Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly 11 by Smart Water Magazine

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FROM THE EDITOR

WATER SECURITY, AN ENABLER FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT Access to water and sanitation, human rights recognised by the United Nations, are basic elements for people to live a dignified life. However, despite the progress made in recent decades and the establishment of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, Africa continues to present truly worrying figures in this area. Data for 2020 show that 387 million people (35% of the population) in sub-Saharan Africa did not have access to a basic water supply, 734 million people (67% of the population) did not have access to even basic sanitation, and 810 million people did not have access to hygiene services. But perhaps most worrying are the trends: climate change and population growth make water insecurity a major issue. 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

All of this calls for a change of course in which the work of actors such as the African Development Bank is essential. Osward Mulenga Chanda, Director of Water Development and Sanitation, explains in an exclusive interview with Olivia Tempest the Bank's new Water Strategy, a key tool for achieving the Bank's five priorities: "food security, energy security, industrialization, regional integration and improving the quality of life”. But this is not the only mention of the African continent in this eleventh Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly. Four of our columnists: Alison Wedgwood, Chris Ashmore, Hassan Tolba Aboelnga (with Ayat Soliman), and Zaid Railoun (with Reshoketswe Maepa), reflect on how digitalisation, the

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

circular economy or investment in infrastructure should contribute to solving this crisis as quickly as possible. Africa features in the first issue of 2022 but let me also recommend the interviews with Sara Walker from WRI on corporate water stewardship, and with Juliette Lassman from the OECD and Jaime Baptista from LIS-Water, on water governance. Finally, don't miss SEKO's report on how 5G and IoT are influencing the development of pump technology in the water treatment sector and the analysis of ACCIONA's knowledge management and its impact on more efficient water management. 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 11 - FEB / MAR 2022

INTERVIEW

FEATURE

A LOOK AT AFDB’S WATER INITIATIVES

THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE

DEVELOPMENTS IN PUMP TECHNOLOGY

THE FUTURE OF SEWAGE SURVEILLANCE

Pg. 84 SWM interviews Mr Osward M. Chanda, leading the Bank’s water team to contribute to the socio-economic transformation of the continent.

Pg. 12 Read about ACCIONA’s knowledge management strategy, a key priority for the company that underpins its innovative solutions.

Pg. 62 SEKO’s pump systems integrate digital technology to enhance operational efficiency, energy consumption and environmental impact.

Pg. 40 Previously relegated to research projects, the pandemic boosted the use of wastewater based epidemiology worldwide: is it here to stay?

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CONTENTS NUMBER 11 - FEB / MAR 2022

FEATURE

INTERVIEW

INFRAESTRUCTURE

OPINION

TOURISM AND WATER STEWARDSHIP

DEALING WITH ALGAE BLOOMS

STATE-OF-THE-ART DESALINATION

PUTTING A PRICE ON WATER

Pg. 92 The tourism industry is taking steps to ensure it makes a sustainable use of water resources, a major attraction in tourist destinations.

Pg. 52 Algae blooms can cause havoc in water systems. We hear from George Hutchinson about WaterIQ Technologies’ non-chemical solutions.

Pg. 56 The Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, one of the most innovative and sustainable in its class, is working at full capacity.

Pg. 22 Alison Wedgwood tells us how eWaterservices was born, a customer focused private model to deliver water in a difficult market.

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CONTENTS NUMBER 11 - FEB / MAR 2022 SPEAKERS´CORNER

CONNECTING WATER PROFESSIONALS Pg. 100 Travis Loop is in charge of Communications and Outreach at the WEF. We hear from him about getting water sector messages across. RANKING

SWM RANKING Pg. 8 Do not miss Smart Water Magazine’s ranking, measuring the influence of organizations and professionals in the water industry. OPINION

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE DECISIONS Pg. 34 Infrastructure priorities should consider financial, environmental and social criteria with asset management risk-based strategies. APPOINTMENTS

NEW FACES IN THE WATER SECTOR Pg. 24 Read about some of the most important appointments that have taken place recently in the water industry across the world.

OPINION

EMBRACING WATER REUSE Pg. 50 Chris Ashmore (Watericon) reflects on the potential of water reuse to relieve water stress while preserving natural resources.

INTERVIEW

ZEROING IN ON WATER GOVERNANCE Pg. 72 We learn about the ins and outs of the OECD’s comprehensive work on water governance in an interview with Juliette Lassman.

OPINION

MOVING WATER TO THE FOREFRONT Pg. 99 A look at South Africa’s water infrastructure project plans to secure an inclusive and water resilient future for all citizens. MEDIA LIBRARY

MEDIA LIBRARY Pg. 102 The Smart Water Magazine team has some proposals for you: something to read, something to watch, and something to enjoy.

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CONTENTS NUMBER 11 - FEB / MAR 2022 THE MAGAZINE FOR THE KEY PLAYERS OF THE WATER SECTOR OPINION

WATER SECURITY IN THE ARAB REGION Pg. 78 The authors propose five urgent steps to advance urban water resources management in this region threatened by water scarcity.

INTERVIEW

WATER PLEDGES HIT THE VALUE CHAIN Pg. 16 In this interview, Sara Walker takes us through the WRI’s approach to engage companies on water stewardship up and down their value chain.

OPINION

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF AI Pg. 70 Approaches that combine deterministic modelling and AI can be used together on the water industry’s journey to digitalisation.

OPINION

TIME TO INVEST IN CYBERSECURITY Pg. 67 The authors put forward approaches to help address cybersecurity deficiencies in critical drinking water and wastewater systems.

INTERVIEW

POLICIES FOR A BETTER WATER FUTURE Pg. 28 We hear from Jaime Baptista, president of LIS-Water, a centre promoting knowledge and innovation to improve water management.

PEOPLE

PERSON OF THE MONTH

#SWMB11

Pg. 10 We feature cultural anthropologist Dr Dawn Martin-Hill, recipient of the 2022 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize.

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SWM TOP 10RANKING - COMPANIES COMPANY(SWM) uses a Ranking to measure the SWM inﬂuence POINTS SmartRANK Water Magazine of organizations and professionals in the water industry. ACCIONA points

1 The SWM Ranking is a tool that allows the influence of Aqualia 2 organizations in the water sector to be measured and ordered according to transparent criteria. The factors 3 considered for theIdrica calculation are the page views on the web, the number of SWM Likes and the contents in Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly. Hidroconta The ranking4 order is established by a unit of measurement created for this purpose: SWM Points. This metric is calculated through a mathematical thatInc. takes into account the Xylem. 5 algorithm content published during the 365 days prior to the calculation date and will be updated every two months, coinciding with ElectricThe data of 6 of each issue ofSchneider the publication SWM Bimonthly. the visits to the web are extracted from Google Analytics, while the amount of SWM Likes are directly counted and can be Droople 7 seen in the different contents of the web. Tedagua How are SWM points earned? 8 Each content published on the web by an entity or blogger gets 1 point for every 10 page views; for each SWM Like it 9which become 5Isleinalso,theUtilities gets 2 points, event that the user who grants it is a verified user. On the other hand, if the content Water Solutions appears in10 SWM Bimonthly, Almar it gets 250 points. This amount is fixed and corresponds to an estimation of the average audience

1.807 mentioned that particular content can obtain a maximum of 1.275 1,000 points. This is done to prevent the distortionpoints of the entire classification in case a specific content goes viral. 1.242 points Classification categories SWM publishes content of all kinds: by companies, public 1.154 points administrations, international organizations, associations, foundations, etc. In addition, SWM bloggers publish their articles in a personal capacity on1.152 a wide variety of topics. For all points these reasons, the Ranking has several classifications depending on the category of the entity. The most important ones are: 1.121 points • Companies • Blogs In addition, a general classification can be consulted in which all 1.104 points the participating entities are compared regardless of their type. SWM Likes and Verified Users1.016 points Registered users of SWM can click on the blue heart of any content on the web that they like. The number of SWM Likes 772 appears beside the blue heart. The number of likes points 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 724 points distinguish as a white "check" icon appears on their profile next

TOP 5 - PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS

TOP 5 - BLOGS

generated by the bimonthly magazines. It should also be

to their name on a blue circle.

How are SWM points earned?

U.S Department of Energy

298 points

SWM Points

Atlanta Watershed Management SWM Like Verified users

288 points

City West Water

279 points SWM Points

WRC South Africa

SWM Alliances

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

Non-verified users

270 points

PUB Singapore's N. Water Agency 190 points 50%

Alain Dedieu

Page views

Graham Mann

Zaid Railoun

260 points SWM Point

Page views

Hassan Tolba Aboelnga Ali Saeed

388 points

146 points 69 points

250

67 points

SWM Points

*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

1.807 points 1.275 points 1.242 points 1.154 points 1.152 points 1.121 points 1.104 points 1.016 points 772 points 724 points

ACCIONA Aqualia Idrica Hidroconta Xylem. Inc. Schneider Electric Droople Tedagua Isle Utilities Almar Water Solutions

TOP 5 - PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS U.S Department of Energy

TOP 5 - BLOGS 298 points

Alain Dedieu

388 points

Atlanta Watershed Management 288 points

Graham Mann

260 points

City West Water

279 points

Zaid Railoun

146 points

WRC South Africa

270 points

Hassan Tolba Aboelnga

69 points

Ali Saeed

67 points

PUB Singapore's N. Water Agency 190 points

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PERSON OF THE MONTH

DR DAWN MARTIN-HILL CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGIST RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL WATER PRIZE FROM UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

Dr Dawn Martin-Hill is the recipient of the 2022 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize for her work on water quality and security and the links to Indigenous community culture, livelihood and health, in Canada’s largest Indigenous reserve, Six Nations of the Grand River, where she lives. Her research looks at the impact of contamination on water security. The water supply at Six Nations has been found to contain high levels of mercury, and only 12 per cent of homes have access to clean safe water from a purification plant. Moreover, Martin-Hill has highlighted that the reservation is surrounded by

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major cities Toronto, Hamilton and Brantford. “Those cities have access to clean water, and we do not. I would like to see that changed,” she said. Martin-Hill has been working for years on sustainable water solutions. She leads two interdisciplinary and community driven projects to assess contaminants in drinking water sources and aquatic ecosystems and address the problem. Co-creating solutions with Indigenous communities is at the heart of both projects, which integrate western science and traditional ecological knowledge to arrive at solutions, while they empower communities.

BUSINESS

FEATURE

The application of specialist knowledge accumulated over the years is one of the reasons that explain the success of ACCIONA’s Water business. It is precisely this shared knowledge that leads to innovative solutions and being a pioneer in the digital transformation applied to the water sector. The management and digitalization of this knowledge has been, and continues to be, a priority for the company, an activity channelled through the Knowledge Management Department. The combination of the company’s traditional resources, its intellectual capital and documented or explicit know-how has become one of its major competitive advantages. This intangible capital is made up of the experience and talent of the people who work there, the value of the company’s registered trademarks, copyright, patents and other intellectual property rights, collective know-how, systems, management techniques and history… Preserving it and making it available to the company is vital to extract all its potential. Managing knowledge involves having a well-defined strategy, with people and technologies that facilitate its organisa-

Knowledge is understanding what is behind business decisions: knowing what, who, when and where regarding actions to be taken 12

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tion and access to it. If any of these elements fail, the structure wobbles. The strategy: how is knowledge managed and digitalized? As well as specialists and experts in water treatment, ACCIONA has a specialized team in the treatment of information and knowledge. Its mission is to identify and work on different elements of knowledge so that they can be initially captured and updated, and then localized in a range of applications. An essential activity in knowledge management is the identification of key units that describe and contextualize knowledge. These units are used to build and maintain a terminological classification (taxonomy) that facilitates the incorporation and integration of information into systems and applications where it can be exploited and consulted. This identification and contextualisation is done by breaking down knowledge into descriptive units that correspond to an activity, discipline, state, work element or type of document (metadata). Each of these descriptive units or metadata needs to be accompanied by a coherent list of descriptive terms or values. These lists of descriptors and metadata, which are always agreed with the experts of each discipline of knowledge, make up the thesaurus or common language of the business or speciality, which stays – and is updated – in an application that can be consulted by anyone in the company.

Additionally, the knowledge management team defines and functionally maintains the applications or tools in which the documents or elements of knowledge are kept. First, it is essential to have a good understanding of the need that led to the development of the application or repository, and from there, decide the metada-

ACCIONA

Taking care of water and ensuring access to this basic resource for life is one of the Sustainable Development Goals set in Agenda 2030. To achieve this, innovation and the development of new solutions and processes that are more sustainable and efficient are key factors. In this search, knowledge plays a fundamental role.

ta and descriptors (of the thesaurus) that should be included, as well as the security that has to be applied (i.e., who can access that knowledge, and when) and, if required, adding the flows of approval or document review. Structures are also created and maintained, always in line with the company’s processes, in order to keep the evidence

generated in the document manager during project implementation. These are kept in digital format, in accordance with the paperless culture promoted throughout ACCIONA. People People are a key element in ACCIONA’s Knowledge Management Strategy.

An essential activity in knowledge management is identifying key units that describe and contextualize knowledge, to build a taxonomy - MAGAZINE

FEATURE

The transfer of tacit knowledge (in the minds of experts) to explicit knowledge that can be shared is something we continually work on The transfer of tacit knowledge (held in the minds of the experts) to explicit knowledge (formalised in texts and documents) that can be shared is something that is continually worked on in task forces or committees, selecting and updating key information and preparing documents that contain the criteria, standards, procedures or working models that can be used to carry out projects. Documents on lessons learned are also generated and then reviewed by experts (technical leaders). All the documents that emerge from these processes are classified according to the thesaurus and are available in the different applications. Some other developments, such as the panel of experts, enable the collection and consultation of experts’ answers to technical questions key for a field of expertise. Repositories (platforms) Technology evolves very quickly and has a direct impact on knowledge management, particularly in the areas of cooperation, search engines, the development of databases and data mining. The ongoing work to process and organise knowledge is a fundamental and

Once completed the IT developments, the knowledge management team sets about trying it out, configuring advanced searches and training 14

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essential element for the digital evolution. This facilitates the integration of tools and applications thanks to the consistency of metadata with common values, allowing the application of semantics-based algorithms and smart systems that facilitate the extraction and exploitation of information and data with ever greater precision. Once the IT developments have been completed, the knowledge management team sets about trying it out, configuring advanced searches and training, and the format it will be used in (management of change). An example of this are some of the most recent projects started in ACCIONA to manage information, facilitate knowledge transfer and foster joint work within the company.

ACCIONA

SUCCESS STORIES Document management If it is well designed and adapted to the company’s business processes, a document management platform ensures the reliability, integrity and accessibility of documentation related to a specific project. In ACCIONA, both the adaptations and the developments made on the platform in line with ACCIONA procedures comply with the requirements of the UNE-ISO standard on document management, so that the documentary evidence of day-to-day work, described through metadata, can be recovered at any time and from any place, applying rules for their conservation or eliminating them in line with the Corporate Policy on Document Retention. Lessons learned ACCIONA is a multinational company with activities covering truly diverse sectors such as construction, the management of urban services or water treatment. To take advantage of the synergies that can exist between all the business

divisions there is another platform that records lessons learned. This platform stores knowledge of all the business units of the ACCIONA group. It also gathers contractual and legal recommendations that can be useful in certain projects. Semantic intelligence Another way of collecting specialist knowledge is through combinations of terms commonly used in certain frequently used documents. Using state-ofthe-art technology, algorithms have been created that can detect combinations and sequences of terms that facilitate fast access to key information in very long documents. Specialists in relevant knowledge review the material to improve results. Metasearch engine This internal metasearch engine allows access to any document in ACCIONA’s internal application. It also has filters that enable guided and filtered searches to locate documents in a more efficient manner. Digital record of input and output of documents When a printed document reaches the office, it is scanned, entered and classified in an application linked to the document manager, and is then sent to the recipient electronically. This represents a considerable time saving, which is particularly important when handling documents that need a quick response, such as legal and administrative requirements. Global challenges such as water management require innovation and knowledge. Managing this knowledge in the best way and making it available to everyone is not an option but a need, and in ACCIONA we have been doing this for years.

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INTERVIEW

SARA WALKER The private sector is increasingly realising that water risks can be a threat to businesses; the World Resources Institute (WRI) provides guidance to companies on water stewardship initiatives so they can advance sustainable water management and increase their resilience to water and climate shocks. For agribusiness such as Cargill, this meant partnering with WRI to look beyond direct operations and into their agriculture supply chain, setting water targets with the help of WRI’s Aqueduct data tools. We speak to Sara Walker, WRI’s Director of Corporate Water Engagement, about corporate water stewardship and the institute’s work with companies to build resilience across the entire value chain and improve collective water security. Could you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role in the World Resources Institute? I received my bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and Psychology from Dickinson College. In my senior year, I participated in a watershed-based integrated field semester exploring and comparing the scientific, political, and social variables in the Chesapeake Bay and Lower Mississippi River watersheds. I think this experience launched me into the water space. After undergrad, I worked as an environmental management staffer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office supporting the multi-stakeholder partnership’s efforts around nutrient pollution. WRI was a dream organization for me, 16

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DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE WATER ENGAGEMENT, GLOBAL WATER PROGRAM. WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

“As leading companies have set water commitments reflecting their fair share, others have definitely taken note”

SARA WALKER

The World Resources Institute’s Water Program empowers companies to reduce business risks related to water, driving business growth and building resilience while contributing to solving water challenges and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Cristina Novo Pérez

so when it was time to move on from this position, I applied to a couple of positions before landing with the water quality team as a Research Analyst in 2009. At the time, WRI had a significant workstream on market-based mechanisms for eliminating eutrophication, including in the Chesapeake Bay watershed so it was a natural fit. Over the past 13 years at WRI, my role has grown and evolved to include more international work in the water quality space, additional water challenges, and a focus on agriculture and food security which included the development of WRI’s Aqueduct Food tool for analysing water-related risks to agricultural production globally. Now in my current role as the Director of Corporate Water Engagement, I work closely with the private sector on water stewardship by providing thought leadership, working one on one with companies on water risk assessments and target-setting efforts, and convening leading companies and others who join our Aqueduct Alliance to gain strategic guidance and help to advance water stewardship best practices. Large companies are increasingly making water stewardship commitments. What are the major drivers behind these pledges? Yes, it’s been fantastic to observe the growing number of companies that are setting really ambitious and contextual water targets. Many companies use WRI’s Aqueduct tools to assess their

water risks, and this is foundational to starting on a water stewardship journey. If they have facilities in an area that is currently – or projected to be – at high risk of water stress, for example, that creates an impetus to act now to ensure they can continue to operate. In these high risk areas, companies can then assess the change required to ensure sustainable levels of water use. Well-crafted commitments that effectively address these risks can ensure business resilience. As leading companies have set commitments reflecting their fair share (or more!), others have definitely taken note. There’s also a growing focus on looking beyond direct operations to the entire value chain – as a company’s most significant water impacts and dependencies may be upstream or downstream. This is especially true for the food and beverage sector given agriculture is a major water user and can have significant water quality impacts. Cargill, for example, recognized this and partnered with us to set contextual water targets that would reflect sustainable water management by 2030 for their direct operations and agricultural supply chain. The magnitude and complexity of the value chain of a company like Cargill is daunting; how can WRI’s tools inform water risks and help set priorities and targets? It can definitely seem daunting at first! Cargill has more than 1,000 direct operations in 70 countries, and its agricultur-

al supply chain includes more than 6,500 watersheds. Following WRI’s guidance on Setting Enterprise Water Targets, we strove to balance pragmatism with a scientifically robust approach. Global tools and datasets are key here. We leveraged WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas that provide globally comparable data on water risks to prioritize hot spots – basins whose risk scores exceeded our desired condition thresholds - where targets should be set. Location information is important, but often companies don’t have full traceability of their agricultural supply chains. They may know they source wheat from France but do not have more specific information on the geography. So we also leveraged Aqueduct Food’s global, geospatial cropland data to help us understand water risks specific to where crops sourced by Cargill were likely to be grown using whatever level of location data Cargill provided. By layering in where Cargill can drive change, we were able to identify priority watersheds for target setting that represent a fraction of the total possible watersheds, and which reflect where change is really needed and possible. We’ve recently updated our Aqueduct suite of tools to automate much of this process for our private sector users to hopefully make the process even less daunting. Users can now assess desired conditions and changes required for ev-

"Many companies use WRI’s Aqueduct tools to assess water risks, and this is really foundational to starting a water stewardship journey" - MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

There is a growing focus on looking beyond the company’s direct operations to the entire value chain – upstream or downstream ery basin in which they have a footprint, and they can do water risk assessments for their agricultural supply chains with basic information about what crops are sourced and from where. These enhancements equip companies to set meaningful targets across their operations and supply chains. Do you see this kind of approach that looks at water risks beyond direct operations and into the value chain expanding to other sectors? Yes, absolutely. The Setting Enterprise Water Targets guidance is designed to be flexible across sectors and the value chain, so it can be applied in a variety of contexts. We have been working with a consumer goods company on setting targets that will address downstream water risks related to the consumer use of their products. And hopefully, as more companies share details on how they adapted this

"Cargill has more than 1,000 direct operations in 70 countries, and its agricultural supply chain includes more than 6,500 watersheds" 18

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guidance to meet their needs, we’ll be able to facilitate shared learning across and within sectors so the process isn’t so daunting for everyone. Taking a value chain approach to setting targets will also be required by the forthcoming Science Based Targets for Nature guidance and water-specific methods. It is expanding to other sectors, and it should be considered best practice. How could companies quantify the cost of actions to improve water management in their supply chain, such as changes in suppliers’ agricultural practices in the case of agribusinesses? To meet these ambitious targets, significant investments will certainly be needed. By taking a rigorous approach to prioritizing hot spots, companies can ensure they’re also prioritizing funding in the areas that need it most. In Achieving Abundance, we estimated that achieving sustainable water management (i.e., SDG 6) – addressing scarcity, access to drinking water, access to sanitation, and water pollution – requires an annual cost of more than $1 trillion through 2030. Costs for specific interventions vary widely across the globe, but this resource provides a methodological framework for the private sector to calculate costs

for any given location. Companies must factor these costs into their operating budgets to ensure they will be able to act on the commitments they set. It is also important to consider the cost of inaction and the return on investment. For example, the World Bank projects a decline in GDP over many regions driven

SARA WALKER in large part by increasing water scarcity, but through more effective governance, this could be avoided. Source water protection to reduce water treatment costs can yield immediate positive returns, and some agricultural best practices like nutrient management can also result in net positive economic benefits.

“Addressing water challenges in the agricultural supply chain can help improve farmer livelihoods, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve resilience”. To what extent can addressing water risks take into account the links with food and energy security, and overall environmental health?

Water is essential for food production. We cannot grow crops without it, so we cannot have food security without water security. Likewise, farmer livelihoods are therefore also dependent on water security. As companies and other decision makers think about actions they can take to address water risks or reduce GHG

Offices of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC

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INTERVIEW Mississippi River Delta. ©Karen McKee, USGS

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SARA WALKER

The Setting Enterprise Water Targets guidance is flexible across sectors and the value chain, to be applied in a variety of contexts emissions or improve soil health, there are massive gains to be made for nature if we can consider the co-benefits and trade-offs of any given intervention. For example, if solar panels are provided to farmers as a free and green electricity source for groundwater pumping, this may be good for the climate, but if there’s no disincentive to pump or incentive to limit how much is withdrawn, we could see depleted groundwater tables. On the other hand, agricultural practices like cover crops reduce the need for fertilizer and sequester carbon which is good for water quality, good for the climate, good for the soil, and ultimately good for the farmer through improved yields. The water-energy-food nexus is complicated, and I see a great need to help companies and other decision makers better navigate these dynamics for more effective decision making. What role do you see for corporate water stewardship efforts in local contexts where there may be significant governance issues and competing water users? Governance is so important. While setting individual corporate commitments is necessary and the first step within their sphere of control, many of the water challenges in many locations are shared with

other stakeholders in the basin. A single company meeting its own commitment is not likely to solve the basin-wide issue. This is where stakeholder engagement and collective action come in. Setting contextual water targets calls for an understanding of not just the water challenges in any given basin but also the social, governance, and economic conditions. Interventions will vary depending on the local context across these variables. Ideally, stakeholders across the basin would convene around a common goal and allocation approach to ensure everyone is doing their fair share. In reality, this is time-intensive work that requires a local presence which isn’t always possible, particularly when tackling these issues up and down global value chains. But as more and more companies reach this mature stage of their water stewardship journeys, this challenge is being addressed through WRI-supported efforts like the Water Resilience Coalition which is a CEO-led effort aiming to alleviate water stress through collective action. In addition, the private sector can – and should – consider their sphere of influence and push for public policies that will improve governance and help achieve sustainable and equitable water resources management.

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OPINION

ALISON WEDGWOOD CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF EWATER SERVICES LTD

eWATERservices is a company born out of frustration, and a It’s incredible to think that 93% of people living in Sub-Safew lucky breaks…. It was 1996, after a stint at Environmental haran Africa have access to a mobile phone, but 2,300 people consultancy ERM that I began working for the UK Govern- still die every day from water borne diseases. Why is that? ment’s Department for International Development (DFID) The underlying cause is complex, but comes down to how and was posted to India. I spent 2 years working as a water the aid world has dictated water programmes should run and and sanitation economist on huge UK aid programmes in Luc- because water is often free – there is no revenue collection know, Maharashtra State, Mumbai and Karnataka, I followed to pay for operations and maintenance…so, to put it bluntthis with work for UNICEF, World Bank and various NGOs ly, there simply is no maintenance and so right now 40% of in myriad African countries. I felt really important handing ALL new water systems break after two years and stay broken out wadges of UK aid money to water supply programmes; leaving girls and women to haul water miles each day from workshopping right-on rules about gender and judging out- dirty wells and rivers. And $10 billion is spent on water proputs of UK aid programmes that were really pandering to grammes in Sub-Saharan Africa each year (UNICEF WASH social development experts in Whitehall, and had no chance review 2020). The truth is that keeping water systems going of surviving the harsh realities of the dust, heat and culture takes money and professional technical support and handing overseas. All this was done between them over to a “local water comcold beers in luxury hotels. It was mittee” or the “community” might 93% of people living in a strange time – and that journey sound nice on a large charity’s web from naïve idealist aid worker to site, but actually doesn’t work, and Sub-Saharan Africa have angry non-conformist “this is rubwhen they break, they stay broken. a mobile phone, but 2,300 bish, something has got to change” So we started eWATERservices took a while. But over the years I and designed the eWATERSmart people still die every day from gradually realized that most of the Tap. People buy water credit from water borne diseases aid programmes I’d worked on for a local shop keeper, or relatives DFID, UNICEF, Water Aid, Oxworking in cities can buy credit fam had totally and utterly failed, and this is still happening. A and put it on their granny’s water tag. When the water tag 2020 review of British aid spending in Tanzania revealed that touches the eWATERSmart Tap, water is dispensed and credit 33% of the water points installed in a £65 million programme is deducted through eWATER’s own cloud credit exchange. over the previous 5 years were functional – and the other 67% Local eWATER staff run everything, the money is used by our were not – this is the story for all water programmes, the truth local technicians to ensure pipes don’t leak, the solar panels that you won’t see on a Water Aid web site, or advert on Sky are cleaned and major repairs are done quickly. Every transacTV begging for donations (Using Payment by Results to Im- tion is recorded on our own blockchain ledger, so if someone prove the Sustainability of Rural Water Supply Services in Tan- pays for just 0.1 pence of water, the flow of revenue can be zania. March 2020 Ecorys, Aqua Consult). public and verifiable; this means every penny is accounted for In 2015, I was sitting in the Sheraton in The Gambia (hav- and the eWATERcare monitoring dashboard is connected to ing another cold beer) and met tech genius Rob Hygate who the internet just through 1g or 2g phone signal, and gives live shared my frustrations and he said that we needed to design a updates on usage and system functionality. leapfrog technology for water supply just like M-Pesa’s mobile Our eWATER Smart Village includes sensors in the water money had done for commerce in Kenya. tanks to detect leakage and sensors in each tap to detect low

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flows and solar faults so repairs are done quickly. Each £7,500 Also, each eWATER Smart Tap installed will save 125 tonnes Smart Tap installed will serve 250 people, allow 11 girls to go of carbon per year because people don’t cut down trees to to school, and cut water wastage by 150,000 litres, employing boil water. This will be increasingly attractive for corporations local skilled technicians and enough revenue will be collected seeking to buy carbon offset from a proven source because we to cover operation and maintenance forever. have verifiable data on each household, how much water they The original plan was to sell thousands of Smart Taps to use with GPS locations proving the offset. Water Ministries, Water and Sanitation Agencies, Community Whether eWATERservices can attract enough funding to Based Water Operators and NGOs. We provided eWATER- scale up and serve millions of customers in Africa will depend care for a monthly service charge. A proprietary cloud based on investors’ appetite to transform the delivery of water in a application for capturing and processing huge volumes of real fragmented, difficult market requiring a fundamental shift time operational and sales data. But the problem was we ended from a charity, aid, community voluntary model to a profesup with accurate data on litres dispensed, flow rates, revenue sional market based approach where people are happy to pay collected that highlighted that operation and maintenance for a service that delivers clean water, close to their home, 24/7. wasn’t being done and the systems were failing. Systems were In The Gambia, take-up has been strong with the Ministry broken; the only advantage was of Water embracing the opportuthat the problems are known – but nity of a new customer focused, A fundamental benefit of still unsolved. The maintenance private model for delivering clean wasn’t done, particularly if major water to very low income rural eWATERservices’ approach is repairs were needed in the early consumers. eWATERservices has that putting a price on water, cycles of the project, when not tracked over 200 million litres enough revenue had been collectof water in seven programmes in no matter how small, makes ed; we had one programme where The Gambia and will be doubling people value the water a main pipe was broken in the first its operations this year to serve month and then never fixed for the 75,000 people, that is 15% of the next 12 months…run by a global NGO. rural population of The Gambia. So now eWATERservices operates a Full Service Model Right now, we have tracked 540 million litres of water, and where local eWATER staff operate what is essentially a Smart collected thousands of dollars to spend on maintenance from Water Enterprise and the money is used by our local techni- 230,000 consumers in Tanzania, Ghana and Gambia purchascians to ensure pipes don’t leak, the solar panels are cleaned ing water for about $5 per person per year. We will expand to and major repairs are done quickly. 1 million customers by 2024. One of the fundamental benefits of eWATERservices’ apBut this isn’t enough, we know that to get larger systematic proach is that putting a price on water, no matter how small, impact we need Impact Investors to get involved and share makes people value the water. When anything is free it is in our vision. With climate change looming on the horizon wasted, that is human nature – if you ever go on an all-in- there should a call to action because there is no reasonable clusive holiday, I guarantee you’ll leave an unfinished pile of explanation why one billion people are still without access food and drinks on the table without a second thought! We’ve to clean water, and 503,000 children will die from drinking observed in the 127 villages we work in: water wastage has dirty drinking water this year but their parents all have mobile decreased by 99%. phones that work…

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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.

ESTELLE BRACHLIANOFF WINDS OF CHANGE IN VEOLIA AND SUEZ’S TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS Estelle Brachlianoff will be Veolia’s CEO, while Sabrina Soussan will be the CEO of Suez

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Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Antoine Frérot as Chief Executive Officer of Veolia as of July 1, 2022. To carry out her new mission, she will be able to count on the support of a renewed Executive Committee and Management Committee, including some of the world's leading experts. Veolia's Board of Directors decided at its meeting on January 10, 2022, to separate the functions of Chairman of the Board of Directors from those of CEO. Antoine Frérot had expressed his wish to step down as CEO when his current term of office expires. The directors have expressed their unanimous wish that Antoine Frérot remain Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia, so that it can continue to benefit from his experience and his commitment to Veolia's values. Meanwhile, the SUEZ Board of Directors was recomposed, and the top management team was changed. Bertrand Camus resigned from both his mandates as Director and as CEO of Suez. The company chose to maintain its governance model with the separation of the functions of the chair and chief executive officer. Sabrina Soussan took up her position as the CEO of the new SUEZ on February 1. She will be responsible for implementing SUEZ’s strategy. Defined together with the future Board of Directors, the strategy will target an ambitious development plan of SUEZ’s two main businesses, i.e., water and waste management. Sabrina Soussan will also be tasked with introducing a leading sustainability policy. The latter is central to the identity of the Group and the expectations of its employees both in France and worldwide.

KEITH GARDENER

DIRECTOR OF ASSET MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

IAN BUTLER

HEAD OF ASSET MANAGEMENT CONSULTING (UK)

CHRIS THOMAS

HEAD OF INNOVATION AND ENTERPRISE

NEW HIRES SIGNAL GROWTH AT ISLE UTILITIES The new employees all have extensive water sector and consultancy experience Global technology consultancy Isle is continuing to expand its UK operation with the announcement of three new senior staff members, who will be spearheading innovation across asset management. “Isle is known for its expertise in identifying new technology and ideas to meet utilities’ challenges. Heading into 2022, we are pleased to be growing and taking even further steps to

help organisations with innovation across asset management and through the integration of technologies to realise their full value,” said Ben Tam, Isle’s Chief Executive. Keith Gardener is Isle’s new Director of Asset Management consulting. He has extensive water sector experience and is a recognised asset management expert - holding the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Diploma in Principles of Asset Management. He is also the Chair of the IAM’s London and Southeast branch. Keith is joined by Ian Butler as Head of Asset Management Consulting (UK). Butler is a senior asset management and infrastructure expert with over 25 years of experience gained in consulting and directly with the industry. He holds the IAM Advanced Diploma in Asset Management and is an Incorporated Engineer. Chris Thomas is the new Head of Innovation and Enterprise; he is experienced in working with digital innovators to bring their solutions to the water industry. His work spans across the lifecycle of new ventures, having supported teams seeking investment, piloting and developing new products and implementing mature solutions at an enterprise scale.

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KASHIF RANA ACWA POWER ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS Kashif Rana, the company’s CFO, will also oversee portfolio management as Rajit Nanda, CPMO steps down

KIET HUYNH KIET HUYNH APPOINTED CEO OF ROTORK After the last four years heading divisions, the new CEO looks forward to driving Rotork’s growth

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ACWA Power, a leading developer, investor and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants, announced executive changes at the C-suite level. Rajit Nanda, the company’s Chief Portfolio Management Officer, is stepping down from his role in January 2022, to pursue other interests. Kashif Rana, ACWA Power’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who has held this position for over 8 years and steered the company through its successful public listing, will take over the portfolio management role, while remaining the CFO. Simultaneously, the CFO office will be strengthened by Abdulhameed Muhaidib, currently the Executive Managing Officer of Noor Energy in the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Muhaidib will transition over the next three months to a newly created position of Deputy CFO, and formally commence this position on 1st March 2022. He is an experienced leader with over 13 years of experience within ACWA Power, including corporate finance as well as business positions and is currently managing one of the most technically complex and largest projects that the company has undertaken in its history. Additionally, ACWA Power has also already brought on board Clive Turton as Chief Investment Officer. Turton joined ACWA Power from Vestas, where he served as President for the Asia- Pacific (APAC) region. During his tenure, he oversaw operations of 3,500 employees and grew Vestas’ operations in markets like India, Vietnam, Australia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Japan. Rotork, the global flow control and instrumentation group, has appointed Kiet Huynh as Chief Executive Officer. Kiet is currently Managing Director of the Group’s Water & Power and Chemical, Process & Industrial divisions. He joins the Rotork Board and assumes the role of CEO with immediate effect. In August 2021, the Company announced that Kevin Hostetler had informed the Board of his plans to return to the US. Kevin has stepped down from the Board and as CEO but will remain available to support a smooth transition. Martin Lamb, Chairman of Rotork commented: “I am delighted to have in place a candidate of Kiet’s calibre to succeed Kevin as CEO. During his time with Rotork Kiet has excelled in the leadership of both the CPI division and, more recently, the Water & Power division, with a clear focus on driving profitable growth through close attention to customer needs and a strong commitment to product and service innovation. He has the leadership skills and operational experience to build on the excellent progress made over the last four years through the Growth Acceleration Programme, and to chart a course for accelerated growth in the years ahead.” And he added “I would like to thank Kevin for his excellent contribution to the business. He hands over a fundamentally much-improved company to his successor. We wish him and his family every success on their return to the US.” Kiet Huynh commented he looks forward to leading the team to drive growth and leverage the benefits of the Growth Acceleration Programme.

DOROTHY CAPERS DOROTHY CAPERS APPOINTED GENERAL COUNSEL OF XYLEM Claudia Toussaint moves from General Counsel to Lead HR and Sustainability Aquaporin has appointed Matt Boczkowski, as CEO of Aquaporin A/S. Matt Boczkowski will replace Peter Holme Jensen, who has been the CEO since its inception in 2005. As part of this transition, Peter Holme Jensen is appointed Chief Innovation Officer at Aquaporin and will assume responsibility for the company’s Deep Tech Department and Open Innovation initiative. Niels Heering, Chair of the Board, says: “Peter has built something we see far too seldom today; the amount of patience and focus required over the years to develop Aquaporin from a research company to a commercial company should not be underestimated. Peter has had a clear vision from the beginning, and I am confident Matt is the ideal new CEO to continue making this vision a reality and take Aquaporin to the next level. I am excited that Peter will continue as future Chief Innovation Officer and continue to add value to the business and culture of Aquaporin.” Peter Holme, founder and future CIO, says: “When I founded Aquaporin in 2005 I could only dream of what Aquaporin would be today – I’m extremely grateful for the journey we are on. The next stage of Aquaporin’s journey requires a different skill set for a CEO and I’m very happy to pass on the baton to Matt Boczkowski. I look forward to getting ‘back’ closer to the innovation side of Aquaporin and continue to add value through exciting new technology and partnership developments.” Boczkowski commented he is thrilled to have the opportunity to position the company for growth and build a successful WaterTech business in Denmark.

Xylem, a leading global water technology company, has appointed Dorothy Capers as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, effective February 7, 2022. Current General Counsel, Claudia Toussaint, has assumed the dual responsibilities of Chief Human Resources and Sustainability Officer, a newly combined position supporting the Company’s strategy to further integrate its human capital and ESG strategies. “Dorothy brings diverse experience managing legal, compliance and governance issues across industries and within private and public sector settings,” said Patrick Decker, President and Chief Executive Officer. “She is a veteran leader of global legal teams, with deep experience in mergers and acquisitions and a strong track record of developing and supporting successful public-private partnerships. We are also enthusiastic about adding her passionate voice as a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion across our business. We’re thrilled to welcome her to our leadership team.” “Claudia’s role as Chief Human Resources and Sustainability Officer builds on her outstanding work to align our business and sustainability strategies and marks an important step to integrate our human capital and ESG initiatives,” continued Decker. “Our passionate team of more than 16,000 colleagues is at the heart of our mission. Under Claudia’s leadership, we will continue to invest in our people as the foundation of our business while sharpening our focus on leveraging diversity and building a culture of inclusion to attract and retain the industry’s brightest talent.”

MATT BOCZKOWSKI AQUAPORIN APPOINTS MATT BOCZKOWSKI AS CEO Peter Holme Jensen, CEO since the company’s inception in 2005, is appointed Chief Innovation Officer

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JAIME BAPTISTA

INTERVIEW

JAIME BAPTISTA PRESIDENT OF LIS-WATER - LISBON INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR WATER (PORTUGAL)

“Portugal’s integrated policy for the water sector had a positive impact on society, economy, public health, and environment” The idea behind the Lisbon International Center for Water (LIS-Water) started in 2017, inspired by the success of water sector reform in Portugal, and was formalized in early 2020, as a non-profit international centre of excellence that works towards better water governance.

Cristina Novo Pérez

Within the framework of the sustainable development objectives, LIS-Water is dedicated to public policy, regulation and management of water services, with a focus on knowledge development and innovation, and its transfer to policymakers, water professionals, and society at large. Its president Jaime Baptista is an experienced professional in water supply and wastewater services specialised in public policy, as well as in the quality of services and performance assessment. In this interview, we hear from him about the activities of the recently created LIS-Water and his thoughts on the future of the global water sector. Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role in LIS-Water? I am a civil engineer specialized in sanitary engineering, president of the Lisbon International Centre for Water (LIS-Water) and principal research officer of the National Laboratory of

Civil Engineering (LNEC). I am also chairperson of the Strategic Council of the Portuguese Water Partnership, and member of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development. I was the president of the Portuguese Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste Services (ERSAR) for twelve years. I was also the Commissioner of Portugal to the 8th World Water Forum, and member of the Board of Directors and the Strategic Board of the International Water Association. What is the rationale behind the creation of LIS-Water, and what are the organization’s priorities for the coming years? LIS-Water is a new international non-profit centre aimed at better water governance in the world. The centre is dedicated to public policies, regulation and management of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater services, within the framework of the Sustain-

able Development Goals. It is formed by the main stakeholders of the water sector in Portugal. It focuses on the development of knowledge and innovation, notably through brainstorming initiatives, and its transfer to policymakers, water professionals, industry, startups, and society in general. LIS-Water's approach thus involves developing five areas of activity. The first one is to promote knowledge and innovation, with the collection and processing of the best scientific knowledge and practical application, and the production of new knowledge and innovation at the level of public policies, regulation and management of water services and associated water resources. The second is to carry out assessments, high-level brainstorms, and strategic advice for policy and decision-makers, ministers and mayors, for instance. The third is to provide training actions for decision-makers and water professionals. The fourth is to support business and start-up development. The last one is to promote communication, awareness, and community engagement on water issues. Can you comment on the evolution of water services provision in Portugal in the past few years and the challenges ahead? In the last three decades, Portugal implemented an integrated and consistent public policy for the water sector, with a positive impact on society, economy, public health, and environment. The creation of an effective regulatory

"LIS-Water is a new centre dedicated to public policies, regulation and management of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater services" - MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

In the last three decades, Portugal’s population with public wastewater services, including treatment, increased from 28% to 84%

framework and the modernisation of water utilities has also contributed to these results. In this period the population with public water services has increased from 81% to 96%. Water quality has improved from 50% to 99%, according to European directives, making it safe to drink tap water nationwide. The population with public wastewater services, including treatment, increased from 28% to 84%, improving the environmental situation. Consequently, the quality of water resources has improved, although it is still affected by other pollution sources. For instance, the water quality of coastal beaches improved from 55% to 99%, with a positive impact on tourism. The water quality of river beaches improved from 17% to 92%, devel-

"The PENSAARP’s vision is to provide excellent water services that ensure effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and added value" 30

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oping inland territories. Blue flags on beaches tripled in this period, transmitting a safety message to the population and tourists. The impact on public health was very strong, practically eliminating water-related diseases. What would you highlight from Portugal’s Strategic Plan for Water Supply and Wastewater and Stormwater Management (PENSAARP) 2030? In addition to the problems that we still need to solve in the sector, new challenges arise that should be addressed. For this reason, Portugal is involved in the approval process of its new strategy for the next decade (Strategic Plan for Water Supply, Wastewater, and Rainwater Management - PENSAARP 2030). The vision is to provide excellent water services that ensure effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and added value, within the framework of a growing circularity. The objectives of effectiveness include physical accessibility, continuity, reliability, wastewater quality, safety, resilience, equity, and economic accessibility. Regarding efficiency objectives, they include governance and aggregation of

utilities, water utilities modernization and digitization, management and allocation of financial resources, water efficiency, energy efficiency, and decarbonization. The sustainability objectives include long term economic and financial sources, infrastructure, resource use and recovery, human capital, and information, knowledge, and innovation management. The last objective is business and economic valorisation, circularity and environmental valorisation, societal valorisation, transparency, accountability and ethics, and contribution to sustainable development (SDGs). To meet those objectives, 70 measures were defined and specified. Institutional, economic, financial, tax, legal, reputational, communication, innovation and market incentives were provided. The sector's mobilisation mechanism for this strategy was envisaged at government level, involving other political bodies, public administration, management entities, market, associations, universities, and society in general. Mechanisms for monitoring objectives, measures, incentives, and investments have been provided. Political, governance, legislative, economic, financial, market and social risk management mechanisms have been defined. A rather holistic approach was used, as you can see, but giving special priority to key structural problems: restructuring the retail sector, reducing the number of utilities, improving the economies of scale, the level of specialization of the utilities and transforming the culture of the sector to performance-oriented; guarantee the gradual recovery of costs, ensuring the economic, financial and infrastructure sustainability of the sector; and strengthen systems resilience, in particular, to tackle climate change. Can you tell us about LIS-Water international activities?

JAIME BAPTISTA Despite its youth, LIS-Water has already developed several projects in various regions of the world. We currently work in almost twenty countries in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East. I give the example of RegWAS LAC, a program aimed at strengthening the framework and practice of public policies and regulation of water and sanitation services in Latin America and the

Caribbean. It results from a strategic collaboration between the Inter-American Development Bank, LIS-Water, and the Association of Water and Sanitation Regulators of the Americas, with the support of the Government of Portugal. It is a collaborative program that brings together regulators and authorities with regulatory and supervisory functions, international organizations and experts for cooperation and joint

action. More than 30 water service regulators from 15 countries participate. It has started in May 2020 and lasts for two and a half years. Another example is the implementation of a national advanced training program aimed at reinforcing the capacity of water utilities in Portugal. ProAguas provided general and comprehensive training, combining theory with practice, to support better management of utilities providing water supply, wastewater, and stormwater services. It also provided moments of brainstorming, discussion, and networking. Five editions of the program were conducted so far, training about three hundred professionals. Each edition included 48 modules and a total duration of 72 hours of training. It addressed public policy, regulation, service management, technical, economic, financial, legal, social, and environmental aspects, and new challenges. What trends do you see in business models in water infrastructure and services across the world? To ensure the continuity and quality of services in the long term, it is foreseeable that the sector will promote increased circularity and its inclusion in the business models. It is also foreseeable that the water utilities will ensure territorial valorisation through environmental services, increasing interactions and transactions with the urban territory they serve. New opportunities such as the reuse of treated wastewater, desalinisation,

"RegWAS LAC aims to strengthen public policies and regulation of water and sanitation services in Latin America and the Caribbean"

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INTERVIEW

To ensure the continuity and quality of services, the water sector will promote circularity and its inclusion in business models sludge management and the production of energy will become increasingly important. It is obvious the need to rethink and promote new business models based on those innovative approaches and their reintroduction into the value chain. What are your thoughts on the digital transformation of the water industry? The water utilities responsible for the provision of those services should be optimized in terms of organization, with good global, technical, financial, administrative, human resources and commercial management. They shall have adequate planning and management tools and good infrastructure knowledge. Therefore, a transition to a digitalised sector is essential. It implies chang-

"Changing the internal processes of the water utilities to transform them into digital processes involves an effective cultural change" 32

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ing the internal processes of the water utilities to transform them into digital processes, within its entire value chain, in interaction with the surrounding ecosystem, which involves an effective cultural change. It involves a modest investment, especially when compared to the value of the assets, and allows, for example, the modelling and analysis of data, including the prediction of the effects of extreme events and the early definition of the measures. It is also possible to assess their resilience to pressures different from those for which they were designed, such as climate change, emergency discharge control, or undue flow rates. Anticipating the nature and magnitude of these phenomena seems to be the best way to assess their impact on systems and proactively create contingency and intervention plans. What do you see as the main challenges ahead for a sustainable water future, in Portugal and beyond? I see several main challenges ahead for sustainable water services: economic and financial sustainability, infrastructure sustainability, use and recovery of resources, human capital, information management, knowledge, and innovation.

The water utilities shall ensure their full economic and financial sustainability by recovering costs from tariffs, and eventually taxes and transfers, having a good economic and financial performance, autonomous and adequate accounting reporting. They must ensure infrastructure sustainability through good knowledge and adequate asset management, including operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation, namely of the existing large networks. The water utilities shall ensure sustainability in the use of the natural resources necessary for the provision of the service, such as water, energy,

JAIME BAPTISTA reagents, and materials, and circular economy will be the driver. They shall ensure the adequacy in number, skills, and rejuvenation of human capital, information sharing networks and knowledge transfer, as well as safety and health at work. The sector must ensure its sustainability by consolidating the information system and strengthening the analysis and dissemination of knowledge and good practices, promoting research, and introducing innovation. It must be, like all network industries, innovative, efficient, and competitive by itself, contributing to creating value and jobs.

Water utilities shall ensure sustainability in the use of the natural resources necessary for the provision of the service

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OPINION

GAGE MUCKLEROY & HECTOR RUIZ PE, BCEE, PRINCIPAL AND BUSINESS GROUP LEADER FOR INTEGRATED WATER AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, GHD PE, EXECUTIVE ADVISOR, GHD ADVISORY AND WATER MARKET LEAD - ASSET MANAGEMENT, GHD

Municipalities across the US are faced with the following com- This leaves us constantly working in a reactive mode. For explex and inter-related challenges while working to manage ample, failure of aging infrastructure too often results in an greater demands for transparency, a changing workforce, and emergency. This can result in immediate impacts -- loss of serthe digital age: vice, environmental degradation, etc. J Aging infrastructure – many pipes, facilities, and other asLack of investment and not using risk-based planning may sets are at or near the end of their service life, perhaps a century result in misdirection of resources to areas that are not the greatold, deteriorated or incapable of meeting today’s needs. est need versus directing resources to renew assets before they J Decades of under-investment in maintenance, rehabilita- fail or re-build in a more resilient and sustainable manner. This tion, and replacement of assets. requires a new way of thinking and a holistic approach. J Greater risk factors – climate change and stricter environMost projects are undertaken to provide a single benefit, have a mental regulations are taking a toll and stressing the existing single purpose and provide a single type of service. What’s needinfrastructure. ed is a proactive, risk-based and integrated planning approach. J Higher expectations by stakeholders on the protection Providing evidence-based assessments (data driven) to identify of surface and groundwater, safeguarding the natural envi- priorities enables consideration of multi-criteria, multi-benefit ronment, and the need to address solutions while also bringing resiliendisadvantaged or underserviced cy and sustainability to the project. Projects can demonstrate communities. It begins with getting the right One of the biggest challenges data out of the dark and into the ROIs beyond a single type for good decision-making has been hands of the managers and deciof service and bring a greater the lack of data. Fortunately, today sion-makers! we’ve become much more data rich For example, in seeking fundvalue or solution to the needs with more data sources, data coling from the expected federal inof more stakeholders lection technologies, and more dafrastructure program and certain ta analytics and visualization tools, states, the most competitive projects which are being applied as part of risk-based management will be those bringing more than just the single benefit. This approaches to proactively set priorities. Infrastructure owners means we need to move beyond the traditional Return on Inincreasingly need to meet the needs of the ever-expanding list vestment (ROI) as an economic consideration and start to look of stakeholders and to satisfy rate payers and investors that the at the Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Community (ROC) funding is wisely spent to deliver the results required. and the Return on Environment (ROE). This approach can help It’s about doing the right project, at the right time, at the identify investments that include benefits to disadvantaged or right cost, and for the right reasons. underserved communities, have multiple uses and provide multi-benefit solutions and may also present a lower risk and overall New priorities to proactively build and replace infrastructure improvement to the circular economy for the community. Many water professionals are used to working on tight budWhile these quantified benefits to the community or envigets – there’s never enough money to do what needs to be ronment may result in a higher cost, projects can demonstrate done, much less think about the future and go beyond the ROIs that go beyond a single type of service and bring a greater standard by building better, more resilient, sustainable and value or solution to the needs of more stakeholders and imsmarter infrastructure. prove the economy of the community as a whole.

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Identifying new priorities for a more resilient and sustain- pacts for determining ROIs. Through this approach, the Enviable project ronmental, Social and Economic impacts are addressed with Projects that include the following go beyond the traditional data, beyond the traditional single benefit or single purpose and approach, expand on more benefits, and will be more resilient financial cost of a project. and sustainable: Risk-based methodologies involve considering two aspects – J Prioritizes the essentials – such as public health and main- the likelihood and the consequence of failure. The likelihood taining an acceptable level of service for water infrastructure. of failure is based on physical condition and performance, J Provides value to the non-tangibles – such as quality of e.g., erosion or sediment buildup in natural assets like a retenlife, wellness, biodiversity, and social equity. tion basin. Consequences may include costs and impacts of a J Helps disadvantaged or underserviced communities be flood to a business or residential community downstream of heard – if a sound information gathering system is used, it that basin. Add to this, the value of creating a public amenity, gives a voice to people and causes that typically don’t get at- environmental restoration, or other benefits. These add to the tention. costs, but result in a reduction in risk and greater returns from J Meets a wider variety of needs – a deeper understanding a community and environmental perspective. of priorities indicates how a While this is not a new idea, what project can serve multiple needs, is new is the availability of more daMaking better decisions many of them non-traditional. ta sources, data collection technolJ Supports evidence-based, deogies, and advanced data analytics. starts incorporating financial, fensible decisions – if based on Using dashboards (e.g., MS Power environmental, and social verifiable, hard data; decisions BI, GIS, etc.) data can be visualized are easier to “sell” to stakeholders and get into the hands of the decicriteria with asset management and financial sources and defend sion makers. risk-based strategies when questioned by special interIn summary, municipalities not est groups. taking a proactive approach to goJ Supports budgetary choices - which should be based on ing beyond a single purpose and replacing in kind mentality the agreed-upon priorities, so the funds are spent on projects are missing out on the potential to do more and truly increase providing the best returns (ROI, ROA, ROE, ROC). returns where they really matter (ROA, ROC, ROE, and J Helps compete for funding – Financial sources face many ROI) in a way that supports a community’s circular economy. competing demands for the funds available and are more Making better decisions that really matter starts with incorpolikely to choose entities that have demonstrated a proactive rating financial, environmental, and social criteria with asset and evidence-based approach. management risk-based strategies. It requires using economic analyses and data sciences coupled with decision support and Risk-based methodology helps with proactive priori- data visualization tools. Using the right data, with a transparty-setting ent approach that is focused on more than just an ROI will How can you place a value on new priorities or non-traditional give municipalities an edge in the competition for funding needs and find a transparent measure to prioritize them? Many and provide greater benefits to a wider range of stakeholders, of these can be further evaluated with a proactive approach while at the same time building more resilient and sustainable including risk-based strategies that monetize benefits and im- communities and infrastructure.

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WATER & NEWS - BUSINESS

THE EC AUTHORIZES SUEZ AND SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC'S JV IN THE DIGITALIZATION OF WATER MANAGEMENT This joint venture will develop and market a joint offering of digital solutions for the management of the water cycle The European Commission gave the green light in January to the Suez Group's alliance with Schneider Electric to create a company that will offer water management software for water and wastewater treatment facilities in France. According to the institution, the operation will not have a negative effect on the European economic area. The Commission believes that the joint venture does not raise competition concerns because the impact of the resulting company's activity will be minimal on the European market as a whole. In March 2021, Suez and Schneider Electric announced the creation of a new leader in digital water to develop and market a joint offering of innovative digital solutions for the management of the water cycle. This joint

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venture will support municipal water operators as well as industrial players in the acceleration of their digital transformation, by providing them with a range of software solutions for planning, operation, maintenance, and optimization of water infrastructure. The Suez group offers solutions for water management, recycling and wastewater recovery to the public and private sectors, while Schneider is active in the digitization of water, energy and infrastructure management. This joint venture will leverage SUEZ’s expertise in water and its experience in digital solutions, as well as the know-how of Schneider Electric in the development of software which provides digital water, energy management, and automation solutions.

VA TECH WABAG SECURES A $100 MILLION ORDER IN DUBAI The Indian company $100 million contract for the Hassyan SWRO plant VA Tech Wabag, a water technology giant headquartered in Chennai, has won a $100 million contract for the 120 million gallons per day (MiGD) Hassyan SWRO plant in the United Arab Emirates. The Hassyan SWRO is the world’s lowest water tariff project (US$ 0.278/ m3). Utico FZC was chosen as the preferred bidder by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, to build the facility and operate it over a period of 35 years, under the Independent Water Producer model. In December, Utico announced the plant is on course for timely completion. The Phase 1 of the plant is currently being constructed and includes the necessary facilities for Phase 2, an expansion of 240 million gallons per day that will make it the largest single-site desalination plant in Dubai and the world. The project is worth $450 million and will include a 600 million gallons per day seawater intake system for phase 1 and Phase 2, 2x 132KV substations, and 120 million gallons of potable water storage tanks. Deep Raj Saxena, CEO Middle East & Africa Cluster – VA Tech Wabag told the media: "This is a significant breakthrough for WABAG in the UAE enabling us to showcase our technical capabilities and innovative solutions to ensure timely completion of this prestigious, challenging and fast track desalination project of national importance with team Utico & Green EPC. With our first order in UAE, we have further consolidated our presence, the Middle East region in line with our term vision.”

ABENGOA, SEPCOIII & SIDEM ACHIEVE PROJECT TAKING OVER CERTIFICATE OF RABIGH 3 DESALINATION PLANT This is the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in commercial operation, with a capacity of 600,000 m3/day Abengoa achieved together with partners SepcoIII (Power China) and Sidem (Veolia) the Project Taking Over Certificate of the 600,000 m3/day desalination plant built for ACWA Power in the city of Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. This is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in commercial operation in the world. Rabigh 3 is already in operation supplying water to the network at full capacity. The hard work carried out by the plant's construction team, which has faced adverse circumstances such as those caused

by the COVID-19 pandemic, made it possible to achieve this milestone. The Rabigh 3 desalination plant ensures the supply of drinking water to more than three million people in the cities of Makkah, Al-Mokarramah, Jeddah and Mastorah. It is an example of efficiency, innovation and sustainability in its design and construction, which allows it to reduce energy consumption and increase the plant's availability. So far, the Rabigh 3 project, an important reference in the desalination sector,

has exceeded six million working hours without lost-time accidents, achieving the highest levels of occupational risk prevention standards and complying with the established health and safety objectives. The contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of this project was awarded in 2018 to the consortium formed by Abengoa, SepcoIII (Power China) and Sidem (Veolia). The desalinated water is being supplied to the state-owned Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC).

METITO AND BAHRI BEGIN TRIAL OPERATIONS OF FIRST SAUDI FLOATING DESALINATION PLANT The project included the design, engineering, construction, and the provision of floating barges to sail the desalination plants Bahri, the Saudi National Shipping Company, has begun the trial operations of the first floating desalination plant, reported TradeArabia. The plant is located near Al Shuqaiq port on the western coast of Saudi Arabia and is worth SR760 million ($202 million). Earlier this month, Bahri signed an agreement with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Metito, a global leader and provider of sustainable water management solutions, was responsible for the development of the project on a fast-track ba-

sis. Metito was awarded the contract to build the plant with a total capacity of 150,000 cu m per day in a competitive tender. The project also uses the most advanced treatment technology, Integrated Ultra Filtration. The floating desalination facility is part of the third independent phase of the kingdom's Privatization Program and aims to ensure a sustainable supply of water to enhance water security. Fady Juez, Managing Director at Metito said: “Winning this innovative project

is a true testament of the kingdom’s progressive vision to achieving national water security targets through sustainable projects. It highlights the government’s efforts to further engage the private sector with mega infrastructural projects.” “Metito specifically designed the plant taking into consideration mobility and flexibility of sailing the barges to different locations, according to changing water needs,” stated Juez, while emphasizing the possibility of using solar energy to power the barges.

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WATER & NEWS - BUSINESS

EWEC SETS DEADLINE FOR ABU DHABI’S IWP The Mirfa 2 IWP will have a capacity of up to 80 million imperial gallons per day The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec), responsible for the planning, forecasting, purchase and supply of water and electricity in Abu Dhabi, has decided on a deadline of March 31 for the submission of bids by prequalified bidders for the planned Mirfa 2 (M2) Independent Water Project (IWP) in Abu Dhabi, reported Energy & Utilities. The new Mirfa 2 (M2) Reverse Osmosis (RO) Independent Water Project (IWP) will desalinate seawater using RO, a low carbon-intensity technology, to produce up to 80 million gallons per day of potable water, sufficient to meet the water demand for over 140,000 households, and improve the security of water supply in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, according to a press release by Ewec.

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In late November, Ewec launched a request for proposals for the development of this facility and prequalified at least 22 firms to participate in the tender for the Mirfa 2 IWP. Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said in November: “M2 is a strategic project that will advance the decoupling of power and water production, improve the security of water supply, utilise the latest sustainable technologies, and decarbonise water production.” The M2 project is to be located adjacent to the existing Mirfa IWPP. The expected date for starting commercial operations is Q2 2025. According to sources close to the project, Ewec has appointed an advisory team of Alderbook, White & Case and Fichtner as financial, legal and technical advisers respectively.

VEOLIA COMPLETES THE SALE OF THE NEW SUEZ The transaction allows for the creation of an agile and sustainable new Suez Following the very successful tender offer for the shares of Suez, Veolia announced the completion on January 31, 2022, of the sale of the new Suez to the Consortium of investors composed of Meridiam, GIP, CDC Group and CNP Assurances in line with the purchase agreement dated October 22, 2021, and for an unchanged enterprise value. This transaction includes the main remedies approved by the European Commission to preserve competition in environmental services following the combination of Veolia and Suez. It, therefore, allows for the creation of an agile and sustainable new Suez from both an industrial and a social perspective, representing revenues of around €7 billion and a workforce of 35,000 employees. The new Suez includes Suez's Water and Recycling & Recovery activities in France, international assets in Italy, Central Europe, Africa including Morocco, Central Asia, India, China and Australia, as well as global digital and environmental activities, thus preserving real growth prospects and strong capacities for innovation in France and worldwide. For Veolia, this sale marks the culmination of the combination with Suez, initiated 17 months ago, and a starting point to enter the future of a global champion of ecological transformation with a solid balance sheet. Present on five continents, the Veolia Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation.

WATER TREATMENT

FEATURE

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WASTEWATER

Be wa nea re ste th it he cycl wate s m ind alth ing a r h urky ma ust ind nd as a and ex kes rial icato pos valu fou Th posu wa and r th sible e th l-sm ba e to re t stew esp at c reu at g ell se ol o v at ec on se oe ing d e th s . a e ia ta a pid at t riou r a s lly u ins It is far ppe d a em ran s c ou rba iff n bey ara iol sla hem rce n s ere env ond nce n og te o i o y ( s it ical f inf urc t po ronm its , e l WB s c o l s e o u r E) lang mp ma , som tan nta l ,o t o t th rig uag und ion eth s fr and ina e i s a on ing om mo e stu s h lly w nd um th th nit dy lin ast pa an at str e cir orin of th ke ew tho d t at ge vir ain cula g is e p er ns o pr use s am tion toda rese . h a o j e c s , i t o n g o f y a n ce wo s bo ts; h s ap the wild use of a p r l d o s t ow p l i c p o s t r f u l t h e ro wid ed eve atio pul ain ins pol t io mi e, th r, a s sin m e s the n ha tion or rum viru a n e t g f ki ud cu s b . F eu nt s, wh ut ng y o rr ee or ur it t rov to e e. a m f SA nt C n re he r irul aler ose a j o R S - OV I l e g a e s t e n t t a b r e C o D - 1 t e d o f t va c o u he ci t ar V-2 9 ne p to ly wa in w and rese e a rn a ing ste mic rch t o wa t ol , er wi th

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FEATURE “It travels along the great tracks of human intercourse, never going faster than people travel, and generally much more slowly”. This is how John Snow (18131858), English physician – not Jon Snow, a character from Game of Thrones – described the behaviour of cholera bacteria when they swept through the city of London during the most violent outbreak in England. Contrary to the “miasma” theory – toxic vapours emitted by decomposing soil matter and impure water – which prompted the authorities to empty all the city's cesspits and septic tanks into the River Thames, Snow proposed that the spread of cholera was due to water contaminated by a "morbid matter" invisible to the human eye. This "morbid matter" responsible for the acute diarrhoea that characterizes the disease – abundant, watery, rice-washing water-like stools – was transmitted among the London population through the sewage that turned the Thames into a "deadly sewer", as Charles Dickens de-

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Untreated sewage is a global problem that puts the health and well-being of millions of people at risk as a route for the spread of disease fined it in his novel Little Dorrit (1857) years later. The fact is that London at that time was very far from the sanitation standards and notions of environmental hygiene that we enjoy today, and the same waters of the Thames that had been contaminated with the contents of

the cesspits and septic tanks of the city were used again to supply drinking water to the city through two water companies. Although the study of diseases as population phenomena dates back to the pestilential fevers that devastated the population on the banks of the Nile Riv-

WASTEWATER er around 2,000 BC, John Snow is today considered the father of modern epidemiology for laying the theoretical and methodological foundations of epidemiology by relating, in London in 1854, mortality rates to population behaviour with respect to the water supply. Although this problem in London dating two centuries ago seems very distant, cholera is just one more example of the disease that can be transmitted through water. According to the Safe water, better health report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, after diarrhoeal diseases, which are the most common, there are at least twelve other diseases in the world directly linked to water due to its use for drinking, sanitation and poor hygiene (WASH). Hepatitis A, typhoid fever, polio, malaria, schistosomiasis and dysentery are some of the diseases that kill millions of people worldwide. The UN also warns that more than 80% of the wastewater resulting from human activity is discharged into rivers or the sea without any kind of water treatment, causing water pollution. This relationship between water and people's health highlights how essential it is not only to have water treatment systems that apply the necessary physical, chemical and biological processes to the resource for its reuse or for its return to natural water bodies, but also to have monitoring protocols that provide sufficient data to estimate the dimension and possible causes of spatio-temporal variations in water quality that affect public health. As former WHO Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook (1945-2006) wrote: "Water and sanitation are one of the main drivers of public health. I often refer to it as 'Health 101', which means that once we can secure access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities for all people, irrespective of the difference in their living conditions, a huge battle against all kinds of diseases will be won." Untreated sewage is a global problem that puts the health and well-being of

Studies show raw sewage provides a rich matrix not only to identify novel viruses, but also to study the diversity of known viruses millions of people at risk because it is a pathway for disease transmission, including some viral diseases. This is not the case with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Currently available information, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), suggests that it comes from an animal, and that there is still not enough scientific evidence to explain the original route of transmission to humans. On this point, a study by the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and Environment (RIVM) published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology points out that it is still unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 is viable in environmental conditions that could facilitate faecal-oral transmission. Moreover, researchers from the University of Granada in Spain carried out an epidemiological analysis of 134 workers at 59 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in the Andalusian province of Granada – critical urban water cycle infrastructure and, therefore, essential in the elimination of SARS-CoV-2. The results, published in the International Journal of Water Resources Development, revealed the seroprevalence in this group was similar to the incidence rate found in the general population in the province. This suggests there is no significant transmission of the coronavirus

through wastewater because, like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is not as resistant to environmental conditions in wastewater as, for example, noroviruses. Tracking down SARS-CoV-2 Raw sewage is an ideal ecosystem to assess viral diversity; as well, it provides a rich environment for the growth of diverse host species and thus their viruses. According to a pioneering study in the application of metagenomics - the study of the genome of microbial communities - to sewage viruses published by the journal mBio in 2011, carried out by the UB Food and Water Contaminating Viruses Laboratory and the University of Washington, raw sewage provides a rich matrix not only to identify novel viruses, but also to study the diversity of known viruses. During the pandemic, it was discovered that SARS-CoV-2 was also excreted

Like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is not as resistant to environmental conditions in wastewater as, for example, noroviruses

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FEATURE

La poca probabilidad de detectar infecciones asintomáticas puso el foco en la WBE para determinar la carga de infecciones no diagnosticadas

in faeces, ending up in sewage, and that viral RNA was detectable in municipal wastewater. This finding raised questions about the potential health hazards to people who were directly or indirectly exposed to sewage - as mentioned above, there is no significant transmission - but it also provided opportunities to use sewage to monitor trends in virus circulation in the community, allowing entire populations to be assessed at a glance. Environmental virology linked to wastewater dates back to the 1940s and the efforts to detect the polio virus. Since

The low probability of detecting asymptomatic people put the focus on WBE to determine the burden of undiagnosed infections 44

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then, cell culture methods useful to detect enteroviruses have been replaced by molecular biology and analytical chemistry techniques to detect pathogens. Today, thanks to the application of analytical sciences, it is possible to know the human exposure to various chemical compounds or pathogens - such as viruses - through wastewater. This is known as wastewater based epidemiology (WBE). Its initial application, and the one that is best known and established today, was to estimate illicit drug consumption in populations, as well as legal substance abuse (alcohol, drugs or tobacco), with the COVID-19 pandemic it has become the main early warning tool to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the population. Dr Christian Daughton, a researcher now retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a pioneer of WBE more than two decades ago, says that “The utility of WBE for monitoring the incidence and spread of community-wide

infectious disease (such as COVID-19) is currently much more limited than the application of WBE for determining community-wide usage of anthropogenic chemicals (such as drugs) or exposure to naturally occurring xenobiotics.” Based on Daughton's idea of imagining wastewater treatment plants as a tool not only to track an emerging class of contaminants, but also to monitor the general state of health in the entire community, numerous research groups around the world are studying the presence, characteristics and epidemiology of different viruses based on their detection in wastewater. The development of molecular technologies applied to environmental studies has shown that even in highly industrialized countries there is a high prevalence of viruses in the environment, which causes a significant impact on public health and important economic losses, mainly through the transmission of viruses through water and food. Gert-

WASTEWATER jan Medema, Principal Microbiologist at KWR Water Research Institute in the Netherlands, has been analysing the transmission of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance through water systems for ten years and how this can be prevented by technical and non-technical management measures. With the outbreak of the pandemic, his research team was the first to think that they could find SARSCoV-2 in wastewater, coming from the faeces of infected people: “Testing wastewater can complement information from conventional testing – PCR, antigen and serological tests – by allowing authorities to monitor the occurrence of the virus in large populations over time”. In the midst of pandemic uncertainty, in March 2020 no one had sufficient capacity to know the true number of infected people. The low probability of detecting asymptomatic people and those with mild symptoms during clinical surveillance prompted researchers to focus

With the COVID-19 pandemic, WBE has become a major early warning tool to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the population on WBE to determine the burden of undiagnosed infections at the community level, which has proved critical in refining estimates of case fatality rates. Researchers from Cranfield University (UK) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences devel-

oped a paper-based device to detect the coronavirus in wastewater. It is a small analytical tool with different functional areas printed with a wax printer that integrates all the necessary processes for nucleic acid testing in inexpensive paper

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FEATURE material. "Currently, the test is designed as a rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tool for the mass population rather than for individuals," explains Dr. Zhugen Yang, Lecturer in Sensor Technology at Cranfield Water Science Institute, whose goal is to implement it permanently in epidemiological surveillance: "We will develop inexpensive sensors to rapidly map hotspots, which will enable analysis requirements to be met." In Spain, the Agrochemistry and Food Technology Institute (IATA-CSIC) and the Segura Soil Science and Applied Biology Centre (CEBAS-CSIC), who collaborate with Esamur (the Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment Authority in the region of Murcia) since 2016 on a quantitative risk analysis focused on the effectiveness of WWTP treatments in order to identify pathogenic bacteria, enteric viruses, Clostridium spores or disinfection by-products, were the first to validate a methodology to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw waste-

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water. "The concern arose at the end of February following publications at the international level revealing the presence of RNA traces from SARS-CoV-2 in faeces, which led to the thought that viral particles could accumulate in wastewater from cities", reveals Ana Allende, researcher at CEBAS-CSIC. Thanks to IATA's experience working on epidemiological surveillance of viruses in water, it was possible to implement this validated and rapid methodology that allowed detecting the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater before the first clinical cases were recorded in three of the six Murcian municipalities where sampling was carried out. "We have been working for many years and developing molecular techniques for the detection of viruses that, traditionally, are transmitted through faeces and can therefore end up in food, such as gastroenteritis viruses or noroviruses, but also more important viruses such as hepatitis A or hepatitis E", comments Gloria Sanchez, senior

scientist. She explains the validation procedure they followed: "With a strain of porcine coronavirus, which has physicochemical characteristics similar to SARSCoV-2 – mainly the lipid envelope –, and with a mengovirus, we doped water samples that we had stored from previous sampling. The results showed that the procedure we normally used for the detection of norovirus and hepatitis A in wastewater was a procedure that could be used routinely for the detection of SARSCoV-2 RNA in water." Subsequently, the IATA-CSIC group led a second study in Valencia, in collaboration with I2SysBio, where traces of SARS-CoV-2 were also detected in retrospective water samples from late February 2020. Also in Spain, among the many capabilities of the Spanish Network of Wastewater Analysis for Epidemiological Purposes (ESAR-Net), created in 2017 and formed by different Spanish research groups, work was already underway on new applications such as the study of popula-

WASTEWATER tion exposure to chemical contaminants or the identification of health indicators for a given population. "The rationale is the same as in the case of exposure to pollutants or illicit drug use, among other examples," explains Félix Hernández, professor and director of the University Institute of Pesticides and Water (IUPA). "Everything we are exposed to, including a viral infection, is reflected in wastewater, as long as a series of criteria are met, such as the existence of specific biomarkers that are sufficiently stable in wastewater, and suitable analytical techniques to detect and quantify them." Hernández is currently leading a research project that aims to apply the principles and strategies of wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) to the identification and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater from communities in the province of Castellón. The results can contribute to the establishment of an efficient epidemiological surveillance system for SARSCoV-2 in the future, in order to learn

WBE is here to stay. We have to take advantage of the infrastructure and networks that have been created Gloria Sánchez (IATA-CSIC) about the evolution of the global infection rate in a community, and to detect early any potential outbreaks. "If we have the technology to detect SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, which we do, and we are able to correlate the data in wastewater

with clinical epidemiological information, we can have a very useful tool that also provides real-time information about a large anonymous population to monitor the pandemic in the communities under study", he explains. Beyond COVID-19,

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FEATURE

Wastewater has been a near-perfect mirror of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in the population and its evolution, showing the potential of WBE

the project will lay the foundation, as well as advantages and limitations for future applications of wastewater analysis in disease control. Based on the effectiveness demonstrated in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater and its possible use as a complementary system to the health surveillance of the pandemic, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) publishes weekly results of the sampling carried out in the more than thirty WWTPs on its website since November 2020. They are part of a project on surveillance and early warning of COVID-19 in wastewater (VATar-COVID-19), defined as a specific application of wastewater based epidemiology to monitor certain substances associated with population habits and lifestyles, and its application in public and environmental health. Also noteworthy in Spain are the environmental monitoring protocols established in different regions such as Catalonia, through Sarsaigua – led by the ICRA – or the Sistema Vigía in Madrid, promoted by Canal de Isabel II. Also, in light of the progression of the pandemic and the appearance of a second wave in several countries, in March

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2021 the European Commission adopted a common approach – implemented in October – to establish a systematic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in wastewater in the EU. The strategy strongly recommends "tracking the presence of the virus in wastewater as a relatively cheap and reliable way to collect essential information", given that the information collected to date has shown a direct correlation between the amounts of virus found in wastewater and the number of infected people in a community. In this regard, the COVIDBENS project, funded by Edar Bens and carried out in the region of Galicia (Spain) since April 2020, applies a statistical regression model capable of estimating the number of people carrying the virus in the population based on the analysis of the viral load in wastewater. In addition to this, since the beginning of 2021, they monitor and watch for the appearance of new mutations and variants of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater using massive sequencing technologies. "With this methodology we are able to tell which variants of the virus are in the metropolitan area of the city of A Coruña", explains Margarita Poza, microbiologist at the Institute for Biomedical Research (INIBIC), As-

sociate Professor at the University of A Coruña and leader of this pioneering project. "We are able to sequence, that is, to know the genetic code of all the virus variants that appear". COVIDBENS has also served as an early warning of possible outbreaks and has shown that it is capable of anticipating detection up to eighteen days ahead of the data reported by the Spanish health system: "In addition to the specific detection of the virus, we use standards to extract data on what the viral concentration is. It is not enough for us to know if the virus is present or not, we also quantify it". Much more than waste The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted the vital importance of sanitation, hygiene and adequate access to clean water to prevent and contain the disease, as well as a water sector essential for all of the above to occur, but also it has drawn attention to wastewater as much more than a waste to be treated. Wastewater has been a near-perfect mirror of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in the population and its evolution, underscoring the enormous potential of WBE as a key tool to help contain and mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks while minimizing global ripple effects on public health and safety, accessible healthcare, food security, the stability of economies and financial institutions. "Investing in a permanent wastewater based national epidemiological network could prove vital in preparing for more rapid and effective control of the next inevitable pandemic", says Dr Daughton.

As an emerging discipline, WBE has great potential to be used in the detection and management of infectious disease transmission

WASTEWATER That is why this pandemic, notwithstanding its negative health, economic and environmental consequences for societies worldwide, provides a significant opportunity to prove that, as an emerging discipline, WBE has great potential - combined with commonly applied epidemiological studies – for the detection and management of disease transmission in the population. The presence of a substantial amount of viral RNA in faeces and urine implies the possibility of tracking disease occurrence and transmission trends over time using this methodology. "WBE applied consistently and thoroughly could become a very suitable early warning system for potential disease outbreaks. But it should not be forgotten that it is a complementary tool. It cannot replace classical epidemiological studies, based on monitoring clinical cases, but rather complement them. The combination of both approaches is what will allow progress to be made in the monitoring of this and other future epidemics/pandemics," explains Félix Hernández.

We are able to sequence, that is, to know the genetic code of all the virus variants that appear Margarita Poza (INIBIC) Currently, environmental surveillance for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is already used in approximately fifty countries and more than a thousand cities. COVID-19 WBE Collaborative gathers this information on its website, which aims to empower collaboration on a global scale for wastewater based epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. "The main challenge for sewage surveillance is that the water sector

DETECTION OF SARS-COV-2 IN WASTEWATER The analysis of wastewater for epidemiological purposes is based on the excretion products of human metabolism that arrive intact at WWTPs. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 detection, although there are different protocols designed for the detection of the virus in wastewater, they have several steps in common: (1) concentration and precipitation of the sample; (2) extraction of the genetic material (RNA); and (3) detection of the SARS-CoV-2 specific genetic material. In turn, for each of these steps, there are different analytical methods, commercial kits or detection techniques, all of them with their pros and cons. In the particu-

lar case of detecting the genetic material of the virus in wastewater, the most widely used technique is the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, usually known by its acronym RT-qPCR. It is a technique that stands out for its versatility, sensitivity and efficiency, and is suitable for the analysis of wastewater.

is not accustomed to providing data for the health sector and the health sector is not used to consider environmental surveillance when looking at public health," says Dr Medema. A relationship - that of the water sector and the health sector that has been greatly strengthened by the pandemic and that in the future could effectively serve as an early warning tool for future outbreaks or pandemics, for health management and as a safety net against possible undetected sources of infection. "The water sector and the health sector, and all surrounding organisations, need to communicate efficiently and in real time the information so that the measures taken are effective. Wastewater based epidemiology applied to COVID-19 is a tool that is here to stay. We have to take advantage of all the infrastructure and networks that have been created," emphasizes Gloria Sanchez. However, as Margarita Poza points out, "without funding you can't do research. To implement it permanently, we need funding for infrastructure and for research staff”. The enormous potential of wastewater based epidemiology has been shown in multiple scientific studies carried out internationally and, although more research is needed – and more funding for it – wastewater will continue to tell us even what we cannot see. Let's listen to it.

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OPINION

CHRIS ASHMORE WATERICON CEO

WASTE NOT; WANT NOT THE SOLUTION TO THE EARTH’S WATER CRISIS IS UNDER OUR NOSES In the context of global warming, the development of unconBut anxieties about reused water still abound. For many ventional water resources is becoming increasingly important, people, the idea of drinking water that has been recycled especially in African countries constantly affected by water from our toilets, showers and washing machines, among othchallenges like access to available, clean drinking water. ers, does not sit very well with the average citizen. There are Globally, around two billion people live in countries with concerns that reused water may contain more pathogens and “high water scarcity”. This is mainly in northern Africa and chemicals than drinking water sourced from lakes or rivers or western, central and southern Asia. To make matters worse, other natural sources. the United Nations estimates that about 3 billion people are The benefits of using reused water, however, are not only expected to face water stress by 2025. But one merely has that it preserves natural resources and reverses drinking water to read the news to understand that this is not just an Afri- shortages caused by climate change, it is also much less expencan problem – it will affect the entire world, probably sooner sive and less energy-consuming than desalination – another than later. alternative that has been around for a while now. To deal with this eventuality, water specialists have startTechnically, treating reused water is straightforward. The ed recommending the use of treated wastewater, or “reused technologies and systems required to reliably treat water — water” for human consumption. even water from domestic and inReused water comes from highly dustrial sources — are well estabHaving the option treated wastewater. In most devellished and readily available. oped countries, municipal wasteWith the rapid growth of the of reused water available water from businesses and homes world’s population, the increase in for consumption not only is collected, treated in sewage urbanisation and climate change, plants and then pumped back into lack of water is a worldwide challowers the cost, but also natural water bodies. This water is lenge. This is even more the case in increases availability then collected, treated again and a period of pandemic, when access used for drinking, agriculture, irto freshwater is vital to ensure the rigation or in industry. hygiene conditions required to prevent illness, which are not This takes time and has great costs attached to its processes. always guaranteed for the most vulnerable. Having the option of reused water available for consumption With the increased frequency of droughts and heightened not only lowers the cost, but also increases availability espe- water stress almost everywhere worldwide the reuse of procially in times of drought or lower availability. cessed wastewater would seem to be a great way forward. One In Africa, however, the idea has already started to take hold. thing is certain: the techniques are ready. The world leader in using reused water is the capital city of Watericon is committed to assist with providing sustainable Namibia, Windhoek, which built the first large-scale recycled clean water across South Africa as well as abroad; our technoldrinking water system in 1968. The city has been relying on ogy, commitment and service adds value to all water sectors reused water to boost its drinking water supply for over 50 and ultimately contributes to the betterment of people’s lives. years, and has an impressive record of delivering safe, clean There just needs to be a willingness from consumers, governwater even during multi-year droughts. Something the coun- ments, and business to collaborate to ensure a workable and try and the continent should not only celebrate, but learn sustainable way forward without further infringing on the alfrom and embrace. ready unstable environment that gives us all life.

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OPINION

MATT HALE INTERNATIONAL SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR, HRS HEAT EXCHANGERS

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS KEY TO DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY The world faces an unprecedented combination of water secu- sults in a corresponding reduction in mains water demand and rity and resilience challenges, including population growth, in- wastewater discharge. There are also benefits in terms of the creasing urbanisation, a decline in traditional sources of water, energy and carbon footprints associated with material recovery and water scarcity driven by climate change. when compared with primary extraction and processing, toThe water sector needs to adopt new technologies and ways gether with further environmental benefits from reduced waste of working, many of which may be seen as disruptive when disposal impacts. compared to traditional methods of water supply and wasteAs far as the wastewater industry is concerned, nutrients such water treatment. However, if such technologies are to be truly as phosphorus are one of the prime contenders for nutrient reeffective, they must enshrine energy and resource efficiency. covery, although as the sector moves forward a wider range of The monitoring and optimisation of wastewater treatment and chemicals, such as ammonia nitrogen and sodium-based prodsewer and sewage monitoring have both been identified as op- ucts, can be recovered. Fouling is a real concern during many portunities where water and sludge treatment technologies can be material recovery processes, but specially designed scraped-surupdated and improved. By 2025, about 80% of utilities in large face heat exchangers will maintain thermal efficiency and recities of advanced countries and half of the utilities in large cities move fouling as it occurs. of developing countries are expected Another form of resource recovto have water supply systems that inery is the recovery of energy from To truly deliver savings in corporate digital water features like wastewater streams. While anaeradvanced metering. Satellite data can obic digestion is recognised as a water use and energy, water also be used to monitor catchments water treatment technology around companies must completely and water distribution systems. the world, its capacity for energy To truly deliver savings in water generation (either through the use digitise their supply chains and use and energy, water companies of combined heat and power prowastewater infrastructure must completely digitise their supduction or to produce sustainable ply chains and wastewater infrabiomethane gas) is less well develstructure, deploying sensors in the field and using electronic oped. Ambitious goals for sustainable development will mean flow meters in the system, including at a customer level. One that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) will need to achieve of the key potential benefits of increased digitisation in the wa- net zero carbon balances by 2030. Achieving this will require ter sector, as well as reduced water use and improved demand recovery of the energy contained in the incoming wastewater balancing, is reduced energy use through improved efficiency. streams and using it to provide the heat and power necessary for We have already seen increased use of rain capture and brown wastewater treatment and solids handling. It has been estimatwater reuse for cleaning and toilet flushing in many buildings, ed that at present, most WWTPs are capable of producing 20 but there is increasing interest in treating wastewater streams to 25% of their own energy requirements in this way. to make them potable and immediately returning them to the Therefore, increasing energy production at WWTPs will be water supply system (direct reuse). In order to become widely critical to making the sector self-sufficient in terms of energy. adopted, society needs to accept that suitably treated wastewa- But on its own, it is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the net-zeter is a desirable source of usable potable water. ro goals. Reduced energy consumption through the use of new Resource recovery is another key aspect of a true circular and more efficient processes will also be required. Sludge proeconomy. Every cubic metre of recycled or reused water re- cessing and energy efficiency are intrinsically linked.

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INTERVIEW

GEORGE HUTCHINSON CTO OF WATERIQ TECHNOLOGIES

“Many times, ultrasound technology will pre-empt an algae bloom and keep it from getting worse” Algae and biofilm can cause havoc for water systems and the humans that rely upon them. Water treatment solutions by WaterIQ Technologies help restore water ecosystems to their natural state without using chemicals. Z Cristina Novo Pérez Algae blooms are overgrowths of algae in water. They may produce toxins dangerous for people and animals, but even nontoxic blooms harm the environment and economies. Although they are sometimes natural phenomena, their frequency and intensity are increased by nutrient pollution. Moreover, climate change might exacerbate the problem due to warmer water temperatures among other factors. In this interview, George Hutchinson, CTO of WaterIQ Technologies, talks about algae blooms and their impacts, and current solutions for algae management. Could you tell us briefly about your career path as CTO of WaterIQ Technologies?

Algae management problems in water systems are due to phosphate pollution from a variety of sources, and overuse of algaecides 52

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Graduating from the University of South Carolina in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, my career path took me into the fibre and film industry primarily with a short span in the rubber and tire industry. The bulk of my career was with Amoco Chemical Company (eventually BP Chemicals) until leaving there in 2007 to begin work in ultrasonic algae and biofilm control.

My brother and I started AlgaeControl. US LLC as a division of his company, South Santee Aquaculture, Inc. in 2006. Eventually, I took control of it as a solely owned company in 2013. In 2019 we merged with SonicSolutions LLC where I became CTO of the newly formed SonicSolutions Algae Control, LLC. Just recently, the SonicSolutions management team, me included, joined forces with

GEORGE HUTCHINSON to not only algae, but to good beneficial bacteria that are necessary to help remove the excess phosphates that drive the algae growth. The remaining bacteria unaffected by the copper are mostly anaerobic and over time they cause the algae problem to spiral out of control by continually recycling phosphates back into the water column. The problem mostly results from cyanobacteria (aka blue-green algae) that have the ability to create complex hydrocarbons that are toxic to humans and many other animals.

WaterIQ Technologies, where I now serve as CTO. To what extent are algae management problems having an impact on water systems? The problem of algae management in water systems is indeed a very broad topic and touches on potable water, wastewater, lake management, golf course waterways,

rivers, personal ponds, storm water and even ocean water impact. The primary problems are due to phosphate pollution from a variety of sources including farm fertilizer runoff, over fertilization of lawns, phosphate based cleaning soaps and surfactants, and overuse of algaecides (particularly copper sulphate) for decades. The latter is not intuitively obvious until you realize that overuse of copper causes death

How does human activity contribute to algae blooms, and what trends have you seen in this regard? Again, pollution and fertilizer runoff are the main contributors as discussed above as they increase phosphate levels in streams and in groundwater. Nitrates are also a factor, but to a lesser extent than phosphates, and mainly affect green algae growth that can lead to floating mats of filamentous algae and other types of nuisance algae strains. Most of the problematic cyanobacteria algae can produce or fix their own nitrogen source from the air, so nitrates are less of a growth issue for them. In fact, in some cases, the lack of nitrates causes some cyanobacteria to produce more of these hydrocarbons that are toxic to us so that they can fix enough nitrogen for growth. You could write an encyclopaedia about the interactions between global temperature, sources of CO2 (manmade vs. ocean emissions due to temperature), sun spots, etc. and the debate continues, but one thing is for certain, being that atmospheric

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) have the ability to create complex hydrocarbons that are toxic to humans and many other animals

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INTERVIEW

Most of the problematic cyanobacteria algae can fix their own nitrogen from air, so nitrates are less of a growth issue for them CO2 has increased and CO2 is a necessary ingredient for algae growth and growth of plants. Photosynthesis, simplified, is a process where inorganic carbon is converted to organic carbon. CO2 becomes CH2O (monosaccharide), the latter being the primary building block for organic life. Another fact is that nothing we as humans do in the short term will affect the growth rate in CO2 levels, which will be with us for many years to come. What can we do to stem harmful algae blooms? The most effective thing we can do to stem harmful algae blooms is to limit the use of phosphates and their ingress into our surface waters. Of course, that is often easier said than done. So, other steps can include introducing restorative beneficial bacteria into our ponds and lakes to restore the balance between aerobic and anaerobic bacteria populations. This helps remediate the phosphate content. Adding aeration to compromised water bodies can also accelerate the restoration by increasing oxygen levels throughout the water. While aeration can help slow the growth of algae, it doesn’t kill it. The nonchemical approach to killing algae, and what WaterIQ Technologies is all about, is the use of ultrasound. What are some of the approaches currently used to prevent algae blooms and clear them once they have occurred? We estimate that about 95% of the 70,000 species (2,000,000 sub-species) of algae are affected by ultrasound, so this is a proven non-chemical way to eliminate them. Many times, this technology will pre-empt an algae bloom and keep

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it from getting worse. Depending on the algae type and the water body where it occurs, other tools can be used like aeration, beneficial bacteria, and yes even algaecides may be necessary, at least initially, to abate the problem. Always target the root cause of the growth and, based on experience, that is almost always reducing phosphate levels. Work towards getting the concen-

tration well below 100 parts per billion and soon the problem will be eliminated. What is the expected effect of climate change on these problems? Rising temperatures will cause algae blooms to occur earlier in the year and potentially last longer. Most blooms occur after summer warming of the sediment

GEORGE HUTCHINSON levels in a water body. The sediment holds much of the undigested organic food laden with phosphates that have settled since the last winter season (leaves, dead plants, etc.) typically laying in the bottom area where there is a likelihood of anoxic conditions (i.e., low oxygen availability). It is typically also in these areas that the coldest conditions exist and they lag behind the air and surface temperatures as summer warming continues. Typically, in the northern hemisphere, the bottom areas reach a temperature that is high enough for anaerobic bacteria to become very active generally from late June to middle July, depending on the latitude and the number of sun hours per day. Once this tempera-

ture is reached, the anaerobes become very busy eating the muck and expelling a lot of phosphates from this material. Cyanobacteria have adapted to this phenomenon and use gas vesicles to regulate buoyancy in order to sink to the bottom at the end of the day to have access to the abundance of phosphates there and then once absorbed continue to do cell division,

The most effective thing to stem harmful algae blooms is to limit the use of phosphates and their ingress into our surface waters

lose buoyancy and float to the surface at dawn to start another day basking in the sun. This is the phenomenon that is most addressed with ultrasonic algae control devices. By breaking the gas vesicles, within 3-4 days the gas will migrate to the outer cell wall and diffuse through it, leaving the cyanobacteria heavier than water and unable to return to the surface for photosynthesis.

About 95% of the 70,000 species of algae are affected by ultrasound, so this is a proven non-chemical way to eliminate them - MAGAZINE

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

SHUQAIQ 3

DESALINATION PLANT, SAUDI ARABIA

The Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant in Saudi Arabia was inaugurated this past January. It is the first large-scale plant using highly energy-efficient pure reverse osmosis technology. The facility has a rated production capacity of 450,000 cubic meters per day, and will supply drinking water to more than 1.8 million people in the provinces of Asir and Jizan. The project, with an investment of nearly 600 million dollars, was awarded to a consortium including Almar Water Solutions, ACCIONA; Marubeni Corporation and Rawafid Alhadarah Holding Co. A team of more than 2,000 people from different disciplines participated in the plant’s construction, under strict work protocols within the context of the pandemic. Despite the challenging cir-

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cumstances, the facility was completed to schedule and is working at full capacity. One of the largest desalination plants based on reverse osmosis technology in the world, it uses more than 7,000 reverse osmosis pressure vessels, equivalent to 54 kilometers, with more than 45,000 membranes working simultaneously to produce more than 18 million liters of pure water per hour. A flagship facility not only in Saudi Arabia but also in the region, Shuqaiq 3 is recognized as one of the most innovative and sustainable plants in its class. It is a key project for the modernization of Saudi Arabia’s water sector by the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), and will contribute to the economic and industrial development of the area.

OPINION

ALAIN MESTAT MANAGING PARTNER AT H2OVORTEX, LUXEMBOURG

HARNESSING THE POWER OF NATURE INTO DISRUPTIVE APPLICATIONS INCREASES THE SUSTAINABILITY OF INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES As the climate warms and the world population grows, water de- acteristics of IVG is that it is completely 3D printed, enabling mand has surged, but supplies of freshwater are static or dropping. a cost-effective production process. Key market drivers for the Water conservation has become essential in all regions of the world, VPT solutions are water, energy and chemical savings, expected even where water seems abundant. That’s because the world’s water to become mandatory over time. resources are finite, and are getting smaller every year, an assessment of what is emerging as the dominant issue in decades ahead. Applications Keeping this assessment in mind, H2oVortex’s Swedish scientists The IVG technology is used in various water-intensive indushave been working since 2009 on a dedicated technology, Vortex trial applications to dramatically decrease water and energy use. Process Technology (VPT) enabling the reduction of water-energy There is already a large range of existing VPT applications in consumption within industrial applications, which currently rep- areas such as cooling tower operation, ice making, irrigation, resent in some areas of the world up to 59% of all of the annual wastewater management, aquaculture, river aeration just to water usage (United Nations World Water Development Report). name a few, as well as others still in very promising R&D stages, Increasing water efficiency within industrial applications will such as but not limited to water purification, etc. significantly contribute to reducing water-related problems in One of H2oVortex’s most promising applications is the IVGareas of the world where water has CT, specifically aimed at industrial become a significant concern. Regucooling towers (> 7MW or 2000 The market will demand more latory pressure fostered by consumtons of cooling) which substantially er awareness will slowly impose and increases cooling tower sustainabileffective solutions to reduce enforce more stringent environmenity, while decreasing its CO2 footthe usage of water, energy tal regulation, while promoting a reprint, reducing water consumption duction in chemical dependency in by 50%, reducing energy consumpand chemicals within many areas. In addition, companies tion by 10% and eliminating 100% industrial applications are starting to feel increased pressure of all chemical usage. by shareholders, banks and business Under normal circumstances, wapartners – as well as the general public perception – to comply ter in cooling towers needs to be treated in some way to control with ever more stringent ESG standards around the world. microbial growth, scale formation, and metal corrosion. ApH2oVortex’s VPT is based on biomimetic principles, where proximately 98% of the U.S. cooling towers use only chemical technology imitates nature and duplicates its most efficient pro- water treatment provided by an established market channel of cesses. This natural process, as generated by the VPT, is the arti- chemical companies and service providers. The use of physical ficial spinning of water into a controlled vortex/spiral movement water treatment i.e., non-chemical technologies for water-cooled at minimal pressure within a confined patented device made out cooling towers is growing in the U.S. and has been widely used of composite materials. This unique purely physical technology primarily in the EU, where restrictions on chemical discharge device is called Industrial Vortex Generator or IVG and consti- and environmental policies encouraging lower chemical usage tutes the backbone of the entire VPT. The water, passing through are widespread. the IVG, does undergo some changes, of which the most imporThe Industrial Vortex Technology (IVG) for cooling towers tant are: air bubbles inside the water are completely removed, the is a market proven chemical-free solution. Given these fantastic viscosity of the water is decreased by up to 20%, increase in heat results H2oVortex aims at becoming one of the world’s leading capacity up to 5% due to higher density. One of the main char- high-value water enhancement technology companies.

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WATER & NEWS - WATER TREATMENT

BOROUGE IS AWARDED LARGEST EGYPT WASTEWATER PLANT SUPPLY CONTRACT The company has partnered with Krah Misr to supply infrastructure solutions for the Bahr Al Baqar wastewater treatment plant

Borouge, a leading petrochemical company providing innovative, value-creating polyolefin solutions, has partnered with Krah Misr, a leading manufacturer of large diameter pipes and fittings, to supply infrastructure solutions for the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant, Bahr Al Baqar Wastewater Plant. The world-scale plant is situated in the northwest of Egypt and was recently inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The USD 1.27 billion (EGP 20 billion) plant will boost Egypt’s water resources used to irrigate agricultural land, while decreasing the risk of contaminated water entering agricultural, industrial, and municipal water. Borouge and Krah Misr have harnessed their strengths to supply Bahr Al Baqar Wastewater Plant with spiral wound

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polyethylene pipes, meeting its five million cubic meter daily processing capacity needs. The pipes include 2.7 kilometres of 1,600 millimetre and 2,500 millimetre diameter spiral wound polyethylene pipes for low-pressure applications. The pipes were made using raw materials supplied by Borouge, which employed BorSafe™ HE3490-LS technology – capable of withstanding large diameter pressure, intake/outfall and multi-gravity applications. BorSafe™ HE3490-LS is easily processed by its customers worldwide and is highly agile – used either for solid-wall pressure pipe extrusion in large diameter or in spiral wound pipe configurations. Borouge’s water piping application significantly lowers installation costs, operational costs, and maintenance costs

for its customers and end-users, as compared to other materials. Most importantly, BorSafe™ HE3490LS requires significantly lower energy consumption to be manufactured. These factors cut carbon emissions generated during the manufacturing process of the pipe and its operational lifespan. Pipes made of BorSafe™ HE3490-LS can also be recycled at the end of their lifecycle. Khalfan AlMuhairi, Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa Exports, Borouge said: “It gives us great pleasure to be part of the success of the Bahr Al Baqar Wastewater Plant, which won the Guinness World Record for world’s largest water treatment plant. Borouge continues to expand its footprint in Egypt and beyond, by unlocking opportunities for customers to be more competitive, operate more efficiently, and minimise environmental impact – without ever compromising on quality.” Peter Youssef, General Manager of Krah Misr commented: “As the pioneer producer of large spiral wound HDPE pipes in Egypt, Krah Misr is proud to have successfully delivered one of the largest spiral wound pipes in the country. We are glad to have partnered with Borouge in this aspect.” The treated water from Bahr Al Baqar will be used to irrigate 140,000 hectares of farmland alongside the Suez Canal and help address water scarcity in Egypt. The plant will play an important role in restoring agricultural land in the region in the face of dwindling Nile resources.

NEW ECONOMIC MODEL FINDS WETLANDS PROVIDE BILLIONS IN FILTRATION VALUE This is the first economic valuation study to separate the values of the major types of wetlands in Southern Ontario Southern Ontario wetlands provide $4.2 billion worth of sediment filtration and phosphorus removal services each year, keeping drinking water sources clean and helping to mitigate algal blooms in lakes and rivers, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo: "Economic valuation of suspended sediment and phosphorus filtration services by four different wetland types: A preliminary assessment for southern Ontario, Canada". Authored by Tariq Aziz and his supervisor professor Philippe Van Cap-

pellen, it was published in the journal Hydrological Processes. The total value of $4.2 billion in sediment and phosphorus filtration services was found based on the average rate of sediment accretion in each type of wetland in Southern Ontario and estimating how much the removal and disposal of the same amounts of sediment and phosphorus in stormwater management facilities in Ontario would cost. This study also calculated the cost of replacing wetlands' existing phosphorus

filtration function with three different human-engineered solutions. Building artificially constructed wetlands would cost an average of $2.9 billion per year to replace the free phosphorus filtration service our natural wetlands currently provide. Implementing agricultural Best Management Practices to remove an equivalent phosphorus load would cost society $13 billion annually, while expanding current wastewater treatment capacity to replace wetlands' filtration service would cost $164 billion per year.

ROYAL HASKONINGDHV AND SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC COLLABORATE ON NEREDA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS Wastewater customers will have complete lifecycle management, seamless integration of IT/OT services, and improved system diagnostics Royal HaskoningDHV announced that Schneider Electric is now a global preferred supplier for its Nereda® wastewater treatment solution. Schneider Electric is the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, and the world’s most sustainable corporation in 2021 as ranked by Corporate Knights. Royal HaskoningDHV is an independent consultancy that integrates digital technologies and software solutions to design, safeguard, and maintain the built environment.

Nereda is a sustainable and cost-effective wastewater treatment technology that purifies water using the unique features of aerobic granular sludge. With over 90 projects completed or being delivered across the world, Nereda is a well-established technology for both municipal and industrial use. As a preferred supplier, Schneider Electric will combine the capabilities of its EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert solution, the world’s first universal automation system, with the Nereda technology

to develop the next generation of Nereda Process Control. The control system will improve plant process efficiency and allow wastewater customers to have complete lifecycle management, seamless integration of IT/OT services, and improved system diagnostics for their automation systems. This new partnership with Schneider Electric is an important step to advance the Nereda technology. Additionally, the partnership opens the possibilities for leveraging digital integrations to further optimize plant performance.

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WATER & NEWS - WATER TREATMENT

GLOBAL RIVER STUDY FINDS PHARMACEUTICAL CONTAMINATION ON EVERY CONTINENT The research measured the presence of drugs such as carbamazepine and caffeine in rivers in over half of the world’s countries

A new study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world’s rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied. The new study looked at 258 rivers across the globe, to measure the presence of 61 pharmaceuticals. The researchers studied rivers in over half of the world’s countries - with rivers in 36 of these countries having never previously been monitored for pharmaceuticals. The study forms part of the University of York-led Global Monitoring of Pharmaceuticals Project, which has expanded significantly over the last two years, with the new study becoming the first truly global-scale investigation of medicinal contamination in the environment. The researchers’ findings can be summarized as follows: (i) pharmaceutical

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pollution is contaminating water on every continent; (ii) strong correlations between the socioeconomic status of a country and higher pollution of pharmaceuticals in its rivers (with lower-middle income nations the most polluted); (iii) high levels of pharmaceutical pollution was most positively associated with regions of high median age as well as high local unemployment and poverty rates; (iv) the most polluted countries and regions of the world are the ones that have been researched the least (namely sub-Saharan Africa, South America and parts of southern Asia); (v) the activities most associated with the highest levels of pharmaceutical pollution included rubbish dumping along river banks, inadequate wastewater infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing, and the dump-

ing of the contents of residual septic tanks into rivers. The study revealed that a quarter of the sites contained contaminants (such as sulfamethoxazole, propranolol, ciprofloxacin and loratadine) at potentially harmful concentrations. The study found that the Manzanares, the river that runs through Madrid in Spain, is the most drug-polluted river among those analysed in Europe. The researchers hope that by increasing the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in the environment, they can develop strategies to limit the effects potentially caused by the presence of pollutants. The study included noteworthy rivers such as the Amazon, Mississippi, Thames and the Mekong. Water samples were obtained from sites spanning from a Yanomami Village in Venezuela, where modern medicines are not used, to some of the most populated cities on the planet. While previous studies have monitored active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs) in rivers, these have ignored many of the countries of the world, have typically measured only a select few contaminants, and employed different analytical methods. Cumulatively, this has made it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. The researchers suggest their approach could also be expanded in the future to include other environmental media such as sediments, soils and biota, and could allow for the development of global-scale datasets on pollution.

DIGITAL

FEATURE

SEKO examines how 5G, the Internet of Things and a growing need for data on demand are influencing the development of pump technology in the water-treatment sector.

SEKO

As the second decade of the fourth industrial revolution continues, we’re witnessing a fascinating, fast-moving development that began within the consumer market and is now rapidly progressing into the manufacturing and industrial automation sectors. This technological growth, commonly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), is a meeting of smart device technology and data generation, processing and accessibility. Within the consumer sector, this has resulted in the rapid creation of the smart home, where users benefit from the ability to remotely control a multitude of household appliances – from lighting and heating to kitchen appliances, security devices and entertainment systems – via computers, smartphones and tablets. And there’s no sign of this boom slowing any time soon, as Statistica estimates that the worldwide installed base of internet-connected devices will increase from 10 billion today to more than 25 billion by the end of the decade. Outside of the consumer sector, a branch of IoT has emerged within industries including manufacturing, healthcare and water treatment. Known as Industry

Integrating technology in physical devices can help improve operational efficiency, energy consumption and environmental impact 62

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4.0 or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the integration of technology in physical devices can help managers make significant improvements to operational efficiency, energy consumption and environmental impact. This cutting-edge technology is now changing what is possible in traditional motor-driven, solenoid and peristaltic pump applications, including liquid transfer and chemical dosing in processes as varied as swimming pool, wastewater and cooling water treatment. From flocculation and coagulation to pH correction and countless other water-treatment applications, operators seeking to improve efficiency and sustainability are increasingly specifying web-enabled pump systems. For example, the capacity for ‘live’ document sharing creates the potential for equipment manufacturers to update digital installation guides and operating manuals to reflect changes in design or software and immediately upload the latest revisions to the cloud. This allows unlimited changes to be made, saves significantly on printing costs and means engineers and operators always have access to up-to-date literature. As well as accelerating installation, setup and commissioning, man-

SEKO

IoT-enabled systems allow water-treatment operators to monitor chemical dosing systems on multiple sites from anywhere in the world

SEKO’s Elektra digital dosing pump controller brings data on demand to the operator’s smartphone

agers can reduce associated time and costs while helping to ensure a smoother user experience. During equipment operation, IoT systems receive information from pump sensors which are constantly harvesting data on multiple values – including cycle status, chemical consumption and vibration monitoring. With both historical and real-time data at their fingertips 24/7, users can make informed decisions relating to system performance and perform immediate adjustments to formulas, flow rate, unit of measure and other parameters as well as altering pump operating modes such as manual, batch and timed. As well as making instant efficiency improvements, operators are able to budget with greater accuracy and confidence while streamlining stored chemical volume – especially useful on small sites where space is at a premium.

Additionally, many web-connected pump systems have the capacity to convert chemical consumption volume into the equivalent financial value, which allows projected savings to be precisely calculated when considering dosing adjustments. These figures may also be presented to senior management in order to justify programme changes or to demonstrate performance improvement in monetary terms. Many pre-Industry 4.0 dosing pump systems incorporate some form of

Many web-connected pump systems have the capacity to convert chemical consumption volume into the equivalent financial value - MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Elektra features a built-in Wi-Fi hub to allow access to data and programmes from even the most remote sites

IoT and real-time data mean operators can be anywhere in the world and remain as effective as they would in front of the machine fault-logging system, with the significant drawback that these are not always checked regularly, let alone actioned. This is often a consequence of the reactive “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy where apart from minimal maintenance, equipment may be left to run if there are no visible issues and processes are operational. Now, IoT-based systems enable users to receive smartphone notifications as soon as faults occur, meaning defects can be immediately identified and remedial action planned to take place outside normal operating hours when disruption can be minimized. This yields a vast improvement in the efficiency of equipment maintenance, repair and upgrade planning while avoiding costly and inconvenient unplanned downtime. As well as overall system health, IoT technology even allows the performance

IoT technology even allows the performance and status of specific pump components such as bearings, couplings and belts to be assessed 64

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and status of specific pump components such as bearings, couplings and belts to be assessed. This means that the operator can be alerted immediately should a part be due for replacement, facilitating maintenance while also driving aftermarket sales for suppliers. Meanwhile, this component and system data allows manufacturers themselves to benefit from IoT by monitoring trends, user preferences and common problems in order to refine equipment and continuously improve their product offering. It’s not only the efficiency of equipment and utilities that can be improved. For businesses running across multiple sites in different countries or even continents, IoT and the leveraging of real-time data means operations management can be anywhere in the world and still be as effective as they would be whilst stood in front of the machine’s controller. The ability for one operator to remotely manage pump systems across multiple sites may also be useful for addressing the water-treatment sector’s well-reported lack of skilled technical personnel, caused by retirements in an ageing workforce. This is especially true in water-treatment systems within smaller commu-

nities, where lone, long-serving operators may possess extensive knowledge of idiosyncratic systems that may not be recorded or documented. In this situation, a sudden retirement, illness, or period of extended leave has the potential to significantly impair system operations. Plus, wasted journeys by technicians – who may travel a considerable distance to assess a pump’s condition as part of routine maintenance only to find it in perfect working order – can be eliminated, as engineers need only be deployed when required. This is particularly timely post-coronavirus when the remote-working trend established during the pandemic has seen many operators continue to work at least partially from home and

SEKO

Online access to pump data can help operators identify faults and schedule maintenance before they cause costly unplanned downtime.

the integration of IoT has begun to be seen as an expectation rather than a bonus. We can see that the influence of IoT on the pump industry is almost overwhelmingly positive and as technology advances will only make life easier for operators. However, as with most devices, connecting pump systems to the internet immediately makes them vulnerable to cyber-attacks, where just one breach of security can have a potentially devastating impact on safety, cost and reputation. It’s therefore vital that equipment manufacturers employ robust processes in the design of secure products and back them up with world-class training and ongoing support for operatives.

At a time when 5G is opening yet more possibilities for high-speed, ultra-reliable IoT, the global pump industry is primed to see where technology will take Industry 4.0 in 2022 and beyond. SEKO is a global manufacturer of chemical dosing systems for multiple industry sectors and has great experience in the design, production and supply of equipment for processes as varied as potable water, swimming pool water and cooling tower water treatment. These include Elektra, an IoT-enabled digital controller that allows operators of water-treatment processes to programme their equipment and access live and historic dosing pump data on demand from any location via smartphone.

This allows managers working remotely to analyse pump performance and make instant programming adjustments to save energy, water and chemicals while reducing the environmental impact of their application. Elektra is currently available for use with Spring series of motor-driven dosing pumps, with compatibility planned for devices across the SEKO range going forward.

The influence of IoT on the pump industry is almost overwhelmingly positive and as technology advances will make life easier for operators

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OPINION

JOHN DAVIES CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, MARKET OPERATOR SERVICES LIMITED (MOSL)

WATER RETAIL MARKET PLOTS COURSE TO A SMARTER FUTURE As water companies in England and Wales prepare investment of standardisation means that there are multiple AMR meter plans for the next five-year period, the gap between water reading technologies in the market, which drives up the cost supply and demand is more finely balanced than ever. Pres- and complexity for retailers. sures from increasing demand, population growth and climate Although it’s tempting to assume that ‘smart is the answer’, change mean that the majority of regions in England are now it is not that simple. Smart meters offer significant benefits, but under “serious water stress”. the costs are substantial, both in terms of the meters - particuTo help manage demand and reduce leakage, companies need larly for larger/industrial supplies - and the cost of the network access to timely, accurate consumption data – and that begins infrastructure. with investing in water meters. This may sound simple, but the In practice, it’s likely that the solution will require a combined metering landscape is complex – with ageing meter assets and approach of AMI and AMR technology. Whatever the technolometering improvement programmes varying by regions. gy, what matters is that the meter reading data is captured and, England’s 23 million households currently consume around 70% importantly, standardised so that it can be stored as accurate and of the country’s water supply, but only around half have metered up-to-date data in the market’s central system, known as CMOS. supplies. The remaining 30% of water is consumed by just over a This is where MOSL, the market operator for the non-household million non-household (NHH) cuswater market, can play a key role. Imtomers, of which just 1% consume proving the quality and timeliness of England’s 23 million half of the NHH market’s total water consumption data in the non-house(in Wales, only customers consumhold market and increasing the numhouseholds currently consume ing >50 megalitres are part of the ber of meter reads is a key priority and around 70% of the country’s non-household market). This, and is at the core of two of our improvethe fact that nearly 90% of NHH ment programmes: Strategic Meterwater supply, but only around customers have a metered supply, ing Review and Data Insight. half have metered supplies makes these customers ideal for tarWe are currently pursuing initiageted water efficiency measures. tives to help resolve a number of meThe NHH market is complex in other ways too. For example, tering challenges, such as defining and reducing the number of retailers own the relationship with customers, including reading ‘hard to read’ meters. We are also facilitating conversations with meters and billing customers, whereas wholesalers own the me- water companies to explore options to develop industry solutions ter and are responsible for maintenance and replacement. This that will benefit not only the NHH market, but which may benseparation of responsibilities creates inefficiencies and makes efit households and, importantly, support water efficiency savings. investment planning more difficult. Key to this is to ensure an open dialogue not only with wholesalWhile there are differences in metering coverage, both mar- ers operating in different parts of the country, but between wholekets could benefit from the introduction of enhanced metering salers and the retailers they work with to ensure that any solutions technology, which includes ‘smart’ meters - Advanced Metering we develop are future-proofed, standardised and efficient. Infrastructure (AMI) – and add-on Automatic Meter Reading We have recently commissioned independent research into (AMR) technology that enables traditional ‘dumb’ meters to be the potential business case for the implementation of enhanced read remotely by walking or driving past. metering technology, which companies will be able to use as evOf the 1.3 m meters in the NHH market, just 1% are ‘smart’ idence to support their PR24 and Water Resource Management (AMI). A further 24% have a form of AMR, although the lack Plan submissions at this critical time in the market’s evolution.

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OPINION

SAMANTHA F. RAVICH & TREVOR LOGAN CHAIR & RESEARCH ANALYST, CENTER ON CYBER AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES

IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE SHORTCOMINGS OF CYBERSECURITY IN THE WATER INDUSTRY In the United States, there are 16 “critical infrastructure” sec- seem like an obvious fix to a long-standing problem. However, tors so vital for the fundamental health, safety, and prosperity of the U.S. federal government’s grants and low-interest loans of the country that their incapacitation or destruction would to water utilities, Washington has spent less than one percent have catastrophic or even existential effects on the nation. The on cybersecurity projects. water sector may be the most crucial. Governments must also resource and organize their own Over the last two decades, water utilities have incorporated agencies to be able to provide expertise and technical assistance automation technologies to provide reliable water to the pub- to secure the water sector from physical and cyber threats. In lic. However, this digitization has also exposed them to mali- the United States, this is the job of the Environmental Proteccious cyber actors looking to deny or disrupt services. tion Agency, but for decades the agency has fallen short. The threat is not theoretical. From Atlanta to Seattle, AmerBetter public-private collaboration between the water inica’s water systems are under sustained attack. In August dustry, threat information sharing institutions, and the intelli2021, malicious cyber actors deployed ransomware against a gence community are necessary. Pairing operational knowledge California-based wastewater facility. Earlier that year, hackers of specific water facilities by private actors with government breached two Maine-based facilities. Probably the most well- expertise on evolving trends in cyberattacks and defense can known attack occurred one year facilitate timely and concrete acago when a hacker accessed and tion to protect vital water and Governments must help briefly manipulated the chemicals wastewater systems. used to treat drinking water for Countries should consider estabempower businesses, localities, the city of Oldsmar, Florida. lishing a joint industry-government and entities at the heart of At the Foundation for Defense of oversight program to increase the Democracies’ Center on Cyber and cybersecurity of the water sector. the sector as opposed to Technology Innovation, we recently The hallmark of this partnership is creating more bureaucracy published a report warning of the for industry experts to identify the significant cybersecurity deficiencies technical standards for the water in drinking water and wastewater systems. We urged the U.S. organizations, while the respective governments can provide government to devote more resources and collaborate more close- support and, if necessary, enforcement of regulations to ensure ly with industry to move the entire sector in the right direction. that a baseline of cybersecurity readiness and investment is met. Our fundamental belief is that governments must help emSince antiquity, poisoning of an enemy’s water source was a power the businesses, localities, and entities at the heart of tried-and-true strategy to sow terror and decimate a populathe sector as opposed to creating more top-down government tion. The modern equivalent is now playing out in the targeting bureaucracy. With the large numbers of water utilities in the of the cyber backbone of the water sector. This essential lifeline United States, this is the only path that can yield a timely and sector itself will need to recognize its vulnerabilities and take efficient outcome. long overdue measures to bolster its cyber defenses. The time National governments around the world should establish for governments to make significant investments into cybersegrant programs for initiatives that bolster cybersecurity resil- curity for the water sector has arrived. While there will be other ience. Cybersecurity grants are particularly beneficial for small- vital sources clamoring for scarce funding, expertise, and other er and rural water organizations that may otherwise not have resources, countries should keep in mind a sobering fact: A perthe budget or capacity to invest in cybersecurity. This may son can survive without water for only 3 days.

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WATER & NEWS - DIGITAL

COMPANIES REDUCE EMISSIONS BY UP TO 19% THROUGH DIGITAL TOOLS Artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and 3-D modelling are key to supporting existing transformations Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has released a new report analysing the essential role that digital innovation can play in advancing sustainability and efficiency. Created in partnership with CNBC Catalyst, Unlocking a sustainable future: Why digital solutions are the key to sustainable business transformation outlines how companies and institutions leverage digital technology to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, transition to renewable energy and build more transparent supply chains. Notable insights in the report include: J How IBM deploys AI and blockchain-based solutions to build a more transparent and low-carbon supply chain. J Intelligent lighting, rainwater collection and energy derived from cooking oil reduce 19% of GHG emission across Swire Properties’ portfolio. J Engineering firm Jacobs helps the city of London analyse billions of data points to model a transport system with 80% of trips using zero-carbon modes. J How Tata Power’s rooftop solar monitoring and management system helps customers in over 90 Indian cities produce the equivalent of 258 barrels of oil through renewable energy. The commitments made during the November UN COP26 climate change meeting will reshape the agenda for global business. An expected acceleration of activity to address climate points toward net-zero emissions as an organizing principle for business. The scale of the climate

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emergency requires organizations in every industry to mobilize now to boost efficiency. Digital technology presents the straightest path to achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the COP26 agreement. “The outcomes of COP26 underline the urgent need for businesses to take ownership of sustainability and work towards becoming more energy efficient now,” says Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric. “The next decade will be the one where digital technology puts sustainability ambition into action. With 70% of emissions reduction achievable with existing, proven and competitive technologies, this report is testament to how organizations can apply the digital tools of today to help us arrive at the net-zero future the planet depends on.” Unlocking a sustainable future: Why digital solutions are the key to sustainable busi-

ness transformation features useful case studies from businesses and institutions, including Swire Properties, Equinix, IBM, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Jacobs, Singapore Management University, Tata Power, and the University of Oxford. It illustrates how these organizations have broken ground on digital efficiency, with key stakeholders relaying their digital sustainability experience. By integrating human and machine intelligence, the companies featured have capitalized on the ability of algorithms and high-powered computing to create change in essential areas such as energy use, city design, resource consumption, supply chain efficiency, and power generation. Digital technology investments can create significant business value when deployed with the right partner to drive momentum.

XYLEM AND ISLE UTILITIES PARTNER TO HELP WATER UTILITIES PILOT AND SCALE INNOVATIVE WATER TECH The “Trial Reservoir” is a new funding source for trials of new technologies that reduce carbon emissions of water systems Xylem has announced it is sponsoring an innovative new funding mechanism for water utilities to deploy promising new technologies. The partnership with water consultancy Isle Utilities is a new approach to funding and scaling breakthrough water technologies, called the “Trial Reservoir.” It provides water tech innovators access to capital for pilot projects, with an initial focus on technologies that reduce the carbon emissions of water systems. The Trial Reservoir will make a pool of funding available to early-stage

technology companies, giving them the capacity to undertake trial deployments with water utilities. The ‘reservoir’ of funding will be replenished from the proceeds of commercial contracts when the trials move to full deployments. Xylem is a foundation sponsor of the initiative along with other leading water sector partners. “Innovation and new approaches to water management will be essential for cities and communities to solve their increasing water challenges and de-

crease their carbon footprint,” said Sivan Zamir, head of Xylem Innovation Labs. The Trial Reservoir is open to technology vendors around the world, actively supporting trials in high, medium and low-income countries. The only requirement is that the technology being tested must help reduce the carbon footprint of the water system, be that a municipal utility or an industrial/commercial water user. The Trial Reservoir expects to fund its first utility pilots in the first quarter of 2022.

HOW DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION REDUCE COSTS IN THE WATER INDUSTRY? GoAigua technology brings together digital water infrastructure components to reduce water management costs Digital transformation helps us to streamline operating and maintenance costs in integrated water-cycle services and infrastructure. According to Francisco Javier Salguero, Operations Director at Idrica, SMEs have already factored digital transformation plans into their objectives and in larger companies, CEOs are already introducing digital transformation into their business culture. The digital transformation process can be defined as implementing new technologies in all areas of a company

to change the way it operates. Salguero points out that it is important to nuance two concepts in this definition: "new technologies" and "all areas", since we usually associate digital transformation with infrastructure, and with data and sensor technology, but the process actually involves much more than this. The first thing we need to ask ourselves is what we want to save money on. And to answer this question, we need to know exactly what our goals are. For example, in a drinking water distribution

system, the objective is for citizens to have sufficient, good quality drinking water at home. When talking about savings, we should not only think about costs, but also about all the hard work the service requires: the staff (human capital) and the resources (water, energy and chemicals) we need to minimize in order to be more sustainable. But we can’t stop there; technology is key in services with limited resources or old infrastructure, and it also helps to improve customer satisfaction.

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OPINION

CHAIM KOLOMINSKAS MANAGER EVS WATER, ENVIROSUITE

HOW MUCH SHOULD THE WATER INDUSTRY TRUST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? Identification and interpretation of patterns and relationships Deterministic models are also by their very nature not conduin the vast amounts of data collected by water utilities has the cive to forecasting. potential to drive better operating decisions and drive reducThe water industry needs to change to meet increasingly tions in cost, however, engineers and decision makers are scep- stringent operational, regulatory and environmental requiretical of using artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning ments, as well as the needs of surrounding communities. Un(ML) as standalone approaches. derstanding the implications of what doing something differAlgorithms are often presented and sold as ‘black boxes’ ent would look like is, however, a key challenge still facing that produce non-transparent, unexplainable outcomes, and water utilities. It is currently difficult to measure or understand require constant oversight and supervision. Large amounts of the applicability of alternative operating scenarios. Operators clean, historical and granular data are needed to be accurate. and engineers must either live test and see what happens, take More importantly, experienced operators and practitioners in part of the plant offline to run tests or run offline simulations the industry see the lack of connection to the industry itself or studies. This is slow and impractical. Leaders in the sector as a weakness. An ML model on its own does not care about are looking to alternative options such as digital twin techthe industry that it is applied to and makes no connection nology as a way of creating a virtual representation of their to the accepted physics, chemistry operations, where changes can be and biology of the process. How simulated - and implications unDeterministic and should the water industry realise derstood - quickly and with no the benefits that AI can delivimpact to business-as-usual operAI learning approaches er, while managing the risks that ations. Automated deterministic should be used together as come with the approach? models, connected in near reDigitalisation is driving change al-time, are ideal for this purpose, the industry continues along in the water and wastewater treatbut they are reactive and cannot its journey of digitalisation ment sectors, just as it is in other deliver useful projections on what industrial and corporate environyou should do to avoid an issue. ments. Water and wastewater treatment plants collect more Hybrid approaches that combine deterministic and AI apdata than ever before. Control and treatment equipment is proaches can overcome the limitations of both methods. Deincreasingly augmented with sensors that collect data to sup- terministic modelling can be used to represent total process port control of the process. performance, grounded in accepted science of the industry As engineers and plant managers, we know and trust deter- with AI used to drive accurate forecasts and recommendations ministic models. These models have proven reliable over the for short-term actions to improve performance. Keeping peryears to represent and simulate processes such as chemical re- sonnel involved to oversee and implement recommendations actions in drinking water or industrial wastewater treatment. remains important while trust is built in the system. At EnviIf the inputs into a process are known, the model can produce rosuite, we see the value in both deterministic and AI learning a set of outputs that we use to make decisions. It’s accepted approaches and believe that they should be used together as that best practice models can represent a process accurately the industry continues along its journey of digitalisation. As enough to be used to understand the implications of chang- approaches evolve and improve, we look forward to the further es to the process. However, these approaches are manual and opportunities that AI could deliver to the water industry, as traditionally require substantial technical expertise to drive. long as we keep the humans in the loop.

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WATER SECURITY

INTERVIEW

JULIETTE

LASSMAN

POLICY ANALYST, WATER GOVERNANCE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY UNIT CITIES, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN POLICIES DIVISION

CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMES, REGIONS AND CITIES (CFE). OECD

“Common water governance challenges are related to financial resources, human capacity and stakeholder engagement” The OECD refers to water governance as a set of rules, practices, and processes through which decisions for the management of water resources and services are taken and implemented, and decision-makers are held accountable.

Cristina Novo Pérez

"Water crises are often primarily governance crises," emphasizes the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD’s water governance work supports inclusive societies and environmental sustainability; they provide guidance to governments at all levels on how to design and implement water policies to ultimately improve quality of life. In this interview, Juliette Lassman, a policy analyst focusing on water governance and circular economy, gives us some insights into how the or-

"The OECD Water Governance Programme has extended its geographical scope, developed new projects on the circular and the blue economy" 72

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ganization sets about finding solutions to governance challenges related to water. Could you share with us your career path and your current role in the OECD? Since completing my Master in management majoring in economics at IESEG, Lille (France), my interests and career have very much focused on the intersection between environmental, social and economic issues. I started by working on a portfolio of green water infrastructure solutions as part of a broader economic development project in Mexico City, during an internship at the World Resources Institute’s Mexican office. Then, at the OECD’s International Transport Forum, I worked on the economic implications of decarbonising air transport and the regulation of innovative urban mobility. Currently, I am a policy analyst within the Water Governance and Circular Economy Unit in the OECD

Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE). I contribute to our analytical (e.g. “policy dialogues” with local and national governments) and thematic work (e.g. on Cities for a blue economy), and disseminate the results via international events and platforms such as the OECD Water Governance Initiative and the OECD Roundtable on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions. Can you tell us about recent developments in the OECD Water Governance Programme? Over the past three years, the OECD Water Governance Programme has extended its geographical scope, developed new programmes and projects on the circular and the blue economy, and continued supporting the implementation of the OECD Principles on Water Governance.

JULIETTE LASSMAN

We have been intensively working in the African, Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions. As part of the Programme’s work on Africa, we carried out a survey across 36 African cities and analysed the results in the OECD report on Water Governance in African Cities (2021). We also worked closely with the city of Cape Town, South Africa, at the time when the risk of “Day Zero” was just behind them. The reflection on how to enhance water resilience led to the publication of the report on Water Governance in Cape Town, South Africa (2021). As a follow up, we will launch the Roundtable of African Mayors for Water Security at the 9th World Water Forum in March in Dakar, Senegal. In the LAC region, we published a report on Water Governance in Peru (2021), the result of a two-year policy dialogue with 175 stakeholders across all levels of government in Peru, and

on Fostering Water Resilience in Brazil (2022), the result of a three-year policy dialogue with the Brazilian National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA). Finally, in the OECD report on Water Governance in Asia-Pacific (2021), we analysed the state of play of water governance in the region’s 48 countries. The assessment shows that although water policy frameworks and coordination mechanisms are in place and considered to be functioning in most countries, important gaps relating to capacity, data and information, regulatory frameworks and stakeholder engagement remain. Action is urgently needed to address water risks exacerbated by climate change, urbanisation, and strong economic and demographic growth. To support water-resilient and sustainable economic development across levels of government, we launched the OECD project Cities for a blue econo-

my at COP26 (Glasgow, UK, November 2021). The project aims to raise the profile of cities in the blue economy, as the blue economy conversation has largely taken place at the national level until now. It will support willing cities to create the governance framework and enable conditions for a Resilient, Inclusive, Sustainable and Circular (RISCProof ) blue economy. It builds on the OECD Principles on Water Governance and the OECD Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions. We will present preliminary findings from a global survey on the governance of the blue economy in cities at COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022. Finally, the Programme continues to support governments with the implementation of the OECD Principles on Water Governance. After the co-development of the Principles with members of the OECD Water Governance Initiative in 2015 and the OECD Water Governance Indicator Framework (2018), the next step consists of the Capacity-Building Toolkit for Self-Assessment, which will be launched at the 9th World Water Forum. The Toolkit is a turnkey solution to support governments and other stakeholders in using the Principles and the Indicator Framework to assess water governance systems through multi-stakeholder dialogues. How has water governance evolved in different regions of the world since the OECD Water Governance Initiative was launched in 2013?

"The OECD project Cities for a blue economy launched at COP26 in Glasgow aims to raise the profile of cities in the blue economy"

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INTERVIEW The global landscape has changed a lot over the past ten years. Economic and demographic growth, as well as urbanisation, have remained rampant, especially in emerging regions such as Africa and Asia-Pacific. With an average economic growth rate of 6% in emerging Asia and a projected additional 750 million inhabitants by 2050 in the Asia-Pacific region, the region’s water resources will be under increasing pressure. Extreme weather-related events have grown and wrought havoc: in the past 15 years, floods and landslides have affected 38 million people in Africa and caused an estimated USD 4 billion in damages. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical importance of sanitation, hygiene and adequate access to clean water to contain the spread of the virus, especially for the 3 billion people lacking basic handwashing facilities and those in precarious living conditions. Despite these transformations, many concepts developed ten years ago remain valid. The continued use of the OECD Principles on Water Governance as a guiding framework to assess water governance is proof of this relevance. In 2018, a survey of the 170 stakeholders having endorsed the Principles highlighted that 80% of respondents had been using them to facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue, assess water governance performance, guide reform processes and practices, build capacities, and/or develop research. The OECD has observed growing emphasis on the role of local government

"The Principles on Water Governance are used to facilitate dialogue, assess performance, guide reform, build capacities, and in research" 74

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toward greater water security; the need for a systemic approach to water policies; and increasing attention on water justice. For example, Water Governance in African Cities (2021) highlighted the rise of local leadership in water policy over the past decade. Among the 38 African cities surveyed by the OECD, 75% have adopted dedicated local policies, investment plans and programmes for drinking water and sanitation. The report suggests that local leaders could play a stronger role in addressing the mismatch between hydrological and administrative boundaries by managing water resources within integrated basin systems. On the shift to a systemic approach, there is growing awareness on the link between water and climate, biodiversity, land use, energy and waste, among others. The first-ever Water Pavilion at COP26 is a testimony to the growing recognition of water’s role in climate mitigation and adaptation. However, in some cases, there is still an important gap between policy and practice. For instance, OECD work on Scaling up Nature-based Solutions to Tackle Water-related Climate Risks (2021) has shown that despite the fact most OECD countries now include water-related nature-based solutions (NBS) in their adaptation plans, very few countries (2 out of 27 surveyed) believe their NBS implementation is in line with stated policy ambitions. Finally, in relation to water justice, increasing attention is being paid to underrepresented groups in water governance. The OECD Principles call for engaging under-represented stakeholders and vulnerable people in decision-making and implementation. This is the case in many countries. Nevertheless, there is room for making water governance more inclusive, increasing access to safer drinking water and sanitation, and protecting the most vulnerable from water disasters. For example, the OECD report on Water Governance in Asia-Pacific (2021) shows that just 20% of countries in the region

have provisions to protect indigenous and traditional rights in their water policy frameworks. The OECD has been working on water governance challenges in African cities. Could you highlight some lessons learned? First, African cities face significant water-related risks. Floods are the most frequent and widespread water-related disaster in Africa; combined with landslides, they have affected 38 million people and caused an estimated USD 4 billion in damage over the past 15 years. African cities also face drought and water scarcity, and by 2030, it is estimated 75-250 million people in Africa will be living in areas of high water stress, potentially displacing 24-700 million due

JULIETTE LASSMAN nancial and human resources meet the magnitude of challenges to deal with. Raising awareness of water-related risks by engaging with stakeholders is an important priority according to 45% of the 36 respondents to the OECD survey. This problem is compounded by funding issues as more than 85% of sub-Saharan African countries reported that financial resources were less than half of those needed to support community participation in 2017. This highlights how addressing the funding gap has the potential to bridge other water governance gaps. The OECD report also highlights the importance of building local capacity for taking place-based action on water security. Developing capacity and cityto-city learning will be one of the key objectives of the OECD Roundtable of African Mayors for Water Security, to be launched at the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

to difficult living conditions. These risks are exacerbated by megatrends, notably by urban growth and climate change. Africa's urban population will account for 60% of the continent's population by 2050, and two-thirds of African cities are at "extreme" risk of climate-related shocks according to the Climate Vulnerability Index. A key lesson learned from the OECD report on Water Governance in African Cities concerns the increasing involvement of local authorities in enhancing water security. Although water policy is driven at national level in most African countries, the last decade has seen an increasing leadership of city governments. A significant share of the 36 surveyed cities of all sizes have dedicated local policies, investment plans and programmes

for drinking water and sanitation (75%) and water resource management (42%). The majority (80%) of cities having adopted these local policies report that they contribute to overcoming silos that often result in poor planning and policy coherence and misaligned incentives. In fact, local water policies usually facilitate co-ordination with strategic urban development policies (e.g., housing, land use and solid waste). They also include targeted measures for vulnerable categories of the population. Nevertheless, local authorities in Africa face three main obstacles to good water governance: a lack of funding (42%), a lack of human capacity (40%), and a low level of infrastructure investment (36%). Another lesson is about making sure that stakeholders are engaged and fi-

Which elements of water governance are the most problematic when governments undertake water policy reforms? There is no simple answer to this question as the obstacles largely depend on the local context. However, the OECD’s latest work on water governance in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America highlight common challenges related to financial resources, human capacity and stakeholder engagement. On financing, 42% and 36% of African cities surveyed respectively highlighted the lack of funding and the low level of infrastructure investment as the main obstacles to good water gover-

"The first-ever Water Pavilion at COP26 is a testimony to the growing recognition of water’s role in climate mitigation and adaptation"

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INTERVIEW

The lack of capacity across levels of government hampers the use of economic instruments for water resources management nance. In Asia-Pacific, the funding gap stems from the unclear allocation of financial resources in water policies. While the large majority of countries (83%) in the region have dedicated water policies, 82% of which indicate clear objectives and responsibilities, almost all countries’ water policies (90%) fail to clearly indicate the resources needed to achieve the objectives. This leads to under-funded mandates and hampers water policy implementation. In Peru, the government has adopted economic and financial instruments for water resources management (e.g., abstraction charges and payments for groundwater), but they are set too low to collect the revenues needed to bridge the current 46 USD million funding gap by 2035. The lack of capacity across levels of government is another crucial obstacle to good water governance in both regions.

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It is the second most prominent obstacle among African cities, according to 40% of the cities surveyed. This hampers the use of economic instruments for water resources management (e.g., water abstraction and pollution charges), which could help to fund water resources management in African cities. However, this requires a capacity to produce, update and share consistent and comparable data and information. In Brazil, the capacity to plan for water security requires improving data collection from different disciplines (e.g. hydrology, ecology and social science), integrating data collection and planning processes, and using scenarios to understand risk and uncertainty. In Asia-Pacific, the widespread lack of water-related data and information stems from a capacity gap: only onethird of countries have adopted guidelines or standards for capacity building across levels of government. The information and monitoring gap is exacerbated by the lack of capacity and results in a low absorption rate of international grants and transfers. In addition, three out of four African cities have not yet carried out a stakeholder mapping, which is generally the first step to guide and build stakeholder engagement processes, for their water

sector. In Asia-Pacific, the accountability gap is one of the main culprits behind low stakeholder engagement levels: fewer than 20% of countries have implemented international conventions or anti-corruption mechanisms to track budget transparency. Only three of 48 countries (Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea) have carried out a stakeholder mapping, and one-third of countries have formal or informal mechanisms to engage stakeholders. In Brazil, the OECD recommends engaging stakeholders in water resource management at river basin level to ensure a balanced and representative consultation process, paying attention to the involvement of municipalities and underserved or disadvantaged communities. Can you comment on the links between water governance and climate resilience? Water is increasingly included in climate resilience strategies, especially in cities. For instance, water is a key part of the city of Salvador’s (Brazil) Resilience Strategy and Climate Action Plan. As part of the plan, the city supports a start-up using a bio-based process to eliminate and bio-transform pollutants into high added-value biomass and bioproducts. By preventing pollutants from entering the ocean, the city boosts ocean health and protects natural assets, notably mangroves and coral reefs, which play an important role in climate resilience by acting as a natural flood barrier. However, many countries continue to take a reactive (risk management) approach rather than being proactive (resilience-based approach), even though climate change is already exacerbating water risks and putting water resilience to the test. A shift from risk management to resilience is needed in water governance frameworks for climate resilience, as the OECD recommends in its latest water governance report on Fostering Water

JULIETTE LASSMAN

The OECD Water Governance and Circular Economy Unit. Left to right: Ander Eizaguirre, Mélissa Kerim-Dikeni, Oriana Romano (Head of Unit), and Juliette Lassman.

Resilience in Brazil (2022). This should be a shared responsibility across levels of government and stakeholders. As such, national and local governments can ensure water is valued adequately, leverage green infrastructure and improve infrastructure planning. To value water adequately, governments should set up a tariff framework that considers the degree of water scarcity among other factors and follows the “user pays” principle. In the case of Brazil, which is facing increasing water scarcity, the OECD suggested developing drought management plans that set out pre-agreed accountabilities and actions agreed with stakeholders across all sectors beyond water, including agriculture and industry for instance.

Utilities can also play a role by planning infrastructure for water resilience. They can do so by improving infrastructure design; avoiding reliance on a single type of asset; and improving their incident response processes so that failures are dealt with quickly before they can cause any consequential failures. What are the OECD’s priorities in the area of water policy for the next decade? With the aim of creating “better policies for better lives”, the continued intention of the OECD Water Governance Programme is to support better water policies across all levels of government: national, regional and local, to improve people’s lives. The Cities for a blue economy project will drive action on climate mitigation and adapta-

tion by supporting resilient, sustainable and circular blue economies in cities, and digitalisation has a key role to play in doing so. At the same time, we will continue to support governments in reaching SDG 6 on water and sanitation by 2030, under the commitment to “leave no one behind”. Inclusiveness and justice will be key elements for water governance in the next decade.

"A lesson learned from the Water Governance in African Cities report is the increasing involvement of local authorities in water security"

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OPINION

DR HASSAN ABOELNGA & MS AYAT SOLIMAN RESEARCHER AND CHAIR OF URBAN WATER SECURITY AT INTERNATIONAL WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION & REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR THE WORLD BANK GROUP'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (MNA) REGION

“Water is life” is such a popular phrase that we use it almost as transformation areas to build low-carbon, resilient societies: a cliché. But that same expression is one of the most powerful Food systems, water security and resilient natural capital; Energy calls-to-action during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure ur- transition and low-carbon mobility; Climate-smart cities and reban water security and the sustainable management of water silient coastal economies; Sustainable finance for climate action. and sanitation swiftly and effectively for all (SDG6). Water is at the heart of sustainable development and climate action is crit- MENA’s urban water security in the face of climate change: ical for socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems and The urgent need for action human dignity. Water is also at the core of climate adaptation, The demand for urban water supply in MENA has grown steadiserving as the crucial link between the climate system, liveli- ly in the last decades, during which water demand has been hood and the environment. As highlighted in a recent World locked into irrigated agriculture or left stranded assets. Thus, we Bank report (Uncharted Waters: The New Economics of Water need to look at successes in capping water use across different Scarcity and Variability), the changing climate will bring about uses, in particular in cities and agriculture. Water withdrawals more droughts and floods with increasing consequences on for agriculture in MENA are about 85 percent and represent a farms, firms and households. significant source of employment. However, the lack of compliThe region is highly urbanized ance with restrictions on agricultural (about 76% urban population), withdrawals, particularly groundwaThe MENA region has and its water utilities face challengter, is pushing up the cost of water es in serving the growing urban for cities as supply-side solutions are the greatest expected economic population well. MENA has a high brought forward. Given the impacts loss from climate-related proportion of GDP spent on pubof water scarcity and climate change, lic water subsidies (about 2% of the region needs to rapidly scale up water scarcity, estimated at regional GDP), making water serits inspiring breakthroughs and ini6-14% of GDP by 2050 vices increasingly unaffordable for tiatives in managing water resources. utilities/central government. With The water crisis is already evident few exceptions, utilities cannot reform tariffs to cover opera- in the MENA region, varying in scale and intensity at different tions costs. Utility management across much of the region is times of the year. 60% of the population is affected by high or weak, with significant water losses to leakage and unauthorized very high water stress, compared to a global average of about use. The volume of non-revenue water is estimated at 15 BCM 35%. Two-thirds of all freshwater resources originate outside a year, not far short of the total installed annual desalination the region, resulting in countries’ dependence on shared water capacity of 17 BCM in the region. Despite the widespread in- supplies. The MENA region has the greatest expected economjection of subsidies to cover the difference between utility costs ic loss from climate-related water scarcity, estimated at 6–14 and revenue from customers, the relatively poor quality of pub- percent of GDP by 2050. lic WSS services experienced by households drives them to supplement these with more expensive alternative water sources. The five I’s to leapfrog in achieving urban water security and Against this backdrop, the World Bank Group launched the sustainable development Roadmap for Climate Action from 2021-2025 in the Middle The answer: smart, systematic investments in urban water resilEast and North Africa (MENA) to drive climate action and a ience around the five I’s that ensure communities have safe, religreen recovery in the region. The road map outlined four key able, and affordable water and that water resources are protected

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through disaster preparedness and water-sensitive infrastruc- A new generation of infrastructure projects has a critical role to ture. Urban water resilience is thus critical for many Sustainable play in meeting the climate adaptation challenge. Combining Development Goals and UN Habitat’s New Urban Agenda to this “green infrastructure” with traditional “grey infrastructure” the Paris Agreement and building back better from COVID-19. such as dams, levees, reservoirs, treatment systems and pipes can J Integration provide solutions that enhance system performance and better Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is key in protect communities. achieving water security. The Arab region has been investing for J Information a long time in linear systems (for usage and disposal). Water and Integrating data and the digital transformation in the water sector sanitation are still being treated as two separate systems, similar can help conserve water resources, connect the dots between wato surface and groundwater resources, while they are all part of ter users and water-related policies, lead to behavioural change, one system: the water cycle. Wastewater is often considered both spur innovation, and strengthen the resilience of communities, a risk and a waste that should be disposed of, as 80 percent of especially in a fragile context like the COVID-19 pandemic. wastewater is discharged directly into the natural environment J Institutions without being used. An estimated 40 to 50 percent of drinking Institutional reform processes must go hand in hand with polwater is wasted due to physical and icy and legislation. Institutional recommercial loss, a major issue conforms and incentives are critical to Innovation through new tributing to the region’s intermitenhance and sustain water supply tent water supply (IWS). and sanitation service delivery in technologies, financing, and J Innovation through new techArab countries. Water sectors in the partnerships shows huge nologies, financing, and partnerregion that have replicated solutions ships from developed countries without potential for leapfrogging Innovation in water technology much adaptation and due reference towards water security – from water supply (such as deto their political economies have salination and solar pumping) to generally failed. industrial efficiency (such as more efficient water reuse) to agTo achieve urban water security in the Arab region, we need to ricultural technologies (such as crop protection and irrigation shift away from siloed solutions to more inclusive and integrated controls) – shows huge potential for leapfrogging. ones. Business as usual is not an option. Progress requires a netPublic utilities are typically unable to meet development fi- work of ideas and for institutions to come together to develop nance demands solely through public resources and will have to solutions. Innovative solutions can offer unprecedented opporattract new sources of funding. Unlocking private sector capital tunities that can help the region leapfrog towards water security, in the Arab region for water development projects is particularly resilience and sustainable development for all. challenging due to uncertainties in return on investment. This All of the above and much more were discussed and deliberis compounded by limited regulatory and institutional frame- ated on during the 14th of February 2022 session titled, ‘Urworks that ensure democratic ownership, effectiveness and ac- ban Water Security for Sustainable Development in the Arab countability. This is where innovative solutions, such as perfor- Region,’ held during the Arab Sustainable Development Week mance-based contracts, are needed. organized by the League of Arab States. J Infrastructure (resilient infrastructure and nature-based *Some parts of the article were originally published solutions) in the World Bank blog.

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WATER & NEWS - WATER SECURITY

CO-OCCURRING DROUGHTS COULD THREATEN GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY There could be around 120 million people across the globe simultaneously exposed to severe compound droughts each year

Droughts occurring at the same time across different regions of the planet could place an unprecedented strain on the global agricultural system and threaten the water security of millions of people, according to a new study in Nature Climate Change. A Washington State University-led research team analysed climate, agricultural and population growth data to show continuing fossil fuel dependence will increase the probability of co-occurring droughts by 40% by the mid21st century and 60% by the late 21st century, relative to the late-20th century. That comes out to an approximately ninefold increase in agricultural and human population exposure to severe co-occurring droughts unless steps are taken to lower carbon emissions. Food produced in certain parts of the world

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could therefore be more susceptible to climatic hazards. “There could be around 120 million people across the globe simultaneously exposed to severe compound droughts each year by the end of the century,” said lead author Jitendra Singh, a former postdoctoral researcher at the WSU School of the Environment now at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. “Many of the regions our analysis shows will be most affected are already vulnerable and so the potential for droughts to become disasters is high.” The elevated risk of compound droughts is a result of a warming climate coupled with a projected 22% increase in the frequency of El Niño and La Niña events, the two opposite phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The researchers' projections show that nearly 75% of compound droughts in

the future will coincide with these irregular but recurring periods of climatic variation in the world's oceans, which have played a large role in some of the greatest environmental disasters in the world history. For example, El Nino-fuelled droughts that concurrently occurred across Asia, Brazil and Africa during 1876-1878 led to synchronous crop failures, followed by famines that killed more than 50 million people. “While technology and other circumstances today are a lot different than they were in the late 19th century, crop failures in multiple breadbasket regions still have the potential to affect global food availability,” said study co-author Deepti Singh, an assistant professor in the WSU School of the Environment. “This could in turn increase volatility in global food prices, affecting food access and exacerbating food insecurity”. The researchers' analysis specifically focused on ten regions of the planet that receive most of their rainfall during June-September, have high variability in monthly summer precipitation and are affected by ENSO variations, factors that lead to an increased potential for co-occurring drought. Several of the regions analysed include important agricultural regions and countries that are currently facing food and water insecurity. Their results indicate areas of North and South America are more likely to experience compound droughts in a future, warmer climate than regions of Asia, where much of the agricultural land is projected to become wetter.

SCIENTISTS WARN OF WIDESPREAD DROUGHT IN THE 21ST CENTURY A study of hydroclimatic and drought changes in model projections reaffirms widespread drying and increases in agricultural drought Drought often causes severe losses to agriculture, ecosystems and human societies. Historical records of precipitation, streamflow and observation-derived drought indices all show increased aridity since 1950s over several regions, including Africa, southern Europe, East Asia, eastern Australia, Northwest Canada, and southern Brazil. “Climate model projections also suggest that drought may become more severe and widespread as the greenhouse gas-induced global warming continues in the 21st century,” said Prof. Zhao Tianbao from the

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Zhao and Prof. Dai Aiguo from University at Albany, State University of New York, investigated hydroclimatic and drought changes in the latest projections from 25 models of the Phase Six of the Coupled Model Inetercomparison Project (CMIP6). Their results were published in the Journal of Climate on Jan. 5. The study suggests that the latest projections from CMIP6 models reaffirm the widespread drying and increases in

agricultural drought by up to 200 percent over most of the Americas (including the Amazon), Europe and the Mediterranean region, southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia under moderate-high emissions scenarios in the 21st century. “With rising temperatures, everywhere there's increasing demand of moisture from atmosphere, and precipitation decreases over many subtropical regions. These are the main drivers of the projected widespread and increasing drought,” said Zhao.

2021 FLOODS: UN RESEARCHERS AIM TO BETTER PREPARE FOR CLIMATE RISKS The UNU Climate Resilience Initiative will assess how we can build back better to reduce climate-induced risks going forward In July 2021, several European countries were affected by catastrophic floods, causing deaths and widespread damage. Such extreme weather events are expected to increase in both frequency and severity in the coming decades. To understand the risks of climate change and examine how vulnerabilities can be reduced, United Nations University (UNU) institutes in Germany (UNU-EHS), Belgium (UNUCRIS) and the Netherlands (UNU-MERIT) have launched the ‘UNU Climate Resilience Initiative’.

Working with partners across the main flood-affected countries in Europe, as well as other flood-prone areas of the world, the initiative aims to share knowledge, shape policy, and drive action to better prepare for future extreme weather events. “The region’s economic stability gave a feeling that it was climate-proof. But [the floods have] exposed the vulnerabilities of every region, whether developing, developed or emerging, to climate change impacts,” said Professor Dr Nidhi Nagabhatla from UNU-CRIS in Belgium.

The UNU initiative is still in its early stages, launching on 8 February 2022, but anecdotal evidence has already revealed gaps in the preparedness and emergency response to the 2021 floods. Gaps have also been unveiled in the awareness, risk perception and behaviour of the population. Teaching about climate change in schools or information-sharing events are among the tools which could make communities more aware of the potential severity of climate risks. There has also been a strong debate on the early warning system.

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WATER & NEWS - WATER SECURITY

EXTREME WEATHER IN EUROPE COSTS AROUND HALF A TRILLION EUROS OVER PAST 40 YEARS Extreme weather events like storms, heatwaves and flooding led to between 85,000 and 145,000 human fatalities across Europe

Around 3% of all such events were responsible for 60% of the losses according to the EEA briefing 'Economic losses and fatalities from weather- and climate-related events in Europe', which together with an updated EEA indicator assesses data on economic losses due to extreme weather- and climate-related events. The assessment covers the period from 1980-2020 and 32 EEA member countries (including all 27 EU Member States, plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Iceland and Liechtenstein). The aim of the EEA briefing and indicator is to provide data-based information about the impact of extreme weather events and climate-related hazards like heatwaves, heavy precipitation and droughts and the increased risk they pose to assets and infrastructure and to human health. These events, which

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are expected to increase due to climate change, are already causing substantial economic losses. Monitoring the impact of such events is important to inform policy makers so that they can improve climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures to minimise damage and loss of human life. The EU’s adaptation strategy aims to build resilience and ensure that Europe is better prepared to manage the risks and adapt to climate change. Closing the climate protection gap by increasing insurance coverage can be one of the key financial risk management tools to increase societies’ ability to recover from disasters, reduce vulnerability and promote resilience. EU Member States are also putting in place national adaptation policies, including national, regional and sectoral climate risk assessments.

Europe is facing economic losses and fatalities from weather and climate extremes every year and in all regions of Europe. The economic impact of these events varies considerably across countries, the EEA assessment found. For EEA member countries, total economic losses from weather- and climate-related events amounted to between EUR 450 and EUR 520 billion (in 2020 euros), for the 1980-2020 period. In absolute terms, the highest economic losses in the period 1980-2020 were registered in Germany followed by France then Italy. The highest losses per capita were recorded in Switzerland, Slovenia and France, and the highest losses per area were in Switzerland, Germany and Italy (based on CATDAT data). Around 23% of total losses were insured, although this also varied considerably among countries, from 1% in Romania and Lithuania to 56% in Denmark and 55% in the Netherlands (based on CATDAT data). The assessment also found that the overwhelming amount of the fatalities — more than 85% in the 40-year period — was due to heatwaves. The heatwave of 2003 caused most fatalities, representing between 50 and 75% of all fatalities from weather and climate-related events over the last four decades, according to the data. Similar heatwaves after 2003 caused a significantly lower amount of fatalities, as adaptation measures were taken in different countries and by different actors.

SDGs

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INTERVIEW

OSWARD MULENGA

CHANDA

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. DIRECTOR, WATER DEVELOPMENT AND SANITATION

“Managing water variability is becoming one of the key development challenges facing Africa” The African Development Bank provides concessional funding for various projects and programs to reduce poverty and promote economic and social development in the least developed African countries.

Z Poverty reduction and development is a central objective for the African Development Bank and to achieve this goal, the Bank has developed a Strategic Plan giving water high priority. Leading this fundamental division is Mr Osward Mulenga Chanda, appointed Director, Water Development and Sanitation in 2021. With over ten years’ experience in the AfDB, Mr Chanda brings nearly 30 years’ work experience in policy dialogue and investment programming. We speak to him about his new position and the challenges the African continent faces and how the Bank is working to ensure water security for all and thus contribute to the socio-economic transformation of Africa.

"Across Africa, water is unevenly distributed. Over 50% of water resources concentrated in Central Africa, less than 3% in North Africa" 84

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Olivia Tempest

Appointed Director of Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank Group in December of 2021, what are the main challenges and opportunities this new position represents for you? The African continent faces three major and connected challenges, which are challenges that the new position presents. They include strengthening water and food security, supporting economic growth, and responding to climate change. In 2020, an estimated 387 million people (35% of the population) in sub–Saharan Africa did not have access to a basic water supply, 734 million people (67% of the population) did not have access to even basic sanitation services, and 810 million people did not have access to hygiene services, even though water and sanitation are fundamental to the realisation of all human rights. Water security is increasingly put in jeopardy by the effects of economic growth, urbanisation and demographic patterns. Climate change may potentially worsen the situation by increasing water stress as well as extreme events. Damages to in-

frastructure and assets caused by tropical cyclones or flooding are among the more obvious impacts but droughts, crop failure and instability brought by climate change may also result in rural-urban migration. The infrastructure needs are also immense, with a financing gap estimated at 3 to 4 times the current total level of commitments, estimated at $13.3 billion per year (ICA, 2018). This new position, guided by the New Bank Policy on Water (May 2021) and the Bank Strategy on Water (20212025), offers opportunities to strengthen and enhance access to sustainable services for everyone, especially the poor, but these will be contingent on strengthening sector governance, to improve service delivery, secure reliable revenue streams sufficient to cover operation and maintenance costs, regulating pricing, improving operational efficiency and improving access to investment capital. Responding to challenges of improving water and sanitation access in cities on the other hand will be contingent on promoting integrated urban water management from a water security perspec-

OSWARD MULENGA CHANDA

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INTERVIEW

"Innovation in the water sector is crucial because it is key to developing other sectors, like agriculture, industry, health, and energy" tive. This would also include the mainstreaming of broader city resilience using instruments like the Africa Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator. Across Africa, water is unevenly distributed, with more than 50% of water resources concentrated in Central Africa, and less than 3% in North Africa. This calls for fostering transboundary cooperation on information, infrastructure, and institutions which presents countries with an opportunity to promote basin-wide planning and development and build climate resilience effectively and efficiently, through strengthened institutions. A gender-inclusive approach to water sector programming as advocated by the African Development Bank Group Gender Strategy 2021–2025, also offers the opportunity to reflect on the integral roles of women and girls as providers, users, and managers of water, specifically promoting equal economic opportunities in the water sector. Last but not least, addressing the infrastructure gap calls for maximizing finance for development, through blended finance, and more specifically strengthening the enabling environment and investment opportunities that can attract private/commercial finance. In 2009 you joined the AfDB and have led the design and implementation of some of the most transformational projects at the Bank. In this last decade, what are some of the water and sanitation projects across the continent you would highlight? With a portfolio of water investments of over $6.2 billion and a pipeline of

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123 projects in Africa (financed between 2011 and 2021), the Water Development and Sanitation department is uniquely positioned to customize local solutions by sharing global knowledge and amplifying the impact of financing through technical assistance. Most of the operations are catalytic and transformational and focus on (i) water supply and sanitation, (ii) agricultural water management, and (iii) sustainable water use for energy production. Further sub-sectors of the Bank Group’s intervention include: (iv) urban development, (v) transportation, (vi) industry and tourism, and (vii) water-related disaster risk management. The operations have notaMauritania - National Integrated Rural Water Project (African Development Bank)

bly reached millions of unserved Africans in rural and urban areas. The Gabal El-Asfar treatment plant in Egypt, is an example of a transformational project financed by the Bank. The project is financed through a $58 million loan, treats 2.5 million m3 of wastewater every day, serving 12.5 million people. It has contributed to the development of economic activities in the region, especially agriculture, where farmers use treated wastewater to irrigate agricultural land, produce organic fertilizer and generate electricity. The innovative system reduces the plant’s carbon footprint and electricity consumption. The plant has five generators powered by the gas produced as it

OSWARD MULENGA CHANDA treats sludge, which generates up to 60% of the electricity needed to run it. Innovation in the water sector is crucial because water is key to developing other sectors, including agriculture, industry, health, and energy. Another example is the Bulawayo City Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project, a transformational $33 million project in Zimbabwe, which upgraded water production facilities, water distribution, sewer drainage networks and wastewater treatment facilities. Bulawayo has now reduced supply disruptions from six to two days per week, with a gradual plan towards a city-wide uninterrupted water supply. The increased pumping capacity has assist-

ed the replenishment of the raw water reservoir, which had dried up in 2020 due to drought. The newly installed water pumps have increased the treatment capacity for the City of Bulawayo from 92 million m3/ day to 145 million m3/ day – exceeding the city’s daily actual water demand of 135 million m3/day. The increased raw water capacity from the pumps, coupled with a refurbished water treatment system, means the city can now meet the daily water consumption demand of Bulawayo’s 770,000 residents in all its 165 suburbs. In November last year, the AfDB approved a new Water Strategy for 20212025. Could you tell us a bit more

"The new Water Strategy (2021-2025) promotes the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus approaches and focuses on four pillars" about this new plan and its importance for the African continent? The new Water Strategy (2021-2025) provides a general framework for the African Development Bank Group’s water sector. The water strategy, which promotes the water-food-energy-ecosystem

Mauritania - National Integrated Rural Water Project (African Development Bank)

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INTERVIEW nexus approaches, focuses on four pillars: (i) achieving integrated water resources management, through assessment of the resource and its ecosystems, as well as supporting institutions and the enabling environment; (ii) strengthening the delivery of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services to become sustainable, resilient, and inclusive, through increased investments, institutional support, and sustainability; (iii) increasing the availability of sustainable water resources for food production and nutrition, including improved agricultural water management and investments which sustain fisheries and support ecosystems and (iv) increasing the sustainable development of water for energy in terms of hydropower potential, thus complementing the New Deal for Africa Strategy and acknowledging the importance of energy for water security. The strategy is key given that water as a sector and enabler, is critical to the achievement of the Bank’s five strategic priorities, the High 5s. Water security underpins food security (agriculture represents 80% of total consumption), energy security, industrialization (water as a catalyst), regional integration (through transboundary waters) and improving the quality of life (impact on health, nutrition, education, gender equity and livelihoods). The water strategy is designed to inform country programming through country and regional strategy papers (CSP and RISP). Whenever water is recognized as a constraint, the water strategy will support the development of approaches to tackle the constraint, in line

"The Water Development and Sanitation department has a portfolio of water investments of over $6.2 billion and a pipeline of 123 projects" 88

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The strategy is key given that water as a sector and enabler is critical to the achievement of the Bank’s five strategic priorities with the Bank’s role in the provision of advisory services and finance to strengthen water security in Africa. Strengthening partnerships will be crucial for the water strategy’s implementation. What role do smart water solutions play in the AfDB’s water sector initiatives? Water and wastewater managers in Africa are dealing with acute infrastructure challenges, including (i) significant non-revenue water volumes – due to operating inefficiencies, apparent losses, and physical leaks in the network (pipe leaks, main breaks), (ii) increase in contaminants and pollution which create a need to treat water to safeguard human health (sewage overflows, storm water overflows), (iii) rising energy costs in an industry where energy for water distribution and treatment alone accounts for more than 10% of operating expenses and energy-intensive operations, and (iv) inefficient decision-making and asset management. Despite the urgency, disruptive technologies, remain largely underutilized. Operational Priority 11 of the Bank’s Water Strategy promotes the use of modern and appropriate technology to reduce losses and improve water productivity. Smart water solutions – including physical equipment and treatment,

wireless networks, cloud analytics, mobile computing, powerful data modelling, and the internet – offer new ways to address the industry’s challenges and opportunities. A recently approved Bank financed €70 million project in Morocco, to Strengthen Drinking Water Production and Improve Technical and Commercial Performance is doing just that. In addition to an expansion of water production, the smart water system will: provide information to generate water bills; identify abnormal usage to notify customers about their high consumption or potential leaks; determine total demand to quantify non-revenue water; and where water supply zones are metered, identify zones that have high leakages. These solutions strengthen the performance of utilities by enabling operators to shift resources to data-driven preventative maintenance which minimizes expensive emergency interventions, such as infrastructure repairs, water quality alerts, or flood management. Smart technology also enables water managers to meet the needs of the growing customer base. According to WRI, nearly 63% of urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to basic water and sanitation.

OSWARD MULENGA CHANDA

Mauritania - National Integrated Rural Water Project (African Development Bank)

How is the AfDB working with cities to plan for water security? Access to water and sanitation services remains unequal: piped water is available primarily to upper-income residents (56% of the urban population) in 2020, while the poor rely on untreated wells and surface water (The Future of Water in African Cities, Why Waste Water? Jacobsen, M., M. Webster & K. Vairavamoorthy, 2012). Sanitation services are also dependent on income, with upper-income groups (an estimated 16% of the urban population) serviced with water-borne sewers, and the poor resorting to open defecation or latrines (JMP, 2021). Outside South Africa, few cities have functional wastewater treatment plants (Ibid). A lack of stormwater drainage infrastructure, poorly maintained stormwater drains, and settlements in low-lying areas also contribute to recurrent urban flooding. The Bank is thus promoting Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) at

city wide scale to ensure access to water and sanitation infrastructure and services; manage rainwater, wastewater, stormwater drainage, and runoff pollution; control waterborne diseases and epidemics; and reduce the risk of water-related hazards, including floods, droughts, and landslides. For example, in Sierra Leone, the Bank is supporting the Freetown Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan preparation. The project will provide three main outputs: (i) an established IUWM with a co-ordination mechanism is operational, (ii) a Freetown Integrated Water Supply Master plan is enacted, and (iii) prioritized investment projects are prepared. IUWM is also a potentially powerful approach to water security through option diversification in Nairobi, where rivers are polluted with uncollected garbage, human waste from informal settlements, industrial wastes in the form of emissions, and point source pollutants from flowing sewers and non-point pol-

lutants like agro chemicals from the watersheds. The Bank financed Nairobi Rivers Basin Rehabilitation Program aims to improve the access, quality, availability and sustainability of wastewater services and restoration of the Nairobi Rivers Basin. Activities include: (i) rehabilitation and construction of wastewater treatment facilities at Dandora, (ii) construction of 220 km of sewer reticulation network including faecal sludge management infrastructure, and (iii) construction of 50 ablution blocks and rehabilitation of 50 ablution blocks in informal settlements.

"Countries interested in expanding irrigation capacity are advised to consider modernizing and upgrading existing irrigation schemes"

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INTERVIEW The beneficiaries of the project are the Nairobi city inhabitants and the surrounding areas, including people living downstream. As an adaptive system, IUWM options in Nairobi’s future water system can provide water security within a much wider range of future water demand and supply scenarios and can help offset or defer bulky investments in conventional water resources. Agriculture is the single most important economic activity in Africa, and it is also the biggest user of water. How is the AfDB working with African countries to make this practice more efficient? In Africa, reliance on irregular rainfall is one of the major causes of continent-wide low crop yields. In irrigated areas (only 3.4% of farmland in SSA is irrigated (FAO, 2016)), the insufficient irrigation infrastructure and the lack of harmonized water management lead to considerable water losses that are even-

Mauritania - National Integrated Rural Water Project (African Development Bank)

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tually translated into lower productivity levels (Data-driven improvement of water use efficiency in small-scale irrigation. FAO, 2018). Improved Agriculture Water Management (AWM) plays a key role in addressing these issues above. Crop water productivity and water use efficiency are considerable measures of AWM, therefore, finding approaches to enhance them is particularly important. The Bank through Pillar 3 of the Water Strategy (2021-2025) supports RMCs to increase the availability of sustainable water resources for food production and improved nutrition, including improved agricultural water management and investments which support ecosystems. However, many of the RMCs suffer from significant data gaps, while data is essential to understanding the high-efficiency mechanisms of each irrigation system. Countries interested in expanding irrigation capacity are advised to consider modernizing and upgrading existing irrigation schemes, which is more cost-ef-

Mauritania - National Integrated Rural Water Project (African Development Bank)

fective and more efficient than investing in new largescale schemes, with the objective to improve resources utilization and water service for farmers. RMCs are also encouraged to set up accessible and affordable databases on every aspect of agricultural water use to maximize water use efficiency. The Bank financed investments strengthen irrigation efficiency, through investments in water storage, improving water services, raising water use efficiency and increasing water productivity. The institutional side involves decentralization and farmer involvement. An example of a Bank-financed scheme is Kenya, Thwake Multi-Purpose Water Development Program (Phase I), financed through a EUR 225 million loan. The Thwake dam, a strategic water supply project for the large semi-arid area of Makueni County and surrounding regions, comprises a multi-purpose dam for water supply, hydropower generation and irrigation development. The completion of the 80.5-meter-high multi-pur-

OSWARD MULENGA CHANDA pose dam will enable the storage of 681 million cubic meters of water, of which 625 million cubic meters will be used for electricity production and downstream irrigation of agricultural land, 22 million cubic meters for modernized upstream irrigation and 34 million for human use as part of measures to strengthen water, food and energy security and mitigating climate variability in the Tanathi basin. The target beneficiaries are the 674,700 people in the rural areas of Kitui and Makueni (who suffer poverty rates of 62.5% and 63.8%, respectively) and the 640,000 people in the new city of Konza. Other beneficiaries will include institutions managing the water resources in Athi River Basin and, on a broader scale, the economy of Kenya. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that costs associated with climate-change adaptation across Africa could hit $50 billion annually by 2050. What projects is the AfDB working on currently to tackle the increasing effects of climate change? Managing water variability — including its nexus with food and energy — is becoming one of the key development challenges facing Africa. Extreme climate events are already exacerbating health risks, damaging water infrastructure and leading to water scarcity. Countries and communities with a lack of water infrastructure, poor water management and governance will suffer the most (Water Infrastructure for Climate Adaptation: The Opportunity to Scale up Funding and Financing. WWC, 2018). The Bank contributes towards the achievement of SDG targets in synergy with climate investments. New and existing funding models must be scaled up, for providing adaptation finance. The Bank deploys several instruments and has stepped up the use of concessional tools, through blended finance to mobilize additional capital flows. First and foremost, climate adaptation is mainstreamed into program de-

Efforts are ongoing to scale up climate adaptation investments in partnership with the African Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator sign for all water sector projects. Between 2009 and 2020, the Bank invested an estimated USD 6.2 billion in WSS services delivery, with 70.8% supporting investments in urban areas and 29.2% for rural areas (AfDB, 2019). The Bank also mobilizes dedicated co-finance for water sector projects. Over the last decade, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) administered by the Global Environmental Facility, and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) provided co-financing estimated at USD 80 million towards strengthening water security through sustaining water resources, service delivery and resilience towards climate extremes in 14 countries. In Lesotho, under the Climate Change Adaptation for Sustainable Rural Water Supply in Lowlands program (LDCF), an estimated 65,000 beneficiaries (40% women) will be provided with improved access to WASH services. While in Zambia a Transforming Rural Livelihoods in Western Zambia program, financed by the NDF, has benefited 745,000 persons in 16 rural districts through improved climate resilient WSS adaptive capacity to withstand climate variability. In Tanzania and Malawi, the GEF financed Songwe River Basin Management Program is enhancing the delivery of climate and weather services to deliver forecasts

and warnings to the “last mile” communities and foster regional cooperation through the exchange of meteorological data and products that enable forecasting. The program also focuses on investments in landscape management (e.g., soil conservation, watershed management, reforestation, rehabilitation of eroded lands) that have direct effects on climate mitigation. Efforts are ongoing to scale up climate adaptation investments in partnership with the African Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator, through (i) acceleration of adaptation for green and resilient cities, (ii) financing nature-based Solutions, (iii) mainstreaming climate risk in national plans and water sector investment pipelines and (iv) leveraging private investments for resilient infrastructure. The replenishment of the Green Climate Fund is an opportunity to scale up funding and finance for climate adaptation in the water sector.

"Managing water variability — including its nexus with food and energy — is becoming one of the key development challenges facing Africa"

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FEATURE

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TOURISM & WATER

Paula Sánchez

Tourism is a strategic sector for some of the world's major economies, contributing to increasing the wealth of many countries. However, it also entails an inevitable increase in resource use, especially water. For this reason, the tourism sector strives every year to implement practices that ensure the sustainability of the resource and contribute to minimizing the effects of climate change. Historically, water has been one of the most sought-after attractions for the tourism industry. Swimming pools, lakes, nature bathing areas, beaches, hot springs... Holidays always become a perfect time to enjoy one of our most important natural resources. However, our enjoyment of water should always be within a context of stewardship and sustainability of the resource, since, although water may be the highlight of our vacation, it is a vulnerable resource and the tourism sector is well aware of this. Proof of this are the practices carried out in the sector, from saving water in laundry and cleaning tasks, to the reuse of water in irrigation and green areas; anything goes to reduce the water footprint. Tourism, a major water user Tourism is a great economic ally. In fact, in countries such as Spain, it has been the number one sector injecting money into the country's economy. While it is true that the COVID-19 crisis has led to a decrease in tourism, climate change is also beginning to be a driving factor in reducing supply and demand in the hospitality industry.

Before the health crisis, tourism generated around 8% of France's GDP, representing 2 million direct and indirect jobs. In the case of Spain, where tourism is a strategic sector, tourism activity before the pandemic represented 12.4% of GDP, falling, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, to 5.5% in 2020. In particularly touristy areas of Spain, such as the Balearic Islands, the Costa Brava or the Canary Islands, the contribution of the tourism sector to GDP increases substantially. It so happens that in Europe many of the areas most visited by tourists are also areas with a high level of water scarcity, especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The lack of rainfall in arid areas and the need to invest in new wastewater treatment and reuse infrastructure,

A tourist can consume, according to data from the World Tourism Organization, more than 400 litres of water per day

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FEATURE strain the availability of the resource, in a scenario where a tourist consumes much more water than a regular resident. In fact, while a person consumes between 50 and 200 litres of water per day in Europe, a tourist can consume, according to data from the World Tourism Organization, more than 400 litres of water per day. Thus, tourism depends on the availability of water and, at the same time, affects how it is used by tourists at the destination. The increasingly limited availability of the resource makes it imperative to introduce changes in water resource management strategies. Small gestures lead to big savings For several years, the tourism industry, and hotel complexes in particular, have been looking for strategies to reduce the sector's impact on the environment and for new ways to sustainably manage their activity. Moreover, in economic terms, water savings have a direct impact on profits, so water-saving strategies are an important pillar in management plans. With regard to rooms, measures such as reducing the tap flow rate, installing dual-flush cisterns, raising awareness of the frequency of towel and linen washing and, above all, establishing a management plan and carrying out a detailed study of consumption, can improve the profitability of the business and make a big difference in water savings. However, the bulk of water consumption in hotels does not occur in the rooms, but in the kitchens. Cooking responsibly, promoting zero-kilometre

The increasingly limited availability of the resource makes it imperative to introduce changes in water resource management strategies 94

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cooking or using fewer and smaller dishes to limit water wastage are small measures that almost all hotels can implement and that contribute substantially to a real water-saving strategy. On the other hand, wastewater management is key for the tourism sector, since the survival of beaches, rivers and other water resources, which in most cases are the main tourist attraction, depends on proper management of wastewater. In addition, the infrastructure that treats these waters is sometimes particularly stressed by the high demand for wa-

ter treatment, since often the population served by the treatment plants doubles with the arrival of tourists, without this implying an increase in the number of treatment plants. Many places also take advantage of this resource, and already use reclaimed water to irrigate their gardens and green areas, as cooling water, and to wash municipal vehicles or the streets. Technology at the service of tourism Tourism can also be a strategic sector to achieve the Sustainable Development

TOURISM & WATER Goals. Thus, concerning SDG 6, focused on achieving access to clean water and universal sanitation, this sector can play a crucial role, since the efficient use of water, as well as wastewater management and water quality control, supported by new and more effective technological tools, can be key to safeguarding our most precious resource. Digitalisation is indeed a decisive ally of the sector, as it facilitates processes and actions to control and reduce the water footprint, such as management of non-revenue water.

Water savings have a direct impact on profits, so water-saving strategies are an important pillar in management plans According to a study by the Chair of Tourism of the University of La Laguna, in Tenerife (Spain), undetected water leaks can lead to an increase of up to 40% in water consumption. Digitalisation, as well as new tools that allow detailed monitoring of water consumption, can reduce these losses substantially. Digitalisation can also help with facility management thanks to smart meters. These meters provide real-time information on water consumption, which can be translated into specific savings strategies, establishing, for example, specific schedules to water gardens or do the laundry. Water quality control, as well as monitoring in areas of scarcity, are also challenges that can be solved with the support of new digital tools. Although these new strategies in the tourism sector have an impact on direct water savings, only good practices and public awareness can ensure the success of the relationship between tourism and water sustainability.

The bulk of water consumption in hotels does not occur in rooms, but in the kitchens, where measures can contribute to saving water

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WATER & NEWS - SDG

EIB LOAN OF $100 MILLION FINANCES WATER AND SANITATION PROJECTS IN ECUADOR The water project contributes to the achievement of a number of SDGs and to building Ecuador’s resilience to pandemics

The European Investment Bank is partnering with Ecuador’s development Bank, Banco de Desarrollo de Ecuador (BDE) to improve water and sanitation networks across the country. The EIB’s USD 100 million loan will part finance the construction and rehabilitation of water supply, wastewater and storm water networks under Ecuador’s national ‘Agua y Saneamiento para Todos’ (water and sanitation for all) programme. The EIB loan will enable the construction of sewer networks, wastewater treatment plants and stormwater networks in several coastal areas, thus reducing the plastic discharge in the Pacific Ocean. This loan will contribute to the implementation of the Clean Oceans Initiative. The modernization of water supply and sewerage systems in the region will lead to substantial

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energy savings, reducing water losses in networks and improving wastewater treatment operations. EIB and BDE are partnering with Germany’s GIZ under the FELICITY initiative to strengthen the climate action and urban development focus of the investments to be supported by the Framework Loan. FELICITY is a project preparation facility funded by the German International Climate Initiative (IKI), implemented in cooperation with GIZ. The initiative helps project promoters in cities to provide feasibility studies and other preparatory measures, as well as capacity building to BDE. In concrete terms, the investments will mostly focus on improving the quality of water and sanitation services, and providing water and sanitation services to currently unconnected

households. This project is expected to benefit some 500,000 Ecuadorians. It is a long term investment in the country’s resilience to pandemics such as Covid-19, as it provides steady access to clean drinking water, critical for effective crisis mitigation. The investment programme is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 kt CO2/year, mainly through the reduction of methane emissions generated in deficient wastewater treatment. The project will therefore contribute to the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26, aiming to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030, compared with 2020 levels. The operation is fully aligned with EIB’s priority areas of intervention under the External Lending Mandate for Latin America 2014-2020, namely the development of economic and social infrastructure, climate action, and cooperation with international financial institutions. The project aims to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5, 6, 11, and 13 (Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Climate Action respectively). The EIB and Germany’s GIZ are cooperating to ensure adequate management of climate and environmental risks in projects across the globe. The water and sanitation project in Ecuador benefits from the FELICITY programme (Financing Energy for Low-carbon Investment – Cities Advisory Facility).

WORLD BANK FUNDS €44.1 MILLION TO IMPROVE MOLDOVA'S WATER SECTOR 66,500 people are expected to benefit from the project by gaining access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved financing for the Moldova Water Security and Sanitation Project in the amount of EUR 44.1 million, which will support the Government of Moldova in implementing a comprehensive, long-term approach to addressing persisting challenges in the country’s water sector. Moldova has been grappling with challenges in the water sector, and the drought in 2020, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic-induced crisis,

emphasized the need to invest in a more inclusive and resilient water sector. The Moldova Water Security and Sanitation Project, which is co-financed by the Austrian Development Agency, includes critical investments in water and sanitation in towns and rural areas. Additionally, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in schools and healthcare facilities will increase access to resilient WASH services. The project also includes an on-site sanitation pilot to support households gain access

to improved sanitation using low-cost technologies. The pilot will be used to inform and accelerate scale-up of these approaches under a national Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. The project also has a learning and capacity-building component, which supports the Government of Moldova’s reform agenda in the sector, ensuring that accelerated investments turn into better water and sanitation services, that the performance of water utilities is improved, and that resilience is built into the system.

NADBANK AND THE VILLAGE OF VINTON BREAK GROUND ON $20 MILLION WATER PROJECTS Two critical infrastructure projects will improve the quality of life for communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border The North American Development Bank (NADBank) and the Village of Vinton, Texas hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for two projects that will provide new drinking water distribution and wastewater collection and will include the decommission of on-site septic systems. The total estimated project costs of both projects are US$20.44 million. These projects are receiving up to US$6.5 million in grants from the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is funded by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered by NADBank. Other funding support was made available through the US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development and the Texas Water Development Board.The Village of Vinton, with a population of nearly 3,000 residents, is located 12 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and 25 miles north of downtown El Paso. The village has been able to capitalize on its proximity to El Paso and the international border to attract manufacturing companies.

The new drinking water system will include the installation of water distribution lines, meters, and a regional storage tank, eliminating exposure to arsenic and pathogenic organisms in the current water supply. The new wastewater collection system will provide firsttime services for 506 existing homes and the decommissioning of on-site wastewater disposal systems. This will eliminate discharges of 275,000 gallons per day of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater.

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WATER & NEWS - SDG

EU, UNICEF AND ENI LAUNCH A PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY FOR 850,000 PEOPLE IN BASRA UNICEF will work closely with local authorities to implement the project, costed at almost $7 million over 3 years

The European Union (EU) and UNICEF, in collaboration with Eni, launched a project in partnership with the Basra Governorate, aiming to improve the water quality for 850,000 people in Basra City, including over 160,000 children as direct beneficiaries. The launch ceremony was attended by the Governor of Basra, H.E. Asaad Al Edani, Barbara Egger, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation in Iraq, Paula Bulancea, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Iraq, Alberto Piatti, Eni’s Head of Sustainable Development, Walid ElMahdy, Eni Iraq BV Managing Director, and other authorities. “UNICEF continues to work in Iraq to support a climate resilient environment, ensure access to safe water and empower young people to be actors of change through civic engagement.

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This project with the EU in collaboration with Eni will help to ensure the provision of equitable, sustainable and safe drinking water to vulnerable populations and support sustainable green job creation for young people in Basra city,” said Paula Bulancea, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Iraq. “We are proud to continue with this important joint programme with UNICEF our strong EU engagement in Iraq and in particular in the South of Iraq, notably in Basra. It is our priority to contribute to improving the quality of life for Basrawis and strengthening the capacity of the water sector to provide for the equitable and sustainable provision of clean drinking water, in close collaboration with the Basra authorities. Applying an employment intensive approach, we will contribute

to creating green decent jobs for Basra’s Youth but also build strong alliances to advance the climate change agenda together with ENI,” confirmed Barbara Egger, Head of Cooperation of the EU in Iraq. “This partnership is a clear example of how public-private alliances can create added value for local development, contributing to improving people’s living conditions. Eni will provide its Al-Baradiya water treatment plants – each with a capacity of 400,000 litres per hour – under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Oil and Basra Oil Company, and thanks to this joint initiative with UNICEF and the EU we will be able to supply clean drinking water to the community of Basra”, said Alberto Piatti, Eni’s Head of Sustainable Development. Climate change has a dire impact on children’s lives in Iraq, including increasing water scarcity and salinization, with serious implications on the country´s future. Nearly 3 out of 5 children in Iraq have no access to safely managed water services and less than half of all schools in the country have access to basic water. As a response, and thanks to the project, 350,000 people in two communities within Basra city, will have access to improved and climate resilient water services. In addition, 1,000 people in Basra city, especially young people, will have improved capacity to contribute to delivering equitable services and promote employment-intensive green growth.

OPINION

ZAID RAILOUN & RESHOKETSWE MAEPA INVESTMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY ASSOCIATE, SOUTH AFRICA & PROGRAMME SUPPORT & RESEARCH - PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT OFFICER AT INFRASTRUCTURE SOUTH AFRICA (ISA)

SOUTH AFRICA RESHAPES INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS WITH WATER HAVING A SEAT AT THE TABLE With world population forever increasing, countries and gov- dertaken by a highly qualified and technically skilled team of Inernments are finding ways and means to elevate and move frastructure South Africa (ISA). The important function of the their countries’ economies growth. Infrastructure development evaluation method is to ensure that projects are functional from has been playing a crucial role in human development over a financial, inter-sectoral, and needs perspective. As a result, ISA centuries from ancient civilizations such as the Aztecs to the oversees and is responsible for facilitating the innovative strucmore modern terms of developed and developing countries. ture that is seen as the single point of entry for infrastructure Whether it be grey or green, infrastructure development always developments in South Africa. At the launch (June 2020), 276 remained ‘King’ but with green infrastructure of any form re- catalytic project submissions were made across six sectors. ceiving ‘the lady in red attention’. Africa though is still lagging to close its infrastructure deficits. ‘Water has a seat at the table’ The African Development Bank estimates that the continent's With South Africa facing constraints in water security and deinfrastructure financing needs will be as much as $170 billion livery, 42 water-related projects were presented amongst the inia year by 2025, with an estimated gap of around $100 billion a tial 276 with 11 deemed ready for fast-tracking and designated year. Consequently, water infrastructure project development is as Strategic Integrated Projects (SIP) by the Presidential Infraestimated to require $64 billion anstructure Coordinating Commisnually to meet the 2025 Africa wasion under SIP 19: Water and SaniWater infrastructure ter vision of water security for all. tation and guided by the ISA Water This is almost half the total to and Sanitation technical working development is estimated deliver the molecular compound group (TWG). The projects have to require $64 billion annually consisting of polar molecules that a combined value of $6.93 billion have a bent shape for human and and range from the different water to meet the 2025 Africa vision natural prosperity! infrastructure classes with some inof water security for all With the 2025 vision of water vestment-ready (the multinational security for all, African countries Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands are designing special purpose vehicles and various financing Water Project, Gauteng and the Phase 2A of the Mokolo Crocinstruments to meet socioeconomic goals. Following years of odile River (West) Water Augmentation Project (MCWAP), in a steady decline of infrastructure spending, one country that Limpopo) and a few still in the preparation stages. is doing just that is South Africa with the launch of the SusThese projects fall in line with the country’s Economic Retainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa sponse and Recovery Plan (ERRP) and the economic response (SIDSSA) in 2020. The inaugural SIDSSA adopted a robust plan to COVID-19 which outlines a $64.56 billion investment project process and consultation methodology affectionally drive through the infrastructure fund with the related water known as the Sustainable Infrastructure Development System projects accounting for 11% of the 10-year plan. South Africa methodology (SIDS methodology). The methodology includes National Development Plan of 2030 envisions “universal and a vigorous process of project/program identification, consider- reliable access to water of acceptable quality and quantity in ation, evaluation, approval, and implementation of workable support of a strong economy and a healthy environment for the infrastructure to ensure bankability. people”. With this only being 8 years away, these projects are The methodology is supported by the minister at the Depart- significant drivers to an inclusive economy and a water resilient ment of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), and it is un- future for all South Africans.

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SPEAKERS' CORNER

"UTILITIES HAVE REALIZED THEY CAN NO LONGER KEEP A LOW PROFILE AND SIMPLY REACT TO SITUATIONS" Travis Loop, Director of Communications and Outreach, Water Environment Federation. With headquarters just outside Washington DC, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) has been working to protect public health and the environment since 1928. WEF and its members connect water professionals around the world, raise awareness of the impact and value of water, and provide a platform for innovation. Getting WEF’s messages across is our interviewee Travis Loop, their Director of Communications and Outreach.

Z Cristina Novo Pérez How do you think communication in the water sector has evolved in recent years? There has been a rapidly growing recognition that communication and public engagement are essential activities for the water sector, including for utilities, municipalities, engineering firms, and technology companies. For the most part, utilities have realized they can no longer keep a low profile and simply react to situations as it has been done for decades. That approach put utilities on the defensive and often resulted in negative coverage and public perception. Instead, a new generation of communicators is leading a proactive approach that is based on constantly informing the public and on using tools such as social media and video. Why do you think it is important to communicate about water? There are tremendous challenges facing water systems and resources, including aging in-

frastructure, population growth and development, pollution problems, and climate change. Water is critical to human health, the environment, our communities, and the economy. It is important to communicate about all of this to drive the stewardship and investment in water that is necessary to meet the challenges. While those of us in the water sector are familiar with the problems and importance of water, most of the public doesn’t have the understanding and we need to raise their awareness. What are the most challenging aspects of communicating about the work of the water sector? Water infrastructure is largely hidden from public view, unlike many other types of infrastructure like roads, bridges, rail lines, and airports. People are used to the convenience of turning on the tap and flushing the toilet and don’t understand the systems and costs behind the ser-

vice. Building awareness of how water infrastructure works and an appreciation for the value of water is one of the more challenging and most important aspects of communication. It can also be challenging to modify, target, and conduct communications for the wide variety of stakeholders in water, including the general public, private sector, and elected officials at various levels of government. Could you highlight one of your organisation’s communication success stories? For many years the Water Environment Federation, its members, and the broader water sector have communicated to the U.S. federal government about the desperate need to invest in water infrastructure. This effort was conducted through every communications channel, such as media outreach, public education, social media campaigns, direct advocacy, and events in Washington, D.C. Finally in 2021 came the passage of the

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides over $48 billion for water infrastructure, perhaps the largest ever single investment by the U.S. government. Who or what organisation inspires you when it comes to ways of communicating? There are so many organizations and individuals doing tremendous work communicating about water, so these are just a few examples. The practice of proactive, multimedia, customer-focused communications has taken off at utilities of all sizes, including in Chicago, Louisville, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Social media is so central to communications today and while the whole sector is embracing the platforms, the Twitter account of Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is the leader in creative and impactful content. It is also notable to see the rise of water coverage by media outlets such as the Associated Press and National Public Radio.

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

SCIENCE BE DAMNED How ignoring inconvenient science drained the Colorado River Eric Kuhn and John Fleck dig into studies from as far back as the early 20th century showing that water in the Colorado River was being overallocated, but were ignored. Past mistakes are helpful to understand current water management issues in the basin, as water policy moves forward with decisions hopefully based on the best science. SOMETHING TO WATCH...

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD The adventure that celebrates life

Between drama and fantasy, this 2012 film, nominated for four Academy Awards, tells the story of an intrepid six-year-old girl, Hushpuppy, who lives with her father on a remote island in a Louisiana bayou. Floods and failing levees eventually lead her to use her powerful imagination to find her mother.

SOMETHING TO ENJOY...

ORINOCO FLOW Sail away, sail away, sail away

This song was released as the lead single from Enya's studio album Watermark in 1988. In 2020, The Guardian ranked it number 77 in its list of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles of all time. The song is also known as “Sail away”, words from the chorus of the song. The title alludes both to Orinoco Studios, where it was recorded, and to the Orinoco River in Venezuela.

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