24 minute read
Droople delves into the role
The key factor for success in the HoReCa industry is customer experience, and water is present in virtually every process. With the growing urbanization and agricultural activity worldwide, the filtration systems will increasingly rely on data to ensure timely replacement of consumables, equipment maintenance and customer sustainability requirements. Learn how IoT can help the Hospitality industry to make a true quantum leap of service levels through real-time data access.
Z Peter Racz - Z Ramzi Bouzerda, Droople
with either anion or cation exchange (AX and CX, respectively).
To satisfy the strict requirements of the HoReCa industry in terms of taste, the filtration systems rely on the timely replacement of filters or other consumables like UV lamps. However, their maintenance need depends greatly on usage patterns, water quality, and many other context-specific factors where IoT can drastically reduce operating costs while maximizing equipment lifetime.
IoT technologies at the service of the filtration solutions
Real-time monitoring and analytics systems are today progressively adopted by a wide range of industries. The IoT-based solutions allow us to integrate various technologies with edge and cloud data processing, bringing together precise monitoring capabilities, predictive maintenance, and efficient customer consulting and support. Water treatment applications such as Reverse Osmosis systems, purifiers, filters, softeners, as well as dispensing systems can be equipped with a wide variety of connected sensors, able to precisely measure flow, pressure, TDS and temperature. The fine-grained data are collected by the smart sensors and transferred to the dedicated cloud platform. The machine-learning algorithms can then be customized to provide vendors, services providers and end customers with actionable insights. These will monitor assets performance, enable their on-time maintenance and predict the replacement of the consumables such as filters, cartridges, UV lamps, etc.
The quantum leap of service levels through real-time data access
A full-stack cloud solution developed by Droople can deliver today highly increased service levels across the entire value chain. In the context of the water softener market, the smart data platform helps end-users to save water, by bringing visibility to their consumption, and by allowing them to predict salt refills and filter swaps. The service providers can then lease their hardware and provide value-added services on top of their softening or filtration device.
The Droople Water Intelligence Platform enables the cost-effective monitoring of large fleets of assets distributed geographically. The different sensors can be installed as a retrofit to enable a smooth transition towards IoT or for each new installation. The iLink communication module collects real-time data on a single platform, where they are interpreted to deliver immediate insights.
New levels of service and automation enable personalized advice including an optimal choice of appliances and process optimization. The data transparency also makes it possible to fulfill sustainability requirements, generating customer loyalty and trust through data access sharing.
VICTORIA EDWARDS
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER AT FIDO TECH
BUNKER MENTALITY WILL NEVER SOLVE THE WORLD’S WATER LEAKAGE PROBLEM
Forty per cent. It feels like a magic number when it comes the most experienced analysts get it wrong 40 per cent of the to water. It’s the percentage of the earth’s population suffering time. That human error leads to wasted site visits, dry holes from water scarcity. It’s the shortfall humanity faces in nine and billions on billions of litres of lost water, wasted revenue years if the demand for water grows as expected. and stunted economies. No wonder the UK’s leakage rate is
And, damningly, in parts of the world, it’s the amount of stubbornly stuck around the 19 per cent mark. treated water lost through leakage every day. How can this be? For places without DMAs and sensors, the outlook had Almost three years from when drought-hit Cape Town, a major looked even bleaker. Until FIDO came along. FIDO took the city, came within a breath of losing its supply– a phenomenon view that no-one’s over the finishing line until the last runcalled Day Zero - why are so many only just waking up to the ner gets home. We’ve consciously created a global response to damage of leakage? No other industry pours (excuse the pun) leakage which overcomes challenges of proprietary hardware, so much time, money and resource into creating the perfect network immaturity, heavy investment and human error. product only to let it slip away. Our super accurate artificial intelligence is the world’s only
For many in the developed northern hemisphere, water scarcity technology that analyses acoustic and vibration data from any has too long seemed like something in ‘a far-away country of which make of sensor to identify leaks/no leaks and, more remarkwe know little’. But if world wars and ably, the size of a leak. It works beglobal pandemics teach us anything, it’s that seemingly distant problems We have consciously created cause FIDO is a true application of deep-learning - not just pattern-reccan have far-reaching significance. a global response to leakage ognition – is sensor agnostic and And some, like COVID, are only solved if they’re solved globally. which overcomes challenges trained on absolute truths. As a result, FIDO no longer
Leakage is like that. As climate of proprietary hardware needs human intervention or senchange raises the spectre of more ‘zero’ days, it’s not just the poorer, and network immaturity sor-heavy networks. We believe in smart software but dumb hardware. drier, less developed countries who Where the files come from is irreleare worried. Incredibly, even in some advanced nations, the strat- vant. AI is the clever bit. As software-as-a-service (Saas), FIDO egy for tackling leakage is still to wait for a customer to call in and comes plug-and-play by CAPEX-free monthly subscription. report it. Yet, 95% of leaks never show above ground. Give us access to your sensor files and we’re up and running.
In the UK, where strong regulation has driven the issue, leak But what’s really levelling the playing field, and gaining worlddetection is more mature. Here, networks are divided into dis- wide attention, is the fact that, with simple CAPEX-free hardware trict metered areas, pressure management helps reduce water called Bugs, FIDO eradicates the need for huge investment in loss, and acoustic and vibration monitors ‘listen’ for potential permanent sensors and gives all water systems access to a mature, leaks. This kind of infrastructure takes time and considerable fully developed leak detection solution almost overnight. investment. And in a competitive environment, this has led to There is no longer any reason or excuse for not tackling leakdisparate technologies; locking companies into a Wacky Rac- age. It’s a global problem and we will only solve it globally, es scenario of unilaterally-backed proprietary solutions which collaboratively, together. By leaving our proprietary bunkers don’t share information. and sharing data with technology like FIDO, which crosses
Here’s another 40 per cent. Leak sounds are easily masked boundaries and raises everyone to the level of the best, we help by traffic, pressure management valves or even usage. Even ourselves, and each other, avoid Day Zero.
SDGs
DR DUMINDA PERERA
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY. INSTITUTE FOR WATER, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH “Implementing one-size-fits-all criteria to assess dam removal projects in the global context is at least useless and at most dangerous”
With a design life of 50 to 100 years, most large dams worldwide were built between 1930 and 1970, and could show signs of ageing by now. Dam decommissioning is a growing trend in the developed world as older dams become increasingly more expensive to maintain or become obsolete.
Z Cristina Novo Pérez
A report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) highlights that many of the tens of thousands of large dams built in the 20th century are operating at or beyond their design life. Increasing potential of dam failure, rising costs of repair and maintenance, and loss of functionality and effectiveness are some of the signs of an ageing dam. We interview author Dr. Duminda Perera about this emerging global risk and the implications of dam decommissioning, a relatively recent phenomenon gaining pace in North America and Europe.
With over ten years of experience primarily focusing on water-related disasters and risk management, Dr. Perera's expertise covers surface and subsurface hydrology, numerical modeling, disaster risk reduction (DRR), early warning systems, climate change impact assessments, integrated flood management, and capacity development. Before joining UNU-INWEH, he worked for many years in Japan as a research specialist at the UNESCO International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM). Since joining UNU, he has been working on climate change, DRR, and water resources variability-related themes. His current research focuses at UNU-INWEH include a global evaluation of operational flood early warning systems, assessing African water security, ageing water infrastructure, and water-related threats to megacities.
What are the emerging trends in dam decommissioning?
Decommissioning dams is a relatively recent phenomenon but is becoming progressively more common on various scales globally and regionally; for example, it has become quite common in the USA and Europe. The dams removed are, however, primarily of smaller size. Removal of large dams is still in its infancy, although a few cases have been recorded mainly in the last ten years. The USA plays the leading role in dam decommissioning, removing nearly 1,275 dams in 21 states over the previous 30 years. However, most of the removed dams were smaller in size ( < 5 m height) and privately owned. The decommissioning of the Glines Canyon and Elwha Dams which are nearly 110 years old and over 60 m high in Washington, USA, is recorded as the largest dam decommission project with a cost of about USD 325 million. In Europe also a number of dams are decommissioned, mainly in relation to their environmental impacts.
In developing countries, dam decommissioning has not significantly emerged as a solution to ageing dams yet. Those dams’ functional contributions to their economies are inevitable, and still, a replaceable alternative is not feasible in terms of cost and technology.
How do the socio-economic impacts of dam decommissioning vary between low and high-income countries?
A dam decommissioning will have various societal impacts, such as changes in the local economy. Fisheries, agriculture, tourism, and hydropower will be affected by dam removal and, in turn, impact employment opportunities and livelihoods. The extent of dam removal impacts may vary based on geography and socio-economic conditions. In developed nations where water availability is reliable, many ageing dams have been rendered obsolete. Their removal may be the ideal choice to manage ageing infrastructure because of the cost-benefit and the positive ecolog-
ical impacts of regaining a free-flowing river. However, dams may be critical infrastructure for low-income countries to provide clean water and sanitation, irrigate crops for improved livelihoods and poverty alleviation, and provide a reliable, clean energy source. In these cases, dam removal may not be a viable option. Thus, implementing one-size-fits-all criteria to assess and prioritize dam removal projects in the global context is at least useless and at most dangerous.
The agricultural sector may benefit from or be inhibited by dam removal. For low-income, developing nations in the global South, dams and irrigation systems can play a critical role in alleviating poverty (e.g., in Asia and Africa, most large dams are for irrigation purposes); hence, dam removal could have detrimental consequences to local livelihoods. Alternately, dam removal may turn out to be beneficial for people who previously relied on the reservoir footprint for agricultural lands such as pastoral societies or subsistence farming.
Hydropower generation can be significantly affected if a dam is removed. In developed economies where access to electricity is nearly universal, removing obsolete hydropower dams may have a limited impact on local societies. In contrast, in developing economies where people lack access to electricity for their homes and workplaces, a hydropower dam removal may have far-reaching negative consequences and, thus, not be a viable option to address ageing infrastructure. Rivers are rarely dammed for the sole purpose of fishery creation, and in most cases, damming a river results in losses of riverine fisheries. Dam removal can increase fishery yields that are important for local populations. Dam removal may stimulate the local economy by increasing tourism, but reservoirs can also attract tourists, e.g., swimming, fishing, and boating, which may be lost if the dam is removed.
The cost of dam removal is estimated to be an order of magnitude less than that of repairing. Do you think the cost will be a primary driver to choose dam decommissioning over repair?
Costs for repair and decommissioning are critical factors in the decision-making process of a dam's fate. However, public safety, continuous maintenance
costs, sedimentation, and environmental impacts are equally important factors to be considered.
According to the report, both constructions of a new dam and its later decommissioning must consider various positive and negative economic, social, and environmental impacts. To what extent does decommissioning, in those countries where it is already taking place, follow regulatory procedures similar to those necessary for dam construction?
Dam decommissioning is still practicing primarily in North America and Europe especially on smaller dams. There are published guidelines by several states in
the USA to follow in dam removal; their main focus is on privately owned dams. In Canada, provincial governments, e.g., Ontario, have published a decision-making framework to implement dam removal. Likewise, regional procedures are available; however, this issue is emerging globally. Therefore it is essential to develop standard or commonly used regulatory procedures.
Extreme weather events as a result of climate change can increase the threat of ageing large dams designed using historical hydrological data. On the other hand, a recent study by Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies exposes the role of dams in mitigating flood risk under climate change. Do you think climate change should be another factor to consider when making decisions about the future of dams?
Yes, absolutely. Climate change-induced extreme events, primarily floods and droughts, can cause significant impacts on these ageing structures. Increased intensity and frequency of extreme flood events can challenge dams' structural integrity and capacity. Overtopping is a common cause of several dam failures recorded in the past. Also, the dams in the tropics will face high evaporation rates in the future due to increased temperatures leading to storage losses. Eventually, these events are threats to the effective functioning of dams.
Flood control is one of the major functions dams were designed for. We agree that dams play a big role in mitigating flood risk. Due to the loss of stationarity of the hydroclimatic data as a result of climate change, it is challenging to
predict future events based on past data. Therefore, the decision about ageing dams should be made considering the uncertainties in future events, capacities of dams, and their structural integrity.
Large dams are still planned in some regions. To what extent do you think the implications of dam decommissioning should be taken into account during the planning phase for a new dam, similarly to other major projects, such as mines which include planning for future reclamation activities?
Decommissioning is an issue emerging globally, therefore it is essential to develop a standard or commonly used regulatory procedures
Irrigation and hydropower are the main driving factors for planning dams in some regions. We do not know how far those project planners have considered the planned structure's decommissioning after its lifespan. However, the dams built in the 60s and 70s are reaching the end of their lifespans are now facing the ageing issue; these cases suggest present-day dam planners ought to consider decommissioning as the end component of a dam's life cycle.
The report calls for protocols to guide the process of dam removal, to understand processes and outcomes. What do you see as the path ahead for this to become a reality? Are any countries leading in this regard?
Over 90% of large dams are located in 25 countries. The majority of them are in the developed world, which is economically and technologically advanced enough to find sustainable alternatives for the ageing dams, including dam decommissioning as a solution. So far, dam removal is limited mainly to small dams in North America and Europe. However, sharing the lesson learned, technology, and experience can lead the other nations to develop sound plans for dam removal in their soils. Ultimately, value judgments will determine the fate of many of these large water storage structures. It is not an easy process, and thus distilling lessons from and sharing dam decommissioning experiences should be a common global goal. Lack of such knowledge and lack of its reflection in relevant regional/national policies/practices may progressively and adversely affect the ability to manage water storage dams properly as they age.
WMO SPEARHEADS NEW WATER AND CLIMATE COALITION TO ACHIEVE MORE EFFECTIVE INTEGRATED POLICIES
The coalition will galvanise the principles of integrated water and climate and break traditional water, disaster and climate siloes
A new Water and Climate Coalition has been launched to achieve more effective policy-making in an era when climate change, environmental degradation and population growth has exacerbated water-related hazards and scarcity.
The coalition was announced at a high-level General Assembly event to speed up lagging progress towards the water-related SDGs and in particular SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation for all. The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. "Our discussion today isn't just about liquid in a bottle. It’s presence or absence means so, so much more. It's about dignity. It's about opportunity. It's about our health & our ability to survive," said General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir.
In her opening remarks, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammad called on Governments to raise ambition on climate action as a key priority for achieving the water related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.
“I call on Governments to raise ambition on climate action. Increased flooding threatens to destroy water points and sanitation facilities and contaminate our water sources. I reiterate the call of the Secretary-General to allocate 50 per cent of climate finance to adaptation”, she said.
“We are seeing a growing amount of disasters. Many of those disasters are related to water… The biggest impacts of climate change have to do with water,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof Petteri Taalas in a video message. “We have to adapt to climate change. And one of the powerful ways to adapt to climate change is to invest in early warning services and meteorological and hydrological services.”
A 15-member Water and Climate Leaders panel is fronting the international coalition spearheaded by WMO and 10 UN agencies. The Water and Climate Leaders group includes current and former government, business and civil society leaders as well as 2 youth representatives from all regions of the world. They will provide practical guidance on proper integration, information, cooperation and investment.
WMO spearheads the new coalition because a major obstacle to provide efficient and sustainable water solutions is the lack of information about the currently available water resources, future availability and demand for food and energy supply. Decision makers are faced with the same dilemma when it comes to flood and drought risks.
The Water and Climate Coalition is a voluntary effort to close the information gap in the water, food and energy nexus and tackle the growing water and climate-related impacts. Fit for purpose National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, embedded in regional and global information streams are a prerequisite for success.
The Water and Climate coalition supports the implementation of the UN Water Action Decade through the UN-Water Global Accelerator Framework for SDG 6 with a concrete action mechanism.
EGYPT WILL DEVELOP CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION PROJECTS WORTH $5 BILLION
Projects include various water saving approaches, wastewater treatment and desalination plants to support the country’s 2030 agenda Progress is too slow, but the future of the country depends on water
Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, announced the country will implement 43 projects to develop clean water and sanitation with EU backing worth $5 billion, reports Zawya. The funds represent over 19.4% of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s financing for sustainable development goal (SDG) 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation.
The minister said during the EU – Africa green talk webinar on Water Sustainability and Clean Oceans, “Water replenishes our people, transports our trade, and is key to any industry. It is the foundation for all development growth and economic stability, and through our international partnerships for sustainable development, Egypt is dedicated to supporting green growth”. She also added: “The projects cover a wide array of strategies in approaches of water saving, wastewater treatment and management plants and water desalination plants”. The new projects support Egypt’s 2030 agenda, an ambitious program to achieve green growth and encourage sustainable consumption and diversification of resources.
“Through our economic diplomacy and our international partnerships for sustainable development, we continue work with multilateral and bilateral development partners to support green growth to sustainable future for the country,” the minister said, “Accordingly, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Egypt share a development portfolio of $2.5 bn, focusing on projects on energy, pollution compact, water management and transportation”. Dr Kevin Winter of the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Future Water Institute in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science has examined why South Africa is unlikely to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for water by 2030.
The SDGs are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity by 2030. With fewer than nine years ahead, it is unlikely that South Africa will achieve the targets set for water.
The final report to the UN is more likely to take the form of a rain check, claiming that the pandemic has interrupted the agenda for addressing the SDGs. South Africa will not be the only country making such a plea. However, access to and availability of water is crucial for the country to press on with its developmental agenda by using the SDGs to complement the National Development Plan and to use the opportunity as an international benchmark.
Meeting water and sanitation challenges was never going to be easy. Poor economic growth, poor monitoring and data, increasing pollution, water stress, and insufficient supply are in the way.
At current levels of progress and institutional capacity, these challenges are unlikely to be addressed within the next nine years. The water authorities will need to look outside of themselves. An independent water regulator could play a significant role as a facilitator to ensure greater participation of local communities and in strengthening public-private partnerships.
SOUTH AFRICA UNLIKELY TO ACHIEVE UN’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL FOR WATER BY 2030
OSWARD M. CHANDA
WATER SECURITY AND SANITATION DIVISION. AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
NEW SANITATION AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT ATLAS: A FLASHLIGHT ON SANITATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA
Access to sanitation is a human right, essential for preserving the narrow sense of the management of human faeces, but human dignity and attaining a high quality of life. It is also a extended to include the management of different wastewater social service with important contributions to human health, streams comprising municipal, industrial, urban stormwater poverty eradication, gender equity and economic develop- runoff, agricultural and medical wastewater streams as well as ment. Diarrheal diseases, linked to poor access to safe water the management of solid waste. The report has a graphically and inadequate sanitation, is the third leading cause of death appealing look and is rich in statistical facts and insightful in Africa. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested graphical illustrations. in water and sanitation, there is a return of 3-5 dollars in The report has a broad scope, which extends to water, sanisavings from medical and funeral expenses, care for the sick tation and hygiene coverage on the African continent; urban and increased productivity of the workforce, among others. versus rural disparities in service coverage levels; demographic
Despite the obvious benefits from sanitation, a large pro- trends and impacts on sustainable development; surface and portion of the African population has no access to basic san- groundwater availability and water stress situation; approachitation, and many countries did not meet their sanitation es for sustainable management of wastewater streams includMDG target. The Joint Monitoring Programme for Water ing types of technologies used in wastewater treatment; wasteSupply, Sanitation and Hygiene water re-use and circular economy (JMP) report for 2019 indicates that in 2017 about 750 million The report amplifies the approaches on the continent; international, continental and national people in Africa (i.e., close to huge deficit in sanitation policy and regulatory frameworks 70% of the population) did not have access to basic sanitation access in Africa and is a for the management of water and sanitation; and country profiles on while over 200 million people call to intensify efforts for water and sanitation. (i.e., 20% of the population) practiced open defecation. improving sanitation access The report amplifies the huge deficit in sanitation access in Afri-
Many factors are responsible for ca and is a rallying call on African the dire situation in Africa. These include low levels of prior- governments, development partners, non-governmental oritization and investment in the sanitation sector; high capital ganisations, community-based organisations, businesses, uniinvestment cost of urban sanitation systems; poor policy and versities and research institutions, and private individuals to regulatory frameworks; weak water and sanitation utilities; intensify efforts for improving sanitation access on the contilow levels of awareness on sanitation and hygiene, and poor nent. Potential interventions include updating and increasing cultural practices and beliefs. An equally important contrib- the depth of data on water and sanitation; channelling finanuting factor is the lack of accurate information to support cial resources to support the preparation and implementation evidence-based policy and decision making on sanitation of urban and rural sanitation programmes, supporting efforts management. to document lessons and best practices; supporting advocacy,
The latter situation – on a weak information base – information dissemination and awareness raising; improving changed with the publication of the first-ever Sanitation and the enabling environment for sanitation investments and proWastewater Management Atlas for Africa. This report pro- moting innovative approaches and technologies; and promotvides a comprehensive overview of the sanitation situation ing greater involvement of the private sector in financing the on the continent. Sanitation in the report is viewed, not in sanitation value chain.
CLIMATE CHANGE
DR PETER BAUER
DIRECTOR OF THE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT AT THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS (ECMWF)
The objective of the Destination Earth initiative is to develop a very high precision digital model of our planet. It will monitor and simulate natural and human activity, and allow developing scenarios to support European environmental policies and foster sustainable development.
Z Cristina Novo Pérez
Destination Earth is a ground-breaking EU initiative to support the green transition by providing new Earth system simulation and observation capabilities. A digital twin of the Earth will be created, making it possible to explore natural processes and human actives in an interactive way. It is expected to enhance our ability to produce climate models with unprecedented detail and reliability. Thanks to it, policy-makers will be able to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, saving lives and alleviating economic consequences in cases of natural disasters. The European Centre for Me-
dium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a major partner in the EU initiative alongside the European Space Agency and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). In this interview, Deputy Director of Research at ECMWF Peter Bauer gives an overview of Destination Earth and what we can expect from it as it unfolds.
Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)?
I studied atmospheric physics in Germany and did my PhD on satellite remote sensing in Hamburg. I then joined the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and founded a group working on satellite remote sensing of clouds and precipitation. During this time, I also spent some time in the USA (NOAA and NASA) and France (IPSL). I joined ECMWF in 2000 where, after a few years, I took over the management of the satellite section, then of the model division. At present, I am the deputy director of the research department and coordinate the ECMWF contribution to Destination Earth.
The ECMWF recently presented EU plans to develop a high-precision digital model – a digital twin – of the Earth. Can you explain how the idea for Destination Earth emerged and evolved? What needs does it address? The concept of Destination Earth emerged from the need to greatly accelerate simulation model skill and observational data usage given the ap-
