Future of Water - Q1 2022

Q1 2022 | A promotional supplement distributed on behalf of Mediaplanet, which takes sole responsibility for its content

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Future of Water A Mediaplanet campaign focused on the

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“The importance of fisheries and aquaculture goes beyond nutrition: they support the livelihoods of around 10% of the world’s population.”

Audun Lem, Deputy Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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“Gender equality is often cited as being key to water management.”

Dr Liza Debevec, Senior Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist, Global Water Partnership

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IN THIS ISSUE

“Achieving food security while using water resources in a sustainable manner is a major challenge for current and future generations.”

Sasha Koo-Oshima Head of Water and Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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“The climate crisis debate tends to forget the importance of adequate water and sanitation services.”

Alejandro Jiménez Director Water and Sanitation, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) Robin Ward Programme Manager Water and Sanitation, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

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“Without doubt, technology will continue to offer solutions to the significant global water and sanitation challenges.”

Dr Leo Carswell Principal Consultant, Water Research Centre Ltd. Andy Blackhall Managing Director, British Water and Chair, International Forum, and Waterwise, NED

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Water under pressure – the need to accelerate progress World Water Day may seem insignificant for those of us who have access to a reliable water supply. However, there are currently two billion people who live without a safely managed water service.1

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ater is a finite resource under growing pressure from agriculture, industry and a rising population. Moreover, the climate crisis is making water more erratic and the COVID-19 pandemic is creating new challenges.

WRITTEN BY Gilbert Houngbo Chair, UN-Water

On the other, in many places, we simply do not know how much might be under our feet and so we are missing vital opportunities, especially in arid regions.

Groundwater will play a critical role in building resilience against future challenges. It may be out of sight but cannot be out of mind. Groundwater must be better protected, explored, analysed and monitored. We must make the invisible visible!

Water in crisis The number of town and city dwellers lacking safelymanaged drinking water has risen by 50% over the past 20 years.2 Today, 733 million Accelerating towards 2030 women, children and men live in high and The world’s progress towards Sustainable critically water-stressed countries – and this Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) – “to ensure Today, 733 million number is set to expand substantially.3 water and sanitation for all” by 2030 – is Water is critical to every single aspect women, children and men seriously off track. There is still so much to of life. There is a dedicated Sustainable be done. live in high and critically Development Goal (number 6) on the 2030 Ultimate responsibility for SDG 6 rests Agenda for Sustainable Development. This water-stressed countries. with the UN Member States. The latest is why World Water Day is so important; data shows that governments must it raises public awareness of the widequadruple their efforts if we are to meet ranging impacts of the global water crisis and galvanises the our obligations. However, achieving SDG 6 is everyone’s international community to take action and solve it. business. Only together can we shape our water future.

Groundwater – making the invisible visible On World Water Day 2022, we focus on groundwater – the water stored in subterranean soil and rocks. Not many people realise that groundwater makes up 69% of all the fresh water on Earth. Surface water in rivers and lakes account for only 1% and the remaining 30% is locked away as ice.4 Dealing with groundwater is especially challenging. On the one hand, humans are over-using and polluting groundwater.

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References 1. WHO/UNICEF (2021): https://washdata.org/ 2. UN-Water (2021): https://www.unwater.org/publications/summary-progress-update2021-sdg-6-water-and-sanitation-for-all/ 3. UN-Water (2021): https://www.unwater.org/publications/summary-progress-update2021-sdg-6-water-and-sanitation-for-all/ 4. UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (2006)

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Helping water companies cut down on spillages Water companies are being supported by a range of innovative technologies to help them gain better control over potential spillages and pollution incidents.

T INTERVIEW WITH Tim O’Brien CEO, Metasphere

INTERVIEW WITH Phil Tomlinson Commercial Director EMEA, Metasphere

INTERVIEW WITH Ret Mathieson Group Marketing Manager, Metasphere

WRITTEN BY Mark Nicholls

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echnological solutions are playing a pivotal role in wastewater management across the UK to maintain water quality and reduce pollution.

A widening deployment of monitors are giving early warnings of potential spillages or overflows of wastewater, while artificial intelligence (AI) approaches use machine-learning analytics to predict future incidents, enabling utility companies to rapidly mobilise response teams.

Control spillages Industry expert, Tim O’Brien, explains that utilities can discharge rainwater, domestic sewage and industrial wastewater through Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) during certain weather events.

But an increasing population and industrial demands on the water network, as well as a changing regulatory landscape, mean utility companies are under increasing pressure to control spillages and unplanned escapes to prevent pollution. As utility companies plan for 2025-2030, O’Brien explains that a broad industry-wide goal, supported by technological innovation, is to reduce spillages to zero.

Poor visibility Utilities can have poor visibility of networks but that can be improved by mass deployment of IoT (Internet of Things) low-power technologies to monitor wastewater levels and reduce spills, cut pollution, and improve performance and forecasting.

Currently, 86% of waterways in England are below expected water quality standards, with wastewater spills a major contributor to the contamination. But as technology becomes smaller and cheaper, it can be more widely deployed for increased monitoring with data from IoT devices sent to the cloud for analysis and storage.

Pre-emptive response As the data accrues, analysis by machine- learning systems can identify patterns and the capability of a pipeline to deal with an influx of rain. This alerts control rooms, enabling responses to wastewater spills to become pre-emptive rather than reactionary.

Wastewater management specialist, Metasphere, works with water companies to offer hi-tech IoT solutions to intelligently manage wastewater networks by combining wastewater level data with

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historic, current and forecast rainfall data. O’Brien, who is Metasphere’s CEO, says: “When you add in machine-learning, you can forecast up to 30 hours ahead, learn how a particular network area will behave and then start detecting partial blockages before they occur.”

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Zero pollution Eliminating spillages avoids utilities being fined for incidents that can also result in environmental and reputational damage and clean-up costs.

Metasphere’s Commercial Director, Phil Tomlinson, says: “The key point is that companies can utilise technology to get visibility and an understanding of what is going on in their network. Technology allows water companies to create less pollution and respond more quickly.”

Group Marketing Manager, Ret Mathieson, adds that the advance of technologies leads to “better wastewater network monitoring.” While supporting utilities to achieve zero pollution, the company emphasises that householders, landowners, industry and pharmaceutical firms have a role to play by cutting discharge of pollutants, or phosphates running off the land and people not putting fat or plastic wipes into the system to create potential blockages.

Company profile Metasphere is a wastewater application specialist business and has been providing monitoring solutions to the global utility industry since the mid-1980s. The company liaises with all sectors of the industry; from 25 major utility companies worldwide to environmental and regulatory bodies.

Using the latest technology, the company delivers intelligent, innovative all-in-one telemetry solutions that provide full network visibility, performance and forecasting that reduce telemetry ownership cost for customers to help manage time-critical remote assets and systems.

Metasphere use telemetry to drive sustainable use of the world’s natural resources, helping customers to prevent leaks and spills for a cleaner, greener world.

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Aquaculture has the Ensuring food and power to transform food water security security and nutrition through innovation WRITTEN BY Audun Lem Deputy Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Food is not an option, it is a right. With the global population expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050, food security and nutrition present enormous challenges in the years ahead.

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quaculture is the fastest growing sector of the global food industry. There is no doubt that products from aquaculture and fisheries can play a vital role in transforming our diets and making food security and nutrition a reality.

We are already witnessing dramatic change. The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA) is a timely opportunity to celebrate the role of small-scale artisanal fishers, fishfarmers and fishworkers as well as further advance the contribution of the sector to providing healthy, safe and affordable food.

Increase in aquatic food consumption Global production of aquatic food has increased by over 120% since 1990 and aquaculture now provides more than 50% of the total (from 19% in 1990). That share is expected to rise to 57% by 2030, according to OECD-FAO projections.

As our appetite for aquatic products expands, the pace of investment, innovation and technology in this sector is also on the rise. The adoption of new technological change and other advances is making a difference but must be matched by sustainable practices.

Asia currently leads global farmed aquatic animal production accounting for close to 90% of total output. While China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam are among the world’s top producers, there is huge potential for expansion in Africa, Central and South America, including Small

Island Developing States (SIDS) and landlocked countries.

Food impact on sustainability Environmental sustainability is critical. Aquatic food production is more efficient than land-based animal production and is also environmentally less impactful, producing lower GHG emissions. So it is a clear alternative, especially as the UN has identified aquatic foods among the healthiest sources of protein and micronutrients.

However, achieving a genuine ‘blue transformation’ is still a challenge.

The ability of the industry to satisfy the world’s growing nutritional needs means staying one step ahead with innovation. At the same time, governments must provide the legal and policy framework to support growth and safeguard the livelihoods of those who depend on aquaculture.

Supporting livelihoods of communities The importance of fisheries and aquaculture goes beyond nutrition: they support the livelihoods of around 10% of the world’s population and almost all of the people who depend on fisheries and aquaculture live in developing countries.

The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture is a great opportunity to transform how we feed the planet and to advance aquaculture in a sustainable way that supports lives and livelihoods.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of policies of FAO.

The global commitment for a shift towards more sustainable food systems has increased significantly over the recent years, as part of the collective efforts to accelerate targets laid out in the 2030 Agenda.

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he increased commitment to sustainable food systems has been driven by evidence generated from the global community that currently the world is not on track to achieve most of the SDG targets, including those directly related to food systems and water.

Addressing food insecurity For example, up to 811 million people were undernourished in 2020. Climate variability and extremes, conflict and economic slowdowns and downturns, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are major drivers of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty. They are jeopardising global commitments to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

Achieving food security while using water resources in a sustainable manner is a major challenge for current and future generations, particularly as we face increased pressures such as economic and demographic growth and the climate crisis.

Role of agriculture Agriculture is responsible for 70% of all freshwater withdrawals worldwide. However, water use for food production is being questioned continually as intersectoral competition for water intensifies and water scarcity increases in many regions where droughts, floods, storms and sea-levels have increased.1 Many ecosystems are now stressed to a critical point as published in FAO 2021 State of Land and Water for Food and Agriculture. 2

WRITTEN BY Sasha Koo-Oshima Head of Water and Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Scaling up technology With more than 95% of our food produced on limited land, a rapid scaling-up of technology and innovation is vital. This includes strengthening the digital architecture needed for systems management in providing basic data, information and science-based solutions.

WaPOR, FAO’s portal to monitor water productivity through open access of remotely sensed derived data, allows actors at different scales to improve their water management decisions through a climate lens.

This is done through satellite remote sensing to assess evapotranspiration to derive at the best available indication for agriculture water consumption from field to basin levels.

Improved water allocation through WaPOR and its digital data can play an important role in valuing and making better use of water and to ensure equitable access to the resource while supporting its sustainability. Seizing the digital revolution, developments in water measurement, accounting and modelling technologies enable improved planning, water storage and allocation, allowing targeted investments geared towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

References 1. OECD (2017), Water Risk Hotspots for Agriculture, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://dx.doi. org/10.1787/9789264279551-en.

2. FAO State of Land and Water for Food and Agriculture Synthesis Report 2021 https://www.fao.org/3/cb7654en/ online/cb7654en.html

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of policies of FAO. © Olivier Asselin

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T INTERVIEW WITH Karim Kurmaly Chief Executive Officer, Veramaris WRITTEN BY Tony Greenway

he practice of farming seafood — otherwise known as aquaculture — plays a critical role in feeding the world’s growing population.

Yet there’s a big challenge facing the aquaculture industry, explains Karim Kurmaly, CEO of Veramaris, a biotech start-up which produces a ASC-MSC certified sustainable algae-based Omega-3 oil for feed applications. “The ability for sustainable aquaculture to expand is immense,” he agrees.

“However, the conundrum is that fish need both EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet to grow, remain healthy and deliver health benefits to us, as consumers.”

In the wild this isn’t an issue because fish obtain their Omega-3s via their natural diets. However, in aquaculture,

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Traditional aquaculture feed — containing essential nutrients derived from wild catch fish — is impacting the marine environment.

Thankfully, a more sustainable solution is available.

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is

How a sustainable feed solution is supporting aquaculture growth

feed must be supplemented with EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids, traditionally achieved by adding fish oil derived from wild caught pelagic fisheries, many of which have been overfished.

Feeding farmed fish in this way is a problem on two fronts, notes Kurmaly. “First, there are simply not enough wild fish in the ocean to sustain the growth of aquaculture,” he says. “And second, simply reducing Omega-3 fatty acids in feed is not an answer, as this will compromise fish health and the nutritional benefits of fish to consumers.

The innovation of sustainable alternative feed ingredients It’s a challenge which the aquaculture industry has tried to address by

We must expand water’s role in the circular economy With precious water resources increasingly stressed by the climate crisis, population growth and pollution, we need to urgently manage water in a way that reflects the limited supply and ensures a sustainable future.

W WRITTEN BY Walt Marlowe Executive Director, Water Environment Federation

ater is a finite resource – the amount of water on the planet stays the same and we can’t make more.

That means quickly expanding water’s role in the circular economy, a model that reduces the single use of materials, redesigns products to be less resource intensive and recaptures “waste” to reuse in another way.

To accelerate this transition, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) launched the ReNEW Water Project, which provides tools and roadmaps for recovery of resources from water.

The project also tracks how much North American utilities are recycling water, capturing useful nutrients from the water and generating renewable energy through the treatment process.

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Following nature’s example Nature has shown the way. It doesn’t just use water once and throw it away. Nor can we. That is why more water is being cleaned and recycled for purposes such as irrigation of agriculture and filling reservoirs.

Wastewater also is being purified to drinking water standards and sent directly into the public supply. More projects like this are launching, for example in Los Angeles, which aims to recycle all its wastewater by 2035.

Wastewater actually contains the valuable elements of nitrogen and phosphorus. More utilities are extracting these nutrients to turn them into commercial products such as fertiliser, which additionally leads to cleaner waterways downstream.

reducing the amount of fish oil in feed and replacing it with plant oils.

“Unfortunately, plant oils don’t include the essential Omega-3 fatty acids that farmed fish need,” notes Kurmaly.

“Also, eating fish that are rich in both EPA & DHA Omega-3s is important for human health and nutrition.”

However, a number of innovative sustainable feed ingredients, now available at scale, can help reduce the impact of aquaculture feed on wild fish stocks. For example, Veramaris produces a natural marine algal oil which is a highly potent source of EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids.

“We achieve this through a proprietary fermentation technology and can provide a sustainable source of EPA & DHA Omega-3s,” says Kurmaly, explaining that their algal oil can substitute or even fully replace fish oil. “It means that farmed fish can become more independent of wild fish in their diets, and thereby reduce the disruption of marine food chains. Making this change would help maintain marine biodiversity and allow for the continued growth of aquaculture.”

Only through collaboration, innovation and sustainability can we ensure the aquaculture industry can continue to provide nutritious food for the ever-growing population.

Paid for by Veramaris

Find out more at veramaris.com

This happens at Chicago’s Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, the world’s largest nutrient recovery facility.

Biosolids are another valuable by-product left over after wastewater treatment. Rich in nutrients and carbon, they are now used to fertilise farms and gardens and to revitalise soils.

Paid for by Water Environment Federation

Building a sustainable future We are also working to help the water industry do more to combat the climate crisis. Ongoing initiatives include improving energy efficiency, installing waste-to-energy processes such as biogas production and placing solar panels on facilities. Today, some water utilities are even producing more renewable energy than required for facility operations, such as East Bay Municipal Utility District in California.

Bringing water fully into the circular economy through resource recovery certainly requires focused effort, committed action and significant financial investment. WEF and its members will continue to lead this charge in the water sector. However, we all must use our voices to support this change at our organisations and in our communities. A sustainable water future depends on it.

Find out more at wef.org

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No more promises – time to put women at the centre of water management If women are not at the table when water decisions are made, whole communities suffer.

W WRITTEN BY Dr Liza Debevec Senior Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist, Global Water Partnership

omen are of fundamental importance to water management. Even though the role of women as managers of domestic water has been acknowledged in water policies since the late 1970s, we have got a long way to go.

Today, water is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and gender is the focus of SDG 5, with the vision that the world will address both water security and gender equality by 2030 – in barely eight years.

While some countries and international organisations are working towards achieving those goals, and gender equality is often cited as being key to water management, reaching those two goals by 2030 will be a close race.

We’re not moving fast enough Recent statistics from water.org show that globally, women and girls collectively spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. In Asia and Africa, women and girls walk an average of six kilometres (nearly four miles) every day gathering water.

Women remain conspicuously absent from leadership in the water sector. When women are involved in decisionmaking, the outcomes are better for everyone. Why? Because women use and manage water the most at household and community levels.

Nevertheless, in 2014, women made up just 17% of the water and sanitation work force and an even smaller proportion of managers, regulators, policymakers and technical experts.

Last year, GWP was involved in collecting data to measure progress on SDG 6. The survey, conducted in 186 countries, included questions about gender. GWP did further analysis by carrying out in-depth interviews in 23 countries. The findings, published in “Advancing towards gender mainstreaming in water resources management” show that in half of the countries there has been limited or no achievement of gender objectives in water management policies and plans.

Four action areas There is still a gap between policy and practice: policies are not always accompanied by concrete action plans, nor adequately funded. The GWP study identified seven factors that can help governments advance towards gender equality. These can be grouped into four action areas: 1. Institutional leadership and commitment 2. Gender and inclusion analysis 3. Meaningful and inclusive participation in decision-making 4. Equal access to and control of resources.

As countries, donors and international organisations invest time and money into these areas, they will take tangible steps toward achieving the goals set in SDG 5 and SDG 6.

This is urgent: 2030 is just around the corner.

Why water and sanitation services are a wise climate investment A lack of water and sanitation at home exacerbates the impact of any climate event. It is therefore unfortunate that the climate crisis debate tends to forget the importance of adequate water and sanitation services.

W WRITTEN BY Alejandro Jiménez Director Water and Sanitation, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

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ater security has been defined by UN Water November 2021, a focus on water, including drinking as “The capacity of a population to safeguard water and sanitation services, was more apparent than sustainable access to adequate quantities ever before. For the first time, there was a dedicated Water of acceptable quality water for sustaining Pavilion, attracting a lot of attention to this issue. The Water livelihoods, human wellbeing and socio-economic Pavilion will also be present at this year’s COP27 in Sharm development, for ensuring protection against water-borne el-Sheikh in Egypt. pollution and water-related disasters and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and Building water resilience political stability” (UN Water 2013).

This attention has contributed to raising This definition acknowledges the need awareness about the importance of two for water for basic consumption. Yet the distinct areas; the resilient management Developed countries must world’s least developed countries often of water resources on one hand and how honour their commitments to water and sanitation services contribute to lack access to essential funding for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects. building resilience to the climate crisis, but climate adaptation financing This includes lack of access to basic WASH there is still a long way to go. and look to increase climate related climate finance, partly because of Developed countries must honour finance for basic WASH. challenges in demonstrating how these their commitments to climate adaptation projects build additional resilience to the financing and look to increase climate climate crisis. finance for basic WASH. They must make sure adaptation finance reaches the most vulnerable countries and the most Increasing interest in WASH vulnerable people within those countries, who are often This is in contradiction with existing knowledge. The IPCC those who lack access to basic WASH services.

Fifth Assessment Report (AR5, 2014) suggests that one of the We must also raise our ambitions towards elevating the most effective actions to reduce vulnerability to the impacts importance of water security, inclusive of household water of the climate crisis in the short-term is the implementation security, in the Nationally Determined Contributions of “basic public health measures such as provision of clean (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement and the National Adaptation water and sanitation.”

Plans (NAPs).

At the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in

WRITTEN BY Robin Ward Programme Manager Water and Sanitation, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

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How to create water from air and solve the water crisis It is estimated that most people do not have access to basic water services around the world. As the water crisis deepens, new rising technologies are determined to help find an urgent solution.

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onsidering the global water crisis, Watergen is an extremely important and innovative development. Its unique technological design and electrical efficiency make it a globally and practically scalable solution to tackle water scarcity. Based on GENius patented heatexchanger, it creates mineralised water without requiring piping infrastructure under a variety of climate conditions.

Achieving food security while using water resources in a sustainable manner is a major challenge for current and future generations.

Sasha Koo-Oshima Head of Water and Deputy Director, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Creating safe drinking water from air Dr Mirilashvili, Watergen’s President believes in helping humanity and making the world a better place for the next generation through committing to diverse humanitarian and social initiatives. This ethos comes from the profound education given and behaviour modelled by his parents, grandparents and the teachings of the Jewish religion.

In attempts to change the discovering company’s focus to ‘air-to-water’ production, he was told ‘…it was just a dream’. But now, the company’s vision is becoming a reality.

“We can provide four litres of water with just 1KW and are on course to reduce energy consumption by 90% still by 2024.”

Renewable drinking water source across sectors “It’s healthy, clean and accessible water which can be made from air in any environment; city centres, workplaces, hospitals, universities, disaster zones, on-the-move. God helped me to achieve more goals than I initially planned,” he says.

The potential global impact of the awardwinning Watergen’s AWG (atmospheric water generators) is difficult to overstate according to Dr Mirilashvili. Modest home units such as ‘GENNY’ create 30L of water-from-air a day. The larger units create hundreds to thousands of litres of water day and are already installed across sectors worldwide, providing solutions to water scarcity on five continents: hospitals in Gaza, schools in Costa Rica and whole communities in Uzbekistan.

Dr Mirilashvili believes the only challenge is time as the company’s unique AWG’s hold ‘limitless potential’ to creating new markets and tackling the water crisis.

Find out more at watergen.com INTERVIEW WITH

Dr Michael Mirilashvili Owner and President, Watergen WRITTEN BY

Alex van den Broek

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