Express Water (Vol. 1 No. 3) February, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE

Nature for Water The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’. Activities focused on it will be organized world over to explore and discuss the nature-based solutions to the water challenges which we are facing in the 21st century. According to UN Water, currently, 2.1 billion people are living without safe drinking water - which is not only a serious concern for their health but their education and livelihood as well.

In this issue, we have also explored the impact of nature on water, and their relation. Restoring urban wetlands should be one of the priorities to balance our water cycle and avoid flood-like situations. Creating a green water and wastewater infrastructure is another priority which should seamlessly merge with the grey infrastructure wherever possible. The rejuvenation and restoration of our rivers, lakes, ponds, and other natural water resources are also significant.

Reconnecting our rivers to the floodplains is also necessary.

Although the clock is ticking, there is still some time left to do our bit, so that our next generations would not inherit the cities like Cape Town (South Africa) which could be the world’s first city to run out of the water. This would mean that the city’s population of 4 million people will not have access to running water anymore this year. The day has been nicknamed as ‘Day Zero’ and is being discussed everywhere.

Only four years ago, Cape Town’s six major water reservoirs with a capacity of 230 billion gallons were full. But three consecutive years of low-rainfall (a third of normal levels) with continuously increasing population, have dramatically reduced the water levels of dams. As of January 29, 2018, NASA reported that the reservoirs are at just 26%, with the largest

“All the lessons are in nature.You look at the way rocks are formed - the wind and the water hitting them, shaping them,making them what they are.Things take time,you know?”

- Diane Lane

reservoir at only 13% capacity. As per World Water Council, their 4 million residents must reduce their water usage to just 50 liters per day. The magnitude of this drought in Cape Town’s is a once in every 300 years event.

What is even more frightening is the fact that Cape Town is not the only city facing the threat of such a water crisis. Cities in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Australia, USA, and Italy are currently facing severe water shortages and could even be the next in line if we do not change the way we see water - as an abundant and unlimited source to waste away. If we go by the predictions of WWC, by 2030, the world will face a 40% global water deficit under the businessas-usual climate scenario, and by 2050, over 40% of the world population will be subject to severe water stress.

The most important and simple lesson for us then is to stop neglecting our ecosystem and start making amends for whatever we have done till now.

As we gear up for our first event in the water sector - Express Water ‘Jal Sabha’ (8-10 March, Pune) - a forum exclusively for the heads of the water supply and sewage departments of Municipal Corporations - a gathering of 50 delegates from municipal organizations across India has confirmed their participation.

It will be a unique platform for the audience to come together to debate and discuss issues faced by the corporations around water supply and sewage, 24x7 water supply, smart metering, and STPs (their financing, and decentralized STPs), among others.

HEAD OFFICE - MUMBAI EXPRESS WATER® The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 1st Floor, Express Tower, Nariman Point Mumbai - 400 021 Board line: 022 - 67440000 Ext. 527 Branch Offices NEW DELHI Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division Express Building, B-1/B Sector 10 Noida 201 301, Dist.Gautam Budh Nagar (U.P.) Board line: 0120 - 6651500 Mobile: +91 98997 07440 BANGALORE The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 502, 5th Floor, Devatha Plaza, Residency Road, Bangalore - 560 025 Mobile: +91 98408 26366

EXPRESS WATER

HYDERABAD The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division 6-3-885/7/B, Ground Floor, VV Mansion, Somaji Guda, Hyderabad - 500 082 KOLKATA Ajanta Sengupta The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Business Publication Division JL No. 29&30, NH-6, Mouza- Prasastha & Ankurhati, Vill & PO- Ankurhati P.S. Domjur (Nr. Ankurhati Check Bus Stop), Dist. Howrah - 711 409, Mobile: +91 98311 82580 E-mail: ajanta.sengupta@expressindia.com KOCHI The Indian Express (P) Ltd. Ground Floor, Sankoorikal Building, Kaloor - Kadavanthra Road, Kaloor, Kochi - 682 017 COIMBATORE The Indian Express (P) Ltd. No. 205-B, 2nd Floor,Vivekanand Road, Opp. Rajarathinam Hospital Ram Nagar, Coimbatore - 641 009

AHMEDABAD Nirav Mistry The Indian Express (P) Ltd. 3rd Floor, Sambhav House, Near Judges Bunglows, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad - 380 015 Mobile: +91 95864 24033 JAIPUR Prabhas Jha The Indian Express (P) Ltd. S2,J-40, Shyam GHP Enclave, Krishna Marg, C-Scheme, Jaipur - 302 001 Mobile: +91 98997 07440

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

Important:Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,it is not possible to verifyits contents.The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents,nor for anyloss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies,associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications.We therefore recommend that readers make necessaryinquiries before sending anymonies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

February, 2018

3

CONTENTS COLUMNS

Vol 01 No 3 February 2018 Pages 52 Chairman of the Board

10 11 12

Viveck Goenka Sr Vice President - BPD

Neil Viegas Editor

Mayur Sharma* DESIGN National Design Editor

URBAN WATER

By Robert Brears WATER WISE

By WaterAid KNOWING OUR WATERS

By Australian Water Partnership (AWP)

Bivash Barua Assistant Art Director

OUT OF THE BOX

Pravin Temble Chief Designer

Prasad Tate Senior Designer

Rekha Bisht Graphic Designer

36

DO WE REALLY KNOW OUR WATER?

38

DROUGHT-PROOFING AUSTRALIA…THE POSSIBLE DREAM?

Gauri Deorukhkar DIGITAL TEAM

CASE STUDY

Head of Internet

Viraj Mehta Web Developer

Dhaval Das Senior Executive - Online

Pushkar Worlikar Executive - Online

Salil Sule

40

POWERCHINA ZHONGNAN STANDARDIZES 3D COLLABORATIVE DESIGN OF WATER PROJECTS, BECOMING 50% MORE EFFICIENT Bentley’s 3D technology reduces wastewater treatment plant design costs by 30 percent.

44

SONNEBERG SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT IN GERMANY ENJOYS GREATER PLANNING RELIABILITY FOR ITS BELT PRESS Besides the four central STPs, Sonneberg Waterworks also operate eight small biological plants, and thereby cover an area of around 150 square miles.

NATURE FOR WATER

SCHEDULING & COORDINATION

Santosh Lokare Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil MARKETING

Exploring the theme of this year’s World Water Day (22 March)…how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century.

Kailash Shirodkar

17-34

CIRCULATION

Mohan Varadakar PRODUCTION

THE SECOND OPINION: IMPACT OF GST

General Manager

B R Tipnis Manager

Bhadresh Valia Express Water®

13

IMPLICATIONS OF GST ON WATER PROJECTS

14

WATER MANAGEMENT: RE-INVIGORATING INCLUSIVE GROWTH WITH GST

RNI NO. MAHENG-14351. Printed by The Indian Express (P) Ltd. and published by

MARKET

48

DAY ZERO LOOMS FOR CAPE TOWN AS SOUTH AFRICAN CITY PREPARES TO TURN OFF TAPS

49

WATER UTILITIES CAPITALIZE ON HYDRAULIC MODELING TO MINIMIZE TOTEX, REDUCE RISK, AND MITIGATE WATER LOSS

Ms Vaidehi Thakar on 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 Point, Mumbai –

P03 : EDITOR’S NOTE P15 : PRODUCTS

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

4

February, 2018

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

TATA Projects and Israel's Watergen Enter an MoU to Extract Drinking Water from Air The partnership will run a pilot program to provide solution for clean and safe drinking water in India EW Staff India I S R A E L - B A S E D WATERGEN and India's TATA Projects Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding. The intent of the MoU is to help solve India's drinking water challenge, by providing safe, clean and cost-efficient drinking water across India. The MoU seeks to create a mutual entity in India, to manage local

operations and manufacture Watergen units in India. This process will provide local and regional drinking water supply when needed, as well as the deployment of a distributed water grid chain across the country.

Watergen's revolutionary technology is an immediate, quick, permanent, low cost, energy efficient, accessible, clean and safe drinking 'water from the air' solution for India. Watergen's large-scale

AWG unit produces up to 6,000 liters of water from the air every day, while the medium scale AWG unit produces

AquaVenture Holdings to Acquire Majority Interest in Desalination Plant in Ghana EW Staff USA A Q U AV E N T U R E HOLDINGS Limited has entered into a binding agreement with Abengoa Water, S.L.U. to purchase a majority interest in a desalination plant in Accra, Ghana. The plant has the capacity to deliver approximately 18.5 million gallons (60,000 m3) per day of potable water to Ghana Water Company Limited under a long-term, U.S. dollar-denominated water purchase agreement. The facility has been operational since 2015 and, through its customer, supplies water to approximately 500,000 residents of Accra.

6

February, 2018

The base purchase price for this interest is approximately $26 million, subject to adjustment in accordance with the purchase agreement.

Completion of the purchase, which is expected to occur by the end of the second quarter of 2018, is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent.

Doug Brown, Chairman, and CEO of AquaVenture Holdings, commented: "We are excited about this project.

This will be our first desalination plant in Africa. The acquisition will expand our base of facilities that provide WAAS solutions to our customers.

We look forward to working with the project stakeholders

in completing the various conditions to closing and becoming a long-term partner to the Government of Ghana for water treatment and services."

The company has also entered into an agreement to purchase an SWRO desalination plant in Long Island, The Bahamas for a purchase price of approximately $3.0 million, subject to adjustment in accordance with the purchase agreement. The plant has the capacity to deliver approximately 200 thousand gallons per day of potable water to the Water and Sewage Corporation of The Bahamas under a long-term water purchase agreement.

up to 600 liters of water every day. A pilot program is planned to utilize the mid-size GEN-350G unit.

Dr. Michael Mirilashvili explained, "Watergen is proud to be a partner in the longstanding and fruitful co-operation between Israel and India. We thank TATA Projects and TATA Trusts for their commitment to improving the quality of life for the citizens of India. Together, Watergen and TATA Projects can now provide clean and safe drinking water from the air, immediately and permanently.”

PUB Drives Innovations for Water Sustainability EW Staff Singapore SINGAPORE’S NATIONAL WATER Agency PUB has launched three Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to invite industry technology providers and researchers to develop solutions that will improve the effectiveness of water treatment processes and operations, and ensure water sustainability.

Water demand is expected to double by 2060, with the non-domestic sector making up 70% of demand then. More energy-intensive sources such as NEWater and desalinated water will meet up to 85% of Singapore’s water needs then too. It is important to maximize water efficiency and lower energy use in water and used water treatment.

The first RFP targets specific technologies in enhancing energy efficiency of water and used water treatment process. For water treatment, it aims to reduce energy consumption of desalination and NEWater through biomimicry.

The second RFP aims to enhance water efficiency in industries through water recycling or reducing water consumption. Proposals are to be submitted by the industrial or commercial host, in collaboration with an identified technology provider.

The third RFP looks at enhancing operational efficiency by leveraging on smart technologies such as robotics, drones, automation, data analytics and informatics, and video analytics, to minimize manpower required for operations and maintenanc

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

SPML Infra JV Secures Order for Irrigation Project in Ghana Mayur Sharma Kolkata SPML INFRA LIMITED with its joint venture partner OM Metals Infraprojects has secured an international order from Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Republic of Ghana for the work related to rehabilitation and completion of Kpong left bank irrigation project in Ghana, Africa for Rs. 205 crore.

The scope of work includes modification of existing supply canal, main canal, cross regulators and installation of new distribution structures.

This World Bank funded project has a timeline of 18 months to complete. The Letter of Intent (LoI) received by the JV last week and the projects will be executed within the given period.

Subhash Sethi, Chairman, SPML Infra, commented, “We

SPML Infra Q3 Profit Rises to 2376% to 8.39 Crore

ACCIONABuilds Largest Desalination Plant for Industrial Use in the Mediterranean,in Italy

Mayur Sharma Kolkata

The plant will be operated by ACCIONA Agua for the next six years, with an estimated daily production of 12,000 m3.

SPML INFRA LIMITED has declared the financial results for the Q3 period ended December 31, 2017. Q3 Net Profit Rises to 2376% to 8.39 Crore on a Net Sale of INR 344 Crore.

The consolidated EBITDA for Q3FY18 stands at INR 75.67 Cr against INR 49.47 Cr in Q3FY17, up 53%. The consolidated Q3FY18 net profit up 2376% at INR 8.39 Cr against loss of INR -0.37 in Q3FY17.

And the consolidated net profit margin stands at 2% Q3FY18. For 9MFY18 vs 9MFY17, the consolidated 9MFY18 Net Profit up 592% at INR 23.53 Cr against INR -4.78 Cr in 9MFY17, and the consolidated net profit margin stands at 3% in 9MFY18.

Subhash Sethi, Chairman, SPML Infra commented, “Our concentrated efforts towards

8

February, 2018

consolidation of our finances with prudent strategies and resource optimization measures have helped us in focusing more on project execution and winning new projects. We expect the next wave of growth will be coming from water, irrigation and power transmission & distribution sector with the government targeting to achieve 100% electrification within 2018. We are focusing to complete our 40 ongoing projects in water and power segments and enhancing the order book in these two areas. We are also expecting a number of arbitration awards in next quarter and in next fiscal that will further consolidate our financials. I am hopeful that the next quarter will be much better in terms of sales, improved profitability, project gains and we will be in a better position to declare good benefits to our shareholders.”

EW Staff Italy ACCIONA AGUA HAS completed the construction of a desalination plant that will provide high-quality demineralized water to the Sarlux refinery (part of the Italian energy group Saras Spa), located in Sarroch, near Cagliari, in Sardinia (Italy).

The contract, worth 22 million euros, includes design and construction of the desalination plant as well as operation

are delighted with the new order from Ghana. This is the second order from African countries after we received an order from Rwanda last year.

It is an opportunity for both SPML Infra and OM Metals to become a reliable partner for the sustainable infrastructure development in Ghana and other African countries. We are sure that our rich experience in drinking water management and irrigation will

and maintenance for six years, with a possible three-year extension.

The plant has a daily production capacity of 12,000 m3 of demineralized water through such processes as ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and electrodeionization.

The treated water will be used in industrial processes carried out by the Italian energy company at its refinery near Cagliari (Sardinia), one of the largest and most complex facilities of its type in Europe.

With a total footprint of approximately 1,260 m2, it is the largest desalination plant for industrial use in the Mediterranean. In the design and construction of the plant, ACCIONA Agua incorporated solutions that minimize envi-

help us in delivering the projects on time with excellence in execution and EPC services.

We are committed to a longterm association with African countries to provide complete EPC solutions for water and power projects combining customized engineering, procurement, project management using modern technologies, meeting timelines and conforming to international safety standards.”

ronmental impact, costs and installation times, and improve efficiency in overall operation by reducing pressure losses and significantly optimizing energy consumption, among other factors.

ACCIONA Agua currently has a portfolio of more than 40 projects in Italy, including drinking water, desalination, and wastewater treatment plants. It provides services to more than 2.5 million people in Italy and has 345 employees in the country. The company was recently awarded a contract to maintain and upgrade water and sewage networks in several municipalities . Recent landmark projects include upgrading the Florence drinking water treatment plant (one of the largest in Italy).

EXPRESS WATER

IN THE NEWS

ANDRITZ to Supply Irrigation Pumps for Egypt EW Staff Egypt ANDRITZ HAS RECEIVED an order from CONCORD for Engineering and Contracting, Cairo, Egypt, to supply 17 vertical line shaft pumps, including a set of spare parts, for a pumping station providing the water supply to the Nubaria irrigation canal, located south of the city of Alexandria. The start-up is scheduled for 2018.

The pumps supplied will be individually adapted to the customer’s specifications and achieve an aggregate flow rate of 11.7 m3/second. Each pump achieves a head of 28 meters at a shaft power of 222 kW. Decisive in the award of the contract to ANDRITZ were the special technical features and the low life-cycle costs of

the ANDRITZ pumps as well as the many years of experience that ANDRITZ has in this sector, with numerous references in the Middle East and Africa. ANDRITZ first supplied irrigation pumps and equipment to these regions back in the 1960s.

Grundfos India has launched a mobile application called ‘SmArt Serv’. This service app provides an effective way of getting service support for any Grundfos product.

Through this app, one can locate the nearest service provider, fill in the details of the complaint/request, attach a picture of the pump/system and raise a service request.

An acknowledgment of the request will be received within four hours. For digital pumps, the service provider will try to fix the problem online by pro-

EXPRESS WATER

The water treatment innovator secures new partner to expedite commercialization.

EW Staff USA

Grundfos India Launches ‘SmArt Serv’, a Mobile App to Enhance Customer Service Mayur Sharma Chennai

Gradiant Corporation’s Momentum Continues with Asia Expansion

viding remote assistance. For other pumps, the service provider will deploy one of the service engineers to the site.

Normally, the complaints/ requests will be resolved within three days.

Throwing light on such a customer-centric app, Saravanan Panneer Selvam, Chief Sales Officer, Grundfos India, said “The philosophy behind Grundfos Service has always been to provide a little extra.”

“The launch of the SmArt Serv app is yet another effort to strengthen our commitment to providing fast and transparent service support to our customers”.

GRADIANT CORPORATION, PROVIDING solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and desalination, has unveiled significant milestones achieved in 2017 that set the stage for continued growth and expansion throughout 2018.

Last year, Gradiant focused its attention on the growing $500 million wastewater desalination and zero liquid discharge market in Asia. The company secured contracts in China and India using their patented humidification - dehumidification (HDH) process to trans-

form complex waste streams from power generation and textile manufacturing into fresh, reusable water.

Gradiant has now announced their latest collaboration with Hong Kong based Esquel Group, the world’s largest woven shirt manufacturer. With production facilities in China, Malaysia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the Esquel Group is one of the most dynamic globalscale textile and apparel manufacturers. The partnership will allow Gradiant to expedite commercialization of their advanced water treatment solutions within the textile market.

Gradiant’s HDH system

removes harmful pollutants to recover clean water. This evaporator alternative mimics nature’s rain cycle to reduce the cost of treatment by as much as 50 percent. Gradiant first demonstrated the process at full-scale in 2013 treating produced water from North American oil and gas exploration and production.

“At Gradiant, we help industrial water users minimize their cost of treatment and their impact on the environment,” said Anurag Bajpayee, CEO of Gradiant Corporation. “We look forward to working with the Esquel Group to support their goals.”

Black& Veatch and EMS Cognito Join Forces to Deliver UtilityAsset ReliabilityProgrammes EW Staff UK WELL MANAGED ASSETS are central to reduced risk, and outperformance of operational and financial targets. To help utilities achieve worldclass asset management Black & Veatch and EMS Cognito have teamed-up to offer bespoke Lean Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) programmes and training.

"What sets Black & Veatch apart is the ability to support

every point in the lifecycle of utilities' assets. Becoming an authorized provider of EMS Cognito's IMPACT Masterclass™ Lean RCM Programme extends our reach further into the asset management sphere," commented Scott Aitken, Managing Director, Black & Veatch Europe.

Lean RCM focusses on what a process is intended to do, identifying factors that stop the process from delivering, then implementing steps

to mitigate those factors; creating a condition-based regime for asset maintenance.

"Our IMPACT Masterclass™ Lean RCM Programme has been adopted across many industries. This agreement with Black & Veatch is an opportunity to introduce our accredited process improvement programme to additional water and energy companies," according to Richard Kelly, Managing Director, EMS Cognito.

February, 2018

9

COLUMN

URBAN WATER

Smart Water,Smart Metering Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or ‘smart meters’, is a two-way solution in which a network is created between the meters and the utility’s Information System. In this network, smart meters not only allow for remote meter reading but also allow high-resolution consumption data to be sent to the customer.

By Robert C Brears supply. Specifically, demand management promotes water conservation both in times of normal and atypical conditions through changes in people’s practices, culture, and attitudes towards water resources.

Smart Meters are Key

Robert C Brears WITH RAPID URBANIZATION and growing water scarcity from climate change, cities are being challenged to deliver water as efficiently as possible as well as balance rising demand with limited supplies. To manage limited water supplies efficiently, cities and their water utilities are turning to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

There are two beneficial aspects of turning to ICT solutions to ensure the efficient use of precious supplies. First, ICT can reduce water losses in the system - non-revenue water - which is the difference between what is pumped, treated, and supplied to the distribution system compared to what reaches customers: in many cities around the world, non-revenue water can be up to 20% or more of the total. On the demand side, ICT can be used to enhance demand management strategies, where demand management involves the better use of existing water supplies before plans are made to further increase

10

February, 2018

A key part of the ICT network is smart meters, which enable water utilities to conduct regular meter reads of customers throughout the day, provide customers with real-time water consumption data, as well as quickly detect water losses in the system.

Currently, many cities are using Automatic Meter Readers (AMR), which are ‘one-way’ automated meter readers that send water usage data back to the utility. In contrast, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or ‘smart meters’, is a two-way solution in which a network is created between the meters and the utility’s Information System. In this network, smart meters not only allow for remote meter reading but also allow high-resolution consumption data to be sent to the customer. This data can be used to raise awareness of water consumption and allow customers to develop their own strategies to reduce water usage.

Benefits of Smart Meters From the water utility’s side, smart meters provide multiple benefits including leak detection, energy reduction, demand forecasting, enhanced awareness campaigns, promotion of efficient

appliances, and performance indicators. From the customer’s side, smart meters can provide information on when/where is water being used, comparisons of own water use against other customers, and quick leak detection. Smart apps can also be developed for customers, so they can, for example, compare their water usage with neighbours in the same street or suburb, compare water consumption with standard profiles (consumers with the same socio-demographic factors), compare their water consumption with the most efficient users in the city, or forecast their next water bill.

Some leading examples of cities implementing smart meters to ensure the efficient management of scarce water include Dubai, Singapore, and San Francisco.

Smart Dubai To ensure the rational use of water, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is installing smart meters across the Emirate enabling customers to receive real-time information on water consumption. In addition to providing current data, DEWA’s smart meters will provide customers will historical data as well as a breakdown of consumption processes that use water. This will help customers identify water efficiencies in their homes. The smart meter data is delivered to customers via DEWA’s Smart App, allowing them to view billing information, graphs to check and compare consumption, as well as set caps for

water consumption. Overall, DEWA aims to have 1.2 million smart meters installed by 2020, covering the whole Emirate and replacing all mechanical and electromechanical meters.

Smart Meter Trials in Singapore Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) is trialing a smart water network in which the utility will collect detailed data on household water consumption to build customer consumption profiles and identify consumption patterns and trends. The data will then be analyzed and provided to customers enabling them to monitor their water usage patterns and better manage water consumption. PUB will also customize its engagement strategy by incentivizing customers to conserve water, for instance, setting water saving goals and tracking efficiency of their water usage based on their consumption profiles.

This is part of an experiment to see if elements of game playing are more effective at engaging and motivating customers to conserve water than increasing tariffs.

San Francisco’s Automated Water Meters San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has installed automated water meters in more than 96% of San Francisco’s 178,000 water accounts. The smart meters transmit hourly water consumption data to the utility’s billing system by a wireless network. The meter readings received by SFPUC

identify every cubic foot of water used each hour (where one cubic foot is equal to around 28 liters). The reliable and frequent water usage information allows customers to monitor their use and detect leaks faster than possible compared to the manuallyread meters. SFPUC has also created the web portal My Account in which account holders can download detailed daily and monthly water usage data and learn ways to conserve water. SFPUC also uses the hourly water consumption data to notify residential single-family customers when they have three days of non-stop, 24/7 water use, which could mean they have a plumbing leak. Leak alerts are provided via email, mobile phone text, phone call, or letter and will indicate the dates and amounts of continuous usage.

Faced with rapid urbanization and increasing water scarcity from climate change, cities can turn to smart meters to ensure the efficient use of existing water supplies before plans are made to further increase supply. Smart meters can be used to provide customers with historical data as well as a breakdown of consumption processes that use water, helping customers identify water efficiencies in homes; help customers set water saving goals, and alert customers of possible leaks.

Robert Brears is the Author of Urban Water Security, Founder of Mitidaption, and Young Water Leaders. @Mitidaption

EXPRESS WATER

COLUMN

KNOWING OUR WATERS

CommunityParticipation is the Key

Avinash Kumar

IN THE NATIONAL RURAL DRINKING Water Programme’s strategy plan (2011-22), the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has set a goal to ensure that every rural person has enough safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic needs as well as livestock throughout the year including during natural disasters.

For 2017, the stipulated targets aim to ensure that at least 55% of rural households are provided with piped water supply; at least 35% of rural households have piped water supply with a household connection; less than 20% use public taps and less than 45% use handpumps or other safe and adequate private water sources. Additionally, all services should meet set standards in terms of quality and number of hours of supply every day and that all households, schools, and anganwadis in rural India have access to and use adequate quantity of safe drinking water.

In late 2017, WaterAid India conducted a survey to map water points in 636 gram

EXPRESS WATER

panchayats in 10 cities across 27 districts and 10 states covering 5.37 lakh households, 2,409 schools, 2,625 anganwadi centers and 224 public healthcare facilities.

In total, the survey mapped 20,360 water points and analyzed them on the basis of technology, functionality, and accessibility. The survey also captured additional information in terms of quality, quantity, inclusion along with operations and maintenance (O&M) of the water points. More than 85% of the water points surveyed were handpumps. About 7.5% of the water points included other improved sources such as borewell power pumps, mini piped water scheme, mini water tank, piped water supply, public stand posts, RO (Reverse Osmosis) plant and sanitary protected well.

Some of the key findings that emerged from the sample survey were that 3.2% of the points mapped were unimproved water sources. Only about 2.4% households surveyed have access to piped water connections. With regard to habitation, 31% of the 2,378 habitations surveyed

have access to piped water supply. And according to MDWS (as on 25 February 2018), the current coverage of habitations is just around 34.8% including all sources (improved or unimproved). So clearly, we are far behind the targets.

In communities, the number of existing handpumps and their dependence on them as a primary source of water is predictably high. The average users per handpump are in the range of 50-90 despite the national norm of 250 people per handpump.

While the handpump user numbers may not be an exact representation of the national scenario, it is evident that increasingly, governments’ new investments should be on ensuring O&M for the existing water points and improving the service standards.

Moreover, more than 50% of the surveyed functional water points (mainly handpumps) are in unsanitary conditions with stagnant pools around them, which has the potential to not only contaminate groundwater but also the drinking water during the collection and carrying process.

In institutional settings, 6% of the schools surveyed do not have any water source and 11% have their primary water source located outside the school. Children mostly bring water from home - 0.5 to 1 liter bottles - but will this be enough for a stay of not less than 7 hours? Also, 37% schools do not have any water storage facility and so children have to drink directly from the source, which hampers the consumption of deworming tablets.

In the anganwadis, 30% did not have any water source and an additional 30% did not have storage systems. In water quality affected locations, children were also exposed to dis-

eases like fluorosis, which can lead to permanent disability.

Lastly, but most crucially, the poorest and those on the margins - the economically poor, women-headed households or those with disabled people, the elderly and landless families - fall way behind the general population in terms of access to safe water.

This also underlines a larger point that there is a longterm need for identifying local water sources, which can be managed by the community.

Additionally, as the groundwater level is falling at an alarming speed, there is a strong need to diversify water sources rather than the continued dependence on groundwater.

It is interesting that the strategy paper prepared by the government recognizes most of the problems faced by the water sector. For example, the paper recognizes a new category called ‘Slipped Back’, reflecting the habitations, which have moved from fully covered to not covered/partially covered category. It also recognizes the reasons behind it, such as the increase in population, increase in the number of habitations, drinking water supply systems having outlived their life spans or becoming defunct, poor maintenance of infrastructure, drinking water sources becoming quality affected, water going dry or lowering of the groundwater table and so on. Clearly, source sustainability and lack of adequately designed O&M systems are the key challenges to deal with.

Further, government’s own earlier programmes like ‘Swajaldhara’ (launched in 2002) piloted in 67 districts across 21 states recognized that users of water are its best managers. While creating the strategy document, the government has ticked all the

right boxes, long argued by water sector experts like ensuring community participation in planning and implementation, operations and maintenance of the infrastructure, taking up water conservation and recharge measures for source strengthening as well as including an element of cost sharing by the community.

However, the major constraints faced during the implementation of Swajaldhara was that the executive arm of the state caught in the tussle between the bureaucracy and the elected officials. More crucially, the panchayats lacked finances and skills to take up the responsibility.

Though the recent years have seen a rapid slide in financial allocations for the programme against the rising tide of Swachh Bharat Mission, there is a clear opportunity coming via the financial devolution to states through 14th Finance Commission recommendations, which has given increased financial share to gram panchayats. Many states like Odisha have issued guidelines that 30% of these budgets should be utilized on creating water infrastructure (with O&M money being collected from the users). While the increased amount of money available at the local level will hopefully address the long pending demands of schemes like Swajaldhara, it is also evident that panchayats need to also focus on their own capacity building to develop gram panchayat development plans and to be able to oversee their implementation satisfactorily.

Avinash Kumar is Director Programme, and Policy at WaterAid India. @Avinashkoomar

February, 2018

11

COLUMN

WATER WISE

Underlying Causes of Non-Revenue Water Losses and Whyit is Important

By Simon Ross, IWC for the Australian Water Partnership (AWP) Detect and Respond to Non-Revenue Water Losses

IN A RECENT INTERACTION with Kini, Will Spitzenberg, the Chief Water Engineer of ASPA in American Samoa, discussed the problem of non-revenue water (NRW) losses of up to 60% in the small island nation.

This column unpacks the problem, which is particularly troublesome in developing regions, where an estimated 45 million m3 of water is pumped, but then ‘lost’ through leaks, illegal connections, or other inefficiencies.

In developing countries, this loss represents an economic value of US$3 billion per annum, which is equivalent to providing water to an additional 180 million people.

While performance benchmarking for water utilities is unlikely to attract a celebrity endorsement, Will suggests that it is a growing area that developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region will increasingly need help with and has important sustainability and equity considerations.

With this in mind, it is important to reflect on how these issues can best be ‘championed’.

Need for Local Capacity to

12

February, 2018

NRW losses are the difference between water that is pumped by public utilities and what is distributed, used and paid for. These values are different for a number of reasons: • Piping infrastructure is expensive to maintain and replace.

• Illegal connections and unreported leaks.

• Poor information and management systems.

Will said, that as a general rule, well-performing water utilities might lose around 20% of their water to non-revenue streams, but in American Samoa and the Pacific, in general, this figure can be up to 60% or even higher, which is exacerbated by limited maintenance budgets and poor institutional capacity.

For example, in his Kini Interview, He also described the scenario of finding ‘two hundred gallons per minute leaks that did not surface, and just poured into the lava rock’ in parts of the piped water network in American Samoa.

The reality is that these issues need patience as they take time to resolve.

The scale of investment required to address these problems is very large in American Samoa and includes: • Human resource development for local leak detection teams; • Investment in automated metering and real-time monitoring equipment; and • Developing a systematic approach to reduce NRW losses.

These losses reduce the revenue but not the costs of the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), a combined power and water utility.

Inefficiencies in water resource management significantly affect ASPA, who is reliant on increasing rates for local residents, loans or federal grants for the ultimate goal of financing the replacement of US$100 million worth of aging pipes and expanding access to the water supply.

‘Benchmarking’ is the Way to Drive Local Demand for Change and Share Results Will reinforced the need for efficient, incremental improvements to water supply systems driven by quality information.

Benchmarking tools such as the AWWA water balance spreadsheet can provide motivation to address these problems and enable knowledge sharing.

‘Really good baseline information to map the results is important to understand where to allocate resources.

When results are achieved

and more money comes in, problems can begin to be addressed.’ Will also refers to the importance of targeted long-term efforts by dedicated local teams as being essential to the process of improving high NRW losses. ‘It is not something that someone can walk in solve and walk away’ A recent benchmarking summary from the Pacific Water and Wastewater Authority highlighted the benefits of learning together through benchmarking activities to deal with the challenging issues of: • Attracting resource-poor customers to pay for their water supply • Replacing aging infrastructure • Recovering operating costs and attracting donors • Setting equitable tariff structures

Sustainability and Equality are the Real Reasons for Addressing Non-Revenue Water Losses Will’s message becomes more evident when reflecting on these challenges and this

helps us understand the type of role needed to be filled by an NRW ‘champion’ to maintain improved sustainable and equitable access to the water.

NRW problems are symptomatic of how some functions of water management have traditionally been underresourced with low recognition and why this should change.

Technical professionals are required who also understand the social relationships required to change behavior for: • Maintaining existing infrastructure; • Promoting co-operation and shared benefits; • Negotiating the equitable and targeted distribution of scarce resources; and • Communicating effectively to respond to priority needs.

Considering integrated solutions to NRW loss Benchmarking supported by accurate and transparent information should be used to learn about where NRW losses are occurring as well as their underlying causes and potential solutions.

Most important is knowing how to respond collaboratively, or as Will says: ‘Just producing more water is not the best solution. When water is being lost, saving water is much better than developing new infrastructure.’

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

EXPRESS WATER

THE SECOND OPINION

IMPACT OF GST

Implications of GSTon Water Projects

By Rajiv Menon and Sandeep S Sisodia

Rajiv Menon

Sandeep Sisodia

What Does the GST Mean for Water Projects?

The Goods & Services Tax (GST) is the single biggest tax reform undertaken since Independence. GST will be levied on the supply of goods or services or both in India.

GST has come in to existence with the intent of “One Nation, One Market & One Tax”. As such GST will subsume a number of existing indirect taxes being levied by the center and state governments.

GST brings benefits to all stakeholders: industry, government and the citizens. The tax is expected to lower the cost of goods and services, boost the economy and make product and services globally competitive. GST is a destination-based consumption tax system and it prevents cascading of taxes by providing comprehensive Input Tax Credit (ITC) mechanism across the entire supply chain.

Implementation of new tax system brings out some advantages and some disadvantages over the old tax system.

In relation to water projects, there are certain tax benefits available under the Central Excise Act, Service Tax and the Customs Act under old tax regime in India.

With the introduction of GST, these have been captured under a single act.

Before continuing, it is necessary to understand the nature of the activity, to be

EXPRESS WATER

covered under water projects, for which concessional benefits under taxation shall be in general available.

Any activity, undertaken by the central government, state government or Union Territory or local authority in relation to function entrusted to Panchayat or municipality are eligible for tax concessions, The details of activity and tax outlook are as below.

Activity Undertaken in Broader Terms 1) Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purpose 2) Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development 3) Provision of drinking water 4) Maintenance of community assets

Tax Outlook Under GST 1) Any services provided to the local authority, state or central government in relation to the above-mentioned activity by a consultant or contractor is exempt from the GST. 2) Services provided in relation to the above-mentioned activity by the local authority, state or central government to the society /end-user shall also exempt from the GST. 3) Work contract services fall under the Composite supply and includes activity in relation to construction, erection, commissioning, installation, completion, fitting-out, repairs, maintenance, renovation, etc.

Such activities shall be subject to GST at a rate of 12 percent and shall become the cost of project to the local authority.

4) However rate of GST will

become “nil” when the value of goods supplied under the Work contract services shall not exceed more than 25 percent of the total value of work contract services.

5) Any other construction services shall be chargeable at a rate of 18 percent.

6) Imported equipment and plant required for settingup drinking water projects (for desalination, demineralization or purification of water or any similar process) shall be subject to nil rate of customs duty.

However Integrated GST shall be applicable at a rate of 18 percent on the mentioned imports.

7) All equipment and plant required for setting-up drinking water projects will be subject to GST at a rate of 18 percent when procured domestically; the same shall become a cost for the project.

8) In case, where the output services are exempted from GST, proportionate Input Tax Credit (ITC) attributable to exempted services shall be disallowed and become a cost for the consultant/contractors, due to which, the overall cost of services will increase.

Here is a summary of the overall impact of the changes in the tax laws: 1) Under the old tax regime, specific tax concessions were available in relation to excise duty on procurement of equipment and plant required for water projects in India. However, under the GST regime, cost in relation to procurement of domestic equipment and plant for setting up a water

project is subject to tax at a rate of 18 percent. This will lead to overall increase in the capital expenditure cost for the client.

2) Under the old tax system, counter vailing duty (CVD) and Special additional duty (SAD) were exempted on the imported equipment and machinery required for water projects. The water project falls under category of “project imports” and special privilege was given by way of exemption from tax by the government. Under GST regime, however, any import under Project import category shall be subject to tax at a rate of 18 percent. This will lead to overall increase in the capital expenditure cost for the client.

3) Services provided in relation to the construction, erection, commissioning, installation, completion, fitting-out, repairs, maintenance, renovation or alteration, etc., are now subject to GST at a rate of 12 percent in general. However, under the old tax regime construction services were exempt from services tax but were subject to Sales Tax/VAT in the range of 4 percent (under composition), or 5 percent - 15 percent VAT (under the normal scheme) on the materials supplied under the construction services activity.

This change shall lead to a marginal increase in tax cost as compare to the old tax regime.

4) Any services other than construction services were subject to Service tax at a rate of 15 percent under the old tax regime. After

the introduction of GST, however, pure services such as architect services, consulting engineer services, manpower services, etc - are exempted from GST, if provided in relation to activity of a water project.

This is a cost advantage to the client under the new tax regime.

5) GST provides for free flow of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for construction services.

However under the old tax regime, if goods were procured from other states for the construction services, sales tax become a cost to the contractor. In some cases excise duty also becomes cost at the time of procurement of goods cement, steel, etc - from traders instead of manufacturers by the contractors for the purpose of construction works. Due to the change in tax regime there is marginal increase in the cost saving available to the contractor and client.

GST is a new born baby which replaces a 60-year-old tax regime in India. Once the Act becomes more mature with clearer understanding, the entire industry is going to benefit from the new tax regime.

The Indian Government is currently refining the GST Act and, on the basis of industry representation, lots of amendments have been made in the last six months. On a positive note, we can expect that over time the overall cost for the infrastructure projects will decline.

About the Authors Rajiv Menon is the Managing Director of Black & Veatch India.

Sandeep S. Sisodia is Sr. Tax Manager at B&V, India.

February, 2018

13

THE SECOND OPINION

IMPACT OF GST

Water Management: Re-invigorating Inclusive Growth with GST

By Koichi Matsui

Koichi Matsui, Chairperson and Managing Director - UEM India

Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right. On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights. The resolution calls to provide financial resources, help capacitybuilding and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

The Government of India is focusing on the development

14

February, 2018

of Sustainable Water Sector by initiating policy action, accompanied by enhanced efforts to bring investment in the sector through various schemes. In the backdrop of past reforms culminating into early green shoots for policy action, a credible rise in focus on Water and Wastewater management sector is reiterated with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will give a boost to the industry by lowering transaction cost and avoiding any cascading effect on the taxes.

With a simplified compliance procedure resulting in a rationalized tax structure, accompanied by removal of duplication of taxes results in reducing compliance cost. In

turn, automation of compliance processes would reduce error, redundancy and improve efficiency.

In the pre-GST era, there was a dichotomy in the applicable indirect tax regime relevant to EPC contracts and Operation & Maintenance contracts. While the central laws provided exemptions and concessions, different state Value-Added Tax (VAT) rules provided for different compounding scheme, making compliance a bit challenging.

Further, the cascading effect of Central and State Indirect Taxes was a concern, due to a high base for levy of respective taxes. Litigation at the Central and state levels on the classification of contracts, valuation, the jurisdiction of state on inter-state works contracts and other issues added to the list of concerns of the sectors that made achieving operational efficiency a challenge.

GST being a concurrent tax on supply of goods and services is expected to bring in predictability in multiple projects being executed pan India. There are some changes that would have an impact on indirect taxation taxability of works contracts being one. As works contracts are limited to only immovable properties, turnkey contracts which do not result in the immovable property would now be treated as composite supplies.

Further, valuation of goods and services in works con-

tracts, which has typically sparked differences between Central and State indirect tax authorities, would now be put to rest with the legislation, classifying works contracts as the supply of services, unambiguously. Other contracts which do not result in immovable property could be regarded as composite supplies, and depending on the principal supply, tax liability would arise either as a supply of goods or services. Thus, contractors and suppliers could look forward to a simpler and efficient tax regime.

For project owners, however, the new legislation may not lead to a conducive future.

Credit restrictions on works contracts resulting in an immovable property coupled with the increase in GST rates could increase cost outlay.

Already, exemptions and concessions in some cases have been partially withdrawn.

This could also lead to increased working capital requirements. Project cost could rise due to an increased burden of indirect taxes.

However, this aspect is further examined considering the base rate reduction expected to be achieved with GST implementation.

For municipal/ government projects, there are exemptions which are under discussions and hopefully earlier concessions/exemptions shall be restored without adversely impacting the segments. Representations are being made to the government

for reduction in GST rate and/ or continuation of exemptions/concessions.

For export business, we hope that the government smoothens the mechanism to grant Letter of Undertaking (LUT)/ Bond facilities to permit export of goods without payment of GST or it could results into huge cash flow mismatch.

Concluding, GST, in current forms - as it is today, seems to be a mixed bag for the sector. Although predictability and efficiency pose as being the key advantages, the higher rate of GST/ withdrawal of exemption (if not addressed) may temporarily create cash flow mismatch and may result into increase in government spending in some cases.

About the Author Koichi Matsui is the Chairperson and Managing Director of UEM India. He had joined UEM India as Chairperson and MD in September 2015. During his two years in India, he has spearheaded developing, driving and implementing business strategies and solutions for UEM, along with Krishan Kshetry, Promoter-UEM, to expand the Company’s business in India and abroad.

UEM India, a part of Toshiba Group, is an international multi-disciplinary environmental services company, headquartered in India that specializes in providing turnkey services in water and wastewater management.

EXPRESS WATER

PRODUCTS

Air Springs Rapid and reliable actuation of gate valves is becoming more and more critical to liquid and gas handling applications as industries face the twin demands of production automation and pressure to produce without production interruptions for maintenance.

These flexible-wall, bellowstype Airstroke® Actuators manufactured by Firestone and distributed throughout Australia by Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd - are, in essence, tough, fabric reinforced rubber balloons of different shapes engineered to perform different tasks. The simple single, double and triple-convoluted airbags operate without seals, shafts or internal moving parts to provide ultra-reliable actuation alternatives for materials handling technology exposed to grime, debris, and waste, which can disrupt the seals and shafts of convention pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders.

The globally proven Airstroke range comprises single, double and triple convoluted models with strokes up to 300mm.

They suit applications requiring clean actuators that don’t need lubrication, but which can also cope effortlessly with dirt and grime.

Astrea purifying bottles, marked as a step in technological innovation, is available in India.

The bottle features a disposable cartridge that offers 3 stage purification which kills more than 99.9 percent viruses and bacteria. Each cartridge provides up to 100 days or 375 liters of clean, safe drinking water with an LED indicator which tracks and alerts users for the replacement of a cartridge.

Astrea Mobi-Pure bottle aqua comes under the form of bottles, which represent a marked step forward in design, quality, and technological innovation. The product

can be used as a standalone solution to ensure that drinking water is germ-free – at home, at school and student dorms, when traveling, or anywhere portability is required. The bottle features disposable cartridges that offer three-stage purification, using HaloSource's patented HaloPure® water purification technology to kill more than 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria, including E. coli and Norovirus.

Biznustek Industries such as electroplating, vibratory grinding, matching, spray painting, etc gener-

Halosource Halosource has launched Astrea, its first consumer-facing brand, to the Indian market. It has been selling its patented HaloPure disinfection technology to consumer product companies such as Eureka Forbes in India since 2007.

EXPRESS WATER

posed-off safely.

Biznustek Systems’ innovative AKVAZEN 40L Zero Liquid Discharge System treats the process water to obtain fresh/ clear/ distilled water which can be reused in the industrial process, thus lowering the cost of fresh/ clear/ distilled water replenishment.

Endress+Hauser Endress+Hauser now offers Heartbeat Technology with its Liquiline CM44 and CM44R transmitters for use with Memosens pH and conductivity sensors.

Heartbeat Diagnostics’ continuous analysis of transmitter/sensor system health status during operation

enables recognition of related events when they occur.

Heartbeat Diagnostics follows the NE-107 standardized NAMUR-compliant message structure for categorized event severity level with clear remedy instructions provided for operations or maintenance.

Heartbeat Monitoring minimizes the probability of a sudden breakdown or failure of the measurement point and helps define when maintenance may be needed.

Verification results are provided via an audit safe report automatically generated by the transmitter. The report is saved in PDF format and can be preserved on an SD card for transfer to a computer.

These reports can be used for regulatory, quality or safety documentation.

Sensorex ate enormous process wastewater which needs to be dis-

Bentley

To meet conductivity control needs in online water quality and process applications, Sensorex has introduced the Sensorex SensoPro Toroidal

Bentley Systems has announced new capabilities for OpenUtilities for owners and operators of utility infrastructure. These capabilities will better support global utilities seeking to incorporate renewable energy sources and provide new opportunities for deployment as a cloud service.

The incorporation of sisNET capabilities builds on Bentley’s leading OpenUtilities solution, which provides utility-specific geospatial network management integrated with Bentley’s mapping and engineering design applications. OpenUtilities will interoperate with enterprise asset management (EAM) systems through a

Conductivity Monitoring System. The system combines a Sensorex TCS3020 probe, capable of reliable conductivity measurements in even the harshest of environments, with the company’s new EX2000RS transmitter, featuring Modbus communica-

tion for robust system integration.

Monitoring with SensoPro can prevent scaling and corrosion, reduce excessive water usage, and optimize processes in a range of applications including cooling

connected data environment to ensure utilities can leverage their network and engineering information throughout their operational workflows.

Vonnie Smith, VP of Utility Asset Performance, Bentley Systems, said, “We are very excited about the possibilities these new capabilities introduce for our users as they strive to excel in a changing marketplace.

Bentley OpenUtilities enables utilities around the world to align their engineering and design processes and deliverables to exceed required engineering accuracy, to implement best practice mapping and geospatial standards, and to streamline operational workflows.”

tower water control, wastewater treatment, brine analysis, desalination, chemical processing,, etc.

The TCS3020 probe used in SensoPro system measures conductivity using toroidal sensing technology, which is more stable and reliable compared to traditional contacting conductivity sensors.

Sensorex’s SensoPro Toroidal Conductivity Monitoring System is backed by a oneyear limited warranty.

This system, as whole, features a conductivity measuring range of 0.0 μS/cm-2000 mS/cm, percent concentration measurements for NaCl, HCI, HNO3, NaOH, H2SO4, H3PO4, and automatic or manual temperature control. The result is a reliable conductivity and concentration monitoring system, in one simple package.

February, 2018

15

PRODUCTS both companies now will focus on all markets with joint resources.

CST Wastewater

IDEC Berson & Hanovia Berson and Hanovia have jointly launched a new lowpressure UV disinfection system for the treatment of municipal, re-use and wastewater. The easy-to-install AmaLine R UV range has been third-party validated, in line with US EPA and NWRI guidelines. It provides effective treatment while reducing lifecycle costs through being simple to maintain and extremely energy efficient.

Unlike other similar systems, the AmaLine has been designed to simplify maintenance, which can be performed by a single operator rather than a crew, and without requiring external lifting equipment.

The AmaLine range is application-optimized in terms of its design and operation, with a flow range of 1-30 MGD (millions of gallons per day). The AmaLine R has a U-shaped chamber that optimizes flow to cater for low UV light transmittance (UVT) water quality.

This makes it ideal for re-use and wastewater applications.

Also available is the AmaLine D range, designed specifically for municipal drinking water, which has a coaxial flow Lshaped chamber, and optimises flow to deliver the most effective disinfection for drinking water applications.

AmaLine has been designed using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. A highly efficient chamber and optimized lamp positioning ensure maximum energy efficiency. Optimum distribution of UV intensity throughout the chamber provides effective water treatment.

Where Berson has been focused on the municipal market and Hanovia on industrial,

16

February, 2018

IDEC Corporation announces the release of its WindEDIT Lite app for iOS and Android devices, providing two-way access to its family of MicroSmart FC6A PLCs. The app provides much quicker, simpler and easier connection as compared to browser-based access.

With the WindEDIT Lite app, users can monitor any PLC parameter, and change set points and other values. Data register, input, output, timer and counter values can be monitored and controlled using the standard Dialog Interface. The WindEDIT Lite app also has a custom Dialog Interface which the user can configure to allow only certain PLC parameters to be monitored and controlled.

Trending is supported by the app, with users able to plot multiple register points for graphical views.

The WindEDIT Lite app runs on any iOS or Android mobile device, typically a smartphone or tablet. Once the app is downloaded to the device, it interfaces to the MicroSmart FC6A PLC via wireless Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Ethernet for two-way local or remote access. Bluetooth is an ideal solution for local, limitedrange connections where an Ethernet network may not be available, such as within an industrial plant or facility. WiFi has more range and can be used for communications over longer distances.

The WindEDIT Lite App is available for free download in the Apple App Store or at Google Play.

Sensorex The new SensoLab benchtop meter series from Sensorex offers researchers a complete sensing system with its pH/ORP/conductivity meters and kits. The new PM1000 and CM1000 meters pair with Sensorex’s laboratory sensors, which include basic, advanced and research-grade options to maximize measurement accuracy and sensor lifetime in applications from hydroponics to biomedical and pharmaceutical research. Configurable kits simplify the product selection process.

The SensoLab meters provide accurate, reliable measurement. An intuitive interface guides users through set up, calibration and measurement, with easy-to-read prompts and results displayed on its integrated screen.

A small footprint saves valuable desktop space. The meters can be powered either by the included AC adapter or with AA batteries to eliminate cords.

The SensoLab PM1000 pH/ORP meter covers the range -2.00 to 16.00 pH with +/- 0.01 pH accuracy and 1999.9 to 1999.9 mV with +/0.05%FS accuracy for ORP. Its optional AUTOLOCK feature ensures repeatable and reliable pH and mV measurements. The SensoLab CM1000 TDS meter analyzes conductivity or total dissolved solids in samples, and works with probes across four different cell constants.

Its intelligent auto-ranging capability automatically selects the best conductivity measurement unit based on the sample type.

Sensorex’s SensoLab kits provide ready-to-use options, packaging the SensoLab meter with a choice of four

A clog-free automatic liquidto-solid waste KDS Separator is introduced by CST Wastewater Solutions for industrial and municipal wastewater applications such as remote and environmentally sensitive mining, energy and oil and gas worksites and far-flung communities.

The compact KDS multi-disc roller separator - which is being used on pristine Lord Howe Island, 600 km off Australia’s East Coast, for example - features a unique self-cleaning dewatering and conveying system with oval plate separation and transfer structure that prevents

sensors and a set of three color-coded buffer solutions.

An optional electrode stand can be added for hands-free and continuous measurement.

Mueller Mueller Water Products has introduced the Singer 106/206 PGM-2PR-630-SM Pressure Management Valves with Integral Backup. Designed for applications where failure is not an option, this valve hydraulically manages pres-

clogging and permits automatic continuous operation that handles oily and fibrous material with ease.

The two-stage system on Lord Howe uses a combination of coarse and fine screening and advanced KDS dry compaction technology to produce a more hygienic and more compact output that is easy to handle and transport.

Applications, for which the separator is designed, include: food processing waste, including canteen, kitchen and community waste, raw wastewater (primary screening) sewage treatment, including raw wastewater (primary screening) and sludge to landfill. It can also be used to process barrel polishing water, water-based paint wastewater, grease trap waste, dyeing wastewater, waste oil, and plastic recycling.

sure around the clock to reduce water loss, save money and prevent unwanted pressure spikes that contribute to premature pipe failure. Built on the Singer 106PGM or 206PGM main valve, a simple field retrofit is possible using the paddle style orifice plate.

Here’s how it works: The valve switches between high and low-pressure pilots based on flow rate. The pressure reducing pilots independently adjust to suit the optimal downstream pressure. The valve requires no electrical power or independent flow signal, as it takes its flow signal from an orifice plate installed on the valve inlet. The integral backup system protects against diaphragm or pilot failure, reducing the need for immediate service.

The valve is available in sizes 4-12 inches (DN100-DN300) with a minimum pressure at the valve inlet of 29 PSI (200kPa/2 barg).

EXPRESS WATER

COVER STORY

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER

February, 2018

17

COVER STORY

554 Million Asians Do Not Have Access to Safe Drinking Water Benedito Braga is the President of the World Water Council (WWC).

He is the Secretary for Sanitation and Water Resources for the state of Sao Paulo and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Escola Politecnica of University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil. He is the author of 25 books and chapters of books, and more than 200 scientific articles. He is also the recipient of 2002 Crystal Drop Award, given by International Water Resources Association (IWRA) in recognition for his lifetime achievements in the area of water resources management. In 2009, Prof. Braga was awarded the honorary membership of American Water Resources Association (AWRA) for his eminence in the field of water resources. Mayur Sharma talked to him about the upcoming World Water Day (22 March) and other issues like Cape Town going to be the first major city in the world to run out of the water.

How will you define the theme of World Water Day 2018 - ‘Nature for Water’ for our readers?

Benedito: The theme of this year’s World Water Day ‘Nature for Water’ explores how we can use nature to

18

February, 2018

overcome the water challenges of the 21st century. The water-related crises we see around the world, like floods, drought and water pollution, are all exacerbated by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers, and lakes.

How do you think the world leaders can help in promoting the concept of nature for water?

Benedito: The World Water Council strives for governments to focus on water issues and encourages them to

contribute a relevant part of their budgets to projects, whether it be built or green infrastructure, that make safe water available to all on the planet.

What are the ‘water chal-

lenges’ of the 21st century in your opinion? How can we use nature to overcome them? Can we practically reduce floods, droughts and water pollution by using the solutions from nature?

Benedito: The ‘water chal-

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER lenges’ of the 21st century include: • Push for the availability by 2030 of safe, clean and reliable drinking water and access to sanitation for all, in line with the SDGs - currently, 1.8 billion people around the world use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene cause around 842,000 deaths each year (WHO/UNICEF 2014/WHO 2014).

• Help increase water security at large - there is an absolute necessity to increase water security - in other words ensuring enough good quality water to sustain multiple needs, including those for ecosystems. This is needed to overcome the challenges brought on by climate change and human influence. This can be achieved by strengthening institutions, increasing financing, and reinforcing capacity to develop adequate infrastructure and resource management.

• Population growth, migration towards urban areas (most of which are in the coastal regions), and climate change are all pressures that will be increasingly encountered in the 21st century.

• Solutions from nature include planting trees, replenishing forests, reconnecting the river to floodplains and restoring wetlands. These are sustainable and cost-effective measures that can be used to rebalance the water cycle, which in turn would help reduce floods and droughts and so reducing the effects of climate change.

The media has largely been focused on Cape Town going to be the first major city in the world to run out of the water by this April.

As the ‘Day Zero’ looms on

EXPRESS WATER

Cape Town, what are your thoughts on it? Can other world cities avoid a similar situation?

Benedito: Even though this is an unfortunate crisis, it has increased awareness about the global water shortage.

At least 11 other cities have experienced or are experiencing problems related to the water supply - Sao Paulo, London, Tokyo, Bangalore, Beijing, Cairo, Jakarta, Moscow, Istanbul, Mexico City, and Miami.

According to Eco Business, three steps can be taken by cities around the world, to avoid being in a similar situation as Cape Town, and to boost water security and resilience. The first step is to understand the risk - each city has their own unique risk, and must carefully measure and forecast climate change, population growth and competing demands on their water systems. The second step is to manage their water budget city planners and water utilities need to be proactive in creating and implementing integrated urban water management strategies. These strategies would consider all water-related issues such as drinking water, wastewater, and urban drainage, as well as energy, food and industrial needs. The final step is to invest more in resilience.

Cities must become more prepared for the unexpected, for example, by identifying opportunities to build and develop water storage and ways to treat and reuse wastewater, while also investing in water efficiency and natural infrastructure for protection.

Can you provide us with a few examples of successful implementations of nature-based solutions for water management?

Benedito: World Water Council member, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines nature-based solutions as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified

ecosystems, which address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.”

An example of a successful implementation of a naturebased solution for water management would be Rwanda: Forest Landscape Restoration as a national priority. Rwanda made a pledge to restore two million hectares of degraded and deforested land, in order to “improve ecosystem quality and resilience, provide new opportunities for rural livelihoods, while securing adequate water and energy supplies and supporting low carbon economic development” (Ministry of National Resources, 2014, p. 1).

The COP23 Side Event: Nature-based solutions for water and adaptation to climate change centered on the role of nature-based solution for water and adaptation to climate change focusing on the inter-linkages of water, biodiversity and climate change.

Asia-Pacific region is home to nearly two-thirds of the global population but only uses one-third of the world’s water resources. This is a serious concern. How can it be addressed?

Benedito: 554 million Asians do not have access to safe drinking water.

Unfortunately, the AsiaPacific region faces many threats to water resources, including poor access to water and sanitation, limited water availability, deteriorating water quality, and increased exposure to climate change and water-related disasters.

To be able to address these issues and concerns, it is important to raise awareness and improve water resources management, and focus on the sustainable development of this, as well.

China, for example, is now focusing on their issue of water pollution within the country and is taking increased measures to improve the quality of their

water. With the implementation of the State Council’s Water Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in April 2015, the Plan states that by 2020, 70% of the water in the major watersheds and 93% of the drinking water sources in major cities are to meet Grade III or higher standards. If countries in the AsiaPacific region introduce plans such as China’s, they may be able to improve their water resources management and overcome this concern.

As per a release by World Water Council (WWC), there will be a 50% increase in the demand for energy & water by 2030. As this will require three times the current level of capital investment in water infrastructure, how will it impact the economy and water cycle?

Benedito: With the rise in water demand and its limited availability, efficiency, recycling, and reuse will become much more important.

Innovative technical solutions will offer better and cheaper solutions that drive global water security.

How do you see the role of World Water Council in the evolution of water awareness?

Benedito: The World Water Council has a very important role in the evolution of water awareness.

Global events such as the World Water Forum and World Water Day are fundamental to raising water awareness in different parts of the globe. The WWC drives

many different initiatives, for example on #ClimateIsWater or on Integrated Water Resources Management.

These all help in raising awareness for specific waterrelated issues.

How does the World Water Council influence policymaking, as it would be an integral part of the shift in how countries see and use their water resources?

Benedito: The World Water Council has around 300 member organizations from more than 50 different countries. Through events such as the World Water Forum, we are able to bring together heads of state, ministers, mayors, parliamentarians, highlevel decision makers, water experts and professionals and not only raise awareness about water-related issues, but also influence policy-making and catalyze collective action to support the cause.

Finally, what would you say is the one most important thing for the world to consider on World Water Day? Benedito: Since water is a common good, taking care of our water resources is, therefore, the shared responsibility of everyone on the planet. If actions are taken sooner rather than later and decisionmakers invest in water security, communities may be better prepared to deal with crises, such as the Cape Town drought, and costs can actually be averted. These actions, including the introduction of nature-based solutions, can be used to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century.

The World's Cities by 2030 • More than 40% of the world’s population will live in river basins under severe water stress.

• 50% increase in demand for energy and water, requires a water infrastructure capital investment, 3 times the current level.

• 20% of the population will be at risk from floods.

• 60% of urban settlements remain to be built.

• 2 million people will have migrated to cities, placing unprecedented pressure on infrastructure and resources, particularly those related to water.

(Source: World Water Council)

February, 2018

19

COVER STORY

Urban Wetland Systems: Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Water Management As cities expand and become densely populated, there is a respectively growing demand for improved sanitary and ecological conditions and a more intelligent way to exploit urban space.

By Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE (GI) is today a modern approach to the urban environment and an attractive alternative to traditional infrastructure made of concrete (often called grey infrastructure).

GI initially referred to open urban green areas, usually connected to each other to provide various services and/or to create a new ecosystem. Typical applications of GI solutions are the urban runoff and stormwater management, reducing the effects of urban heat islands, improving air quality etc.

However, the content of that term has been expanded to include, e.g., provision of ecosystem services, the creation of new wildlife habitat and reduction of greenhouse

20

February, 2018

gas emissions. GI represents today a wide set of solutions aimed at increasing the resilience of urban environments to deal with the increasing risks that modern cities face due to the frequent appearance and intensity of extreme events. Today, it is realized that ecosystem services, i.e., all services and goods that nature provides to humans, represent a tremendous value, which should not be neglected. Thus, GI is strongly related to sustainability.

Rapid urbanization and continuous expansion of modern cities are only a few of the challenges that local authorities and governments face related to urban runoff and stormwater management.

Current problems have to do with the aging of existing infrastructure, shifts in precipitation patterns with more frequent and intense storm events, watershed deforestation, degradation of natural wetlands, extensive use of impervious surfaces (e.g., roadways, parking lots) that result in urban floods and pollution of water sources. As climate change is expected to further enhance these phenomena, adoption of GI could make a more beneficial use of the multiple ecosystems services and could help in impact mitigation. As cities expand and become densely populated, there is a respectively growing demand for improved sanitary and ecological conditions and a more intelligent

way to exploit urban space.

One of the main fields where GI can play an important role is water management, mainly stormwater management and wastewater treatment services.

Stormwater runoff management is a major issue in modern cities. Often, stormwater contributes to combined sewer overflow in cities, where domestic/ municipal wastewater, urban runoff, and stormwater are collected in the same pipe network that routes the collected volume to an end-of-the-pipe centralized wastewater treatment plant.

The occurring overflow volume can be higher than the capacity of the treatment plants, which means that the excess wastewater volume is discharged into surface water bodies (streams, rivers, lakes or see) to avoid overloading of the existing treatment plants and creates flood incidents in urban areas. Another consequence is further contamination of surface waters and damage of the receiving ecosystem, considering that during flood events water from the first flush of roads and concrete surfaces, sewer washout and sanitary wastewater carries high loads of organics, nutrients, and sus-

pended solids. Management of this water volume is important to prevent any damages to public infrastructure and private properties and to protect human health and the health status of the ecosystems.

Another example where GI can be beneficial is wastewater treatment within the urban and peri-urban environment. The established solution today is the centralized approach, i.e., the implementation of large end-of-the-pipe centralized treatment plants using conventional wastewater treatment technologies.

However, these facilities are not environmentally friendly since they are heavy installations made of non-renewable materials (e.g., concrete, steel), consume large amounts of energy and have high operational and maintenance costs. In the urban environment, installing a conventional wastewater treatment plant usually downgrades the surrounding area as it is not a place where people want to live. Hence, an alternative ecofriendly solution, what would combine effective treatment with added ecological values, is desirable.

It is clear that there is the necessity for new infrastruc-

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER

ture that will meet the requirements for effective treatment and sanitation of the generated water streams and, at the same time, create green spaces in the urban environment, which could also partially compensate the lack of sufficient green areas. The eco-friendly technology of Constructed Wetlands (CWs) is an attractive solution with added values to ecosystem services. It is known that wetlands are able to remove and/or transform various pollutants (organics, nutrients, trace elements, etc.) through a series of natural, biological, and chemical processes, and therefore improving water quality. Human-made wetland ecosystems exploit these purifying functions of natural wetlands, which have been used for the disposal and treatment of secondary and tertiary wastewater effluents for many years. Nowadays, the use of natural wetlands for treatment purposes is not allowed, since this could cause irreversible damage. The basic concept of CWs is to replicate the various wetland processes under controlled conditions for a beneficial outcome. This means that CWs are designed in such a way to mimic and enhance the functions of natural wetlands. Although CWs offer in general the same values and functions with natural wetlands, they appear as a more ecologically endowed system. It has been shown that CWs possess a higher value in terms of flood and stormwater control, water quality improvement and biodiversity restoration. Their nature makes them more easily adopted and integrated into the built environment by urban planners, engineers,

EXPRESS WATER

and landscape architects. The main functions of CWs are flood protection, water storage, and water quality improvement.

In the urban context, wetland technology applications are rare, mainly due to space limitations. However, continuous research and state-of-theart designs developed over the last 10-15 years gradually close this gap between land availability and area demand. The wider use of decentralized systems offers a better management option for the generated volumes and minimizes the required quantity and size of centralized facilities. Use of constructed wetlands in urban suburbs, for example, is today feasible. In suburban areas, the land is usually cheaper, the population density is smaller and the building volumes are not that massive as in the main urban areas.

The technical developments and improvements in constructed wetland design make it easier to adopt this treatment solution, even in areas with relatively limited available space. Intensified CW systems, e.g., aerated wetlands where artificial aeration is applied to further improve the oxygen availability in the bed, are an example. The increased treatment capacity of these systems is translated to reduced area demands, while the amount of energy required for the air blowers is minimum and can be covered by renewable energy sources, e.g., solar or wind energy.

Hence, there is the strong potential of using of wetland technology in suburban and urban areas.

Innovative ideas can also be applied for the successful integration of CWs in the

urban environment, e.g., the use of wetlands as green roofs.

The concept deals with the construction of roofs with a vegetated surface. Studies have shown that this practice can regulate the temperature inside the building, reduce the urban heat-island effects, and act as a carbon sink while providing a range of ecological services.

In urban and suburban areas, the lower infiltration rate, the limited evapotranspiration due to the extended land coverage with building infrastructure, roads etc. and the limited green spaces result in significantly higher runoff volumes, up to 50% higher compared to natural land. For example, it has been estimated that 1 acre of parking lot generates 16 times higher stormwater volume than 1 acre of meadow. The modern approach of building GI takes into consideration multiple issues such as water quality improvement, resources protection, flow volume control and cost-effective long-term operation and maintenance.

CWs are increasingly viewed as an ecological solution to the management of stormwater and CSO providing a series of advantages, such as reduction in runoff volumes, peak flows and duration, protection of downstream water resources, reducing the risk of flooding, water quality improvement, increase of runoff infiltration, creation of wildlife habitat and options for recreation activities.

Overall, the use of Constructed Wetlands in urban and peri-urban areas can offer multiple benefits and services to the residents. As a multi-purpose green technolo-

gy, they provide a new habitat for animals and plants, while treating water, improving water quality and reducing pollution. Given that these systems are dominated by dense clusters of reeds, they act as a cooling island, regulate the microclimate of the surrounding areas and moderate the strong winds. In this way, they act as aesthetically pleasant urban green spaces, which contribute to the wellbeing of the community and provide options for recreational activities. It is also known that the contact with green spaces in the urban context, supports the physical and psychological health. In this frame, Wetland technology represents a key solution for the increased resilience of modern cities to existing stressors regarding water and wastewater management.

Distribution of several CWs throughout a green infrastructure network allows the usage of treated effluents to create wetlands for habitat enhancement, irrigation, and open space uses. The main advantage of large constructed wetland systems for wastewater treatment is the significantly lower operating costs and external energy use. The economic value of the ecosystem services provided by CWs justifies their construction to realize the wide range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural benefits.

When connected to urban ecological corridors, the ecosystem services provided

by CWs promote the creation of large-scale multifunctional landscapes, altering this way the characteristics of urbanized development. Being one of the most productive habitats on the planet, Constructed Wetlands built for wastewater treatment or stormwater control offer a series of environmental and social benefits, enhance biodiversity and habitat, create corridors for wildlife and become part of the regional recreational network. Their integration in the urban environment supports a healthier ecological balance of existing

water streams by providing clean water while protecting downstream areas of the city from flooding. The provision of additional green space with aesthetic values is a way for the community to feel connected with nature and to increase psychological wellbeing. In summary, the multiple benefits of Constructed wetlands should be further exploited and realized in order to include these green systems in current and future urban plans.

About the Author

Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis is a Wetlands Expert at Bauer Resources GmbH. He has graduated from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece with the Diploma of Environmental Engineer in 2005. His Master in Science in 2007 focused on Hydraulic Engineering and the Environment. His Ph.D. (2011) focused on Ecological Engineering and Technology investigating several pilot constructed wetland units for wastewater treatment and sludge dewatering. His expertise lies in water engineering and specifically on natural waste treatment systems. He is an expert on sustainable and decentralized treatment systems, mainly Constructed Wetlands.

As an Environmental Engineer, he has designed, managed and constructed wastewater treatment facilities using Wetland Technology in many countries in Europe, Middle East, USA, and Africa.

Currently, Bauer Nimr LLC employs him, and he is based in Oman working on projects in the Middle East and around the world.

February, 2018

21

COVER STORY

Women Save Village byReviving Dying River

By The Art of Living pabilities

feminine strength.

The women too decided that it was time they took matters in their hands and came forward to work wholeheartedly for the cause.

Capacity Building Programs

Women Leaders Working for River Rejuvenation in Tamil Nadu

THE WOMEN OF Kammavaanpettai village have scripted an incredible tale of success.

This place in Tamil Nadu was a picture of misery with acute shortage of water, no agriculture and frustrated villagers.

The Naganadhi River in the village was facing major water problems for the last 15 years, and no efforts were being done to revive it. A large majority of the men there had given up all hope and had taken to drinking, making things worse.

The dire state of affairs in the village encouraged the Art of Living Water Projects team to do something for the villagers.

They decided to focus on the womenfolk in the area and urge them to work, and become living symbols of the

22

February, 2018

The Art of Living team started with conducting Rural Happiness courses - a selfempowerment and personal development program. It equipped the women with the necessary capacity tools to create success for themselves and inspire others to join them.

The program instilled in the women a newfound sense of confidence and dignity, and they then started to work to solve the water crisis in the village.

Empowered Women Begin Work Naganadhi rejuvenation needed cement rings that are placed at a depth of 20 feet in which the rainwater runoff collects.

The requirement created an opportunity for employment. The women decided to do the work themselves instead of procuring cement rings from outside. An idea was mooted to form a women self-help group under the MGNREGA scheme to produce cement rings on their own.

Under the employment generation scheme of the government, the women strived physically to achieve what had once seemed an impossible feat.

They started working to

During the Construction

revive the Naganadhi River.

They worked at all stages of the project - right from digging the wells, placing the cement rings, putting the stones to finally closing the well with a cement lid.

The women make around 2000 rings per month and it brings them a profit of 40 percent, which is equally shared among the members of the self-help groups.

Each group usually contains 5-6 women. There are four teams working on this project and a total of 85 people are now gainfully employed. The project is set to expand this fiscal year and the women are fully motivated to achieve more and achieve their targets.

Surprised at Their Own Ca-

Most women were apprehensive of the fact that they would have to dig such deep wells, but once they finished digging a well, they felt enthused to proceed further.

The women also feel a renewed sense of empowerment and inspiration to explore their capabilities. “We were asked to dig wells up to a depth of 20 feet. We didn’t believe we could do it. But, once we began, there was no stopping us till the job was done!” beams Anandi, a local village woman working for the project.

Chitra says, "When I stand back and observe what we have done - all we women - I feel proud of all the hard work done."

Geeta says, "I feel so responsible that we ourselves have come together, made groups of 10-15 ladies, got down to work and completed the task. Now we have abundant water, and all due to our own efforts.”

to do more and now want all the neighbouring villages to benefit. Also, now they not only have enough water to drink, but also have enough to irrigate the village.

Amsaveni says, “Now I do not have to ask my husband and wait for him to give me money to buy basic goods for the household, myself or my children. I can buy them on my own.”

Working for the river rejuvenation project has transformed the underprivileged wives, mothers and sisters of the region into self-dependent women.

The involvement in the projects has given the women in the region a sense of accomplishment, worth and motivation to be further involved in community initiatives. Having found their own footing, they can now move forward confidently to ignite the flame of inspiration in the hearts of other rural women, both in the region and throughout India.

Profits from the Small Scale Business This activity has not only helped in the rejuvenation project, but also made the women generate a substantial amount of profit and turn it into a small scale business.

This gave them a lot of confidence and made them selfreliant and able to stand on their feet.

The enthusiasm and the happiness of having accomplished a task shine on the faces of these simple rural folks.

They are now all enthused

Women Working in Kammavapettai Village

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER

Wastewater Treatment with Solar Detoxification Technology

By Dr. Mritunjay Chaubey

IN RECENT YEARS, it has been demonstrated that solar detoxification has great potential for the elimination of toxic elements, organic compounds and biological contamination in wastewater.

The solar detoxification is the process of treatment of wastewater in which catalyst titanium dioxide (TiO2) is exposed to the sun, the catalyst absorbs the high energy photons light from the UV portion of the solar spectrum and reactive chemicals known as hydroxyl radicals are formed. These radicals are powerful oxidizer and disinfectant.

cause oxidation of the surface absorbed specie while the electrons cause reduction. Both reactions must take place in order to maintain electroneutrality. Thus, if the objective is the oxidation of organics, the electrons must be consumed in a reduction reaction such as absorption by oxygen molecules to form superoxide, in order to keep the holes available for oxidation.

On the other hand, if the objective is the reduction and recovery of metals, all other reducible species such as oxygen must be eliminated or kept away.

The following equations describe the oxidation and reduction reactions:

For low solute concentrations, K2C is usually much smaller than one, which means the denominator in the L-H expression equal to one. This reduces the L-H expression to a pseudo-first order expression.

Ko = Experimental reaction rate constant I = Actual UV intensity at field Io = Experimental UV intensity (50 w/m2) A = Constant, 0.88

dC - ------ = K1 K2 C = KC--------- Eq. (1) dt

It has been investigated that the kinetic of solar detoxification process in wastewater treatment follows the first order reaction. The reaction rate constant play very important role in this reaction and it has been found that the reaction rate constant is different for different pollutants of wastewater.

The reaction rate constant is higher for killing of E-coli bacteria and minimum for COD reduction. It has been also investigated that the reaction rate constants for BOD and COD are high at tertiary stage of treatment in comparison of secondary stage treatment and hence the solar detoxification process will be most effective when used at tertiary stage of wastewater treatment.

Typically, the industrial wastewater pollutant levels are on the order of parts per million (ppm), which are low enough for the reaction rate to follow the pseudo first-order kinetics.

For the first order kinetic reaction, the reaction rate constant ‘K’ is calculated by using equation (1) as Cf ----- = e-kt Ci

Oxidation of Organics t = (ln Ci/Cf ) / K Reduction of Metals

ln(Ci/Cf) K = ------------------------ Eq. (2) t

Reaction Pathways The possible reaction pathways for solar detoxification mechanism are as follows: When a photon with an energy equal to or more than the band-gap of TiO2 is absorbed on its surface, it causes excitation of an electron from the valence band (vb) to the conduction band (cd), forming a “positive hole” in the valence band. Both the hole and the electron are highly energetic and hence highly reactive. The excited electron and the positive hole either re-combine and release heat, or migrate to the surface, where they can react with adsorbed molecules and either causes a reduction or oxidation of the adsorbate. Since recombination in the bulk or on the surface is the most common reaction, the quantum yields (molecules reacted/photons absorbed) of most photocatalytic reactions are low. The “positive holes”

EXPRESS WATER

Solar Detoxification Kinetic The rate of photocatalytic degradation of organic, biological and toxic elements depend on the several factors including catalyst concentration, oxygen concentration, pH, the presence of inorganic ions and the concentration of organic matters. Typically in many photo-assisted reactions, the effect of temperature is small.

To study the kinetics of solar detoxification Langmuir - Hinshelwood (LH) kinetics seem to describe many of the reactions fairly well. The rate of destruction is given by: dC K1 K2 C - ----- = --------------dt 1 + K2C Where, C = Bulk solute concentration K1 = Reaction rate constant K2 = Equilibrium adsorption constant t = Residence time

Where, K = Reaction rate constant Ci = Initial concentration of contaminant of wastewater Cf = Final concentration of contaminant of wastewater T = Residence time The reaction rate constant determined herein, is based on certain particular intensity of the UV radiation in laboratory. As we know that the intensity of the UV radiation cannot be controlled, therefore the experimentally determined reaction rate constant must be adjusted for the actual field UV intensity according to the following equation.

K I ---- = a ---------- Eq. (3) Ko Io Where, K = Actual reaction rate constant at the field

Application of Solar Detoxification Solar detoxification technology is capable of reducing organic, biological contamination. This technology is also effective in removing heavy metals & colour from wastewater. In a single reactor we can achieve reduction of organic impurities, biological impurities, heavy metals & colour from wastewater. Among several available fouling prevention technique of reverse osmosis systems, solar detoxification is the latest and advance technology for fouling prevention of reverse osmosis systems. In this technology chemical consumption is negligible and energy consumption is very less as compared to other conventional methods.

About the Author Dr. Mritunjay Chaubey is sustainability, environment, water & wastewater treatment technology expert.

He is currently working as Global Vice President Environment & Sustainability at UPL Limited.

February, 2018

23

COVER STORY

Water Management: APolicy Correction Water calls for a proactive and not reactive state policy with a primary aim to reduce its commoditization and make it equally and freely available.

By Ajitabh Sharma

Water - A Treasure Water is called ‘elixir of life’. The first life form on earth was created in water.

Under the basic scientific classification of solid, liquid and gaseous states of matter, water though falling in the liquid state has historically intrigued the scientific community for its widely studied

24

February, 2018

anomalous behaviour. It is this anomalous behaviour which makes water the only naturally occurring substance whose solid-form ice is less dense than its liquid form water, which makes ice float on water.

The water molecule consisting of two very light hydrogen atoms and a relatively

much heavier oxygen atom should consequently have made H2O a gas. Implying, water on earth should have existed mostly in form of vapour. The similarity of the water molecule is with the like-sized hydrogen sulphide (H2S), ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) which are all gases. Hydrogen Sulphide molecule despite being twice the weight of water molecule exists in gaseous state.

This unique characteristic of water is because of the V shape of the water molecule, and the hydrogen bond which is very weak when compared with the covalent bonds of the molecule. As a result, the whole H2O molecule, even after being electrically neutral, is polar in nature.

This formation of the water molecule makes it a unique substance in nature which provides it the perfect ‘stickiness’ to be the basic building block of life on earth.

The sticky nature of water enables it to dissolve most of the compounds within itself, which makes it possible to play the role of a medium of transport at the cellular level in living beings, and hence making it the foundation of the life support system. No other liquid carries this remarkable quality in such abundance like water does.Because of its very composition at the molecular level water can neither be destroyed nor created except under extreme laboratory

conditions requiring high energy interaction. It is astounding to learn that the water we daily drink, wash hands with, bath with, irrigate our farms with, extract from the wells, the snow, the ice and the rain which falls from the sky is many billions of years old. Only, it keeps changing its form in the hydrologic cycle.

Water is essential for all ecosystem services. Sixty percent of human body is water.

Human brain and heart both are seventy-three percent water. The energizer of life, the plasma which is about fifty percent blood is ninety-two percent water.

Despite the feats of advancement achieved in varied fields, food is yet not produced in lab. Human has to still grow food in the most primitive and only manner by culturing land, and least to say that needs water.

Such a treasure the water is.

Water - The Challenges Water has coexisted with nature since eons in harmony, and human has survived and evolved in this coexistence.

But, off-late this balance has been disturbed by the anthropogenic activities to a level that the impending water crisis has become a cause of serious concern.

The careless human actions have polluted our resources, emptied the aquifers some of which would take centuries to recharge, ran the rivers dry, shrunk the

lakes, destroyed the life-sustaining wetlands and killed the uncountable biodiversity.

We failed to understand water as a ‘resource’ and exploited it like any other natural resource without an integrated policy for its conservative and efficient use on sustainable basis.

Increasing global population is making this resource scarcer. The competing demands for drinking, agriculture, industrial, commercial and environmental requirements is putting immense pressure on this limited resource.

The burgeoning urban requirement, and sanitation and quality issues are coming to the fore aggressively. The trans-boundary water conflicts are increasing by the day in almost all regions of the world.

Finding solutions by allowing free market forces to determine the water prices, keeping in tandem the idea of water as a human right is becoming increasingly challenging. Attracting capital for new projects of the water utilities and retrofitting the old water infrastructure calls for innovative financial products.

In the changed scenario and the rising water conflicts, the existing regulatory regime in water sector has rendered itself insufficient and ineffective.

The scenario has become more critical because of the threat which the climate change poses on our water

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER resources. Hence, it is a high time we start deliberating and implementing the water management plan keeping all these aspects in perspective.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Water is intricately linked with environment, ecology, nature and human. In the era of anthropocene, human activity has severely impacted the manner in which the climate and the biophysical environment interact with the humans. Not only the water has been so far handled as an entity in seclusion from the whole ecosystem, but it has also been further broken down into silos like surface water, groundwater, rivers, lakes, glaciers, snow, ice, rain, sea and many others, to its peril.

Since the late twentieth century the direction of scientific research has been guided by the reductionist approach of breaking the research subject endlessly into smaller segments to study them in detail. This has made us specialists, but in some contexts it has unconsciously made our understanding of issues blinkered as well. We fail to appreciate the holistic perspective of many common natural phenomena. It is something like missing the wood for the trees. Waking up late to the most severe challenges of the twenty-first century like environmental degradation and climate change is, to some extent, a result of this reductionist approach only.

Water also didn’t remain immune to this approach of human development and scientific endeavours. And, this has landed us in a situation where water management has become an arduous task for sustainable survival of the present and the future generations.

Experts across the world after studying the theory and evaluating the practices of water management have concluded that the policy interventions based on Integrated Water Resources

EXPRESS WATER

Management (IWRM) concept are the vital need of the time.

The Dublin principles of 1992 recommended IWRM as a participatory planning and implementation protocol, the foundation of which lies on the framework of Social equity, Economic efficiency and Ecological sustainability.

IWRM tackles the water management and development issue taking into account how water interacts with land and its other biophysical environment of which human is an overpowering part. Role of community is at the helm of IWRM practices.

Water is a trans-disciplinary subject. It traverses the disciplines of engineering, sociology, polity, water economics, gender aspects as well issues like community participation. There are varied uses and users of water which makes it a multi-stakeholder subject too. To name a few- irrigation, drinking water for human and livestock, domestic requirements, industrial & commercial uses, ecological requirements and need for recreational purposes where water is an integral part of human life.

Various academic disciplines intersect with the water sector like, hydrology, hydrogeology, hydraulics, meteorology, geology, environmental sciences, ecology, oceanology, climatology, social science and many more.

Water appears in different forms on earth, like-rain and snowfall, ice peaks, in lakes and ponds, in flowing rivers, as groundwater, as moisture in soil and air, and last but not the least, within living organisms to sustain life. But, once it falls on earth’s surface, it moves in the hydrologic and hydrogeologic cycle, commonly known as water cycle. Most simple water cycle is from precipitation (rainfall) to surface water (lakes, ponds, water bodies and flowing rivers), to infiltration (groundwater), evapotranspiration, net baseflow from groundwater to river streams, and back to sea to restart the cycle.

Different users intercept water at different stages in the water cycle for their use.

As per the Global Water Partnership, “Integrated Water Resources Management is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems and the environment.”

The water resources policy of the nation needs to be endeavouring more for achieving this goal.

Unsplittable Surface and Groundwater IWRM is a vast subject to deal with. One important aspect is the role which the surface water and groundwater play in the overall water management plan, they being the major sources to obtain water for variety of uses. For the reason of limitation of space, only this particular aspect of IWRM is being discussed hereinafter in this article.

Any water management policy has to deal with each and every aspect of the water cycle by defining the water balance equation at every stage of flow of water in the ecosystem. Water balance equation is the dynamics of inflow and outflow of water into and out of a system. The most important is the understanding, that the surface water infiltrates into the ground to get stored as soil moisture, groundwater and return as base flow to the river streams, and also, when the water balance is tilted in the opposite, the stream water enters into the aquifer as the groundwater.

An isolated treatment of either the groundwater or the surface water will not yield to efficacious outcome of any water policy. Unfortunately in our country we are yet to see a regulatory framework dealing with both in an integrated manner.

Integrated surface and

groundwater management policy is essential as it is the common precipitation which changes its form as surface water or groundwater at different times in the water cycle.

Excessive drawl of groundwater from aquifer may impact the rivers run dry because of reduced base flow.

Consequently, this may adversely affect the water storage in dams and other water bodies downstream.

Also, the reduced surface flow will reduce the recharge of the groundwater aquifer.

Groundwater management is crucial for integrated planning. Of the total fresh water available on earth 68.7 percent is in form of ice caps and glaciers, 30.1 percent is groundwater and only remaining 1.2 percent is surface water and water in other forms. This breakup is self explicit as to why groundwater is of prime importance.

Over sixty percent of water requirement for irrigation in country is fulfilled by groundwater, and remaining is sourced from surface water.

The strong roots of food security are embedded in the sufficient availability of water for irrigation. Since the major area under irrigation is served by groundwater, the criminal pace at which it is being extracted will put the goal of food-security-for-all-citizens under jeopardy.

Sixty percent of rural and forty percent of urban drinking water needs are still met by groundwater.

Precipitation falling on earth traverses the watershed. Part of it gets collected in surface water bodies, and part infiltrates and recharges the aquifers. Some part of groundwater adds to the river streams as base flow, and the surplus falls into the sea.

Conjunctive water resource management of surface and groundwater necessitates the understanding of hydrology and hydraulics of the surface water, and hydrogeology of the groundwater aquifer systems.

Few important aspects are,

firstly, that the watershed on the surface and the aquifers under the ground do not necessarily overlap, and neither do they match with the administrative units like districts and blocks. Hence, it is essential for the policymakers to recast all programs and schemes for water conservation considering the watershed, which is a river basin at the macro level, and the spatial, temporal and hydrogeologic characteristics of the groundwater aquifer in perspective.

Secondly, the groundwater is a dynamic entity and is an integral part of the whole water ecosystem. It interacts with the surface water system whenever it spatially comes across a river stream, a lake or the sea. Over drawl of aquifers reduces the base flow and brings the river level down than the normal levels.

Infiltration of surface runoff into the aquifers depends on the nature of its geological formation. For example, in alluvial aquifer the water would infiltrate and travel fast as compared to the hard starata aquifer. Hence, the contribution of groundwater as base flow to the surface water streams is determined by the type of the aquifer.

For the government agencies it is necessary to appreciate that a water harvesting structure above a hard strata aquifer, in comparison to the one above the alluvial aquifer, will add less to the groundwater table through recharge and will lose more water as evaporation. Whereas, a water harvesting structure on an alluvial aquifer, if built close to the discharge points of a river stream, will lead to relatively faster percolation of water to join the river stream as base flow.

In both of the above cases the public money spent would not accrue the desired results.

So, the criterion of site selection for the water harvesting structures is not only the availability of surplus surface water, but also the characteristics of the aquifer. This is hardly followed in field.

February, 2018

25

COVER STORY Advance knowledge and data availability about the water balance equation should be an essential component for planning of any water project, small, medium or large.

Thirdly, groundwater extraction at greater depths is dependent on diesel or electricity charged pumps.

Declining water table is challenged by stronger pump capacities involving higher investment and enhanced operation charges, which slowly becomes out of reach of the small and marginal farmers. This causes further inequity in exercising of their right of groundwater usage.

To the contrary the surface water schemes which have topographical limitations to carry water should be more iniquitous than the groundwater which is a common pool resource and the aquifer is geographically more extended. The defective policy provisions and poor regulatory framework has led us to such a situation.

Fourthly, as explained earlier, in any country, there is a strong nexus between the groundwater extraction and the energy policy regarding energizing of pumps.

Fifthly, appropriate policy environment and regulatory framework with prudent management are must for more equitable use of water, and to combat the quality issues which have arisen from geogenic leaching by overdraw of groundwater.

Lastly, groundwater is an open-access common pool resource which is least regulated. The owner of the land is treated as the owner of the water below the land, this makes it open access. Over drawl by one person impacts the availability to the others, which makes it a common pool resource. This very nature has made the groundwater, as oftquoted, ‘the tragedy of the commons’.

Groundwater being an open-access common pool resource has led to it iniquitous distribution. Rich and powerful remain a step ahead and dig deeper to claim the

26

February, 2018

pool more and before the weaker ones.

This very nature mandates stricter regulatory mechanism with community participation for sustainable management of groundwater resource.

Irrigation Water Use Agriculture sector is the biggest and the most inefficient water user. The water transmission efficiency of large irrigation projects is sometimes as low as sixty percent. Major quantity is lost during the transfer of water from the storage dam to the field. On field water application efficiency is in the range of thirty to forty percent.

Water-logging and increasing salinity in cropped areas indicates the acute and criminal apathy towards the issue of efficient water application practices for cultivation.

Vision for conjunctive use of groundwater along with surface water for cultivation should be made abundantly clear in policy terms to obviate salinity situations in command areas.

Efforts are needed to transform agricultural practices, promote the use of treated sewage water and pressure irrigation, make pressure irrigation mandatory for all new medium and major irrigation projects, put in place a farmer participatory regulatory mechanism for prioritizing cropping pattern based on agro-climatic zones and the water account for the region.

Conservation, Efficiency and Reuse Measures The policy-makers have to appreciate the fine distinction between the conservation and efficiency interventions for all kinds of water uses. Using less water for shower is conserving water, and using low flow shower heads and faucets is an efficiency measure. Both interventions need extensive education and community sensitisation programs.

Countries like Australia and Israel are far ahead than most countries in conservation and

efficiency initiatives.

Reuse of treated water provides ample water for most non-drinking use in the sprawling urban areas. Use of onsite treated water for landscaping, toilet flushing, makeup water for cooling towers and irrigation is being now practised aggressively in many cities of EU, US and Australia. Many cities in these countries in last decade have brought down their water consumption up to forty to fifty percent. Proper regulations and sanitary codes are to be put in place to make these strategies acceptable in Indian cities also.

Water saved by conservation and efficiency measures is the extra water made available at a very less cost. A new dam costs 8500 times more than the investment in water conservation activities.

Eighty percent of urban water supply is for non-consumptive uses. Meaning, it can be reused after treatment.

Policy efforts are to be focussed for transforming the urban water supply from open loop to closed loop.

Prudent water pricing mechanism to enforce water conservation and its efficient use is the most critical aspect needing radical change in the policy environment. The block rate mechanism practiced in the developed world is a good model to emulate.

Conclusion The solution to the water crisis in the twenty-first century lies in IWRM approach with emphasis on groundwater and surface water management through community participation by creating an Institutional framework involving all stakeholders where government agencies have a limited and niche role of being a facilitator rather than a manager keeping command and control on the water resources.

Government agencies are to be sensitized to refrain from being hasty in evaluating the success of their water conservation programs and campaigns by merely counting the

Experts across the world after studying the theory and evaluating the practices of water management have concluded that the policy interventions based on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept are the vital need of the time. number of works completed, as water conservation is a complex subject involving multiple stakeholders and varied disciplines. Success of any program can be assessed and evaluated majorly on the basis of effectiveness of interventions on the water cycle, the impact on water balance equation, the manner in which the water from different portions of water accounts is being appropriated and used by different users, and its efficacy in making water availability more and more fair and equitable. Mere construction of water harvesting structures or diverting water from one place to another cannot be counted as a success of any water policy. Water is a natural resource and hence calls for a proactive and not reactive state policy with a primary aim to reduce its commoditization and make it equally and freely available to all sections of society both horizontally and vertically.

An overarching institutional and regulatory framework has to be created to cover all aspects related to groundwater and surface water as discussed above. Particularly incorporating more spatially and temporally distributed data for program formulation.

Extensive aquifer mapping program is needed, and the characteristics of dynamics of each aquifer has to be mapped to understand its behaviour towards the hydrologic and hydrogeologic cycle, so that the government projects and spending can be accordingly fine-tuned.

More attention needs to be

given in devising long-term plans for incentivizing conservation and efficiency measures in all sectors agriculture, domestic, industrial as well as commercial usage.

Support programs for industry are vital for promotion of innovative conservation and efficiency technology.

Human has to prove smart enough by creating an anthropogenic water use cycle taking cue from the nature’s hydrologic cycle for using same water again and again in a closed loop.

Last but not the least, water in all its form in the water cycle being an integral part of the ecosystem is essential for rendering of ecosystem services in a sustainable manner. The umbrella principles of maintaining minimum environmental flow in rivers and not discharging untreated water lower than the benchmarked standards into the environment are to be adhered with zero tolerance.

Lest the lines of the 1798 poem ‘The Rime of The Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ‘Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink…’ might become true on the land also.

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.

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER

EXPRESS WATER

February, 2018

27

COVER STORY

AClearer View The flow data will help steer recovery of Silver Springs - one of the largest artesian springs ever discovered.

By SonTek

Hydrographers with the St. John River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Geared up Quarterly for an Extensive Study of a Six-Mile Reach of Florida’s Silver River.

SINCE THE 1870S, the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs have provided millions of visitors a glimpse into primeval Florida, a world of buried caverns, bubbling springs and cruising alligators, manatees and long-nosed gar. Florida’s oldest tourist attraction, Silver Springs is one of the largest artesian springs ever discovered.

But the once-pristine springs and the Silver River that flows from them are

28

February, 2018

threatened by Florida’s growing population. Spring flows have declined due to a combination of climate, surface drainage alterations, and groundwater pumping. High levels of nitrates and other nutrients flow into the aquifer that feeds the springs from lawns, farms, septic systems, faulty sewers and urban runoff - background concentrations of nitrates in the river jumped 20-fold, from 0.05 mg/l to 1 mg/l, during a 50-

year study. Invasive plants, including hydrilla, have upset the ecological balance of the plant community. And algae, fueled by nutrient-enriched flows, coats native eelgrass and floats on the water’s surface, dulling the system’s sapphire glow.

Mitch Wainwright, a Hydrographer for the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) in Palatka, Florida, grew up visiting Silver

Springs. Now he is collecting data that will help inform restoration efforts for the springs.

“As a kid in the early ‘60s, I remember how clear it was,” Wainwright says. “I’ve seen a difference in my lifetime. It’s amazing.”

Go With the Flow Wainwright’s exploration of the springs goes far beyond childhood memories and casual observation. Over the past

two years, he has carefully measured velocity and flow eight times in a six-mile stretch of the Silver River, which connects Silver Springs to the Ocklawaha River, building a database of flow and vegetation characteristics that will help scientists understand the dynamics of the river and build a model to predict its behavior.

One of the biggest challenges in collecting data, he says, is the thick, submerged

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER

Mitch Wainwright of the St. John River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Figures He Paddled More 200 to 300 Miles While Measuring Depth, Flow and Velocity of a Six-Mile Reach of the Silver River in 2015 and 2016.

aquatic vegetation - some natural, some invasive - that grows in the river and can alter water movement.

“The vegetation can be a

couple of inches to four or five feet high,” Wainwright notes.

“It changes by the season, but there are times when it gets so thick you can’t paddle through

Using Four Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), the SJRWMD Team Gathered Extensive Data on the Height of Underwater Vegetation and the Flow of Water in the Silver River - Insight That will Help Managers Protect the Pollution-Prone System.

EXPRESS WATER

it. It can alter the velocity pattern and changes where the velocity is in the channel.”

Several years ago, during an extremely hot summer, the lower river surface was completely covered with vegetation. Wainwright and his colleagues were not able to document whether the thick mats of plants had dammed the river’s flow that season, but the situation alerted them to the need for an in-depth study of the physics and biology of the river. The timing was perfect: the SJRWMD was launching a comprehensive springs research effort with the University of Florida, and the State of Florida initiated significant funding to help implement restoration projects. Understanding the vegetation dynamics would be a critical step.

“The aquatic vegetation is a very good indicator of water quality,” Wainwright says.

“Seasonal changes are important due to the variation of sunlight and discharge patterns.”

Submerged aquatic vegetation does more than alter water flow—it also interferes with Wainwright’s ability to measure flow and velocity all the way to the bottom of the river.

“Basically, we’re getting a picture of the top of the canopy,” he explains.

Comparing canopy depth data with true-bottom read-

ings by divers and surveyors along four lateral transects in the river, analysts will be able to calculate the waxing and waning of the submerged veg-

Mysterious Foundations Silver Springs - a network of two dozen or more springs in central Florida - bubble up through central Florida’s Karst formations, limestone beds that have been carved by acidic groundwater and rain into baroque networks of caves, channels, domes, and tunnels. Channels in the matrix flow with underground rivers and provide quick conduits between surface water and shallow groundwater. As the domes collapse and sinkholes form, ancient paths are rerouted beneath the surface.

That makes flow studies incredibly complex and makes the once-pristine Silver Springs and Silver River system highly sensitive to pollution.

“The Karst geology is a great transporter of water from surrounding areas,” says Mitch Wainwright, the Hydrographer for the St. Johns River Water Management District. “The underground ‘rivers’ efficiently move water throughout the aquifer. Rainfall is a constant contributor, but it also has the effect of washing nutrients and other potential pollutants into the upper Floridian aquifer.”

In fact, that effect can take place much more quickly than scientists once assumed. Wainwright describes a dye test in the aquifer near Silver Springs to track the travel time of a marked sample of water through the landscape.

“It’s really quite amazing - they were expecting it to take six months, but it got there in two weeks,” he says. “It can move a lot faster than we thought.”

With that in mind, Wainwright and his colleagues at the district - and research collaborators at the University of Florida - are working to find ways to protect Silver Springs and the Silver River from nutrients and other pollutants that are coursing through hidden channels to threaten these unique ecosystems.

February, 2018

29

COVER STORY

Mitch Wainwright Designed a Lightweight PVC Linkage to Connect RiverSurveyor Hydroboards to Boats and Kayaks, Ensuring Reliable Positioning of the ADCPs in the Water. The Alligator in the Background Seems Impressed.

etation from season to season.

GPS-pinpointed permanent markers hammered into the riverbed provide fixed references for river bottom reading sites, with surveys providing bed angles and the slope of the bank. They also guide the divers and kayak-paddling hydrographers along the transect paths.

In total, Wainwright conducts 11 transects across the Silver River every three months to profile flow, velocity and canopy depth using RiverSurveyor M9 systems produced by SonTek, a Xylem brand. The RiverSurveyor systems are equipped with a hydroboard floating platform and a power and communications module that includes an integrated GPS system.

Wainwright and his team from the district also conduct 12 longitudinal transects every quarter, profiling flow, velocity, direction and canopy depth along a six-mile reach. The district uses four RiverSurveyors in the massive data-gathering effort.

Wainwright designed a lightweight PVC frame that attaches to each RiverSurveyor’s

30

February, 2018

hydroboard on one end and a kayak on the other, which allows a hydrographer to steer the instrument without interfering with how it floats.

User-Friendly Instruments Wainwright says the RiverSurveyor M9 - which uses nine transducers and multiple acoustic frequencies

to measure flow and velocity at depths of a few centimeters to 40 meters - is ideally suited for the complex bathymetry and dense forests that make

the Silver River a challenging place to profile.

“The RiverSurveyor has been extremely reliable during all conditions,” he says. “I

The M9 ADCP in the RiverSurveyor Switches Acoustic Frequencies Automatically to Provide Seamless, Accurate Data as Depth and Conditions Change.

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER water quality parameters and pollution to provide a deep look into this fascinating environment.”

Data Visualization

Data from 12 Longitudinal and 11 Latitudinal Transects of the Silver River Yields High-Resolution Data that Helps Hydrographers Visualize the Contours the River as well as Flow Velocity and Direction on a 6-Mile Reach. 3D Velocity Stream Traces Through a Portion of the River, Demonstrating Both Speed and Direction of the Flow Within Cubeit™ Software by WaterCube.

was especially amazed to see the integrated GPS system pick up numerous satellites through heavy tree canopies during the summer season.

With its multiple acoustic frequencies, the system will switch from measuring in shallow water to deep water automatically, and it autocon-

A Survey Line Plan (Top Left) in SonTek HydroSurveyor Software Guides SJRWMD Hydrographers with RiverSurveyor M9 Systems as They Paddle Florida’s Star Lake (Top Right) to Gather Highly Detailed Data on Water Depth, Flow, Direction and Velocity (Lower Left). HydroSurveyor Interpolates the Data to Yield Easy-to-Interpret Graphics (Bottom Right) from the Data.

EXPRESS WATER

figures in the field. Calibration takes five minutes - it’s a simple self-test.

“You can teach just about anyone how to operate the RiverSurveyor,” Wainwright adds. “You just need a very experienced ADP data collection technical person on hand to ensure that everybody’s collecting data properly.”

Wainwright says he uses the RiverSurveyors in tandem with a SonTek CastAway CTD, a baseball-sized conductivity, temperature and depth instrument that provides instant insight into salinity and temperature conditions that can impact acoustic signals.

SonTek product manager Isaac Jones says Wainwright and the SJRWMD team have tapped into the versatility and performance features of the RiverSurveyor M9 in a cluttered, complex environment.

“Mitch and his colleagues provide an amazingly detailed look at the characteristics of the channel - dominated by vegetation, logs and a maze of cypress tree roots - and their impacts on flow through the river,” Jones says. “They have

harnessed the capabilities of the RiverSurveyor’s SmartPulse system to automatically select the optimum frequency, ping rate and processing techniques to provide valuable data as the river’s depth and velocity change in a very challenging application.

Working in a heavily forested environment, they rely heavily on the RiverSurveyor telemetry and GPS package.

“The tool works well, but nothing works perfectly in an environment like this,” Jones adds. “Mitch and his team have overcome many obstacles through hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and collaboration with other experts. The insight they are providing on flow and detailed channel bottom features will complement the growing understanding of

The immense amount of data collected during the SJRWMD’s quarterly transects was processed through WaterCube, which combines data sets from multiple ADCPs and filters the data to yield highly accurate visualizations of the Silver River.

Wainwright and his team capture details in cells as small as two centimeters in area and velocity measurements accurate to 0.001 meters per second, providing WaterCube with high-definition (HD) data to create pinsharp graphics.

“WaterCube processing has been a giant plus,” Wainwright says. “They are able to screen out the questionable data that is generated from situations like side lobe interference, GPS multipath from dense tree canopy, and bottom-tracking issues when dealing with subsurface aquatic vegetation. For me to do that manually would take 10 years. And their 3-D and cross-section velocity visualization helps us explore the dataset rapidly.”

Ultimately, SJRWMD’s Silver River flow data will form the basis of a hydrodynamic model that will allow scientists to predict the flow of water. That insight will be combined with research currently being conducted by collaborators at the University of Florida on water quality, ecology and aquifer transport to provide a clearer view of the workings of the mysterious, complex and compellingly beautiful world of Florida’s spring-fed rivers.

Interpolated Bathymetry Along the Silver River Reach Showing CastAway CTD Cast Locations.

February, 2018

31

COVER STORY

Projects for Water Resources, River Development,and Ganga Rejuvenation: AReview

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari

Major Activities Under National Mission for Clean Ganga Under Namami Gange programme, a total of 187 projects worth Rs. 16565.34 crore have been sanctioned for various activities such as sewage infrastructure, ghats and crematoria development, riverfront development, river surface cleaning, institutional development, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, rural sanitation, and public participation.

93 projects out of 187 were sanctioned for the creation of 2205.08 MLD new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), rehabilitation of 564.3 MLD of existing STPs and laying/rehabilitation of 4762.4 km sewer network for abatement of pollution in river Ganga and Yamuna.

Within a year of reconstitution of NMCG as an Authority (October 07, 2016 to October 07, 2017), 44 projects worth Rs 7,547.87 crore were approved by the Executive Committee. These projects pertain to the creation of adequate sewage treatment capacities in Ganga basin States - Uttarakhand (17) Uttar Pradesh (10), Bihar (11) Jharkhand (1) West Bengal (3) and Delhi (2). Total STP capacity of 1402.26 MLD will be created with the approval of these projects and sewer network length of 1429.24 km will be laid down.

In a paradigm shift in sewage sector in the past

32

February, 2018

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). Other projects sanctioned under HAM are Naini, Jhusi, Phaphamau, Unnao, Shuklaganj and Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Digha, Kankarbagh and Bhagalpur in Bihar, Howrah, Bally and Tolly’s Nallah in Kolkata.

36 Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring Station (RTWQMS) are operational under Namami Gange programme.

For abatement of industrial pollution, the survey of all 1109 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) was conducted. Out of 1109 GPIs, 333 were closed and closure notices were given to non-complying GPIs. For River Front Development, works at 111 ghats and 46 crematoria are in progress and expected to be completed by 2018. For river surface cleaning, 11 trash skimmers have been deployed at Haridwar, Garh Mukhteshwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna, Sahibganj, Nabadwip, Kolkata, Delhi, and Mathura-Vrindavan.

On rural sanitation front, all 4464 villages on the bank of river Ganga have been made Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 12, 74, 421 Individual Household Toilets have been constructed.Five State Ganga Committees and 34 District Ganga Committees constituted for effective monitoring of projects and activities.

Six public outreach programmes were organised in five main stem Ganga basin States. They are Ganga Swachhta Pakhwada, Ganga Sankalp Divas, Ganga Nirikshan Yatra, Ganga Dusshera, Ganga Vriksharopan Saptah, and Swachhta Hi Seva Pakhwada.

The participation of corporates in Namami Gange programme grew stronger with successful completion of two road shows - London and Mumbai.

Commitments of participation in NMCG activities have been made by several corporates.

Projects have also been taken up for biodiversity conservation, conservation of fish and fisheries, Dolphin conservation, afforestation activities.

Countries like Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, and Israel have shown a keen interest in collaborating with the Indian government for river Ganga cleaning.

NMCG has signed an MoU with OISCA International, a leading NGO of Japan to collaborate in specific activities for pollution abatement and river rejuvenation.

Water Quality Monitoring: Based on water quality monitoring being carried out at 124 locations through manual as well as sensors based real-time system, it has been observed that water quality trend on tributaries of Ramganga river viz., Bahela, Dahela, Kosi and Ramganga itself before its confluence with Ganga has shown improvements during the last two years.

Water Resources & River Development Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been formulated amalgamating ongoing schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC). Under PMKSY, Ninety Nine (99) ongoing Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) Major/Medium projects along with their Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM) works having a potential of 76.03 lakh ha. and an estimated cost of Rs. 77595 cr. have been identified in consultation with States, for completion in phases up to December 2019. Funding mechanism through NABARD has been made by the Government for both central and state share for timely completion of 99 prioritized projects.

No. Item

1 2 3

AIBP (C.A.) Polavaram Project State Share from LTIF

Funds Released (Rs. In cr.)

2016-17 2017-18 3308 905.62 2514 979.36 3334 3318.85

Funds Released for AIBP Component During 2016-2017 & 2017-18 (up to December 05, 2017)

Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of three priority links have been completed viz. Ken-Betwa link project (KBLP) Phase-I and II, Damanganga-Pinjal link project and Par-Tapi-Narmada link project. Various Statutory Clearances have been obtained for KBLP Phase-I and the project report is ready for implementation. Union Minister WR, RD & GR has discussed KBLP Phase-I with Chief Ministers of U.P. and M.P. and MoU for water sharing and implemen-

EXPRESS WATER

NATURE FOR WATER tation is expected to be signed shortly.

Further, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has discussed Damanganga-Pinjal link and Par- Tapi-Narmada link projects with Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Maharashtra and shortly the MoU for water sharing is expected to be signed in this regard.

Since April 2017, the central assistance of approximately Rs. 150 crore has been released for Flood Management to the States.

Rs. 199.96 crore (Approx) Central assistance released to different states Since April 2017, under river Management Activities & Works related to Border Areas (RMBA).

Total CA released to state Govt. under SMI scheme was Rs. 232.879 crore during the period FY – 2017-18 (till date).

Total CA released to state Govt. under RRR scheme was Rs. 17.3026 crore during the period FY – 2017-18 (till date).

Rs. 155.92 crore released/expended to the States and central implementing agencies under NHP for the year 2017-18.

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project has been taken up with loan assistance from the World Bank for rehabilitation and improvement of about 223 dams in seven States (namely Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand) and Institutional Strengthening of Central Water Commission (CWC) and other Implementing Agencies.

DRIP was originally planned to be implemented over a period of six-years starting from April 18, 2012. The project has now been extended for two additional years with an extended completion date to be June 30, 2020.

National Hydrology Project (NHP) has been taken up with the assistance of World Bank with the total outlay of Rs.3679.7674 crore. NHP is a Central Sector Scheme, with 100% grant to the States

EXPRESS WATER

with World Bank Assistance to the tune of 50% of the project cost. It has pan India coverage with 49 Implementing Agencies (IAs) (including 10 from Central Government and 39 from States). The project has a total duration of eight years from 2016-17 to 2023-24.

The project objective of NHP is to improve the extent, quality, and accessibility of water resources information, decision support system for floods and basin level resource assessment/planning and to strengthen the capacity of targeted water resources professionals and management institutions in India.

NWM has focused on improving water use efficiency. During 2016-17, 21 Baseline Studies and during 2017-18, five baseline studies for improving water use efficiency for irrigation projects have been taken up in Major/Medium Irrigation projects located in Assam, Manipur, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Maharashtra.

The mediation efforts of Ministry of Water Resources, RD&GR have helped the states of J&K and Punjab reach an agreement under its aegis to resume works of Shahpur Kandi Dam project in Punjab/J&K. Both the Governments have ratified the agreement and construction of the project to be resumed shortly.

MI (Stats) Wing conducts quinquennial census of minor irrigation structures in the Country which throws light on important parameters like number of Minor Irrigation structure, type of lifting devices, source of energy, source of finance, Irrigation Potential Created, Irrigation Potential Utilized, Culturable command area etc. which have important bearing on policy formulation of irrigation Sector. 5th Minor irrigation Census has been completed with the reference year 2013-14 and the same has been put on the website of the Ministry in November 2017.

MoU Signed in 2017: IndiaNetherlands: A memorandum

of understanding between India and the Netherlands was signed on June 27, 2017 on cooperation in the field of Water Management by collaborating and sharing of experience and expertise in the areas mutually agreed upon, including technique in river basin management planning/ integrated water resources management, pollution abatement for river including river Ganga, decision support systems, delta managementwater safety including flood management along rivers, water management, water quality issues and wastewater recycling, and re-use through innovative concession arrangement.

The programme named National Aquifer Management (NAQUIM) for mapping of water-bearing aquifers has been planned with an aim to enhance the capacity of states in Ground Water Management and Development. Total targeted area for National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme was 8.89 lakh sq. km including 5.25 lakh sq.km prioritized area (during 201217) against 24 Lakh sq. km area identified for mapping in the country. By the end of March 2017, aquifer maps and management plans were developed for an area of 6.31 lakh sq. km. During April 2017 to October 2017, an additional area of 1.38 lakh sq. km has been covered under aquifer mapping and management plan taking the total coverage to 7.69 lakh sq. km, which is shared/would be shared with the respective State Governments agencies.

The two-day event ‘Jal Manthan-4’ was organized on July 28-29, 2017 at New Delhi by National Water Development Agency (NWDA) with the technical support of Central Water Commission.

The fifth edition of India Water Week was observed during October 10-14, 2017 New Delhi. It was inaugurated

by President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind. The theme for this year’s India Water

week was “Water and Energy for Inclusive Growth”. There was also an exhibition running in parallel supporting the theme and showcasing the technologies, latest developments, and solutions available for the areas in, water and energy.

Ministry of Water Resources, RD & GR has completely operationalized the eOffice. This Ministry has more than 90% electronic Files usage in eOffice and the percentage of Physical Files being used is less than 10% only. The MIS / Dashboard for monitoring the Physical and financial achievement of 99 projects under PMKSY has been developed and launched in public domain. The work done in the development of PMKSY Dashboard has been appreciated by Principal Secretary to PM as well.

Several measures have been adopted by this Ministry to increase the grievance disposal rate lodged on CPGRAMS Portal as well as received physically resulting in 98% disposal from 88% in previous year.

The following projects completed successfully by WAPCOS, MoWR, RD & GR:• Afghan-India Friendship Dam Project, Herat Province, Afghanistan Development of Six Irrigation Schemes in Champassack Province, Lao PDR. • Project Management for Augmentation of Water Supply Scheme in Dar-EsSalaam and Chalinze, Tanzania, Stung Tasal Dam Project, Cambodia.

• Preparation of Feasibility Report and Detailed Project Report on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment for Bhopal City.

• Project Management Consultancy for Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Project, Bhopal (World Bank Funded).

• Project Development and Management Consultant (PDMC) for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation including

Project Management of Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

Major Activities in 2017 by Peninsular River Wing In the year 2017 Dam Break Analysis works were conducted on 64 Dams for preparation of Inundation maps. Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) prepared by State IAs have been reviewed and commented upon by CPMU. Total of 109 NITs worth Rs. 600 Cr were issued since January 2017 and works of 145 packages worth Rs. 373 Cr were awarded till date. During this period, within a period of 11 months, an expenditure of Rs. 596 cr. was incurred.

One Dam Safety Conference was organized in Roorkee in which 466 delegate organizations showcased their products, technology, and services there.

Four Draft Guidelines on various aspects of dam safety have been prepared under the project and in the process of finalization.

Third Party Evaluation Study of DRIP scheme has been carried out by the IIT Roorkee.

Proposal for DRIP-II covering 684 dams of 18 States and two central agencies grossing to amount Rs. 9070 Crore prepared and sent to MoWR, RD & GR for in-principal approval.

Two special Dam Safety Review Panels have been constituted under DRIP for comprehensive dam safety review Kadana and Bheema and interim report submitted to MoWR, RD &GR. The project “Protection of Majuli island from flood and erosion” was approved by the MoWR, RD & GR for a value of Rs 237 crores. Out of the total amount, funding of Rs 207 crores has been provided

by DONER. Brahmaputra Board has awarded the work which is presently in progress.

The successful conclusion of this project will provide succor to Majuli, which is the largest river island in the world, from flood and erosion.

February, 2018

33

COVER STORY

Biological Treatment Plant in Russia - World's Largest Industrial FacilityUsing MBR & EDR Bashneft and SUEZ have put into operation a complex of biological treatment facilities with the world’s largest industrial Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) units.

By SUEZ

• Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim Biological Treatment Plant will treat up to 84 million liters of wastewater per day using SUEZ industrial wastewater treatment technology.

• The equipment is being serviced and maintained by SUEZ as part of a 15-year agreement.

• SUEZ remote monitoring and diagnostic solutions will help maximize the performance and lower operating costs.

Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim refinery, a Rosneft-affiliated company, has recently inaugurated its biological treatment plant, Bashneft key nature protection facility, which secured its spot as the world's largest industrial facility using Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Electrodialysis Reversal

34

February, 2018

(EDR) technologies.

The facilities, located in the Russian city of Ufa, will treat up to 84 million liters of wastewater per day, which makes them unprecedented for industrial wastewater treatment, employing the most advanced technologies and enabling water reuse.

SUEZ supplied its ZeeWeed MBR membranes, EDR and Reverse Osmosis (RO) equipment to the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim biological treatment plant and will provide services as part of a 15-year long-term service contract to ensure reliable operation of equipment and an uninterrupted guaranteed replacement of membranes.

The SUEZ MBR technology significantly improves treatment efficiency by passing water through microscop-

ic pores of membranes, removing impurities and microorganisms.

Further treatment is performed with SUEZ EDR, RO and ion exchange technologies to ensure treated wastewater compliance with the toughest discharge and reuse regulations and to minimize the waste streams disposal.

“Environmental care is an absolute priority for the company,” said Igor Sechin, the Chief Executive Officer of PJSC Rosneft. “We solve this problem at all stages of the production chain: from geological prospecting to processing and distribution. I believe that commissioning of a modern biological treatment plant - a large-scale environmental protection facility using the world best technologies for water treatment - will be a significant event not only for the company and the Republic of Bashkortostan but for the whole country.”

As part of the long-term service contract for the wastewater treatment plant, SUEZ is providing advanced asset performance management with its InSight platform.

InSight combines data and analytics to maximize performance, minimize unplanned downtime, lower

operating costs and deliver better business outcomes.

“This plant is a shining example of how advanced water treatment technologies, combined with superior service and system performance, serve the interests of society, the environment and business,” said Heiner Markhoff, the Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions. “This is a significant project for the country, the region, and the water industry, and we look forward to working for the next 15 years to help to optimize processes and meet water sustainability goals.”

With 90,000 people on the five continents, SUEZ is a world leader in smart and sustainable resource management. We provide water and waste management solutions

that enable cities and industries optimize their resource management and strengthen their environmental and economic performances, in line with regulatory standards. To meet increasing demands to overcome resource quality and scarcity challenges, SUEZ is fully engaged in the resource revolution.

With the full potential of digital technologies and innovative solutions, the Group recovers 17 million tons of waste a year, produces 3.9 million tons of secondary raw materials and 7 TWh of local renewable energy. It also secures water resources, delivering wastewater treatment services to 58 million people and reusing 882 million m3 of wastewater. SUEZ generated total revenues of 15.3 billion Euros in 2016.

EXPRESS WATER

OUT OF THE BOX

Do We KnowOur Water?

The larger public is made to believe that TDS (Total Dissolved Salts/Solids) is the most important (or dreaded) word today when it comes to checking water quality.

By Chandrasekaran J

Chandrasekaran J

SOUNDS LIKE A silly question to many, for both in the water industry as well as the users. Indeed not, as I understand and am trying to understand how w(h)at er(r) exists!

Having been in designing, development, and manufacturing for almost three decades, it was destiny which made me pursue heritage restoration. Since 2006, after settling in Chennai, I happened to be one of the founder members of REACH Foundation, which identifies and restores heritage buildings. Unfortunately for me, I think we opened a Pandora’s box! Later it dawned to me that more than 1.25 lakh heritage structures are lying in a ruined condition, mostly tem-

ples ranging from 1500 years old to 300 years old, all lying as bare testimony to the fact that our science and engineering is more complicated yet long-standing than anything the world knows.

But that’s not what I am going to write about, but the other startling revelation which happened while visiting these structures to document them is that most of them lie in villages, those villages which are devoid of two basic needs - Water and Sanitation.

The villagers, caring for us, would suggest that we buy a mineral water bottle or to book a room in an adjacent town or city where we can relieve ourselves during our morning hours, instead of going out in dark with an open bucket and open our loins!

This became the turning point in my life. The more I thought about water and sanitation and solutions thereof, the more intrigued and inquisitive I became! Having started making electricity free water purifiers since 2009, as a proprietary firm, later making it as Watsan Envirotech Private

The regular representative who sells water purifiers usually pulls out a pen which he declares as the TDS meter and thrusts it into the water in question and he will declare,“High TDS, more than 600, not good, so better use our blah, blah, blah...”and immediately fits an octopus like gadget.

36

February, 2018

Limited, which stands on these firm verticals of making water purifiers for the bottom of the pyramid and to make toilets, the quicker way without using sand, water and cement, I have learnt and unlearnt a lot on understanding water and still am yet to get the right answers. Hope elite and bright readers of this column, doctors, water specialists or any person who has a scientific temperament to look into things, ‘scientifically’ please clarify my doubts.

Let’s talk about water, again ‘potable’ water...

The regular representative who sells water purifiers usually pulls out a pen which he declares as the TDS meter and thrusts it into the water in question and he will declare, “High TDS, more than 600, not good, so better use our blah, blah, blah...” and immediately fits an octopus like gadget, with so many columns and wires and tubes which makes the terrified user almost be convinced that so complicated a water can only be ‘purified’ by this monstrous machine and he thanks his holy spirits for bringing this good Samaritan in.

After that starts the ordeal. Down the line, say after few months, the water again tastes bad, the water ‘machine’ guy re-appears, says that he can undertake an AMC (annual maintenance contract) and he can get rid of those anxious moments of the user and his watery blues! (All said and done but one might be not aware that his purse strings should loosen up so wide to maintain that maintenance costs!)

I was wondering, had I ever

tried to check the water I drank all these years, had I not come across this purifier or filtering machine? As a school boy, I used to run across the road end to hit upon the hand pump, and me being too small a size, used to literally fly up and down clinging on to the handle of the hand pump but hit it so many times that the water which gushes out of the spout is good enough to satiate my thirst, or just get drowned in a big pond where my swimmer friends used to throw me in and see me gasp for my breath and drink mouthful of water and become red eyed! Or for that reason on the road-side shops when my bus halts for Tiffin when I used to travel from Madurai to Madras (now Chennai) while studying Plastics? Never! Then what changed now?

Indiscriminate pumping of water through bore has brought all the metals and elements which have mixed with water creating complex salts and minerals which are hard to digest and create health hazards. But again, another question arises. The water looks almost clear and where are these unwanted elements, be it a salt or mineral, and out of those which are bad and which are good? As a science student in school, we were taught that many dissolved salts and minerals act as a trigger to build immunity and bone building which are dosed into our system only through the water as a medium, as they cannot be added as food supplements! What happened to those good salts and minerals? Why are they not there anymore or heard of? Or is it

that they exist and we forgot them?

The larger public is made to believe that TDS (Total Dissolved Salts/ Solids) is the most important (or dreaded) word today when it comes to checking water quality. The forced launch of innumerable Reverse Osmosis machines (RO machines, as they are popularly called) have made this word a mandatory quality oriented word, but sadly, I personally am not convinced of why TDS* should have any impact on the potability of water!

TDS is anything - other than the pure H2O - in water that you cannot see. This could include any salt, metal or mineral, no definition on what are the salts or minerals or metals which are detrimental to your health and at what levels. Why the parameter 500 ppm was fixed as a good count for TDS, by most of the standards, including our own BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), God knows! (Are may be the RO machine manufacturers’ know?)

Surprisingly I came across an article written by one of those authorities from the World Health Organization (WHO) which produced a report in 2004 titled “Health Risks from Drinking Demineralised Water”. In it, they state the following: “It has been adequately demonstrated that consuming water of low mineral content has a negative effect on homeostasis mechanisms, compromising the mineral and water metabolism in the body.”

Why would consuming water with a lower mineral content have a negative effect

EXPRESS WATER

The consumers or users should first understand what their water is, what is the contamination in it, if any. on our health?

The WHO article gives 5 points as detailed below: • Direct effects on the intestinal mucous membrane, metabolism and mineral homeostasis or other body functions.

• Little or no intake of calcium and magnesium from low-mineral water.

• Low intake of other essential elements and microelements.

• Loss of calcium, magnesium and other essential elements in prepared food.

• Possible increased dietary intake of toxic metals.

In simpler words: • It affects the body’s metabolism or regular functioning, • Basic minerals essential to our health are removed, • Minerals essential in food for its healthy ingredients and flavor is lost • The free radicals present reacts with the plumb lines and corrode iron, copper etc., creating another set of direct heavy metals passing through our system without our knowledge.

The irony or anomaly is that even though it is demineralized, this water from the RO machines is called as mineral water! Some mark it as ‘natural’ mineral water or ‘mineral enriched’ water! Iron in dissolved form in minuscule level and the permissible level is good for the fortification of our body but it cannot be added in mineral form as a supplement, as claimed by this ‘mineral enrichers’! First, I ask them, why remove and then why add? What is that you are removing and what is that you are adding?

Let’s take some easy examples. Suppose I run in our famous Chennai Marina beach and forgot to carry my water bottle. I gasp for breath due to thirst and am forced to

EXPRESS WATER

drink a gulp of sea water. High TDS, someone may warn me!

Not tedious, though, I would say, if not a single E.coli bacteria is present in the gulp, which could have entered through the faecal material that could come from the nearby fishermen slum!

Or the other extreme!

Another glassful of water, carefully filtered through an RO plant, with very less TDS as 20, bottled and delivered at your doorstep, is taken by your maidservant, with an unclean hand and a villainous bacteria, the same E.coli enters the water and to your system creating Diarrhea! So now tell me is TDS is harmful or that bacteria?

The real ingredients which cause diseases are of course, the pathogens, primarily E.coli, coli-form bacteria which dreadful bacteria, lead, iron, arsenic, fluoride, high phosphate, and nitrates.

Why should one ever talk about the total dissolved solids, and do we ever asked the question, how much of those solids or salts are good and how many are bad?

So naturally, we conclude that to have good water, primarily bacteria should be ridden off, which can be done using a porous medium which cannot allow the pathogens to pass through! Out of the metals, iron causes stomach ache, pain in the abdomen, rupture and also kidney failure. Most north-eastern states and Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka and West Bengal are affected with iron and unfortunately few states also with arsenic, a slow poison! Arsenic is also a carcinogenic agent, it is confirmed by all, and be it the primary health department, the water board or the doctors of that region. Major parts of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and

fewer districts of Tamilnadu are affected by high levels of Fluoride which causes fluorosis and or chalking or thinning of teeth and bones! Sadly, recent field test by us in Assam for arsenic and iron yielded new findings of Fluoride in many places, surprisingly in the main pockets of Guwahati itself. Many regions of North East are not even approachable by motorable road but there are reports of many parts having water contaminated with arsenic! No surprise that many hospitals in India have cancer patients mostly from North East, West Bengal or Bangladesh.

In India, no RO plants are required for most of the regions, as salinity is seen only in pockets of few regions, mostly close to the sea, in the Southern region. Statistics reveal that TDS is almost lesser than 500 in most places of the country, wherein only select contamination through bacteria or elements as described above are to be removed. So the easiest solution is microfiltration, which has multiple advantages. No electricity, no wastage of water, no replacement costs, hence more value for money, eventually the filtered water almost costs NIL as compared to the water sold through bottles and bubble tops by many big MNCs. Is water not a basic need, is it not the necessary commodity or consumable the Government should be giving free to all its citizens irrespective of their affordability?

Why is there an anomaly that the RO machines running to few lakhs in costs are also sold in the market and micro-filters, lower than a thousand of rupees exist? This cannot be compared to that of affordability or purchasing power of a consumer. The prices are a yo-yo but for style and comfort, like we do for an automobile, but drinking water is an essential need for all citizens.

Why discriminately deploy RO plants usurping so much of power, wasting water and dumping the high saline residue into our soil, thereby

making the groundwater more and more saline in days to come? To generate more sales of RO plants, through such tenders which almost describe any water filtration plant to be RO, in most of the Government tenders, to make more money for the greedy pockets?

Forget land, imagine the desalination plants running converting sea water to drinking water! The huge land is covered for the plant, which dumps all solid and liquid waste on earth, consumes hell a lot of energy and costs another bomb for maintenance and up keeping of the plant, finally dumping the most concentrated salt back into the sea! No wonder if after say 20 years the sea becomes dead-sea, making the place unfit for any marine biosphere or any marine life in and around the sea! We are creating more dead seas and another catastrophe in waiting to further kill the lives of many fishermen whose lives depends on marine life!

Simple affordable, electricity-free micro filters using nano-clay filters are good enough! They are tested to be in use for almost 6-7 years without changing candles or cartridges and can reach any last man/woman in the last mile of water affected area in the country. As it does not need electricity and is made standalone to cater each household, it can penetrate the bottom of pyramid easily.

Region-specific alleviations like removal of arsenic, fluoride, iron, high nitrates and phosphates (through fertilizers) and high lead or uranium, seen surprisingly in some parts of India, are seldom focussed by any big players in the filtration business and filters are not tailor-made to cater these people. We, at Watsan, are simply trying to do this. It would be a welcome sign if some experts throw light on what are all the solids in water which are by and large available in Indian waters, region wise, so that that could make us work towards making the perfect

filter for a given geography and not simply or blindly fall into the RO(GUE) trap!

To conclude, I would say the consumers or users should first understand what their water is, what is the contamination in it, if any, then decide upon buying what they feel fit and best to work in their specific region or geography. This can be done in testing the water in many of the primary health-centers or jal-board (water board) run by all State Governments, than blindly following the actresses or sports persons posing as doctors of water or experts in water! Pay good money, they may the next day disown that purifier or may be in their own homes drink water from their native Matka (earthen clay pot). What say? *According to Wikipedia, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is defined as “the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid that are present in a molecular, ionized or microgranular suspended form.” The article goes on to state that “total dissolved solids are differentiated from total suspended solids (TSS) in that the latter cannot pass through a sieve of two micrometers but are indefinitely suspended in solution.”

About the Author Chandrasekaran. J, often called as REACH Chandra or WATSAN Chandra is one of the founders of the Reach Foundation, through which they restore dilapidated temples using traditional methods and materials. Through this journey of documenting heritage structures, he happened to visit many villages where he found both water and sanitation lacking and hence started his social enterprise WATSAN which makes electricity free, maintenance free natural water purifiers and also turnkey solutions to make ready to fit toilets. He is a national consultant for UNIDO ICAMT, and has won two national awards for innovation, and is a life fellowship researcher in water, from the Royal Academy of Engineering, London.

February, 2018

37

OUT OF THE BOX

Drought-Proofing Australia…The Possible Dream?

Imagine a drought-proof Australia where we brought life back to country towns, provided farmers with water security, etc.

By Warwick Lorenz A FEW YEARS ago I picked up a book at a second-hand bookshop called “Australia Replanned”.

Thumbing through it I noted that it was written in 1944 and published in January 1945. What drew me to the book was a fold-out map of Australia that showed an inland sea in North East South Australia with rivers draining into it, fed from the northeast sectors of Northern Queensland.

The book was written by a gentleman writing under the name of Veritas. Veritas was a pseudonym for a journalist called Luscombe who also, as I recall as a kid, was writing for The Truth newspaper in Sydney.

The book is a call to arms, warning Australians that they need to get with it and do something with this wonderful huge country of ours. Here are the key points he makes:

Australia, he points out, is 2.9 million² miles with a population of 7 million. Of that 7 million approximately 1 million are in uniform or working 100% in the war effort.

Luscombe also points out that in the years of the 2nd World War we tripled the productivity of the country and of course asked the obvious question…. what next?

Our Opportunities

It should be pointed out that Luscombe wrote at a time when horse-drawn graders were not that uncommon and crawler dozers used cable controls to raise and lower tractor blades.

In spite of that, he dared to dream that the parched and

Luscombe points out that in 1944, the war is effectively over and that we need to start thinking about what to do with our country. He draws a parallel with the United States, a country of 3 million² miles and a population of 130 million.

38

February, 2018

The Dead Heart Luscombe, who of course was writing long before climate change, refers to the central regions of Australia as the ‘Dead Heart’. He points out that this was once fertile land covered with dense and luxurious vegetation, evidenced by the fossilized remains found in the Diamantina and Lake Eyre districts.

Why Not Build an Inland Sea that Becomes a Vast “Live Heart”?

EXPRESS WATER

cultural industries and to foster population growth is beyond dispute.

Why Bother?

Drought Proofing Australia Map

arid ‘Dead Heart’ of Australia could be brought to life.

The vision was an inland sea of approximately 50,000 m² miles. This sea would be fed by Northern and North Eastern rivers and the flood waters diverted back across

The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we ready to carry out projects like that in Australia? Ion Idriess, one of the great Australian writers of the 20th Century, used the slogan ‘Water is Life’in a number of his books. the Dividing Range to flow along the dry central river beds to the Inland Sea.

Let’s Examine This HareBrained Scheme?

In 1944 almost 90% of the total land area of Australia was put to very little use.

Those huge areas of land, mainly arid, barren and useless, needed water security.

The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we ready to carry out projects like that

EXPRESS WATER

in Australia? Ion Idriess, one of the great Australian writers of the 20th Century, used the slogan ‘Water is Life’ in a number of his books.

In Luscombe’s plan, an inland sea would be created and connected to the Great Southern Ocean by a canal from the head of Spencer Gulf via Lake Torrens. The canal would be up to half a mile wide by a depth of around 25 feet!

The bed of Lake Torrens might be excavated and locks and pumping stations would be required in order to provide the shipping passage similar to the Panama Canal.

Luscombe, of course, is writing at a time when the greatest civil engineering feats the world has seen were considered to be the Panama and Suez Canals.

He must have been conscious of the Hoover Dam, draining approximately 1000sq miles across 7 states and capturing up to 740 billion cubic feet of water from the Colorado River each year.

When you consider that the Hoover was built in around 4-5 years and think of the primitive equipment and methods used at the time, Luscombe’s plan, or something like it, seems absolutely achievable. Whether the drought proofing of the country or large sections of it, can be achieved with an inland sea is questionable in today’s world and with our 70 years of additional knowledge.

That water storage and water security are essential for the progress of our agri-

In a world where Australians appear to enjoy higher wages than just about anybody else on the planet, we are sitting on the biggest piece of an unused real estate in the world. It is also possibly the greatest opportunity to provide food resources for a growing world population. It seems that there is plenty of good reasons to provide farms and cities with water security.

From a political perspective, governments of either persuasion are and will be faced with financial challenges that must be addressed. The country clearly can’t rely purely on commodity prices to maintain our lifestyle, create employment or sustain our welfare programs. In other words, something has got to give.

Imagine a drought-proof Australia where we brought life back to country towns, provided farmers with water security, built processing plants to value-add raw product and at the same time provide the Greens with an environmental wonderland.

Dropping back to Luscombe’s dream, he saw forests throughout the center of Australia and he wasn’t even bothered about greenhouse gases.

Is There a Market for What We Produce?

When Luscombe wrote his book in 1944 the world population was three billion. Now we are seven billion and heading for ten so it’s highly likely there will be a market for top quality food and agricultural produce for at least the next thousand years.

The Prime Minister preaches jobs and growth.

Well here’s a package that will deliver both big time.

Okay, I have been talking this up with civil contractors, farmers, irrigation specialists, water well drillers and a whole wide range of folk to test the water. What I got in return

was astonishment that somebody had thought on this scale seventy years ago. I got excited at the possibility of a vision that would change the country forever. I got one hundred percent unqualified support of the vision.

Of course, the question everybody asks is “who is going to do it?”

Gina Rinehart would do it!

Barnaby Joyce would do it!

Most of the people I talk to in the pump industry would certainly not only support it but would happy to be deeply involved.

Would it rebirth our pump manufacturing industry?

Maybe it would.

Think about these statistics: • China had the same sized economy as Australia in 1990.

• Twenty-six years later, their economy is sixteen times ours and they are number two in the world.

• They have 1.3 billion people, we have 24 million people.

We produce approximately 60 million people’s worth of food per year (my rough calculation) and they produce 1.3 billion. In other words, they produce 22 times more food than we do but from about the same landmass.

Let’s assume that we drought-proof Australia and can produce 5 times more food than we do at the moment, i.e., 300 billion dollars worth.

Wow, that’s bigger than the iron ore business. Not only that but it’s a much bigger employer and there are loads

of benefits that we will get from employment, not the least of which is lower taxes for the rest of us.

Lets’ Go! Luscombe prefaced his book with the comment that if he was wrong in his ideas, he would welcome correction.

He also stated three principles that appear to be just as relevant today as they were in 1944. Here they are: 1) Think clearly...without prejudice 2) Think fearlessly...with regard for nothing but the truth, and 3) Think big...with the knowledge of the almost limitless possibilities of technology.

As a simple pump man, I welcome the comments of my peers. Copies of Luscombe’s map are freely available from Australian Pump Industries and may serve to inspire some of the readers of this article.

Bring it on!

About the Author Warwick Lorenz is the Managing Director of Australian Pump Industries.

Lorenz is a veteran of water industry having been drafted out of an advertising and journalist’s career at what was the old Tutt Bryant Group into managing its water pump manufacturing division, Pacific Pump. He has lived through the destruction of Australia’s industrial manufacturing sector, experienced the challenges of “recession we had to have” and tasted the temporary delights of Australian mining boom.

In a world where Australians appear to enjoy higher wages than just about anybody else on the planet, we are sitting on the biggest piece of an unused real estate in the world. It is also possibly the greatest opportunity to provide food resources for a growing world population.”

February, 2018

39

CASE STUDY

POWERCHINAZhongnan Standardizes 3D Collaborative Design of Water Projects, Becoming 50% More Efficient Bentley’s 3D technology reduces wastewater treatment plant design costs by 30 percent.

By Marie Telepneff

The Project Team Developed Optimal Solutions Using Bentley’s 3D Design Applications, which Reduced Inaccuracies in the Prepared Project Designs by 90%.

New Method to Meet Demand China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) (2011-2015) allotted 20 percent more funds for municipal wastewater treatment projects to address the pervasive pollution caused by rapid urbanization and inadequate sewage disposal. The initiative put pressure on lead-

40

February, 2018

ing design institutes to keep pace with demand for water pollution prevention and control projects.

Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited (POWERCHINA Zhongnan) responded by adopting a new methodology that made the process of designing, constructing, and operating the

water projects 50 percent more efficient. Bentley 3D design technology provided the capabilities and ProjectWise enabled a 3D collaborative design platform.

POWERCHINA Zhongnan used Bentley solutions to standardize its approach to the CNY 75.8 million Qingzhen Vocational

Education West Urban District sewage treatment plant, then applied the model on 13 subsequent projects.

The new method reduced design time and costs by approximately one-third.

Lagging Technology A subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of

China and HydroChina Corporation, POWERCHINA Zhongnan is an award-winning EPC contractor for water resource, hydropower, wind power, environmental, and municipal, industrial, and civil projects throughout China and the world.

Despite being one of the premier design institutes in China, POWERCHINA Zhongnan suffered from a lag in new technology adoption that caused inefficiencies in several practice areas. The company had improved design efficiency by 75 percent with a Bentley Enterprise License Subscription in the hydropower practice area. However, in water resources project teams were spending 30 percent of design time coordinating disciplines and 40 percent of construction time communicating with contractors.

The need to update became urgent when China’s 12th FYP accelerated construction of water pollution control projects. In 2012, China set aside nearly CNY 2 trillion for wastewater treatment infrastructure, planning to build facilities in some 300 cities by 2015. By the end of the 12th FYP period, China

EXPRESS WATER

CASE STUDY expected to increase treatment rates from 77.5 percent to 85 percent in urban areas, 60 percent to 70 percent in counties, and 20 percent to 30 percent in townships.

These advances in wastewater treatment would not only reduce pollution but also protect and improve water quality for the critically short supply of drinking water.

POWERCHINA Zhongnan estimated the average design period for water projects to be 180 days, which was too long to meet the timetable for the slate of 14 immediate projects.

To accelerate the process while maintaining quality, the company needed to implement the Bentley solution for water and wastewater treatment plant design.

The 20,000-cubic-meterper-day (m3/d) Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District sewage treatment plant project presented an opportunity to try a more advanced methodology that would introduce the 3D technologies to the practice group and improve overall efficiency.

3D Collaborative Environment POWERCHINA Zhongnan adopted a portfolio of Bentley products that would create a standardized 3D environment

OpenPlant’s 3D Plant Design Environment Enabled Multi-discipline Modeling of Piping, HVAC, and Electrical.

for optimizing and integrating project design, construction, and operations. ProjectWise was implemented as the ideal collaboration platform to enhance communication and coordination among the 10 design disciplines as well as the parties involved in construction and operations. The platform pushed a standardized user workspace and provided a common data environment (CDE) that became the single source of truth for project information.

Project Summary Organization: • Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited Solution: • Water and Wastewater Plants Location: • Qingzhen, Guizhou, China Project Objectives: • Design Phase I of the CNY 75.8 million Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District sewage treatment plant, including process, architecture, structure, and electric/automatic controls for all buildings and structures.

• Implement Bentley’s 3D collaborative design technology for the integrated design, construction, and operation of the sewage treatment plant.

• Develop a standardized design and project methodology that would shorten the time required to deliver 13 additional water projects.

Products Used • AECOsim Building Designer, Bentley Substation, GEOPAK, MicroStation, Bentley Navigator, OpenPlant, and ProjectWise

EXPRESS WATER

The project team developed optimal solutions for modularization and standardization using Bentley software including AECOsim Building Designer, GEOPAK, OpenPlant, and Bentley Substation. Each application produced the anticipated benefits. For example, using GEOPAK’s 3D modeling capabilities to develop plans, profiles, and cross-sections took 60 percent less time than previous methods. More importantly, the selected scheme minimized land use, reduced water head loss, saved energy, and facilitated maintenance saving the client CNY 11.2 million.

The 3D collaborative environment invited an iterative approach that significantly improved design quality.

AECOsim Building Designer’s parametric modeling capabilities enabled the team to explore alternative building geometries. The 3D plant design environment in OpenPlant allowed multi-discipline modeling of piping, HVAC, and electrical.

And the integrated modeling of the physical and electrical designs in Bentley Substation reduced errors and omissions. Together, the interoperable software accelerated design review and pro-

duced an intelligent plant model that could be used throughout the plant lifecycle.

Introducing Design Efficiencies Information mobility through all phases enhanced project participation and reduced time-consuming faceto-face meetings. Project data was published to i-models, which were accessible from desktop, laptop, and mobile devices while maintaining all the original attributes.

The 3D information models and visualizations simplified

communications among the design disciplines as well as with other project participants. Coordination review and clash detection with Bentley Navigator quickly revealed collision points and rapidly resolved issues. This efficient review-and-refine process decreased design time from three months to two months.

Handing over the digitized 3D information models upon project completion provided a multi-view display and 3D roaming video of the plant that became an indispensable

Fact File • Bentley’s 3D design applications prepared an intuitive design scheme for the project bid with 90 percent fewer errors.

• Throughout the project, collaboration, and coordination among disciplines using Bentley’s 3D design environment reduced design errors by 90 percent.

• POWERCHINA Zhongnan’s standardized design and project methodology included new design standards, specifications, and technical manuals that will benefit water projects throughout China.

ROI: • POWERCHINA Zhongnan reduced the design time on this project from three months to two months, saving about CNY 200,000 in design costs.

• Information mobility promoted collaboration and reduced communication time by 50 percent, saving about CNY 500,000.

• Subsequent water projects will benefit from the standardized design and project methodology, which will decrease design time by 30 percent and increase project team efficiency by 50 percent.

February, 2018

41

CASE STUDY

“

Based on Bentley’s standardized design, the clash detection of the system can help us find out more than 100 clash points quickly, with a design error rate decreased by 90 percent.The design period was reduced to two months from three months, increasing the design efficiency. management capability during operations and maintenance. By integrating project design, construction, and operations, POWERCHINA Zhongnan instituted efficiencies across the lifecycle of the sewage treatment plant, to the ultimate benefit of the client and customers served.

The standardized design system implemented for the Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District sewage treatment plant achieved the goal of reducing design time by 35 percent and design costs by 30 percent. The collaborative environment also reduced errors by 90 percent, which shortened communications

with construction contractors and reduced rework. Overall, the project achieved CNY 300,000 in savings for the client.

Exemplary Plant Model The Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District sewage treatment plant exemplified advances in wastewater treatment technology, deploying an intelligent water management system that unified the process under one control system. The system provided intelligent scheduling, automatic operation management, and business process management.

The efficient systems required 60 percent less labor

input than prior plants, enabling virtual operations that could save roughly CNY 800,000 per year. The automation also lowered the risk of human error, reduced management risk, and heightened safety.

With a capacity of 20,000 m3/d, Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District’s new tertiary treatment plant protects the downstream water that supplies the 4.5 million people of Guiyang City.

This successful project now serves as the model for POWERCHINA Zhongnan’s subsequent work on 13 other water projects representing 1.3 million m3/d in capacity,

serving nearly 47 million people, and totaling an investment of CNY 6.4 billion.

P O W E R C H I N A Zhongnan used Bentley software to explore new avenues in water project design and compile relevant design standards, specifications, and technical manuals that advance the practice within the industry. As a result, water projects may be developed more quickly, with higher quality designs, and at lower cost - all to advance China’s initiative to control water pollution and protect its drinking water supply.

About the Author Marie Telepneff is a Senior Product Marketing Manager

Yin Xiaowei Chief Engineer, Qingzhen Vocational Education West Urban District Sewage Treatment Plant

with Bentley Systems, responsible for building/structural, plant/electrical, and water/wastewater demand generation campaigns and program delivery within the design modeling advancement unit. She previously worked in marketing and communications with ABB and Aspen Technology where she gained a background in plant design and engineering. Telepneff holds a master’s degree in marketing management from Heriot Watt University and UC Berkeley.

Marie Telepneff

42

February, 2018

EXPRESS WATER

CASE STUDY

Sonneberg Sewage Treatment Plant in GermanyEnjoys Greater Planning Reliabilityfor its Belt Press Besides the four central STPs, Sonneberg Waterworks also operate eight small biological plants, and thereby cover an area of around 150 square miles.

By GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG

The Belt Press is Fed Directly from the Thickener, so Around 160 Cubic Meters of Sludge is Dewatered Per Day.

S O N N E B E R G WATERWORKS IN South Thuringia, located just a few miles from the Bavarian border, operate four sewage treatment plants for around 50,000 residents. The SonnebergHeubisch sewage treatment plant has been using a Type 1003 filter belt with integrated wear indicator from GKD Gebr. Kufferath AG (GKD) to dewater sewage sludge since January 2016. Beside efficient dewatering and a reliable PAD seam, the key factor that spoke in favor of the belt was its increased planning reliability for belt changing intervals.

Besides the four central

44

February, 2018

sewage plants - SonnebergHeubisch, Steinach, Schalkau, and Lauscha - Sonneberg Waterworks also operate eight small biological plants and thereby cover an area of around 150 square miles. The operations are managed economically under the umbrella of the Sonneberg Water Supply & Wastewater Treatment Association (WAZ). Three of the four plants are largely identical in terms of design and processing. This rather unusual constellation is due to the new rules of EU Directive 91/271 governing water supply and wastewater disposal which

were introduced following Germany's reunification.

According to this regulation, municipal districts with up to 10,000 residents had to be connected to a sewage treatment plant by 2006.

While the Directive meant that Steinach, Schalkau and Lauscha municipalities each required a sewage treatment plant for the first time, Sonneberg already had a sewage treatment plant with a collector and multiple rain overflow basins that was completed in 1988. This was actually a condition of the loan issued by the Federal Republic to the former 2 East Germany, which was negotiated by the then Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef StrauĂ&#x; in 1983 to halt the introduction of wastewater from the for-

mer East into Bavaria.

However, the minimum discharge values of the sewage treatment plant in Sonneberg no longer complied with the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Directive in force since 1997 in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus, so a new facility had to be constructed.

As three sewage plants were being constructed simultaneously, it was possible to use a similar design and equipment for all three. Due to the difficulties of the location, Lauscha was developed separately and only integrated into the WAZ Association in 2009.

The plant in Sonneberg was constructed first and has been in operation since 2004, while the three others followed by 2006.

The Sonneberg sewage

treatment plant was designed to deliver a disposal rate of 48.375 PE and handle a maximum wastewater volume of 393 l/s. The average is 220 l/s.

Around 20% of the wastewater comes from agricultural operations and around 20% from commercial discharge.

Beside companies from the field of plant engineering, the plastic, glass, and metal sectors, as well as the supply industry, the industrial landscape also includes a brewery.

Sonneberg also employs a combined sewer system, so the usual retained volume needed to be doubled when designing the new plant. This was achieved by remodeling the old mechanical preliminary purification area into a rain overflow basin. One special regional characteristic

Besides Efficient Dewatering, the Key Factor of the GKD-Belt Type 1003 with Integrated Wear Indicator is a Reliable PAD Seam.

EXPRESS WATER

CASE STUDY

Working with Sludges that are Difficult to Dewater, Belt Speed is Always Adjusted in Such a Way that the Entire Width of GKD-belt is Used for Dewatering Process.

that impacts the treatment process is the fact that the water coming from the slate mountains is very soft in its untreated state (4-5 degrees German hardness (dH)) and has a low pH value.

The Sonneberg sewage treatment plant is also responsible for the sewage

sludge thickening and dewatering processes of the other central sewage treatment plants in the WAZ Association. This produces around 5.5 million cubic meters of wastewater and 20,000 cubic meters of fecal sludge per year, as well as around 3,500 tonnes of

In Pressing Area, Sludge Passes through Eleven Rollers Between the Upper and Lower Belt with Belt Pressure of 8 bar.

EXPRESS WATER

sewage 3 sludge with a dry matter content of around 23%, which is processed externally.

Identical Plant Design At the four plants, mechanical cleaning is initially performed using a rake system with screw compactor for dewatering the raked material. In the ventilated sand trap with sand washer, any sand in the material is released, washed and dewatered, allowing it to be used as backfill material in ditch and trench digging operations. At the same time, light substances such as oils and greases are removed here. For biological cleaning, a selector basin divided into two cascades is positioned upstream of the aeration tanks. Its task is to minimize the growth of filamentous bacteria and associated formation of bulking sludge stimulated by the large volume of fecal sludge. In two aeration tanks, designed as circulation basins measuring 95 meters in length and boasting an effective volume of 13,540 cubic meters, the nitrogen contained in the wastewater is removed and the sludge aerobically stabilized.

A blower station with five rotary piston blowers guarantees pressure ventilation of the basin. Two blowers supply each basin, while the fifth

serves as a reserve unit and is also used to cover peak loads.

The blowers are operated intermittently. The organic carbon is removed and the nitrogen nitrified during the ventilation phases.

Denitrification is performed in the non-ventilated phases. To stabilize it, lime hydrate must be added to the wastewater in the second phase of the selector basin due to the very soft nature of the water in Sonneberg. It is metered from a 70 cubic meter lime silo that is heated in winter. For chemical cleaning, a precipitating agent is added to the wastewater stream both upstream and downstream of the aeration tank to remove the phosphate in the wastewater. The wastewater treated in this way flows from the aeration tank via a distributor structure into two final clarification basins which are equipped with a return sludge pumping unit. This then pumps 80% of the return sludge - measured

by the 4 sewage treatment plant's feed volume - via the selector basin and back into the aeration tank.

Some 800 cubic meters are removed from the return sludge as surplus sludge each day and then fed to the mechanical thickening area.

Here, two belt thickeners with continuously circulating Type 5060 GKD filter belts increase the solids content of the surplus sludge from 0.75% TS to around 5% TS through the addition of flocculant. If necessary, it can then be temporarily stored in two sludge silos, as sludge dewatering at the Sonneberg sewage treatment plant is performed on the basis of the disposal volume and cycle of the external disposal company. A 400 cubic meter sheltered storage area was therefore constructed for the dewatered sludge, where it can be temporarily stored until collection.

Strong Woven Seam The belt press is generally

The Wear Indicator Integrated into the GKD-Belt Type 1003 Allows Distinct Conclusions Regarding the Service Life to be Drawn.

February, 2018

45

CASE STUDY

The Wastewater Flows from Aeration Tank into Two Final Clarification Basins which are Equipped with a Return Sludge Pumping Unit.

Mechanical Cleaning is Initially Performed Using a Rake System with Screw Compactor for Dewatering Raked Material.

fed directly from the thickener, so around 160 cubic meters of sludge is dewatered per day, whereby the belt speed is based on the grade of the sludge. With easily drainable sludges, approximately twelve cubic meters per hour are fed and then remain in the system for around half an hour. When working with sludges that are difficult to dewater, the volume of sludge fed is reduced.

The belt speed is always

adjusted in such a way that the entire width of the belt is used for the dewatering process. Beside fluctuating wastewater temperatures, a slightly higher proportion of biological sludge can, for example, also influence the quality of the sludge. After the thickened sludge has been deposited in the belt press infeed area, two scrapers distribute it evenly across the Type 1003 GKD filter belt,

which then transports it to the pressing area. Here, the sludge passes through eleven rollers between the upper and lower belt with belt pressure of 8 bar. The belts are subjected to high loads as a result of the forces applied. The woven seams, in particular, were, therefore, a much-feared weak point in Sonneberg for a long time. This was because the belts previously used at the Sonneberg sewage treatment plant regularly suffered 5 from damaged seams due to the loads they must handle. In fact, these belts were repeatedly torn apart in an uncontrolled way, causing costly

In Sand Trap, Any Sand in the Material is Released, Washed and Dewatered, Allowing it to be Used as Backfill Material in Ditch and Trench Digging Operations.

46

February, 2018

downtimes.

Plant manager Bernd Hubner remembers: "The most important part of the belt is the seam. With the old belts, the sudden failure of these seams led to a great deal of work and costs caused by the sludge that was still in the press. Yet despite the higher personnel costs associated with this work, the significantly longer downtime in comparison with a scheduled belt change was what actually had the greatest negative impact."

Toralf Thiemann, head of the sewage plant, adds: "For us, it is important to detect wear early on so that we can see when the belt has reached the end of its useful life. We can then plan its replacement in good time. If this timing passes by unnoticed, the belt is likely to break unexpectedly." While searching for a solution, he came across GKD and its Type 1003 filter belt with patented PAD seam. "Since

we have been using this belt type, we have not had a single belt fail and therefore not experienced any further downtimes," he comments, full of praise. "With an average running time of 4,000 hours per year, this is clearly significantly better performance than we were able to achieve with the previous belts." The dewatering performance and particle retention of the GKD belts also meet the high expectations of the Sonneberg sewage treatment plant.

Yet, for Bernd Hubner, the key benefit of this belt type is the flat, reliable PAD seam.

"This continues to hold out, even when the belt is worn," he comments. "Since making the switch to the GKD belt, our operational reliability has seen a significant and welcome increase." It should, therefore, come as no surprise that staff in Sonneberg were also keen to test the new Type

In Two Aeration Tanks, Designed as Circulation Basins Measuring 95 Meters in Length and Boasting an Effective Volume of 13,540 Cubic Meters, Nitrogen Contained in Wastewater is Removed and Sludge Aerobically Stabilized.

EXPRESS WATER

CASE STUDY

Lime Hydrate Must be Added to Wastewater Due to the Very Soft Nature of Water in Sonneberg.

1003 belt with integrated wear indicator.

Early Warning System Included The yellow inner core of the 15.25 meter long and 2.50 meter wide GKD polyester belt displays the degree of mechanical wear - similarly to the wear indicators on car

tires. This allows damage caused by defective plant 6 components or process-related wear to be detected early on. The Sonneberg sewage treatment plant has been using the new belt type since January 2016 and thereby supplementing its existing process control.

"The belt press is connect-

Two Belt Thickeners with Continuously Circulating Type 5060 GKD Filter Belts Increase the Solids Content of Surplus Sludge from 0.75% TS to Around 5% TS Through Addition of Flocculant.

EXPRESS WATER

ed to our control system, where all operating data is captured," explains Toralf Thiemann. Runtime, maintenance frequency, and patrols/inspections are all registered on the system. On this basis, the operating personnel are informed via SMS of an impending failure based on the threshold values defined. The head of the sewage plant hopes that this early warning system offered by the GKD belt with wear indicator will provide additional information, from which characteristic values can be derived for the control system. A key question for him during the test was therefore to what extent conclusions regarding seam wear can be drawn from belt wear.

If this belt allowed conclusions to be drawn regarding the remaining useful life of the seam for the first time based on visual pointers of how wear is progressing, this would also represent another important reliability gain for him.

Volker Meuser, Senior Sales & Application Manager at GKD, is also keen to point out a further benefit of the wear indicator. This revolves around the fact that increasing wear on filter belts generally also has an effect on their dewatering performance.

"When values start to deteriorate, many plants engage in complex and costly research to determine the cause.

However, nobody ever seems to consider the belt here, " he explains, based on his own experience. The wear indicator integrated into the GKD belt allows distinct conclusions regarding the dewatering performance to be drawn.

The first visible signs of wear in Sonneberg have not yet resulted in any impairment of the dewatering process, although Toralf Thiemann and his team are obviously keeping a close eye on this. After 22 months, he is happy to confirm that the Type 1003 GKD belt with integrated wear indicator passed the test with flying colors. He also understands the relation-

Plant Manager Bernd Hubner is Completely Satisfied with the Collaboration with GKD.

ship between belt and clamp wear along the seam. His summary is therefore clear: "From now 7 on, we only want belts with wear indicator!"

Plant manager Bernd Hubner agrees with him: "This belt type provides us with impor-

tant planning reliability in our day-to-day operations." The collaboration with GKD is also good: "We generally do not hear from one another very often, which is a good sign. In other words: we are completely satisfied."

Toralf Thiemann, Head of Sewage Plant Gets Additional Information for the Control System from GKD-Belt 1003 with Integrated Wear Indicator.

February, 2018

47

MARKET

Day Zero Looms for Cape Town as South African City Prepares to Turn Off Taps - Magnitude of drought Cape Town’s is a once every 300 years event - By 2030 the world will face a 40% global water deficit under the business-as-usual climate scenario - By 2050, over 40% of the world population will be subject to severe water stress

By World Water Council

Benedito Braga

WATER, OUR WORLD’S most precious, and yet underprotected, resource, will soon be a scarcity for the citizens of Cape Town, South Africa as “Day Zero” looms. Today, their 4 million residents must reduce their water usage to just 50 liters per day, 7 times less than the average US citizen. Important variability in rainfall patterns has dried up 6 crucial dams that supply Cape Town with water.

Without rain, by this April, “Day Zero” will become a reality and all taps will be turned off. Homes and businesses will need to adapt to rationing water provisions and to a life without running water.

The World Water Council’s core mission is to promote at all political levels the availability of safe water for all and increase water security at large. The World Water Council is a platform for water

48

February, 2018

experts from more than 50 countries to rally for action on water-related issues.

Together, the global authority on water uses their expert voices to mobilize governments, institutions, associations and high-level decisionmakers on critical water issues.

Water vulnerability, exacerbated by climate variability and change, needs climatesmart solutions implemented worldwide. S?o Paulo, Brazil, endured a two-year drought, their worst in the last 80 years. The drought emphasized the unpredictability of water sources, and the challenges surrounding the increasing need for water security.

The realities faced by S?o Paulo and Cape Town, reinforce the reality that water is at the heart of mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts. “Drought is directly linked to climate variability and water security. There are ways to address the problem: first, to increase availability and resilience through securing our water resources. This involves the construction of dams, reservoirs and repairing water mains. In addition, there must be a rational use of water, which means all sectors must share sources fairly and encourage citizens to be efficient with water use in their own homes. The industry needs to recycle and reuse water and ensure that irriga-

tion uses more efficient methods. Managing demand in this way will enable us to use our water resources more efficiently and effectively,” explains World Water Council President, Benedito Braga.

Climate variability and change continues to have devastating effects globally.

Droughts and flooding have increased worldwide and are projected to worsen by 2030 when 40% of the world’s population will live in river basins under severe water stress, while 20% will be at risk of floods. The World Water Council understands that securing global water supplies means demanding more funding for water infrastructure, reinforcing governance and management practices and developing knowledge and capacity. As is evident surrounding the current drought crisis in Cape Town, citizens around the world are extremely concerned about water security. In fact, 63% of cities foresee a risk to their water supply from climate change.

The overwhelming need for action on global water issues means the time to implement cohesive solutions is now. The upcoming World Water Forum will be the global gathering point for water issues. Here, the conversation will ignite and fuel the journey towards ensuring the future of water security.

The Forum will be held in

the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, between the 18th and 23rd of March 2018, and will be guided by the over-arching theme of “Sharing Water,” in light of water’s role in uniting communities and tearing down barriers. The Forum brings together heads of state, ministers, high-level decision makers, water experts and professionals to raise awareness about water-related issues, local authorities and academics.

Founded by the World Water Council, the World Water Forum places water firmly at the heart of global development and puts the spotlight on climate change and a call to action to ensure water’s and our future.

The World Water Council (WWC) is an international

multi-stakeholder platform organization, the founder, and co-organizer of the World Water Forum. The World Water Council’s mission is to mobilize action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decisionmaking level, by engaging people in debate and challenging conventional thinking. The Council focuses on the political dimensions of water security, adaptation, and sustainability, and works to position water at the top of the global political agenda.

Headquartered in Marseille, France, and created in 1996, the World Water Council brings together over 300 member organizations from more than 50 different countries.

“

Drought is directly linked to climate variability and water security.There are ways to address the problem: first, to increase availability and resilience through securing our water resources.This involves the construction of dams, reservoirs and repairing water mains. In addition, there must be a rational use of water, which means all sectors must share sources fairly and encourage citizens to be efficient with water use in their own homes.

Benedito Braga President - World Water Council (WWC)

EXPRESS WATER

MARKET

Water Utilities Capitalize on Hydraulic Modeling to Minimize TOTEX, Reduce Risk, and Mitigate Water Loss Water utilities are faced with meeting a myriad of challenges ranging from disaster preparedness to environmental conservation to driving down total expenditures (TOTEX), at the same time as they are expected to improve service. Three examples from the 2017 ‘Be Inspired Awards’ nominations demonstrate the key role hydraulic modeling applications play in achieving water utility goals.

By Bentley Systems

Prolagos Treatment Plant

MANILA WATER IS a water utility concessionaire in the Philippines that provides water and wastewater services for 24 cities and municipalities and operates more than 100 facilities serving 6 million customers both in water distribution and wastewater treatment. The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions frequently occur. Metro Manila falls vic-

EXPRESS WATER

tim to this circumstance, being geographically transected by several fault systems, including the dangerous West Valley Fault System. The Philippines is also ravaged by an average of 20 typhoons per year.

To address the great level of risk, Manila Water conducted a Resiliency and Business Interruption (RBI) study to determine the systems and facilities that are most vulner-

able in the event of such natural disasters. The study indicated that significant damages amounting to approximately USD 520 million in water infrastructure are inevitable. Consequently, the Natural Calamity Risk Resiliency and Mitigation Master Plan was developed in collaboration with National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and Local Government

Units (LGU). The NDRRMC and LGU provided the emergency response plan as well as locations of evacuation sites that will be used in the event of a catastrophe.

Manila Water must ensure that these identified sites will have a secure and reliable supply of water in case of emergency. WaterGEMS was used to identify and prioritize critical assets requiring resiliency and contingency measures by simulating the effect of losing one or several components of the water system and seeing how interconnected systems would react.

With the application of the resiliency and contingency measures, a reassessment was made of the RBI study that estimated property damage and business interruption would be reduced by USD 380 million in the event of a calamity. Also, looking at a more immediate benefit of the master plan, Manila Water saved a total of USD 30 million on insurance through the concession period.

Diogenes Adelbert Voltaire B. Evangelista, water system analysis and planning engineer, said, “Mitigation of the adverse effects of a natural

calamity is a race against time. Bentley WaterGEMS helped Manila Water minimize the amount of its investment while maximizing the resiliency and contingency of its facilities, both being highly beneficial to the customers it serves.”

Prolagos, a concessionaire of AEGEA, provides water and sanitation services to five municipalities in the Região dos Lagos, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil serving 400,000 inhabitants in low season and more than 2 million in the high season. Currently, 93 percent of the residents have access to the water supply and 76 per-

Thematic Map of Critical Assets Near the West Valley Fault System

February, 2018

49

MARKET

Network Model in WaterGEMS Overlaying the Risk Areas of West Valley Fault System

cent to sewage collection and treatment. Prolagos strives to improve the sewer collection and treatment services with the highest possible ROI while seeking complete decontamination of the Araruama lagoon to bring back social, environmental, economic, and tourism benefits to the region.

The Araruama lagoon is the largest mass of hypersaline water in a permanent state in the world. In 1998, the lagoon was completely polluted leading to the death of aquatic plants and animals. This large-scale pollution raised the unemployment rate in the fishing industry, severely reduced trade and tourism activities, and increased risks to human health.

For the Sewerage Master Plan 2041, Prolagos integrated data from GIS, CAD, SCADA, and drones in a planimetric survey using SewerGEMS. They developed the models to analyze “what-if” scenarios, and to determine the best long-term hydraulic combination of both sewerage and

Prolagos Operational Control Center

50

February, 2018

drainage systems for environmental, social, and economic gains. SewerGEMS “scenarios comparisons” were instrumental in engaging AEGEA’s management team in the faceto-face meetings.

An initial comparison of the master plan preliminary results with previous official studies showed a reduction of approximately 60 percent on the necessary investment to achieve the same rate of sewage coverage – 90 percent.

Moreover, the plan enables significant annual cost savings due to the decrease of the systems’ energy consumption.

These savings would result from a decrease of 35 percent of the volume treated in the wastewater plants. The saving resulted from plan’s separation of sewage and drainage flows, which reduced the number of sewage lifting stations and improved the efficiency of the pumping systems, with some individual pump stations demonstrating gains of over 20 percent. Moreover, the expansion of the separat-

ed sewage collecting system helps mitigate environmental impacts in the lagoon by stopping untreated discharges when sanitary sewers overflow from stormwater inflow or groundwater is infiltrated through the concrete drainage pipes. The model estimates a reduction of 6 million cubic meters of untreated discharges. Through integration with the operational control center, it was possible to easily simulate the effects of alternative investments scenarios in the networks operational efficiency.

Wagner Oliveira de Carvalho, senior project manager, Prolagos, said, “Bearing in mind the shortage of available funds for infrastructure investments in Brazil, SewerGEMS can really make a difference in the optimization of investments bridging the existing gap in sewage infrastructure, thus promoting social inclusion and increasing people’s living standards.”

Varkom is a utility providing water services to seven townships and 20 municipalities in Varazdin County in Croatia. Varkom sought to implement a major water loss program that would enable cost savings and increase service quality for the county.

The project included the development of an accurate network map in a GIS and a

Prolagos - Graph of the Evolution of Biochemical Oxygen Deman in Araruama Lagoon

comprehensive model facilitated by field measurements.

The model was the basis for applications that included water demand analysis, pressure management, and water loss analysis based on the International Water Association (IWA) Water Loss Specialty Group (WLSG) methodology, SCADA development, District Metered Area (DMA) zoning, cost-benefit analysis, and feasibility studies. Hidroing Ltd. developed the model and implemented these applications for Varkom.

The project enabled Varkom to make informed decisions for investing in water loss reduction with a final goal of reducing water loss by 2 million cubic meters per year.

As Varkom pumps water from underground wells, water usage, and energy usage will be reduced along

with the reduction of CO2 due to decreased pumping. Using WaterCAD, Hidroing fulfilled tight schedule demands and finished the project in 12 months, with an estimated 600 resource-days in savings attributed to the use of WaterCAD. A significant challenge was scheduling the field work for GIS mapping and field measurements to meet project timelines. WaterCAD’s capability to add sub-models saved Hidroing three months of time since it was possible to work on many tasks simultaneously.

“Bentley WaterCAD capabilities in combining different input database formats enabled us to make a precise hydraulic model and obtain accurate results, thus enabling Varkom to make valid decisions for its water supply network development,” said, Igor Dundovic, project manager, Hidroing Ltd.

Prolagos Model Supporting Sewerage Master Plan

EXPRESS WATER

RNI NO. MAHENG-14351