Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly 9 by Smart Water Magazine

FROM THE EDITOR

VISIONARIES ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE OF WATER Historically, the water industry has always been characterised by its proactivity. This philosophy has enabled the treatment and management of water resources to reach levels of efficiency and sustainability that were unimaginable a few decades ago. Many of these advances have been made possible thanks to people and institutions that have an innate ability to set their sights on the future, draw the challenges we will face and develop solutions to overcome them. Such is the case of our September cover story. With a long and brilliant career behind him, Dr Piers Clark is now the Chairman of Isle Group Ltd, a company with explosive growth in recent years that has already positioned itself as a benchmark for service operators seeking to identify and adopt new technologies. PUBLISHER iAgua Conocimiento, S.L. C/María de Molina, 41. Spaces Builing. 28006. Madrid info@iagua.es MANAGEMENT Alejandro Maceira Rozados David Escobar Gutiérrez EDITOR Alejandro Maceira Rozados

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a turning point for Isle Utilities' activities, thanks to the launch of initiatives such as the Water Action Platform, a forum aimed at sharing best practices in the water sector, which in record time has already brought together more than 1,500 members from 92 countries. With a consolidated client portfolio and a growing community, Clark sets new challenges in a conversation with our colleague Cristina Novo. Among them, he highlights digitalisation and the use of data as the big trend of the present and the future of our industry, and the climate crisis as the most important problem we must face. As Alan Tavor, CEO of IDE Water Technologies, states in another of the highlights of this issue, global climate

EDITORIAL STAFF Águeda García de Durango Caveda Laura Fernández Zarza Paula Sánchez Almendros Olivia Tempest Prados Cristina Novo Pérez

changes will force the water industry to be able to manage significant fluctuation in every parameter. "Availability, quality of water sources, variating flows, and storage solutions are only part of the future challenges. As industry leaders in one of the most critical elements of our existence, we must act toward a more sustainable supply of water”. Clark and Tavor are two of the stars of this magazine, but there is much more. I invite you to come in, enjoy it and share it with your colleagues to continue moving towards better water management around the world. Thank you for sticking with us.

Alejandro Maceira - Director SWM

D @amaceira - E @AlejandroMaceiraiAgua

ART AND GRAPHIC DESIGN Pablo González-Cebrián Esther Martín Muñoz

ADVERTISING Javier de los Reyes PHOTOGRAPHY Pablo González-Cebrián

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CONTENTS NUMBER 09 - SEP 2021

INTERVIEW

FEATURE

OPINION

PASSIONATE ABOUT INNOVATION

SUSTAINABILITY STARTS WITH RESEARCH

CHANGING OUR DRINKING HABITS

WE NEED MORE THAN TECHNOLOGY

Pg. 14 Chairman of Isle Group Piers Clark discusses current issues in the water industry and collaboration through the Water Action Platform.

Pg. 24 An in depth look at how ACCIONA’s R&D&I Department in its Water Division supports sustainable water management solutions.

Pg. 88 Droople’s solutions for water dispensing systems provide insights that can help the habits of consumers and institutions evolve.

Pg. 90 A refreshing look at the need to rethink water governance to address global water challenges, beyond technological solutions.

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WE DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. Innovation collaboration on a global scale

There are very few challenges today that haven’t been tackled in some way, by somebody, somewhere in the world. It is with this knowledge that Isle identified the need for utilities to work together globally. Together we are changing the way emerging technologies and solutions are brought to market. If you want to join us please contact piers.clark@isleutilities.com

www.isleutilities.com

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CONTENTS NUMBER 09 - SEP 2021

FEATURE

INTERVIEW

FEATURE

A STRATEGY ALIGNED WITH THE SDGS

NEW DESALINATION MARKETS

MORE EFFICIENT RO PROCESSES

IMPROVING TREATMENT PLANT DESIGN

Pg. 38 Public-private collaboration and risk sharing underpin Aqualia’s strategy and commitment to achieve sustainability gains.

Pg. 42 We hear from Alon Tavor, CEO of IDE Water Technologies, on the company’s plans for expansion and global water industry trends.

Pg. 54 A machine learning approach by Synauta can help increase the efficiency and service life of reverse osmosis membranes.

Pg. 82 Reduce significantly the time it takes to design water treatment processes using Envirosuite’s cloudbased design technology.

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aqualia.com

The proof that we’re doing well is that you don’t even realize we exist. We are colourless, transparent, almost invisible to your sight. We go unnoticed on a day-to-day basis. And… Why not recognize it? ...discreet in this noisy world. But behind Aqualia there are many professionals, experts and committed, dedicated every day to ensure that the water continues to reach millions of homes... without you even knowing about it. We are people working for people providing an essential public service.

PARTNER ORGANISATION

CONTENTS NUMBER 09 - SEP 2021 THE MAGAZINE FOR THE KEY PLAYERS OF THE WATER SECTOR FEATURE

THE FUTURE OF WATER IN MINING Pg. 48 Water sector leader Almar Water Solutions is committed to meeting the water-related needs of the mining industry in Latin America.

OPINION

A PEOPLE-FIRST PPP APPROACH Pg. 52 Zaid Railoun reflects on the need to invest in institutions and water infrastructure in South Africa to tackle water shortage issues.

FEATURE

IRRIGATION GOES DIGITAL Pg. 66 Hidroconta presents the successful implementation of its Deméter system to remotely control an irrigation network in the Canary Islands.

WEBINAR

MAKING THE MOST OF SENSOR DATA Pg. 60 Last July SWM and Innovyze organised a webinar for water utilities and consultants to showcase Innovyze’s new cloud platform, Info360.

OPINION

ACHIEVING THE SDGS: NOT IMPOSSIBLE Pg. 64 Will Sarni makes the case that digital technologies are key to deliver transformation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

INTERVIEW

TIME FOR SMART STORMWATER Pg. 70 SWM interviews Stormsensor’s CEO Erin K. Rothman to learn how cities can benefit from the digitalisation of storm and sewer networks.

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#SWMB9

WE SAVE WATER SO THE FUTURE IS SUSTAINABLE At ACCIONA we design innovative water treatment solutions to ensure universal water access and to guarantee that this resource is managed sustainably. We look after water as part of our commitment to the fight against the climate emergency.

Discover more at:

SWM RANKING Smart Water Magazine (SWM) launches a Ranking to measure the inﬂuence of organizations and professionals in the water industry. The SWM Ranking is a tool that allows the influence of organizations in the water sector to be measured and ordered according to transparent criteria. The factors considered for the calculation are the page views on the web, the number of SWM Likes and the contents in Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly. The ranking order is established by a unit of measurement created for this purpose: SWM Points. This metric is calculated through a mathematical algorithm that takes into account the content published during the 365 days prior to the calculation date and will be updated every two months, coinciding with the publication of each issue of SWM Bimonthly. The data of the visits to the web are extracted from Google Analytics, while the amount of SWM Likes are directly counted and can be seen in the different contents of the web.

mentioned that particular content can obtain a maximum of 1,000 points. This is done to prevent the distortion of the entire classification in case a specific content goes viral.

How are SWM points earned? Each content published on the web by an entity or blogger gets 1 point for every 10 page views; also, for each SWM Like it gets 2 points, which become 5 in the event that the user who grants it is a verified user. On the other hand, if the content appears in SWM Bimonthly, it gets 250 points. This amount is fixed and corresponds to an estimation of the average audience generated by the bimonthly magazines. It should also be

SWM Likes and Verified Users Registered users of SWM can click on the blue heart of any content on the web that they like. The number of SWM Likes appears beside the blue heart. The number of likes of a content is used for the calculation, having a different value if the user is verified (5 points) or not (2 points). Verified users are easy to distinguish as a white "check" icon appears on their profile next to their name on a blue circle.

Classification categories SWM publishes content of all kinds: by companies, public administrations, international organizations, associations, foundations, etc. In addition, SWM bloggers publish their articles in a personal capacity on a wide variety of topics. For all these reasons, the Ranking has several classifications depending on the category of the entity. The most important ones are: • Companies • Blogs In addition, a general classification can be consulted in which all the participating entities are compared regardless of their type.

How are SWM points earned?

SWM Points

SWM Like

Page views

Verified users

SWM Points

SWM Point

Page views

Non-verified users

SWM Alliances A blog that is linked to an entity will contribute only 50% of its points to that entity

250 SWM Points

50%

*The ranking order is established by a unit of measurement created for this purpose: SWM Points. *A specific content piece can obtain a maximum of 1,000 SWM Points. *The maximum number of content pieces in SWM Bimonthly that will be considered for the calculation is 16.

TOP 10 - COMPANIES RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

COMPANY

SWM POINTS

1.295 points 1.173 points 1.112 points 1.110 points 1.012 points 1.000 points 822 points 516 points 456 points 446 points

Hidroconta Schneider Electric ACCIONA Idrica Xylem. Inc. Tedagua Droople Veolia Bentley Systems SUEZ

TOP 5 - PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS

TOP 5 - BLOGS 291 points

Graham Mann

265 points

PUB Singapore's N. Water Agency 222 points

John Mmbaga

87 points

PUB Singapore's N. Water Agency 232 points

Madhukar Swayambhu

83 points

U.S Department of Energy

DEWA Dubai

183 points

Amit Katyal

67 points

UK Ofwat

101 points

Alain Dedieu

49 points - MAGAZINE

PERSON OF THE MONTH

SERGIO DÍAZ-GRANADOS NEW EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT OF THE CAF – DEVELOPMENT BANK OF LATIN AMERICA

This past summer Sergio Díaz-Granados was elected the new Executive President of the CAF – Development Bank of Latin America by the Board of Directors of the institution. A prominent Colombian lawyer, he has an extensive career in the public and private sectors, nationally and internationally, with emphasis on development and regional integration. Díaz-Granados took office on September 1st for a period of 5 years. He is also dean and president of the Coordinating Committee of the Board of Executive Directors of the IDB, and he has held

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positions such as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia. CAF is a leading institution in Latin America and one of the main sources of multilateral financing for the region. A major think tank with a global vision, it provides a link between Latin America and the rest of the world. As he took office, the new Executive President announced that his priority for the next 100 days of his mandate will be Latin America’s economic and social recovery.

BUSINESS

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ON THE COVER

CLARK DR PIERS

CHAIRMAN OF ISLE UTILITIES

“Looking to the future it is clear that the climate crisis is now the most pressing problem”

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ON THE COVER

Isle Utilities

is formed by a global team of scientists, engineers, business and regulatory experts, who aim to make a positive social, economic, and environmental impact through the advancement of emerging technologies and innovating practices.

Cristina Novo Pérez

Passionate about innovation, Isle supports water utilities all over the world with the uptake of technologies. The founder and chairman of the Isle Group Piers Clark is a technical and industry expert with more than 25 years’ experience in the water, waste and utilities sectors. In this interview Piers shares his thoughts on current concerns of the water sector. Read on to learn about Isle’s priorities and their brainchild to foster knowledge-sharing in the water sector, the Water Action Platform, initially set up to help with the Covid-19 response, which has evolved to dealing now with a much broader range of topics. Could you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role in Isle Utilities? I am the Chairman of the Isle Group Ltd. Isle is a technical, specialist, water consultancy, employing about 100 people and with offices in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the USA, Australia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Isle works with over 250 utilities around the world helping them identify and adopt new technology. Prior to joining Isle I was the Managing Director for the $1 bn private equity fund called Global Water Development Partners (GWDP), a Blackstone portfolio company. From 2010-14 I was the Commercial Director at Thames Water, the largest of the UK water companies. Prior to this I was the Managing Director of Mouchel’s Regulated Industries leading a team of 3,000 staff providing engineering consultancy and operational maintenance services in the water, energy, environment and rail sectors.

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"ISLE HELPS WATER UTILITIES IDENTIFY AND ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND INNOVATIONS WHICH WILL HELP OUR CLIENTS BETTER SERVE THEIR CUSTOMERS"

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ON THE COVER

Isle Utilities aims to be a catalyst for the adoption of emerging technologies. Can you tell us about your company’s priorities for the near future? The ethos within Isle is that we help water utilities identify and adopt new technologies and innovations which will help our clients better serve their customers. At the beginning of the pandemic it was clear that many water utilities around the world were trying to work out how best they could respond to the pandemic. Recognising that it was vitally important that utilities shared their learnings, both good and bad, we set up a forum through which utilities could ask questions, share experiences and generally learn from one another. It was launched on March 23rd 2020 and within a month we had over 500 members. Today this forum, called the Water Action Platform, has over 1500 members from 92 countries. The pandemic has obviously dominated our activities over the past 2 years, but looking to the future it is clear that the climate crisis (and how we can avert the worst impacts of this impending disaster) is now the most pressing problem. Helping our clients address this challenge is now our number one priority. Collaboration is essential to meet current and future water challenges; what role do you see for private and public actors? We work with both public and private utilities. It would be easy to focus on the differences between these two groups but I prefer to think about the similarities. After all, there are far more things that public and private utilities have in common than they have as differences. For example, both experience the same type of day-to-day operational challenges (floods, droughts, non revenue water challenges etc) and both, in general, employ highly skilled, very competent technical staff who strive every day to provide better water and sanitation services. From my experience it is these individuals ‘on the ground’ who drive real collaboration between utilities. Yes, it helps if there is a clearly defined corporate strategy which encourages collaboration and the sharing of best practice, but what

we have seen from the Water Action Platform is that it is the stories and experiences from the individuals – irrespective of whether they are from public or private organisations – which makes the difference.

"AT THE WATER ACTION PLATFORM WE HAVE SEEN THAT IT IS THE STORIES AND EXPERIENCES FROM THE INDIVIDUALS WHICH MAKES THE DIFFERENCE"

What trends do you see in the uptake of innovative technologies and practices in water management? Over the last few years there has been a significant (and somewhat glorious) increase in the number of technologies which utilise data better. Some refer to this as ‘digitization’, others as ‘artificial intelligence’, but basically it all comes down to the same thing: how can we get better operational wisdom out of the day-to-day data which is collected from our various sensors and samples. This trend towards better data management is seen across every aspect of technology, from pumps to process plant, from water supply to wastewater treatment and biosolids management.

The impact of increased cost and decreased income during the pandemic has left many water utilities in a perilous financial state

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ON THE COVER

Can you comment on how utilities have handled the coronavirus health emergency to minimise its impacts and help with recovery? Not surprisingly different utilities have responded in different ways, but the sense of urgency has been universal. I think it is fair to say that across the world water utilities have responded well to the pandemic, in general keeping the taps flowing and the toilets flushing.

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"SOME COUNTRIES (FOR EXAMPLE ISRAEL, SINGAPORE, ETC.) ARE HOT-BEDS FOR INNOVATION, AND THIS IS USUALLY DRIVEN BY NATIONAL POLICY"

However, what we have seen which is particularly disturbing is how water utilities have had to absorb the significant financial impact of the pandemic. I suspect that this is a problem we are yet to see unravel. For example, in many parts of the world governments made a blanket decision to waive water bills, or lower water tariffs. In most cases this was a very sensible decision which preserved public

ON THE COVER

health. However, it was made at a time when most water utilities needed to increase their operational costs in order to ensure that their assets continued to operate during the pandemic. The impact of this significantly increased cost during a time of significantly decreased income has resulted in many water utilities now being in a perilous financial state and we are yet to see how this will be resolved.

We were one of the first organisations to spot the opportunity to monitor the spread of the SAR-COV-2 virus through sewage effluent

"WE HAVE HELD OVER 30 WEBINARS, USUALLY WITH 4 OR 5 SPEAKERS, RANGING FROM SECTOR EXPERTS, TO TECHNOLOGISTS, TO UTILITY OPERATORS"

Which world regions are most advanced concerning the implementation of technologies and where should efforts concentrate? Now that’s an unfair question! How can I answer without offending at least half of the readers?! Perhaps I can twist the question and respond with some comments about how different regions tend to respond… From my experience, and I stress that this is just my personal experience not a corporate view from Isle, I find that Australian utilities are very open to new technology. They will actively, and quite intensely, engage on new ideas often at a stage when they are very early in their development. In Europe and North America there is a stronger appetite to do trials (at large scale), but this is usually for technologies at a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of 8 or above. Some countries of course (for example Israel, Singapore etc) are hot-beds for innovation, and this is usually driven by a national policy made at government level. Which organisations and speakers have participated in the Water Action Platform to date?

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ON THE COVER

We have held over 30 webinars, and on each webinar we usually have 4 or 5 speakers, ranging from sector experts, to technologists, to utility operators. With this in mind there are too many to name individually (and I worry I would offend the people I would inevitably miss out), but perhaps the ones to mention here are those who we invited to speak first. Back in April 2020 the pandemic had really only taken hold in Italy and many other parts of the world were either bracing themselves, or were (somewhat foolishly) living in a state of denial (i.e., “it won’t happen to me”). With this in mind, we invited a couple of the scientific team (Dr Michela Biasibetti and Laura Mostarda) from the Italian utility Acque Bresciane to share what they had been going through. They were exceptionally honest and open in their description of what they had experienced, and in their advice as to how other utilities should prepare themselves. It was, I believe, a pivotal moment for many people who were listening. What is your assessment of what has been accomplished so far through the Water Action Platform? I wish I could tell you that when we launched the Water Action Platform I had a clear vision of what it would become, however that would be untrue. I started the Water Action Platform as nothing more than a simple WhatsApp group, to which I had invited a few utilities to join so they could share their experiences. If you had asked me on the day we launched it how I thought it was going to grow I would have said that I hoped we might get 10 – 20 utilities involved. Within 3 days we had 72 utilities (I remember thinking that on average one utility had joined each hour since it had been launched). When I look back at what we have achieved over the past 18 months through the Water Action Platform I am truly astonished. For example, we were one of the first organisations to spot the opportunity to monitor the spread of the SAR-COV-2 virus through sewage effluent and as the scientific evidence for this grew we played an important role in spreading this news across the sector, thereby ensuring everyone had the same information. Of course, we have also achieved things which are nothing to do with the pandemic. Following

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My vision is that we will build upon the collaboration in response to the pandemic and we will mobilise to address the climate crisis

the terrible port disaster in Lebanon in August 2020 we initiated – through the Water Action Platform - the Crisis Response Register. The CRR provides a mechanism for water specialists to offer their services to assist with crises as and when they occur.

"WE SET UP THE WATER ACTION PLATFORM SO UTILITIES COULD ASK QUESTIONS, SHARE EXPERIENCES AND GENERALLY LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER"

What is your vision for this initiative in the future? As noted at the start of this interview, the biggest challenge facing the world right now is the impending climate crisis. Future generations will, I believe, hold this generation responsible. We knew the science behind climate change, we knew we were not acting fast enough, we understood the consequences of our actions. However, to date at least, we have not responded with the appropriate sense of urgency. My vision for the Water Action Platform is that we will build upon the collaboration and sharing which has been created over the past 18 months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and we will mobilise this same level of collaboration, sharing and sense of urgency to address the climate crisis. If we do not address this problem our grandchildren will hold us responsible.

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FEATURE

Population growth and the effects of climate change pose clear challenges to the water sector. In this context, scientific research and technological development are the basis on which more sustainable and efficient water infrastructures and treatment processes can be developed to guarantee drinking water supplies, access to sanitation and the conservation of the environment. R&D&I, an essential support tool in the end-to-end management of the water cycle ACCIONA’s R&D&I Department in its Water Division has been working for more than 30 years to find pioneering solutions in desalination, potabilization, treatment and reuse in order to take on the challenges mentioned above. It is home to a multidisciplinary team of over thirty researchers, focused on the development of in-house technologies and innovative solutions to support ACCIONA’s activities in the end-to-end management of the water cycle. ACCIONA’s R&D&I Department in its Water Division covers everything from laboratory research to the study of pilot technologies and plants and their later industrial upscaling, always work-

The company’s R&D&I activity responds to the needs of the business to take on the great challenges faced by the water sector 24

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ing closely with the company’s other business areas and operational teams. To do this, it has a number of facilities, in particular the Water Technology Center in Barcelona, which has a water research laboratory and a hydraulics process laboratory equipped with the latest equipment and analytical techniques. These facilities are complemented by demonstration units in water treatment plants operated by ACCIONA, so the technologies can be validated in a semi-industrial setting prior to their implementation on a large scale. The demonstration units work under real conditions, a differentiating factor that means that the results obtained can be applied almost immediately, and thereby add value to the business. Some examples can be found in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia), where the LEAD® experimental desalination platform is located, and also in wastewater treatment plants in Madrid and Gran Canaria. The R&D&I Department also provides direct support for the construction and operation of plants through the analysis and characterization of membrane modules (RO, NF, UF, MF); character-

ACCIONA Water Technology Centre, Barcelona

ization of soiling; autopsies on membranes; testing cleaning equipment and products; modelling of hydrodynamic and biological processes using specific software (CFD or GPSX fluid dynamics and Biowin), checking of parameters and results, etc. Reducing energy consumption in desalination through reverse osmo-

ACCIONA

sis, developing new processes based on membrane technology, improving biological treatments in drinking water plants and wastewater treatment plants, fostering the circular economy and valorising resources, guaranteeing a safe and stable drinking water supply and incorporating digital technologies into the operation of water plants and

networks are some of the challenges faced by the water sector, which seeks to address them through an innovative approach. To deal with these challenges, ACCIONA develops pioneering R&D&I products that are later used on an industrial scale in water treatment plants all over the world.

Demonstration units in water treatment plants operated by ACCIONA validate the technologies in a semi-industrial setting - MAGAZINE

FEATURE

ACCIONA has developed a hybrid biological treatment system that consists of a fixed biological reactor with biomass on a moving bed Some of the technologies developed by the R&D&I Department and currently installed in plants operated by ACCIONA include: NIPARMOX®, the sustainable removal of nitrogen from treatment plant sludge Removing contaminants in water is one of our main lines of research to comply with the legislation on water treatment and ensure that the water is returned to the environment in a safe manner after treatment. In many cases, water quality can be affected by nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers and other products. Its removal by conventional methods involves high operating costs. NIPARMOX® is a process developed by ACCIONA to remove high nitrogen loads in the return lines of sludge treatment, using special bacteria in different phases of the nitrogen cycle. This ensures a lower consumption level of oxygen and reagents than in the conventional process. These bacteria remove the nitrogen, consuming up to 60% less oxygen than in the conventional nitrification process, thereby reducing energy consumption in the process.

ACCIONA headed the “Smart Water4Europe” project, a pioneering European initiative that demonstrated the Smart Water Network concept 26

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The NIPARMOX® technologies, patented and validated in a series of R&D projects, are used in the Kütahya WWTP in Turkey. Direct benefits have been achieved in terms of operating costs and the quality of output water. Biofilpas®, a biological filter to optimize water potabilization and treatment processes ACCIONA has developed Biofilpas®, a highly versatile biological filter that adapts to different types of effluent, combining the retention of solids through filtration and the biological transformation of contaminants in the water to be treated. This is done through a biofilm of micro-organisms on top of the filling material. Biofilpas® is a solution that reduces the space needed for biological treatment and eliminates the secondary settling stage, making it a very interesting option in plants with problems of space, such as in the Putatan WWTP in the Philippines. The implementation of Biofilpas® in this plant means a construction cost saving of around 30%. This system has also been applied in the wastewater treatment plants in Almoradí (Spain) and Scicli (Italy). MBBR-IFAS, providing higher biological treatment capacity in plants, complemented by FILMACTIV® technology, a biofilm system on a plastic base for the treatment of wastewater Also in the field of wastewater treatment, ACCIONA has developed a hybrid biological treatment system that consists of a fixed biological reactor with biomass on a moving bed (MBBR, Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) with sludge in suspension (IFAS, Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge), to simultaneously eliminate the organic load and nutrients without taking up too much space. This kind of hybrid reactor, which is more compact, means that the treatment capacity of a reactor can be increased with a slight rise in volume. This com-

plies with the parameters set in Directive 91/271/CEE on wastewater treatment in terms of the elimination of nutrients. This is also supported by FILMACTIV® technology by ACCIONA, which can reduce start-up times up to 50% in comparison with previous periods for mobile bed reactors. The technology can be applied to existing WWTPs, increasing their treatment capacity and output water quality. In Spain, it has been implemented in the wastewater treatment plants in Alcalá Oeste, Casaquemada and Práceres. ACTIDAFF® and ULTRADAF®, for the pretreatment of water with high turbidity levels The ACTIDAFF® system combines granular bed flotation and filtration to treat

ACCIONA water with a high level of solids in suspension/turbidity, algae or oil and grease. It is, therefore, an ideal solution in desalination plants that use reverse osmosis technology, in tertiary treatment systems or in drinking water plants located in regions likely to suffer algae blooms or with open water intake pipes. ULTRADAF® has similar applications but is solely based on dissolved air flotation, a physical-chemical process that separates solid particles from liquid ones through the addition of micro-bubbles. As it does not have a filter bed, it works much faster. Both ACTIDAFF® and ULTRADAF® are widely used in plants built by ACCIONA, such as the desalination plants Al Jubail and Al Khobar I & II (Saudi Arabia), Ras Abu Fontas 3 and Umm

Al Houl (Qatar), or the drinking water plants at Mundaring (Australia), Laguna Lake and Putatan (Philippines), Alcantarilha (Portugal) and Chilibre (Panama). Towards smart water networks Water infrastructure managers are facing great challenges in terms of efficiency, extending the working life of their assets, regulatory requirements and users’ expectations. The water sector is therefore making great progress in the concept of “smart water”, driven by technologies such as Big Data, IoT, robotics, cloud computing or artificial intelligence. In this area, ACCIONA headed the “Smart Water4Europe” project, a pioneering European initiative that demonstrated the Smart Water Network con-

LEAD® platform. San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia)

cept in a number of cities, among them Burgos (Spain). SmartWater4Europe served as the starting point for ACCIONA to implement a series of innovation projects together with other departments. This has led to the launch of BIONS®, a cloudbased data intelligence platform. BIONS detects, analyses and manages events and incidents in water networks, incorporating data from a range of sources and converting the captured data into knowledge and proactive measures through the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The company has installed the system in the water system of Andratx (Mallorca) and will gradually incorporate all the company’s services. The SmartWater4Europe project is a good example of how R&D&I in a particular area can lead to benefits for a number of sectors. One case in point of joint work between divisions is the “SmartWaterLights” project currently being developed in Toro (Spain). It extends the Smart Network concept to a range of municipal services such as street lighting, the end-to-end water cycle, garbage collection and municipal vehicle fleet management. All these technologies developed by ACCIONA are constantly being evolved, and the R&D&I Department continues to optimize them to ensure their competitiveness. Considering the challenges faced by the water sector, innovation is not only a differentiating factor but is of inherent value to the business, and essential to design sustainable solutions that respond to the major challenges on a world level.

BIONS®, a cloud-based data intelligence platform, detects, analyses and manages events and incidents in water networks - MAGAZINE

WATER & NEWS - BUSINESS

VEOLIA WT’S MOBILE WATER SERVICES EXPAND WITH NEW REGENERATION FACILITY AND ASSETS IN MIDDLE EAST The facility will regenerate and recycle the resins used in the mobile water treatment process, a key sector of activity for Veolia

Veolia Water Technologies, a subsidiary of the Veolia group and leading specialist in water treatment, continues its investment in its mobile water services offering through the development and construction of a new regeneration and recycling service centre and mobile assets in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Following the recent opening of a similar facility in Heinsberg, Germany, the new Damman service centre is another key expansion of the company’s mobile water services and demonstrates its commitment to invest to support its Impact 2023 strategy. The location will grant access to regional industrial manufacturing, supporting customer operations throughout the Kingdom as well as Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt, providing them with long-term value and sup-

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port through local access to this flexible and innovative service. Mobile water systems represent a cost-effective alternative to fixed plants in a wide range of industrial applications and circumstances, be it an emergency situation or planned for commissioning, refurbishment, or maintenance applications. Contracts can range from a few days to multi-year agreements. Mobile water treatment systems are pre-packaged on a trailer, skid or container for maximum mobility and responsiveness. Mark Dyson, Vice President of Veolia’s mobile water business, explained: “This service centre enables us to bring our unique innovative service to support our customers in the region with mobile water treatment technologies and expertise anytime and anywhere,

24/7/365. This service will enable our customers to have greater resilience around business continuity and ensure a reliable and compliant supply of treated water in the event of an unforeseen circumstance, providing peace of mind and stable operations. In addition, customers will be able to maintain their plants whilst in full production and have the option of using a service provider on a more permanent basis for our longer-term rental solutions.” Thierry Froment, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies Middle East, further stated: “Mobile water services are a key part of Veolia’s Impact 2023 strategy and contribute to businesses being more resilient in the face of planned or unforeseen events. This offering strengthens our portfolio of services in the region and allows us to help and support our customers to solve many of their treated water needs in a safe and responsible way. Damman is the perfect base to do it from and this investment will ensure we maintain our market leadership.” Veolia Water Technologies is also investing in its Malaysian regeneration station to expand its capability from a service ion-exchange recycling business to being able to offer Veolia’s full ion-exchange range of mobile water services. Located in Penang, the service centre will be able to support and help customers within the Asia Pacific region, starting with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. This expansion is planned to be available at the end of 2021.

THE SAUDI WATER PARTNERSHIP COMPANY ANNOUNCES WINNING BIDDERS AND A NEW REQUEST FOR EOI A consortium of Acciona-Tawzea-Tamasuk is the preferred bidder for the Buraydah-2, Tabuk-2 and Madinah-3 sewage treatment plants The Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has made several important project announcements. On one hand, the SWPC has announced the preferred and reserved bidders for the Buraydah-2 and Tabuk-2 Independent Sewage Treatment Plants (ISTPs). The preferred bidder is a consortium of Acciona-Tawzea-Tamasuk, with a combined levelized water cost for both projects of 1.4395 SAR/m3. The reserved bidder is a consortium of Aqualia-Alfanar- Al Khorayef with a combined levelized water cost for both projects of 1.7078 SAR/m3.

Another project announcement involves the preferred and reserved bidders for the Madinah-3 Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP). The preferred bidder is a consortium of Acciona-Tawzea-Tamasuk, with a Levelized Water Cost of 1.2157 SAR/m3. The reserved bidder is a consortium of Aqualia-Alfanar- Al Khorayef, with a Levelized Water Cost of 1.5993 SAR/m3. On the other hand, the SWPC has requested expressions of interest (EOI) for the Rayis – Rabigh Independent Water

Transmission Pipeline (IWTP), with a transmission capacity up to 900,000 cubic metres per day, and a length of 100 km. The SWPC will conduct a competitive process to select a company or consortium to develop the IWTP using a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model. The company in charge of the project will provide the transmission capacity to SWPC under a Water Transmission Agreement, for a term that is expected to be up to 35 years. Interested developers can find more details in a SWPC statement.

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WATER & NEWS - BUSINESS

ACWA POWER HAS ANNOUNCED ITS INTENT TO FLOAT ON THE SAUDI STOCK EXCHANGE Saudi Arabia’s CMA approved the Company’s application for the Initial Public Offering of 81,199,299 shares, 11.1% of its share capital

International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA Power or the Company), a leading developer, investor and operator of power generation and desalinated water plants worldwide, has announced its intention to proceed with an Initial Public Offering (IPO or Offering) and list its shares on the Main Market of the Saudi Stock Exchange (“Tadawul” or the Exchange). The Capital Market Authority (CMA) on 30 June 2021 approved the Company’s application for the Initial Public Offering of 81,199,299 new ordinary shares, representing 11.1% of the Company’s enlarged share capital. The final price at which all subscribers in the Offering will purchase shares will be determined at the end of the book-building period. Founded in Riyadh in 2004, ACWA Power is a leading private developer,

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owner and operator of long-term contracted power generation and desalinated water projects worldwide that continuously optimizes its portfolio. ACWA Power today has 64 projects in operation, construction or advanced development in 13 countries across three continents, with a total project cost of SAR 248 billion (USD 66 billion). The Company’s operational capacity across all markets currently provides 20.3 GW of electricity and 2.8 million m3 per day of desalinated water. Once existing projects under construction and in advanced development are completed and brought into operation within the next four years, the Company will double its operational power generation capacity to 41.6 GW and more than double its operational desalinated water production capacity to 6.4

million m3 per day. As a homegrown company, ACWA Power’s portfolio in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including assets currently under construction or in advanced development, represents an estimated 24% of Saudi Arabia’s gross power generation capacity and 49% of the country’s water desalination capacity. With a pioneering mindset and mastery of the most sophisticated technologies, the Company is focused on enabling and driving the energy transition through investment expansion in greenfield and/or brownfield projects in renewable energy and green hydrogen. The Company’s growth opportunities include a short-term pipeline of more than 85 identified projects representing an overall potential capacity of 68 GW of power and 9.5 m3 per day of water from desalination assets coming up for tender or currently under negotiation. An additional growth driver is the development of 70% of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 renewable energy target of 58.7 GW under the National Renewable Energy Programme, which ACWA Power is developing with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a majority shareholder in the Company, under a strategic framework agreement. Overall, there are future greenfield growth opportunities in the Company’s target markets of approximately 385 GW. Considering ACWA Power’s industry-leading average bid-win ratio of 68%, the Company believes it is strongly positioned to capture its fair share of these opportunities.

APPOINTMENTS_ MEET THE NEW FACES IN THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WATER SECTOR ENTITIES In this section we have compiled the most important appointments that have taken place recently, and entail taking up a position or role within influential entities (public, private or mixed) in the water sector.

TOM MOLLENKOPF IWA WELCOMES NEW PRESIDENT TOM MOLLENKOPF AND RENEWS BOARD MEMBERS There have been a number of other changes to the IWA Board.

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Leading water consultant Tom Mollenkopf has become the new President of the International Water Association, taking office following his election in Lisbon, Portugal back in October 2019. Mr Mollenkopf, who trained as a lawyer and holds an MBA, has been a substantive and well-regarded figure in the water sector for the past 20 years. Tom has previously been CEO of the Australian Water Association and of the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust, and worked extensively for WaterAid Australia, as well as having been IWA Deputy Executive Director from 2005-2007. Tom takes over from Diane d’Arras, who has led IWA effectively since October 2016, including during the challenging Covid-19 situation. Furthermore, there have been a number of other changes to the IWA Board. Two former Board members have been selected as new IWA Vice Presidents, namely: J Senior Vice President – Prof. Enrique Cabrera (Valencia Polytechnic University, Spain). J Vice President – Prof. Hamanth C. Kasan (General Manager, Rand Water, South Africa). In addition, there have been five new additions to the IWA Board, as follows: J Peter A. Vanrolleghem (Canada Research Chair on Water Quality Modelling, Canada). J Walter Kling (Vienna Water, Austria). J Rose Kaggwa (National Water & Sewerage Corporation, Uganda). J María Molinos-Senante (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile). J Xiaochang Wang (Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, China). Four Board members are stepping down, specifically: Sudhir Murthy, Daniel Nolasco, Joan Rose, and Helle Katrine Andersen.

TRACY EKOLA BROWN AND CALDWELL APPOINTS VICE PRESIDENT TO ACCELERATE MIDWEST GROWTH Tracy Ekola has joined the company as vice president and senior director of client services for the Midwest region.

WILLIE BROWN SAN JOSE WATER ANNOUNCES A NEW VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL AND CORPORATE SECRETARY Willie Brown has been appointed by the SJW Group Board of Directors to serve in this new position.

Leading environmental engineering and construction firm Brown and Caldwell has announced Tracy Ekola has joined the company as vice president and senior director of client services for the Midwest region. The strategic hire highlights the firm’s continued expansion to better serve clients in the Midwest’s municipal and private water, wastewater, and stormwater sector. Ekola brings an impressive 28-year environmental engineering and construction background with a record of effective business growth and project team leadership in the Upper Midwest. She has held executive/regional leadership roles and served as a design-build board member in past organizations. Using her design, project management, environmental permitting, planning, and construction inspection and administration expertise, Ekola has led numerous high-profile environmental projects at municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment facilities. Outside of project responsibilities, her significant professional association involvement has seen her undertake several roles at both state and national levels, including serving as an executive committee member of the Minnesota Environmental Science and Economic Review Board for the past decade. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Ekola will have operational responsibilities for Brown and Caldwell’s Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois operations. She will align municipal and private clients with the firm’s innovative, cost-effective technical solutions to solve the region’s most complex water-related and environmental challenges.

San Jose Water (“SJW” or “the Company”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJW Group (NYSE: SJW), announced that Willie Brown has been appointed by the SJW Group Board of Directors to serve as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to this, Mr. Brown served as Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel. In this new role, he will also be a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team and an officer of SJW Group. Mr. Brown joined San Jose Water in 2008 as an attorney. “Willie is a great addition to the Executive Leadership Team,” stated Eric W. Thornburg, President and CEO of SJW Group. Mr. Thornburg added, “In his 13 years at SJW, Willie has demonstrated his passion and skill for serving customers, employees and shareholders. SJW Group has a “1” rating from ISS for governance, the highest possible, largely due to the commitment of Willie and his colleagues to ensure our processes align with best practices. I look forward to his counsel, perspective and the impact he will have on our organization in his expanded leadership role.” His new leadership responsibilities began the week of June 1. Among his responsibilities in his new role, Mr. Brown will oversee corporate governance, legal matters, contract negotiation and management, and management of outside counsel. Mr. Brown’s team supports company financings, mergers and acquisitions, SEC filings, executive compensation, internal controls, policy development and implementation, enterprise risk management and other company business functions.

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NORTHUMBRIAN ED WATER LIMITED WELCOMES TWO NEW NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS TO THE BOARD World-renowned biologist, Professor Jacqueline McGlade, and the former Chief Executive of Which? Peter Vicary-Smith, are among the newest board appointments

KERRY E. O’NEILL EPA ANNOUNCES KERRY E. O’NEILL TO CHAIR ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD Administrator Regan Recognizes Outgoing Chair Joanne Throwe.

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Two new Independent Non-Executive Directors (iNEDs) have joined the board of Northumbrian Water Limited. Natural scientist, Professor McGlade is the company’s new advocate on environmental issues. Formerly a Board Member at the Environment Agency, she is recognised globally as a leading researcher in the fields of ecosystems and human health, climate change, natural capital and dynamical systems modelling. Professor McGlade was previously UN Environment Chief Scientist and Global Director of Science 2013-2017 and Executive Director of the European Environment Agency 2003-2013, where she was responsible for 32 EU, EEA and Associate member states’ data, reporting and assessment on the environment. Joining Professor McGlade is Mr Peter Vicary-Smith, who is the new champion for customer-related issues. Mr Vicary-Smith served as the Chief Executive of the consumer organisation Which? for 14 years. Prior to that his background was in marketing, and included roles as a strategy consultant at McKinsey, leading fundraising for Oxfam, and as Commercial Director at Cancer Research UK. Mr Vicary-Smith and Professor McGlade both join NWL’s Audit Committee, Risk & Compliance Sub-committee and Mr Vicary-Smith also joins the Remuneration and Nomination Committees. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the selection of Kerry E. O’Neill as the chair of the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB). She succeeds Joanne Throwe, whose six-year term as a board member is ending, including nearly four years as chair. “At EPA, climate change is a top priority, and we know this crisis can be an opportunity to create good paying jobs, boost our economy and build back better. That’s why the work of the EPA Environmental Financial Advisory Board is so important, to ensure that our work delivers these benefits for the American people, especially for underserved communities overburdened by pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. The 32-member EFAB is a chartered federal advisory committee that provides feedback and advice to the Agency on ways to lower costs and increase investments in environmental and public health protection. O’Neill joined the board in June 2020 and was selected for a two-year term as chair. O’Neill and the other members of EFAB are drawn from all 10 EPA regions and hail from 17 states and the District of Columbia. “EPA is answering the call to tackle the most significant issues facing our people and our planet today, and the Environmental Financial Advisory Board is going to provide the expertise on financial solutions needed for success. We need to meet this moment at the scale required, including leveraging public-private partnerships, and with strategies that ensure our most vulnerable communities aren’t left behind,” she said.

WATER TREATMENT

OPINION

LINDSAY SHAND, DR SIMON LORENTZ & FIONA SUTTON ASSOCIATE PARTNER AND PRINCIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGIST, PRINCIPAL HYDROLOGIST, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT AT SRK CONSULTING

WATER STEWARDSHIP GIVES MINES THE BROADER VIEW With South Africa’s growing demand for water – and the impact performance, while also contributing to sustainability goals,” of climate change on rainfall variability and water supply securi- she said. ty – the need for a systematic approach to water stewardship in Catchment care mining has never been greater. Water stewardship considers impacts not only on the mine site but Water management has long been a focus in the mining sector, in the wider catchment in which it operates, according to Dr Simon according to Lindsay Shand, associate partner and principal en- Lorentz, principal hydrologist at SRK Consulting. vironmental geologist at SRK Consulting. In 2014, the Interna“Risks specific to the company can be direct, which disrupt mintional Council on Mining and Metals’ water stewardship frame- ing operations, such as the non-availability of water supply,” said work outlined a standardised approach for mining companies, Lorentz. “They can also be indirect, where supply chains are disrecognising that water connects an operation to the surrounding rupted due to water supply or water quality issues.” landscape and communities. He noted that catchment-specific risks are influenced by local “In our past work with mining clients, SRK often addressed water management and governance effectiveness in dealing with a particular challenge, rather than taking the broader view,” said factors such as increasing demand and unpredictability driven by Shand. “However, there is a growing recognition that a high-level, climate variability. They are also affected by local infrastructure concerted approach to water stewadequacy, pollution disposed inardship is environmentally responsito water bodies, and the quality of A water stewardship ble and contributes to building resilavailable water. ience in the mining operation.” Strengthening reputations approach allows for This resilience lies in the ability The centrality of water in the UN’s pro-active planning and action to identify and manage water risks, SDGs is another reason why mining including water supply uncertainty, companies are starting to embrace to avoid incidents threatening water quality compliance issues, and water stewardship, said Sutton. Many operational continuity downstream discharge impacts. A corporates align their strategies with water stewardship approach allows the SDGs, many relevant to water. for pro-active planning and action to avoid incidents threatening “An added advantage of the AWS Standard is that it allows mines operations and presenting a liability to downstream water users. to be accredited once they have met the detailed range of requireTools for progress ments,” she said. “This is valuable in terms of companies’ reputaWhile the focus for mining operations is generally on a specific tions – whether in the eyes of investors, financial institutions, reguchallenge, corporations are starting to see the value of the bigger lators or the general public.” picture on water issues, said Fiona Sutton, principal consultant Credible benchmark at SRK Consulting. The AWS’s position as a member of ISEAL assures stakeholders that “Often, the scope and demands of water stewardship seem a its water stewardship framework has been reviewed by an independaunting prospect at operational level,” said Sutton. “This is one dent and competent body. The framework and the accreditation of the reasons why best practice tools are so useful, such as the provide a credible benchmark as a true indication of commitment. International Water Stewardship Standard from the Alliance for “SRK’s decades of experience in the mining sector, combined Water Stewardship (AWS).” with its depth of expertise in water-related disciplines, positions “Practical steps and guidance in the AWS Standard help us well to guide mining companies in their water stewardship water users to improve their practices for better on-site water journey,” said Shand.

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FEATURE

WATER SECTOR PARTN A ROADMAP FOR CONT The main challenge currently facing the water sector, without a doubt, is to bridge the water gap between the global water requirements and the existing, accessible, reliable, and sustainable supply. In a business-as-usual basis, by 2030 the global water requirements would grow to 6.9 trillion cubic meters whilst the water supply will account for just 4.2 trillion cubic meters. Consequently, the second challenge would be to bridge the financial gap to build the infrastructures and to improve the operational efficiency of existing infrastructure. The third challenge is to pave the way for collaboration between the public and private sector by contributing skills, technologies and investments to achieve the common goals and obtain an appropriate distribution of risks between both sectors. These collaborations present clear advantages as: J They allow joining forces to solve the existing problems, which are so numerous, widespread and urgent that thinking about solving them alone seems, at least, unrealistic.

The collaboration of Aqualia with IESE Business School is a part of the company's strategy and commitment to sustainability 38

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J They allow the public sector to transfer some of the project risks to the private sector and focus on other tasks where they can add much more. J They provide with an efficient and continuous transfer of technology and know-how in fields like digitalization, smart management, operational processes, etc. J And finally, they mean a much needed private funding mobilization. There are significant amounts of impact finan-

cial resources out there waiting to be invested in sustainable projects and water and sanitation are among their top preferences. We are in one of those times where the financial investors are aligned with the political agenda and we should not lose this opportunity. In this line, two case studies of these collaborations between the public and private sector, the New Cairo WWTP (Egypt) and El Realito Aqueduct (Mexico), carried out by Aqualia and IESE

AQUALIA

ERSHIPS: RIBUTING TO THE SDGS Business School, have proven their excellence and exemplarity being selected by UNECE (The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) among the 20 best public-private partnership initiatives worldwide since 2016. Both initiatives were recognised as "Building-Back Better" projects for their contributions to post-pandemic reconstruction by an international panel of this multilateral organisation at its "5th UNECE International Public-Private

Partnerships Forum 2021", held in Geneva from 22–26 April. The United Nations views this work as crucial for the future of society, as an estimated 5 billion people are expected to be concentrated in urban areas by 2030, accounting for 60% of the world's population. First listen. Then talk The collaboration of Aqualia with IESE Business School is just a part of the New Cairo WWTP, aerial view

company's strategy and commitment to sustainability in water sector. Just a few weeks ago, Aqualia published its 2020 Sustainability Report, placing the focus squarely on the conversation with citizens and stakeholders with a view to forging ahead in the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda, one of the company's primary commitments. Dubbed “Conversa”, this year's report completes the listening process that began in 2019, when an in-depth analysis of strategic materiality and active listening was conducted with more than 18,000 people. The company points to dialogue and collaboration with all social agents as the two pillars on which to respond to the new post-pandemic challenges and to continue contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been part of Aqualia's strategy for years. "The year 2020 proved to be a very complicated one, as we had to deal with health emergencies without neglecting the climate emergency, a matter of great concern for citizens and institutions", explains Aqualia CEO Félix Parra in an interview at the beginning of the report. In this interview, the CEO praises the efforts of the workforce, who have been hailed as essential workers during the pandemic. "They have always demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, and today we can say that, thanks to that same spirit of commitment, we have been able to respond to one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced", notes the CEO. In fact, even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the company has in-

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FEATURE

97% of users gave a positive rating to the technical and human resources available through the Aqualia contact multichannel platform

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creased its workforce by 10.7%, which now totals over 10,500 employees in 17 countries. The company serves 29.6 million people –16% more than last year. These figures place Aqualia as fourth in Europe and ninth worldwide in terms of population served, according to the latest ranking (2021) of the international publication Global Water Intelligence (GWI). The company underlines the effort made to guarantee the well-being of all people, not just its own workers, during the health emergency. The report also mentions that a major deployment has been made in customer service. In Spain, this effort has been positively valued by 83% of citizens. Demand for remote support grew at an unprecedented rate in 2020. A solid 97% of users gave a positive rating to the technical and human resources available through the Aqualia contact multichannel platform. Adjusting to the new reality posed by the coronavirus in no way dampened Aqualia's commitment to sustainability, one of the pillars of the company's corporate strategy. Quite the contrary, Aqualia stepped up efforts to mitigate climate emergencies and water stress. In recent months, for example, the company joined a renewable energy purchase programme and a project to install photovoltaic panels that will reduce emissions by 16,200 tonnes of CO2 per year; managed a 10.9% increase in wastewater reuse compared to the previous year; and even bolstered Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) as a cornerstone for improving its environmental indicators. "In 2020, we revised our digitisation programme and reprioritised it. For instance, we significantly boosted the development and deployment of our Water Analytics (WA) tool to manage water more intelligently in cities and thus reduce the water footprint, and we also implemented systems to optimise meter reading times", explained Félix

AQUALIA Parra, who stressed the importance of technology as an opportunity to improve service to citizens. In this regard, the company invested nearly two million euros in 2020 on developing technological tools and carried out 21 innovation projects, to which it allocated over five million euros, 19% more than in 2019. These research projects focus on water circularity, waste-to-resource, renewable energies, biofuels and biofactories and other projects related to carbon neutrality. A tangible contribution to the SDGs Throughout a pivotal year that has clearly underscored the interdependence between people and the planet, Aqualia has also reinforced its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals, earning the recognition from several institutions for its engagements. In fact, the company was the first full water-cycle operator to secure sustain-

ability certification based on its contribution to the SDGs, and has even garnered recognition from the United Nations and the PPPs for Cities Centre, endorsing its economic and social impact as a government partner in implementing water management projects. By adhering to the Global Compact as full members, joining the StepbyWater alliance and belonging to more than fifty associations, the company has sought to underline its commitment to alliances as a catalyst for meeting the goals and objectives of the 2030 Agenda. In conclusion, the company also highlighted the approval of its 20212023 Strategic Sustainability Plan, one of the major milestones achieved in recent months after extensive efforts. With this plan, Aqualia harmonises long-term plans with tangible objectives so that it can measure the impact of its actions. "Its implementation allows us to define projects, actions and perfor-

mance indicators and thus measure our contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Today, the traceability afforded by this plan is more necessary than ever not only to quantify our progress and remain accountable to the Board of Directors, but also to respond to the demands of society and have the capacity for continuous improvement", concludes Parra. You can download both the full report and the other communication materials from Aqualia's 2020 Sustainability Report web page.

Aqualia invested nearly 1 m euros in 2020 on technological tools and 21 innovation projects, to which it allocated over 5 m euros El Realito Aqueduct, aerial view

In June 2021, Almar Water Solutions doubled its commitment in Latin America with the acquisition of 50% of Aguas y Riles S.A.

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INTERVIEW

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ALON TAVOR

CEO OF IDE WATER TECHNOLOGIES

“We must start looking at the cost of ‘not having water’, finding ways to diversify and combine water sources and their delivery” A world leading provider of seawater desalination plants, IDE Water Technologies is behind some of the world’s largest SWRO plants in operation – in Sorek, Israel – setting a benchmark in low cost and technological advancement, with high efficiency and minimal environmental impact. Z Cristina Novo Pérez Earlier this summer, IDE Water Technologies announced an agreement with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to prepare a desalination plant project which will be procured using the Swiss challenge model. The project will support the increasing demand for drinking water in the populous city while taking into account environmental sustainability. We spoke with Alon Tavor, CEO of IDE Water Technologies, about this collaboration opportunity with MCGM, the company’s involvement in water supply initiatives in India, and his view on global water industry trends. Could you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role in IDE Technologies? I have over three decades of experience in the industrial sector and more than 15 years in senior executive positions, leading multiple companies in various fields of activity. Over the years I have been involved in strategic restructuring, entrepreneurship, acquisitions,

and efficiency enhancement, which has made me experienced in multiple technologies and industries. With indepth knowledge in water treatment technologies, I hold a combination of technical, commercial, and project-related experience. Before taking on my current position as CEO of the company, I led the tender preparation and submission for Sorek B – one of the world’s largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants, which incorporates state-of-the-art technological advancements and the world’s lowest levelized water price to date. I hold an MBA and a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Earlier this summer, IDE announced an agreement with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to develop a long-term project to build and operate a 200 million liters per day (MLD) seawater desalination plant. Can you give us more details about this project?

Through this long-term project, which is developed under the Swiss Challenge method, we intend to serve Mumbai's municipal needs and augment and diversify the region's drinking water sources. We're incredibly excited to bring our advanced desalination technology – envisaged to reach the capacity of 400 MLD – to Mumbai and help the city take the necessary steps toward water resilience. The proposed desalination plant at Manori is evidence of our advanced technology. As a result, the city leaders have the confidence to work jointly to grow Mumbai's drinking water sources and overcome challenging conditions to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of high-quality water at a reduced cost.

We're excited to bring our advanced desalination technology to Mumbai and help the city take the necessary steps toward water resilience

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INTERVIEW What are IDE’s plans for involvement in India’s water management initiatives? IDE has been working in India for more than three decades and has supported local growth in water production. We have our competent team in India, and we are currently involved in several tenders, both for industrial and municipal water treatment facilities. One of the challenges met in India's past desalination projects was the operation and maintenance, and several plants were not meeting the committed performance. We believe that DBO (design, build, operate) is a suitable model for challenging cases. In this model, the EPC's innovative engineering and execution ensures that the plant is built in the best possible way, as the same group must meet the operation goals for many years. As you know, IDE has vast capabilities in operation and maintenance, and we look forward to being an active, meaningful participant in the future water supply of India. In parallel, IDE has unique technologies – Pulse Flow Reverse Osmosis (PFRO™), MAXH2O Desalter – for treating industrial streams, including brine minimization, high recovery solutions, and optimized waste composition. These technologies are believed to serve the need to reduce water footprint, meet regulatory requirements, and improve economics. What trends do you see in business models in water infrastructure and services across the world?

Our competent team in India is currently involved in several tenders, both for industrial and municipal water treatment facilities 44

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ALON TAVOR

In a DBO model, an EPC contract ensures the plant is built in the best possible way, as the same group must meet the operation goals I believe that today’s trends and business models are constantly evolving. Global climate changes will enforce the water industry to be able to manage significant fluctuation in every parameter. Availability, quality of water sources, variating flows, and storage solutions are only part of the future challenges. As industry leaders in one of the most critical elements of our existence, we must act toward a more sustainable supply of water. We must start looking at the cost of "not having water," therefore finding ways to diversify and combine water sources and their delivery systems. Looking at the above, it seems that combined efforts of governments and the private sector (P3 or HAM models) are required to meet those challenges at the right time. But, unfortunately, too many countries are still hesitant or unable to take the first step, while the world is changing very fast. What are your thoughts on the digital transformation of the water industry? We are excited about the development of the digital world inside the water industry. In some ways, our industry is behind many sectors that implemented

As industry leaders in one of the most critical elements of our existence, we must act toward a more sustainable supply of water - MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

On top of the more common activities, we believe the water industry should adopt high standards to defend itself in the cyber world technological change years ago. Adopting substantial advancement assists in improving efficiencies, reducing energy and chemical consumptions, and optimizing capacities.

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Digital transformation is part of our responsibility for a sustainable world, and IDE is increasing its efforts to ensure that our services will include added value in that field. On top of the more common activities, we believe the water industry should adopt high standards to defend itself in the cyber world. The more sophisticated the plants, the more they are exposed to cyber-attacks, which cannot be allowed in our critical service. IDE employs several unique solutions in our toolkit and is planning to expand its position in that field.

Can you comment on IDE’s plans for expansion in the municipal and industrial water markets in the near term? IDE has been active in these fields for over a decade, involving our innovative engineers in developing new technologies such as our PFRO™ and MAXH2O Desalter. These technologies provide industries and municipalities with essential tools to improve water management – by focusing on maximizing water recovery from effluents and brine streams. Better utilizing our water resources and enhancing wastewater reuse rates is the key to

ALON TAVOR

The combined efforts of governments and the private sector (P3 or HAM models) are required to meet challenges at the right time addressing ecological aspects and reaching global water sustainability goals. What do you see in the future of the water industry 20 years from now? This is a challenging question because water shouldn't be a resource of concern. We have the technologies to improve production, reuse, purification, and management to ensure that no one will suffer from a shortage of quality water for any purpose. Nevertheless, we are late to react. Investments in this critical resource and infrastructure are immense, but we need to have exemplary leadership to support implementing those solutions. Unfortunately, though, too many countries suffer from water scarcity,

and the steps to mitigate that risk are often slow or unable to be met. While it’s difficult to predict where we’ll be in a couple of decades, my hope is that water treatment innovations and technologies will continue to make advancements and become priorities to the leaders of those regions hardest hit by water shortages.

Better utilizing our water resources and wastewater reuse are key to addressing ecological aspects and reaching sustainability goals

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FEATURE

MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT, AND REUSE OF WATER FOR THE MINING SECTOR IN LATIN AMERICA Water is a fundamental component of mining applications. It is essential for both the mineral extraction and cleaning process and for the needs of the personnel who operate the facility. Treatment of the wastewater from these operations is also necessary to prevent detrimental environmental impacts and to enable reuse in the mining process. The mining industry needs a constant and reliable source of clean water to keep the business going. Tighter regulations, increasing water scarcity and rising raw material prices strongly influence the mining market and drive the development of new technologies and solutions. The current trend is to reduce water extraction and use unconventional sources in mining operations. This reality is leading mining companies to boost their investment in cutting-edge water treatment technologies to improve their use standards. Mining operations are often located in difficult-to-access places and areas with extreme weather conditions. Water resources are not usually located close at hand and if they are, there is competition from industrial, agricultural or domestic consumers. For these reasons, unconventional water alternatives are emerging as essential aids to enable the mining industry to continue its activity. Desalination of seawater or brackish feedwater is a feasible alternative to obtain the required quality and quantity of

The mining industry has contributed enormously to the world economy. However, the waste it generates represents a challenge 48

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process water for ore extraction and processing to obtain the value-added metals. High-quality water is also needed for the essential services of the mining camp in terms of water for personal, hygiene and sanitary use. According to Chilean government sources, the mining industry will require fifteen new desalination plants by 2028 and the use of seawater will almost equal that of continental water within a decade. On the basis of a report drawn up by the Chilean Copper Commission (Comisión Chilena del Cobre – Cochilco), the Project Management Department of the Ministry of Mining of Chile estimates that adding the fifteen new initiatives to the current projects for supply and use of both desalinated and natural seawater, the copper mining

industry will consume nearly the same quantity of seawater as it will freshwater within a decade. Specifically, this means that 53% of the water resources used in mining will come from continental water and 47% from the sea by 2031. The Antofagasta Region will lead the country in desalination by around 2031 with the capacity to supply 66% of the water required by the copper-mining industry. It will be followed by Atacama, Tarapacá and Coquimbo with 16%, 14% and 4% respectively of their water needs supplied from the sea, according to the Government of Chile. The use of water to obtain metals from ore entails contamination of the process water by minerals and other solids. Contaminated mine water is generated when rock containing mineral

ALMAR WATER SOLUTIONS

sulphides is exposed to water and oxygen, producing acids and high concentrations of metals and sulphates in the water. This results in contaminated water that requires treatment to be reused or returned to the environment while complying with the country's environmental protection-related regulations. Mining effluents can be generated by the following factors: J Sluicing and flushing water. J Acids from the extraction process. J Leaching, flocculation and concentration water. J Effluents from refining and gas scrubbers. J Rain or groundwater that filters into the mine’s deposits causing oxidation, hydrolysis, flushing, etc. giving rise to highly-polluted wastewater.

The lack of proper wastewater treatment can lead to several problems that ruin the efficiency of a mining operation. Mining wastewater and industrial waste are often highly acidic and contain high concentrations of suspended solids. Contaminated mine water is treated for two main reasons: to neutralize the acidity and to remove metals, other solids, and chemical contaminants from the water. The next step is to restore acceptable pH levels. Both from the environmental and operational points of view, the ideal situation would be to eradicate the use of natural freshwater from mining altogether, and especially from the separation and transport of ore, minerals and waste, while avoiding pollution of external water sources and reus-

ing mining wastewater safely as far as possible. The goal is to develop more sustainable and profitable mining operations by making water reuse more efficient while recycling mining waste. The overall cost of treating metal-contaminated wastewater depends on the process employed and the local conditions. As a general rule technical feasibility, profitability and the sim-

Water scarcity forces mining companies to consider the use of water exchange or desalination, recovery and reuse technologies

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FEATURE plicity of the plant are the key factors when selecting the most suitable treatment method. There is no doubt that efficient management and reuse of water in mining entails cost savings, enhanced performance and a better image for the mining industry. The future of water in mining The global mining industry continues to grow by increasing production, improving operational efficiency and optimizing costs. It is estimated that positive investment trends in the mining water and wastewater sector will continue to improve treatment methods, enhance resource recovery and increase desalination capacity in the next few years. This dynamic behavior of the mining industry is driving the demand for solutions for water and wastewater from mines. For this reason, developed regions will focus on advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies with closed-loop systems, highly-efficient resource recovery mechanisms and higher sustainability standards in the use of water. Moreover, automation, sensor technology and control devices are already providing smarter practices in the water-management field for mining systems by providing real-time information on the use of mine water. Inefficient water circuits, potential problems and waste from leaks and other losses can be identified by water management simulation applications. This critical information helps mines

Contaminated mine water is treated for two main reasons: to neutralize the acidity and to remove metals and other contaminants 50

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to improve their water use efficiency. Application of new smart technologies will be one of the fastest-growing fields in the short and medium term. Only companies capable of ensuring long-term sustainability by strengthening their research, development and innovation will achieve a comprehensive competitive advantage in the mining industry in years to come. An ally of the sector Almar Water Solutions is a leading company in the fields of water infra-

structure development and provision of operation and maintenance services. Our commitment to Latin America and to meeting the water-related needs of industry have led us to invest in and develop a regional platform in partnership with two organizations with special expertise in the area: Osmoflo SpA and Aguas y Riles S.A. Almar Water Solutions acquired Osmoflo SpA, a Chilean water treatment company, in 2019. We expanded our portfolio of third-party operation and maintenance services with this acqui-

ALMAR WATER SOLUTIONS

Automation, sensor technology and control devices are providing smarter practices in the water-management field for mining systems

Salares Norte desalination and wastewater treatment project in Antofagasta, Chile

sition, enabling us to provide turnkey solutions to our clients and to add new references in desalination, purification, potabilization and water for industrial uses to our portfolio. These include the Antucoya reverse osmosis desalination plant, the Centinela brackish water desalination plant and the Aritia and Novaustral wastewater treatment plants. We have been awarded new contracts such as the Mantos Blancos processing plant and the Salares Norte desalination and wastewater treatment plant after the merger. Recently, in June 2021, Almar Water Solutions doubled its commitment in Latin America with the acquisition of 50% of Aguas y Riles S.A., a Chilean company founded in 2001 that provides the following services, among others: operation and maintenance (O&M) for industrial clients, dedicated investment transactions, design and construction of water treatment plants, industrial liquid waste management and specialized services for water treatment and purification plants. Our common goal is to grow hand in hand sharing our material resources, experience and technology in the water sector. Almar Water Solutions thus continues to work to improve the water-related processes and management in Latin America in close collaboration with outstanding qualified experts. In particular, the Almar group develops new systems for the mining industry, a sector that demands ever-increasing quantities of clean, high-quality water to carry on its activity without neglecting sustainability and environmental protection.

In June 2021, Almar Water Solutions doubled its commitment in Latin America with the acquisition of 50% of Aguas y Riles S.A.

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OPINION

ZAID RAILOUN PROJECT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER AT MORWAKOMA MATJI INVESTMENT HOLDINGS (PTY) LTD., SOUTH AFRICA

WATER SCARCITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES IN SOUTH AFRICA REQUIRE SUSTAINABLE PPPS Globally, there is an increasing demand for clean water par- approach aims to eradicate hunger and promote well-beticularly due to the scarcity of water, with 2 billion people ing, access to water, energy, transport, and education for living in countries experiencing high water stress. In South all. This will also support social cohesion. People-first PPPs Africa, water shortage is felt across many strategic sectors of must expand in scale, faster, with more people having access the economy because of rapid population growth, climate to better services. change effects leading to drought and rising sea levels, waOur hope is for the new National Water Resources Infrater-related pollution risks, inconsistent governance and age- structure Agency (NWRIA) to be more transformable and ing of water infrastructure. If the current rate of water usage not transactional as our other state-owned enterprises, i.e., and management continues, the demand is likely to exceed South Africa’s Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom). The the supply. Over a third of South Africa’s water supply is establishment of the NWRIA was announced by President lost due to ageing and leaking infrastructure before it can Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address in be used. Public infrastructure, particularly at the municipal February 2021. The strategic intent of the agency is to be level plays an important role in achieving increased levels a well-resourced, state-owned enterprise with appropriate of economic growth and social upliftment. However, the governance structures, to ensure greater efficiency and acmismanagement of public infracountability in the socio-economstructure and the inability to efic development and management A PPP approach must be fectively maintain it could result of water resources infrastructure. in limited water available for ecoIt would also be prudent for the adapted through investments nomic development, which can new agency and the Department in institutions and water affect other sectors such as educaof Water and Sanitation to work tion and health. next to private sector organisainfrastructure, looking at ways The use of Public-Private Parttions. In the future the agency to make people a priority nerships (PPP’s) in the water will act as the implementor of naservices sector in South Africa tional water infrastructure while is needed to address issues that might be catastrophic for fu- the national Department of Water and Sanitation will conture generations. A PPP is a long-term contract between the tinue to monitor water demand and availability and do the public and private sector that will provide service delivery by over-arching planning to meet future demand. It will work which the private sector or party carries the risk and manag- with the agency to identify the best options to meet those es the responsibility. But even this must be adapted through needs.The agency will then implement the agreed strategy. It investments in institutions and water infrastructure, looking will also operate the national bulk water systems and collect at ways to always make people the priority. This is echoed in revenue, making it clearly accountable for the management the realism of People-first PPPs as stated in the webinar series of its systems. ‘infrastructure & Financing’ by David Baxter. The partnership between NWRIA and DWS would ensure The People-first PPP approach ensures that out of all non-politicised management of South Africa’s water allocastakeholders, ‘people are on the top’. Its focus is on im- tions and infrastructure management. It is envisaged that proving the quality of life of the communities, particularly soon an independent water sector regulating authority shall those that are fighting poverty, by creating local and sus- be established to ensure effective regulation of all players in tainable employment. Additionally, the People-first PPP the water sector value chain.

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FEATURE

At a brackish water plant treating challenging feedwater, machine learning (ML) software increased permeate production, reduced the number of cleans and doubled projected membrane life.

Dr Mike Dixon, CEO, Synauta

Dentists tell us not to brush our teeth too many times a day as it damages enamel. They also tell us not to leave it too long between brushing to avoid cavities. The same goes for reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Clean too often and the high and low pH solutions degrade the membrane by altering the polymeric surface layer that rejects salts. Too long between cleans and you create a situation where membrane performance cannot be regained to its prior state, or extreme cleans are required at the risk of irreversibly damaging the membrane. Between these extremes, and all the scenarios in between, operators at brackish water and reuse water plants are constantly faced with the question: when is the best time to clean? Some use guesswork, some rely on knowledge built over decades operating a single plant, others use a schedule or generic guidelines provided by membrane manufacturers. However, when you are responsible for ensuring the right quality and quantity of water flows from a plant, as well as responding to the average 1,800 alarms that go off in a larger plant every

Operators at brackish water and reuse water plants are constantly faced with the question: when is the best time to clean? 54

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day, can you find time to methodically calculate the optimal time to clean? By applying machine learning, industry mathematics and optimization it is possible to predict the best time to clean a RO membrane. In a recent Australian trial with Osmoflo, at a 2,700 m3/day brackish water plant with challenging feedwater, Synauta’s software was applied to predict the optimal time to clean. The plant includes an Osmoflo Brine Squeezer (OBS) arrangement with a reject recycle booster pump. The three RO trains contain 60 vessels and 4 elements in each. The OBS is a patented process designed to concentrate feedwater to higher salinities than is possible with standard RO, allowing users to harness the efficiency of RO rather than more expensive evaporation methods. The OBS achieves this through frequent permeate flushing and cleaning to avoid scaling issues. The trial was organized so that Synauta recommendations were applied to one OBS train, while another acted as a con-

trol. Using data from the plant Synauta’s machine learning model predicted the best permeate flushing time and the best cleaning time. Every morning for two months operators at the remote plant received a notification from Synauta with recommendations on changes to flushing and cleaning intervals for that day. Results showed that, compared to the control train, the optimized train had a 6.2% increase in permeate production, while continuing to operate within the constraints of the plant. The test OBS also had four less cleans than the control, contributing to 8.7% cost savings on EDTA chemical. Machine learning also increased projected membrane life by almost doubling the number of days before replacement is required. This result is from applying a six-month period and using a conservative approach to calculations. Further, as the OBS cleans at a high interval, the standard lifetime of the membranes is much shorter compared to a municipal RO plant, with

Using machine learning, industry mathematics and optimization it is possible to predict the best time to clean a RO membrane.

SYNAUTA

Plant operators can realize OPEX savings and remove guesswork on when to clean.

By applying machine learning, industry mathematics and optimization it is possible to predict the best time to clean a RO membrane 1-2 years lifetime a realistic assumption. By using Synauta’s machine learning approach, the usual decrease in salt rejection associated with membrane aging was diminished and in fact reversed, almost doubling the projected membrane life. This is the second project Osmoflo has undertaken with Synauta to optimize chemical cleans of RO membranes. At a food and beverage plant, in the first phase

of deployment Synauta completed a Machine Learning Readiness Report, which audited plant data, instruments, constraints and operations to identify savings. In the second phase, currently under way, we expect a 10-15% reduction in chemical use. This is being achieved through iterations to the technology, and recent operator feedback indicates enough reliability in the recommended clean times for operators to depend on the machine learning with only minor validation. This process, combining user feedback and software improvements, has greatly increased operator trust in the solution. As machine learning is deployed to more brackish and reuse plants, inputs such as energy, labor, membrane warranties and age, operational budgets, chemical costs, availability, regulations, production

targets are all considerations that can improve a decision on the optimal time to clean. At industrial plants there may only be a handful of membranes, or the process may have two to three trains. However, at larger municipal plants, mainly water reuse and brackish water plants, there may be in excess of ten trains, which creates scheduling problems for cleans. Again, this is a constraint the machine learning can use as an input to optimize which train to clean next. The environmental impact of optimizing RO cleans is also important to outline. Benefits include less transportation of chemical solutions, less emissions in manufacturing cleaning chemicals and less membranes going to landfill too early. There are always going to be challenges on exact GHG reductions e.g., where to stop calculating benefits in a supply chain, but most importantly machine learning for RO is enabling us to do more with less. When they are not looked after, membranes are just like our teeth—expensive and painful to replace. Like dentists who use AI to improve diagnostics and treatment planning for their patients, plant operators can use better tools to realize OPEX savings and remove guesswork. Add the environmental benefits of more efficient reverse osmosis, and I think we all have something to smile about.

There are always going to be challenges on exact GHG, but most importantly machine learning for RO is enabling us to do more with less

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WATER & NEWS - WATER TREATMENT

EPA ANNOUNCES FIRST VALIDATED LABORATORY METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF PFAS IN WATER AND SOIL A single-laboratory method will test for 40 PFAS compounds in wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soil, and other media

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), published a draft of the first EPA-validated laboratory analytical method to test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in eight different environmental media, including wastewater, surface water, groundwater, and soils. This method provides certainty and consistency and advances PFAS monitoring that is essential to protecting public health. “This new testing method advances the science and our understanding of PFAS in the environment, so we can better protect people from exposure,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This illustrates the progress we can make when working with federal partners in an all of government approach. I want to thank the Department of De-

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fense for its leadership on this issue and for working with us to achieve this important milestone.” A partnership between EPA and the Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program has produced draft Method 1633, a single-laboratory validated method to test for 40 PFAS compounds in wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soil, biosolids, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue. Until now, regulated entities and environmental laboratories relied upon modified EPA methods or in-house laboratory standard operating procedures to analyse PFAS in these settings. With the support of the agency’s Council on PFAS, EPA and DoD will continue to collaborate to complete a multi-laboratory validation study of the method in 2022.

“This is one of many examples of strong EPA – DoD Collaboration on issues of national importance. Currently the Department is working with EPA, other federal agencies, academic institutions, and industry on over 130 PFAS-related research efforts, and we expect further progress in the future,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment and Energy Resilience Richard Kidd. This draft method can be used in various applications, including NPDES permits. The method will support NPDES implementation by providing a consistent PFAS method that has been tested in a wide variety of wastewaters and contains all the required quality control procedures for a Clean Water Act (CWA) method. While the method is not nationally required for CWA compliance monitoring until EPA has promulgated it through rulemaking, it is recommended now for use in individual permits. Draft Method 1633 complements existing validated methods to test for PFAS in drinking water and non-potable water. It complements existing Safe Drinking Water Act methods to test for 29 PFAS compounds in drinking water and a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act method for 24 PFAS compounds in non-potable water. The work the agency is doing to provide new laboratory analytical methods reflects the work that the EPA Council on PFAS is undertaking to support federal, state, local, and Tribal efforts to protect all communities from the impacts of PFAS contamination.

ACCIONA COMPLETES THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WASTEWATER MAINS IN THE MUNDAKA ESTUARY Worth 17 million euros, the project completes the sanitation network between Gernika and the Lamiarán waste water treatment plant ACCIONA has completed the construction of the wastewater mains on the left bank of the Mundaka estuary in the Basque Country, a project that will mean more efficient and sustainable management of the water resources in the Urdaibai area, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1984. The project has a final budget of almost 17 million euros and will benefit more than 26,000 people in the area and over 1,000 km2 of industrial zones in the municipalities of Muxika, Gernika, Ajangiz,

Forua, Murueta, Busturia (Gambe) and Kortezubi-Arteaga. The new mains will collect wastewater from Gernika to Busturia and link up with other sections that have already been completed. The wastewater will then be sent to the Lamiarán plant in Bermeo for treatment before discharge into the sea. As well as the construction of the principal mains in the Mundaka estuary, ACCIONA has also built a number of other mains and secondary branches and four pumping stations.

The project also includes a supply pipe parallel to the mains, renewing the existing pipe between the WWTP at Gernika and Busturia which was in a poor state of repair. The route of this pipe was partially through the marshes in the estuary. This completes the sections of the sanitation network between Gernika and the Lamiarán WWTP in a particular sensitive area. The Urdaibai estuary is a eutrophic water body consisting of an estuary and a coastline that combines with the low regeneration capacity of the water in the Mundaka estuary.

Saving desalination and water reuse plants up to 20% OPEX using machine learning.

Reverse Osmosis Energy Saver

Reverse Osmosis Chemical Saver

Reverse Osmosis Performance Reporting

Meet water production targets while saving energy across multiple trains.

Know the optimal time to clean. Optimize schedules, chemicals and projected membrane life.

See and act on issues before they become expensive problems.

info@synauta.com

+1 403 861 2036

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WATER & NEWS - WATER TREATMENT

NEW METHOD IMPROVES DETECTION OF HARMFUL MICROSCOPIC PARASITES IN WATER UNSW Professor Ewa Goldys leads research that uses CRISPR technology to identify potentially fatal Cryptosporidium

UNSW engineers have identified a new simpler method to detect tiny microbes in water which cause significant health risks and potentially even death. Research by Professor Ewa Goldys, from UNSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, and her team shows that ultrasensitive CRISPR technology can identify the presence of Cryptosporidium parvum in samples on site and using simple equipment. Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that can cause serious gastrointestinal disorders, and is especially widespread in locations where water sources may be contaminated by animals, both wild and domestic. Long periods of drought followed by heavy rain, becoming ever more typical in Australia, often lead to increased contamination of our waterways.

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The new technology also has the potential to be developed further to improve detection of other bacteria and viruses, including possible identification of COVID-19 in wastewater samples. Until now, detecting Cryptosporidium most commonly requires the use of expensive laboratory equipment, specialised microscopes and skilled training to identify the microbe in a water sample. But in a paper co-authored by Professor Goldys, and published in Water Research, a new method is proposed which is cheaper, easier to carry out and requires little or no special training to administer and analyse the results. That is because the system produces a distinctive fluorescent glow in the water sample when Cryptosporidium is found. The research shows how identification of even a single microorganism within

a given sample is possible. This is important, given that as little as two such microbes are believed to be capable of causing serious infection. Prof. Goldys said: “This new method lowers the cost of water testing and makes it more broadly available. We hope to make water testing much faster, and much cheaper.” “That is a benefit to everybody, wherever they live in the world, because it makes the technology more widely accessible.” “In addition, we believe this technology could be applied to the detection of Covid-19, which currently takes up to 11 hours to get results from wastewater samples – much of which is often time spent transporting the sample to the lab.” “Our system gives results for Cryptosporidium in just two-and-a-half hours and we hope this is a new technology that can be easily applied at the site where water samples are being taken.” “The aim is to get further funding for additional research into the way we may be able to adapt this for Covid-19 detection.” The work by Prof. Goldys and her team – including Professor Graham Vesey, Yi Li, Fei Deng and Tim Hall – uses CRISPR technology that can detect specific proteins on the surface of the Cryptosporidium microbe (known as an oocyst) and then bind onto it. When a fluorescent agent is added to the reaction mixture, which is then combined with water samples, the result is a clear signal which can be detected by a standard plate reader.

DIGITAL

FEATURE

WEBINAR:

INNOVYZE PRESENTS INFO360 TO TRANSFORM HYDRAULIC MODEL PLANNING INTO AN OPERATIONAL SOLUTION As the water industry continues to pursue a digital transformation, new technologies can help with planning, engineering, and operations of water distribution and collection systems.

Cristina Novo Pérez

On July 14th, Innovyze and Smart Water Magazine organised a webinar with the title “How the City of Scottsdale leveraged sensor data to streamline the analysis of the water distribution system thanks to Innovyze's new cloud platform”. Cristina Novo, technical editor of Smart Water Magazine and moderator of the event, introduced the webinar and Innovyze, a global leader in water infrastructure software based in Portland, Oregon, which has been building innovative software for the water industry for 35 years. It was acquired by Au-

Innovyze’s new cloud platform, Info360, can help bridge the gap between data and operations, and long-term planning and engineering 60

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todesk earlier this year, a move that creates a clearer path to a more sustainable and digitized water industry. In the event, utilities and consultants heard how Innovyze’s new cloud platform, Info360, can help bridge the gap between data and operations, and longterm planning and engineering. The webinar was directed towards water utilities personnel working in any division: from operations, to engineering and planning, to management. The first speaker was John Crochet, Regional Sales Manager for the Mountain West Region. He started his talk with a brief overview of Innovyze’s product lines: water distribution and management; stormwater, sewer and flood modeling; asset management, operational analytics, and drainage design and analysis. He then presented the Info360 online platform, which focuses on the use of live data to run analyses. Data are collected from a lot of sources for asset management and operational analytics solutions, something which inspired the creation of an enterprise platform open to anybody from a utility to use: an operator, an engineer, a manager, someone in the field, a consultant. The idea behind the Info360 cloud platform is “a platform to house

WEBINAR INNOVYZE

JOHN CROCHET REGIONAL SALES MANAGER FOR THE MOUNTAIN WEST REGION "With Info360, we are focused on the live data we bring in to run an analysis" "Innovyze focuses on enabling software solutions across 5 segments of the water market: water distribution and management; stormwater, sewer and fglood modeling; asset management; operational analytics and drainage design and analysis" the live data and process it efficiently, do analytics on it, and in turn bring in those data points and analytics into desktop modeling solutions”. The benefit from an engineering standpoint is “you can process the raw data, bring it into a model and utilize it for planning and engineering”, so that all the data collected and analytics get used by the entire organization. John then turned to the focus of the webinar: Info360 Insight, one of the applications for the Info360 platform, an operational analytics application that connects to the distribution system SCADA system, any meter data and other live data collected. He wrapped up his presentation with some key features of Info360 Insight. The data is stored in a clean, time-series format, to perform different analytics and build different dashboards, enabling tracking system performance over time. One of the main

The Info360 cloud platform can house live data, process it, do analytics on it, and bring it into desktop modeling solutions - MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Nathan Gerdts talked about the implementation of Info360 in the City of Scottsdale and some of the features they are using benefits is processed data can be brought into hydraulic models. The second speaker was Nathan Gerdts, product manager of water distribution solutions at Innovyze, who talked about the implementation of Info360 in the City of Scottsdale and some of the features they are using. A suburb within the Phoenix metro area, it has some characteristics worth noting: an elevation range of about 2,600 feet, with a lot of hills, which results in a large number of pressure zones, 149 throughout the system, which means they need a large number of control valves and pumps. The objectives of the project include reviewing pressure variations in the system, doing mass balances in each of four separate areas their system is divided into, doing analytics and reporting on pump efficiency, and finally, as a big driver for the project, model integration. The SCADA data is collected to the model

to streamline model updates and use the model for operational understanding. He went through the project phases: project start, system definition, deploy-

ment of data elements, and the current building phase, which involves building custom workspaces and data analytics, an interactive phase where the user is

NATHAN GERDTS PRODUCT MANAGER OF WATER DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS AT INNOVYZE "Info360 Insight brings real-time awareness to operational performance and highlights key utility performance indicators" “Info360 Insight unifies water utility data in the cloud, applying sophisticated analytics, modeling, and alerting tools to make operational information more accessible, reliable, and actionable" 62

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WEBINAR INNOVYZE

In the future water management will be supported by a digital twin rather than a desktop copy of a model, in an integrated environment

providing input. He explained how security is addressed, with the deployment of a data ingestor on premise that pulls the SCADA data in real time and uploads it into Info360. Nathan then showed how the software works. He gave an overview of dashboards that highlight different aspects of the data, and how users can customize different workspaces with Info360. He demonstrated how users can handle alerts in the system, including a simulation of impact assessments for incidents. He then described some of the analytics used in the Scottsdale project and the requirements for them: mass balance for water usage, pattern detection, pump efficiency, break impact assessment, and hydraulic model integration. He noted “we can do pattern detection on any sensor that you have, but it is of particular value for water usage”, using mass

balances if available. He highlighted as another key value being able to look at pump efficiency. He finished describing the integration of the InfoWater Pro hydraulic model with Info360, a key aspect of the Scottsdale project, and the benefits of such integration to keep the model up to date: responding quickly to system performance changes, supporting decisions with evidence, doing water quality assessments, understanding system behavior between gaps in sensors, and reducing costs of Master Plan Projects. The final part of the webinar was a question-and-answer period led by the moderator, where the speakers answered questions sent by the audience. Answering to a question on what a utility needs to have in order to be able to use the service, they pointed out that Info360 uses some type of time-series data, most commonly water network SCADA data, but other functionalities are upcoming, such as to support sewer sensor data. When asked about ideas to justify the investments on such a project, they noted that it can help to report non revenue data, locate breaks, target pump improvements, etc. The transparency of having a dashboard where you can track performance and KPIs over time helps visualise the benefits of the project and justify investments. Other questions

dealt with different technical aspects as well as the security of the data. The speakers wrapped up the questions period with their view of water management 20 years from now. Nathan predicted “a wave of digital transformation among IT groups, where things are becoming more cloud integrated and streamlined”. As hydraulic modelling becomes more cloud integrated, the insights from simulation will help the entire organisation. A bright future, supported by a digital twin rather than a desktop copy of a model, in an integrated environment, so it can be kept up to date. Compared with other industries, John noted the water industry is behind in innovation, right now at the beginning of a long journey of digital transformation, where “everything will become more integrated, more live, a lot more automated, and hopefully a lot more efficient, with the highest level of service possible”, noting that leveraging technology can increase those initiatives.

Having a dashboard where you can track performance and KPIs over time helps visualise the benefits of the project and justify investments - MAGAZINE

OPINION

WILL SARNI CEO WATER FOUNDRY AND CEO COLORADO RIVER BASIN FUND

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is growth in the total ICT sector emissions footprint over the highly questionable, as the status quo is difficult to disrupt. same period. Difficult, that is, but not impossible. J Chief Information Officers have important role to develop A report from 2019, “Digital With a Purpose: Delivering a and deploy technology with SDGs in mind. Smarter2030”, authored by GeSI and Deloitte, framed the value The report further finds that by 2030 digital technologies will deof the information, communication technology (ICT) sector in liver reductions in carbon emissions equivalent to nearly seven times achieving the SDGs. It is important to keep in mind that the val- the size of the growth in the total information and communications ue of ICT is not just in the more efficient use of resources such as technology (ICT) sector emissions footprint over the same period. water and energy or in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is in The report makes the case that current and emerging digital monitoring and transparently reporting progress to achieve the technologies can be leading contributors to positive societal value SDGs to diverse stakeholder groups such as non-governmental but will only become a reality if the focus on technological deorganizations, the public sector, private sector and civil society. velopment and deployment is framed by a clear commitment to The report draws on input from academics, NGOs and more the SDGs. The authors of the report project that over $3 trillion than 500 use cases, that if these technologies are deployed with is likely to be spent on research and development in the ICT secpositive societal impact in mind, tor in the ten years up to 2030, indithey will help accelerate progress cating huge potential for innovative The value of ICT is not just toward the SDGs by 22 percent solutions to the SDGs if effectively and mitigate downward trends by directed and as existing technologies in the more efficient use of 23 percent on average. The report mature. resources such as water identifies and quantifies how digital technologies can help governments, SDG 6 and Digital Technologies and energy or in reducing businesses and philanthropic orOf the 17 SDGs, SDG 6: “access to greenhouse gas emissions ganizations accelerate their efforts safe drinking water, sanitation and to achieve each of the 17 SDGs. hygiene” is a cross cutting issue for Seven digital technologies are broadly representative of the way nearly all of the SDGs. A study calling for cross cutting action on digital capability will evolve in the medium term and for their water to promote adaptation and the SDGs identified the SDGs critical influence on the world. These technologies include digital that are closely linked to water: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, access, faster internet, cloud, the internet of things (IoT), cogni- (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (9) Industry, Innovation and tive, digital reality and blockchain. Of the 169 SDG targets, 103 Infrastructure, (13) Climate Action, 14) Life Below Water and are directly influenced by these technologies. A summary of the 15) Life on Land. In our view water is also a critical issue for report’s findings, conclusions and recommendations is below: SDGs; (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, J Digital technologies are capable of delivering transformative (5) Gender Equality, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, impact against each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing InGoals (SDGs). equality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) ReJ Seven digital technologies could boost progress towards sponsible Consumption and Production, (16) Peace, Justice, and achieving the SDGs by more than 20 percent. Strong Institutions and (17) Partnerships for the Goals. J By 2030 digital technologies will deliver reductions in carThis makes ICT solutions a driving force in achieving the bon emissions equivalent to nearly seven times the size of the SDGs. Businesses and the public sector must now more efficient-

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ly and effectively manage that precious gallon or liter of water. As analytics. The platform connects to multiple data sources in real a result, digital technologies such as AI, IoT and remote sensing time, performs sophisticated calculations to add meaning and clarhave an ever-increasing role to play in addressing water risks to ity to data and produces advanced reports on demand or at schedbusiness continuity and growth across their value chains. While uled times. The value is created through the ability to visualize the value of digital technologies has been clear and compelling trends over time, comprehensively manage and analyze information the sense of urgency in adopting digital technologies in the private for reporting, easily meet regulatory compliance requirements and and public sectors could use greater amplification. Several reports understand operational performance as a basis for decision making. over the past couple of years have been instrumental in advanceRIS turns an unscalable mountain of organizational data into ing the adoption of digital water technologies. The groundwork a manageable asset that can be leveraged beyond its current uses. for the digital transformation of water was captured in the World New technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, Economic Forum’s “Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and advanced algorithms require well organized and validated for Water” report. Several recent reports highlight the ongoing inputs. The eRIS platform can provide a stream of normalized, digital transformation of water this year. In particular, the organized, and validated data necessary for these advanced techInternational Water Association and Xylem publication “Digital nologies to work efficiently. eRIS not only unlocks data from Water: Industry Leaders Chart the silos but unleashes it by normalizing Digital Transformation”, as well as and formatting it for sharing making While more data has value, the report “Accelerating the Digital collaboration using secure, informaWater Utility”, focused on the wait is an incomplete value proposition; tion sharing a reality. ter and wastewater utility sector and The ability to collect and analyze it must be converted to geographically focused digital water real time data and transform these technology solutions. Another referdata into actionable information actionable information and ence is “Digital Water Technology provides public and private sector a unifying platform Solutions for the Colorado River enterprises an unprecedented opBasin”, which Water Foundry pubportunity to manage water more lished along with the Environmental Law Institute. efficiently and effectively, in a world of increasing water scarcity While more data has value, it is an incomplete value propo- and poor quality, digital water solutions provide a pathway to sition. Data must be converted to actionable information and achieve SDG 6 and contribute to the other SDGs. a unifying platform. Closing Case Study: ERAMOSA’s eRIS The water sector was undergoing a digital transformation prior Producing data is no longer the challenge; understanding the data to the pandemic in 2019. The last plus has seen the accelerated is the struggle. In the business world data is traditionally housed in adoption of digital water technologies such as the eRIS platseparate “silos”. When data are disconnected it is difficult, if not form which solves one of the challenges in digital transformaimpossible to make sense of what it means and convert the data to tion: translating a wealth of data into actionable information actions. Enter a unifying water data platform, eRIS, developed by through mobile data entry and mobile and dashboard analytics. ERAMOSA, recently acquired by Westin Technology Solutions. Analog is no longer an option. Digital is the only path forward The eRIS platform unifies siloed data and delivers actionable in- if we are to manage water effectively for economic development, formation through mobile data entry and mobile and dashboard business growth, social well-being and ecosystem health.

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FEATURE

The Deméter system has been implemented in the Villa de Agaete Irrigation Association, in the Island of Gran Canaria. This association has chosen the Hidroconta System to remotely control their irrigation network, enabling access to all the data needed to control consumption, water status and pressure in the water distribution network. Located in the Canary Islands, specifically in the island of Gran Canaria, the Villa de Agaete Irrigation Association has undertaken a digitalisation project to enable controlling remotely their raw water distribution network with Hidroconta's solution, Deméter. It is a highly versatile and flexible solution at

General project view in the Deméter Web platform

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different levels; with it, and combining different pieces of equipment from the Deméter ecosystem itself, the Irrigation Association has met its needs concerning controlling different parameters in the entire system, including pressure, water flow rate, volume, conductivity, level and acidity (pH).

With a surface of more than 900 hectares growing a wide variety of crops: vegetables, citrus fruits, as well as tropical and coffee crops, the need to monitor and control the water used and its quality is obvious. "Controlling the system remotely allows making decisions on the behaviour of the network directly and immediately, from

HIDROCONTA

(CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN) a distance", said Iker Uribesalgo, responsible for software development at Hidroconta, to Smart Water Magazine. The Irrigation Association system includes two regulating tanks with two distribution lines branching out of each of them, that is, a total of four. The water used in the 900 hectares of land is a combination of desalinated water and reclaimed water that is mixed and controlled from the tanks located upstream in the distribution system.

To ensure optimal control of all necessary parameters, obtain quality water and be able to act swiftly to correct the parameters, Deméter 4H remote units were installed in all the upstream tanks, which can record up to 4 analogue entries, in this case pH, conductivity and the water levels in the tank, and also allow operating the valves directly. On the other hand, at the distribution outlets, where they branch out, hydrants that combine hydraulic elec-

trovalves and Hidrowoltmann meters by Hidroconta fitted with Deméter 1H remote units were installed, a total of six, in order to control the volume at each of the meters. The Hidrowotlmann is a large volume woltmann-type water meter with an internal turbine that rotates as water flows through it. The Hidrowoltmann meter has been designed for hydrodynamic compensation, preventing external pressure on the turbine’s shaft. The Hidrow-

Data collected from the Hidrowoltman meters by the Deméter 1H remote units

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FEATURE

The Hidrowoltmann meter is an essential water meter in any installation in which accuracy and consumption control are a must oltmann meter is an essential water meter in any installation in which accuracy and consumption control are a must. Management of irrigation, agricultural land, gardens and even swimming pools are some of the most common uses of this type of

Location of the tanks and data recorded by the remote Deméter 4H units

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high-volume water meter. Its robust casing ensures durability and the technology used for metering ensures the reliability of the totalizer's results. Its operational characteristics include the following: J Metrology: R50 in a horizontal position. J Pressure loss class: Δp 10 (0.1 bar). J Cold water use: 0.1 – 30 oC. J The Hidrowoltmann meter can work with a pressure of up to 16 bars. J Type certification (Spanish Centre for Metrology, CEM): approved for use with irrigation water and water sourced from public waters. As mentioned earlier, these water meters are fitted with communications

technology with a Deméter 1H remote unit, which sends the data collected to a server, which in turn displays them in an application. From the application you can see the data records and the daily consumption of each of the water meters, as well as the timing of water use and the status of the 1H remote units, the battery in the equipment, charge, connectivity and the last time it communicated with the server. Also very important is the capability of the remote Deméter units to operate the valves. They can be opened and closed manually or they can be programmed, according

HIDROCONTA

Deméter 4H remote units ensure optimal control of parameters, to obtain quality water and act swiftly to correct the parameters

to the volume of water or the schedule planned. Finally, we should note the client chose to use the Deméter Web platform, where all the water system’s data can be found, in order to achieve maximum optimisation, thanks to readings of the different parameters in real time, as we have already mentioned. The Deméter Web platform has been developed to offer users an agile navigation in order to facilitate their management work. Thus, for example, from the control panel or dashboard we can see all the information related to an element and those that depend on it, as well as reports, graphs and alarms. In the dashboard we will find: J A map indicating the GPS position of the terminal from a Google Maps map. J Last communication: A time stamp indicates the last time a communication was received from that terminal. J Information about the battery, solar panel, RSSI GPRS. The platform has a graphical display with the values for battery voltage, solar panel voltage and GPRS coverage. J Widgets of the different elements or, what is the same, inputs and outputs, active for that terminal. The easy installation of the Deméter ecosystem by Hidroconta has allowed the implementation of the equipment to be carried out autonomously and efficiently by Microrriego, a commercial company that operates in the Canary Islands and works in the sale, installation, automation and distribution of irrigation materials.

The Deméter Web platform has been developed to offer users an agile navigation in order to facilitate their management work

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INTERVIEW

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ERIN K. ROTHMAN

ERIN K. ROTHMAN CEO OF STORMSENSOR

“We’ve invested in smart technologies across every other utility; it’s time to do the same in stormwater” StormSensor is a climate technology startup based in Seattle providing smart solutions to help cities track water in storm and sewer systems and thus reduce vulnerability to flooding, sewage overflows, and water pollution. Z Cristina Novo Pérez Erin K. Rothman, stormwater management expert and founder of StormSensor, believes smart technologies are key to manage storm and sewer systems in our cities, respond quickly to unexpected events and predict future issues. In this interview she explains how StormSensor solutions use innovative data capture for real-time monitoring of wastewater infrastructure, helping to build the sewers and storm systems of the future. Solutions to help communities manage urban flooding, save millions of dollars, and thrive in a changing climate. Could you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role in StormSensor? Before I founded StormSensor, I was VP, principal scientist, and managing principal at three environmental consulting companies, one of which was my own, mostly working with real estate developers to remediate contaminated sites in urban infill environments. I enjoyed the work, but not the industry. No one hires environmental consultants because they want to; they do it because they have to, and that makes it less fun. I wanted to do something that benefited the environment, but in a way that excited people.

In addition to managing my own projects and teams, I worked with our stormwater group to improve profitability. That’s when I saw how many opportunities we had as an industry - not just in the industrial and construction spaces - but on the municipal side as well. I actually saw some of the biggest opportunities, especially within municipalities. I came up with StormSensor as a joke, really, because it just seemed so obvious that having real-time data made so much more sense. But this was back in 2010 or so, when IoT was very new, and when I didn’t have any hardware or software experience. In 2015, I took a product management class with StormSensor as my product. As part of the program, I had to interview hundreds of customers, and through that process, I learned that (1) we don’t have any information about how water flows through our storm and sewer systems, with the exception of models and temporary sensor locations, and (2) a lot of cities thought that real-time data made a lot of sense...if only it was accessible, available, and meaningful. So, I founded StormSensor in 2015 with a simple vision to create the ‘Google traffic maps’ of sewers and stormwater systems. Our solution set out to meter

the last unmetered utility with IoT sensors deployed across cities to track real-time temperature, flow, and weather conditions. I hired my first employee in 2016 and my second in 2017. I raised my first real fundraising round in 2018, when we deployed our first prototype sensor network. I raised another round in 2020, when we doubled our team and deployed sensor networks in every region in the country. 2021 has been absolutely amazing in terms of growth, both with our customers and our team. How can innovative stormwater management systems help cities mitigate climate-related risks? Simply understanding how our critical infrastructure functions during normal conditions, as well as under stress from heavy rains and rising water levels, gives us the fundamental knowledge necessary to do everything from streamlining maintenance to responding to severe events proactively, as well as accurately sizing our capital improvements.

I founded StormSensor in 2015 with a simple vision, to create the ‘Google traffic maps’ of sewers and stormwater systems

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INTERVIEW

Because extreme weather events are becoming more common, it’s critical that we understand our vulnerabilities in order to respond Because extreme weather events are becoming more common, it’s critical that we understand our vulnerabilities in advance in order to respond accordingly. And if you think about it, stormwater infrastructure manages - and is impacted by - so many different factors. This includes sea level rise, water quality, flooding, clogs and backups, overflows, and limited maintenance due to limited resources and limited information. Incorporating high-resolution data capture (“high resolution,” meaning in terms of both frequency and spatial density) and applying analytics to get

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to the core of the issue provides visibility into your systems as they stand currently. This data can also highlight vulnerabilities that you might otherwise miss by just applying models and assumptions. Can StormSensor solutions help address problems caused by combined sewer overflows? StormSensor’s data networks allow cities to capture the real-time, empirical data that is critical for accurately reporting CSOs, designing and implementing an effective long-term control plan, and ensuring that any engineering estimates and associated solutions account for the actual volume of water discharged from the combined system. Our notifications provide forecasted and real-time alerts of active CSOs, which can be used to support public notification requirements. The data are easily consolidated for quarterly reporting to the U.S. EPA.

One of the trickier aspects of some combined sewer monitoring programs is that so many discharge into tidal waterways, making quantification difficult (the same can be said for stormwater systems as well). We apply targeted algorithms that, to put it simply, remove the tidal impacts and allow us to measure just the overflow or the discharge. By doing so, we can accurately quantify flow events, ensuring that the volume and the frequency of overflows is properly tracked and monitored. That data can then be used to develop your long-term control plan, ensuring that the full volume of CSOs is addressed by the plans, some of which can be incredibly costly to implement. As the sewers are separated, monitoring stormwater runoff from the new storm systems can be used to document progress by quantifying the volume of runoff routed away from the treatment plant.

ERIN K. ROTHMAN How does the digitalisation of storm or sewer systems compare with solutions based on green infrastructure in terms of effectively tackling flooding and water quality concerns related to stormwater? What about in terms of implementation and maintenance costs? Using a data-driven maintenance approach helps municipalities meet regulatory requirements while reducing unnecessary maintenance costs. Maintenance can be targeted to known issues on an as-needed basis rather than at predetermined service intervals. For example, bioretention cells lose functionality as infiltration rates decrease. With StormSensor, a stormwater manager can remotely review and assess the performance of multiple assets during rain events. Our clog alert automatically detects and alerts staff to potential issues, reducing the frequency of flooding. Targeted catch basin cleaning and pipe jetting

based on known sediment loading will help to improve overall system performance while minimizing costs. Lastly, our temperature data can help municipalities identify inflow and infiltration (I&I) locations which, if addressed, reduces wastewater treatment costs and the need for system-wide underground camera inspections. Our sensors can be installed upstream and downstream of BMPs, and they would remain in place after construction is complete. In general, while having in situ sensors in all types of GI may not be feasible, pre and post-construction monitoring is appropriate for any type of GI. StormSensor’s networks are more typically deployed by cities to take a watershed and network-based perspective on flows, and data collection within the sewer system itself is also highly recommended. Can you explain what the StormSensor Risk Index is?

StormSensor’s Urban Flood Risk Index, or SURFR™, is a map view of your community that incorporates geophysical and socioeconomic spatial data into a holistic risk index which can be used to identify risk-prone zones within your community. It takes into account a series of influencing factors, including impervious surfaces, population density, income, flow accumulation, etc. The maps are broken into the spatial resolution of your choice: census tracts, modelled watershed basins, or grids. We call these “risk management zones” or RMZs. The RMZs are compared relative to each other, both per parameter and then with all parameters combined. The maps themselves are interactive and include a dashboard analysis of every RMZ - for example, which parameter(s) drive the risk score - and they can also integrate your GIS data. It’s eye-opening to see how these compare to FEMA and how the outcomes

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INTERVIEW

align with expectations based on realworld experience. SURFR™ is also a useful tool that helps us prioritize locations to install data networks, highlighting the areas that would have the greatest impact if

SURFR™ is a map view of your community that incorporates geophysical and socioeconomic spatial data into a holistic risk index 74

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we only had visibility into that storm or sewer system. Is intelligent wastewater and stormwater infrastructure for large cities, or can smaller communities afford to become smart as well? Anyone can use it! That was a key objective of ours from the outset and remains the case today. So many of the solutions that are on the market right now are so incredibly expensive, which limits their accessibility. We believe that getting everyone access to the data, and providing everyone with the information they need to make

informed decisions, drives economic and social benefits across communities. We’ve deployed networks in cities with 5,000 people, as well as in cities with 700,000 people. What role do you see for smart stormwater solutions as climate-driven extreme events become more frequent in the future? I think these solutions will become even more critical as extreme events intensify. Consider how effective a given storm or sewer system is under normal conditions. As those systems age, they experience more problems, from more

ERIN K. ROTHMAN

Getting everyone access to the data, and providing the information to make informed decisions, drives economic and social benefits

frequent maintenance needs to more backups and overflows. Add in more extreme storm events and these systems - many of which are at their limits right now - will not operate sustainably. Just imagine if we knew exactly where those issues are, exactly how different events affect these incredibly variable and unique systems, and it was standard practice to drive operation and design based on incorporating resilience into our critical infrastructure through digitalisation. We’ve invested in smart technologies across every other utility; it’s time to do the same in stormwater.

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FEATURE

MINSAIT, DIGITALIZATIO Digitalization is here to stay, and just as it is changing all aspects of our lives - cities, homes or our leisure time - it is also revolutionizing business. This ongoing trend, also known as industry 4.0, is essential to guarantee the competitiveness of companies.

Liliana Velasco Pérez, Utilities Water Manager at Minsait

At Minsait, a leading company in digital transformation, our goal is supporting our clients by providing solutions aimed at generating positive impacts on their business and on society. A constant evolution is required to address the challenges faced by the industry, such as reducing production costs, speeding up

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responses to eventualities or improving customer experience. Water utilities are not on the sidelines of this wave of change. Digitalization has led to a transformation of the water sector, becoming essential in most processes, both at the level of water infrastructure operation as well as commer-

cial management and related corporate processes: financial, HR or marketing, among others. The range of new tools includes several solutions, from the intelligent and automated management of the sensors deployed in the field, to the automation of processes through a “Virtual Work-

MINSAIT

N OF WATER UTILITIES force”, a wave in the digital transformation that is revolutionizing back office and front office operations. All these new solutions contribute to improve the main water management areas, in terms of equipment connectivity, data homogenization, and process automation. Nowadays, the global panorama intensifies the water utilities challenges. Climate change is a reality and so it is the fight against water scarcity, worsened by an incessant population growth and increasingly stringent environmental regulations. For all these reasons, the sector is

necessarily forced to integrate disruptive technologies in its management. However, although major companies are taking leaps and bounds to catch up, the digital maturity level of water companies still has a long way to go. Based on our experience in utilities at international level, where we carry out digital transformation projects, we identify three types of companies, based on their level of digitalization: J Companies in a premature state of digital development, where their efforts in the IT field are focused on imple-

menting basic functionalities of an ERP system, covering basic processes of commercial management, having a GIS system, as well as supporting the operation through a SCADA system. J Digitally conscious companies, which have redesigned most of the operations to have more automated and controlled processes. These companies are in a phase of consolidating their technology to be able to implement complementary functionalities. Digitally conscious companies usually implement more advanced modules of the systems, as well

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FEATURE

as solutions that enhance energy efficiency and the relationship with both internal and external customers through their virtual office and web portal. In addition, they develop pilot projects that allow them to validate the application of new operating models, validating and identifying the Business Case that deserves a future investment. J At the highest level would be companies with digital maturity, which are

It is essential to migrate from obsolete technologies to modern ones and adapt the business processes and logics to digitalization 78

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those that have consolidated their technologies. These companies still have room of improvement through the incorporation of advanced analytics aimed at optimizing strategic decision making, where data is a common asset for all areas. Similarly, the automation of processes reduces human intervention in low-value tasks, guaranteeing continuity and quality of service and making operations more efficient. To do this, they resort to the capabilities of robots, automated end-toend monitoring and virtual replication of real processes. It is essential to migrate from obsolete technologies to modern ones and adapt the business processes and logics to digitalization in order to improve in financial and operational terms. Additionally, companies must align their IT strategy with OT, as both are completely linked.

In order to face the digital transformation and promote new customer-oriented business models, we have developed Onesait Utilities, a complete suite of solutions focused on responding to new challenges and opportunities for utilities in the new digital age. In search of operational efficiency, the integration of these solutions is essential to provide water companies a unified vision of performance. Among the available solutions, the implementation of Onesait Utilities Customers allows the optimization of the commercial cycle, covering the different needs of the business areas and enabling a 360º view of all processes related to a specific customer. It is also necessary for utilities to have the appropriate inputs, guaranteeing the reliability of the information obtained

MINSAIT

throughout the network. Access to real consumption, flow, pressure or water quality data allows the companies to take a step forward to implement flow control solutions. In this field, Onesait Utilities Metering monitors assets and validates and certifies the measure. It also supports analysis and decision making by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Machine Learning and integrating Big Data capabilities and functions such as forecasting demand. This is the way to drive progress towards a state of digital maturity. Another factor contributing to measurement accuracy in a water supply network is identifying physical leaks in the network. The more exact the procedures for the control of real and apparent leaks, the better characterized we will have the volume of non-revenue water,

which will favour the implementation of hydraulic efficiency plans with significantly more positive results. To solve the problem of locating network leaks in real time and accurately, we have developed Onesait Utilities Sensing, an automatic system for the detection of leaks and threats in pipes in real time based on the use of DAS technology (Distributed Acoustic Sensor). The system uses standard communication optical fibre, and monitors transport and distribution networks by transforming optical signals into alarms with an intuitive and functional user interface. At Minsait we have a technological lab that uses simulation technologies on a 4-pressure bar hydraulic circuit. This way we can identify individual and simultaneous leaks in the network, as well as external threats, whether mechanical or manual disturbances. It has been possible to identify leaks with a sensitivity of around 100 l / hour, as well as threats and their location in the pipeline with great precision, of approximately 5 metres. A single optical sensor device can monitor up to approximately 150 linear km. These and the implementation of many other systems generate layers of complexity for operators and can even lengthen routine testing processes in

control centres. That is why there is always a need for simplification and presentation of interfaces, in such a way that it is simple for new users and there are no barriers in the way to digitalization. From the point of view of improving operational efficiency, we are applying hyper automation processes, where we combine multiple technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), RPA (Robotic Process Automation), and automation tools, helping our clients to apply them incrementally. This process starts with the digitalization of content and processes, evolves with the automation of repetitive tasks through robots and integrating support platforms that offer an analytical perspective, and finally evolves to the implementation of intelligent processes that simulate the human decision-making process. These technologies assist utilities in reducing costs, generating additional revenue, and minimizing risks. In this way, with the application of all these new solutions, Minsait wants to be part of the digital revolution of the water sector, applying new disruptive technologies that will allow society to extract more information and build responsible, competitive water infrastructure with a vision towards the future.

Minsait wants to be part of the sector’s digital revolution, with disruptive technologies to build competitive water infrastructure

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OPINION

ANT LANE FIELD TECHNICIAN SUPPORT AT WESTERMO

Cellular communication has been used widely in industries such Check with your mobile network operator as water and waste water treatment to connect to systems and There is a lot of unclear and indefinite information concerning equipment located remotely. Water companies were early adopt- when and which services will be turned off, and this may result in ers of 2G and the subsequent rollout of 3G and 4G provided in- decisions to purchase products or technologies being made in haste. creased data rates, lower latency and greater network availability. For the public switched telephone network (PSTN) switch-off The success of third and fourth generation cellular networks has in the UK, BT (an internet service provider) provided an official paved the way for 5G, with much speculation as to how it will press release, supported by Ofcom, outlining that PSTNs will be adopted within industrial applications. be switched off by 2025. To date, there has been no official anWith widespread adoption of 4G and the growing availability nouncement from UK MNOs about a 2G/3G switch-off, which of 5G products and services around the world, older technolo- was seen in countries such as Australia for the 2G switch-off in gies (2G and 3G) are now slowly being turned off. For exam- 2018. Within the UK media there has been much speculation ple, in Australia, Vodafone shut off its 2G GSM services back and conflicting information about the 2G and 3G shut-off, with in 2018 to enable greater availability of the 3G/4G network and suggestion that this may take place in the next few years. A shutTelstra is now proposing the 3G network be shut down by 2024 down is going to happen, but the question is when. to make room for 5G. In South KoGermany switched off its ISDN rea, the countrywide 2G shut-off network in 2018 to create the way Over the next few years, began in 2020 and in many other for an all IP network. To ensure countries, such as the UK, there is that users still had access to ‘anbusinesses will need to speculation and uncertainty as to alogue lines’, boxes on the street consider migrating to a newer when networks will be shut off. The supplied an IP backbone to the radio spectrum is highly regulated. ISP, with the last meters kept as a cellular network and update With small portions of frequencies connection for existing telephones. their systems accordingly sold for vast sums of money to moThis has enabled customers to prebile network operators (MNO), pare for a ‘switch-off’ and migrate careful planning for future cellular technology is necessary to to a fixed line replacement (ADSL/VDSL). For companies to ensure equipment can supply demand. be prepared for the 2G/3G sunset, MNOs will surely need to The shutdown of most 2G and 3G services, known as the advise a timeline to enable their customers to prepare. `2G/3G sunset’, is widely expected to take place by the end of Due to limitations of the 2G network, most installations use the decade. This means that over the next few years business- either serial communications or to a lesser extent, IP communies will need to consider migrating to a newer cellular network cations. Despite 3G communications offering greater functionaland update their systems accordingly. For many, that will be 4G, ity, there are some suggestions that 3G networks may be disabled which is already one of the most widely available and cost-effec- before 2G. The reason for this may be due to the tremendous tive global cellular network services. In 2019, more than 50% success of 2G, which is still considered critical to infrastructure. of mobile connections used globally were 4G, but despite this coverage is still not 100%. Further investment in the 4G net- Understanding the impact of a 2G and 3G shutdown on work is required, especially in rural areas. Here are some recom- your system mendations to help prepare your organisation for the ensuing The migration to 4G-enabled devices has its benefits. 4G-en2G/3G sunset. abled devices usually support all cellular technologies, including

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2G and 3G, due to the cellular chipset being built into the device. This means that if a 2G-only device is replaced by a 4G-enabled device it can use those additional services should 4G not be available in the area. That allows standardisation of networking equipment, while using multiple cellular networks. If legacy equipment is still fit for purpose, but the supporting communications network is moving to an IP-based system, there may be an option to just upgrade the data communications equipment. Most industrial cellular devices include a serial interface as well as Ethernet, which means only part of the overall system is replaced, helping to make considerable cost savings.

cade, with 4G and 5G expected to coexist, as the other services have done for many years. The potential of 5G is huge. In the UK, 5G is utilising part of the radio spectrum that was previously used to deliver TV broadcasts, as well as using the 3.4GHz and 3.8GHz range to provide coverage similar to 4G in the cities. It is worth noting, however, that because some parts of 5G uses higher frequencies, additional cell towers will be required to ensure optimum coverage. It took many years for 4G to offer great coverage in many countries, with the initial focus on cities before a countrywide rollout took place. 5G is not the only new cellular network available. In some European countries, private LTE networks, such as LTE450 and Understanding the technology LTE-M450 are available, which utilise parts of the radio spec4G, frequently referred to as long-term evolution (LTE), has far trum to provide 4G data rates on lower frequencies. Industrial exceeded the expectations that 3G devices using these services are being failed to live up to. It has provided a used to connect remote technology 4G will provide those perfect environment for immediate in applications such as substations. access and high-speed connectivity migrating from 2G and 3G to the internet for social media, enAre you prepared for a switch-off? with a replacement service tertainment and better accessibility The transition from 2G and 3G to to remote sites. The strength and the next generation of cellular netfor the next decade, with 4G success of 4G is due to the broad works is not going to happen overand 5G expected to coexist use of the radio spectrum. The night and MNOs have a responsibil800MHz range provides a much ity to inform their customers when larger coverage area than 3G, helping to reach remote areas, like these services will be shut off. The ‘digital switchover’ in the UK, 2G achieved, but with much greater data rates. When combined where analogue TV signals were switched off and replaced by with the use of 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz frequencies, this also in- digital signals, started in 2005 and was completed in 2012. This creased bandwidth in denser areas, such as towns and cities. featured a huge marketing campaign and local investment to enHowever, a network connection is only as fast as the slowest able this transition to be as smooth as possible. link. If the cellular chip in a device does not meet certain requireMigration to a new communications technology will create capiments, despite over the air availability, data rates and performance tal and projects costs in the short term, but the possibility to gather plummet. Weaker cellular chips can also affect the received signal more data than ever before, and then do more with it, will help strength indicator (RSSI) and the reference signal received power to drive profitability in the long term. Current and next genera(RSRQ), both of which impact quality and performance. tion services, such as 4G and 5G, pave the way for high speed and low latency networks that are perfect for Industrial IoT, M2M and Next generation technology real-time data collection. The mass deployment of 4G worldwide Despite the promise of 5G, 4G will provide those migrating has provided businesses with significant opportunities to improve from 2G and 3G with a replacement service for the next de- performance and 5G will expand those opportunities even further.

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FEATURE

HOW IRELAND’S TRINITY COLLEGE IS USING CLOUD TECHNOLOGY FOR DESIGN OF WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES DURING COVID-19 Does the design of water and wastewater treatment plants in your business still rely on manual, repetitive and linear approaches? If yes, then, chances are that your designs are being delivered inefficiently. According to a recent Frost & Sullivan Report on Environmental Intelligence, “inadequacy of the current environmental analytical tools” is one of the main challenges faced by the water/ wastewater sector. This trend extends to the initial design of an efficient wastewater treatment plant. Whereas most industries are thriving with the use of technology, the water

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sector still falls under the “laggard” or “late majority” categories for adopting new technologies. At the same time, competition continues to increase, and it has become important for water and wastewater engineering businesses to find new ways to work efficiently and effectively. Water design engineers and consultants know that there is a massive potential for cost saving and efficiency gains but putting changes into practice is difficult. For many years, the availability of integrated design and process simulation packages has not serviced industrial, reuse and drinking water plant designs

as well as it has for biological treatment plants. Engineers and designers in many cases still rely on manual, repetitive spreadsheet-based processes. Design packages, when available are based on mathematical simulation products that have been repurposed from other industries and difficult to learn and based on desktop pcs that are limited in terms of processing power, data storage and tools for collaboration. Emerging technologies for industrial water treatment and drinking water are often not covered at all. Cloud-based products have the potential to deliver significant innovations to treatment plant design packages by lev-

ENVIROSUITE Design of water infrastructure and wastewater treatment still relies on manual, repetitive and linear approaches. Optimisation of designs is slow and inefficient and multiple tools are needed to deliver engineering projects. During COVID-19 Pandemic, Ireland’s Trinity College, one of the world’s most renowned universities and has been teaching engineering since 1841, began using EVS Water Plant Designer to simulate landfill leachate processes.

Chaim Kolominskas, Global Head - Water and Waste -

eraging on-demand increases in processing power and storage as well as the ability to work simultaneously on designs, work remotely and integrate workflow and audit trail capabilities that are critical in delivering effective designs. Identifying the opportunity in drinking water and industrial water treatment design, Envirosuite, with a long history of delivering complex modelling solutions through cloud-based platforms, recently integrated an emerging and innovative technology in the process design market into its EVS Water Portfolio through an acquisition of AqMB, an emerging provider of design and digital twin solutions for the water industry. “We recognised that there was a real need for better products in the industrial and drinking water design space. AqMB had embedded strong and deep

Darren Szczepanski, Product Manager - Smart Water

technical knowledge in a product that serviced a clear gap in the market for engineers and designers of water and wastewater treatment plants and Envirosuite has demonstrated success in delivering complex environmental modelling solutions that leverage the power of cloud computing around the world. We look forward to delivering this product to engineers and designers around the world over the coming years”, says Global Head for Water and Waste at Envirosuite, Chaim Kolominskas. Cloud-based technology has allowed: J More rapid integration of emerging models for water and wastewater treatment. Plant Designer covers nearly all current drinking water and industrial water treatment technologies and has recently integrated key treatment models for biological treatment. It is unique

to see such broad coverage of treatment processes in the one product. J The ability to simulate many models simultaneously. This has led to an innovative capability of ‘automated optimisation’ where 1000s of model scenarios are generated before the best fit for target performance is recommended. This leads to significant savings in design times. J Easier integration and export of engineering deliverables such as equipment

Cloud-based products deliver significant innovations to treatment plant design by leveraging on-demand increases in processing power

Trinity College’s School of Engineering looked to cloud based software solutions to facilitate learning of landfill leachate processes

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FEATURE sizing, lifecycle costs, material and energy balances and stream properties leading to further design savings. J Simultaneous design, review and audit trail capabilities facilitating much easier remote working and true collaborative process design. Importantly, the cloud also makes integration of these deterministic models much easier into broader digital twin applications with the ability to process large volumes of real-time information and couple with powerful data science and machine learning capabilities to deliver real-time and predictive management to water and wastewater treatment plants once they have been built. “The cloud allows us to integrate deterministic models and machine learning approaches, which significantly improves forecast accuracy and speeds up implementation time compared to machine learning only approaches. Having a deterministic model baseline also ensures that the model doesn’t drift, giving our customers better confidence in the recommendations for optimisation. Having spent 20 years in the water sector, we recognised the caution that the water industry has for artificial intelligence only approaches and wanted to make sure that our products are always grounded in strong, leading science and we think we’ve struck the right balance with this approach. The emergence of cloud computing has made that all possible”, says Darren Szczepanski, founder of the product. Ireland’s Trinity College is now using EVS Water Plant Designer to learn

The cloud allows us to integrate deterministic models and machine learning approaches, which significantly improves forecast accuracy 84

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'tricks of the trade' for water treatment processes during COVID-19 When teaching design of water treatment processes, engineering schools are looking for ways to communicate complex science efficiently and effectively. Benchtop or theoretical exercises can be slow and remote learning can be difficult. Ireland’s Trinity College is one of the world’s most renowned universities and has been teaching engineering since 1841. The School of Engineering has a strong focus on quantitative and analytical methods, the application of innovation and the use of new technology to solve problems in the natural and built environments. The Challenge: COVID-19 hindering collaboration and practical research outcomes As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the University faced a number of challenges in teaching wastewater treatment process design effectively. In-person collaboration was restricted, and benchtop studies became impractical to deliver. The University was conducting research on landfill leachate treatment and needed a new solution to simulate the treatment processes, understand the implications of different treatment options while still being able to effectively teach the principles of the treatment processes and technologies involved. The Solution: Learning industrial and biological modelling processes using a single, cloud-based platform To facilitate a number of higher research projects, Trinity College began using EVS Water Plant Designer to simulate landfill leachate processes. The platform is cloud based and designed for collaborative, remote learning. Multiple users can work on the same design simultaneously and comprehensive audit trail and review functionality makes the teaching and review process much more efficient than traditional methods.

Envirosuite integrated an emerging technology in the process design market into its EVS Water Portfolio through tan acquisition of AqMB The platform also provides an automatic calibration function and is supported by excellent-practice models. Thousands of model configuration scenarios can be simultaneously compared and evaluated to provide accurate and reliable calibrated model configurations for the target design, significantly speeding up the calibration and optimisation process. EVS Water Plant Designer was also able take data directly from the EPA in Ireland to understand excellent-practice models and how they impact process deTrinity College’s School of Engineering looked to cloud based software solutions to facilitate learning of landfill leachate processes

ENVIROSUITE sign, facilitating the research and learning of wastewater treatment process design in a collaborate and cost-effective manner. “Using the technology, the students are able to efficiently design water treatment plants and simulate a variety of treatment processes. EVS Water Plant Designer has been very helpful for teaching the principles of water and wastewater treatment.” – Dr David O’Connel, Assistant Professor, Contaminant Hydrology and Hydrogeology (Trinity College, Dublin).

EVS Water Plant Designer was also able take data directly from the EPA in Ireland to understand excellent-practice models

The University was conducting research on landfill leachate treatment and needed a new solution to simulate tthe treatment processes

A chance to see it yourself Design of water infrastructure and wastewater treatment still relies on manual, repetitive and linear approaches. Optimisation of designs is slow and inefficient and multiple tools are needed to deliver engineering projects. In Envirosuite’s website you can find a free 30 day trial

of EVS Water Plant Designer to significantly reduce the time it takes to design water processes. EVS Water Plant Designer is a digital plant design platform for drinking water, industrial and biological drinking water treatment processes used by the world’s leading engineers and consultants.

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WATER & NEWS - DIGITAL

B&V: CLIMATE CHANGE, PANDEMIC STRESS WATER SECTOR’S NEED FOR BROADER VIEW OF RESILIENCE, DATA USE The 2021 Strategic Directions Report highlights the role of digital water solutions as pandemic, climate change stress systems The U.S. water industry is embracing innovation, sustainability and technology, including data, analytics and other “digital water” tools along with resource recovery processes. Combined, this continued progress helps to meet a host of challenges headlined by aging infrastructure, climate-related impacts and uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a newly released report from Black & Veatch. The company’s “Strategic Directions: 2021 Water Report” features expert analysis of survey responses from more than 200 U.S. water industry stakeholders. It shows a sector discovering new ways of doing business by embracing digital water and leveraging integrated approaches to both planning and delivering strategic, financial and operational resilience. “The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the industry’s remarkable agility and adaptability in delivering its essential services,” said Cindy Wallis-Lage, president of Black & Veatch’s water business. “Given all of the challenges, including COVID-19, the water sector is transforming. This evolution features continued progress for wider use of data technology, advancements in innovative solutions that drive resilience, and is stimulating meaningful, longterm investment. More than ever, these times validate a holistic, collaborative approach to addressing the industry’s complexities and ensuring a lasting, dependable water ecosystem.” While it continues to evolve, many issues facing the industry are familiar. A

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total of 75% of survey respondents listed aging infrastructure as their foremost challenge. Other issues include making the case for capital improvement programs (34%), system resilience (30%) and managing capital costs (26%). Utility managers understand that data-related technologies can optimize their systems for greater sustainability and resilience, as roughly two-thirds categorize their data management practice as robust and strengthening though not fully integrated. This represents a slight uptick from Black & Veatch’s 2020 report. Other key findings include: J More than two-thirds of respondents credited COVID-19 for their organization’s increased consideration of digital technology, pointing to the pandemic-forced remote working practices of their employees.

J Projects meant to ensure or enhance water quality held the most sway among survey respondents, with roughly four in 10 casting that as the greatest emphasis. J Financial drivers (56%) and strong consumer demand (42%) outrank political pressure (36%) when driving the water industry to set sustainability goals. J When asked which components they plan to include in their sustainability strategies, respondents pointed to renewable energy, water loss mitigation and new/alternative water supplies as their top three focus areas. J A combined 89% of respondents reported they are at least somewhat confident in the quality of their data. This suggests a strong foundation for leveraging data to inform future decision making.

ENVIROSUITE AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S WATER CORPORATION ENTER INTO SEWEX PROOF OF CONCEPT The proof of concept is to monitor the sewer network and provide insights that reduce future costs of odour and corrosion management Leading environmental technology company Envirosuite Limited has announced the award of a proof of concept project with Western Australia’s Water Corporation for SeweX. Water Corporation is Western Australia’s principal supplier of water, wastewater, drainage and bulk irrigation services; it is state owned and accountable to the Minister for Water. Its water services are delivered to hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and farms. The project will demonstrate SeweX, Envirosuite’s SaaS product performance

for water utilities supporting proactive management of corrosion, odour and safety in sewer networks related to sulphide and methane. SeweX is designed to help water utilities to safely manage the biological processes occurring within sewer networks and improve the health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance, while avoiding and mitigating costly network disruption. Envirosuite is committed to solving global problems through investment in research and development with science

at the core. As we continue to experience the impacts of climate change, being able to better optimise existing infrastructure will significantly improve the operating life and reduce future construction and operating costs such as electricity use. This is the first proof of concept for Envirosuite’s SeweX product within the EVS Water portfolio, which has a current serviceable addressable market of $2.8 billion, as defined in the 24 May 2021 capital raising presentation.

NEW SATELLITE SYSTEM WOULD ENHANCE WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA AquaWatch aims to use space technologies to provide continuous monitoring of the quality of Australia’s fresh and coastal water bodies An analysis conducted at UNSW Canberra has demonstrated that a new spacebased Earth observation system would be a valuable piece of infrastructure for monitoring and managing Australia’s inland and coastal waterbodies. The scoping study was one of the first steps in the AquaWatch Australia water quality management mission being developed as a joint initiative between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency and the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). It was conducted at Australia’s pre-

mier space mission development centre, the Australian National Concurrent Design Facility (ANCDF) at UNSW Canberra. ANCDF Manager and Space Systems Engineer Denis Naughton said the infrastructure could include a constellation of satellites and a network of ground-based sensors and that the study provided an understanding of the project’s challenges and potential solutions. Data gathered from space provides critical insights about water quality and natural events including toxic algal

blooms, the contamination of drinking water and excess runoff from irrigation. Earth observation satellites currently only provide 60-70% coverage for major Australian water bodies, and while the quality of some inland waterways is monitored directly by testing, this data is not routinely combined with satellite data. AquaWatch aims to complement existing systems and build a comprehensive national monitoring system to deliver real-time updates, predictive analytics and forecast warnings to water managers.

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FEATURE

CLIMATE CHANGE

MEASURING IMPACTS OF DRINKING WATER

The big shift of summer 2021 How are consumers drinking water? Glass, PET, single-use or even without packaging – via tap water or filtered tap water? This question has become a burning hot topic of discussion as the summer of 2021 has clearly shown the negative impacts of climate change: heat waves, fires, floods and droughts. It has been brought to our attention that time is pressing to act with whatever means that have an immediate positive impact, and do not require a big carbon footprint when produced such as solar or wind power plants. In fact, the climate change debate has to change its focus in order to be effective: while public interest was turned towards avoiding fossils, improving isolation of houses and energy savings, it is strongly swinging now into the “avoiding & reducing” phase. This is true for meat consumption, but also packaging in gen-

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eral and especially avoidable packaging for water, a basic human need that is repeated daily by everybody. And the answer is clear: in many countries, tap water can be used for hydrating the world’s population rather than buying water in bottles today. Filtration and sparkling can easily be found at reasonable prices. According to a recent study by Cristina Villanueva et al. published by the journal Science of the Total Environment, the bottled water impacts on the environment are 3,500 higher than tap water. The impact is significant. Take Germany as an example. 83 million inhabitants use 47 million single-use plastic bottles for water and soft drinks per day. 2000 trucks are travelling the country each day in order to transport bottles of water. A shift of daily hydration habits from bottle towards tap water has an immediate impact on the carbon footprint of millions. Especially when you take into ac-

DROOPLE Drinking water is the most underestimated factor when it comes to saving the planet. It is clear faster solutions need to be put in place, reliably, and for the good of the climate. Drinking habits of consumer and institutions are capable to evolve as sustainability data and insights are leveraged with modern technology.

Z Z

Şenol Ağaç, author of “Klimaschutz aus dem Hahn” and water industry consultant Ramzi Bouzerda, CEO and founder of Droople

count that it is one of “the lucky” countries with a food grade tap water quality throughout the country. Like consumers, schools and businesses are confronted with this inevitable change. The rise of water filtration and dispensing systems for every area of life, including public places like airports, train stations and shopping centres has created a pressure to implement them fast.

that natural curiosity and the user experience will bring a larger shift for the long-term. Take for example a water dispenser corner at the office, a tap at home, or a public water fountain at the shopping centre. Until now fountains were “just doing their job” providing water. It was unknown how much water was consumed, the impact on the climate, or how much money was saved.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure Habits will evolve when everyone realizes their own power of change. It is true that the shift from bottled water to tap water is “logically” necessary, but the topic is not new in itself and still has a long way to go. We need to nurture

Water sensors & IoT are changing our habits The rise of IoT and its application to water assets have created a new momentum in the climate change debate. Droople smart water monitoring solutions provide actionable insights by eas-

ily adapting to indoor & outdoor water dispensing systems. Drinkers automatically gain insight into how many plastic bottles they avoided, their bottle cost savings, and their reduction in carbon footprint. Vendors get real-time monitoring and set their tailored benchmarks according to affiliated organizations and their operations. The possibilities include pay-per-use business models, setting alarms for optimising water dispenser lifespan, and monitor water filter canisters or CO2 cartridges to plan replacements accordingly. Yes, drinking water habits have to change and IoT makes sure they change for the better.

Droople smart water monitoring solutions provide actionable insights by easily adapting to indoor & outdoor water dispensing systems

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OPINION

ANNA KOSOVAC, KRIS HARTLEY & GLEN KUECKER RESEARCH FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE; ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT DEPAUW UNIVERSITY

WHEN WATER RUNS OUT OF TIME THERE WILL BE NO TECH SOLUTION Carrying a message that was equal parts expected and discour- tionality”). These solutions reflect a power-knowledge nexus aging, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IP- in which those with knowledge of technical systems hold CC) latest report stressed the dire state of global water resourc- decision-making power because problems and solutions are es. Referencing an increased risk of flooding and reduction in framed in the language of their paradigm. Knowledge is conthe supply of freshwater, the report is a reminder of the 1970s stantly being reproduced and reshaped by those in power, “limits to growth” argument, calling for transformative chang- as the evolving mandate of maintaining credibility requires. es in how society sees progress and development. The techno-solutionist mindset is both endemic and cyclical, Resource optimists have rejected this argument, insisting creating a feedback loop in which particular paradigms are that society has the capacity to “tech” its way out of resource re-validated and rarely challenged by other paradigms. issues indefinitely. Resource optimism is not uncommon in These ways of thinking will not serve society well as the the field of water management, where smart technologies threat of systemic environmental collapse looms. Surviving a abound, and engineering solutions are seen as key to ensuring resource crisis requires massive change of either a technological stable water supply. or cultural manner. If society remains stuck in a techno-soluWe challenge these assumptions. The inherent danger of tionist mindset, it will believe that technology performs just the long popular techno-solutionwell enough to forestall crises in ist mindset in water governance is the present while seemingly elimWe need to challenge that softer risks arise from techinating the need for transformative nological solutions themselves. action in the longer term. the water management Tech “successes” briefly provide a The existential challenge is that profession to re-think its false sense of security and seemsociety does not have time to await ingly excuse society from making transformative change in either techno-solutionist mindset to short-term sacrifices in exchange technological or cultural systems. address water in a holistic way for longer-term water security. We need to challenge the water Further, can we always assume management profession to re-think that engineering solutions will stay just ahead of the pace of its techno-solutionist mindset to address water in a holistic increased consumption? way. As such, there is no “solution to” but only “management While engineering solutions have a role in water manage- of ” imminent systemic collapse; this reality flies painfully in ment, they should not monopolize how society understands the face of a profession that so resolutely believes in the efficawater challenges. Social, political, and economic issues shape cy of its own technologies. how infrastructure is designed and operated, yet the techThis wicked predicament suggests the need not only for no-solutionist and social science “camps” of water governance more interdisciplinary social science in water governance but are not in productive communion. The field needs to more also the acknowledgement of the value of folk, local, and systematically see human behavioural dynamics, cultural fac- indigenous knowledge. New ways of thinking about water tors, and the limitations of policy levers as determinants of governance may not be readily apparent, but society must engineering success or failure – arriving at a more realistic establish the conditions that allow those ways of thinking expectation of what engineering solutions can accomplish. to emerge. If we believe that there is always a tech solution Technology-based solutions enjoy credibility due to de- around the corner, we will never be fully receptive to altercades of rigid policy models (described as “instrumental ra- native options.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

OPINION

ALAIN KILAJIAN SENIOR SUSTAINABILITY SPECIALIST AT THE INTERNATIONAL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION

A recent IEA report on achieving net zero models a doubling el plants. For example, solar and wind projects may need around of global electricity generation led by the three musketeers of 50 times more space than coal plants and 100 times more space the renewable revolution – solar, wind and hydropower. At the than gas plants to generate an equivalent amount of electricity. same time, world leaders are set to agree new targets for biodi- In countries with limited space and ambitious clean energy tarversity, increasing the number of protected areas among other gets, renewable energy development linked to deforestation has conservation measures. This article explores the trade-offs become at the expense of biodiversity and conservation. tween these pathways and outlines what the hydropower sector Beyond the issue of space, renewable energy development can is doing to bridge the gaps. impact biodiversity and conservation efforts through numerous After the delays and disruption caused by the Covid-19 pan- direct and indirect pressures. Wind power has often been associdemic, two major international summits in 2021 will attempt ated with impacts on migratory birds, solar power on land eroto find solutions to the twin challenges of environmental degra- sion and deforestation, and hydropower on river health. Such dation and climate change. At the UN Biodiversity Conference impacts have led the International Union for Conservation of in October, hosted in Kunming, China, governments will assess Nature (IUCN) to partner up with leading industry players like progress against global targets made under the Convention for Électricité de France (EDF) and Energias de Portugal (EDP) Biological Diversity. A month latto develop guidance on best pracer, in November, officials will meet tices in mitigating biodiversity imThe problem with renewable again in Glasgow, UK, to renew pacts from wind and solar projects. and strengthen pledges to reduce Though the guidance doesn’t cover energy projects is they carbon emissions under the Paris hydropower, it clearly highlights the require a lot of space and Climate Agreement. trade-offs between the clean energy These back-to-back to summits and conservation movements. much more than traditional will leave governments with a garAt the heart of this dilemma is the fossil fuel plants gantuan challenge: how to meet infight against climate change. Concreasing energy demand while proservation and clean energy developtecting the world’s ecological biodiversity. On one hand, they ment are the two most important weapons in our arsenal against need to increase renewable energy capacity to meet the elec- climate change. Mitigating the effects of climate change will retrification needs of a growing population. On the other, they quire us not only to reduce our future emissions of greenhouse need to protect natural assets such as forests, wetlands and other gases but also capture some of the carbon already in the atmobiodiversity habitats, to maintain the benefits of these ecosys- sphere. Renewable energy development helps us achieve the first tems as well as their aesthetic beauty. To stand any chance in objective – reducing future emissions. For example, hydropower our fight against climate change, governments will need to do instead of traditional fossil fuels has contributed to the avoidboth, simultaneously. ance of more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the For most, these two pathways appear sans conflict, but scratch past 50 years alone. That’s roughly equivalent to the total annual beneath the surface and cracks begin to appear. The most ob- carbon footprint of the United States for 20 years. With increasvious crack is to do with space. Like any other infrastructure ing amounts of renewable energy penetrating energy markets, development, renewable energy projects require space, whether the number of avoided emissions will continue to grow. on land or water. The problem with renewable energy projects is For the second objective – capturing existing carbon in the they require a lot of it and much more than traditional fossil fu- atmosphere – carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies

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linked to clean coal seem to dominate the discussion around Institute of Energy and Development (IIED) and reviewed by this topic (which is not surprising considering the significant the Inter-American Development Bank and IUCN, outlines number of investment and vested interest in the sector), but the how the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimise, mitigate and fastest way to capture carbon from the atmosphere is actually compensate) should be applied in practice to achieve a net gain through photosynthesis. This is why conservation is so import- or no net loss. ant. Mass reforestation, habitat restoration and protection of In parallel, to tackle the renewable energy development vs. existing habitats are vital to increase the rate of global photosyn- conservation dilemma head on, IHA has convened a multistakethesis and thus reduce the amount of carbon in our atmosphere. holder working group on protected areas to review good practice In terms of protecting existing habitats, legally designated for hydropower development and operation in relation to World protected areas are one of the most important conservation tools Heritage Sites and designated protected areas. The outcome of to mitigate climate change and halt the global loss of biodiversi- the working group’s programme will include a good practice ty. These protected areas help provide basic goods and ecosystem guide for hydropower and protected areas, as well as a set of services, such as the provision of and access to food, fibre, shelter commitments for the sector in relation to protected areas. The and security, and in many cases clean water. They can also offer commitments will be incorporated in a wider declaration recogvaluable options for society to mitnising sustainable hydropower as esigate and adapt to climate change sential to addressing climate change, IHA has convened a multistakeholder while requiring good sustainability through ecosystem benefits such as water and climate regulation, and practice as a minimum expectation working group on protected carbon storage. In truth, conservfor the future. areas to review good ing and restoring habitats is among The San José Declaration on Susthe most cost-effective emissions tainable Hydropower, named in practice for hydropower strategies available. honour of the official host partner development and operation The challenge for governments of the World Hydropower Conwill be how to reconcile renewable gress, the Government of Costa energy development and biodiversity protection. While clear Rica, will be drafted following extensive and proactive consulsynergies exist between the objectives of biodiversity protection tation with a wide range of stakeholders and registrants. The and climate change mitigation, there is also a risk that the agen- Declaration will bring biodiversity protection to the forefront das, if misaligned, could easily undermine one another. The hy- of the sector’s agenda and will be influenced by the outcomes dropower sector, led by the International Hydropower Associa- of multiple reports, forums and working groups, including the tion (IHA), has been working closely with governments, NGOs World Commission on Dams and the forthcoming Hydropowand financial institutions to address some of these challenges er Sustainability Standard. and set a path for renewable energy development that does not The synergies and trade-offs between renewable energy decome at the expense of biodiversity. velopment and conservation are clear. While the path forward Over the last year, IHA has raised the bar for the sector may be bumpy, the hydropower sector, through multistakethrough the publication of a series of practical How-to Guides holder decision-making and proactive engagement, has chartproviding guidance on good practices in hydropower developed a future where clean energy and biodiversity protection can ment. Most notably, the How-to Guide on Biodiversity Cap- coexist. This future is not only achievable; it is necessary in our ture and Invasive Species, co-authored by the International fight against climate change.

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OPINION

ROLIEN SASSE & KAREN MEIJER ON BEHALF OF THE WATER, PEACE AND SECURITY (WPS) PARTNERSHIP

MITIGATING WATER-RELATED SECURITY RISKS: THE NEED FOR INFORMED AND INCLUSIVE WATER RESOURCES INVESTMENTS Water and climate related risks such as droughts can have severe hance greener technologies through hydropower generation can implications for the stability of communities, countries and en- lead to changes in a river’s flow, affecting local communities or tire regions. These risks also affect investors and project develop- even forcing them to migrate. ers who may aggravate water security or be affected by regional Many of these water management decisions are driven by tensions. Therefore, it is crucial for public and private investors investments and economic development plans, that aim to imto properly understand the linkages between water, climate and prove energy production, enhance food security and increase security to mitigate their impact. state revenues. However, the (unintended) negative impacts on In July this year, thousands of people in Iran’s Southern prov- local communities or the entire country can result in delegitimiince of Khuzestan took to the streets to protest the lack of drink- zation of governments, causing risk of increased tensions. ing water as a result of prolonged drought and high temperatures. Similar violent protests occurred in Basra, Southern Iraq, Possible solutions in 2018. A combination of drought and extreme pollution re- There is also good news; water stress is still primarily a mansulted in a water crisis that caused the hospitalization of 118,000 made problem which can be addressed through improved water people. Desperate people took to the streets, demanding clean management and interventions that account for their impacts on water, but were met with a represdifferent population groups. These sive response. Similar demonstrastrategies require acknowledgement Water stress is still tions erupted again in Iraq in 2019, of the interdependence between and in 2020, with an expanding water, energy, agriculture and indusprimarily a man-made problem list of grievances, including water tries, and effective and fair cooperwhich can be addressed through services. In both crises, the protests ation between government agencies, expressed an increasing delegitimiinvestors and water users. improved water management zation of the governments’ ability to Hydrological and socio-political and interventions provide for basic needs and fostered models can support transparent and not only conflict, but displacement. informed decision making to acThe examples above are just two among many that illustrate count for these interdependencies and socio-political risks. These how water issues can contribute to instability and insecurity. Al- models can support stakeholders to assess water risks and their though both crises were triggered by a long drought, they were social implications, and can serve as a tool to assess, negotiate and exacerbated by multiple water management challenges, such agree on optimal investments. Such dialogues can enhance trust as reduced water flows due to water diversions for hydropower and mutual understanding and can even support peace building. dams and irrigation schemes and extreme water pollution. These Investors and policy makers in the water sector have a demanagement decisions can then create inequitable distributions cisive influence on how interventions in the water system are of impacts that build upon pre-existing tensions and grievanc- implemented. In the context of increased climate stress and a es and combine with the public’s perception of contribution to push for major climate adaptation plans and renewable energy the problem and crisis response. Similar problems can often be production, it is crucial that the social impacts of interventions observed when large irrigation schemes favor upstream water are considered. By making water management plans transparent users at the expense of downstream users, when unsustainable and inclusive to enhance collaboration, and by designing susfarming methods erode ecosystems and undermine livelihoods, tainable solutions, major water crises that create social turmoil or when extractive industries pollute water. Even efforts to en- can be prevented.

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OPINION

HASSAN ABOELNGA & NADA EL AGIZY VICE CHAIR OF MIDDLE EAST WATER FORUM & DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DEPARTMENT AT THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES

HOW CAN THE ARAB WORLD ACCELERATE CLIMATE-RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT? How the climate crisis in the Arab region (the most water scarce How we tackle, finance and cooperate for climate change adregion in the world) is tackled today and in the coming years will aptation is a turning point to ensuring we are on track to more determine the future of the sustainable development agenda and sustainable and resilient communities – rather than exacerbate our ability to adapt to increasingly frequent and severe climate existing challenges and risks in already-fragile contexts. impacts. In each scenario, the impacts on development and poor With so many challenges, we propose that the Arab region people will be huge especially on water and food security. focuses on the 5 C’s framework to achieve sustainable and cliWhile much of the debate in the Arab region around climate mate-resilient development: Coherence and integration, Co-fifinance in the context of sustainable development focuses on nancing, Cooperation, Capacity and institutional development “how much,” equally important questions are how or by whom and Communication and digital transformation. they will be implemented, and how they will be financed. HowBy aligning climate adaptation and sustainable development ever, the region’s share of global CO2 emissions is less than 5%, with national priorities, the region can get on track on delivering there are only 5 of 22 Arab states that have accessed the Green its commitment to the SDGs. Climate Fund, and efforts must be redoubled to align developCoherence and integration: the cross-cutting nature between ment co-operation with climate action. the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for SusGiven the complex challenges to tainable Development requires do more with less, the Arab region is governments to break out of both New sources of finance highly vulnerable to climate change policy and institutional silos and to and can hardly be expected to shoulembrace a wider governance particand mobilising domestic der climate change alone. New sources ipation to ensure both horizontal resources are needed to of finance and mobilising domestic re(across sectors) and vertical (across sources are needed to support climate actors) policy coherence. support climate resilience and resilience and adaptation in the region. Co-financing: leveraging co-fiadaptation in the Arab region The UNESCWA Arab Sustainable nancing from public and private Development Report 2020 indicated sources is critical to bridge the fithat from 1990 to 2019, climate extremes such as droughts affected nancial gap for climate resilient development, with focus on the over 44 m people and caused economic damages in the Arab region priorities and needs of the Arab region. of $5.7 bn from floods and $6 bn from storms. The World Bank also Cooperation: cooperation is critical to overcome the current estimated that MENA has the greatest expected economic losses from pandemic and achieve climate resilient development. Just as climate-related water scarcity, estimated at 6-14% of GDP by 2050. COVID-19, climate change knows no national borders. A new paradigm is therefore needed that turns the current Capacity and institutional development: this is one of the approach on its head and changes the way we manage, finance major challenges of climate policy and should be a central eleand cooperate for climate resilient development. It is not only ment in all Arab countries to ensure ownership and the buildabout money; solving climate and development challenges re- ing of a community of practice on climate change. quires creativity and innovation, and collective actions from all Communication and digital transformation: information actors to drill down into the mechanisms of vulnerability, to look and communications technologies (ICTs) are cross-cutting and beyond the hydro-meteorological impacts of climate change and can drive the deep transformation needed in the regional effort consider their interactions with people, planet and policies that to combat climate change and advance the implementation of are crucial for peace and stability. the Paris climate agreement and the SDG 13.

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WATER & NEWS - CLIMATE CHANGE

WATER CRISIS AND DROUGHT THREATEN MORE THAN 12 MILLION IN SYRIA AND IRAQ High temperatures and low rainfall are having a negative impact on the availability of water for drinking and agricultural purposes

More than 12 million people in Syria and Iraq are losing access to water, food and electricity and urgent action is needed to combat a severe water crisis, 13 aid groups working in the region warn. Across the region, rising temperatures, record low levels of rainfall, and drought are depriving people of drinking and agricultural water. It is also disrupting electricity as dams run out of water, which in turn impacts the operations of essential infrastructure including health facilities. Higher temperatures caused by climate change increase the risks and severity of droughts. More than five million people in Syria directly depend on the river. In Iraq, the loss of access to water from the river, and drought, threaten at least seven million people. Some 400 square kilometres of

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agricultural land risk total drought. Two dams in northern Syria, serving three million people with electricity, face imminent closure. Communities in Hasakah, Aleppo, Raqqa and Deir ez Zour, including displaced people in camps, have witnessed a rise in outbreaks of water borne-diseases such as diarrhoea, since the reduction in water. In Iraq, large swathes of farmland, fisheries, power production and drinking water sources have been depleted of water. In the Ninewa governorate, wheat production is expected to go down by 70 per cent because of the drought, while in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq production is expected to decrease by half. Some families in Anbar who have no access to river water are spending up to USD80 a month on water.

“The total collapse of water and food production for millions of Syrians and Iraqis is imminent,” said Carsten Hansen, Regional Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “With hundreds of thousands of Iraqis still displaced and many more still fleeing for their lives in Syria, the unfolding water crisis will soon become an unprecedented catastrophe pushing more into displacement.” CARE’s Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa, Nirvana Shawky, said: “The situation demands that authorities in the region and donor governments act swiftly to save lives in this latest crisis, that comes on top of conflict, COVID-19 and severe economic decline. In the longer term, beyond emergency food and water, they need to invest in sustainable solutions to the water crisis.” The Danish Refugee Council’s Middle East Regional Director Gerry Garvey said: “This water crisis is bound to get worse. It is likely to increase conflict in an already destabilized region. There is no time to waste. We must find sustainable solutions that would guarantee water and food today and for future generations.” Other aid groups joining today’s warning and call for emergency and flexible funding are: ACTED, Action Against Hunger, Mercy Corps, People in Need, Première Urgence Internationale, War Child, Help, Women Rehabilitation Organisation, VIYAN Organization, Al Rakeezeh Foundation for Relief and Development.

CLIMATE CHANGE HELPED INTENSIFY HURRICANE IDA: A POTENTIAL PREVIEW OF WHAT’S TO COME Future storms could have even larger impacts "if we're not wise now", said prof. Andrew Dessler, College of Geosciences at Texas A&M By the time Hurricane Ida made landfall, the storm had strengthened dramatically. Picking up intensity as it moved over warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, it hit the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane. What started as a disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean quickly grew to what could be the worst hurricane to hit Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While scientists are uncertain whether climate change will increase the frequency of hurricanes, one thing is clear: climate change is here, and it’s making these storms stronger and more destructive. “Until recently, it was common to think of climate change as a problem for future generations, saying people in the future will have to deal with it,” said Andrew Dessler, a professor in the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University. “But now it’s quite clear that we are the people of the future. The future has arrived, and we are having to deal with it now.” Be it Hurricane Ida or the wildfires that continue to burn across California, climate change is making disasters more destructive, more expensive and more impactful on humans, he said. According to the United Nation’s latest climate report published earlier this month, it is “unequivocal” that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land, and it’s already affecting weather and climate extremes around the world. Dessler calls the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-

mate Change a confirmation of what scientists have suspected for decades. He explains that the effects of climate change on storm severity manifests in several ways. Most obviously, rising sea levels have led to higher storm surges. Hotter temperatures create more water vapor in the atmosphere, which in turn means more rainfall. Perhaps less intuitively, he said, warmer water also means stronger winds. It all makes for a more destructive hurricane, as was the case with Ida. Take Hurricanes Laura, Michael and Harvey, for example, which hit the U.S. in just the last few years. Before Harvey, he said, a storm producing 60 inches of rain over the course of a three or four days would have been “unimaginable”. “If this starts to happen more and more frequently, if you start having

these storms that intensify extremely rapidly, it’s going to make it very hard for people to respond to the storms in ways they could respond if they had a week’s warning,” professor Dessler said. The real danger, he said, is how unprepared humans are to deal with the effects of climate change. But if meaningful change starts now, humankind may be able to head off some of the most severe impacts. The solution, he said, is voting politicians into office who take the problem seriously. “We’re going to have to deal with this for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I think people who are young today, like my students, are going to have to deal with – if we’re not wise now – extremely large impacts, much larger than we have today, by the time they’re my age.”

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MEDIA LIBRARY BY: SWM TEAM SOMETHING TO READ...

REPLENISH The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity The latest book by 2021 Stockholm Water Prize winner Sandra Postel – one of the world’s greatest water communicators – argues that in the face of today’s complex water problems, humanity must work with nature’s rhythms, not against them, and takes readers around the world to explore projects that do just that.

SOMETHING TO WATCH...

THE SHAPE OF WATER Much more than a monster

Water symbolism has a major role in this love story between a mute cleaner and a humanoid amphibian creature, set in Baltimore during the Cold War. In the story water is a metaphor of the feelings, the wants and the language of the captivating characters and provides a magical atmosphere for this highly acclaimed 2017 film directed by Guillermo del Toro.

SOMETHING TO ENJOY...

BRIDGE OVER TROUBLE WATER Simon & Garfunkel build bridges Featured in the fifth and final studio album by the American duo Simon & Garfunkel, this 1970 song is about friendship and unconditional love. Composed by Simon, the final verse was inspired by his wife, and has been covered by artists such as Elvis Presley and Bonnie Tyler.

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