan plant.

In Vietnam, the Group just won the sanitation contract for Vi Thanh, in the south of the country. This €9.5m con-

tract provides for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant and a sewer network.

Commenting on the firstquarter 2018 results, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Louis Chaussade said: “Growth has accelerated at SUEZ in both revenue and profitability.

First-quarter financial results are therefore fully in line with our annual targets, which we now reiterate. Our efforts to integrate and extract synergies within WT&S are already yielding results and confirm the expected value creation path. The operational trends for this division are also well on track. The significant 30% growth in the backlog during the quarter bolsters the business’s growth potential.

Lastly, SUEZ is fully committed to implementing the action plan presented at the start of the year, which is also based on accelerating the Group’s transformation, strengthening profitable growth in France, growing the business internationally and everywhere, and expanding the savings measures.”

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MARKET

Ozwater Stirs Strong Interest in High-Performance Grit Removal with Low Environmental and Energy Impacts

Greg Hansen, Broadspectrum Infrastructure Maintenance (left), with Joe Gill, Smith and Loveless and Kevin Innes, Broadspectrum Infrastructure Maintenance at Ozwater in Brisbane from May 8-10.

TWO OF THE big hits for exhibitor CST Wastewater Solutions at this year’s Ozwater international water conference were advanced Smith and Loveless grit removal technologies and environmentally harmonious KDS wastewater treatment technologies for industrial, manufacturing and local authority applications.

“We have already got a pilot test arranged for a major food and beverage company interested in the KDS technology, while we also had strong interest from local authorities in the high-performance grit removal technologies, which are relevant throughout Australasia and the AsiaPacific,” said CST Wastewater Solutions Managing Director Michael Bambridge.

This world-proven Smith and Loveless PISTA® 360™ technology - which CST Wastewater Solutions has incorporated into highly successful applications in floodprone and sandy areas -

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removes 95 percent of grit as small as 105 microns (140 mesh).

“We were very fortunate to have Joe Gill, General Manager at Smith & Loveless NZ Ltd, on hand to join us in explaining how this fine grit technology has been highly successfully globally in helping to curtail issues such as blockages, sewage overflows, and flooding issues.”

“We were able to show how this technology has helped councils in flood-prone areas and in sandy areas. Grit is a perennial problem to all those councils with WWTPs serving the 80 percent of Australia’s population living within 50 km of the coast, so the technology was warmly received,” said Michael, who was accompanied at Ozwater in Brisbane from May 8-10 by CST Wastewater Solutions’ Applications Engineer Peter Bambridge and the company’s New Zealand Manager, Pieter Groenewegen.

Peter Bambridge is providing the engineering expertise behind one of the first Australasian applications on pristine Lord Howe Island of an installation incorporating KDS technology that cuts maintenance, energy demands, and OH&S issues.

The two-stage system suitable for smaller, remote and ecologically sensitive community, municipal, agribusiness and industrial applications - was selected by the Island Board of Lord Howe after extensive testing to determine the best solution for the management and disposal of waste generated on the island.

“It uses a combination of coarse and fine screening and advanced dry compaction KDS separator technology to produce a more hygienic and

more compact output that is easier to handle and transport. The system is more economical, compact and uses less energy and minimal water compared to alternative systems,” says, Michael Bambridge.

“Food and beverage manufacturers at Ozwater - including also brewers and agribusiness processors - could immediately see the advantages of reduced environmental, reduced maintenance and higher cost efficiency. That was a highlight for us.

“The installation on Lord Howe illustrates the efficiency of the best screening technology now available as well as the clog-free automatic liquidto-solid waste KDS separator.”

Japanese-manufactured and Australian-engineered KDS systems - for which CST Wastewater Solutions is the exclusive distributor - are being introduced to the AsiaPacific for compact dewatering applications ranging from food processing, food waste, grease trap and waste oil through to municipal wastewater sludge, livestock manure, and agribusiness processes.

The compact KDS multi-

disc roller separator features a unique self-cleaning dewatering and conveying system with oval plate separation and transfer structure that prevents clogging and permits automatic continuous operation that handles oily and fibrous material with ease.

The compact rotational oval plate structure achieves high transportation and separation efficiencies, while the simplicity of the machine’s overall structure offers low maintenance, achieving cost and OH&S benefits through less handling being required to clear hazardous materials.

Applications, for which the separator is designed, include: • Food processing waste, including snackfoods, kitchen and restaurant waste, raw wastewater (primary screening) and sludge • Sewage treatment, including raw wastewater (primary screening) and sludge to the landfill • Abattoir, feedlots, and dairy farm wastewater and sludge. Cattle manure cake dryness of 25-35 percent is typically achieved • Pig farm raw manure and sludge, with cake dryness of 20-30 percent.

• Barrel polishing water,

The Latest PISTA 360 Uses an Integral Flow Chamber Baffle for Both the Inlet and Outlet of the Main Chamber. The Baffle Directs Inlet Flow into the Chamber in a Manner that Ensures the Proper Vortex Flow and Prevents ShortCircuiting.

water-based paint wastewater, grease trap waste, dyeing wastewater, waste oil, and plastic recycling.

• Seafood processing CST Wastewater Solutions services division specializes in the design, construction, and provision of wastewater solutions for the treatment and recycling of industrial wastewater.

It supplies a complete range of equipment packages for the water and wastewater industries. Its equipment is generally manufactured in Australia and Europe to ISO 9001 and EEC standards of safety and design.

The New Clog-Free Automatic Liquid-to-Solid KDS Waste Separator (Left), and the More Hygienic and Easily Handled Output Obtained in the Lord Howe Island Application (Right).

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MARKET

Toshiba’s Commitment to the Development of Water Solutions for the Next India

Koichi Matsui, Chairperson and Managing Director, UEM

A TRULY BEWILDERING paradox facing us all today is if 70% of earth’s surface is covered by water, how can there ever be a scarcity? And yet, the World Economic Forum (WEF) continues to rank water crisis among its top three global risks since 2012.

Today, 1 in 9 people globally, lack access to safe water, and more than two billion people are compelled to drink unsafe water. According to a UN report, 40 percent of the world’s people are being affected by water scarcity. If not addressed, as many as 700 million could be displaced by 2030 in search of water. World Bank forecasts that water availability in cities could decline by as much as two thirds by 2050.

Some 80 percent of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment and water-related disasters account for 90 percent of the 1,000 most devastating natural disasters since 1990.

According to a recent report on wastewater collection and treatment in urban India, only about 30% of wastewater was being treated to some level.

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An estimated 76 million people in India have no access to a safe water supply, and the situation is only getting more serious.

There are multiple reasons for increasing water scarcity in India. For one, it still relies majorly on monsoon showers to replenish its water supply and the ever-growing population is adding to increased water usage. Insufficient infrastructure to manage municipal waste, causes sewage to either seep underground or eventually flow into the rivers, contaminating both the sources of water, causing the increase in water pollution levels. Also, the booming industrial revolution brings in increased levels of industrial waste. If left untreated or unregulated, this too ends up in our water supply system through river channels.

Toshiba has been Japan’s leading solution company for water supply and sewage facilities for over 40 years.

Recognising India as a promising country for developing water-related business and to bring in its expertise and global access to India, Toshiba acquired a majority stake in UEM in the year 2015. With the synergy between Toshiba and UEM, the group has a unique opportunity to deliver breakthrough technologies and quality control to solve various water and environmental problems. Today UEM is completely owned by the Toshiba Group with Toshiba acquiring 100% stake in UEM on 20th March 2018. With its existing offices in the USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Oman, Headquarters in India and a recently established office in the Philippines and a strength of approximately 800 employees, UEM is steadily increasing its global footprint.

UEM is focusing on three major verticals in India Municipal, Industrial and Operation & Maintenance services. In the municipal segment, UEM is focused on the Water and Wastewater Treatment Segment (WTP/ STP/ WWTP) using various modern technologies. With the increasing industrial development in India, UEM is also exploring specific projects in the industrial sector having experience in handling all kinds of effluent that gets generated from various types of industries viz. Refineries, Petrochemical, Petroleum, Automobile, Power, Brewery, Distillery, Textiles, Pharmaceutical, Tannery, Beverage, Steel, Dairy, Paper, Palm Oil, Hotel, Power, Sugar, Hotel, Hospital, etc.

Technologies UEM offers multiple modern technologies like ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) using HEROTM (High-Efficiency Reverse Osmosis), Anaerobic Biological Treatment, SBR (Sequential Batch Reactor), and MBR (Membrane BioReactor), etc. Apart from these, global design centre with in-house engineering capabilities in process engineering, civil and structural engineering, mechanical engineering, instrumentation and controls, and electrical engineering allows UEM to deliver, not just the institutional knowledge UEM has gained in designing over 350 projects, but also suggest the best CAPEX and OPEX ratio solution, based on client’s requirements.

Projects in the Municipal Sector • 14 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant Allahabad for UPJN, where using the proven

state-of-the-art Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) technology, UEM established a 14 MLD sewerage treatment plant project in Salori Allahabad to produce high quality treated water and discharge the treated water into the Ganges. The treated water conforms to the standards where Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) < 10 mg/L; Total Suspended Solids (TSS) < 10 mg/L; Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)< 100 mg/L; Potential of Hydrogen (pH): 5.5 to 9.

• 2 STPs based on SBR Technology (5MLD, 7 MLD) & sewerage works funded

by World Bank at Sahibganj for JUIDCO. • A 60 MLD STP based on SBR Technology including main pumping station having capacity 83 MLD along with a new underground sewerage network of about 55 KM length at Saidpur Patna, Bihar.

Projects in the Industrial Sector • PTA Plant for JBF Petrochemicals at Mangalore: PTA wastewater is one of the most challenging wastewater to treat. The system offered is

a comprehensive one and comprises a combination of anaerobic, aerobic, ultrafiltration, and heavy Metal removal system followed by RO System.

• ZLD Plant for Japanese Automobile Manufacturer: In this project, we have offered a proprietary system to the Client, which is called HEROTM HighEfficiency Reverse Osmosis System. The best feature of this technology is that it operates in such a manner or environment which ensures very high recovery across the RO system and consequently the quantity of RO rejects is reduced substantially. On account of the low volume of rejects, the downstream evaporator’s size is decreased to a greater extent and there are impressive savings in the operational costs of the system.

Toshiba and UEM are committed to the development and operation of water and environmental infrastructure.

Toshiba and UEM will contribute to the establishment of sustainable water circulation systems and the realization of advanced environmentally sound communities for the next India and world.

“

Technology can play a pivotal role in solving water pollution problem and replenishing the water supply. UEM, a Toshiba group company, provides a complete one-stop solution from engineering and design to construction, installation, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Koichi Matsui Chairperson and Managing Director of UEM India.

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MARKET

GWE Waste-to-Energy Plant Shows Food and Beverage Producers How to Turn Process Residuals into a Resource

Skol Brewery, Rwanda During Execution

TECHNOLOGIES FEATURED AT Australia’s recent international water conference and exhibition, Ozwater 18, demonstrated how complete organic waste-to-energy plants can benefit food and beverage processors in Australasia and anywhere in the world.

CST Wastewater Solutions showed at Ozwater the Global Water Engineering technologies involved in a new facility being introduced by Nicholas Meats LLC of Pennsylvania in the US, which is one of the latest adopters of GWE’s awardwinning anaerobic waste-toenergy technologies.

Nicholas Meat’s new facilities will be designed to recover both energy and water from waste streams generated on site and significantly reduce the impact of the beef processing plant on the local community.

Such technologies can be readily applied to local food, beverage and agribusiness waste, including applications dealing with the paunch, manure and other meat pro-

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cessing waste as well as waste from any industrial processing plant with an organic waste stream, says. Michael Bambridge, Managing Director, CST Wastewater Solutions.

“You don’t need to be a big company to benefit from this technology. Paunch and manure, for example, are rich in biogas and are often just left for composting or land disposal in Australia and New Zealand, when that biogas could be a source of ongoing profits instead,” says Michael, whose company represents GWE technologies in Australasia.

GWE’s North American affiliate, Global Water & Energy (GW&E) is providing Nicholas Meats with both an industrial wastewater treatment facility utilising its cutting-edge MEMBROXTM aerobic membrane bioreactor technology, as well as a complete organic waste-to-energy facility to manage solid and concentrated wastes generated at the factory and wastewater treatment plant, using

GWE’s award-winning RAPTOR® system.

RAPTOR® stands for RAPid Transformation of Organic Residues and is a pretreatment-enhanced form of anaerobic digestion, designed to turn nearly any organic substance into valuable green energy in the form of biogas that is being used to replace fossil fuels at scores of food and beverage plants globally, including dairy, brewery and municipal waste-to-energy plants.

Nicholas Meats new facilities, scheduled to be completed this year, are engineered to

better manage the factory wastewater on-site for water reuse and recover energy from by-products generated within both the production process and within the wastewater treatment operations themselves. They are aiming to significantly reduce the impact of the processing plant on the local community, including a major reduction of odors and truck traffic currently present and at the same time making the company more energy self-sufficient.

“These sorts of environmental benefits could also be genuinely beneficial to forward-thinking Australian meat, agribusiness, food and beverage companies looking to reduce their environmental impact, and generate energy from their wastes and byproducts, both liquid and solid. The system also has the ability to accept organic wastes from other nearby facilities thus augmenting the production of green energy and reducing the local community’s disposal issues,” said Bambridge.

The RAPTOR® portion of the plant involves an innovative twist on traditional anaerobic digestion, designed to maximize the energy generation from specific wastes while utilizing the residuals from production as a

resource, rather than treating them as wastes.

RAPTOR® technology has won a global green energy award from the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), which represents more than 40,000 chemical, biochemical, and process engineers from around 100 countries. The IChemE Global Awards are known for their celebration of the excellence, innovation, and achievement in the chemical, process, and biochemical industries, making this recognition so significant and gratifying for GWE, the developer of the RAPTOR® technology and parent company of GW&E. Global Water Engineering or GWE is a group of companies specialized in industrial wastewater treatment, water recycling, digestion of biomass, sludge and slurries, biogas production and use. Its main expertise, based on 30 years of practical experience, lies in the biological treatment of medium and high strength organic wastewater by anaerobic and/or aerobic processes. For anaerobic wastewater treatment, GWE is one of the world market leaders in this field. GWE’s founder and Chairman/CEO, JEAN PIERRE OMBREGT, is a pioneer of modern anaerobic wastewater treatment, his involvement dating back as far as 1972.

GEW Raptor Process Diagram

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Anglian Water Awards Standpipe Management to Aquam The agreement began on 1 April 2018 and will initially operate for a three-year period. The award includes the provision of high-quality branded standpipes and bespoke calm network keys to companies and organizations authorized to operate within Anglian Water’s network.

High-Quality Branded Standpipes can be Provided to Companies and Organizations Authorized to Operate within Anglian Water’s Network

ANGLIAN WATER HAS awarded the management of its third-party standpipes to Aquam, a global provider of risk mitigation technologies for water and energy transmission and distribution assets. The agreement began on 1 April 2018 and will initially operate for a three-year period.

The award includes the provision of high-quality branded standpipes and bespoke calm network keys to companies and organizations authorized to operate within Anglian Water’s network.

Aquam will also ensure all network operators in the region are aware of regulatory requirements and undertake the company’s e-learning course on the safe operation of water hydrants.

Aquam’s Calm Network Training is accredited by the Institute of Water and is designed to educate operators on the safe hydrant use, valves and pumps are operated.

Research shows that incorrect operation of the network is a major cause of the surge

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effects that can cause leaks and bursts.

Malcolm Holmes, Restoration Innovation & Development Manager at Anglian Water comments: “We are looking forward to working with Aquam, to train existing and new operators, reduce the risk of illegal standpipe use and to continue to provide an uninterrupted water supply to our customers.”

Tim Bowen, Aquam’s Managing Director said, “I’m delighted that we have the opportunity to partner with Anglian Water in this critical area. Aquam brings a focussed approach to standpipe management which greatly benefits the many utilities using the service.”

“We can help tackle illegal use of the network and water theft, improve hydrant operation technique and reduce the number of pipe bursts and water discoloration events.

This means much less disruption to customers and communities and a lower risk of regulatory penalties for our utility

clients.”

Anglian Water is the largest water and wastewater company in England and Wales by geographic area.

Aquam will provide hydrant and standpipe services to over 1,000 companies operating the utility’s potable water network assets in the north and east of England.

Aquam, which has its UK headquarters in Manchester, currently provides standpipe and management services to 12 water companies in England and Wales.

Aquam Corp is a global provider of technology solutions for water and energy distribution infrastructure. We ensure the health, longevity, safety, and reliability of vital resources for water & gas utility, municipal, commercial, residential and industrial markets. Our awardwinning proprietary technologies address water scarcity issues by the diagnosis, cleaning, and remediation of aging infrastructure. Aquam also provides end-to-end service solutions and technologies for the maintenance, life extension and full rehabilitation of network distribution infrastructure, which include: Nu Flow Technologies, a leader in small-diameter infrastructure rehabilitation technologies; Specialized Pipe Technologies (SPT), a pipe assessment & rehabilitation services provider; Aquam Pipe Diagnostics, a global pipeline assessment specialist. Aquam services are available in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australasia and the Middle East.

Anglian Water Group is owned by a consortium of investors. When AWG was acquired by the AWG investors in 2006, Anglian Water Group

Tim Bowen, Managing Director of Aquam, Says the Company’s Focussed Approach to Standpipe Management Benefits Utilities.

Ltd became the ultimate parent company of the group. It supplies water and water recycling services to more than six million domestic customers in the east of England and Hartlepool. It is the largest water and water recycling company in England and Wales by geographic area.

It operates 1,257 water and water recycling treatment

works. This is around a quarter of all those in England and Wales. It borrows water from the environment, stores it and treats it to world-class standards to supply safe drinking water to 4.3 million customers in towns and villages from Grimsby in the north east of our region to Milton Keynes at its south-western tip.

“

I am delighted that we have the opportunity to partner with Anglian Water in this critical area.Aquam brings a focussed approach to standpipe management which greatly benefits the many utilities using the service.

We can help tackle illegal use of the network and water theft, improve hydrant operation technique and reduce the number of pipe bursts and water discoloration events.This means much less disruption to customers and communities and a lower risk of regulatory penalties for our utility clients.

Tim Bowen Managing Director, Aquam

June, 2018

21

TECH UPDATE

Design Water Treatment Systems in an Even More User-Friendly Process • New 2.0 version of LewaPlus software available • Combine per drag and drop different technologies in one design • Design software from LANXESS helps to improve ecobalance upgrade their plants.

Improve the Ecobalance of Water Treatment

THE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS corporation LANXESS has made further enhancements to its LewaPlus software for designing water treatment systems. With this 2.0 release, users now have the unique ability to combine per drag and drop different technologies in one design.

“Because modules can be added to a project via drag and drop, LewaPlus 2.0 is now even more intuitive to use than existing programs on the market,” emphasizes Dr. Jens Lipnizki, Head of Technical Marketing Membranes at LANXESS.

A Focus on User-Friendliness Now users can seamlessly simulate complex plant designs including a combination of several treatment steps in a single design process. The water analysis calculated by the individual modules is automatically taken over as feed to the subsequent module.

During the design process, the user can change the design of the system via drag and drop.

“With LewaPlus 2.0, calculations can be made for

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June, 2018

designs that not only treat the purified stream of water, but also the so-called retentate.

As a result, environmentallyfriendly overall concepts can be calculated in order to significantly reduce the volume of wastewater produced in practice,” Lipnizki adds.

The modules can be added to a project via drag and drop - even retrospectively in a later stage of the process. This is helpful if the system designer decides to add pretreatment of feed during the design process, for example.

Compared to previous versions, the software can now show all of the selected modules in a combined PDF report. A list of links to the respective modules, which can be individually renamed, helps the user to navigate through the PDF quickly and easily.

In addition, the new version also offers a product finder. It enables LewaPlus users to identify which Lewatit and Lewabrane quality products they can use instead of conventional ion exchange resin types and reverse osmosis membrane elements to

The intuitive design software LewaPlus is a comprehensive tool for planning and designing an industrial water treatment system and allows the dimensioning of ion exchange- and reverse osmosis systems for a for a wide variety of unique system configurations, including several one-of-a-kind process configurations that can only be achieved with Lewatit and Lewabrane product technology.

Numerous modules are available for the calculation of every step of the water treatment process. As a result, users can precisely plan important factors such as operating costs, power consumption, and water quality.

One module can even be used to model a CCRO system (closed circuit reverse osmosis). This helps to enhance the ecobalance of water treatment through the use of either ZLD (zero liquid discharge) or MLD (minimal liquid discharge) treatment processes.

LEWAPLUS® Design Software for RO And IX The LewaPlus® design software is unique in the water treatment industry. It is a free, comprehensive software design tool for Ion Exchange Resin (IX) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane systems. The RO permeate can be seamlessly transferred to the IX module

for a quick and accurate design of the complete desalination system. Further, it allows for dimensioning of IX and RO systems under a variety of system configurations, including some unique process configurations only available with Lewatit® and Lewabrane® product technology. This innovative design software is supported in 11 languages.

Ion Exchange Processes & Functionalities Various processes that cover most of the usual water treatment applications are included to calculate the

design and performance of an IX plant. It helps to simulate the influence on performance and quality at different parameters like salinity and ionic composition of the water, temperature, organic load, throughput, and type of resin.

Reverse Osmosis Processes & Functionalities The Reverse Osmosis module calculates the design and performance of an RO plant for brackish and seawater applications. It helps to simulate the influence on performance and quality at different parameters like temperature, salinity and salt passage.

Key Features • Not cloud-based which makes the software also available offline and guarantees data security • Compatible with Linux and Mac OS X • Portable software version with complete functionality available that doesn’t require any Windows administrative rights for installation • A single water analysis data entry screen, with RO scaling calculations, suitable for both IX and RO applications • Clear interface, reliable and quick results of the calculation • Design flexibility: Parameters can be widely modified and values outside the recommended borders are highlighted • Comprehensive output of IX and RO system design parameters and effluent (permeate) quality in an easy to manipulate printed output • Product scout tool to allow a proper selection of the right resin or membrane type • Direct access to technical documentation: Complete set of technical data sheets and material safety datasheets (only IX) for all Lewatit® and Lewabrane® products as well as technical service bulletins e.g. on membrane fouling, membrane cleaning or system troubleshooting • Regular updates to ensure keeping the software up-to-date and further improving its functionality with new features • Data exchange to technical LANXESS experts for optimization and final check of your calculation.

EXPRESS WATER

COVER STORY

SEAWATER DESALINATION

THE SEAWATER DESALINATION DREAM COMING TRUE? Is desalination finally the answer to water scarcity in arid regions of our planet? As the countries are increasingly depending on seawater desalination to provide drinking water for the fast-growing coastal population, how big a role will desalination play? Express Water aims to explore if the right application of current and future desalination technologies at the right place can make this dream come true or not.

EXPRESS WATER

June, 2018

23

COVER STORY

Desalination: AGame of Energy, as Much as a Game of Water

By Devesh Bharadwaj

SINCE INCEPTION SEAWATER desalination has now grown into a reliable infrastructure that provides fresh water for drinking, municipal and industrial purposes to millions around the world.

The breakthrough in the use of polymer films for separating salt from water in the early 1960sled to the commercialization of membrane-based desalination - seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO). SWRO’s ability to desalinate at lower energy consumption made the technology quickly dominate the industry.

With further improvements in the formulation, manufacturing procedures, high-efficiency turbo-machinery, and isobaric pressure exchanger, the specific

in Figure 1, there has been a tremendous improvement in SWRO energy efficiency, however, arguably the energy consumption has hit an asymptote for the last decade with the components approaching peaks of their efficiency. Energy consumption still is the achilleas heel of desalination, contributing to 40-60% of ownership costs for a desalination plant.

Theoretical minimum for SWRO is set by the thermodynamic minimum work required to separate 50% of fresh water from 1 m3 of ocean water, at around 1.05 kWh/m3. Simple calculations can show the efficiency of desalination to be at around 50% at best, without including the energy consump-

One may ponder, “If the components in SWRO are approaching best efficiencies where are the losses?” Well, approximately 40% of the losses are process-losses. In other words, even if the components were ideal (100% efficiency) the energy consumption would be approximately 1.56 kWh/m3.

The remaining 0.40 kWh/m3 is the loss in the process design itself, i.e. how the components are arranged and operated. The process design of SWRO hasn’t changed since the 1960s, when Sidney Loeb implemented the first desalination plant in Coalinga, California.

Pani Energy (where 'Pani' stands as the Hindi language word for 'Water') is a Canadian

oped Adaptive Desalination Technology (ADT) an advanced SWRO process technology that reduces the energy consumption in desalination by changing the process design to reduce SWRO energy consumption by up to 30%- tackling the stubborn process design which hasn’t advanced since the 1960s.

Utilizing more efficient process designs, ADT can approach practical specific energies of 1.5 kWh/m3, by reducing the irreversible process losses. Pani Energy is currently bringing the technology to the market and retrofitting existing desalination plants.

Pani is bringing ADT to market in India and is set to truly outperform current desalination boundaries. ADT uses novel plant operational methodologies and intelligent algorithms for process design and control, allowing Pani Energy to upgrade existing RO plants to ADT. The company is excited to expand its operations internationally this year, helping desalination plants worldwide reduce their energy consumption and operational costs with simple upgrades and quick project paybacks.

Current and Growing Challenges with Desalination

Figure 1

energy consumption of SWRO has reduced from 16 kWh/m3 in 1970 to around 2 kWh/m3 in 2015 (50% recovery). As shown

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June, 2018

tion required for pre-treatment, post-treatment and other additional energy associated with chemical consumption.

technology company spun out of the research from the University of Victoria in Canada. Pani Energy has devel-

It is well known that desalination is as much a game of energy as it is a game of water.

A holistic challenge with desalination is the variability in demand and electricity prices, i.e. keeping the best-case operational cost economics true with variable utilization and electricity prices.

Variable Demand An important factor of desalination economics is water demand. The desalination industry currently faces the challenge of variable demand for water at several timescales.

Variability is often caused by climate conditions (droughts and rainy seasons), industrial process requirements, and public water consumption (variable needs from a large group of end users). When designing a desalination plant for variable demand, the plant must be oversized to accommodate a high peak water production, even if the average water demand is relatively low. This leads to desalination plants being underutilized and capacity being idled. As shown from a study done at the Pacific Institute in California for a 50 MLD, reduction in production directly increases the levelized costs of fresh water, shown in Figure 2.

For example, only 60-70% of the cumulative desalination capacity is utilized in Algeria due to seasonal variability.

Additionally, many plants around the world are built for water security to meet water needs during extreme droughts.

Australia responded to its millennium drought by constructing six mega-scale desalination plants. After subsequent rainfall, two of these plants (Sydney and Gold Coast) were mothballed, and two (Victoria and Adelaide) are on standby producing close to their minimum production capacity because their expensive operation limits their usefulness as a

EXPRESS WATER

SEAWATER DESALINATION base-load water resource.

Variable Electricity Pricing Currently, some plants must deal with variable electricity prices as the utility company

cle, “...desalination plant operators will need to confront this (variability in electricity pricing). It will no longer be possible to ignore the power demand risk and ask for a pass-through

winter. Simulated energy savings (green) are achieved in the spring and summer when production is low by utilizing ADT. Figure 4 shows a broader look at the market with a topdown analysis of some other plants in the USA, Algeria, and Spain. The blue area represents utilization and grey represents the potential cost savings with an ADT retrofit. Bottom line is that ADT can result in significant savings on operational costs and reduce the levelized cost of water for many plants globally.

Depending on the water network, in some cases an internal

adapting but tackling the energy consumption problem headon.

Conclusion India’s current seawater desalination capacity is around 1.4 million m3/day, which consumes around 2.3 TWh of electricity annually. For comparison Jamaica’s electricity consumption in 2014 was around 2.8 TWh. India, with a major fossil fuel infrastructure, emits around 0.85 kg of CO2 per kWh of electricity generated. Based on this high-level analysis, India’s seawater desalination industry accounts for 2.38 mil-

Figure 2

tries to balance electricity supply and demand. As variable electricity supply from renewable energy becomes more prevalent, this is expected to become a more common issue facing desalination plants.

Electricity costs dominate the costs of water and account for 50-60% of the operational costs.

Hence, change in the costs of electricity to the desalination plant drastically affects its operational costs. For instance, the price of electricity in Israel varies seasonally and hourly, anywhere from 0.08 USD/kWh to 0.28 USD/kWh. To reduce operational costs at high electricity price, the 480 MLD desalination plant in Hadera reduces its production to 37.5% of peak capacity. As mentioned earlier (and in Figure 2), reducing the production of a desalination plant significantly increases the price of water, the increase in electricity price at that reduced capacity increases the water cost even further.

Variability in electricity price for desalination plants is not just a problem of today, it is a growing problem of the future. With growing penetration of intermittent renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, the price of electricity will vary even more.

Christopher Gassons (publisher at GWI) mentioned in his arti-

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on the energy costs. Plants will have to be built to take it into account - and take advantage of it.” Turning variability in production and underutilization into an opportunity to reduce costs.

Pani Energy has developed and now licenses its novel Adaptive Desalination Technology (ADT) that is designed to solve the growing issue of variable production.

Adaptive Desalination Technology (ADT) is an intelligent patent-pending SWRO plant process that adapts to take advantage of the variable demand of fresh water and variable price of electricity. It reduces the energy consumption of the RO process using novel plant operational methodologies and proprietary algorithms for process design and control.

ADT allows the seawater reverse osmosis process to intelligently adapt in real-time to a more efficient process design, which can more efficiently meet the new water demand at the new electricity price.

Figure 3 shows the yearly water production of LlobregatBarcelona desalination plant in Spain. In this example, the production of the desalination plant (blue) is low in the spring and summer, and high in the

Figure 3

and external water storage system can help in tackling the variable demand and electricity price issue; however, it leads to idling or underutilizing existing equipment. An intelligent SWRO process that alters the process design in real-time to new optimum design and operational points with minimum change in CAPEX to the current state of the art RO system is a logical step towards not just

Figure 4

lion metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.

If India follows the global predicted growth in desalination at 10-20% without lowering the fossil fuel dependency, the desalination industry will have to focus on low energy consumption (high-efficiency) technologies, to help India meet its carbon emission goals. In fact, reducing desalination’s carbon and energy footprint is a global

effort. Even with strong water reuse efforts, desalination requirements will continue to grow, and the technology will become an integral part of our water infrastructure. Global Water Intelligence predicts that by 2050 almost 4.8 billion people will suffer water stress and most of them will depend on desalination for their water supply.

Policy makers and owners of desalination plants should proactively focus on sustainable desal practices that not just quench our current thirst but solidifies a low-carbon water future.

I founded Pani Energy to do our part in making cleaner and efficient desalination technologies more economical, and I am certain that the Indian government will reciprocate with favorable regulations to encourage adoption of cleaner and sustainable technologies from the end-user. We are excited to commercialize our technologies in India and abroad this year: helping desalination owners and operators reduce their energy consumption, operational costs, and carbon emissions.

About the Author

Devesh Bharadwaj is the CEO of Pani Energy, a University of Victoria spin-off company, and has undertaken the core R&D behind Pani’s technologies for several years. Since founding the company in 2017, Devesh has led Pani’s development of Osmotic Energy Storage (OES) and the commercialization of Adaptive Desalination Technology (ADT).

June, 2018

25

COVER STORY

We are Creating a NewIDA...A Reinvigorated,and Forward-Looking International Desalination Association Miguel Angel Sanz is the current President of International Desalination Association (IDA).

For our cover story on seawater desalination this month, he candidly discusses the challenges, objectives, and the role of IDA in global desalination scenario, with Mayur Sharma.

What excites you the most about leading the IDA? What is that one big change you

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June, 2018

would like to see during your tenure?

Mr. Sanz: First, on behalf of

the International Desalination Association, I want to thank Express Water for the opportunity to talk about our organization and the critical role that desalination and advanced water treatment play in addressing the world’s growing water scarcity.

I am incredibly honored to serve as President of IDA for the 2017-2019 term. I am also very grateful for the confidence and trust that have been placed in me along with IDA’s 1st Vice President Rachid Ghamraoui, 2nd Vice President Li Youqing, Secretary General Shannon McCarthy and our roster of officers that includes highly respected members of the world’s desalination and water reuse community.

My presidency comes at a time of change, not only for IDA but for the world at large.

Societal and economic shifts, a technology landscape that moves with lightning speed, a revolution in the way we communicate - all of these factors have converged so that the environment in which IDA operates today is very different from the environment just a few years ago.

As a result, while IDA has, over the past four decades, established itself as the leading organization for the world’s desalination and advanced water treatment industry, we

also recognize that we must continue evolving to ensure that we bring the greatest value to our members - not only for today but for the future. That is why, together, we are creating a new IDA, a reinvigorated, forward-looking association that leverages its collective strengths to serve an industry that plays a vital role in securing the world’s water future.

To answer your question, I believe that the big change will come in the form of greater engagement, relevance, and community as they pertain to IDA. These words will shape our future and the value we bring to our members and the industry at large.

The process that guides IDA’s evolution is rooted in providing our members with relevant, business-building and career-building opportunities and programs. Our events, from our World Congresses to our international conferences on water reuse and recycling, and our specialty technical conferences are known as industryleading venues where our members can exchange knowledge, gain new insights and establish valuable new connections. To that end, IDA is presenting its second International Conference on Water Reuse and Recycling: Making Every Drop Count on June 24-27, 2018 in beautiful Valencia, Spain and

we hope that your readers will join us there.

Adding to this, the IDA educational programs offer abundant opportunities for continuing education and training, and our Young Leaders Program is designed to encourage the next generation of water leaders and help their career development with our scholarship, fellowship, mentorship and internship programs.

But that is not enough. We are also ramping up our communication with members, developing closer ties with our valued affiliates, operating with greater transparency, and forging new connections with organizations and institutions that are involved in vital aspects of our industry including finance, advocacy, and policy. This process, which we began in during our 2017 World Congress in São Paulo, Brazil, is vital to growing IDA’s reach, reputation and prominence around the world. We have already made important progress towards achieving these goals, and we continue this important work every day.

IDA is our members’ association, and we are working diligently to improve our engagement with them. We welcome their input on what we can do to make IDA more meaningful to their business, interests and professional growth.

EXPRESS WATER

SEAWATER DESALINATION Ultimately, we are focused on expanding the IDA community not only in numbers but also in the breadth and scope of our membership.

You have 35-years of professional experience in desalination, drinking water, and wastewater segments. What is the future of seawater desalination according to you?

Tell us about any ‘one’ cutting-edge technology which you believe will set the trend for the future of desalination?

Mr. Sanz: Seawater desalination has a great future, and it is an essential solution to ensure a sustainable water supply to hundreds of million people around the world. But it is not the only one. Seawater desalination must be complemented with recycling treated wastewater and all other measures to preserve natural resources.

I think there is not only one technology that will be “the solution” for the future. In my opinion, it will be the mix of several technologies and solutions: One of the most exciting developments is the coupling of renewable energy and desalination plants to minimize the energy costs. Reducing energy consumption has long been a key goal in desalination, and while significant advancements have taken place in the past couple of decades, the promise of renewable energy cannot be overstated. It adds a new dimension to sustainability. We have also a lot of hope in the next generation of membranes under development today.

Graphene, nano-membranes or bio-membranes are words representing a lot of research efforts and investments that could give new solutions for the market in the next years. And the other trend is to produce more treated water from the brine; using PRO, RED, nanomembranes in combination with other sources of water (as treated wastewater).

What is the state of seawater desalination programs

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and projects around the world today? Can you give us some facts and figures?

Mr. Sanz: According to the 2017-2018 IDA Desalination Yearbook, the cumulative global contracted capacity, including plants that have been contracted or are under construction, reached 99.8 million cubic meters per day (m3/d) in 2017, up from 95.6 million cubic meters per day in 2016. The cumulative global installed (online) capacity is now 92.5 million m3/d, compared with 88.6 million m3/d in 2016. The total number of desalination plants worldwide across all categories stands at 19,372 (2017) versus 18,983 (2016).

Last year, seawater desalination experienced its largest increase since 2014, driven largely by growth in the utility market in the Gulf, which is likely to retain the largest share of contracted seawater capacity for the foreseeable future.

However, significant awards for seawater desalination plants were also made in China, Singapore, and Morocco during the past year.

We should not forget that desalination is not just for seawater. Desalination of brackish water is also growing, with an increase of 29% in contracted capacity for the first half of 2017. The typical brackish water desalination plant is for smaller utilities and industrial users.

China accounted for a large portion of the growth in these plants, especially during the second half of 2016.

In terms of geographic trends, large-scale projects around the Red Sea and Gulf account for much of the current recovery in the desalination market. However, the nature of these projects (most are largescale) means that this region experiences highly variable swings in contracted capacity.

A steadier source of contracts can be found in the Asia-Pacific region, where industrial projects dominate the reference list.

At the half-way point in 2017, these two regions were almost equal in contracted capacity.

Both utility and industrial

projects saw a double-digit increase in capacity for the full year of 2016, driven by awards for industrial users in the latter part of the year. For the first half of 2017, new utility capacity was down while industrial capacity increased, due to the volume and size of utility awards in the Gulf during the first half of 2016 and the presence of several extra-large references for refining and petrochemical customers in the first half of 2017. A closer look at the industrial sector reveals many interesting developments in the upstream oil and gas industry including several projects that may point to the future shape of the market in the offshore oil industry.

Regarding technology type, membrane technologies continue to dominate the desalination market. For example, in 2017 membrane technology accounted for 2.2 million m3/d of annual contracted capacity while thermal processes accounted for just 0.1 million m3/d during the same period.

In your remarks after being declared as IDA President, you had said that IDA needs to adapt to new challenges and help regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America to apply the best and more sustainable and economical solutions, with new and more efficient technologies, and especially training the new generations to take the relay in this mission. How do you look at it now? What is the progress on this front?

Mr. Sanz: Asia, Africa, and Latin America are the territories where desalination will have more development in the next decades for some important reasons: population growth, concentration in large cities, and limited water resources.

These areas need sustainable solutions - which means mainly economical solutions.

The actual trends are looking for less energy and chemical consumption, using renewable energies, new membranes and plants that are easy to operate

and maintain are the solutions that these regions are waiting for, so I am confident in this alignment of targets for the desalination growth in the Southern hemisphere and Asia.

Delays on some of the desalination projects have not been good for the desalination industry's reputation.

Can the IDA help push through such projects more quickly in some way?

Mr. Sanz: IDA does not get involved in any specific project; that’s the role of private or pub-

Authority (DEWA), a globally recognized sustainable, innovative and world-class utility, it will take place on October 20-24 and will be our second World Congress to be held in this extraordinary city where innovation is a mindset, not just a word.

We expect the 2019 IDA World Congress to attract 2,000 delegates from the public and private sector – world leaders in all sectors of the desalination and water reuse - representing as many as 60 countries. It will coincide with the 21st Water,

Desalination is practiced in 150 countries and IDA estimates that well over 300 million people rely on desalinated water for some or all their daily needs. Treating and recycling desalinated water for reuse further extend its value. lic companies. Delays can happen for many reasons, and they aren’t only related to desalination. Any public work is subject to this kind of event. In addition, in the majority of cases delays are a combination of problems and circumstances, not only one reason.

What IDA can do in this regard is to help public authorities, consultants, regulators and private and industrial companies to promote the good practices, training people, pushing for regulations, giving technical and economic benchmarks, and showing success case studies to avoid and prevent the circumstances causing these delays.

What are your personal expectations from the IDA 2019 World Congress on Desalination, Dubai?

Mr. Sanz: I am confident that the 2019 IDA World Congress: Crossroads to Sustainability will be an extraordinary event. Hosted by the Dubai Electricity & Water

Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), which will be held under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and President of DEWA. While planning is still underway, I can tell you that our 2019 Congress will include many new features in addition to a robust Technical Program and Exhibition.

What is the scope of seawater desalination in India, in your opinion?

Mr. Sanz: India is an important desalination market, with which IDA has a longstanding and close relationship through our Association Affiliate the Indian Desalination Association (InDA).

It is also a growing market

June, 2018

27

COVER STORY

Last year, seawater desalination experienced its largest increase since 2014, driven largely by growth in the utility market in the Gulf, which is likely to retain the largest share of contracted seawater capacity for the foreseeable future. for seawater desalination with the contracted capacity of 1,501,206 m3/din 124 facilities from 1990, according to the DesalData database in its 30th inventory. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the states where desalination is well established and also bringing new projects, but there are other states on both coasts, east and west, and south needing desalination projects.

From the 352 contracted plants from 1990, totaling 2,339,525 m3/d, 36% were brackish or recycled wastewater and 64% were for seawater desalination. Membranes are the predominant technology for these plants at over 83%.

In the case of seawater desalination plants, reverse osmosis was the dominant technology at 74%.

Until today, the market was mainly driven by industry, representing the 79%, but the municipal market is growing quickly for the demand of new seawater desalination plants.

For example, Chennai is planning its fourth seawater desalination plant with a future capacity of 400,000 m3/day to add to the existing capacity (200,000 m3/d from Minjur and Nemmeli) and the last plant actually under evaluation, Nemmeli II with 150,000 m3/d.

India’s first desalination plant dates back to 1946, and the country has been conducting research into desalination technologies for over 50 years.

The smaller companies

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June, 2018

sometimes feel that the big companies get much of the association’s attention.

What do you see IDA offering the smaller companies?

Mr. Sanz: I’m not sure where that sentiment comes from. I want to be clear that all of IDA’s members - large corporations or utilities, smaller companies, individuals, universities, students, libraries, individuals from LDCs - are important to the association. They are all part of our community, each contributing to our industry in different ways and each bringing their unique knowledge, resources, and perspectives to the whole.

Representatives of smaller companies, like their counterparts from big corporations, are encouraged to become involved with IDA by serving on committees, contributing articles to our publications, participating in our educational programs and running for election to our Board if they meet eligibility requirements.

There are some differences in the benefits for large corporations and smaller companies, which have 10 employees or less.

Perhaps one of the most valuable benefits for small companies is the connections they make through membership in IDA. Our community brings together stakeholders from all segments of the industry and all parts of the world. We often say that IDA is the point of connection for the global desalination and water reuse community,

Finally, how big of a role can seawater desalination play in addressing global water problems? How do you see IDA’s role in it?

less feedwater source.

Desalination is the reason some of the world’s major coastal cities have flourished. Even in other places where rain is more frequent, the desalination plants are like an insurance policy in case of drought.

Desalination is practiced in 150 countries and IDA estimates that well over 300 million people rely on desalinated water for some or all their daily needs. Treating and recycling desalinated water for reuse further extend its value.

IDA has an important role in helping to advance water purification technologies and best practices, advocating for technologies that make desalination even more energy efficient and environmentally responsible, facilitating knowledge sharing, and helping to educate and inform both stakeholders within our industry as well as members of the general public whose opinions can be influential in the adoption of desalination to ensure their water future.

Mr. Sanz: Seawater desalination can play a huge role in addressing global water problems. Desalination and water reuse provide the world’s only new sources of fresh water and the sea offers us a nearly limit-

Miguel Angel Sanz has 34 years of professional experience in desalination as well as in the drinking water and wastewater fields. Currently, he is the Director of Strategic Development for

and being part of IDA can be a tremendous asset in building one’s business and career.

When - if ever - will desalination become economically and politically competitive with other water supply options for thirsty cities?

Mr. Sanz: The cost of desalination is already competitive with traditional sources in many parts of the world thanks to the advances the industry has made in lowering energy consumption. As you know, energy costs are the largest component of OpEx. Of course, the plants must be built and they are not inexpensive.

However, we have to remember that any major piece of infrastructure has significant CapEx associated with design and construction.

Treatment Infrastructure Division of SUEZ. Working with SUEZ group, he has a stake in promoting innovation in the field of membrane desalination, and he has taken part in the design, build or operation of more than 40 brackish or seawater desalination plants worldwide. He has been a member of the IDA Board of Directors since 2009. He has participated as a contributor, organizer, speaker or chairman in over 25 events organized or supported

by IDA in the last few years. He has published over 50 papers on desalination and water treatment. Moreover, he has contributed to promote and create some desalination and reuse organizations such as the Latin American Desalination and Reuse Association (ALADyR). He is also active among IDA’s affiliate organizations, being for eight years a member of the Board of Directors of the European Desalination Society (EDS) and the Spanish Desalination and Reuse Association AEDyR, where he has been Vice President for four years. He is also a member of other desalination or water associations: CaribDA, ALADyR, IWA, and WEF. He had received his Industrial Engineer Master degree in 1981 from Bilbao High Technical School of Engineers.

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SEAWATER DESALINATION

The Future of Desalination & Total Water Management in the Middle East Desalination technologies are bound to be continuously improved to become even more competitive; innovative solutions such as RED (Reverse Electro Dialysis) and ceramic membranes are two considerable highlights in this range, reaching piloting stage already today.

By Rolf Richard Keil competitive; innovative solutions such as RED (Reverse Electro Dialysis) and ceramic membranes are two considerable highlights in this range, reaching piloting stage already today.

Integrated Water Management

TODAY, WE NEED the water supply capacity of more than five times that of Earth, if every human of our planet would consume the same amount as is being used by residents and industries in the Middle East.

Desalination of seawater remains to be the most accessible and sustainable upstream source for potable water production, to feed an integrated total water management system. The Middle East has been spearheading a technology transition, driving the potable water production industry into the application of new and competitive technologies, such as reverse osmosis. But we must not rest here!

Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) is the adopted state of the art technology today at an average recovery rate of 45%, supplying to municipalities.

Desalination technologies are bound to be continuously improved to become even more

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Today, less than 10% of water used is being treated to a level that it can be reused for industrial, agricultural and governmental application, recovering 3% of production into a circular economy.

For many years, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and BOT models have been adopted by governments across the region, to cope with the immense capital expenditure and operating skills required to supply reliable water services to a growing population and economy, diversifying into noncarbon industrialization.

In recent days, the arrival of renewable and nuclear energy sources has allowed to decouple water and power production.

Decoupling is considered the state of the art for water and power production; this seems to be true also for the status quo of aspirations for an integrated total water management system, may it be for a city, a state, a country or a cooperative region.

Now, we have the responsibility to take that action, to connect the silos of water produc-

tion, manage allocation for human and industrial use, collection and advanced treatment for dedicated reuse. Together, based on successful cooperation track record in single projects, both public and private sector are ready to replicate such successfully integrated models and embed them to their local needs.

The first step is for industrial water consumers to be allocated advanced treated TSE and single source, allowing a transition period equivalent to PPP project timeline to develop and sustainably avail the required water quality and quantity for competitive and controlled industrial development.

The second step is aquifer storage of seasonal surplus of advanced treated TSE, i.e. lower irrigation requirements during the winter season, reducing expensive SWRO water to be allocated for such strategic use.

These two initiators are to come in parallel with the progressive and carefully planned decentralization of advanced treated TSE station to the vicinity of sewage production and industrial reuse customers to minimize non-revenue transmission losses.

Integration of the total water management in this way needs to come from the top and is in line with the visions devised by the Executive

Council of the UAE, as well as the individual leadership of the Emirates and beyond. Taking a closer look, we are not far away from realization today.

Future Opportunities This is the call to the private sector, to pro-actively participate and implement advanced emerging technologies contributing to a sustainable upstream and downstream realization of efficiencies, Reduction of power consumption and conversion of water production process by-products into valuable products such as biogas, industrial salts and many more offer such opportunities today.

SWRO produces a lot of solid and liquid, partially toxic, waste, which is widely discharged back into the open sea.

This same seawater in the Gulf region, already being challenging to treat efficiently, is suffering from increasing pollution that is promoting the development of a raw water biochemistry further adversely affecting membrane performance and leading to increases in both, use of chemicals and replacements.

Water producers are actively looking beyond their traditional set of technologies and find suitable solutions in neighboring industries, such as F&B and O&G related water process systems.

Ceramic membranes are on

the forefront of this development and are earmarked to be the upcoming, real disruptive â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;game changerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the water production industry.

Together, we must develop multiple and sustainable services to create value for our future generations, whilst incorporating the evolving expectations of end-users and building on the strong partnership with all stakeholders.

Today, not tomorrow, it is our responsibility to act. The time is now!

About the Author Rolf Richard Keil is a commercially astute, visionary and creative Senior Manager with an extensive background of more than 20 years in the industrial manufacturing, mining, water, power and utility sectors.

Throughout his international career, Rolf was covering diverse continents and regions including Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and North America, where he is recognized as a strong and knowledgeable leader, who is able to train and manage multicultural teams to deliver organizational objectives. Rolf has joined BESIX Concessions & Assets as the Project Development Manager, focusing on desalination and innovative water treatment businesses, in November 2016, after holding senior international management positions with Publicis MCD, WA Granite, Hawle Armaturen, CST Industries and Toray.

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COVER STORY

Towards a Sustainable Solution to Water Crisis Even though desalination technologies have been rapidly developed in the last two decades, its distribution and utilization are still limited in wealthy and oil-rich countries.

By Dr. Basim Belgasim

THE SHORTAGE OF clean potable water has become one of the most stressful issues in the world. And the situation is getting worse due to the limited resources of freshwater and as a result of the continued growth of both the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population and economy.

Nowadays, around 1.2 billion people are already suffering from the shortage of potable water; most of them being concentrated in arid and isolated areas where electricity and oil supply are also limited.

This number of people is expected to be doubled by

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2025 and will be distributed in 48 countries. To illustrate the scale of the crisis, only four countries out of nineteen in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) could be considered above the water poverty line, 1000 m3/capita/year.

Although water covers two-thirds of the earth surface, freshwater represents only about 3% of all water on the planet. Only 0.25% of this freshwater can be directly used from lakes and rivers, while the rest exists as frozen water, such as ice at the

earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poles, or deep groundwater which is difficult to reach. However, saline water represents the most sustainable, abundant and easy to reach the source of water on the earth represented in oceans, seas and some big ground aquifers of a high degree of water salinity.

Desalination technologies; the process of converting saline water to drinkable water, have already been used by various countries to overcome the deficit in freshwater demand. These technologies can be classified into two groups: phase change techniques in which thermal energy is the driving power, and membrane technology which needs the electric or mechanical form of driving energy.

Unfortunately, water desalination is an intensive energy consumption technology.

Generally speaking, to obtain 1 million m3 per day of desalinated water, 10 million tonnes of oil needs to be burned per year. Based on the fact that most of the desalination systems are currently operated by fossil fuels, it can be figured out how costly and environmentally damaging this type of technology is.

Even though desalination technologies have been rapidly developed in the last two decades, its distribution and utilization are still limited in wealthy and oil-rich countries.

The total installed capacity of

desalination plants is 97 million m3 per day in 2015 and it is in an upward trend. About 40% of this capacity has been established in the Gulf region where Saudi Arabia is the highest producer of the desalinated water. The required energy to satisfy this huge amount of water is currently satisfied by burning the fossil fuel which greatly contributes to the national budget exhaust, global warming, and deadly pollutions.

The integration between renewable energy systems and desalination technology is one of the most promising approaches to produce fresh water in many locations.

Interestingly, most of the thirsty countries have a huge potential of renewable resources especially, solar and wind energy. The German Aerospace Research Centre

reported that each square kilometer of land in North Africa, Middle East, and Gulf regions receive solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per year.

Integration of desalination technology with renewable energy systems does not only provide a clean and sustainable source of energy but also presents a source of power which is technically feasible and reliable to drive the different types of desalination systems. The thermal energy required to operate phase change systems including MSF, MED, SD, VC, and HD can be satisfied directly from thermal solar radiation or geothermal energy without complex energy conversion technology. On the other hand, electricity can be generated by solar PV and wind turbines systems to operate

Figure 1: Combinations of Renewable Energy Resources with Desalination Technologies (Source: Shatat et al, 2013)

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SEAWATER DESALINATION

Figure 2: Global Renewable Energy Capacity (Source: REN21, 2018)

membrane desalination such as RO and ED. This variety of renewable energy systems gives a flexible combination of small or large scale desalination units depends on availability and potential at a specific location. The different combination opportunities can be demonstrated in Figure 1.

The global deployment of renewable energy in different sectors, electricity, transportation, industry...etc, has been increased sharply during the last ten years. The global capacity, as in Figure 2, has jumped from less than 1000 Gigawatts before 2008 to nearly 2200 Gigawatts in 2017, most of which are solar and wind. This development has been driven by the large improvements that have been done on the efficiency, capability and long-term economic competitiveness of these systems.

From the economic point of view, the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of renew-

able energy falling very fast.

As an example, LCOE of solar energy has been reduced from over 0.37 USD/kWh before 2010 to reach 0.1 USD/kWh in 2017. Less importantly, wind energy prices dropped from 0.08 to 0.06 USD/kWh. While comparing with conventional energy sources, renewable energy is still more expensive in the short-term but all the forecasting research prove that renewable energy will win the race by 2022. Another evidence of this rapid growth is the number of investments.

In 2017, the global investment in renewable energy is about USD 250 billion compared with conventional power resource which only receives not more than USD 150 billion in the same year.

More realistically, it would be better to give some success stories of this integration. In January 2015, Saudi Arabia represented by Advanced Water Technology (AWT) company and Abengoa company have signed an agree-

Figure 3: Levelized Cost of Electricity of Solar and Wind Energy Systems (Source: IRENA, 2018)

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ment to build one of the largest solar water desalination plant in the world. The plant has become alive commercially at the mid of 2017. It is located in Al Khafji city at the northeast of Saudi Arabia.

The estimated cost of the plant is USD 130 million with the total capacity of 60,000 m3 of desalinated water per day.

This plant is expected to be one of the main regular water suppliers of more than 120 thousand people who are living in the area through the year.

The desalination unit, at Al Khafji plant, was built on 250m Ă&#x2014; 700m area next to an already RO membrane desalination technology. The solar field was installed over 90hectare area and about 1 km away from the desalination unit. The solar system is based on high concentrator polycrystalline solar PV panels. It is designed to produce 15 MW to operate the desalination unit and also connected to the national grid network to upload the extra generation during the peak or to substitute any deficit during the operation.

Currently, only 1% of the global water desalination plants are powered by renewable energy systems. The widespread of this integration is still restricted by some challenges which need to be overcome. The intermittent nature of renewable energy resources, especially solar and wind, which lead to an unstable power supply, is one of the major challenges. The expected and unexpected intermittencies such as night period or weather changes reduce the dispatch ability of this technology. This means that sometimes the water and power generated will be out of phase with the peak of the demand. This problem can be solved by using energy storage systems, wither it is thermal or electrical, but with painful economic punishments.

Another challenge faced

The total installed capacity of desalination plants is 97 million m3 per day in 2015 and it is in an upward trend. About 40% of this capacity has been established in the Gulf region where Saudi Arabia is the highest producer of the desalinated water. the implementation of renewable energy in desalination is the big capital cost required by this technology which reduces its economic competitiveness in the short-term. In addition, the renewable ener-

energy and desalination technology can be the light at the end of the tunnel due to its capability to be a sustainable, non-polluted and also cheap source of potable water.

However, a lot of efforts need

Currently, water prices from conventional desalination are in the range of 0.5-1.7 USD/m3 while desalinated water from renewable systems starts from 1.5 to reach up to 3.5 USD/m3 depending on the capacity, location, and technology used. gy systems need substantial land preparation and electric transmission infrastructures which put extra stress on the first investment required.

Currently, water prices from conventional desalination are in the range of 0.5-1.7 USD/m3 while desalinated water from the renewable systems starts from 1.5 to reach up to 3.5 USD/m3 depending on the capacity, location, and technology used.

It has to be said that an immediate re-evaluation is necessary for the current approaches already being applied to tackle the water crises in the world. The integration between renewable

to be done by engineers, scientists, investors and decision makers to break the barriers in front of this emerging technology.

About the Author Dr. Basim Belgasim is the Director of Solar Thermal Systems at the Centre of Solar Energy Research and Studies (CSERS). He is also a lecturer at the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Benghazi. He works on research projects related to concentrating solar power and solar water desalination technologies. Dr. Belgasim holds a Ph.D. degree from Northumbria University, UK in the field of Renewable Energy Engineering.

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COVER STORY

I Have Learned from MyExperiences in SWRO Desalination to Keep Innovating...

Rodney Clemente is the Vice President of Water at Energy Recovery and is currently responsible for all of the company’s sales, technical service, support, and aftermarket activities for the global water business unit. For our cover story on seawater desalination, he shared his views on the desalination market, energy recovery devices and their technology, apart from ERI’s recent programs, projects, and performance with Mayur Sharma.

Rodney Clemente, Vice President Water, Energy Recovery Inc.

How can desalination best mitigate and address the high energy, cost, and toxic effluent from membrane problems? And what is the best way to reduce the environmental impact of polluted membranes after use?

Mr. Clemente: First is high energy - the advancements in Energy Recovery Devices have been one of the most disruptive achievements in the past several decades with respect to minimizing the overall power consumed from the RO process. Further innovation can yield further reductions but the current trends in energy optimization have come from novel process and material science improvements.

Then comes the high cost the desalination can be broken down into 2 primary segments: 1) Thermal desalination, and 2) Reverse Osmosis

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(RO). The CAPEX, OPEX and overall footprint of RO is typically cheaper than thermal processes. RO has taken majority market share due to CAPEX and OPEX benefits.

Regarding toxic effluents current trends to minimize waste are two-fold: 1) Increase membrane recovery and 2) Zero-liquid discharge. By increasing recovery, you minimize waste and by leveraging ZLD-type technologies one can eliminate this issue altogether. These two solutions are obviously site-specific and require further analysis.

With regards to membranes - the step 1 would be to extend the life of the membranes. This can be achieved by properly designing your pre-treatment and by observing good industry operations/ maintenance practices to produce the best quality of water required by the membrane manufacturers. By extending the useful life of the membranes you can thus reduce waste.

We should study what can be done in pre-treatment of feed-water to reduce “pollution” in the membranes process. And we should work with membrane suppliers to develop or correctly select membranes for the right application in order to reduce pollution.

In the desalination market, the latest studies and advances are aimed at cost

savings, both in energy consumption and in the final cost of desalinated water. In addition to the incorporation of renewable energies, what all technologies would contribute to further reduce these costs?

Mr. Clemente: The energy reduction is priority #1 as the price of power, and thus the power consumed is directly related to the cost to desalinate water. Advancements in Energy Recovery Devices, novel process improvements, more sophisticated plant designs, material science breakthroughs and low energy pre-treatment technologies will all play a role in future advancements in energy reductions. You must also look past the initial CAPEX and as an industry we need to

look at life-cycle cost including availability which will have a huge impact on the life of the plant.

A range of energy recovery devices has been implemented over the last several decades from the early Pelton wheel to the state-of-the-art Energy Recovery PX Pressure Exchanger. At 98% efficiency, the PX Pressure Exchanger reduces the power consumption of desalination plants by as much as 60%.

Many companies, and indeed ERI, have historically focused on nameplate efficiencies of their products to reduce energy cost savings for their customers. The reaching of PX performance ceilings has necessitated a shift in strategy to evaluate the efficiency of the overall system that delivers maximum sav-

ings for customers. Internally, we also talk about TOTAL savings which are the life cycle costs to customers.

Considerations for customers must include “all” costs: upfront investment, product efficiency, maintenance, and repairs. The PX device demonstrates this better than any other technology; while upfront cost may be higher than its competitors, its life cycle costs are far superior.

Tell us about any ‘one’ cutting-edge technology which you believe will set the trend for the future of desalination?

Mr. Clemente: The PX Pressure Exchanger has been the gold standard in energy recovery devices for the last 20 years and we don’t anticipate technologies to beat that

Carlsbad, USA 190,000 m3/Day (50 MGD)

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SEAWATER DESALINATION

Barcelona, Spain 200,000 m3/Day (53 MGD), Photo Courtesy: ATLL

level of performance. As mentioned above, we anticipate that the next level of innovation that will come to the industry will be around system-level design and efficiencies; packaging products that result in peak performance for the customer.

Finding new and creative ways to design and operate around the state-of-the-art PX Pressure Exchanger Technology is currently being explored and initial results are looking promising.

Please shed some light on the product and services portfolio of your company related to seawater desalination. How does your product & technology compare to other desalination products & technologies in the market?

Mr. Clemente: Our products are ERDS - PX Pressure Exchanger, AT Turbocharger; for packaged solutions: PowerPlay, commercial product: ESA, and in pumps: VPXP, Aquabold.

ERI’s ability to supply a very high efficiency packaged solution for the OEM market in the form of PX (industry leading lowest life-cycle cost ERD), VPXP and AquaBold (low maintenance, process fluid lubricated bearing) may be unmatched. To reiterate, not only are the efficiencies industry leading but the life cycle costs, again, leave the competition in the dust.

How long have you worked

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in the field of seawater desalination? Could you tell us something about your own experience in this field?

Mr. Clemente: I have been in the SWRO desalination business for 20 years. What I have learned from my experiences in the field is to keep innovating. No two plants are the same, thus you must vary your approach to solve problems. You must not only innovate your products and services but you must also innovate in terms of internal tools and processes.

What is the state of your company’s current and upcoming seawater desalination programs and projects? Can you give us some facts and figures?

Mr. Clemente: Currently we continue to be recognized as the global leader in Energy

Recovery Devices for the SWRO desalination space. We have an unmatched and unprecedented reference list of large-scale desalination references. With that said, we are starting to put in place a strategy for growth. We will be looking to grow our core business and will also look to expand into new markets. We have 100% market share in 2017 of projects > 50,000 m3/d. And we have projected 100% market share for 2018 projects > 50,000m3/d.

During 2017 - USD 54.3 mn in top-line revenue was the highest revenue year for our water business. We have over 18,000 devices deployed around the globe. We are operating on all 7 continents. We help in USD 1.8 billion in energy savings annually.

What were the achievements of your company in 2017-18? How has the company grown?

Mr. Clemente: 2017 was a record year for the company.

We generated USD 63.2 million in revenue for the fiscal year, which represents the strongest top-line performance in company history.

The Q1 2018 was another strong quarter for the company. We as a company generated record product and total gross margin of 70 and 76 percent, respectively, on USD 13.8 million in revenue. With water revenue of USD 11 million, we

had 3% growth year over year.

The higher OEM and AM shipments should offset traditionally slow Q1 shipments in MPD. We continue to generate significant manufacturing efficiencies as well, generating record-breaking margins in Water for the quarter.

What are some of the major orders won by your company in last two years?

Mr. Clemente: We do not disclose the specifics of orders or clients, but we can tell you that we have supplied our technology to approximately 80-85% of all SWRO facilities > 50,000 m3/d over the past decade.

Could you tell us about some of the most interesting projects seawater desalination that you have participated in?

Mr. Clemente: We have been involved in many very interesting projects. A few that come to mind are the large-scale plants located in Saudi Arabia. Saudi has historically been a tough market for ERI to penetrate as the cost of power is relatively low making the value proposition for energy recovery devices, in general, a bit less attractive.

We have made significant progress over the past decade or so and now enjoy majority market share in the newly constructed/ awarded plants in the Kingdom.

How are your seawater desalination projects financed, and structured?

Bahrain 3,000 m3/Day Barge Installation

Mr. Clemente: As an equipment supplier, we currently execute all of our contracts under the typical capital sale approach. We work with our customers to ensure we execute and perform at the highest levels. We have developed a new procurement vehicle in the form of an Energy Services Agreement (ESA).

With our innovative ESA offering, we would get paid with actual “savings”. For example, if an existing facility is utilizing out-dated legacy

technology, ERI would retrofit the plant, reduce the power consumed within the facility and actual savings would be shared.

What is the future of seawater desalination in India, in your opinion? Is seawater desalination a suitable technology for Indian conditions considering the huge costs involved?

Mr. Clemente: Energy Recovery’s products help reduce the overall cost of desalination making it a feasible option for India. We currently hold 100% market share in the large-scale SWRO India market. India has been an early adopter of our technologies and desalination is definitely part of their water diversification strategy.

Our solutions have been deployed across several largescale desalination projects that produced well over 575,000 m3/d.

With the market really testing new commercial models like PPPs, especially with the recent activity in India, we feel that we have more tools in our arsenal to support the Indian market. Our ESA offering for example, where customers can get our pumping solution (including PX) for no upfront costs, can mitigate the initial sticker shock associated with desalination projects.

Finally, what are your growth and expansion plans for the next 5 years?

Mr. Clemente: We see strong demand for our products throughout 2018 and beyond, and our margins remain robust; we see no signs of things slowing. We will continue to invest heavily in R&D across our BU’s, including Water, to ensure future growth. We will continue to evaluate options to increase our offerings to customers if it generates sufficient value for them. And we will be looking to grow our core business and will also look to expand into new markets.

June, 2018

33

TECH FOCUS

PUMPING TECHNOLOGIES

SAVING ENERGYONLYWORKS IFITIS EASY The wireless PumpMeter connection now makes it possible to transfer load profile data via WiFi for implementing optimization measures. This not only enables identification of energysaving potential but also the operation of the pumps at their best efficiency point. The effort required on the user’s part is minimal.

By Bryan Orchard

Figure 1: PumpMeter Comprises Pressure Sensors and an Analysing and Display Unit. It Records Suction, Discharge and Differential Pressures As Well As the Head.

HOW DO YOU get people to start thinking about energy efficiency as it pertains to their processes? Despite all of the coverage in the media, this topic still does not receive enough attention in production halls. “It’s not even specific to any one sector or industry: People are just happy when the pump is running; the questions of how it is running and what can be improved are in a very distant second place,” says Heiko Flurschütz, Head of Industry, Water / Waste Water and Energy in

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KSB’s Sales Region Germany Southwest. Enormous energysaving potential can be tapped, however. “For companies that have not paid any attention to energy efficiency, I would estimate that threequarters of the pumps they use could be optimized. Even companies that have delved into this topic before can still reduce the energy consumed during pump operation by an additional 25 percent,” sums up Flurschütz and provides a typical example. “Companies often are not even aware of

when a pump switches on and off for no reason. If not to save energy, they should at least be interested in exerting better control over this process to improve the service life of the pump.” But, in Flurschütz’s experience, users simply do not want any high-end solutions and instead tools that are easy to use.

Transparent Pump The first step toward a basic optimization tool was taken by KSB back in 2010 when the company launched

its PumpMeter (Figure 1).

This unit, which is basically a digital status indicator, provides information on the condition of the pump. The unit comprises pressure sensors as well as an analyzing and display unit fitted to the pump. Two sensors in the pump measure the suction and discharge pressures around the clock. PumpMeter uses this data to calculate the differential pressure and determines the current operating point, which is updated continuously in real time.

The measured and calculated values are shown in alternation on a user-friendly display. A typical four-quadrant pump characteristic curve shows the range in which the pump is operating at a point in time. A flashing outer segment on the left or right of the PumpMeter display indicates that action is required because the flow rate is either extremely low or too high. A flashing third quadrant in the pump curve indicates the optimum operating range. The second quadrant (from the left) indicates a long-term need for optimization. This display, which uses international symbols, allows the operator to evaluate the operating point immediately upon start-up and adjust the pump accordingly. Operators can see at a glance whether the availability of their pumps is at risk and whether they are operating economically.

Identifying Optimization Potential

A flashing EFF (energy efficiency) icon also indicates the potential for significant energy savings. For detailed information, all the user has to do is refer to the load profile, which can be read out and displayed by the KSB Service Tool: • If a pronounced bar indicates continuous operation in the optimum operating range, no adjustments are required.

• However, if many operating hours are being recorded in part load conditions and the operating point moves across a wide range of the characteristic curve, use of a variable speed system such as KSB PumpDrive is a recommended option.

This system can also be easily retrofitted.

• If the operating hours are in the far right (outer righthand bar) of the load profile, the pump set has been operated near the limits of its operating range. Pump and motor overload are likely.

Here, it would be a good idea to learn if the pump is perhaps inadequately dimensioned for its application. Two potential solutions would be to trim the impeller to reduce energy consumption or to install a new, larger pump.

The recommendations for action associated with the flashing EFF icon can differ greatly. After all, the pump must always be viewed in the context of the overall system; it would, however, be conceivable to install a frequency

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TECH FOCUS

PUMPING TECHNOLOGIES at any time,” states project manager Michael Könen. “The effort involved is minimal, and after just a short period, a report can be generated fully automatically at the push of a button.”

The Solution for Pump Systems

Figure 2: The GSM Modem Installed is Used to Automatically Read Out the PumpMeter Values and Send Them to a Corresponding Web Portal.

inverter, modify a pipe, install an energy-efficient motor or valve, or change the hydraulic system. “PumpMeter provides important information that we can leverage,” says Flurschütz. “This always pays off. Especially against the background that there are fewer and fewer options for optimizing production systems.

The costs of procuring the base materials, disposal and logistics are mostly stable; when it comes to energy costs, however, there is real savings potential that can be tapped and is just waiting to be discovered.”

Logical Next Step To date, 40,000 PumpMeter units have been delivered. “We wanted to take things one step further, however,” explains Dr. Jochen Mades, Head of Application & Basic Research at KSB. As part of the numerous Industry 4.0 initiatives in the chemical industry, a chemical company initially inquired as to whether data could also be transferred to the cloud and analyzed there. Far too many times the data is not read out or the flashing EFF icon is ignored, which Dr. Mades understands quite well: “Everyone is now familiar

with the situation that day-today routines simply do not leave enough room for further action. Although PumpMeter has a plain text display, the data must be processed further in order to actually implement any measures.

This means that you have to physically walk to the pump with a notebook, read out the data there, and then send it to us.” KSB has therefore developed a wireless PumpMeter connection in the form of a GSM modem (Figure 2) that is used to automatically read out and transfer data values. This includes a corresponding web portal that the user can access

Figure 3: When the Flow Rates are Very High or a High Level of Availability is Required, Several Pumps are Often Interconnected to Avoid Potential Production Downtime.

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The solution offers yet another benefit. Previously, PumpMeter could only display the status of a single pump. It is frequently the case, however, that several pumps are interconnected (Figure 3), such as when the flow rates are very high or high availability is required to avoid potential production downtime. How exactly these pumps interact could of course not be displayed using individual PumpMeters at the pumps. The wireless version, however, makes it possible to configure such multiple pump systems and assign a time stamp to the operating times of the pumps so that the pump units can be analyzed and viewed together on the web portal. This means that multiple pump systems can be checked with respect to their overall energy efficiency.

Examples include cooling water supply systems for metal-cutting machining processes at automotive suppliers, large paint shops, cooling lubricant supply systems, cooling systems for data-centers and pressure booster systems in high-rise buildings.

A PumpMeter with a modem has been used at the Nufringen pumping station of the BodenseeWasserversorgung (Lake Constance Water Supply Association) since late 2017, for example. “The main benefit for us is that we have determined that the pumps in question operate in the overload range very frequently,” explains Markus Wellinger, who works in the electrical and mechanical engineering department at the BodenseeWasserversorgung in Stuttgart. Now, the pumps will all be optimized. “The focus here is on energy effi-

ciency optimization and maintenance. PumpMeter allows you to use the pumps in such a way that they run at their best efficiency point, which also greatly extends their service life. At the same time, this directly translates into lower energy costs.”

Outlook Conditions can change during the service life of a pump, however, and it often happens that a pump no longer runs at its best efficiency point. This is where the wireless solution from KSB really shines since it delivers data around the clock, free of charge.

The wireless solution is not the last step, however. In future, instead of using wetted sensors in conjunction with PumpMeter, it will be possible to pick up vibrations at the pump and transfer this operating data to the cloud as well.

This neatly circumvents the problem of taking measurements using wetted sensors, which is not always easy when chemical products are involved. Vibration sensor and PumpMeter measurements are currently being taken in parallel at selected pilot plants to verify the data values.

About the Author Bryan Orchard is an international freelance journalist who specializes in water and environmental engineering.

All Photos Courtesy of KSB SE & Co. KGaA.

June, 2018

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TECH FOCUS

PUMPING TECHNOLOGIES

THREE DECADES IN GEORGIA- SCREW PUMPS SHOWTHEIR STRENGTH With almost 30 years and counting of uninterrupted service for its 60” and 72” screw pumps, operators at the City of Calhoun’s Wastewater Treatment Plant have firmly underlined the benefits of basic preventative maintenance.

By Lakeside Equipment Corporation

Lakeside’s Open Screw Design Utilizes a Torque Tube and Spiral Flights

IN 1988, CALHOUN’S WWTP (permitted for 16 MGD) first invested in two of Lakeside Equipment Corporation’s 60”, 75 Hp open screw pumps (capacity = 7,000 GPM), and two 72”, 50 Hp screw pumps (capacity = 10,500 GPM). Original concrete construction involved an empty space provided for a third pump for each capacity, which was filled in 2012 by a new 60”, 75 HP Lakeside screw pump with a lift of 20.46 ft at a 38? incline.

A year later in 2013, one of the original 60” Lakeside pumps was finally replaced (followed a year later by another of the same diameter to replace the last, original 60” screw pump) - but even

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June, 2018

then, as John Banks, City of Calhoun Wastewater Plant Manager explains, this was more to do with budgetary and long-term planning requirements.

“The pumps were only just beginning to wear out, but they were certainly not on their last legs,” he said, “far from it. The original 60” Lakeside Screw Pumps far exceeded their life expectancy”.

The average flow at Calhoun (one hour north of Atlanta), is around 5MGD (1416 MGD during rain events), serving the city of Calhoun, Georgia (home to some of the world’s top floor covering manufacturers). The treatment plant is a tough, corrosive environment for the original Open Screw Pumps (all Lakeside), that via three different configurations, run rotationally 24/7 to equal outwear. Consisting of a spiral screw, upper and lower bearings and a drive arrangement, the open screw design uses a torque tube with spiral flights set in an open, inclined concrete trough. The screw pump’s basic design has been used for millennia to promote both simplicity and reliability.

John Banks (who has worked at the facility for 12 years) added: “The beauty of the Lakeside screw pumps is that there is actually very little maintenance. Once per week, we check oil levels and our operators will also moni-

tor the grease levels on the bottom bearing. All very simple - and with Lakeside’s stainless steel tubing, we don’t have to worry about corrosion.

These routine checks have seen our screw pumps work very reliably for 25-years-plus, which shows what a good investment they are”.

Normally, two of the Lakeside screw pumps at the influent of Calhoun’s WWT Plant lift the raw sewage up out of the collection system into the plant. Pre-screening is not required because large objects pass between the

Calhoun’s Treatment Plant Benefits from Long-Lasting Open Screw Pumps

screw flights and through the screw pump.

Additional screw pumps are ready in the event of the sewer system becoming supercharged due to a large rain event. After lifting, the wastewater is taken through screening and grit removal processes before being lifted again by the second set of

screw pumps.

John Banks continued: “Our program of rotating the use of the screw pumps, combined with basic oil checks and free-flowing grease has given us a winning hand of flexibility and very long lasting equipment. This preventative maintenance program also means that we don’t have the pressure of having to get a screw pump back into service quickly if and when we are looking for additional pumping capacity”.

The older portion of the Calhoun system covers over 136 miles of interceptor and trunk lines through the City. It was upgraded in 2004 to meet new standards.

Then, as now, the purchase of screw pumps was put out to bid, with an eye on securing the best in long-term performance and value. Lakeside offers both greased and sealed lower bearings on their open screw pumps. The dual upper bearing of each style pump includes both radial and thrust components, serving both forces that act upon it, which helps prolong the lifetime of the screw pump. The pump also benefits from a Vbelt drive that connects the motor to the speed reducer.

This acts as a shock absorber to protect from possible shock loads, as well as provide for easy speed changes in the field. The constant speed drives eliminate the need for complex, variable speed elec-

trical controls.

John Banks concluded: “We’ve taken care of our screw pump installations, but Lakeside is always there to help with start-up, and service if required. They’re a company that very much stands by its equipment, and like us, thinks about the long term.

We’ve also had good support from Lakeside’s representative Templeton & Associates, based in Suwanee, Georgia.

“We see good grease coming out during our checks, which means we have good grease in there for these very robust screw pumps. This plays a big part in the continuing smooth-operation of our plant”.

Lakeside Equipment Corporation is an engineering and manufacturing company concentrating on helping to improve the quality of our water resources.

A V-Belt Drive Protects Against Possible Shock Loads.

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TECH FOCUS

CUTTER CLEARS CLOGS While dredging ponds for Sydney Water, the company were faced with pump chokes caused by accumulated rags.

By Aussie Pumps

Tsurumi C Series Cutter Pump Solves the Ragging Issue When Cleaning Sewage Pits for Dredging Solutions

KEEPING SETTLING PONDS in optimum condition without taking the sewage plant offline represents real cost savings.

Dredging Solutions from Sydney NSW are now able to offer this option due to an innovative application of a Tsurumi submersible cutter pump.

While dredging ponds for Sydney Water, the company were faced with pump chokes caused by accumulated rags.

Normal submersible pumps cannot cope when oversized, fibrous materials get flushed into the system. Dredging Solutions turned to Aussie Pumps for a suitable cutter pump to solve the ragging problem.

Tsurumi, the world’s leader in submersible pump development, has produced a range of cutter pumps, called the C Series, designed to handle such contaminated waste.

The C series cutter pumps

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chop waste material, including rags, thus allowing free passage through the pump without clogging.

“Tsurumi’s breakthrough cutter impeller chops through sewage, rawhide, plastic, rags and other materials in seconds,” said Aussie Pumps Product Manager Neil Bennett. “We’ve seen various unmentionables handled by these extraordinary pumps so they were an obvious choice for Dredging Solutions ragging issue,” he said.

The C Series incorporates a large open channel impeller with a cutter mechanism. A sintered tungsten carbide alloy tip is brazed on the impeller vane. As the impeller rotates the vane slices against the serrated edge of the suction cover, chopping fibrous matter into small fragments that won’t clog.

The 3 phase, heavy duty pumps range from 50 mm

bore to 100 mm. The largest pump in the range has an enormous capacity of 2,750 liters per minute, and a max head of 26 meters.

“There is a terrific video on YouTube that shows the pumps’ cutting ability. It’s amazing to watch what these

unique cutters will do. You’ll never believe it until you see it,” said Bennett. “The demo even shows the pump swallowing nylon rope,” he said.

Like all Tsurumi submersible pumps, the C Series includes the features that extend the life and enhance the reliability of the pump.

Significant design details make a big difference. They include an anti-wicking cable entry that prevents water from entering the motor if the power lead is damaged or the end of the cable is accidentally submerged.

A double silicon carbide seal is standard on all models.

Both seal surfaces are submerged in an oil chamber, away from the pumped liquid.

This ensures lubrication and protects ingress of foreign materials.

The oil bath features a patented ‘Oil Lifter’ that increases mech seal longevity.

The lifter ensures both the upper and lower seals are lubricated and cooled, even if the oil level in the chamber is low.

“We have created a bit of a buzz within Sydney Water with how well the new system is dealing with the rags onsite.

They have a lot of the ponds to dredge at one time or another, that are heavily ragged up and we now have a solution to deal with it,” said Cameron Lorimer from Dredging Solutions. “The cutter pump coupled with our dredge system will allow the cleaning of the ponds while they remain online. This is critical to the ongoing operation of the plant,” he said.

Australian Pump Industries, commonly known as Aussie Pumps, specializes in high-performance, self-priming centrifugal transfer pumps for a wide range of applications including firefighting as well as water and chemical transfer. Aussie Pumps also manufactures and imports high-pressure cleaning equipment including cold water blasters, steam machines and drain cleaning jetters for tradesmen and cleaning professionals under the Aussie Eco-Clean brand.

Dredging Solutions Pontoon in Action, Clearing Ponds Without the Need to Take the Sewage Plant Offline.

June, 2018

37

MUNICIPAL WATER

PUBLIC HEALTH

LEAD IN DRINKING WATER: PAST, PRESENT,AND FUTURE Recent events involving lead in drinking water have eroded the public’s trust in drinking water supplies in some communities. Restoring this trust requires water utilities to improve their understanding of the complex nature of lead in drinking water.

By Caroline Russell, Philip Brandhuber, and Darren Lytle

Greater Cincinnati Water Works is One of Many Water Utilities Removing Lead Service Lines.

LEAD HAS BEEN used as a plumbing material for centuries because of its strong, yet malleable, properties. The word plumbing is actually derived from the Latin word for lead, plumbum. When present, lead service lines (LSLs), connecting water mains beneath streets to residences or businesses, are the most significant source of lead in drinking water.

Lead also has been used as a component in solder, flux, galvanized pipe coatings, and plumbing fixtures and fittings.

Furthermore, it can accumulate in downstream interior

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pipe scales, particularly those in galvanized pipe, so lead can occur at customer taps even when no LSLs are present.

Learning from the fable of the blind people and the elephant—each person touches a different part of the animal, but none sees the whole-water utilities need to develop programs that “see” all aspects of lead. This involves looking at lead from several perspectives, including regulations, water quality, operations, infrastructure, and communications.

This is the first in a series of Opflow articles in which members of AWWA’s

Inorganics/ Inorganic Contaminants Research committees will address these perspectives. Case studies also will be presented to illustrate proven methods to address lead. This article provides background on the use of lead in plumbing materials, past and current regulations, and potential future regulations.

Regulating Lead in Drinking Water US lead pipe installations decreased significantly after World War II for economic and public health reasons. In

1986, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to prohibit the use of pipes containing more than 8 percent lead. The agency’s Drinking Water Additives Advisory Program arose from the 1986 amendments, leading to the development of voluntary standards, such as NSF/ANSI 61, Drinking Water System Components-Health Effects.

The agency stated in a 1997 Federal Register notice that the NSF/ANSI 61 standards met the program’s intent.

SDWA amendments in

1996 further limited the use of lead in plumbing components by expanding the provisions of the 1986 amendments to potable water fittings and fixtures, allowing only leadfree pipes, fittings, and fixtures. In 2011, Congress passed the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA), reducing the maximum allowable lead content in pipes to = 0.25 percent lead in wetted surface material.

Collectively, the 1986 and 1996 SDWA amendments and the RLDWA have dramatically reduced the amount of lead in plumbing materials installed in new homes.

However, many older homes still have lead service lines, solder, fittings, and fixtures that were installed before the leadlimiting regulations were enacted.

Today, an estimated 6.1 million to 10.2 million legacy LSLs are in place across the United States. Homes without LSLs, but which contain fixtures or solder with low lead levels, can also be susceptible to lead release, depending on water corrosivity.

Lead and Copper Rule The SDWA amendments and the RLDWA focus on reducing lead use in plumbing.

USEPA’s 1991 Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and its subsequent revisions center on preventing public exposure to legacy lead in a distribution system, primarily by reducing

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MUNICIPAL WATER

PUBLIC HEALTH Regulatory Impact

Figure 1: Lead Sources in Utility- and Customer-Owned Service Lines and Internal Plumbing. This Figure Shows Typical Jurisdiction, but the Utility May Own All or None of the Service Line. (Source: Adapted from Customer Service Drives Quest for a Lead-Safe City, Opflow, September 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.5991/PF.2016.42.0052)

water corrosivity through corrosion control treatment (CCT).

The LCR established a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for lead based on adverse effects on the nervous, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems as well as normal growth and development. MCLGs establish the concentration at (and below) which no known health effects are observed. The MCLG of zero reflects the fact no safe lead level exists, particularly for children.

Compliance requirements under the LCR are based on a treatment technique (TT) regulation, which establishes actions that must be taken if lead or copper concentrations exceed their respective 0.015 mg/L or 1.3 mg/L action levels (ALs). The lead AL is based on

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USEPA’s assessment of lead levels at the tap with a first draw sample that should be achievable with optimized corrosion control; higher concentrations are used to signal CCT needs to be revisited.

The copper AL is healthbased.

Table 1 summarizes some of the key LCR components.

The rule applies to all community water systems (CWSs) and all nontransient, noncommunity water systems (NTNCWSs).

The LCR requires water systems to collect first-draw samples at taps in homes and buildings selected on a tiered system that prioritizes sampling locations based on a site’s likelihood to release elevated lead or copper levels (e.g., properties with LSLs). The number of samples is based on system

size. Lead and copper sampling is conducted every six months unless a system qualifies for reduced monitoring.

In addition, water quality parameters (WQPs) are collected to assess water corrosivity and serve as process control measurements. WQPs may include pH, temperature, alkalinity, calcium, conductivity, orthophosphate (if a phosphate-based corrosion inhibitor is used), and silica (if a silicate-based inhibitor is used). Compliance with the treatment technique is based on achieving the required WQPs rather than achieving 90th percentile lead and copper levels below the AL. The LCR requires all systems serving more than 50,000 people to install optimal corrosion control treatment (OCCT), which could

include adjusting pH or alkalinity to reduce water corrosivity prior to distribution, or adding a phosphate- or silicatebased corrosion inhibitor.

Water systems are required to revisit their OCCT if the lead or copper ALs are exceeded in more than 10 percent of customer taps sampled. If a water system continues to fail to meet the lead AL after installing and optimizing CCT, it must begin replacing lead service lines within its jurisdiction. Short-term revisions to the LCR promulgated in 2007 require water systems to provide advanced notification to their primacy agency of intended changes in source water or treatment that could increase lead corrosion and to gain the agency’s approval before implementing those changes.

According to USEPA, the number of the nation’s large water systems with AL exceedances has been reduced by more than 90 percent since the LCR’s implementation. However, several significant concerns remain regarding whether existing regulations are adequately protecting public water system customers from lead exposure: • The lead AL isn’t healthbased; rather, it accounts for treatment abilities and costs based on the 1991 evaluation, along with sampling protocols.

• Exceeding the AL isn’t a violation under the LCR. • Sampling relies on assurances that any water in the house isn’t used during stagnation and it’s taken from a site properly verified as to tier ranking as well as from the intended and approved tap.

• The LCR doesn’t address the release of elevated particulate lead episodes associated with various physical and chemical disturbances or episodes of fluctuating water quality outside the specific monitoring period.

• If initial planning for corrosion control and ongoing operation isn’t adequate, the AL is at best a mechanism to detect a problem after it occurs. Moreover, for systems on reduced monitoring, the reduction in sampling frequency and locations could delay detection of an issue. In the case of Flint, Mich., the compliance monitoring program trailed other indicators that corrosion control wasn’t working, and there was reason to be concerned about lead release. Reducing lead exposure through LSL replacement is challenging.

Research has shown full LSL replacement is needed to reliably reduce exposure to lead. Because water systems typically don’t own the portion of the LSL past the property boundary (Figure 1), coordination with home-

June, 2018

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MUNICIPAL WATER

PUBLIC HEALTH

Rule Component

Requirements

Lead and Copper Monitoring

• CWSs and NTNCWSs must collect first-draw samples at taps in homes and buildings at high risk of lead/copper contamination as identified in 40 CFR 141.86(a).

• Number of samples is based on system size.

• Systems must conduct monitoring every 6 months unless they qualify for reduced monitoring.

Water Quality Parameter (WQP) Monitoring

• All systems serving > 50,000 are required to monitor at taps every 6 months (unless a system is on reduced monitoring).

• Systems serving = 50,000 are required to monitor if an AL is exceeded.

• WQPs are monitored at entry points to the distribution system every 6 months until CCT is implemented and thereafter every 2 weeks.

Action Level

• The LCR mandates a 0.015 mg/L AL for lead and a 1.3 mg/L AL for copper.

• Exceedance is based on > 10% of samples showing lead or copper concentrations above their respective ALs.

Treatment Technique Requirements

• • • •

Public Notification

• Within 30 days of receiving sample results, all systems must provide individual lead tap results to people who receive water from sites that were sampled, regardless of whether the results exceed the lead AL. • Education materials must be provided after a lead AL exceedance.

• Lead and copper results must be included in Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs).

• All CCRs must include information on lead in drinking water.

All large water systems (i.e., serving > 50,000 people) are required to implement CCT. Water systems serving < 50,000 are required to implement CCT if lead concentrations exceed the action level.

CCT is re-evaluated and optimized in response to AL exceedance.

Lead service line must be replaced if AL is exceeded after implementing optimized CCT.

Table 1: Key LCR Components. The LCR Centers on Preventing Public Exposure to Legacy Lead in a Distribution System Primarily by Reducing Water Corrosivity through CCT. (Source: Lead and Copper Rule: A Quick Reference Guide, USEPA, 2006, https//nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=60001N8P.txt)

owners, including homeowner willingness and ability to pay for their portion of LSL replacement, affects whether a full replacement can be achieved.

• The current LCR sampling protocol often doesn’t capture the highest lead concentrations present when there’s an LSL. For example, a study that profiled lead concentrations in the

first 16 liters of water drawn from taps in single and multifamily homes, collected in one-liter increments, showed higher levels of lead in samples correlated with longer travel times from the LSLs to the tap than are captured via first flush samples.

• Lead and copper samples are collected from the same sites. Higher copper levels

will be associated with homes that have newer plumbing instead of the often older structures targeted for compliance monitoring under the LCR.

USEPA Revisions to the Long-Term LCR USEPA is planning to revise the Lead and Copper Rule, reflecting a years-long effort, dating back to 1996 dis-

cussions regarding potential copper revisions as well as a 2004 national review of the LCR in the wake of elevated lead levels in Washington, D.C. In 2014, the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC), which is a federal advisory committee created through an SDWA provision, formed a Lead and Copper Rule Working Group (LCRWG) to advise USEPA

Figure 2: Regulations Impacting Lead and Copper Sources and Concentrations in Drinking Water (Regulations and Actions to Reduce Lead Exposure in Drinking Water Have a Long History, Helping Water Utilities Significantly Reduce Lead Exposure in Drinking Water).

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June, 2018

regarding potential LCR revisions. The LCRWG’s recommendations included suggestions regarding LSL replacement, improved CCT, development of a healthbased level for lead, sampling protocols, and differentiating requirements to control copper. USEPA is considering recommendations from the NDWAC LCRWG as well as other stakeholders, an internal USEPA workgroup, and best available science as it prepares a proposed rule, which is scheduled for publication in 2018 (Figure 2).

In a 2016 white paper on LCR revisions, USEPA highlighted that LCR revisions will include “technology-driven and health-based elements that focus on proactive, preventative actions to avoid high lead levels and health risks.”

Based on information in the white paper, the LCR’s TTbased aspects will be retained where lead-exposure prevention hinges on CCT, monitoring for realized lead levels, and public education to minimize lead exposure. It’s also likely that LSL replacement will play a more prominent role in the rule framework. As Table 2 illustrates, USEPA is

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MUNICIPAL WATER considering options to enhance those key elements as well as potentially bolstering them with additional components such as a healthbased benchmark.

Moving Forward According to USEPA, regulations and actions to reduce lead exposure in drinking water, as well as from other consumer products, has lowered the median blood lead

level in children from 15 micrograms per deciliter in 1976–1980 to 1 microgram per deciliter based on recent data.

However, recent events in Flint and elsewhere show that legacy lead in plumbing material remains a significant concern in communities across the United States. USEPA is considering LCR revisions to further reduce public exposure to lead in drinking water.

In the interim, water systems

PUBLIC HEALTH can take actions to prepare for potential rule revisions and to proactively reduce lead exposure, including identifying LSLs, reviewing and optimizing CCT, strengthening public education programs, and developing strategies to fully remove LSLs in the communities they serve.

About the Authors Caroline Russell is with Carollo Engineers, Austin,

Texas; Philip Brandhuber is with HDR Engineering, Denver; and Darren Lytle is with the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati.

Source: This article originally appeared in the January 2018 issue of Opflow, the water industry’s most popular resource on operations issues published by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The award-winning monthly maga-

zine presents new and established technologies and ideas that readers can apply to water treatment and distribution as well as wastewater operations.

Opflow is a benefit for members of AWWAIndia and a valued resource for water professionals around the world. To join AWWAIndia, visit awwaindia.org. To view the original article, see https://doi.org/10.5991/OPF.201 8.44.0001.

LCR Elements for Potential Revision

Considerations

LSL Replacement

• Need to update utility distribution system LSL inventory.

• Pace of the LSL replacement program.

• Management of short-term increases in lead levels caused by LSLR. • Possible prohibition of partial LSLR. • Funding mechanisms and environmental justice considerations tied to the customer’s ability to pay.

Improved Optimized CCT

• Requiring large systems to re-evaluate their systems using any new CCT requirements proposed by the rule.

• Requiring all systems to implement CCT. • Requiring systems with CCT programs that exceed the lead AL to automatically be required to review and re-optimize CCT, if justified by the review.

Health-Based Benchmark

• Could be based on impacts to life-stage development for children under 6 years of age.

• Benchmark could trigger action at the household level.

Role of Point of Use Filters

• Based on success in using POU filters to control tap lead levels in Flint, Mich.

• Filters could be installed in response to: - Disturbances to LSLs. - Exceedances to a health-based benchmark.

Strengthened Sampling Requirements

• Continuing the current practice of “first draw” sampling or alternatively requiring sequential or random daytime household sampling.

• Requiring mandatory sampling programs for schools.

• Examining the feasibility of real-time distribution system monitoring of parameters measuring the effectiveness of CCT.

Increased Transparency and Information Sharing

• Requiring utilities to post all LCR sampling results.

• Shortening time frames for utilities to provide sampling results to consumers.

• Quickening public notification by utilities and primacy agencies of high lead levels.

• Publicly identifying locations of LSLs. • Publicly providing information about the design and results of lead sampling programs.

Public Education Requirements

• Providing customers with information on how to reduce lead exposure.

• Providing new customers with information on lead risks.

• Performing expanded outreach to vulnerable populations.

• For systems with LSLs: - Targeted outreach including invitations to customers to have water tested and participate in LSL replacement regardless of lead levels.

- Notification to customers of emergency or planned maintenance that could disrupt LSLs. - Providing standard procedures to other utilities to follow when they may disturb LSLs while maintaining their services.

Revised Copper Requirements

• Changing LCR monitoring site selection criteria to include sites of greatest risk for copper leaching.

• Establishing criteria for classifying systems with water that is aggressive to copper and systems with water that is not.

• Requiring copper CCT in systems classified as having aggressive water, with periodic testing of systems that are not.

Relationship With Broader Lead Issues

• USEPA states that it will “continue to work with federal, state and local partners to reduce lead risks in all contaminated media.”

Table 2: USEPA Elements for Potential LCR Revision. USEPA is Considering Options to Enhance Key LCR Elements As Well As Bolstering Them with Potential Additional Components.

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June, 2018

41

OUT OF THE BOX

All That Does Not Glitter is Also Gold Sewage is an Asset,Not a Liability To enhance sustainability, Zero Sewage Discharge STPs must be initiated and encouraged in India at the moment. Resource recovery from the treatment process is at the heart of this concept. The treated wastewater has a lot of potential to be recycled and reused.

By VA Tech WABAG Limited

THE GOVERNMENT OF India has been working to enhance the sanitation coverage with an intent to improve the social and economic spheres of our times.

The flagship schemes of the Central government have been focusing on carrying out river cleaning programmes, at the heart of which is increasing the percentage of sewage treated and reducing the untreated discharge of sewage.

This entails integrating sustainable technologies for effective sewage management; all these being clear initiatives which have been promoted in the forward-looking policies of the Central Government.

According to the data released in the report “Inventorization of Sewage treatment plants, 2015” by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the available treatment capacity is only for 37% of the total 62,000 MLD (million liters per day) of sewage which is generated in urban India.

With the tremendous rise in popula-

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June, 2018

tion coupled with rapid urbanization, the paramount task at hand is to fasttrack the construction of sewer networks to ensure maximum collection and minimum discharge of untreated sewage and setting up of efficient Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) with reliable and sustainable processes to ensure efficient sewage management.

To enhance sustainability, Zero Sewage Discharge STPs must be initiated and encouraged in India at the moment. Resource recovery from the treatment process is at the heart of this concept.

The treated wastewater has a lot of potential to be recycled and reused.

With increase in the percentage of sewage treated, we also need to address the issue of sludge management.

First, the sludge can be thickened and subjected to anaerobic digesters to produce methane gas. This methane, with its high calorific value, can run the Biogas Engine which generates electricity for the entire plant, thus making

it self-sustainable.

This eliminates the hassles of intermittent power derived from the grid which can affect the biological processes at the plant.

Such an ingenious concept also helps transform the sewage treatment process into a revenue-generating option.

By putting in place a system to generate green power from sludge, greater

savings in operating expenditure (5060%) can be achieved & a payback period of 3-4 years can be expected.

This is lucrative considering sewage treatment projects under the Namami Gange program are slated to have a 15 year operations period.

Second, the fully digested sludge is ideal for reuse and can be utilized as a valuable fertilizer for agriculture.

Thus, the entire sewage is completely reprocessed, resulting in no discharge while simultaneously yielding multiple benefits (hence the name Zero Sewage Discharge STP).

By opting for such a resource recovery model, we not only achieve conservation of energy & environment, but also help promoters avail carbon credits.

Such power neutral STPs are currently in the nascent stage with timetested references across India and would be the way forward considering Government notifications which are promoting this concept.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), there exists a potential of about 1700 MW from urban waste (1500 from MSW

According to the data released in the report “Inventorization of Sewage treatment plants, 2015” by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the available treatment capacity is only for 37% of the total 62,000 MLD (million liters per day) of sewage which is generated in urban India.

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OUT OF THE BOX

and 225 MW from sewage) and about 1300 MW from industrial waste. The ministry is also actively promoting the generation of energy from waste by providing subsidies and incentives for the projects.

Central Financial Assistance pro-

The biological Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Kodungaiyur, Chennai handles 110 MLD (million liters per day) of sewage.

Its treatment process is based on activated sludge process with anaerobic sludge digestion and biogas utilization by means of a power plant based on the gas engine (capacity 1,317 KVA). It is the largest plant of its kind in India and achieves 98% selfsufficiency in terms of power consumption.

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vides capital subsidy and Grants-in-Aid for projects which includes power generation from biogas at Sewage Treatment Plant or through biomethanation of urban and agricultural waste.

These plants are entitled to a subsidy of INR 2.00 crore/MW or bio-CNG from 12000 m3 biogas/day (Max INR 5.00 crore/project).

There are time-tested and successful case studies in India which testify to the viability of power neutral STPs. The State Government of Tamil Nadu has been pro-actively looking to tackle problems surrounding sewage and its disposal using smart solutions over the last decade.

In 2004, VA Tech WABAG was entrusted with the turnkey realization of a new biological sewage treatment plant at Kodungaiyur, located in the northern periphery of Chennai City.

The plant handles 110 MLD (million liters per day) of sewage and the treatment process is based on activated sludge process with anaerobic sludge digestion and biogas utilization by means of a power plant based on the

gas engine (capacity 1,317 KVA).

After commissioning in 2006, WABAG also assumed responsibility for operations & maintenance of the plant for a period of 10 years.

It is the largest plant of its kind in India and the most energy efficient one among the 9 STPs in Chennai - achieving 98% self-sufficiency in terms of power consumption.

Comprehensive technical and economic know-how of WABAG has guaranteed efficient project realization and a highly commendable operations phase of the plant for over a decade.

The Kodungaiyur STP has the distinction of completing maximum hours of run time with a single gas engine, which has run successfully for 78,843 hours, producing 45036 MWh over the last 11 years.

The way forward would be to fasttrack implementation of the Government policies promoting the generation of electricity from biogas and build more such power neutral STPs. This is also in line with our Honorable PM’s vision to create a

Recently, WABAG executed Karnataka’s first power neutral STP, entrusted by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). The plant with a capacity to treat 60 MLD of sewage, located in K&C Valley, was designed and built with power generation process from biogas, thus making the plant eligible under Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) policy mechanism. The plant is based on an activated sludge process with biological nutrient removal system and has a 1 MW biogas Engine installed in it for green power generation. The flagship power neutral STP was inaugurated by the Honorable CM of Karnataka in mid-2017.

lower carbon renewable energy future.

Establishing the Zero Sewage Discharge concept comprehensively in India will ensure the successful realization of a “Swachh Bharat”.

VA Tech WABAG Around the world, the WABAG name stands for innovative and successful solutions in the water engineering sector. As an internationally respected expert group, WABAG is a systems specialist and full service-provider with a focus on the planning, installation, and operation of drinking and wastewater plants for local government and industry in the growth markets of Asia, North Africa, Middle East, the Central and Eastern Europe.

The WABAG Group represents a leading multinational player with a workforce of over 1,600 and has companies and offices in more than 20 countries. It disposes of unique technological know-how, based on innovative, patented technologies and long-term experience. Since 1995, WABAG has completed over 900 water and wastewater plants worldwide.

June, 2018

43

URBAN WATER

Sustainable Earth: The Role of Urban Water Management

By Ajitabh Sharma

Sustainable Development and Triple Bottom Line The principle of sustainability of growth and development intersects three basic systems- the economic, social and the ecological system. All three systems are interdependent and interconnected.

To exemplify it further: industrial development, when evaluated in isolation may reflect positive economic scenario, like, increase in GDP and per capita income. But, when looked holistically the picture might be contrasting, wherein, the social and the ecological systems get adversely impacted because of the widening inequality in the ownership of wealth and environmental degradation respectively. Such a growth model would not be sustainable as it is not leading to the desired goal of social equity and, environmental and ecological protection for the intergenerational holistic well-being.

Sustainable development is a scenario where economic, social and environmental ben-

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June, 2018

efits are maximized within the given set of constraints.

Implying that, for a given activity or a project economic, social and environmental costs and benefits are balanced for optimization of overall benefit.

To illustrate: for a given multipurpose irrigation project, the new command area created, additional drinking water availability and power generation are economic benefits. Whereas, displacement of villagers and loss of livelihood has its own social implications.

Furthermore, submergence of large tracts of culturable land, extinction of local biodiversity due to impounding of water, reduction in ecosystem services rendered by the tamed river and other adverse environmental impacts carry huge ecological costs, which are mostly ignored in project evaluation exercises.

To determine sustainability aspect of such projects, social and ecological implications are to be exhaustively analyzed and translated into monetary terms using the tools such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment studies. All three dimensions of costs and benefits are thus calculated and balanced among each other to determine the sustainability of the project for taking the final decision by the policy-makers.

In financial terms, the operations of a firm which are conventionally measured in monetary terms only, need to also internalize the social and environmental externalities, and incorporate them in its balance sheet to represent the true and fair picture of the business

operations. This concept, now defined as 'triple bottom line' is utilized by many businesses to assess the outcome of a development project on three dimensions of economic, social and environmental equity.

Reforms in business accounting standards for adopting triple bottom line principle will bring in more transparency to the people impacted by actions of a business venture or a development program and empower them for making informed decisions.

It will further assist the prospective investors in channelizing their capital wisely to the programs having better chances of achieving the goal of sustainable development.

Circular Economy & Water Improving the triple bottom line of a business venture requires life cycle analysis of the output product in conjunction with the social and environmental impacts of the business operations. Under the life cycle analysis, the market costs as well as the hidden costs of the product, from the stage of production to consumption to disposal, are identified and analyzed.

In a Circular Economy: To minimize the adverse impact of a business activity on the society and the environment, and the usage of natural resources; wastage is reduced by reusing resources in a cyclic manner and releasing the least possible effluents into the air, water, and land. Wastage in the production process is minimized by using alternative methods resulting in less amount of water and energy

consumption. Wealth from waste is the underlying theme in a circular economy. Supply chain diagnostics is an efficient method for transitioning from linear to a circular economy.

The circular economy has been advocated as one of the most critical pillars of sustainable development. Water as a resource plays a vital role in the supply chain of most economic, social and ecological actions. Hence, managing water prudently across the ecosystem is crucial for achieving the goal of a circular economy, and in-turn the goal of sustainable development and sustainable earth.

To add further, considering the integral role which water plays in the development process, the United Nations has identified the water-foodenergy and climate nexus to be a key principle behind sustainable development. But unfortunately, water is fraught with challenges, which might put the whole nexus under threat, with the urban water component being the weakest link in the chain.

The Impending Urban Water Crisis According to a UN report (2014), 2.5 billion more people will be added to the world population between 2014 to 2050, making the proportional share of the urban population 66 percent of the total population by 2050. The world population will reach 9.3 billion by 2050, 6.3 billion of which will be living in urban areas. Highest urban population growth will occur in China, India, and

Nigeria. These three countries will account for 37 percent of the global urban growth.

With increasing urban population, pressure on water, food, energy and other natural resources will expand geometrically, challenging the quality provision of services and sustainability of resource consumption. If not managed efficiently, this would further exacerbate the adverse impact on the environment and the ecosystem.

Soaring population will increase per capita consumption, putting immense pressure on water resources in urban and peri-urban areas, consequently straining the environment if the water use cycle is not managed efficiently.

Globally, irrigation is a major water guzzler, average 70 percent of water is used for agricultural purposes. As per the UNDP 2006 report, with the growing urbanization and further increase in peri-urban irrigation, and with the demand for domestic and industrial water consumption expected to double by 2050 in the increasingly urbanizing economies, the water quantity, quality, and sanitation will present itself as the most critical urban challenges in the coming decades. This would further make the task of achieving the SDG 6, providing clean water and sanitation; and SDG 11, making cities inclusive, resilient and sustainable, more daunting for the policy-makers.

Increased consumption of water in urban areas will also increase wastewater genera-

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URBAN WATER tion, further impacting the quality of surface and groundwater resources, and consequently threatening the already dismal state of sanitation services in most of the local bodies.

Characterization of Urban Water Challenges Water sustains life. It is an inextricable component for the production of food for human survival. It is a vital constituent for the rendering of ecosystem services, and a driver for most developmental and majority of outdoor recreational activities. Any type of water-related crisis situationscarcity, abundance, quality, water-induced disaster events, urban flooding, has the potential to put human life and growth under acute crisis.

Pre-empting the crisis situation necessitates characterization of the impending problem. The urban component being the most primary element of holistic water management calls for priority attention of the policy-makers and other actors in the sector.

The urban water crisis has multiple facets. First, the sprawling urban areas and the burgeoning population are putting acute pressure on limited freshwater resources. If not managed effectively, provision of water and sanitation services would become more difficult than ever to render.

Second, excessive groundwater abstraction is adversely impacting the natural water cycle.

Third, shortage of sanitation and sewerage systems are resulting in the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater in natural water bodies causing health and environmental risks.

Fourth, improper solid waste management and unplanned urban land development are increasing the occurrence of urban flood events.

Fifth, poor stormwater management and drainage systems are impacting the liveability and also causing economic losses to the citizens and the local bodies.

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Sixth, the overstretched and aging infrastructure is unable to meet the demand of various competing sectors.

Seventh, capital investment for the creation of new, and retrofitting of old water infrastructure is not commensurate with the financial requirement of the water utilities.

Eighth, climate change impact is increasing the vulnerability and unpredictability of the existing urban water resources.

Ninth, absence of proper regulatory and institutional framework is the primary cause of the fragmented approach towards inefficient urban water management.

The Solution: Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) As explained above, urban water management is a process full of complexities.

The traditional approach of management is the linear onefocussing more on the creation of new supply support systems and distribution networks, usage of water, its onward treatment and the last point discharge into the ecosystem.

The traditional linear approach is not sustainable as opposed to the approach of circular management.

The business as usual approach is fragmented, where less or no attention is paid towards interconnectedness and interdependence of urban planning and development process, with the urban water management plan.

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) seeks to integrate three distinct components of planning and implementation mechanisms, which are, first, urban water services including water supply, wastewater treatment, sewerage services, stormwater management, sanitation services, solid waste disposal, demand-side management, reducing nonrevenue water and conservation and efficiency measures.

Second, aquifer and watershed management, which includes the hydraulic and hydrologic aspects of the

urban and peri-urban limits.

Third, urban planning and development, which broadly includes: urban landscaping, urban floodplain zoning, keeping urban construction in tandem with the natural flow of the water cycle, rainwater harvesting both rooftop as well by increased infiltration by protecting the permeable areas in the city sprawl.

IUWM is rooted deep in the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management and works on the principle of not simply using, but managing, water as a resource. It works on the principle of using alternative water resources such as fit-for-purpose treated wastewater, greywater, stormwater, harvested rainwater and desalinated water, besides fresh surface water and groundwater resources.

The Three ‘R’ Environmental Slogan: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, is one of the themes of urban water management also.

Technological interventions and communication campaigns are core to water conservation and efficiency measures, both, indoor at the domestic and institutional level and outdoor at the utility level. Nutrient and energy recovery from wastewater has a huge potential of turning environmental and health risks into opportunities for the water utilities.

IUWM connects the quality of the water with its potential usage. It seeks to plan in an integrated manner various sources of water and using recycled water again and again for different purposes like agriculture, urban landscaping, domestic washing, flushing, makeup water for cooling towers, washing of streets, and thus utilizing water in a closed loop making it an essential component of a circular economy.

The urban watershed and catchment development for the protection of natural water resources and reservoirs is integrated with an urban development plan. Urban land zoning is based on the funda-

mentals of capturing stormwater, keeping the drainage basin uninterrupted to mitigate the urban flood situation and reducing the pollution load to the water reservoirs. The vulnerability is reduced by scientific surface water and groundwater co-management as a part of an overall strategy.

IUWM incorporates the interdependencies and interconnectedness of several institutions working in the water sector policy space. It seeks to create harmony between water resources management and urban planning resulting into synergistic outcomes of increased water supply, better sanitation, a cleaner environment, improved ecosystem services, reduced urban flood situations, efficient stormwater management, better recreational facilities, and improved livability and feel good factor.

It is imperative for the water utilities to have a mindset shift from single-option solution of heavy infrastructure investments for water scarcity problems, towards exploring mixed solutions involving decentralised systems, on-site sanitation solutions, nature-based systems, treatment up to fit-for-purpose standards, direct use of treated water for non-potable and ecosystem services, and indirect use for potable purposes.

With clearly laid standards many countries are using treated wastewater for agricultural purpose, converting the environmental threat to an opportunity for employment generation and food security.

IUWM envisages and endeavors for economic efficiency, social equity, and environmental sustainability. It seeks to create a coordinated environment of the existing formal and informal institutions like urban water utilities, urban land planning department, water resources department, sanitation agencies, climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy formulating bodies, pollution control and environmental protection agencies, non-governmental organisations, and the commu-

nity at the forefront, with extensive participation of media for awareness and communication. The role of scientists and academics is also given due importance for research and advocacy of water management.

Capacity building of institutions, water engineers and managers is essential for efficient application of diagnostic methods and tools for successful implementation of IUWM.

Conclusion The goal of a sustainable earth is embedded in sustainable water management.

Integrated Urban Water Management although not a panacea, but, is inevitable for the new paradigm of sustainable cities.

To achieve the goal of water-wise cities, effective advocacy for water stewardship, spreading the sense of water conservation and usage of technology for efficient use of water, at the citizen and the institutional level, is imperative.

There is all likelihood of world’s many cities slipping into Day Zero situation similar to Cape Town in future. There are multiple stakeholders in water management, individuals, groups, institutions, governments and the biophysical ecosystem itself. The Day Zero situation and its dreadful consequences are a clarion call mandating early individual and collective action across the globe to mitigate the ensuing water crisis situation.

Integrated Urban Water Management is certainly the way forward for our cities, to continue their journey as growth engines of human civilization in future.

About the Author Ajitabh Sharma, IAS, is currently working as Secretary to Government in Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries and Gopalan Department with the State Government of Rajasthan, India. He has done B. Tech. from IIT Delhi and has seven years’ experience in the water and natural resources management.

June, 2018

45

APPLICATION

Guided Wave Radar Level Measurement Reduces Costs,Improves Accuracyin Wastewater Applications Precise level measurement in the wastewater holding tanks is equally important when environmental regulatory compliance is on the line, and GWR level is often the most efficient and cost-effective technology for that application.

By Sumant Juvekar

GUIDED WAVE RADAR (GWR) level measurement is frequently associated with large tank farms and applications where precision level analysis is crucial to custody transfer or prevention of explosions or fires. But precise level measurement in wastewater holding tanks is equally important when environmental regulatory compliance is on the line, and GWR level is often the most efficient and cost-effective technology for that application.

Under stable storage conditions, some contents may enter the holding tank at higher temperatures and then cool. In the parts of the nozzles or stilling wells exposed to ambient conditions, heavy condensation or freezing of the material may occur on the instrumentation, potentially impacting level measurement.

Because of accessibility reasons, only top-down level technologies can be used, such as mechanical level gauges or radars. Most plants with wastewater holding tanks will be faced with this choice.

In such applications, mechanical level gauges have

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June, 2018

the following limitations: • Mechanical parts such as floats get stuck due to coating • Ice forms in nozzles because of condensate freezing • Accuracy is low due to changing product properties such as density • An increased number of cables are used when transducers and transmitters have separate housings and terminals • They require frequent maintenance GWR technology provides a versatile, reliable solution: • No mechanical parts • Less sensitive to ice formation • Accuracy independent of product properties • Integral probe-transmitter solution • Virtually maintenance-free GWR is based on microwave technology.

Microwaves are only affected by materials that reflect energy, which means that temperature variations, dust, pressure, and viscosity do not affect accuracy - an important factor in challenging wastewater holding tanks. In most wastewater processes, varying conditions are common, especially regarding temperature, density, and viscosity.

Variations in level measurement can easily occur under these conditions, but the GWR technology is unaffected by these changes. The device

does not need to compensate for changes in density, dielectric, or conductivity in the fluid, which makes this topdown measurement very robust.

When measuring tank levels, the GWR device sends a low-energy microwave pulse down a probe. When the pulse hits the media, a significant proportion of the energy is reflected back up the probe to the device. The level is directly proportional to the timedomain reflectometry.

GWR can also use a proportion of the emitted pulse that continues down the probe to detect an interface between two liquids. The ability to measure surface level and interface level between two liquids is particularly useful in wastewater applications that can potentially have more than one liquid (water mixed with other liquids).

One example is oil on water. When microwaves hit the oil surface, some are reflected and some continue through the oil. The reflected microwaves provide the level reading and the microwaves that continue through the oil will be reflected on the water surface, providing the interface reading.

One of the criteria for measuring levels of two liquids is that there should be a sufficient difference in dielectric constants (wave reflecting capability) between the liquids. Water has a high dielec-

Rosemount 3308 Level Wireless Transmitter - Guided

tric (80) and any other liquid floating on top of water can be expected to typically have a much lower dielectric constant. Therefore, this kind of application makes it a very good fit for level and interface detection by guided wave radar.

Note, however, the higher the dielectric constant, the stronger the reflection of the microwaves. Vacuum gives no reflection at all and has a

dielectric constant of 1. Oil is approximately 2, and water around 80. A dielectric constant below 1.5 is often challenging to measure, so processing facilities should look for high-sensitivity guided wave radar level transmitters, which are able to handle such challenges.

The win/win, of course, is that with just one device, wastewater treatment facilities can measure both level

EXPRESS WATER

APPLICATION

Rosemount 5300 Level Transmitter - Guided Wave

and interface - saving time and money.

GWR isn’t a total panacea for wastewater processing facilities, however - it is a contacting level measurement technology that uses a probe touching the process liquid.

Wastewater sometimes can have a lot of solid particles mixed in that could coat the probe. Excess coating on the probe can affect level measurement and will require frequent cleaning, so the possibility of probe coating and maintenance needs to be evaluated before choosing GWR for wastewater applications. A smart way to predict the maintenance need for GWR is signal quality metrics - which are quality values based on clever radar algorithms, calculating how the signal quality is affected by, for instance, contamination - in order to provide an early warning for the operator.

An example of the effective use of GWR in wastewater treatment comes from a chemical plant in Japan. As with many wastewater plants,

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the wastewater at this plant is discharged from each manufacturing process into the pits, and is then biologically treated and discharged to the public water area. The intermediate treatment liquid remains in the pits, and since the con-

for soundness and safety.

Emptying the pits is extremely difficult, so this company, like many others, conducts regular “water logging” inspections. During these inspections, the pits are filled with water and left for a period of time, after which any decrease in the water level is measured using a level gauge and recorder. A significant problem, however, occurs because several steps of the wastewater treatment process need to be stopped completely during these inspections, delaying production. Therefore, the inspections must be performed as quickly as possible without raising costs or sacrificing accuracy. It was because of these demands that the chemical company decided on guided wave radar. Originally using level gauges, the inspection of the company’s four pits took two full days. After the installation of GWR, inspection time was reduced by 75 percent, and most significantly, inspections now only need to take place once a year - a dramatic cost saving.

When considering the use of GWR for interface level measurements, wastewater facilities need to consider these factors: • The lower dielectric fluid

Microwaves are only affected by materials that reflect energy, which means that temperature variations, dust, pressure, and viscosity do not affect accuracy an important factor in challenging wastewater holding tanks. tents are waste liquid, leakage from the underground pits can contaminate groundwater and soil, violating environmental regulations and prompting significant fines.

Japanese law requires regular inspections of the tanks

must be on the top • The dielectric difference of two liquids must be at least six • The upper dielectric must be known, and it should be a fixed value • For the interface to be

Rosemount 3300 Level Transmitter - Guided Wave

detected, the upper fluid layer must be = 13 cm • Target applications, upper layer dielectric (< 3) and lower layer dielectric (> 20) For the Japanese chemical company, GWR proved to be a significant improvement over the previous test devices because of its accuracy and minimum maintenance. They compounded their advantages by choosing to use wireless technology for the installation. Because the transmitter is wireless, the original installation costs were low. In addition, transmitter locations can be easily changed, if necessary. The WirelessHART™ technology is unaffected by obstacles - which is especially important in an unpredictable environment like wastewater holding tanks. Their wireless technology is designed as a self-organizing network based on the IEC 62591 WirelessHART standard. The device is self-healing, secure, robust, and endlessly configurable. The mesh technology offers a data reliability of more than 99 percent that ensures an interoperable, adaptive, and flexible approach. For the Japanese company, using a digital signal - rather than 4-20 mA analog to the DCS improved the repeatability from 5mm to 2mm. Because the inspection time is reduced by 75 percent, the cost totaled less than 50

percent of the original level gauges, resulting in savings of $9,000. The new system also reduced the number of inspection hours needed from 22 down to 5.5 and reduced the downtime of the wastewater treatment facility saving an estimated $27,000 per year.

Obviously, every wastewater treatment facility must evaluate their level measurement requirements based on individual parameters, but in many holding tank applications, the use of guided wave radar is a cost-saving, accuracy-enhancing choice.

About the Author Sumant Juvekar is the Sr. Senior Business Development Manager, Rosemount Level at Emerson Automation Solutions.

Emerson, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and residential markets. Its Emerson Automation Solutions business helps the process, hybrid, and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs. The Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions business helps ensure human comfort and health, protect food quality and safety, advance energy efficiency, and create sustainable infrastructure.

June, 2018

47

SMART WATER

Smart Wastewater/ Sewerage Treatment For Smart India

By Raveendra Bhat and Rajul Mehrotra

Figure 1: Traditional Wastewater/ Sewerage Treatment (STP) Approach

URBANIZATION HAS ENCOURAGED the migration of people from villages to the urban areas in India. From the point of view to improve the standard of living, watersupply has been established in most of the cities/towns and even in some villages over past three decades. Tons of water is being used on daily

basis, be it flush-latrines, bathing, washing clothes, utensils, etc. This generates a significant amount of wastewater. As per CPCB 2015 estimates, wastewater generated in urban India is around 62 million m3/d, whereas treatment capacity is around 23.3 million m3/d. There are 800 wastewater treatment plants

Figure 2: Smart Wastewater/ Sewerage Treatment

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June, 2018

in operations. So, only 35% of wastewater is treated at acceptable levels and the remaining untreated sewage is released in rivers and lakes, leading to water pollution and same water is used as drinking source few km away.

Though India is now looking forward to the reuse of wastewater, the inconsistency in the

chemical properties of wastewater gives rise to public health issues and affects the environment. Hence, it is necessary that India should opt for wastewater treatment that is consistent, low on maintenance and can handle the wastewater flow variation.

In traditional STP, Sewage enters the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and goes through the Screens and Fine Screens which prevents entry of large solid particles; such as plastic cups, paper dishes, polythene bags, etc. from entering aeration tank. But sometimes these particles pass through the screens and will cause wear and tear of pumps & machinery reducing treatment efficiency of the Activated Sludge Process. It is, generally, observed that mechanical screens installed in STPs are out of order, mainly because of poor maintenance and high cost.

The water passing through the Screens enters the Grit Removal Chamber. Grit includes sand, gravel, cinder, or other heavy solid materials that are “heavier” (higher specific gravity) than the organic biodegradable solids in the wastewater which are separated in this chamber. In the next step, the water is either sent to a “Primary Clarifier” where the organic and inorganic solids are settled out of water due to gravity or directly sent to the Activated Sludge Process (ASP) for secondary treatment.

The ASP removes the biodegradable organic matter, nutrients, TSS, pathogens and heavy metals. Typically, the conventional ASP occurs in 2

stages: Aeration: The aeration tank consists of diffused aeration system and blowers. Diffusers provide oxygen to bacteria for treating organic and inorganic compounds. Oxygen is needed by bacteria to allow biodegradation to occur. The supplied oxygen is utilized by bacteria in the wastewater to break down the organic matter containing carbon to form carbon dioxide and water. Without the presence of sufficient oxygen, bacteria cannot biodegrade the incoming organic matter in a reasonable time.

Secondary Clarifier: It allows liquid and solids separation of biomass solids in the Mixed Liquor (biomass slurry), coming out of the aeration tank and settling to the bottom of clarifier. The clarified liquid is then sent to tertiary stage of treatment in the form of filtration or directly to the disinfection stage of the plant.

The conventional ASP provides one of the highest degrees of treatment of wastewater. However, it has some challenges - one of it being the requirement of a larger footprint. ASP plants are typically costly to construct as they occupy substantial land areas.

The treated effluent from the secondary treatment is sent to tertiary treatment in the form of Gravity Sand Filter, if required to trap and trace the amount of solids that escape the clarifiers. The Gravity sand filters needs higher maintenance as the sand media might degrade over a period of time. After tertiary treatment, the effluent is given a dose of Chlorine for disinfection. Chlorine is

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SMART WATER

Advanced SBR (Ex. XYLEM ICEAS Advanced SBR)

actually an efficient disinfector but also produces bi-products like THMs (Trihalomethanes) which leads to Cancer. Other major problems faced by WWTPs in India are Power Supply and Consumption and Cost of operating the STP. On an average Wastewater treatment plants are consume 2 3% of electrical power annually in a developing nation.

STPs require continuous power supply to function properly.

Power supply remains a major hindrance for STPs as erratic power supplies affect the amount of sewage treated on a regular basis. STPs which have a treatment capacity of more than 200 MLD require 1 megawatt of power supply. In India, where more than 50 million homes still have no access to electricity, continuously supplying 1 megawatt of power to STPs is a big task.

When the CPCB surveyed 84 STPs in 2010, it was found that only 8 of them had continuous power supply. The rest were dependent on inadequate power supply lasting for 12, 14 or 18 hours a day. Setting up a sewage treatment plant is a costly affair. The CPCB estimates that the conventional cost for an STP comes to Rs. 1 crore per million liters daily

(MLD). This means that an STP with the capacity of treating 300 MLD of sewage will require Rs. 300 crore to be set up. It must be noted that this is just the set up cost.

Additional costs in installation of an STP include provisions of power supply, installation of power generators and employing staff. Apart from these, the maintenance of a medium sized STP (with a treatment capacity of minimum 100 MLD) requires an approximate amount between Rs. 70 lakh to Rs. 2 crore annually.

STPs set up by both Union and state governments have to bear the brunt of these expenses, as churning out such large amount every year becomes difficult for state governments. This results in many STPs to lower their sewage treatment capacity, due to unavailability of enough funds. Due to unavailability of funds, many STPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are forced to lower down their sewage treatment capacity.

Smart Wastewater/ Sewerage Treatment S m a r t Wa s t e w a t e r / S e w e r a g e Treatment leverages the advanced SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor) for the Activated Sludge Process. An advanced SBR is designed to

Disk Filters (Ex. Xylem Leopold Ultrascreen Disk Filter)

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reduce the complexity of operation. Unlike conventional activated sludge plants, there is no need for primary or secondary settlement tanks or return sludge pumps. All treatment is done in a single basin. It is continuous in flow, distributes variations in flows and loads evenly across all basins - simplifying day to day operations and operational changes as well as accommodating single basin operation for low flow and maintenance conditions.

An advanced SBR is able to handle flows from 1 MLD to 300 MLD. The process also effectively removes nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater through Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) process. The main focus should be put upon producing cost-saving water technologies that use less energy throughout the lifetime of the project by not only using highly efficient aeration grids and blower technology but also cutting-edge controls and instrumentation which use innovative algorithms to control the aeration and process, minimizing energy use by up to 50%. With its continuous

Wastewater Quality Monitoring Sensor (Ex. Xylem WTW Wastewater Quality Sensors)

inflow distribution technology, the peak load is spread across all basins simplifying operation and saving up to 30% on the total footprint.

Disk filters are important components that can replace the conventional sand filtration process in an STP. The filters are made of 304 SS or 316 SS to be provided in a compact package system ready to operate. The filters utilize an extremely durable AISI 316 L stainless steel screen which is contained in circular disk sections that are easy to clean

Ozonator (Ex. Xylem Wedeco SMO)

and can be chemically treated if necessary to remove colloidal materials that permanently foul other disk media.

In case if the disks get damaged, only the damaged part can be removed and replaced, reducing the maintenance cost. The maintenance cost and the footprint of this filter are comparatively less than traditional sand filters, and provide a high level of tertiary polishing in an extremely small footprint.

As we discussed above the side-effects of the use of Chlorine in the treatment of sewerage water, keeping the same in mind, it is suggested that UV is used for disinfection of water. The three main factors that affect an STP are cost, time and quality. UV systems can best provide all the above three factors. These UV disinfection systems just need 5 seconds of time to be in contact with water and disinfect it. This time is very low compared to Chlorine, which needs 20 to 30 minutes only for mixing. Also, UV systems reduce the operational cost because they do not require other facilities for storage or handling as that for chlorine.

Ozonators can effectively replace activated carbon filters in the traditional process.

Activated carbon filters add carbon content to the treated water. Ozonators add oxygen and improve the taste and odor of the water. Ozonators allow up to 30 times less nitrogen dosing which consider-

SCADA (Ex. Xylem FLYGT SCADA)

ably reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as potential corrosion and performance issues. Lower corrosion leads to lesser leakage and hence lesser wastage of water. Achieving the full rated ozone production capacity requires only a maximum time of fewer than 30 seconds - a decisive contribution to overall process control. The Ozonator comes with a PLC and SCADA. This helps the user to monitor the functioning and control it without actually visiting the Plant.

Smart sewerage treatment leverage real-time wastewater quality sensors to monitor wastewater quality at every stage of the treatment process. Any degradation of wastewater quality at any stage of the treatment process can be highlighted and corrective action can be taken quickly to ensure consistent highquality output of clean, purified water.

The biggest challenge in an STP is the monitoring of all the systems. Smart Sewerage Treatment leverage SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), which integrate all the elements of STP through a communication network. Through SCADA, an operator can monitor and control all elements in an STP from one command center.

About the Authors

Raveendra Bhat is the Director - Treatment at Xylem India. He has 25+ years of experience in water and waste industry.

Rajul Mehrotra is the Director Strategy & Smart Cities at Xylem India. He has 15+ years of experience in consulting cities and real estate developers in developing smart cities and smart townships. In past, Rajul has led smart cities business for IBM and Accenture in India.

June, 2018

49

COLUMN

KNOWING OUR WATERS

Planning with Water

By Peter Neill, IWC for the Australian Water Partnership (AWP) “THE WORLD IS NOT DOING ENOUGH.” So states a report from a 2012 survey of participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Though the problems of floods, drought, and inadequate water supply that were projected more than two decades ago have come true, little is being done to address them effectively. Leaders are especially ill-prepared for widespread social instability…”

Circle of Blue quotes Bob Sanford, chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative, as follows: “We didn’t realize until recently how much our economy and society relied on hydrologic stability.”

Well, that is not entirely true. China, for example, has been building massive water transfer systems to move water from areas in the south to the more arid north where drought, industrial irrigation, and flagrant pollution have brought scarcity as well as economic and political crises.

A recent analysis by researchers at the Leeds Water Research Institute at the University of East Anglia in the UK, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that this extraordinary expenditure of public funds and labor may not be sufficient to meet increased economic and population growth.

Dabo Guan, Professor of Climate Change Economics at the University’s School of International Development, is quoted by Bloomberg News

describing the system as “pouring good water after bad.”

China, India, Australia, the US - all are grappling with these conditions, certainly not theoretical anymore, but immediate, devastating, and disruptive. The rising price for grain and rice resulting from severe drought has been suggested as the major contributors to social unrest, perhaps toppling a government in Egypt and crippling a regional economy in Australia and escalating prices in fooddependent markets throughout the southern hemisphere.

These are not problems easily dismissed or ignored.

We are fighting wars for water, as much as for oil or religion.

The old solutions do not serve these extreme events. It may be that the old engineering ideas and designs like the Tennessee Valley Authority in the US or the diversion of northern rivers in India cannot meet the challenge of exponential demand, degraded supply, and global warming. That proof may be now visible to us all, even those leaders gathered in the Swiss mountains to contemplate the world condition and its most critical needs.

There is a direct link between water abundance and human well-being, between the adequate supply and the sustainability of any community, rich or poor.

Northern California is a region of great fecundity and wealth in the U.S., dependent

What then is the most valuable commodity on earth around which a new, more viable, more realistic system of value can be built? It is water, the one natural product that every person, rich or poor, from anywhere around the globe, must rely on for life.

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June, 2018

on water from the Sierra Nevadas and distributed by engineered solutions. Water rationing, inadequate supply at key points in the growth of fruit and crops, and weak and declining harvests can bring even such a community to its knees. The response cannot be conventional, cannot be more of the same. The time for that has passed.

“We didn’t realize until recently how much our economy and society relied on hydrologic stability.” Perhaps we do now, and if finally so, what are we going to do about it?

If global leaders have realized how much our economies and society rely on hydrologic stability, what do you suppose they intend to do about it?

Despite the drought and water scarcity, despite the ongoing pollution of existing water supply by fertilizer, chemicals, toxic spills, and all the rest, what action do you suppose might be taken to address this evident, recurring, critical need? In the United States Congress, the recent response has been to deny climate change as a cause of such instability around the world (and close to home) and to work with fervor and dedication to dilute the protections of the Clean Water Act, to weaken if not eradicate the Environmental Protection Agency, and otherwise to relieve any restrictions or prohibitions for any activity that will simply make the matter worse. It represents the most perverse intersection of short-term profit for a politically motivated interest and a long-term loss for everyone else.

So it goes, at least until the price of oil collapses and all the numbers, justifications, and reasons for sustaining the

status quo go down with a great sucking sound heard from Houston to Anchorage, from New York to Moscow, from Beijing to the Poles.

There is, of course, no alternative plan. Or is there?

The most valuable commodity on earth is no longer oil. All the calculations change, even as the energy companies and their investors double down on what surely they hope will be a return to the good old days. Suddenly the communities suffering from the myriad consequences of fracking or exploding pipelines find leverage to fight back against what has been so cleverly packaged as beyond them and essential to the national interest.

What then is the most valuable commodity on earth around which a new, more viable, more realistic system of value can be built? It is water, the one natural product that every person, rich or poor, from anywhere around the globe, must rely on for life.

The collapse of oil, then, could be seen as a unique opportunity to shift our value system to an alternative based on water, priced by its utilitarian necessities.

Of course, we need the energy to grow, not just for growth’s sake but to meet the known requirements of a world population that is increasing dramatically by the millions year to year. If we cannot provide the basic living for these inhabitants in the form of health, shelter, food, employment and quality of life, then we should be prepared to accept our responsibility for the unfortunate consequences. It does not take much imagination to envision the outcomes; we see them in the disruptive conditions of poverty, political volatility, and

social injustice in those places and among those peoples already deprived of what we take for granted.

Is it possible to construct a new system on the true value of water? What decisions must be made? Do we need new technologies and more money, or can we actually change by using the technologies already in hand and reallocating existing assets?

Can we finance such a change with funds divested from the extraction industry and re-invested in alternatives and renewable resources? Can we move the oil subsidies away from a dying industry to bring the new alternatives to scale? Can we take back the definition of our future from those who see it only as a replication of our past? Can we make, and execute a new plan?

Of course, we can. It is, in fact, already in progress, perhaps not so publicly known, perhaps not so clearly understood. There are amazing examples of progress based on a sharpening vision of the future.

Examples of a world, built around the movements and cycles of water and the ocean, sits at its center.

Peter Neill is founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory and is author of The Once and Future Ocean: Notes Toward a New Hydraulic Society. He is also the host of World Ocean Radio, a weekly podcast addressing ocean issues, upon which this blog is inspired.

The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is an Australian Government development initiative enhancing the sustainable management of water across the Indo-Pacific. @WaterPartnersAU

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MARKET INSIGHTS

Analyzing the Global Irrigation Water Systems Market

By Frost & Sullivan

A G R I C U L T U R E ACCOUNTS FOR 70% ‘bluewater’ withdrawal from sources like river and groundwater. The intensity of withdrawal has grown 3 times in the last 50 years. By 2050, global water demand for Agricultural is expected to increase by 19% due to increased crop production.

Close to 40% of the world’s food supply is from areas irrigated through artificial means especially in regions like South East Asia. Water need for people and environment is competing with agriculture, especially in regions where irrigation is an absolute need threatening to dry up ecosystems. In coming years, climate change will be an unpredictable threat to the availability of water. In order to overcome water scarcity, political will, trust and coop-

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eration are needed between nations.

Increasing efficiency in irrigation is a high priority.

Improved water management in agriculture will increase water availability, provoke development, reduce soil erosion, lead to diversified agriculture and feed a population of 9 billion by 2050. As of today, according to UN and FAO, 60% of the water pumped to irrigate is wasted through runoff or evapotranspiration. Water-use efficiency can be achieved only through employing irrigation systems that have proved to produce more crops.

Many major food producing countries like China, India, United States, Pakistan, Australia and Spain are close to reaching their renewable water resource limits.

Reasons for the unsustainable

water use are: • Leaky Irrigation Systems, • Wasteful and conventional application methods, • Cultivation of thirsty crops without assessing the environmental conditions.

The underlying problems related to agricultural water are worsened by misdirected subsidies, low awareness about the water crisis and weak legislation. An efficient irrigation system will overcome these challenges, and adopting the same is extremely critical.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the Global Irrigation Systems Market was estimated at $8.2 billion in the year 2016 with CAGR of 7.6% with irrigation systems (micro-irrigation, mechanical irrigation, irrigation pumps, and pipes) contributing to 72% of the overall global revenue. North America and APAC contribute about 33.6% and 24.6%.

Key drivers for the growth of global irrigation systems market include:

Water Scarcity According to FAO, Agriculture accounts for world’s 70% freshwater withdrawal and more than 90% of its consumptive use and it is 90% in regions like MiddleEast and North Africa. Global climate change, increasing population, excess crop production has been constantly deteriorating freshwater reserves. Situation demands need for adopting efficient water management for agriculture. Water scarcity has led to innovations for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of water use. However, in several parts of the world, water mismanagement has led to depletion of freshwater resources. Water scarcity has shifted the focus on land pro-

ductivity without raising concern for water use or in other words, getting highest yield with less amount of water.

Irrigation holds most of the responsibility for increasing crop/food productivity and food security, if managed effectively.

Efficient Water Management and Government Support The challenges in water management are attributed to growing population and pressure to use water resources efficiently signify that, the organization/institutions charge of water management, have to constantly reform their policies so that the country is able to cope with new demands and challenges.

Efficient water management achieved through efficient irrigation by reducing water losses, increase in water productivity and increase crop yield with optimum water.

Water-stressed nations have been drawing policies to assist farmers in adopting efficient irrigation systems by providing incentives and subsidies.

For example, in India, subsidy for drip irrigation system has been 75-100% as several regions have been under severe drought.

The Government of United States offers subsidies to offset the technology's higher cost. Drip irrigation has brought about a significant boost to crop yield in the state of California which has been under the drought for some time now.

Increase in Agriculture Production Yield is higher from irrigation than the highest yields obtained from rain-fed agriculture. According to projections by FAO, overall food production would increase by

approximately 70% in 2050.

Crop production in developing countries is expected to double and there will be a significant increase in production of several key commodities. The pressure on renewable water sources for irrigation would be critical and would increase in several countries in near East/North Africa and South Asia.

However, there are restraints that have a greater impact on the irrigation systems market as well. One of the main restraints that affect farmers in developing countries is the Lack of Expertise.

Farmers lack adequate knowledge or means to know existing on-farm practices to achieve better water efficiency levels. They are also unaware of the incentives and unaware of the actual irrigation practices for better crop yield. Under existing circumstances, agricultural water management will maintain the unidentified water efficiency levels. Farmers will have the lesser motivation and weaker incentives to make substantial effort to improve water use efficiency. This can, however, be less of a threat in the future if a knowledge-exchange system is in place. One of the key steps to overcome this lacuna is by continuous knowledge exchange between all the stakeholders. Many irrigation companies are focused on educating farmers on the usage and efficiency of the systems before installing the same. This not only improves the know-how but also benefits the farmers with more crops and eliminates technical challenges.

Deepthi Sugumar is a Research Analyst at Frost and Sullivan. @FrostSullivanEE

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URBAN WATER

Developing the Urban Circular Water Economy

By Robert C. Brears and rebates to encourage the installation of water-efficient technologies and appliances in homes and businesses, and awareness initiatives that educate the public on the need to use water wisely. The overall aim of demand management is to modify the attitudes and behavior of customers towards water during both normal and atypical times.

Scottish Water’s Water Savings Calculator

Our traditional economy, which is based on the ‘takemake - consume - dispose’ model assumes that resources are abundant, available, and cheap to dispose of. However, this model faces significant challenges from a variety of mega-trends. The world’s population will be 50% larger in 2050 compared to 2000 while the world’s economy will have nearly tripled by then.

Meanwhile, by mid-century, 66% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas, up from 54% in 2014. Annual global material extraction will reach 183 billion tonnes in 2050, more than twice the amount in 2015. Regarding climate change, extreme weather events will damage infrastructure and harm human health, potentially reducing global GDP per annum by 3%.

Finally, by 2050, global demand for water will outstrip supply by 55% under a business-as-usual scenario, while water quality will be severely threatened too: already, 80% of the world’s wastewater and over 95% in

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some least developed countries is released to the environment without treatment, resulting in polluted rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.

The Urban Circular Water Economy Around the world, there is a transition towards the ‘circular economy’ that focuses on the 3Rs of reducing material consumption, reusing materials, and recovering materials from waste. In the context of urban water resources management, a variety of cities and their respective water utilities are implementing circular economy concepts that promote the reduction of water consumption, reuse of water, and recovery of materials from wastewater.

Reducing Water Consumption Water utilities are using a variety of demand management tools to reduce water consumption including pricing of water, reducing leakages in the systems, metering all customers, using subsidies

Scottish Water provides customers with an online ‘Water Savings Calculator’ to determine their actual water usage. At the start, customers get to personalize the questions to suit their homes, so if they do not own a car the customer will not be asked how often they clean it. Once completed - it takes around 5 mins - the user is provided with their own personalized water, energy and spend profile, a few free water-saving products that are easy to install, along with a series of tips on what can be done to save water. For example, fixing a dripping tap can save as much as 48 liters of water a day, or 17,500 liters of water a year and shaving 1 minute off your shower could save £15 in energy bills and a further £15 in water bills per year or £120 saved a year for an average 4person household.

Reuse of Water Water reuse involves collecting, treating, and reusing wastewater (recycling). It can also involve the reuse of greywater or rainwater in houses or buildings. Recycled water can be used for non-potable uses e.g. industrial, agricultural etc. If treated appropriately, recycled water can be blended with surface or groundwater

to increase supplies. This reduces the economic and environmental costs related to establishing new water supplies.

Pure Water San Diego To enhance San Diego’s resilience to drought, climate change, and natural disasters, the city has launched Pure Water San Diego which is a phased, multi-year programme to provide one-third of the city’s water supply locally by 2035. The programme will use proven technology to clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality drinking water and provide a reliable, sustainable water supply. Currently, only 8 percent of wastewater is recycled with the rest being treated and discharged into the ocean.

The Pure Water Program will transform the city’s water system into a complete cycle in which wastewater will be treated to recycled water standards at an existing water reclamation plant, before being sent to a Pure Water Facility. The purified water will then be sent to an existing reservoir and blended with imported and local water supplies. After which, the mixed water will be treated at an existing drinking water treatment plant, before distribution to customers.

Recovery of Materials from Wastewater Traditionally, wastewater is seen as a burden that needs treating and disposing of. However, wastewater is a source of valuable resources including energy and nutrients. The positive impact of recovering resources from wastewater is additional revenue streams for utilities and mitigation of emissions.

Berliner Wasserbetriebe Recovering Resources from Wastewater Berliner Wasserbetriebe’s Schönerlinde sewage treatment plant is turning sewage sludge into sewage gas to generate power and heat.

Additionally, the utility has constructed three wind turbines, with a capacity of 2 MW each, as well as two micro gas turbines to complement the plant’s CHP unit. Overall, around 84% of the energy required by the plant is produced internally, saving up to 13,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. Berliner Wasserbetriebe has also developed a patented process for recovering phosphorous from its sewage treatment plants. The recovered phosphorous is sold under the brand name ‘Berliner Pflanze’ (Berlin Plant) to horticulture and agriculture producers in the surrounding areas of the city. Several years ago, Berliner Pflanze won the GreenTec Award for environmentally-friendly recycling products.

Overall, cities and their respective water utilities can implement the urban circular water economy by using demand management strategies to reduce water consumption, for instance, enabling customers to calculate their water savings potentials, reusing wastewater to supplement local supplies, and by doing so reducing dependency on imported water, and recovering valuable resources from wastewater to produce new products.

Robert Brears is the author of Urban Water Security, Founder of Mitidaption, and Our Future Water." @Mitidaption

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WATER WISE

The Price of Failure: Water Qualityand the Issue of Governance in India

IT IS NOON and we are visiting the water quality testing laboratory of Gaya district in Bihar. The lab chemist, one of the 35 appointed across 35 districts of Bihar, is showing us the testing equipment for fluoride, arsenic, iron and nitrate contamination in water. There is also an elaborate looking machine to test bacteriological contamination. With nametags and cloth pieces kept over them, some of them look freshly dusted, presumably for the benefit of the visitors. However, most of them are non-functional; just about 5-6 out of 14 work. The only functional spectrometer is used for both fluoride and nitrate tests. The apparatus used for bacteriological contamination breaks down frequently, so they can only do an indicative test. Upon investigation, the chemist recalls that he joined this lab in 2004 and all these instruments came prior to that. None of them has been either repaired or replaced. Chemicals for the tests are procured centrally from Patna and are often of dubious quality.

Additionally, there are cost implications too. The laboratory is allocated Rs. 25 per

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sample for collection, and they have to test 300 samples per month. In order to collect samples, they have to hire a vehicle costing about Rs. 8001000 per day, with an additional Rs. 500 for diesel and other requirements, totalling to Rs. 1500 for one day. In order to meet the cost, they collect 5-6 samples per habitation, across 10 habitations a day. However, this can often result in skewed sample collection. While they are supposed to upload the test results directly to the state MIS, they are unable to do so due to the lack of laptops and a good internet connection.

Thus, they send it to the State Lab, the only NABL accredited laboratory in the state run by a third party. To accomplish all this, the lab has only two regular staff including the chemist, against the promised eight. Out of the government allocations for PHED budget (Public Health Engineering Department, the nodal department in charge of water quality), 1 percent is supposed to be allocated for water quality testing, which is rarely the case. Somehow, water quality comes at the bottom of the pyramid of priorities stressing the department. The key to three crucial problems plaguing the lab - infrastructure, human resources, and instruments and chemicals - lies in governance.

The result of this sad state of affairs was revealed later in the afternoon; when we visited a village called Churaman Nagar barely a half an hour drive from the city, lying under a barren and rocky hillock. The hamlet has roughly around 150 households, all Dalits (consisting of Musahars and Bhuiyans). It is officially declared to be fluoride affect-

ed. We were informed by the chemist that the contamination is around 15-16 ppm, against the threshold of 1.5 ppm. And the impact is too evident. Almost all the households have at least one or two people affected by fluoride contamination.

Right from the kachcha driveway where you get off your air-conditioned vehicle in the blazing temperature of 44 degrees, you witness two things. The white taps outside mud houses, the pipes of which are going beneath cesspool of water everywhere and the main pathway surrounded by a wide drain of blackwater. There is also a huge building, clearly the only pakka structure in the vicinity, which is the fluoride treatment plant set about 8-9 years ago. On the outside of the fluoride plant the compound has a cesspool of dirty water, and on the inside, there are greyish, muddy looking, three large barrels through which fluoride is treated in stages. The person-in-charge of maintenance complains that he has not been paid for over two years now. The chemist also explains how the operator himself shows tell-tale signs of fluoride contamination, his wiry limbs, and discolored teeth.

We then met the villagers, mostly men and children inside a half-built community hall, and a few women sitting outside.

Eight-year-old Arjun is looking at us blankly. As he steps forward, we notice his severely disfigured feet, spread out unevenly. We then meet Guddu, who cannot tell us his age (villagers say he is around 15) with his limbs twisted and curved in knots.

We also meet Mithilesh who is

presumably 18-years-old but is no more than 4.5 feet in height. I don’t want to see anymore!

My colleague asks a girl whether she went to the local primary school that day and whether she had received her entitled mid-day meal. The answer to the first question was affirmative and to the second, negative. We witness a row of crumbling single room houses, which were apparently built in 1975 in the wake of Indira Awaas Yojana. We also saw an Angandwadi, whose floor level had gone below the ground level, an alarming threat due to the upcoming monsoons. We met an articulate young boy designated Vikas Mitra appointed at the panchayat level (with a handsome salary of Rs. 10,000) mandated to bring benefits of 20 odd schemes to the SCs and STs of his area. We also heard of a Tola Sevak appointed at habitation level to encourage children to attend school. All in all, there are roughly 10-15 such government-appointed frontline cadres to look after its citizens.

The dance of welfare state was in its full glory. As part of their piped water supply scheme, the Panchayati Raj Department recently dug a fresh borewell to install a system for easy water access.

However, villagers claim that this was done without testing the water quality, despite the fact that the region was officially declared fluoride affected. Hence, it was exclusively PHED’s responsibility to bring safe water to the village.

• Now to put things in a broader perspective: • A population of 1.47 crore from across 17,000 settlements is staring at high risk

of cancer due to arseniccontaminated drinking water. About 16,889 areas are affected by contamination, way above the permissible limits.

• High levels of fluoride are reported in the drinking water supply of 12,029 areas, and heavy metal contamination in 2,384 settlements.

• Close to 23,613 areas with iron and 14,069 areas with high salinity in drinking water have been identified as of now.

• Nitrate has also been found in 1,809 areas.

• All such areas sustain about 69,267 habitations with an estimated population of 4.56 crore.

(Source: www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/infocus/article/1-47-crore-indiancitizens-are-consuming-arseniccontaminated-drinkingwater/227740) Two days later, upon meeting senior government officials, one of them confessed that the village has a dysfunctional fluoride treatment plant. They rued the lack of Operation and Maintenance systems. They said how their Executive Engineer was saddled with so many burdens and how the issue of water quality got affected due to that (pun entirely unintended).

They asked us, what we proposed to do about it and offered us their help if we began work there. All I could remember was the silhouette of 18-year-old Mithilesh disappearing in the dusk with his twisted feet as we set out for our next destination.

Avinash Kumar is Director - Programme, and Policy at WaterAid India. @Avinashkoomar

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MARKET

PRE EVENT

BLUETECH FORUM REVEALS TOPWATER TECH COMPANIES The global water event is celebrating the theme of managing water risk in the circular economy and BlueTech Research chief executive Paul O’Callaghan says the chosen technologies demonstrate major new efficiencies in the way resources are conserved, captured and repurposed in the treatment plant and the wider infrastructure.

Genifuel’s Hydrothermal Processing System is One of the Technologies Taking Part in BlueTech Forum

A global event taking place in Canada will feature 13 ground-breaking technologies developed for the water sector.

Digital, biotech, and membrane technologies are among the top 13 selected to take part in BlueTech Forum in Vancouver on 6-7 June 2018.

The global water event is celebrating the theme of managing water risk in the circular economy and BlueTech Research chief executive Paul O’Callaghan says the chosen technologies demonstrate major new efficiencies in the way resources are conserved, captured and repurposed in the treatment plant and the wider infrastructure.

“BlueTech Research has an unparalleled record in the continuous tracking of technological trends and emerging tech-

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nologies in water and the companies chosen to present in the innovation showcase signpost the wider trends,” he said.

“I’m delighted that delegates will have the opportunity to find out first-hand about some of the most advanced technologies in the world.

“The companies we have selected have technologies for applications as diverse as energy recovery, water quality sampling, sludge monitoring and ultrafiltration. Uniquely, the technologies will be presented at separate roundtables where delegates will have the opportunity to question the developers face-to-face.”

O’Callaghan added, “The intimate setting and collaborative atmosphere of BlueTech Forum makes it very easy to form new business relation-

ships and identify potential new partners. I am delighted that we can bring 13 outstanding technologies to the event and look forward to introducing them to delegates from global utilities, industrial endusers, and the investment community.”

The Innovation Showcase featured companies are: • Aqua Membranes: Uses its unique patented 3D-printed spacer technology to boost permeate water flow, increasing the membrane surface in spiral-wound elements and significantly reducing membrane fouling.

• Aquam: Provides technologies for packaged wastewater treatment plants that can eliminate sludge, recover energy as direct electricity and enable onsite water reuse at significantly lower cost than incumbent technologies.

• Cerahelix: Has developed a durable ceramic filter that uses DNA to create micropores that can deliver high levels of water quality and lower energy consumption in industrial reuse applications.

• Emagin: Provides water utilities with an operational intelligence platform to enable smarter management of their critical processes in real-time.

• Fluid Technology Solutions:

•

•

•

•

•

•

Forward osmosis technologies use low-fouling, long-life cellulose membranes to treat the most challenging wastewaters.

Genifuel: Hydrothermal processing system (HPS) produces biocrude oil and renewable natural gas (methane) from wastewater, converting more than 85% of the feedstock carbon to renewable fuels.

HYREC: Offers a hybrid FOOARO (forward osmosis osmotically assisted reverse osmosis) system to treat high strength waste streams IONMR: Has created the most durable and versatile high-performance anionexchange membrane ever synthesized.

Island Water Technologies: Has complete demonstration of the world’s first realtime bio-electrode sensor for the direct monitoring of microbial activity in wastewater treatment systems.

Microbe Detectives: Applies advanced DNA sequencing to identify and quantify nearly 100% of the microbes in a sample of water, provides comprehensive microbial evaluations for water quality and disease management.

Purifics: Has a proprietary ceramic ultrafiltration (CUF) membrane technology which filters water and

wastewater, destroys chemical and biological contaminants, facilitates clean water recovery and eliminates the need for backwash and pre-treatment.

• TECTA-PDS: Markets the world’s first automated microbiological water quality monitoring system, which considerably lowers the cost of monitoring.

• World Water Works: Has developed a wastewater treatment system that increases process throughput and performance through the gravimetric selection of dense sludge aggregates with improved settling rates and the promotion of enhanced biological phosphorus removal.

BlueTech Forum takes place in Vancouver, Canada on 6-7 June 2018.

BlueTech Research BlueTech® Research provides investors, water companies, researchers and regulators with the latest information at their fingertips. The company provides clarity and critical analysis on emerging water technology market areas. BlueTech Research maps and analyzes the water technology innovation landscape. The company is focused on what is changing and how new approaches, new technologies, and new needs are reshaping the water technology market.

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POSTEVENT

IFATGERMANY: THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE BOOMING...

Filtering of microplastics, more effective recycling of plastics and the digital transformation of the entire industry: for five days, the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies IFAT revolved around the issues of the management of water, sewage, waste and raw materials management. The industry’s products are in rising demand all over the world.

part of a solution to many of our environmental challenges.”

Herwart Wilms, Managing Director of Remondis SE & CO KG was one of the industry representatives to appeal to the public. “Technologies are ready and on standby. To achieve a closed raw materials cycle the makers of products now need to significantly raise their recycling quotas for raw materials”, he said.

“IFAT PRESENTS THE technologies of the future for the clean environment; hence, it is driving the public discourse more actively than ever before. This was reflected in the visits of international politicians, the numerous delegations from all over the world and technology experts who came to share ideas, experiences, and know-how”, says Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München. “The fair displays the significance of the industry and the issue: the number of exhibitors rose by 7 percent to 3,305, the number of visitors by 4 percent to more than 141,000.”

Consumers Drive the Industry It is above all the consumers’ rising awareness and their demand for sustainability that make the industry boom.

German Federal

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Environmental Minister Svenja Schulze said what many people around the globe are concerned about.

“We need to use resources and recycle plastics and other materials more effectively and avoid plastic wastes being disposed of into the environment. It is to avoid unnecessary plastics”. Here, technologies have a key role.

“The IFAT presents smart and innovative environmental technologies that are already

Local Authorities and Industry at the Same Level At the same time, representatives of the manufacturing industry visiting IFAT showed a rising interest in resource-conserving and efficient methods. “Demand from industry has increased significantly”, says Falk Olaf Petersdorf, Managing Director of Xylem Water Solutions Deutschland GmbH. IFAT boss Stefan Rummel is convinced: “The

2018 IFAT has addressed both local authorities and the industry.”

Digitally linked pumps, waste containers with sensors, autonomous road sweepers - digital innovation is a feature of many innovations at IFAT. The new hall allocation based on the subjects of water/sewage and waste/secondary raw materials was very much appreciated. Hence, also the issue of drinking water is now firmly established in Munich. Udo Jirmann, Managing Director of Georg Fischer GmbH puts it like this: “Now, IFAT has also become the world’s leading trade fair for drinking water; the record figures achieved reflect its importance for the environmental industry.”

2018 IFAT: Figures More than 141,000 expert visitors from more than 160

countries came to Munich between May 14 and 18, 2018 (2016: 136,885 visitors). Above all, this means a rise of IFAT’s internationality. The highest growth came from (in this order): Japan, Russia, Australia, China and Slovenia. In total, 3,305 exhibitors from 58 countries presented their products and innovations for the booming environmental industry.

Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff, Chairman of the IFAT Advisory Board and Managing Director of KIRCHHOFF Group drew a positive conclusion: “The 2018 IFAT is another impressive example of an excellent platform for municipal and private disposal companies as well as the water, sewage, waste and raw material industry.”

The next IFAT takes place in Munich from May 4 to 8, 2020.

June, 2018

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PROJECTS TRACKER

Water Treatment First as Scottish Water Trials Nyex • First major drinking water pilot for Arvia’s Nyex treatment system • Trials assess effectiveness on hard-to-treat organics in raw water • The tertiary treatment combines oxidation and adsorption to eliminate waste process that has many potential applications in water and wastewater processing. In municipal water applications, the main advantage of Arvia’s Nyex over granular activated carbon (GAC) filters is the elimination of waste - cutting the cost of having to dispose of waste solids to landfill.

The Scottish Water trial is focused on establishing whether Nyex could have an application on the hard-totreat water with a high content of organic material, due to the impact this can have on drinking water treatment.

are delighted to be taking this pilot project to a scaled-up level, which is the first longterm drinking water application for Nyex since approval by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). The pilot will assess the effectiveness on a range of flow and current parameters and locate the technology at different positions in the treatment train, including before and after pre-treatment.”

Allan Mason, Senior Project Manager for business excellence at Scottish Water, said, “Research and innova-

Containerized Nyex Treatment System Onsite at Pateshill Water Treatment Works

SCOTTISH WATER IS set to undertake the world’s first long-term trial of Arvia’s Nyex treatment system on drinking water at a specially established pilot plant in West Lothian. The trial, which will run separately to the existing

water treatment works at Pateshill, will assess the effectiveness of the system in removing organic material from raw water.

Nyex is a tertiary treatment system which combines adsorption with oxidation in a

The Scaled-up Treatment System is the First Long-Term Drinking Water Application for Nyex Following DWI Approval.

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Nyex Process Tank Within the Container

The Scottish Water trial is focused on establishing whether Nyex could have an application on the hard-to-treat water with a high content of organic material, due to the impact this can have on drinking water treatment. Bench trials have shown the Arvia system could remove 68 percent of organic material from water, with the new pilot set to test the treatment on a larger scale to see if these results can be replicated and sustained.

Bench trials have shown the Arvia system could remove 68 percent of organic material from water, with the new pilot set to test the treatment on a larger scale to see if these results can be replicated and sustained.

Arvia Project Manager Akmez Nabeerasool said, “We

tion is key to Scottish Water being able to improve its water and wastewater services and ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible, even in the most remote of our communities. The bench trials of the Arvia system produced some excellent results on a difficult-to-treat raw water

and I am very excited to see if we can replicate and sustain performance on a larger scale.

“If it performs well during this pilot, it could potentially offer us another method for treating drinking water in an efficient and cost-effective manner which continues to meet the high standards of service we aim to provide to our customers.”

Water Samples from Before and After Treatment on the Laboratory-Scale Nyex System

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PROJECTS TRACKER

NAMAMI GANGE

The Government Hopes to Clean 70-80% of River Ganga byMarch 2019: Nitin Gadkari “WE HOPE TO clean 70 to 80 percent Ganga by March 2019.

251 Gross Polluting Industries (GPI) have been closed and closure directions have been issued to noncomplying GPIs”. This was stated by Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari while addressing a press conference recently.

The minister said that realtime monitoring of pollutions

grated Ganga Conservation Mission is an umbrella programme with the aim to integrate previous, currently ongoing and new projects planned as part of the programme at an indicative cost of Rs. 20,000 crore. The programme is to be implemented over a period of five years ending on December 2020.

Under Namami Gange programme, a total of 195 projects have been sanctioned for various activities such as sewage

Prime Minister of Netherlands Inaugurates IndoDutch Ganga Forum in New Delhi Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte inaugurated the Indo-Dutch Ganga Forum to take forward the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India and the Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment of the Netherlands in June last year. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Rutte appreciated the efforts being made under Namami Gange programme and acknowledged the vastness of the task at hand. He said that local governments, the financial sector, and the private sector, as well as communities, will need to join hands with the Indian and the Netherlands governments. The Netherlands government also shared the experiences of their collaboration with Uttar Pradesh government to reduce water consumption and employ cleaner technologies in tanneries in Kanpur.

is being done in 938 industries. 211 main ‘Nallas’ have been identified which are causing pollution in Ganga and 20 modular STPs are being deployed to treat Nalla water.

Addressing this press conference, Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti said that almost all the 4470 villages on the bank of Ganga are now Open Defecation Free (ODF) and now we are working on the strategy of ODF plus.

Namami Gange an inte-

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infrastructure, ghats and crematoria development, riverfront development, river surface cleaning, institutional development, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, rural sanitation, and public participation.

102 projects out of 195 were sanctioned for the creation of 2369 MLD new sewage treatment plants (STPs), rehabilitation of 887 MLD of existing STPs and laying/rehabilitation of 4722 km sewer network for abatement of pollution in river Ganga and Yamuna. Till date 24 projects have been

completed which has created 217 MLD STP capacity, rehabilitated 62 MLD STP capacity and 1879.5 km of sewer network has been laid. Presently, 45 sewage infrastructure projects are under execution.

These projects envisage creating 841 MLD sewage treatment capacities. Another 33 projects are under various stages of tendering. In a paradigm shift in sewage sector in the past one year, works on two STP projects (50 MLD in Varanasi and 82 MLD in Haridwar) have been started under Hybrid Annuity PPP mode (HAM).

Initiatives Taken by NMCG Among some of the new initiatives that have been taken by National Mission for Clean Ganga are “One City One Operator” as part of which STPs in 7 towns (Kanpur, Allahabad, Mathura, Patna, Kolkata, Howrah-Bally, Bhagalpur) are being integrated and tendered with Hybrid Annuity based projects. The focus under Namami Gange programme has been on 10 major towns contributing almost 64% of total sewage discharge.

44 Real-Time Water

NWIC Setup as a Single Window Source of Updated Data on Water Resources Consequent upon approval of the Cabinet, National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) has recently been created by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation at New Delhi. NWIC would be a repository of nation-wide water resources data and would work as a Subordinate Office under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.

Besides, the center will also collaborate with leading research institutes nationally as well as internationally to provide technical support to other central and state organizations dealing with water, emergency response for hydrological extremes.

Quality Monitoring Station (RTWQMS) are operational under Namami Gange programme to keep water quality check.

11 trash skimmers have been deployed at Haridwar, Garh Mukhteshwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna, Sahibganj, Nabadwip, Howrah, Delhi and MathuraVrindavan.

Five crore plants are being planted along Ganga basin as part of the afforestation drive involving an amount of Rs. 112 crores intended for preventing erosion of soil and groundwater recharge in the Ganga basin.

In Uttarakhand, 31 projects

GIS Technology to Strengthen Namami Gange Programme National Mission for Clean Ganga has brought on board Survey of India, the oldest scientific department in the country set up in 1767, to facilitate the Ganga rejuvenation task by using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Through the project which has been approved in the EC meeting at an estimated cost of Rs. 86.84 crore, NMCG aims to strengthen planning and implementation at national/state/local levels. The project includes the use of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) technology which ensures accurate data collection, an important aspect of river basin management planning. The use of GIS technology for Namami Gange programme will also ensure decentralization.

have been sanctioned out of which 13 have been completed and in 18 work is under progress.

In Uttar Pradesh, 30 projects have been sanctioned out of which eight projects have been completed and work is under progress on nine projects. Three tenders are under evaluation and 10 under tendering.

In Bihar, 20 projects have been sanctioned out of which work is under progress on 10 projects while 4 are under evaluation and 6 under tendering.

In Jharkhand, two projects are under progress in Sahibganj where a 12 MLD STP, 55 km Sewer are being constructed. The project is likely to be completed by December 2018. Another project in Rajmahal is creation of 3.5 MLD STP, 34 km sewer has been awarded and likely to be completed by June 2019.

In West Bengal, there are 15 projects that have been sanctioned out of which two have been completed; work is under progress on four projects while four others are under tendering. For five projects tenders have to be floated.

June, 2018

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REGD.NO.MCS/219/2018-20, PUBLISHED ON 5TH OF EVERY MONTH & POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE, DUE DATE 07, 08 & 09 OF EVERY MONTH, REGD. WITH RNI UNDER NO. MAHENG/2017/74894