Smart Water Magazine Bimonthly 14

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WE SAVE WATER SO THE FUTURE IS SUSTAINABLE

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

FROM THE EDITOR

DIGITALIZATION, A PROCESS OF NO RETURN FOR THE GLOBAL WATER SECTOR

The last few years have been turbulent for the economy, the environment and society: after the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences of climate change have materialized in a summer that the WMO describes as the hottest on the planet since records began. In addition, other uncertainties, such as the war in Ukraine and inflation, are also having an impact on the water sector.

Thus, in the search for answers to this global situation, digitalization is emerg ing as one of the fundamental tools in the process towards sustainable and resil ient water management. Our Technical Editor, Cristina Novo, talks to Sabina Todd, Regional General Manager and Vice President of APAC at Envirosuite, about her vision of the role of digital technologies in addressing the challeng

PUBLISHER

iAgua Conocimiento, S.L.

C/ José Ortega y Gasset, 22-24, planta 5, 28006 - Madrid info@iagua.es

MANAGEMENT

Alejandro Maceira Rozados

David Escobar Gutiérrez

EDITOR

Alejandro Maceira Rozados

es facing the water sector and utilities. Todd, who does part of her profession al work in Australia, shares with Smart Water Magazine her experience through the ups and downs of the country's water industry, as well as discussing the current and future issues the water industry will face and the projects Envirosuite is work ing on in this regard.

Another of the paths that will help to find solutions in this current context is to focus on water security. Gonzalo Delacámara gives an exclusive inter view to SWM Bimonthly 14 from his new position as Director of the new IE Center for Water and Climate Adap tation, a recently created organization that aspires to become a world refer ence in the sustainable management of water resources. Delacámara, in

EDITORIAL STAFF

Águeda García de Durango Caveda

Laura Fernández Zarza

Paula Sánchez Almendros

Olivia Tempest Prados

Cristina Novo Pérez

ADVERTISING

Javier de los Reyes

addition, and in the context of digital transformation as a fundamental part of change, reflects on the approach to long-term water security and climate change adaptation and mitigation from a corporate dimension, but also from political, economic, environmental and social dimensions.

Of course, we do not forget in this new issue of the magazine other aspects of the sector that, although more "traditional" in nature, are no less important: water treatment, the role of utilities and the cross-cutting power of the SDGs. You can read in detail about all of them (and many more) in the next pages.

Enjoy the magazine.

Águeda garcía de durango - Chief editor D @AguedaGdD

ART AND GRAPHIC DESIGN Pablo González-Cebrián Esther Martín Muñoz

CONTENTS NUMBER 14 - SEP / OCT 2022

INTERVIEW OPINION

SUSTAINABILITY NEEDS ADAPTATION

Pg. 92 SWM interviews Gonzalo Delacámara as he takes on a new role as Director of the Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation at IE University.

OPINIONFEATURE

MULTI-PURPOSE PUMPING SOLUTIONS

Pg. 44 Pump specialist SEKO pro vides a solution to increase the effi ciency of wastewater treatment and reduce its environmental impact.

INNOVATION TO GET TO ZERO CARBON

Pg. 108 Dr Blanca Antizar explains how Isle Utilities’ Trial Reservoir helps the water sector overcome barriers to adopting innovation.

SUSTAINABLE UV TECHNOLOGY

Pg. 58 A look at how a sustainable UV treatment system can adapt its power consumption to varying water quality, by Dr Assaf Lowenthal.

Elektra

Connecting you to your chemical dosing pumps, wherever you are

The Elektra digital dosing pump controller from SEKO allows you to monitor and manage your dosing equipment 24/7 via smartphone for a new standard in operational e ciency and accessibility in water-treatment applications.

www.seko.com

SekoWeb Data on demand

• Access data and system status via smartphone or PC

• Adjust programming instantly

• Discover the true cost of your application

• Identify anomalies and prevent unplanned downtime

CONTENTS NUMBER 14 - SEP / OCT 2022

FEATURE FEATURE

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW INNOVATION LEADERS PARTNER

Pg. 66 Almar Water Solutions and Datakorum offer digital solutions that transform infrastructure without changing the existing devices.

SMART SOLUTIONS FROM SOURCE TO TAP

Pg. 70 Garry Tabor (Badger Meter) discusses smart solutions for the entire water cycle to safeguard wa ter quality and the environment.

ENERGY NET ZERO WITHIN REACH

Pg. 54 Caterpillar’s cogeneration technology helps the Gresham WWTP in Oregon (U.S.) generate about 10% more electricity than it needs.

PIONEERS OF POTABLE REUSE

Pg. 100 We learn the keys to the suc cess of the state-of-the-art Ground water Replenishment System (GWRS) in Orange County, California.

Smart, wastewater septicity monitoring for sewer networks.

SeptiNet,

both ORP and

Sulfide

specifically

both wastewater treatment and sewer networks, SeptiNet generates continuous and

for septicity prevention, allowing the management of odour and

ATi

leading range

Monitors,

Monitors and

Detectors provide innovative solutions for the most demanding of

Battery Flow Sensor

RTU Gas Detector

ORP Sensor

INTERVIEW

LEAK DETECTION IN WATER NETWORKS

Pg. 20 Cristina Fernández speaks to SWM about her role at Aganova and her experience with projects to reduce water losses caused by leaks.

OPINION

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE

Pg. 98 Benoît Le Roy lays out the path to engage the private sector in addressing the issues that threaten water security in South Africa.

INTERVIEW

FACILITATING UTILITY INNOVATION

Pg. 74 We speak with Meena San karan, Founder and CEO of Ketos, about the Data-as-a-Service model to drive the adoption of smart water.

CLOSING THE WATER CYCLE

Pg. 114 The Smart Water Magazine team has some proposals for you: something to read, something to watch, and something to enjoy.

COMMUNICATING FOR INDUSTRY

Pg. 112 Maria Mülbaier, Marketing Manager at Siemens, shares with us the strategy of the company to make its industrial solutions known.

INTERVIEW

GOING DIGITAL TO MANAGE RISK

Pg. 60 We hear from Sabina Todd (Envirosuite) about her experience with the Australian water industry and the role of digital technologies.

FEATURE

EFFICIENT MOTORS TO SAVE ENERGY

Pg. 50 ABB’s Timo Kaarna explains how motor and drive technology can help lower energy consumption in the water and wastewater industries.

FEATURE

A SOUND DIGITAL TRANFORMATION

Pg. 10 Envirosuite hosted a webinar with SWM on how water utilities can implement digital technologies to advance their business objectives.

MEDIA LIBRARY

SPEAKERS' CORNER

FEATURE

WATER GOALS FOR GREEN BUILDINGS

Pg. 78 Droople’s technologies can help optimize water-energy savings and CO2 emissions for green building certification standards.

INTERVIEW

A NEW WATER AGENCY FOR SA

Pg. 30 Dr Sean Phillips, DirectorGeneral, Department of Water and Sanitation, South Africa, shares the department’s plans and priorities.

INTERVIEW

MAKING IOT

CONNECTIVITY SIMPLE

Pg. 84 René Albrecht (1NCE) speaks to SWM about the advantages of cellular radio for the device communication needs of water utilities.

PERSON OF THE MONTH

AN UNCONVENTIONAL CAREER

Pg. 18 James Lovelock was an independent scholar, known for inventing the electron capture detector and proposing the Gaia hypothesis.

INTERVIEW

COMMITTED TO WATER EFFICIENCY

Pg. 40 Ingeteam Water has created a division focusing on the water sector. We learn about it from its Managing Director Néstor Campo.

OPINION

PPPS TO ACCELERATE IMPLEMENTATION

Pg. 38 Dhevan Govender makes a case for PPPs as the best vehicle for large scale water infrastructure implementation in South Africa.

How water utilities apply digital innovation to drive growth strategy Webinar

>As digital innovation became a trend in the water industry over the last decade, different technologies overcrowded this digital space. It is crucial for water utilities to select and implement the technologies that work best for them in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.

On September 6, Envirosuite hosted with Smart Water Magazine a webinar with the title “How water utilities ap ply digital innovation to drive growth strategy”. The webi nar brought together water utility and technology vendor perspectives to offer a detailed conversation on digitaliza tion: what technologies are in the market, and how they can be applied to optimise service delivery and improve resilience. Olivia Tempest, Content Manager at Smart Wa ter Magazine and moderator of the event, introduced the webinar and Envirosuite, the global leader in environmen tal intelligence with headquarters in Australia.

The participating panelists were Daniel Lambert, Ex ecutive Manager, Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions at UnityWater, bringing the unique perspective of a water utility that provides essential water supply and sewage treatment services in parts of Queensland; Chaim Kolo minskas, Manager of EVS Water – Envirosuite’s suite of solutions focused on improving environmental and opera tional performance in the water industry, and Jide Fadero, EVS Water Lead for EMEA at Envirosuite.

Olivia launched into the conversation with a broad ques tion: what does the digital transformation mean for water utilities around the world? Daniel Lambert noted the impor tance of understanding the context: the core business of water utilities is to provide reliable and safe water and wastewater services to customers. The digital transformation is about us ing digital technology to respond and innovate better ways of

delivering services, including improving services to custom ers as well as environmental benefits, and preventing issues. Chaim Kolominskas added that while transformation has so far focussed on collecting, storing and displaying data, there is now an opportunity to use that information in a way that drives improvement in operational and environ mental performance. In fact, he thinks that Envirosuite’s business really started taking off after they started to un derstand what translating information into something use ful really meant from a product design point of view: what information, in what form, in whose hands and with what frequency are really important factors when implementing a digital transformation.

""

CHAIM KOLOMINSKAS

ManagerEVS Water at Envirosuite

"Utilities will want to see that an optimization solution can save money at one part of the treatment plant before expanding to the whole plant or deploying at multiple plants."

The dialogue moved on to talk about the risks of going digi tal. Jide Fadero pointed out regulatory risks, so the introduc tion of new regulations that utilities were not planning for or their strategies do not align to, which force them to reassess their strategies. Other risks include the cost of digital tech nologies; after a successful pilot, deploying a technology fully across their assets may be quite expensive. To address this, water utilities can conduct digital technology reviews to en sure that the most relevant and most modern and cost-effec tive digital technologies are implemented. Data protection is another obvious risk. Dan outlined some of the risks from a utility perspective: not having a clear strategy, lack of collab oration between utilities and technology providers, and not investing in knowledge and appropriate capacity building. Also, challenges around costs and quality of data, with in creased costs due to more data being stored and consumed.

Next, when asked whether they thought digitalization is directly connected with improved efficiency for water and wastewater utilities, some interesting examples were provided. Dan thinks there is evidence to support that, for instance in trials done with 10,000 digital meters on their assets, data shows efficiency improvements in things like non-revenue water. He emphasised the need to make sure you have the right technology for the right purpose and context. Chaim added efficiency and digitalization are definitely connected, and mentioned examples from projects Envirosuite is working on in South East Asia. In one of those projects, information already available at the plant combined with near-real-time and predictive modelling is used to work out exactly how much coagulant is needed at a drinking water facility, with out the need to involve the laboratory at all, thereby saving in chemicals and labour; that can be scaled up to the whole

treatment plant. Efficiency gains can be tied to the concept of digitalization and seen across the whole industry, he said.

Olivia then dove right into the gist of the discussion: since digitalization encompasses countless solutions, how can wa ter utilities and operators know which technologies are best suited for their specific needs? Dan noted the importance of understanding the current state of a utility, and what we would like the future state to be. In this regard, a clear strat egy, plan and roadmap are really helpful to prioritize and identify the right types of technology applicable at the right stages of the journey. Jide agreed, and added that those ob jectives and goals come from what the utility has internally planned for growth, but they should also align with what third party regulatory bodies have planned.

The conversation then turned to the issue of applying new technologies to achieve the best outcomes. Jide provided an example of one of their customers, in charge of a sewage network in India with odour issues. They did a technology assessment to find the best technology to help them address the issue, and started collaborating with Envirosuite. Chaim noted that, in essence, applying new technology is about driving change through an organization. The experience at Envirosuite shows a couple of factors come up repeatedly,

The webinar brought together water utility and technology vendor perspectives to offer a detailed conversation on digitalization.

JIDE FADERO

Finally, the discussion concluded on different approaches to embrace digitalization: is it better for utilities to start small, or to embrace digitalization completely? Chaim said while as a vendor they will be interested in utilities embracing digita lization completely, they often start small to prove the value of their products. He pointed out that utilities will want to see that an optimization solution can save money at one part of the treatment plant before expanding to the whole plant or deploying at multiple plants. Dan suggested it depends on the type of technology and the type of solutions. He stressed that, regardless of whether it’s a small- or large-scale rollout, it is key to always have a clear way of monitoring progress, measuring success, and having governance and oversight, in order to ensure the success of projects.

one is having an internal champion committed to driving improvements within the water utility. At the same time, Envirosuite, as a vendor, puts a lot of time into understand ing stakeholder needs within water utilities; the best innovations that they have delivered to the market have come from listening to customers and translating that into prod uct design. From a utility point of view, Dan advised being ambitious but realistic, and not to try to reinvent the wheel, as vendors can sometimes do things better than a utility can, or already have experience doing it.

The speakers then discussed the importance of having in-house digital capability when it comes to implementing new digital solutions. Jide noted a way for a utility to stay relevant is to know what’s relevant in the digital landscape, and suggested they continually survey the digital terrain to know when new technologies that have added value are on the market. When utilities talk to external vendors, collab oration can lead to unique and innovative solutions. Dan added that regardless of their in-house digital capability, no utility has the skills to solve all the problems in the most efficient and effective way, so partnerships with vendors and collaborations are key. He added that having the right gov ernance is also important to maintain oversight.

The final part of the webinar was a question-and-answer period led by the moderator, where the speakers answered questions sent by the audience. Asked about whether Envi rosuite is more into Artificial Intelligence models or instrumentation, Chaim explained Envirosuite works in modelling

DANIEL LAMBERT

solutions: machine learning, so artificial intelligence-based solutions, but also deterministic modelling, and really trans lating that information in a way that it is useful, while instru mentation is occasionally part of the solution.

The speakers wrapped up with a question on which tech nology is really making a difference in efficient water man agement in utilities, also with a look at the future. Chaim commented that water efficiency, as well as variability in water quality, are areas driving interesting innovation, and noted there are huge opportunities in automation of deci sion making. Jide added technologies that help with cli mate issues, and also energy consumption. Dan remarked that digital will play a role in the step changes in treat ment and household-scale solutions, and cited net-zero water houses, net-zero water closed-loop systems, that will transform the whole industry, as the pipe networks, the treatment plants, and the current utility model would be thrown upside down.

The best innovations Envirosuite has delivered to the market came from listening to customers and translating that into product design.

"Water utilities can try and mitigate or remove these risks by conducting digital technology reviews to ensure that the most relevant and most modern and cost-effective digital technologies are implemented."

"" EVS Water leadEMEA at Envirosuite

"Be ambitious but realistic, and don't reinvent the wheel - there are vendors who will be able to do things better than you."

"" Executive ManagerSustainable Infrastructure Solutions at UnityWater

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.

ABDULHAMEED

AL MUHAIDIB

ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and opera tor of power generation, water desalination, announced chang es to its executive team.

Kashif Rana, formerly the company’s Chief Financial Of ficer, has assumed the role of Chief Portfolio Management Officer. An energy industry veteran with over two decades of experience in the sector, Mr. Rana has been with ACWA Power for 13 years, and led the CFO function since 2014. As CFO, he oversaw the company’s public listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in 2021. His new mandate will include driving the development and implementation of an effective portfolio-management strategy for the company’s expanding global portfolio of 60+ projects in 13 markets; further enhanc ing the asset management function; achieving optimal assets performance while maximizing return on investment; ensuring value creation while managing risk; and maintaining adher ence to contractual and regulatory commitments.

Meanwhile, the Chief Financial Officer responsibilities will be overseen by Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib. He has functioned as the Deputy CFO for the company since January of this year. Al Muhaidib has been with ACWA Power for 13 years, initially serving in corporate finance positions, before taking on project leadership roles in managing two projects under the Company portfolio. His new remit as CFO will involve all finance activi ties along with investor relations, insurance, and shared services.

NEW CFO OF ACWA POWER

Kashif Rana, former CFO, takes over as Chief Portfolio Management Officer

KAVEH MADANI

The United Nations University (UNU) has announced that Prof. Kaveh Madani has been appointed as the next Director of the UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

A globally recognized environmental scientist, educator, and activist who has been working at the interface of science, policy, and society, Prof. Madani will take up the post of UNU-IN WEH Director in 2023.

UNU-INWEH is one of the 13 UNU institutes located in 12 countries that contribute to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples, and Member States. The institute contributes to the resolution of pressing global water challenges by synthesizing existing scientific knowledge; conduct ing cutting-edge research; identifying emerging policy issues; and developing on-the-ground, scalable solutions.

Prof. Madani came to UNU in 2021 and has been working as Head of the Nexus Research Programme at the Dresden-based UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES).

“I’m delighted that Prof. Madani will lead UNU-INWEH, af ter having focused on the nexus between water, waste, and soil at UNU-FLORES. His impressive experience in both academia and public service will help UNU-INWEH bridge the gap between water resources research and the practical needs of decision makers in the Global South”, said UNU Rector David Malone.

KAVEH MADANI APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF UNU-INWEH

Professor Madani came to UNU from Yale University in 2021, and has been working as Head of the Nexus Research Programme

MICHAEL CAMPBELL

Bentley Systems, the infrastructure engineering software com pany, announced that Michael Campbell has been appointed chief product officer and will lead more than 1,500 colleagues in the company’s product advancement group. Campbell joins Bentley from product engineering software leader PTC, where he has spent his whole career since earning his mechanical en gineering degree from Boston University in 1995. He has had product leadership responsibility for PTC’s mainstream design applications and for its IoT acquisitions, and most recently served as executive vice president and general manager for its augmented reality offerings. Campbell will be responsible for defining Bentley’s product strategy and for managing product development to advance the company’s leadership in infrastruc ture engineering software. He will report to Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Cumins.

Cumins said, “Mike brings to Bentley his vast experience of software innovation at PTC, and a unique perspective on the evolution of engineering software applications to incorporate cloud services. We share a belief that infrastructure engineering can learn from product engineering’s advancements in going digital, including leveraging digital twins and industrializing digital workflows.”

Following its IPO in 2020 after 36 years, Bentley Systems anticipates continuing executive retirements, accelerating op portunities for significant internal promotions.

The OECD Water Governance Initiative (WGI) welcomed Barbara Pompili, Member of the French Parliament and pre viously Minister for Ecological Transition, as its new Chair for the 2022- 24 period. Since its inception in 2013, the WGI has worked as a global multi-stakeholder network of 100+ policymakers and experts from the public, private and civil society sectors, to improve water governance to achieve sustainable development and growth in OECD member and partner countries.

Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, which hosts the Secretariat of the WGI, said, “It is our pleasure to have Barbara Pompili as the new Chair of the WGI. She brings excellent understanding of how to design and implement effective, in clusive, and place-based climate-related policies, from water to urban development and biodiversity.”

BARBARA POMPILI

Barbara brings 20 years of experience in environmental pol icy and sustainable development to the WGI. As a Member of Parliament for the 2nd district of the Somme in the National Assembly of France since 2012, she has taken on various re sponsibilities, notably as Head of the Sustainable Development Commission and Co-Chair of the Green Party. Barbara was appointed Secretary of State for Biodiversity in 2016 and Min ister for Ecological Transition with a large portfolio in 2020. Within President Macron’s first mandate, she spearheaded the Biodiversity and Nature Bill (2016).

BARBARA POMPILI APPOINTED NEW CHAIR OF OECD WATER GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE

Barbara Pompili, Member of the French Parliament, is appointed new Chair of The OECD Water Governance Initiative (WGI)

BENTLEY SYSTEMS APPOINTS MICHAEL CAMPBELL AS CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER

Michael Campbell will lead more than 1,500 colleagues in the company’s product advancement group

Brown and Caldwell announced Dr Christopher Corwin has joined the company as national drinking water leader. The hire supports the firm’s strategy to solidify its position as the leading drinking water solutions provider for municipalities, private industry, and government agencies throughout North America and the Pacific.

Dr Corwin has held various leadership roles throughout his ca reer pertaining to drinking water process planning, distribution system water quality, treatment optimization and modelling, and bench- and pilot-scale testing. With a focus on innovative solutions to lower energy, resource, and waste production, he has led several high-profile projects in lead reduction, emerging contaminant treatment, and integrated water master planning.

Dr Corwin’s hiring will bolster Brown and Caldwell’s 75-year legacy of solving the most complex water issues at a time when communities face unprecedented challenges with access to clean drinking water.

Based in Denver, he will grow the firm’s drinking water prac tice, aligning its technical and R&D experts with clients to de liver ground-breaking and trusted solutions to safeguard water supplies and enhance system reliability.

Corwin was previously a faculty member of the University of Colorado Boulder, teaching undergraduate and graduate-level courses in all areas of environmental engineering. He will utilize his men torship skills to develop Brown and Caldwell’s young professionals.

Arup has appointed Wayne Middleton as the new regional leader of its expanding Water business, in line with the firm’s commitment to accelerate the growth of this key portfolio.

Wayne brings over 30 years of experience working in leader ship roles across the global water industry. He has expertise in the delivery of long-term regional water infrastructure security programs, including the development of drought and climate change response strategies.

Arup Australasia Leader, Energy Water and Resources, Poya Rasekhi said Wayne joins at a critical time for Arup, with com munities, governments, NGOs and the private sector realising the need to collaborate to address the severity of water related challenges.

“Water is the world’s most valuable resource, but rapid ur banization is placing strain on water supplies, drainage net works and sanitation, while climate change is making extreme weather events like flooding and droughts more severe.”

Poya Rasekhi, Principal Energy, Water and Resources – Aus tralasia Leader, said: "Net zero commitments are gaining mo mentum in many different countries and economic sectors and the water sector can play a key role in shaping and driving a significant industry shift towards sustainable development.”

“Wayne’s deep technical and operational knowledge of water supply and wastewater treatment assets, combined with astute commercial and leadership acumen make him the ideal candi date to lead the Water team.”

DR CHRISTOPHER CORWIN

DR CHRISTOPHER CORWIN APPOINTED NATIONAL DRINKING WATER LEADER AT BROWN AND CALDWELL

Dr Christopher Corwin’s hiring will bolster the company’s 75-year legacy of solving the most complex water issues

WAYNE MIDDLETON

WAYNE MIDDLETON APPOINTED AUSTRALASIA WATER LEADER AT ARUP

Wayne Middleton brings over 30 years of experience working in leadership roles across the global water industry

PERSON OF THE MONTH

JAMES LOVELOCK

INDEPENDENT SCIENTIST AND ENVIRONMENTALIST

Born in the UK in 1919, James Lovelock had an unconvention al career: he was an independent scholar who never accepted a tenured university position, and supported himself with roy alties from inventions, visiting fellowships, contract work, etc., including work for the British Security Service.

He authored about 200 scientific papers, and filed more than 50 patents. His greatest invention was the electron capture detector in 1957, used in gas chromatography to detect trace amounts of chemical compounds in a sample. It assisted in dis coveries about the presence of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere and their role in stratospheric ozone depletion.

Lovelock is known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which says all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a self-regulating complex sys tem, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet. Later in his career, Lovelock became concerned about global warming caused by the greenhouse effect.

In 1974 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and was awarded many prestigious prizes throughout his life. He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990 and Companion of Honour in 2003 by Queen Elizabeth II. James Lovelock passed away on his 103rd birthday, July 26, 2022.

James Lovelock in 2005. Credit: Bruno Comby, CC BY-SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CRISTINA FERNÁNDEZ

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR AT AGANOVA AND EXPERT IN LEAK DETECTION

“Management of pressure at the different points is crucial in a project: this is key for leak detection”

The Smart Water Magazine team had the chance to speak with Cristina Fernandez, technical director at Aganova, about her career at Aganova and her perspective on the sector. Cristina has led water loss de tection projects in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe, and can boast on her resumé of having “navigated” more than 2,000 pipeline kilometres and having contrib uted to the recovery (only in 2021) of 5,200 litres per minute of water, through the location of more than 800 leaks in transmission networks.

Cristina provides us her technical per spective, from the point of view of global water leak minimization.

First of all, Cristina, tell us about your experience and your career path.

"In many areas, the main obstacles that make NRW minimization difficult originate from a lack of knowledge about the networks"

Aganova, specialists in the development of technologies for drinking water analysis, continues to expand internationally, with technologies for water leak detection in large diameter networks – the Nautilus System – a solution designed and patented by the company from the Costa del Sol, Spain.

My career path has been linked with Aganova from the beginning. I studied industrial design, and soon, after final izing my university degree, my first wa ter leak detection projects with Aganova began. Since then, I have alternated my studies from behind the desk – where I have done a master’s degree in Water Sector Technologies Management and university studies in project management – with, as you said, work out in the field. In fact, in terms of my academic back ground, I could have opted for a position in the R&D department, but if I am be ing honest, the challenges in the area of operations were more motivating for me.

At Aganova I have had the opportu nity to be in contact with water systems from all over the world, and have been able to study their particularities and is sues up-close. To be young and working

side by side with such amazing engineers from all over the world was a lucky op portunity for which I am grateful.

In your experience, what are the main problems or obstacles that make non-revenue water minimiza tion difficult?

In my case, I can talk about non-revenue water (NRW) issues concerning water loss caused by leaks in transportation or large diameter networks, which is where I have been involved more directly.

In this sense, the reason for the prob lem can vary depending on the country. In many areas, the main obstacles orig inate from the lack of knowledge they have about their networks. When stud ying projects, I am still surprised by the absence of historic knowledge of their network. Of course, taking the particu

larities of the large diameter networks and long routes into consideration, the maintenance technicians find serious issues when identifying and segmenting their networks to undertake leak detec tion campaigns. There is huge work for many water companies over the world in terms of inventory of their networks and registering existing elements. On in numerable occasions, various issues have been discovered in the network during the inspection with the Nautilus System, whose existence was unknown by the client (lost or partially open valves, deri vations that were not completely closed, etc.). These are not sporadic situations, but something quite frequent.

Of course, another reason that complicates leak detection is administrative processes. From the time losses are no ticed until a contract is awarded, large amounts of water are lost.

What are the key differences between the water networks over the world?

There are a lot of differences, but there are more similarities. Even though it may seem obvious, the main differences are cultural, and the work processes in each society. Luckily, at Aganova we can count on a large network of partners who are key to supporting or facilitating our adaptation to the idiosyncrasies of any country from the outset.

Of course, there are also technical dif ferences which ideally should be stand ardized, but the reality is that we have al ways been able to adapt to different work conditions. For example, insertion and extraction systems are key procedures

"We can count on a large network of partners who are key to supporting our adaptation to the idiosyncrasies of any country"

for our Nautilus System, as it permits a free-flowing field operative. However, on innumerable occasions, we have adapted our patterns to the client’s needs: creat ing specifically tailor-made traps for the pipes, using divers in subaquatic situ ations, or using nets designed for very diverse configurations.

From my experience, the crucial differ ence in the study of a project is the man agement of the pressure at the different points: this is key for leak detection. De

pending on the pressure level, the typolo gy of the leaks and their frequency can be very different. In higher pressure points, leaks are more frequent, but their detec tion is less complicated. Generally, in are as where the pressure is lower, leaks are less common but more complex to pinpoint. With the Nautilus System, we can detect leaks providing that we have a minimum pressure. In the event that the pressure was extremely low, we would study differ ent ways to approach the project.

Could you tell us what are, in your opinion, the solutions to reduce water leak losses?

Campaigns that raise awareness about the importance of water resource pro tection are being put forward. Fur thermore, policies and regulations are increasingly less permissive regarding water losses by operators. However, from my experience, which is complete ly practical, these policies usually take a while to be applied. Many projects

that are carried out are reactive, mean ing the client calls us when the water loss is sizeable. However, frankly speak ing, preventive campaigns would be the most effective. If we can detect leaks from 0.005 litres per second, why wait for leaks to increase and cause major problems?

Of all the projects you have worked on, is there one you feel especially proud of?

That is a really difficult question be cause I have learned a lot from every project and, speaking on behalf of the technicians on the team, every cam paign has meant a great deal of progress for us and our technologies. If I had to mention one, I would emphasize a pro ject accomplished in countries suffering from water stress and with lower pur chasing power, as contributing to wa ter management in these areas is more gratifying and entails bigger challenges. A project which comes to my mind is one we have just finished in the United Arab Emirates, with DEWA. With our support, the client has been able to re duce (in only a few months) water loss es by 68.4 million gallons, which makes me feel very proud. This project has made me reflect on the potential water loss minimization we could achieve if more extensive campaigns were made in every country.

Changing the subject, and as we come to the end of this interview, I would like to ask you about your experi ence as a young woman in this mainly male-dominated sector.

There are thousands of anecdotes to cite on this topic. More and more women are joining this sector. Even though it is true that seeing a woman in the field has caused surprise among technicians, I have always received appreciation and respect from colleagues and clients. Therefore, I encourage every young pro fessional woman to join this thrilling sector and support the sustainability of our planet’s development.

"The Nautilus System can detect leaks providing that we have a minimum pressure; if very low, we would study different approaches"

Water stress has become one of the great est threats to our planet, which seems to be heading towards a foreseeable climate crisis. The success of strategies and poli cies against climate change requires the incorporation of water management as a strategic vector, and as a priority axis of action. It is a matter of contributing to the transition towards a model that re duces the problems of drought and water deficit, providing efficient solutions for a sustainable future for the planet.

For Aqualia, promoting a fair transition that reduces water and energy consump tion, defining a strategy with fewer emis sions and getting involved in the recovery and protection of ecosystems are unavoid able obligations to continue guarantee ing the sustainability of the planet. As the company focuses its activity on the endto-end water cycle, it considers adaptation to climate change to be a crucial point. Therefore, Aqualia addresses this challenge through projects that contribute to combat ing the three great challenges of caring for the planet: pollution and climate change, water scarcity, and the circular economy.

These commitments are set out in its 2021 Sustainability Report, #Act. In the report, it consolidates its commitment to sustainability and calls for action to tackle, through leadership based on the highest ethical standards, the social and environmental challenges of the decade, which the company addresses in its 20212023 Strategic Sustainability Plan (PE SA), which it maintains as a roadmap. #Act involves completing a three-year

Water is an essential natural resource for life, but at the same time, it is limited and scarce, as only 1% of the water on our planet is accessible and drinkable.

cycle of listening and conversation with its stakeholders to respond to the Sus tainable Development Goals (SDGs). A work materialised in the trilogy of reports "Listen" (2019), "Talk" (2020) and now "Act" (2021), and which responds to the request of all stakeholders to take action.

Over the past year, the company has carried out a new global listening pro cess, involving all its stakeholders in LA TAM, Europe, MENA, and the United States. A total of 5,700 people were con sulted, and their opinions were incorpo rated into the company's 2023 Strategic Sustainability Plan, to build common goals and take on board the challenges in terms of the global agenda in each of the 17 countries in which it operates.

With this report, the company high lights its performance in each of the seven lines of the PESA, which have led to the achievement of three major milestones in 2021: internationalisation (the company is consolidating its position as an internation al manager of the end-to-end water cycle); digitalisation (a key axis that must provide value to customers, and closely linked to the third milestone); and sustainability (making progress in achieving the goals set out in the 2023 Strategic Sustainabili ty Plan and taking this to all the territories where the company operates). These mile stones have been achieved thanks to the promotion of the "Aqualia culture", which includes values such as transparency, sus tainability, equality, and diversity, among others. A clear example is the Compliance model, already implemented in 96% of the

organisation, a percentage that the compa ny wants to increase to 100% by 2023.

Energy optimisation and emissions reduction

In the Aqualia 2021 Sustainability Re port, Aqualia uses data to show the impact of its management on the sustainability of the resource and on the environment in which it carries out its activity. Thus, it has promoted the Aqualia Water Analyt ics project (which in turn integrates the GEO geographic information system, Aqualia GESRED and the Scada Plat form), which is available to administra tions and citizens for the intelligent man agement of the end-to-end water cycle and more efficient consumption. The company also prioritises work on ener gy optimisation and emissions reduction. Thus, in 2021 it has focused on achieving this target objective in 2023: that 50% of

energy comes from renewable sources, and to measure the carbon footprint in 100% of the countries where it operates. In rela tion to greenhouse gas emissions, the com pany has reduced them by 4%.

A 3% year-on-year decrease in energy consumption

Reducing the energy consumption of the facilities has been a strategic line for Aqual ia for years. As a result, the company works with the objective of continuous improve ment in its optimisation. The response to the climate challenge focuses on energy management with four lines of action: cal culation of the carbon footprint by coun try, improvement of the energy efficiency of the facilities, use of renewable energies, and transformation of its fleet of vehicles.

All this effort is reflected in the calcu lation of the company's carbon footprint in accordance with the guidelines of the

The success of strategies and policies against climate change requires the incorporation of water management as a strategic vector

Over the past year, Aqualia has carried out a global listening process, involving its stakeholders in LATAM, Europe, MENA, and the U.S.

UNE-ISO Standard. In the last year, the measures adopted have led to a 7% re duction in emissions compared to the previous year. Once again, the Spanish Climate Change Office has recognised the reduction of the footprint for the three-year period 2017-2019.

Every four years since 2016, Aqualia subjects a set of production facilities that consume more than 85% of the compa ny's total consumption to energy audits (in

accordance with the ISO 50001-Energy Management Systems standard). Aqualia takes advantage of the opportunities for improvement detected in these audits and applies them to its operations. As a result of this dynamic work, the total energy consumed was reduced by 3% in 2021.

Commitment to clean energy Aqualia is firmly committed to a tran sition towards more sustainable ener

gy sources. In the development of its concession activity in municipalities of all sizes, urban and rural, the company provides these populations with techno logically advanced, sustainable facilities adapted to the characteristics of each territory. In this way, the company is extending its commitment to municipal ities, facilitating their energy transition, reducing their carbon footprint, and meeting targets to mitigate the effects of

2021 Aqualia's Sustainability Report, #Act, is a call to action to face the social and environmental challenges of the decade

climate change. In this way, in 2021, the projects initiated in 2020 continued to be developed, including:

The PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) to purchase 76 GWh per year of renew able energy (photovoltaic) for the next 9 years, which is estimated to reduce emis sions by around 15,200 tCO2 e/year.

The first phase of the project to in stall 3.2 MWp of photovoltaic panels has been completed, which will supply

26 consumption points, with an expect ed annual production of 5 GWh/year, which will result in a reduction of GHG emissions of around 1,000 tCO2 e/year.

In 2021, the second phase of solar panel installation has also begun, which aims to reduce a further 820 tCO2 e/year, through the installation of 3.14 MWp of photo voltaic panels, which will supply 52 con sumption points. Within this measure, it is worth highlighting the installation of a

0.84 MWp photovoltaic park at the La Cartuja WWTP in Jerez de la Frontera. However, in the last year, Aqualia reduced its consumption of fossil fuels by 12%, while 32% of the renewable energy used came from its own installations, PPA or purchase, out of the total energy consumed.

Decarbonisation of the vehicle fleet

Among the energy efficiency measures implemented as part of the plan to re

Aqualia is immersed in a progressive renewal of the fleet of light vehicles for less polluting ones to meet its target set for 2022

duce the carbon footprint, the line relating to transport is key due to its enormous impact on climate change. In this regard, Aqualia is immersed in a progressive renewal of the fleet of light vehicles for less polluting ones to meet its target set for 2022: the renewal of 90 of these vehicles.

In 2021, it also continued to devel op innovative solutions to decarbonise its fleet:

J AD-VISor project: generation and supply of biomethane to vehicles: this project enables the revalorisation of fatty waste from the livestock indus try through its transformation into high added value bioproducts. The in crease in biogas production during this process, and its enrichment with the ABAD Bioenergy® process, has made it possible to supply biomethane to ser vice vehicles.

J Climate Project for a sustainable economy: the third verification of the Climate Project of the Carbon Fund for a Sustainable Economy (FESCO2), which aims to contribute to the construction of a low-carbon na

tional production system, has been carried out.

J Innovation in municipal vehicles: in 2021, 7% of the total fleet of vehicles in Spain was renewed with low CO2 emissions. In the development and implementation of these initiatives, it is essential to un derstand the needs of each territory and its citizens and, consequently, to apply the best solutions adapted to achieve the objectives. In some cases, the key lies in the development of innovative technol ogies and responsible solutions in the end-to-end water cycle, which involve reducing consumption, generating clean energy and/or reducing environmental impact, with special interest in the fight against climate change.

In some cases, the key lies in the development of innovative technologies and responsible solutions in the end-to-end water cycle

DR SEAN PHILLIPS

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION, SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa’s water resources depend on an irregular climate. Climate variability and increasing demand are expected to increase the pressure on available water resources, exacerbating existing water stress across the nation.

Z Cristina novo Pérez

Primarily responsible for the formulation and implementation of policy governing the water sector, South Africa’s Depart ment of Water and Sanitation (DWS) also promotes effective and efficient wa ter resources management to ensure all South Africans gain access to clean water and dignified sanitation. To attract private investment in infrastructure, a National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) will be established to help en sure reliable bulk water supplies and help

municipalities take action to guarantee water security, while the DWS will con tinue to do the planning to meet future demand. In this interview, Dr Sean Phil lips, Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation since last January, tells us about the department’s priorities and the plans for the NWRIA.

Can you briefly tell us about your career path and your current role at South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation?

"Historically, DWS focused on the development and management of national water resources such as large dams and associated infrastructure"

I have honours, master’s and PhD de grees in engineering and a Master of Management in public and development management. I have spent more than 20 years working in senior management positions across the three spheres of government, including Head of Depart ment of the Limpopo Department of Public Works and Roads; Chief Opera

“The NWRIA will strengthen governance and transparency in the water sector by separating the roles of player and referee”

DR

tions Officer of the national Department of Public Works; Director General of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency; CEO of the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agen cy; and Managing Director of the Johan nesburg Road Agency. I also spent several years working in the Government Tech nical and Advisory Centre in National Treasury, supporting various efforts to im prove government performance. Recent ly I worked on the Infrastructure Fund at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Operation Vulindle la with National Treasury and the Presi dency. In January 2022 I was appointed Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Can you tell us about your department’s priorities for water and sanitation services?

Historically, DWS primarily focused on the development and management of na tional water resources such as large dams and associated infrastructure. However, the Department is now also taking re sponsibility for addressing weaknesses with water and sanitation services at lo cal government level. This does not mean that the Department will be neglecting its responsibilities regarding national water resources, but rather that it will be doing more to meet its water services re sponsibilities.

The Constitution, National Water Act, and Water Services Act compel the DWS and other national departments to support municipalities and to inter vene where there is non-compliance

"DWS will consistently intervene where there is noncompliance with national norms and standards for water and sanitation services"

Nooitgedacht Water Scheme

The NWRIA was established to create an enabling institutional environment for raising private sector finance for water infrastructure

J A publicly visible National Regulatory Dashboard showing the extent of com pliance with national norms and stand ards for all Water Service Authorities, drawing on existing monitoring infor mation, including the Drop reports, NT, and COGTA reports, building on the existing Integrated Regulation Informa tion System.

J Rolling regional support and interven tion plans based on the evidence in the Regulatory Dashboard, to be managed by DWS regional offices, in consultation with provincial governments, municipal ities and DDM structures.

with national minimum norms and standards. The main underlying causes of the deterioration in municipal water and sanitation services that we have seen are weaknesses in governance; poor asset management, billing and revenue collec tion, operations management, and main tenance; and lack of personnel with the required qualifications and experience in municipalities.

To date, national government support and interventions related to municipal water and sanitation services have not been sufficiently effective to stop the decline in these services. The DWS is introducing changes to make support and interventions more effective. These changes include interventions in munici palities through Section 63 Interventions in terms of the Water Services Act as well as through collaboration with the min ing and agricultural sectors. The DWS also intends to make greater use of its

Water Boards to support and intervene in municipalities.

In addition, grant conditions and grant management processes must be adjusted to ensure that transfers to municipalities for water and sanitation infrastructure are used to address non-compliance with norms and standards; and to ensure that they provide incentives for addressing problems such as non-revenue water.

The department has identified mu nicipalities where water and sanitation services are dysfunctional and is now supporting and intervening on an un precedented scale. However, there is a need to move to a situation where support and intervention by the de partment, working together with the National Treasury (NT) and the Depart ment of Cooperation and Traditional Af fairs (COGTA), is automatic, based on concrete evidence of poor performance, rather than the current ad-hoc approach of only intervening when problems are identified at a political level. The depart ment is therefore putting in place the fol lowing measures to make its support and intervention more consistent, systematic, and effective:

J Developing more comprehensive norms and standards for water and san itation services in terms of the Water Services Act.

J A range of support programmes need to be developed at a national level, joint ly by DWS, COGTA and NT.

Based on the evidence in the Regulatory Dashboard, DWS will consistently intervene where there is non-compliance with national norms and standards for water and sanitation services.

What is the rationale for creating a National Water Resources Agency at this time?

DWS is implementing a range of ma jor projects to augment national bulk water resource infrastructure and to increase the security of supply. In addi tion to these government-funded proj ects, DWS is also implementing several blended finance projects, in collabora tion with the Infrastructure Fund. We are also implementing several large-scale water resource infrastructure projects in collaboration with the mining and agri cultural sectors.

While all these projects will make a substantial contribution to increasing water security in the country, they are not sufficient. The Government is con strained in the extent to which it can finance additional water resource infra structure projects. The main rationale for establishing the National Water Re sources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) is to create an enabling institutional en vironment for raising more private sector

"The establishment of the NWRIA will also address the current fragmentation of asset management and revenue collection functions"

finance for water resource infrastructure.

The NWRIA will be created by merg ing the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and the Water Trading Entity (WTE) of the Department. Ownership of all the national water resource infra structure currently owned by the depart ment will be transferred to the NWRIA.

The NWRIA will therefore have a sub stantial balance sheet and the intention is for it to work towards being able to raise finance which is not backed by gov ernment guarantees, which is currently a constraint on borrowing by the TCTA. There are substantial revenue streams as sociated with this asset base which can be used to raise finance.

The establishment of the NWRIA will also strengthen governance and transpar

ency in the water sector by separating the roles of player and referee i.e., DWS will retain responsibility for planning, regula tion, policy and price setting, whilst the Agency will build, operate and maintain water resource assets. It will also address the current fragmentation of asset man agement and revenue collection func tions for national water resource infra structure between the TCTA, the WTE and the department, and the establish ment of the NWRIA will enable them to be integrated into one entity.

How does South Africa plan to attract pri vate investment in water infrastructure?

In addition to establishing the NWRIA to raise finance for national water resource infrastructure, we have established a Wa

ter Partnerships Office with the DBSA, to assist municipalities to put in place commercial public-private partnerships in areas such as reducing non-revenue water, water reuse, and desalination, amongst others. The WPO will develop standard ized programmes for public-private part nerships to make it easier and quicker for municipalities to enter into Public Private Partnerships. The WPO will recruit spe cialists in feasibility studies and financial structuring to assist municipalities.

What types of business models could the new agency contemplate to build and operate water infrastructure?

The NWRIA should be open to consid ering a range of business models for the construction and operation of national water resource infrastructure. This will include the current TCTA model of fi nancing through loans through to pub lic-private partnerships, such as build, operate, and transfer models.

To what extent do you think the new agency will help increase access to water and sanitation to currently un der-served communities?

The NWRIA’s responsibilities will be limited to building, managing and op erating national water resource infra structure. This will assist municipalities by ensuring that there is a security of supply of bulk water. The department has other entities (the water boards) and programmes and grants which are aimed at assisting municipalities to provide ac cess to water and sanitation to currently under-served communities.

"We have established a Water Partnerships Office with the DBSA, to assist municipalities with commercial public private partnerships"

DR

SPANISH WATER MANAGEMENT FOR MORE THAN EIGHT MILLION SAUDIS

The consortium led by Aqualia (51%), which also includes the Saudi service companies Tawzea (39%) and HAACO (10%), has just signed the agreement for the award of the contract for the management, operation, and mainte nance (MOM) of the end-to-end water cycle in the Saudi regions of Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf and Northern Border in the north of the kingdom.

Aqualia is the official leader of the consortium according to the terms of the public tender. The so-called North Cluster, which includes these four re gions of northern Arabia and has a population of more than three million people in an area equivalent to three quarters of Spain (380,000 km²), is one of the 6 clusters, territories of Arabia into which the state entity NWC (Na tional Water Company), the client of

the contract, has divided the country to move towards improved management of water supply and sanitation services.

The aim of this programme of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to encourage private sector participation in the management of the country's water and sanitation services and to improve efficiency across the board.

This North Cluster contract, executed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from the consortium companies, will optimise the management and pursue the social, environmental, and econom ic sustainability of the end-to-end water cycle in the vast Saudi northern region.

The contract includes the manage ment of, among other assets, 92 water treatment plants, 657 reservoirs, 664 abstraction wells, 150 drinking water

pumping plants, 67 tank filling stations, 18,000 kilometres of main pipelines, 14 wastewater treatment plants and 7,000 kilometres of sewerage networks.

As part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan, which seeks the modernisation and sus tainable development of the country, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) has developed a National Water Strategy (NWS 2030) that addresses the main challenges of the sector through policy and institution al reform initiatives. As a result of this process, the National Water Company (NWC) was authorised to implement an integrated private sector attraction pro gramme to improve service efficiency.

The programme aims to restructure the national water system into six region al distribution entities (clusters). Spe cialised private companies are involved in the development of this process.

The six administrative/geographical areas identified with the clusters are as follows: East Cluster (Eastern region of the country); West Cluster (Mecca region); North Cluster (Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf and Northern Border regions); North West Cluster (Medina and Tabuk regions); Central Cluster (Central Ar ea of the country); and South Cluster (Asir, Baha, Najran and Jazan regions), the management of which Aqualia was awarded earlier this year and is current ly already in the implementation phase.

Between the two contracts awarded to Aqualia, South Cluster and North Cluster, the company will manage wa ter for more than 8 million people.

NWC has awarded a Spanish-Saudi consortium led by Aqualia the water and sanitation management for the North Cluster

ACCIONA MAKES PROGRESS WITH A SERIES OF WATER TREATMENT CONTRACTS IN PORTUGAL

SELF-HEALING PIPES SET TO REDUCE LEAKS AND SAVE WATER TESTED BY NORTHUMBRIAN WATER

The ‘No-dig’ technology seals the pipe from the outside, avoiding excavation

ACCIONA has consolidated its pres ence in the water treatment market in Portugal with the award of a series of contracts for an overall value of more than €12 million. The biggest contract in financial terms is the one for Águas do Algarve for the expansion of the water distribution system in the locality of Loulé. The project, valued at €4.83 mil lion, will be carried out in a joint ven ture with Camacho Engenharia.

In another contract for Empresa Portuguesa das Águas Livres (EPAL) ACCIONA will upgrade the Asseicei ra DWTP, the biggest drinking water treatment plant in Portugal, to supply a population of over 3 m people under a €2.58 million contract. The DWTP has a daily treatment capacity of 625,000 m3 and serves the Lisbon region.

The company has been awarded another contract – for €2,43 million – with Águas do Algarve for the system to raise water from the Odeleite reservoir to the one at Beliche, with the aim of supplying water to most of the population of the eastern part of the Algarve. ACCIONA has also signed a one-year technical assistance contract with Águas do Algarve for the opti mization of the water treatment process.

The company has also signed a con tract with Aguas Publicas do Alentejo for the improvement and updating of the Alvito DWTP for €2.26 million.

Portugal was one of ACCIONA’s first international markets, where it has de veloped more than 70 projects. These include infrastructure projects of all kinds as well as owned assets in wind and photovoltaic power.

A brand-new invention that will allow water pipes to ‘self-heal’ without the need for digging or excavation has been successfully trialled in Newcastle. The first-of-its-kind solution was unveiled and trialled at Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival in July and is now being tested in the field by operational teams across the region.

While still being early days for the ‘No-Dig’ technology, the revolution ary solution is showing signs of helping teams to improve the speed at which they can fix leaks, avoid digging up roads and pavements and save precious water.

No-Dig is a solution made of water, gel and minerals and this is injected into pipes that are leaking. The chemi cal-free solution goes through the pipe, finds the hole and seals the pipe from the outside, blocking the leak - helping to avoid excavation, road closures and impact to water supplies.

Jim Howey, Head of Water Networks at Northumbrian Water said: “It is still ear ly days at the moment, but we are seeing some really positive progress in this proj ect and we really do think it could com pletely change the way we, and in time all water companies, operate in the future.”

The idea was developed at the 2021 Innovation Festival by Northumbrian Water and Origin Tech, and was further developed to be showcased the following year. John Marsden, Commercial Di rector at Origin, said: “This is a brilliant solution because as well as eliminating the need to dig, there are no chemicals meaning that is completely safe as well.”

ACCIONA has been awarded several contracts to upgrade drinking water infrastructure for several water utilities in Portugal

ANGLIAN WATER ISSUES £225M GREEN BOND TO FUND UK'S BIGGEST EVER DROUGHT RESILIENCE PROJECT

The bond will fund the SPA, the biggest infrastructure programme in Anglian Water’s history and one of the largest in the UK.

Anglian Water has become the first UK company to issue a corporate green bond in the Canadian ‘maple’ bond market. It’s another first in financial history for the water company and its sustainable finance leadership.

The C$350 million bond raised will specifically fund Anglian Water’s Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA) which is deliver ing a brand-new network of hundreds of kilometres of large-scale interconnecting pipelines to move water to drier areas of the region, alongside other future resil

ience projects identified by Anglian Wa ter. SPA is the biggest infrastructure pro gramme in Anglian Water’s history and one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK. On completion, the outcome will be improved climate resilience for water supplies across the Anglian region.

Crucially, flexibility in moving water more freely around the region helps improve resilience to droughts and en ables the company to reduce abstraction from the environment in water-stressed areas. This year’s driest July on record

since the 1911 and the driest summer since 1976 highlights the importance of such schemes that ensure resilience to drought for future generations and sup port customers and businesses.

In 2021/22 all of Anglian Water’s debt investment was derived through sustainable finance, enabling the company to save more than 180,000 tonnes of carbon through Green Bond-fund ed projects, which also improved resil ience to climate change, water quality at source, and biodiversity.

HRS Heat Exchangers operates at the forefront of thermal technology, offering innovative and effective heat transfer products worldwide, focusing on managing energy efficiently

OPINION

SENIOR MANAGER, COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS DEPARTMENT, ETHEKWINI WATER AND SANITATION, CITY OF DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPPS): DELIVERING STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS FOR MUNICIPAL WATER AND SANITATION CHALLENGES

Aging infrastructure, lack of resources, insufficient funding and lack of skills are just some of the challenges that municipalities grapple with on a daily basis. This is further complicated by ris ing population, increasing demands, high economic costs, and impacts of climate change. When comparing implementation of large-scale infrastructure facilities, for example, water and wastewater treatment plants, the PPP model’s construction, quality, and overall timelines surpass those of conventional project implementation in the public sector. I firmly believe that PPPs are the best vehicle for large scale infrastructure im plementation to achieve a “reliable future water supply”.

It is a well-known fact that funding is a key barrier, particu larly for large infrastructure project implementation. PPPs can be a vehicle to mobilize capital and accelerate project imple mentation. Municipalities normal ly make provisions for capital fund ing requirements in their forward capital programs. However, these programs are disrupted due to “shocks “or acute events, for exam ple, floods. The budget invariably gets reprioritized to recover from such events and new infrastructure and upgrade of existing aging in frastructure projects are consequently delayed in the process. This is the causal nexus that municipalities experience on a per petual basis whereby they must constantly play catch up.

Municipalities also experience significant delays with SCM challenges for traditional procured projects. Municipal offi cials find themselves impeded with the majority of their time preparing tenders instead of focusing on core service delivery functions. There are instances when new infrastructure spiral into decay simply due to a lack of resources to undertake the operation and maintenance component. Commissioning of a new water or wastewater treatment plant is only a part of the municipal journey in expanding its services to cater for growing population demands. Operation and maintenance plans exist, however are seldom implemented. Key infrastruc

38 - MAGAZINE DHEVAN GOVENDER

ture elements that need to be replaced are often shelved due to new priorities, thus creating a domino effect resulting in poor maintenance of key infrastructure. Key strategic spares that are fortunate to make the priority list are, more often than not, delayed in SCM processes, which can take an entire year to complete. A hazard of a municipal official’s job is the constant juggling act of balancing limited resources and maintaining provision of key services, whilst ensuring SCM compliance. It is clear that “Compliance comes first, before service delivery.”

In my mind, PPPs offer a much more structured approach for infrastructure project implementation. International inves tors and technology providers are rightfully “risk adverse” with their decisions to invest, however with the appointment of qualified transaction advisors and the completion of feasibility studies, the private sector receives some solace that the municipalities are earnest about project imple mentation. PPP projects’ payment mechanisms ensure that the private party is responsible for maintain ing infrastructure assets to a spec ified standard over the life of the contract, including replacement of key capital components. Ultimate ly, the PPP partner is responsible for the financial risk over the life cycle of the project. More importantly, the PPP model provides “budgetary certainty”, forcing the municipality to fo cus on outputs and benefits from the onset. Furthermore, the calibre of service is maintained for the duration of the PPP and the municipality only pays when services are delivered.

In conclusion, the PPP model provides the municipalities with an opportunity to “shock proof “some of its key infra structure and service delivery mechanisms.

As I see it, municipalities have the vision, and the pri vate sector has the vital funding, resources, and expertise. Municipalities who partner with the private sector become more resilient, thereby providing more sustainable service delivery to communities.

The PPP model provides “budgetary certainty”, forcing the municipality to focus on outputs and benefits from the onset

TREATMENT

NÉSTOR CAMPO

MANAGING DIRECTOR AT INGETEAM WATER

“Ingeteam is the right partner for the design of pumping solutions”

Water management is a critical factor in any industry. Ingeteam, a technology company specialized in electrical energy conversion, now offers optimal solutions for pumping systems, energy distribution and automation of water management processes.

Z Laura F. Zarza

Committed to efficient water resource management and use in the entire value chain, Ingeteam has created a specific division focused on the water sector, In geteam Water, to offer the entire range of technologies and services developed by the company in other sectors, for wa ter applications.

Néstor Campo, Managing Director of Ingeteam Water, welcomes us to the com pany’s premises located in Beasain, Guipúz coa (Spain), to present this new Ingeteam commitment to efficiency in the water sector, a strategic sector where the compa ny seeks to position itself as a technology leader by offering innovative, efficient and environmentally friendly solutions.

Ingeteam is a technology company specializing in electrical energy con version that has now created a specific division for the water sector, Ingeteam Water. What is the rationale behind this move?

Ingeteam has been present in the water sector for more than eighty years with Indar pumps. As you point out, we are a technology company specializing in ener gy conversion, present in different sectors and offering different products and servic es. As part of our new strategic plan, our objective is to be closer to our customers in different sectors, and one that we have defined as strategic is the water sector, where Ingeteam has a lot to contribute.

What does this new structure bring to Ingeteam, the parent company? Ingeteam has a strong global presence in different sectors, such as wind, solar, hy dropower, electric vehicles, grids, marine and water.

Implementing a customer-oriented sectoral organization allows us to pro mote our entire range of products, sys tems and services, applied to each sector. Indar pumps, converters, control and services in the case of the water sector.

In which areas of the water sector does Ingeteam Water focus its activity? Our product portfolio offers solutions for the entire water cycle. We cover everything from deep groundwater ab straction, to abstraction for desalina tion plants to produce drinking water. We also provide solutions for water and wastewater management, both domestic and industrial, with pumping station applications, for example in wastewater treatment plants. Finally, and very importantly, we offer solutions for surface runoff management and flood control, a major challenge in areas vulnerable to climate change such as the Mediterra nean basin.

Of course, for all these applications we have an after-sales service, which supports our customers and ensures the highest level of service operations 24/7.

What are the main solutions that Inge team Water offers to the market?

We have a range of Indar submersible multistage centrifugal pumps, with a wide range of flow and head, suitable for potable water and water with low solid content.

We also have Indar centrifugal volute pumps for water with a high solid load and Indar axial impeller pumps for high flow and low head applications.

This portfolio also includes control systems, frequency converters and oper ation and maintenance services for the different applications.

How have pumping solutions for in tegrated water cycle management evolved in recent years?

The evolution has been directed towards greater specialization in order to offer the best solution for the various applications,

INTERVIEW

which today are essential to managing the entire water cycle from a social, envi ronmental and economic point of view.

Water cycle management has experi enced a very important development in the last forty years, especially in coun tries like Spain, where water resource availability and the supplied volume are irregular. The need to guarantee the water supply at an affordable cost and with a minimum environmental impact has been the driving force behind this evolution.

This scenario has led to using a mix of different water sources. In addition to conventional sources, drinking water is obtained from seawater through desal ination processes. On the other hand, reclaimed water is also obtained through tertiary purification processes, covering a significant portion of the purposes and demands water is used for.

This implies, for each application, different water characteristics – super natant, suspended sands, etc. – and very different pumping conditions, in more or less corrosive environments.

These two reasons have been the fun damental drivers for pumping solutions to offer product designs such as hydrau lic pumps and motor types with higher performance, and wire-to-water solu tions, which are better suited to the new requirements of water management.

This is exactly what we do at Ingeteam Water: design the product to offer our customers the best solution in terms of operability, durability and reliability, without forgetting energy efficiency, for all stages of the water cycle.

The search for more efficient and envi ronmentally friendly solutions, as well as the digitalisation in the sector, are the levers that drive current and future solutions.

Both water and energy are the resourc es that have the greatest impact on our quality of life, what are the main chal lenges facing the water sector from an energy point of view?

the industrial, domestic, agricultural, municipal, etc. sectors.

Climate change and its consequenc es are on the agenda of all govern ments. Energy transition programmes impact most industries and water is not an exception.

"Our objective is to be closer to our customers in different sectors, and one that we have defined as strategic is the water sector"

The relationship between water and en ergy is intrinsic. We could say that one cannot exist without the other. On the one hand, water is an energy-generating resource in hydropower plants and can also accumulate energy, as in pumped storage hydropower facilities.

Energy is also used for water withdraw al, transport, distribution, treatment and reuse for all authorised uses, such as in

Water-based energy storage projects, taking advantage of hydroelectric gen eration infrastructure with reversible power generation processes and subse quent pumping, show the importance of water in the energy transition we are going through. It is a solution that al lows greater flexibility when it comes to adapting the generation capacity of the system to the existing demand.

It is essential to ensure efficiency in the management of the resource, espe cially in sensitive activities such as dis tribution, ensuring optimum operation

Our portfolio includes control systems, frequency converters and operation and maintenance services for different applications

of infrastructure, from water withdraw al to delivery.

To achieve this objective, we adapt the operational design of the pump ing stations, adjusting the pump curve (Best Efficiency Point) to the facility as much as possible, thus avoiding hours of pumping inefficiency. Avoiding losses in the network is essential to increase the energy efficiency of the system and avoid overconsumption of energy.

It is also necessary to promote water reuse after appropriate treatment pro cesses. This entails obtaining a water re source in optimal condition, with a lower energy cost than would be the case with conventional water sources or through desalination.

This practice is especially necessary for areas with water stress due to the season ality of water demand and the unevenness

of rainfall patterns. This is the case in the entire Mediterranean basin and the Span ish Mediterranean coast, with very pro nounced seasonal population fluctuations and an irregular rainfall regime.

Ingeteam is the right partner for the design of pumping solutions. In this re gard, the role of pump manufacturers has evolved from that of a mere product sup pliers to that of solution providers, accom panying our clients in their projects from the initial design phase. We are very aware of the environmental importance of water resource management and its energy cost.

Our goal is to collaborate closely with the customer, offering our extensive ex perience in the design of pumping sys tems, optimizing their performance and innovating and developing our products. We aim to offer the best engineering ser vice, according to the specifications of each project.

We could give as an example our Indar permanent magnet submersible motors (PMM) filled with water and free of oils, which offer better electrical performance while caring for the environment, or Indar centrifugal pumps that provide greater operational reliability with their anti-clogging impellers.

Ingeteam Water offers the best support to its customers to achieve the best solu

tion with the lowest energy consumption and operating cost throughout a prod uct’s life cycle.

To conclude the interview, what does it mean for you to lead this new division and what are your goals as Managing Director?

It is a motivating challenge to take an other step forward in the consolidation of our presence in the sector during all these years. We began our journey with Indar pumps, and now this change gives us the opportunity to offer the technolo gies and services developed by Ingeteam in various sectors, for water applications.

Our objective is to consolidate our po sition as a technology leader in the water sector, offering innovative, efficient and environmentally friendly solutions.

What are Ingeteam Water's expecta tions for the next five to ten years?

Our objective is to be a major player in the water sector, as we are in other sectors such as renewable energies, and to achieve sustainable growth at a global level in the different markets where we are present. Ingeteam is a technology company that develops its products and, therefore, we will expand our portfolio of products and services in the coming years.

FEATURE

A large-scale filter press manufacturer, faced with concerns over equipment efficiency and its production process, turned to global dosing pump and AODD pump specialist SEKO for a multipurpose solution.

Filter presses are commonly used for solid-liquid separation in wastewater treatment processes across industries and applications as varied as municipal wastewater treatment, chemical processing and food production.

With ultra-high-drying dewatering per formance and adaptability to harsh work ing conditions, the belt sludge filter press is also suitable for solid-liquid separation in industrial and mining processes. These production processes include electrolytic manganese dioxide, coal washing, cement, starch, calcium carbide, quartz glass, ce ramics, titanium dioxide and steel.

The development of sludge-treat ment technology in China has been slower than expected, meaning that processes create excessive volumes of sludge and water, while disposal is dif ficult, dewatering is not complete and processes are inefficient. Along with poor resource utilization, the gener ation of a large amount of polluted sludge has a significant environmental impact if not strictly controlled.

One sludge filter press manufacturer, keen to improve its practices and en hance public perception of its products and business, decided to carry out com prehensive system upgrades to increase processing efficiency, eliminate waste and reduce environmental pollution. For this, the company turned to water-treat ment expert SEKO to deliver one of its innovative chemical-dosing solutions.

The SEKO technical team’s first task was to carry out a comprehensive as sessment of the client’s production system, where they discovered that the existing process dosed flocculant into the sludge filter press via a screw pump.

While this allowed efficiency to in crease, it also reduced precision which inevitably caused excessive chemical dosing as well as costly wastage and ac celerated the emission of sludge waste. In addition, the existing equipment had high power, large flow, and a considerable maintenance requirement.

Taking into account the client’s specif ic process requirements along with the nature of the flocculant to be dosed, SE KO recommended that the client replace the existing screw pumps with its Kosmo Series dosing pumps or Duotek series AODD pump for superior accuracy, re liability and cost-effective performance.

Solution I: Kosmo mechanical dia phragm pumps

Kosmo mechanical diaphragm pumps measure the volume ratio of floccu lant to slurry through precision-con trolled analogue dosing to achieve consistent mixing while minimizing chemical waste.

In addition, the Kosmo series, with its PTFE diaphragms and PVC/PVDF pump heads, provides excellent chemical com patibility that is ideal for flocculant dosing and ensuring reliability and long life.

Kosmo pumps are widely recog nized for their outstanding perfor mance in continuous dosing, courtesy of the dual advantages of zero leakage and stable dosing. This is achieved through the intelligent design of the pump’s ball valves, which can be disas sembled for cleaning without the need for regular downtime – an attractive

feature for a customer looking to re duce operating costs.

Kosmo pumps may also be equipped with variable-frequency motors or pulse dampers to further improve the stability of dosing, while a back pres sure valve guarantees consistency even when water pressure fluctuates.

Taking into account the client’s specific process requirements, SEKO recommended its Kosmo Series dosing pumps or Duotek series AODD pump

Kosmo mechanical diaphragm pumps measure the volume ratio of flocculant to slurry through precisioncontrolled analogue dosing

J Wide range of sizes and materials suited to variety of conditions and chemical fluids.

J Efficient performance: high flow rates through optimal casing designs.

J Self-priming dry up to 6 m: works in suction lift applications.

J Efficient air distribution design for low air consumption.

J Can be customised to specific applica tions: multiple porting options available along with interface options.

J Safe “deadhead” function, against closed discharge, without pump damage.

Solution II: Duotek AODD pump (Air-operated double diaphragm pump)

SEKO's Duotek AODD pumps are re nowned for their flexibility in pumping difficult liquids at low pressure and flow and come in many sizes and materials.

These pumps allow almost every type of liquid, from highly corrosive acids through high-viscosity paints and ad hesives to food and drink products, to be pumped. The range of applications is virtually limitless and the systems deliver flawless flocculant dosing.

Performance

J Variable flow and head pressures – easy to adjust without sophisticated controls.

J Portable and compact for multi-lo cation use, optionally with trolley.

J Handles liquids with solids particles: ideal for abrasive and viscous media.

J Special air system: lube-free, nonstall, non-freeze.

SEKO's Duotek AODD pumps are renowned for their flexibility in pumping difficult liquids at low pressure and flow

Reliability

J 100% wet tested after final assembly: deadheading, priming, and sealing.

J All-plastic air system: strong and cor rosion resistant in harsh environments.

J Can be dry run without damaging the pump or system: seal-less design.

J Serviceability: quickly and easily maintained without special tools.

Security

J ATEX certification in all versions: conductive plastic pumps available.

J Special air exhaust: designed to oper ate at low noise levels.

J Fully submersible: can be immersed completely according to fluid compatibility.

J All-bolted construction: provides maximum leak resistance and safety.

Features

J Materials: PP, PVDF, Aluminium, SS AISI 316 and POMC.

J Flow rate: 8 l/min to 1,000 l/min.

J Connection: ¼” to 3”.

J ATEX certification for Zone 2.

J EX II 3/3 GD c IIB T135°C.

Thanks to the comprehensive improve ment of the sludge filter press dosing level, the operator saw treatment efficiency in crease while sludge discharge dropped sig nificantly. As well as ensuring that sludge treatment requirements in the on-site process were met, by making its products more environmentally responsible, the customer improved its brand perception among new and existing clients.

Another example of a SEKO solution helping customers achieve long-term, cost-effective improvements in their dai ly operations.

HEIN MOLENKAMP

MANAGING DIRECTOR, WATER ALLIANCE, THE NETHERLANDS

GLOBAL WATER CHALLENGES: INNOVATIVE ECOSYSTEMS AS DRIVER OF INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS

To say that the world we live in faces great challenges may be a cliché, but no less true. The rapidly growing shortage of safe and clean water alone requires innovative solutions in many areas. From sanitation to drinking water and from households to indus try; the way we handle scarce water worldwide will have to change dramatically. Processes need to be more efficient and circular.

Fortunately, the world is teeming with innovative inventors who are often well into developing solutions. However, the road from idea to market is usually long and bumpy, which is why smart inventions tend to get stranded and are often de layed. Innovative ecosystems, such as WaterCampus Leeuwar den in the Netherlands, can provide the solution. They play a key part in helping to accelerate that journey from idea to mar ket. Good for the world and for the international water sector.

WaterCampus Leeuwarden is a unique partnership of private and public organisations, companies and governments. At the heart of the WaterCampus are the three or ganisations Wetsus, the European knowledge center for sustainable water technology, the Centre of Ex pertise Water Technology (CEW) and the Water Alliance. Wetsus provides scientific research. The CEW helps shorten time-tomarket through applied research and product development. And the Water Alliance helps companies and organizations with business development, matchmaking, marketing and PR.

Innovation ecosystem

But there is more. At the Water Application Center, companies and researchers can scale up trials and use extensive lab facilities. The Centre for Innovative Craftsmanship Water (CIV Water) helps MBO students in the water sector learn the craft and at the Biobizz Hub newly developed water and biotechnology can be scaled up to practical market applicability.Thus, an extraordinary innovation ecosystem has been developed that can initiate, stimulate and ac celerate innovation in virtually all aspects of water technology. Pi

oneering innovative companies such as Hydraloop systems, DMT, Wafilin Systems, and Samotics found their way to international cus tomers partly thanks to support from WaterCampus Leeuwarden.

International cooperation

A great deal of knowledge is already being shared in the water sector, but there is always room for improvement. If we are to overcome the challenges facing the world, the sharing of knowl edge must take place much earlier and more frequently. Not only between companies, but also government and educational institutions will have to develop at more or less the same pace, and ideally in the same direction. At WaterCampus Leeuwarden, the past ten years have been devoted to creating an ecosystem in which all these facets are represented.

Cooperation should also not be slowed down by country borders. In a turbulent world, full of conflicting interests, it may sometimes seem diffi cult to face challenges collaboratively. The good news, however, is that infra structure has already been put in place at the base. At Water Alliance, for example, we collaborate with clusters worldwide, some of which participate with us in the Global Water Tech Hub Alliance. This alliance con nects five other powerful global water clusters to the WaterCampus. These are clusters from Israel, the US, Singapore, South Korea and China. Together they play a connecting role for the global sector. Large contracts are not concluded overnight, but we do know where to find each other and this helps companies to expand abroad. Technological advances have brought much to humanity, but by no means have the consequences always been one hundred percent positive. In the challenges the world now faces, there is once again a leading role for this science. That being said, gov ernment, educational institutions and industry will need to join forces internationally to help that science, to bring promising in novations to market at an accelerated pace. We owe that to the generations that will come after us.

If we are to overcome the challenges facing the world, the sharing of knowledge must take place much earlier and more frequently

FEATURE

Timo Kaarna, ABB Motion’s segment manager for water and wastewater in the low voltage motors division, discusses the role that motor and drive technology can play in making water and wastewater industry operations more efficient. This saves operators money and contributes to the global journey to Net Zero.

Moving and processing the incredible volumes of water required by modern society is extremely energy intensive. Research by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that as much as 4% of the world’s total electrical energy is used by the water and wastewater segments. Considering this amount of energy, even marginal efficiency gains would represent huge savings in absolute

terms. Fortunately, experts estimate that energy consumption by the sector could be cut by as much as 15% by 2040 if en ergy efficiency and recovery measures are adopted worldwide.

This is a significant opportunity from both a financial and environmental point of view. Today, electricity makes up an average of 45% of a water processing facility’s operating cost. Any gains in

efficiency will directly reduce this oper ational expenditure. At the same time, cutting total energy use brings us closer to Net Zero and reduces the emissions associated with this vital industry.

Where can energy be saved?

A significant portion of the electricity used in the water and wastewater indus tries goes toward powering pumps. These pumps are driven by electric motors, so upgrading to more efficient motors is an effective way to save power.

Internationally, motor efficiency is categorized by the IEC efficiency rating system. Each increase in category, such

Z Timo Kaarna, ABB Motion’s segment manager for water and wastewater in the low voltage motors division

as from IE3 to IE4, represents a 20% de crease in energy losses, meaning that the motor is more efficient. In Europe, Chi na, and several other countries, new in stallations are required to use IE3 motors or better – but many older installations often still rely on IE1 and IE2 motors.

Today, the most efficient motors, in cluding the synchronous reluctance mo tors (SynRM) from ABB, have an IE5 “ultra-premium” rating. If a facility up graded from the minimum specified IE3 motors to IE5 SynRM motors, energy losses would be reduced by approximately 40%, cutting energy bills significantly.

Even greater efficiency is possible when an operator pairs a motor with a variable

speed drive (VSD). A drive controls an electric motor to match its speed and torque to those required by the appli cation. When a motor is not controlled by a drive, it typically runs at full speed regardless of the load requirements. To control the water flow, operators apply throttling downstream – similar to us ing a car’s brakes while keeping the other foot on the accelerator. This means that the motor consumes the same amount of power regardless of output water flow, which wastes electricity.

By comparison, a drive can adjust the motor’s speed directly. Any time the motor is not running at full speed, it is consuming less energy. As a result, sig nificant energy savings are possible. For example, with a pump or a fan, because the relationship between motor speed and energy consumption is non-linear, using a drive to reduce the motor’s speed by just 20% cuts energy use by 50%.

Rapid deployment, rapid ROI

The exact savings from a drive-motor package depend on the application and use conditions but switching to an IE5 SynRM and drive package typically re duces energy bills by as much as 30%. In addition to potential power savings, ABB also produces drives specifically for water industry applications, such as the ACQ580, which have additional useful capabilities. These features include sensor less flow calculation, multipump control, level control, soft pipe fill, dry run pro tection, quick ramps and pump cleaning.

ABB drives, including the ACQ580, deliver reliable performance and low maintenance costs. Their simple form factor and plug-and-play features mean that they can easily be added to existing installations, new projects and OEM designs.

Upgrading to an IE5 SynRM-drive pack age is also simple to justify from a financial perspective, as the upgrade will quickly pay for itself in energy savings. The expense of purchasing a motor is just a tiny fraction of its lifetime cost, and the main operating ex pense is energy. While an IE5 SynRM-drive package may cost slightly more up front, re duced energy savings will often pay for the difference in as little as a year. Beyond that, the motor will continue to yield savings for its entire ten-plus-year lifespan.

To better understand the real-world potential of these technologies, we can look at the example of the Bocholt sew age treatment plant in Germany, which upgraded its second sludge pumping station from six older motors to four ABB SynRM motor-drive packages. The drives selected automatically adjust the motor’s speed according to hydraulic load, saving additional power. As a result of the changes, the facility has cut its en ergy consumption by 40%.

Improving efficiency – it just makes sense Adopting more efficient motors and drive systems in the water and wastewa ter sector is a clear value proposition. Not only do these upgrades enable operators to simultaneously cut costs and do their part for the planet, but they also pay for themselves in savings over a remarkably short period of time.

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Experts estimate that energy consumption could be cut by as much as 15% by 2040 if energy efficiency and recovery measures are adopted

CORRADO SOMMARIVA

CEO AND FOUNDER OF SUSTAINABLE WATER AND POWER CONSULTANTS

IS NET ZERO IN THE WATER SECTOR JUST BEHIND THE CORNER IN THE GCC?

The journey that took the desalination industry to cut the energy intensity from 25 kW·hr/m3 to less than 3 kW·hr/m3 took about twenty years. However, it was only in the last five years that most of that progress was achieved, as technology shifted from thermal desalination to SWRO and innovations were developed at an unprecedented pace.

The driver that allowed these advances in the sector was good governance, thanks to policies that incentivised effi cient use of energy: setting minimum efficiency thresholds for new IWP and providing realistic prices to energy rather than subsidised as was the practise before.

In this way, decreasing energy use became essential for the commercial competitiveness of tender proposals, and the de salination sector discovered that optimising energy consump tion was not only good for the environment, but contributed to dropping water tariffs significantly.

Progress continues and the threshold of 2.0 to 2.5 kW·h/m3 is in sight thanks to new solutions and advances in technology.

Decoupling of power and water production across the region has re sulted in a growing trend to adopt captive solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, expected to drive water production costs and the energy footprint down even further.

The wastewater treatment sector continues in today’s wastewater treatment plant paradox of using energy to “kill” the residual energy in wastewater. The concept is the utili ty practise of treating wastewater at the lowest possible cost without consideration of the possible by-products.

Today’s installed wastewater treatment has an energy foot print of 0.7 to 1 25 kW·hr/m3 of treated water. However, a large footprint is generated in the process of COD oxidation that, except for various technical ameliorations, remains the same as adopted one hundred years ago.

The sector needs to find incentives to reduce oxidising pro cesses, leaving more carbon in the sludge and generating less

CO2. This would allow beneficial uses of carbon-rich sludges (i.e., energy use for waste to energy, anaerobic generation, landscaping and agriculture).

Along with energy, nutrients and resources in wastewater streams can also be upcycled, recovering nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus and other elements precious to the biosphere. The value of struvite as a biological phosphorus-rich fertilizer is gradually gaining commercial momentum versus chemical fertilizers, but the possibilities offered by nutrient recovery are endless and fully in reach of technology today.

Both SWRO and sewage treatment plants could benefit from low or even zero energy costs tariffs if they were de signed to maximise their operation when they can be fed by a grid powered with solar energy.

Running a desalination plant when the sun is available and the grid is fed by renewable energy re quires storage and larger capacity. On the other hand, water storage provides security against phenom ena such as red tides or harmful algal blooms requiring expensive and energy-intensive equipment such as a Dissolved Air Flotation.

The potential for the wastewater sector is even higher, as the recla mation of treated wastewater and the beneficial use of sludge could turn the wastewater treatment sector from a utility sector to energy generation. Wastewater could therefore turn from a nuisance to a resource, and wastewater treatment be conceived as power and nutrient reconversion cycles, for a full “cradle to cradle” process.

Carbon will be further absorbed by forests and greeneries that can be grown using tertiary treated water, which for the most part is currently being discharged to the sea.

Considering the UAE alone produces an average of about one billion cubic metres of treated sewage effluent (TSE) an nually, approximately five hundred (500) million trees could be planted, which can further help the industry achieve net-ze ro carbon emissions much earlier than 2050.

Wastewater reclamation and beneficial use of sludge could turn the wastewater treatment sector from a utility sector to energy generation

Theproofthat we’redoingwell isthat youdon’teven realize weexist.

Wearecolourless,transparent,almost invisibletoyoursight.Wegounnoticedona day-to-daybasis.And…Whynotrecognizeit? ...discreetinthisnoisyworld.

ButbehindAqualiatherearemany professionals,expertsandcommitted, dedicatedeverydaytoensurethatthe watercontinuestoreachmillionsofhomes... withoutyouevenknowingaboutit.

Wearepeopleworkingforpeople providinganessentialpublicservice.

INNOVATIVE COGENERATION SOLUTION FROM CATERPILLAR HELPS GRESHAM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT ACHIEVE ENERGY NET ZERO GOALS

Caterpillar helps municipalities around the world achieve their sustainability goals through innovative solutions that deliver higher energy efficiency while reducing energy costs.

Caterpillar is a leading supplier of cogen eration technologies and has expertise in designing, installing, and maintaining power plants that convert waste gas from wastewater plant processes into electric power and heat.

A prime example of Caterpillar’s suc cessful support for wastewater treatment facilities is the installation at Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), a basic secondary-activated sludge facility located near the Columbia River north east of Portland, Oregon, U.S., that re ceives an average of 10 million gallons/ day (mgd) of wastewater.

Dating back more than 30 years, ef forts have been made to curb the plant’s big appetite for power, according to Alan Johnston, senior engineer with the City of Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant. Anaerobic digesters were installed at the plant in 1990 in an effort to make the plant more efficient by deriving biogas from the solid waste matter that settles out during the treatment process. Raw, untreated bio gas derived from the digesters fed a 250

kW generator that helped provide power to about one quarter of the plant.

In 2005, after receiving grants from the Energy Trust of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Energy, a Cat® G3508 gas generator set was installed that produces 400 kW in a combined heat and power (CHP) application. The cogeneration sys tem includes a modern biogas scrubbing system that removes moisture, hydrogen sulfide and siloxanes. The Cat generator set produces power and heats buildings with jacket water heat. It has been sup plying 50% of the treatment plant’s power needs since 2005, saving about $250,000 in annual avoided electrical costs.

Even with the addition of this unit, excess biogas had to be flared, Johnston says. In 2007, Gresham’s mayor, Shane Bemis, signed a climate action agreement with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which ultimately led Johnston to exam ine ways to make the treatment plant even more energy efficient.

After further analysis, Gresham decid ed to shift its focus in 2008-09 to reduce power consumption while increasing biogas production.

The journey to energy independence began in 2009 when the Gresham WWTP received a grant from the Ore gon Economic Development Commis sion to study ways for increasing the en vironmental and operational efficiency of the treatment plant. One outcome was a

study on the benefits of accepting fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from restaurants to remove them from the waste stream and instead use them to boost electrical generation.

Based on revenues generated by FOG tipping fees at the facility and avoided electrical utility fees, the conclusion was

A prime example of Caterpillar’s successful support for wastewater treatment facilities is the installation at Gresham WWTP

that it would be cost-effective with an ROI of seven years.

Gresham acted on the recommenda tion, taking in about 15,000 gallons per day of FOG. The product is slowly in jected into the digesters, and according to Johnston, the organic matter has near ly doubled biogas production.

“FOG has a lot of energy stored in it; about 12 cubic feet of biogas produced for every gallon injected into the digesters,” Johnston says. “The study concluded that adding FOG receiving facilities is econom ically viable, and it turns out that there is a market for this service in our area.”

For Gresham, net zero became a re al goal in 2010 when investments were made as part of the capital improvement

cycle. A formal energy management team was created, and Gresham estab lished a goal of achieving energy net zero at the WWTP by 2015.

The increase in biogas made possible the installation of a second Cat G3508 gas genset in 2015 to increase power out put.

With support from management and staff, five major capital upgrades were phased in over a five-year span. In Feb ruary 2015, on schedule and on budget, the first energy net zero month occurred. The WWTP generated more electrical energy on site from renewable biogas cogeneration and solar power than it consumed. Today, the Gresham WWTP generates about 10% more electricity

than it needs via a combination of energy efficiency, codigestion and cogeneration, and a solar array.

Over the 10-year journey to energy net zero, the Energy Trust of Oregon supported the City of Gresham with technical assistance, project develop ment support, and cash incentives that lowered the costs of the energy efficiency measures — as well as the two CHP gen erator sets and the facility’s solar array. Business Energy Tax credits and biomass incentive funds from the State of Oregon were also essential in making net zero a reality.

The net result is about $1 million in annual savings to the ratepayers of Gresh am, which includes $500,000 in avoided utility costs, $350,000 from FOG tipping fees, and the balance in avoided costs by using the jacket water heat from the generator sets to heat buildings. As an added benefit, Class B biosolids that are the by-product from the anaerobic digesters are applied to agricultural fields as fertilizer at no cost to area farmers.

Achieving net zero status is made pos sible by the high uptime of the Cat gen erator sets, Johnston says. To maintain continuous operation, Gresham relies on its Cat dealer, Peterson Power Systems, which provides service through a Cus tomer Support Agreement.

“One of the big reasons why we have a successful program here is because of the relationship we have with our local Cat dealer, Peterson,” he says. “We try to average over 90% run time. That in cludes all the overhauls, top end work, oil changes, and unrelated construction issues that take those engines down.”

Raw, untreated biogas derived from the digesters fed a 250 kW generator that helped provide power to about one quarter of the plant

NEW METHOD DESTROYS DANGEROUS 'FOREVER CHEMICALS'

Chemists at UCLA and Northwestern University have developed a simple way to break down almost a dozen types of PFAS at relatively low temperatures with no harmful byproducts.

In a paper published in the journal Sci ence, the researchers show that in water heated to just 176 to 248 degrees Fahr enheit, common, inexpensive solvents and reagents severed molecular bonds in PFAS that are among the strongest known and initiated a chemical reaction that “gradually nibbled away at the mol ecule” until it was gone, said UCLA dis tinguished research professor and co-cor responding author Kendall Houk.

The simple technology, the compara tively low temperatures and the lack of harmful byproducts mean there is no limit to how much water can be pro cessed at once, Houk added. The tech

nology could eventually make it easier for water treatment plants to remove PFAS from drinking water.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contain a bond between carbon and fluorine atoms that nothing in nature can break. When these chemicals leach into the environment through manu facturing or everyday product use, they become part of the Earth’s water cycle. Over the past 70 years, PFAS have con taminated virtually every drop of water on the planet, and their strong car bon-fluorine bond allows them to pass through most water treatment systems completely unharmed.

Finding ways to remove PFAS from water has become particularly urgent. Scientists are experimenting with many remediation technologies, but most of them require extremely high tempera

tures, special chemicals or ultraviolet light and sometimes produce byprod ucts that are also harmful and require additional steps to remove.

Northwestern chemistry professor William Dichtel and doctoral stu dent Brittany Trang noticed that while PFAS molecules contain a long “tail” of stubborn carbon-fluorine bonds, their “head” group often contains charged oxygen atoms, which react strongly with other molecules. Dichtel’s team built a chemical guillotine by heating the PFAS in water with dimethyl sulfoxide, also known as DMSO, and sodium hydrox ide, or lye, which lopped off the head and left behind an exposed, reactive tail.

But the experiments revealed another surprise: The molecules didn’t seem to be falling apart the way conventional wisdom said they should.

To solve this mystery, Dichtel and Trang shared their data with collab orators Houk and Tianjin University student Yuli Li. The researchers had expected the PFAS molecules would disintegrate one carbon atom at a time, but Li and Houk ran computer simula tions that showed two or three carbon molecules peeled off the molecules si multaneously, just as Dichtel and Tang had observed experimentally.

The simulations also showed the only byproducts should be fluoride — of ten added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay — carbon dioxide and for mic acid, which is not harmful. Dichtel and Trang confirmed these predicted byproducts in further experiments.

Using common reagents in heated water, chemists can ‘behead’ and break down PFAS, leaving only harmless compounds

WORLD'S FIRST ECO-FRIENDLY FILTER REMOVES MICROPLASTICS IN WATER

A research team led by Professor Lee Juhyuck of the Department of Energy Sci ence and Engineering of DGIST, collab orating with the research team of Korea Institute of Industrial Technology led by Dr. Cho Han-cheol, has developed an eco-friendly microplastic removal technology that can remove micro-to-nanosized microplastics in the water.

It is difficult to separate or dispose of microplastics in the water using filters due to their small sizes. In particular, na no-particles, smaller than microns, en

tail problems such as filter clogging and environmental pollution by the filter itself when we try to physically remove them using a filter.

The new method is a collaboration between the triboelectric nagogenerator (TENG) of Professor Lee Ju-hyuck's research team and the particle removal technology using electrophoresis of Dr. Cho Han-cheol's team.

As TENG generates electrical energy through physical energy, we can manu facture eco-friendly microplastic filters.

In addition, since it utilizes the high volt age characteristic of triboelectric energy, it does not require a special external pow er source, so it can be operated without being restricted by location. The test of the new TENG showed that the removal rate of micro-sized microplastic particles was 21.4%, about 5.6 times higher than that of the existing TENG. In addition, it was confirmed that this technology can remove micro-sized microplastics and various micro-toxic particles such as na no-sized zinc oxides and silicon dioxides.

A joint research team has developed the first technology that removes microplastics in water through a triboelectric nanogenerator

DR ASSAF LOWENTHAL

SENIOR SCIENTIST, ATLANTIUM TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

BALANCING POWER CONSUMPTION AND THE GOALS OF WATER TREATMENT: A UV-CENTRIC PERSPECTIVE

UV technology is considered environmentally friendly be cause it is chemical free. In most cases, it is a minor power consumer in comparison to the overall electrical demand of a water treatment facility. Still, operators that wish to reduce the power consumption, may have the option to do so with slight modifications, as suggested in the next paragraphs.

UV technology is mainly known for its role in the disinfection of pathogens in potable water, where disinfection standards are determined by environmental and health au thorities. In such cases, there is little margin for reducing power consumption mainly since the design must comply with regulatory constraints, but also since the required UV dose is usually low to begin with.

In other processes, the goals of a UV treatment are determined by the user and are based on per formance. For example, in aquacul ture, the goal of UV is to decrease the mortality rate of fish due to infectious diseases. In RO mem branes, the goal of UV is to mini mize the accumulation rate of bio fouling on the membrane and the consequent decline in performance. In these two cases, there is no regu latory body to determine the optimal dose for the process. The optimal UV dose is determined by pilot studies, usually carried out in collaboration between academic researchers, the UV in dustry, and the end user. Clients are often unfamiliar with the subtleties required for the determination of the UV dose that their process requires and may purchase an oversized system.

The challenge of a sustainable UV system is supplying clients with their requirements while maintaining power consumption to the minimum. One solution is to give the client the option of choosing between two operational modes: high-risk and lowrisk. A high-risk mode would supply maximum protection and consume more power. The user may choose this mode during seasonal events such as the appearance of specific pathogens in aquaculture, the appearance of algal blooms or increased organic

load in RO facilities. Low-risk mode consumes less power (at least 30% less than high-risk) and provides a standard level of protection. This mode is suitable for standard operating condi tions when preventive maintenance (such as CIP) is carried out on schedule and there are no indications of a high microbial load.

A risk-based approach would save power expenses, which may add up to $4,000 per year in a 100 m3/h system. An operational mode feature already exists in some UV systems and can be easily operated by the user.

In addition to disinfection, UV technology is also well estab lished in the context of treating water polluted with chemical contaminants using advanced oxidation processes (AOP). Each contaminant has its own cleanup goal (the concentration of the contaminant after treatment), which is often defined as below the detection limit of the standard method. Many AOP projects begin before a final regulatory framework has been laid. One aspect of the framework is the determination of analytical methods, which may vary from one lab to another. For example, in New York, 1,4 dioxane is treated to below detection limit, which can be 0.02 ppb in one lab oratory, and 0.07 ppb in another. Assuming initial concentra tion of only 1 ppb, this difference accounts for a 32% increase in power consumption, which can easily translate into over 20 megawatts per year in a site with a flow rate of 50 m3/h.

Another feature of AOP projects is that the contaminant concentration slowly drops during the period of the activity. A UV-AOP system that can adjust its power consumption ac cording to changing requirements can save the client opera tional costs and increase the sustainability of the project.

In summary, to guarantee uncompromised performance while maximizing electrical efficiency, a sustainable UV sys tem, either for disinfection or AOP, should be able to adapt its power consumption according to varying water quality, and the operational and regulatory framework.

The challenge of a sustainable UV system is supplying clients with their requirements while maintaining power consumption to the minimum

DIGITAL

INTERVIEW

APAC REGIONAL GENERAL MANAGER & VICE PRESIDENT, ENVIROSUITE

The Covid-19 pandemic, extreme climate change related disasters such as floods and droughts in recent years, and currently the global inflation driven by food and ener gy costs have put extra pressure on water utilities: how to identify and mitigate risks to soldier on through these events without impacting their customers. Sabina Todd, Regional General Manager and Vice Pres ident of APAC at Envirosuite shares with Smart Water Magazine her experience through the ups and downs of the Austra lian water industry, and her views on the role of digital technologies in addressing the challenges that the water industry and utilities are facing.

Can you briefly tell us about your career path and your current role at Envirosuite?

I started my career as an engineer 20 years ago, then moved into sales, account management, product management and more broadly into general management.

Throughout my career, I have been lucky to take on different roles in wa ter and environmental engineering, including contaminated land remedia tion, environmental impact assessments, hydrogeology, mine depressurisation, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design, optimisation and troubleshoot ing, recycled water treatment plant com missioning and operation, automation and control of water assets.

Through the transition into non-en gineering roles, I learnt that everything depends on people, relationships and

"Digital technologies are a tool to manage volatility, increase asset life and reduce costs"

A key finding of the Australia State of Environment Report 2021 is that in a rapidly changing climate, with unsustainable development and use of resources, the general outlook of our environment is deteriorating – but, immediate action with innovative management and collaboration can turn things around. Our waterways and water resources aren’t an exception.

Z Cristina novo Pérez

communication. No matter how techni cally capable you are, the magic is created when people work together. This is what interests me and underpins my leader ship approach.

My current role at Envirosuite is coor dinating our Asia Pacific sales and oper ations team to solve problems related to noise, dust, odour and air quality. Our data intelligence technologies are de signed to help our clients in the aviation, water and industrial sectors to minimise the impact on the environment or the community surrounding their operation.

Our team comprises 44 passionate pro fessionals, based in 5 countries and pro viding services to clients across 9 coun tries in the Asia Pacific.

I joined Envirosuite because I wanted to work with an organisation that makes a difference in the impact we humans have on the world. I believe technolo gy is the means to making this happen. We all want the prosperity and standard of living that developed countries have achieved and it is only fair for us to strive for this to become achievable for every one. However, this achievement cannot come at the expense of the environment or the world. Envirosuite is at the nexus

of these problems and this is why I chose to work for this amazing business.

What are the most pressing challenges utilities face to maintain affordability for customers?

Utilities generally create 5-year capi tal and operating plans to predict how much money they need to keep services running over that period. This is what dictates the cost of water for the public.

Although there is volatility everywhere these days – economic, social and envi ronmental – climate change and the un certainty it presents is a key challenge. At times, this presents as drought, as seen in Europe this northern summer where river levels were at historic lows. At other times, we see this through flooding, as Queensland and New South Wales in Australia experienced this year. While flooding brings water, it leads to huge variability in water quality, which is a challenge for water treatment systems.

We also see significant challenges from social change. The Covid-19 pandemic un doubtedly put every organisation, individ ual, industry and society through unprece dented challenges. In Australia, it resulted in a shortage of skilled labour coming into

Although every water utility in the world has different challenges, the key constant is climate change and the uncertainty it presents

How can data collected with digital tools be used to adapt operational settings to specific circumstances like changes in feed water quality and quantity to improve efficiency?

Treatment plants already have online water quality monitoring systems for flow, pH, turbidity as well as a range of other parame ters. These can be seen as a trend on a SCA DA system. The evolution of this is to un derstand in real time, what impact changing parameters will have on the process to en sure that we not only continue to meet compliance but also improve efficiency.

At Envirosuite, we have a digital plant simulation (deterministic modelling tool)

the country. When I worked at Yarra Valley Water we had a team of extremely intelligent, hardworking and funny Irish engi neers that contributed to resolving the or ganisation’s technical challenges. Australia has been bereft of this great global resource throughout the pandemic. I know that this is felt in water utilities as well as many oth er sectors of the Australian workforce.

Additionally, the Australian water industry is seeing the age of our highly skilled operators increasing, leading to the loss of significant industry knowl edge when they retire.

All these challenges are disruptive to water utilities and their plans to main tain affordability while improving water and service quality for customers.

To what extent can digital technologies enhance process performance to re duce energy, chemical and other costs in water systems?

Digital technologies, like Envirosuite’s Optimiser, enable multiple permutations of a solution to be tested simultaneously to determine the best outcome. This is especially relevant when we see increased variability in parameters feeding into a process, for example, water quality, flow or temperature as changing parameters can be taken into account.

Usually, an operator’s first priority is to ensure compliance – making sure treated water from the process is within licence conditions, whether this be Australian Drinking Water Guidelines or Effluent Discharge parameters. With growing pressure on the cost to deliver water and wastewater services, there is also an increasing focus on ensuring effluent is compliant and economically produced. Digital technologies can help balance optimal desired outcomes by taking the variable influent conditions into account and then optimising processing choices, which include reducing energy use or chemical costs.

"Digital technologies enable multiple permutations of a solution to be tested simultaneously to determine the best outcome"

In addition, when systems are designed, they need to take account of an asset’s full operational lifecycle, making sure it func tions from start-up to full operational load. This can make it challenging to optimise a plant’s performance, especially during the ramp-up phase when water demands are not as great as the plant nameplate.

based on the physics of treatment plant operations (e.g., pipe flow, mixing, head loss etc.) as well as the process chemistry (e.g., stoichiometry, pH, equilibrium, etc). These are generally the principles on which engineers would design a plant. On top of this, we have a machine learning algorithm that looks for trends in the data so that we can start to fill in how the actu al plant operates - after all, a theory is an approximation of the general principles intended to explain something - no two plants operate exactly the same way.

By combining these powerful tools, we can adapt operational settings to specific circumstances like changes in

feed water quality or quantity to im prove efficiency.

Could you tell us about a case study where these types of tools are implemented?

We are currently working with a client that operates a 135ML/day desalina tion plant with pre-treatment consist ing of coagulation and flocculation, an ActiDAFF® (flotation-filtration) and cartridge filtration. The core process consists of two-stage, two-pass reverse osmosis including energy recovery, rem ineralisation and chemical dosing. The process has been simulated in Envi rosuite’s Plant Optimiser software to cre ate a process model of plant operation al components. We have then utilised water quality time series which models

"At Envirosuite, by combining machine learning and deterministic modelling, we can adapt operational settings to specific circumstances"

SABINA TODD

To date, projected savings by Plant Optimiser are 27% reduction of alum, equivalent to an OPEX saving of AUD 150,000 - 400,000 per annum

changing influent water quality through the year to run the digital plant.

The outputs that the process model can identify are:

1- When equipment is outside of operat ing guidelines;

2- Water quality/flow conditions that lead to premature failure or downtime of equipment;

3- Conditions leading to scale or oxida tion of each Reverse Osmosis (RO) stage;

4- When cleaning is required for each stage of the RO process;

5- Optimisations of chemical dosing rates by chemical, backwashing intervals for filtration equipment, flow splitting to maximise outputs from RO system.

These outputs ensure treated wa ter compliance at the lowest possible chemical and power consumption.

To date, projected savings enabled by Plant Optimiser are a 27% reduction of alum, equivalent to an OPEX saving

of between AUD 150,000 - 400,000 per annum.

Can digital technologies help address the risks derived from extreme weather events?

Definitely. We can utilise digital tech nologies to assess any combination of extreme weather events or operating conditions. Rather than feeding live data into the simulation, we can feed “hypo thetical” data into the model. This allows assessment of all possible outcomes for the modelled influent conditions allow ing the outcomes of risk to be identified.

In my opinion, this is one of the key advantages of digital tools like plant sim ulations. We often only think about their benefits from the day-to-day operational perspective. However, because they en able a utility to understand all the poten tial scenarios that they could potentially face, digital technologies have huge value in planning, strategy development and execution along with risk mitigation.

"We can assess any combination of extreme weather events or operating conditions, by feeding 'hypothetical' data into the model"

Reflecting on when I wrote a Busi ness Contingency Plan at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic for the organisation where I was at the time, I underestimated the potential risks and how I was going to mitigate them. Like many of us, I had never lived through a black swan event like this during my time in management.

However, if I had a tool to assess risks – even those that felt wildly unlikely at the time – which I could use to quickly pull together scenarios to see my full risk exposure, I would have been in a much better position to manage the business through COVID-19.

Efficiency improvements go hand in hand with environmental improvements. What can be the role of digital technolo gies in achieving net zero carbon targets? If you don’t measure it, you can’t do anything about it. So, measuring your environmental footprint to have an un derstanding of what your impact is, is

necessary for you to know what to do about it.

A few years ago, someone used the phrase “you need to lose the weight, be fore you buy a new suit” relating to get ting to net zero, meaning it will be far more expensive to get to net zero from our current operating position, without first trimming excess “low-hanging” en ergy consumption. We have seen this in the waste industry too with the hierarchy of waste reduction – avoid and reduce waste first, then reuse, recycle, recover, treat and last dispose of. The same goes for managing water and wastewater. Utilities continue to do a great job in

getting the community to use less water, which is the avoid part.

The next part is where digital tech nologies come in – here we can squeeze more water out of the process by having greater real-time and predictive control of the process. It might just be a small increment but over multiple plants or across entire networks, these savings add up and they relate not just to electrici ty costs but also chemical consumption or prolonging the life of equipment like membranes or other consumables.

Doing more with less has been a priority for water utilities, especially in the con

text of the current inflation. What can digital technologies bring to the water industry to help solve this challenge?

There are significant pressures on water utilities in recent years, including Cov id-19 and worker scheduling/availabil ity especially during lockdowns, lack of skilled workforce, supply shortages (e.g., chemicals, spare parts), in addition to in flation. I recently read an article on how most companies, not just government or water utilities, feel that they can do a lot more when it comes to adopting digital tools and technologies to increase business efficiency and optimise expenditures.

On the other hand, there is also a fear that the hurdle costs are very high when it comes to adopting digital technologies. This is from the perspective of getting people in the organisation to understand, adopt and then bring the digital technology into their day-to-day workflow. In addition, people are con cerned that they are “locked in” with certain technologies.

However, in recent years, I have seen these barriers to entry come down sig nificantly and I think with increasing inflation pressures, digital technologies will become one of the areas where operating efficiencies can be gained cost-effectively. Overwhelmingly, I do think that our utilities have been and are managed well with the tools and processes they have. Digital technolo gies allow utilities to continue to push the needle further in terms of getting more out of their assets and managing the risk of the increasing variability we see in the world and our climate.

"Digital technologies allow utilities to continue to push the needle further in terms of getting more out of assets and managing risk"

SABINA TODD

FEATURE

Almar Water Solutions is working to strategically position itself in the water technology business. Last March, the Company signed an agreement with the digital transformation company DATAKORUM to become a shareholder to provide innovative digital technology solutions to the water sector, complementing its Industry & Technology division.

Z Datakorum

Now together, both companies are bringing cutting-edge latest technologies to provide optimal and reliable service in water infrastructure management. DATAKORUM has created a universal "end-to-end" IoT solution to digitally transform the entire water infrastructure without the need to change any of the existing devices.

The digitalization of water is a major challenge, reducing losses in supply in frastructure, saving water and energy, and optimizing supply have become global objectives. For this reason, it has become a strategic priority for govern ments and public, private and mixed companies supplying cities.

Cities are home to the largest number of inhabitants, with more than half of the world's population now living in cit ies with more than 300,000 inhabitants, and this growth is accelerating. By 2050, cities are expected to be home to 70% of the world's population.

Similarly, urban water infrastructure has grown in parallel over the years to meet the needs of human consumption, industry, and the maintenance of parks and gardens.

During their long history, this infra structure has incorporated a large num ber of assets for their correct operation and to supply, manage and measure water consumption effectively. Digitali zation has made it possible to integrate new technologies throughout the entire cycle, and the number of suppliers that have been involved during this time, as

ALMAR WATER SOLUTIONS

well as the types of devices, has been very broad and heterogeneous.

Each of these manufacturers has used different communication protocols over the years, depending on the values obtained and the technologies available. As we can imagine, these protocols range from the oldest analog protocols, such as the pulse protocol, to the most recent Wireless MBus, most of them developed long before the popularization of the Internet.

Today, in most cases, it is necessary to move technical staff to the different locations of the reading devices to col lect the data, store it and then process it in the management platform, with the human cost, energy consumption, and emissions generation that this entails. In addition, this approach leads to information silos, making it extremely difficult for internal systems to connect and feed into each other.

At best, the result is a disparity in the frequency with which data is managed, ranging from bi-monthly to daily. In the absence of uniform metering, it is very difficult to assess the real efficiency of the infrastructure, i.e., losses in the network, unmetered water, and un billed water.

Aware of this major challenge, DATAKORUM, which has been lead ing innovation in the development of data connectivity based on 5G tech nology (NB-IoT and CAT-M1) for the water, electricity, and mobility sec tors since 2018, has created a universal "end-to-end" IoT solution based on the CaaS (Connectivity as-a-Service) mod el. It digitally transforms the entire in frastructure without the need to change

Almar Water Solutions signed an agreement with DATAKORUM to provide innovative digital technology solutions to the water sector

BALTORO platform, a complete solution for small water installations

any of the existing devices, achieving total integration between sensors and platforms, which is key in these large in frastructure projects with a multitude of references and manufacturers that must be connected to a single management system, and which requires a high-level cyber security layer. Until now, none of the solutions on the market offered this high level of standardization, stability, and data security.

Data collection is achieved through PIPE Multiprotocol Gateways, which connect in a quick and easy Plug&Play way to meters or sensors of any manu facturer with any communication pro tocol, collecting data at defined inter vals and sending it to the management platform through 5G wireless commu nication (NB-IoT and CAT-M1). For this process, DATAKORUM provides the installer with the BASE CAMP de ployment software tool, which allows

Urban water infrastructure has grown over the years to meet the needs of human consumption, industry, and maintenance of parks and gardens

installers to easily configure, connect and send data to the management plat form to verify that the device installa tion has been successful.

Thanks to 5G technology, we get a wide coverage range with high pene tration capability indoors and under ground; its high energy efficiency allows for longer battery life, and in terms of se curity, we get SIM-based authentication functions and high-level encryption for secure data transfer.

In this way, uniform and periodic data is sent to the TRANGO IoT Platform, a device management software inter operable with other platforms, which analyses the status of the installation and

Both companies are bringing cutting-edge latest technologies to provide optimal and reliable service in water infrastructure management

Multi-protocol PIPE gateways with 5G communications technology

the health of the devices, manages the data received in real-time, allows remote firmware updates (FOTA) and integrates with any management platform.

At DATAKORUM we believe that digital transformation is not just for large companies; it must be accessible to all types of companies, even for those small water companies that do not have their platform or that want to improve their existing one, we offer the BALTORO Platform, a com plete, highly scalable and economically competitive end-to-end metering solution. Through this, we can read meters and sensors, visualize the infrastructure on the map, monitor the quality of service: flow and pressure, analyse night-time water con sumption and detect possible leaks, receive an automated daily report on the status of the installation and consult the graphs and measurement history.

The capabilities of our solutions have already been successfully tested in the field with water utilities in Spain, Ger many, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, where DATAKORUM is currently one of the main suppliers for e&'s AMI platform, which will supply more than 200,000 5G gateways in two years.

The consequences of climate change impact first and foremost access to water and it is essential to:

J Increase water sustainability and pro ductivity as these are essential for the sus tainability of societies, economic activity, and agriculture.

J Digitize infrastructure and transform ing it into smart and efficient systems, which will provide further optimization of supply by improving network efficien cy with clear use cases:

- Detecting potential leaks and reduc ing non-revenue water;

- Improved infrastructure maintenance through automated alerts and warnings of incidents;

- Reducing costs and emissions by re ducing travel time;

- Shortening intervention and service interruption times;

- Reducing energy consumption by having a more efficient installation and improving services for consumers.

There is no time to lose, the technol ogy is already accessible, and easy to im plement, and the returns in savings make the investment quickly amortizable, both in Opex and Capex models. Let's pursue excellence in 0% wastewater.

ALMAR

In the absence of uniform metering, it is very difficult to assess the real efficiency of the infrastructure, like losses in the network

Installation of multiprotocol PIPE gateways

INTERVIEW

GARRY TABOR

DIRECTOR OF SMART WATER SOLUTIONS, BADGER METER

Creating the future of smart, optimised networks

The scope of Smart Water has expanded dramatically over the last few years, encompassing water quality in distribution, source water, sewer networks and wastewater. Increased awareness and customer understanding of what water should look, taste and smell like has enabled utilities to branch out and adopt new, innovative technologies to safeguard water quality and the environment.

The water quality monitoring portfolio of Badger Meter now encompasses ATi and s::can - global leaders in the design, development, and manufacture of electro chemical and optical water quality moni toring solutions that enable inline, online, low-powered and reagent-free monitor ing in locations that previously were not possible. These solutions are changing the way water utilities collect, commu nicate, store and leverage information to optimise operations. As Director of Smart Water Solutions and an enthusiastic advo cate of smart water networks and supply chain collaboration, Garry Tabor discuss es the industry’s need for trusted water quality expertise and smart solutions that span every part of the water cycle from Source to Tap, safeguarding water quality and creating a future of intelligent, opti mised, smarter water.

To what extent has customer awareness of water and wastewater issues contrib uted to the way utilities manage water systems?

Historically, consumers have taken tap water quality for granted and not given much thought to where their water comes from or what happens once the toilet is flushed; however, high-profile incidents have changed this by shining a spotlight

onto the topic of water quality, creating an increased demand for quality and trans parency. This, along with technological innovation, has allowed water utilities to re-examine outdated practices to ensure the service they provide corresponds with the expectations and demands of a now more knowledgeable public, accelerating the journey towards smarter water.

Gone are the days of reactive manage ment. In today’s modern world of digital technology, utilities have become keen advocates of proactive, smarter water treatment. They utilise well established, field-proven, low-powered, digital water quality sensors, deployed throughout the entire water network, sewers and rivers, creating a neural network that delivers live data directly to the water company’s platform. This enables them to see the ef fects of events as they happen, resulting in proactive and timely action being tak en, reducing complaints and increasing public confidence.

How can smart water technology help monitor water resources and optimise services?

The water industry is actively working to not only meet regulatory compli ance, but also build resilience, conserve water, reduce risk to human health and

protect the environment by adopting intelligent, optimised, smart water net works. Regulation is continuing to drive change, challenging the water industry to continue advancing the use of new technologies. Safeguarding water quality and optimising services requires a ‘smart’ approach, one driven by data, new tech nology, collaboration and management of infrastructure. The application of in telligent solutions and data analytics will produce actionable insights to enable the water industry to become truly smart.

However, to achieve this, multi-layered, strategic alliances, focused on meaningful solutions for the industry will be vital. Transparent collaboration, with shared values to improve the industry, will be come the norm. In short, strategic part nerships utilizing innovative solutions like ATi’s MetriNet and s::can’s Pipe::scan, deployed in distribution networks, will

"SeptiNet is optimising sewer networks, providing odour, corrosion and septicity management to preserve assets and build resilience"

ity to better understand how to treat and safeguard river water.

This has prompted a move towards creating neural networks, utilising field-proven, low-powered, digital water quality sensors

aid in fulfilling the vision of smart water quality monitoring.

What type of applications should the industry now be prioritising for monitoring water quality?

An important part of a water utility’s fo cus centres around environmental and wastewater monitoring. As an industry, we have been entrusted with the re sponsibility of supplying vital water and wastewater services to communities, safe guarding water at all points on its jour ney from source to tap. With increased interest from government regulators, en vironmentalists and communities, addi tional focus is being placed on sewer and river monitoring, due to concerns about industrial and domestic contamination.

As part of this, advances in digital tech nologies are now enabling better manage ment of wastewater and sewer networks, detecting and preventing septicity. Septic sewage delivered into an activated sludge plant creates far-reaching consequences across the whole water distribution sys tem and the environment. As such, man aging and controlling septicity is now one of the most critical challenges in waste water treatment, but monitoring rivers is equally as important as part of this cycle. Installing a dense network of smart water quality measurement stations within wa

How can this innovative sewer manage ment technology help monitor septicity and address combined sewer overflows? Managing and controlling septicity is in creasingly complex and one of the most critical challenges in wastewater treat ment, with high levels proving costly due to toxicity, corrosion and odour. Innova tive, smart solutions such as ATi’s SeptiNet are optimising sewer networks, providing odour, corrosion and septicity manage ment, reducing overflow and pollution to rivers, creating resilient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly wastewa ter systems that prolong the life of assets and reduce pollution for a better, greener world. This innovative solution combines

terways aids the early detection of harmful substances, whilst helping to identify the level of nitrates, organics and turbid

Solutions such as MetriNet Street-Level Smart Water Quality Monitoring and SeptiNet Wastewater Septicity Monitoring for Sewer Networks are part of ATi’s pioneering, smart water quality monitoring range.

class-leading ORP measurement and H2S gas sensors to monitor, manage and con trol septicity. The unique nature of this combined data delivers early indications of septicity, enabling access to data for both online and offline analysis and mod elling and providing operators with an early warning, allowing for pre-emptive decision-making to avoid events.

River quality in England and Wales has been in the public eye following claims of water companies discharging untreated sewage. How can digital monitoring and water profiling help? Rivers are the very source of our drink ing water and as such, the need for water profiling to better understand and manage river water quality is more vital than ever. Field-proven, smart river monitor

ing technology is already delivering data to various bodies to help meet the needs of water utilities, the public and the envi ronment. This includes a comprehensive water profile that goes beyond parameters such as temperature, pH, conductivity and turbidity, extending also to organics. Without this, neither water companies nor environmentalists can fully address the issue of cause, effect and mitigation. This provides the opportunity to take wa ter quality monitoring beyond traditional siloed boundaries and unite IoT technol ogies that deliver the Smart Water prom ise. However, it’s important to remember that you can’t simply ‘fit and forget’. Even with low maintenance reagent free, on line sensors, keeping these systems clean and calibrated must be integrated as part of the whole life cost to ensure optimum performance. Our experience and exper tise offer customers class-leading solutions that can be leveraged in installation and maintenance programmes, for confidence and peace of mind.

When implementing digital strate gies, how important is collaboration in breaking down silos for integrated pro cesses and solutions?

There is not one organisation that has a complete solution for every client’s needs.

The deployment of a truly successful smart water solution requires a holistic view of the business and an open-mind ed approach to the term collaboration. Consultants play a vital role in providing much-needed, long-term strategic, eco nomic & financial planning, whilst also anticipating and preparing for changes in the operational environment. Univer sal technology collaboration is easy to conceptualise but often more difficult to achieve effectively. Technology providers can often have conflicting objectives, but consultants ensure that partners work to gether in the pursuit of a viable outcome, establishing a flight path to achieve a uni fied solution that delivers the operational objective to improve compliance. By har

nessing the collective skills and ingenui ty of each stakeholder, water consultants forge delivery models that provide end-toend service and support. If the industry works together to apply trusted technol ogies in a unified way, utilities will gain insight into how to prescribe a solution to the challenges they face.

What do you expect to see in terms of adoption of smart water technologies in the next five years?

Transparent collaboration, with shared values to continuously improve, is what will help us to achieve the goal of true Smart Water. The onset of the digital rev olution is bringing the possibility of com prehensive Smart Water networks ever closer. It is essential that, as an industry, we innovate and grasp this opportunity with both hands; this will lead to great er efficiency, improved network perfor mance and enhanced customer service.

I strongly believe that Smart Water is the bedrock of a new age for the water sec tor and this is perhaps the most exciting time of my career. The challenge now is to keep evolving and work smarter, devel oping new, innovative, customer-focused technologies, with inter-disciplinary ways of working, tailored to the applications they are used in. Digital innovation will be the key, enabling organisations to mod ernise operational processes and deliver enhanced customer service. Smart Water is changing the water industry as we know it and embracing innovation and digital transformation is not only enabling us to address today’s unprecedented challenges, but also invest in the future.

"Comprehensive water profiling that includes prosaic parameters and organics will fully addresses the cause, effect and mitigation"

GARRY

INTERVIEW

MEENA SANKARAN

FOUNDER & CEO, KETOS

“DaaS can enable operators to accelerate smart water adoption with a low-risk profile”

Traditionally, water monitoring and testing have been manual and static. With a goal of making water safer and sustainable, today and into the future, KETOS provides qualitative and quantitative data in real time, enabling a proactive approach to efficiency and quality challenges.

Z Cristina Novo Pérez

The water industry is rapidly moving towards the digitalisation of operations. Since 2015, KETOS is helping to solve water industry challenges with automated monitoring processes and a user-friendly business model. The Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) is a versatile model in which a technology provider operates and main tains equipment to collect, transmit and process data, and the utility pays for the delivered results. In this interview with Meena Sankaran, Founder and CEO of Ketos, she gives us her view on the role of digital technologies in water manage ment, and specifically DasS as a model that can accelerate utility innovation.

Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role at Ketos?

As an engineer in multiple disciplines by training, I knew that I wanted to seed an idea that leverages technology for elevat ing the lives of human beings and has a positive impact on the planet we all are

nourished by. Growing up in India, safe water was always top of mind but sub tle in its existence. I founded KETOS in 2015 with a vision to potentially prevent a disease outbreak someday and save lives lost due to waterborne diseases. The mission to transform the water industry to make water safer and sustainable has been the foundation of why KETOS exists. Specifically, the innovation built by an exemplary class of interdiscipli nary and brilliant minds is transforming how water operators measure, manage, and forecast water quality and efficiency. KETOS is able to have an impact across industrial, agricultural, and municipal applications in real-time where the status quo is cost-prohibitive, labour intensive, manual and reactive.

How can digital solutions contribute to addressing water challenges?

Digital solutions can automate testing, monitoring, reporting, analysis, and

MEENA SANKARAN

forecasting, enabling water operators to proactively solve mission-critical efficien cy and quality challenges in real-time. This helps ensure that water used in mu nicipal, agriculture, and industrial appli cations meets specific compliance and sustainability standards.

Real-time monitoring and under standing of water, both quantitatively and qualitatively, helps address both wa ter efficiency (leak-detection & usage) and water quality (safety), ultimately in creasing water availability.

KETOS offers industrial-grade pat ented hardware, an IoT communication framework, and a robust software plat form to address global water manage ment issues. The unique amalgamation of robotics, IoT, data science and material science in the space of water has led to a breakthrough like never before. A single system completely decoupled from a fixed model of constituent monitoring has revolutionised how many parame ters and which ones a customer can care about and the flexibility with how they interact with the system. This includes toxic or otherwise harmful chemicals in water (e.g., boron, lead, arsenic).

Can you comment on the potential of Data-as-a-Service models to facilitate the digital transformation of water operators?

Traditional approaches to driving smart water adoption have relied on outdated and/or ineffective procurement policies, often limiting technology and innova tion to large utilities with extensive cap ital budgets. For water utilities, finding new approaches to data-backed water management such as Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) can enable operators to accelerate their adoption with a low-risk profile.

Rather than older, traditional systems that require high up-front costs and in vestments in complex infrastructure with extensive labour commitment, DaaS seeks to streamline automation, encourage in tegration with existing systems, and pro mote real-time smart water applications by shifting the technology adoption risk

from the customer to the solution provider, thus allowing for a joint, aligned vision to realize mutual success.

Is there increased interest in remote monitoring and DaaS models post-COVID?

Yes, COVID-19 has accelerated digital technology in the water industry, as au tomated solutions can help water opera tors work more efficiently, adapt to prob lems faster, and, ultimately, conserve more water. Automation has certainly helped reduce both unnecessary contact with equipment and other personnel. It has also ensured that the testing pro cess can be continuous and scheduled at the proper intervals so that tests aren’t missed, and that results can be recorded and analysed in real-time. Automating processes has allowed many water oper ators to keep their operations consistent even in uncertain times while being re mote and focusing on personal safety but not compromising on the water safety of the constituents they serve.

How does a DaaS business model com pare to purchasing and maintaining data collection and analysis solutions in terms of affordability? What about concerning data confidentiality and security risks?

The DaaS (Data as a Service or providing actionable insights as a service) allows customers to de-risk their invest ment in innovation, and allows them to share mutual responsibility for on going success where a purchase resulted in all of the risk and the responsibility on the end user. The ability to not fret about the shelf-life of the system or the cycle in which you are adopting the solution and its potential for becoming end of life, all of those go away since you evolve at your pace as technology evolves. In addition, with DaaS, high CAPEX costs and internal personnel demands are reduced as the solution provider’s value is measured based on system uptime, availability & accessibil ity of the data and other success crite ria mutually agreed upon with the end user on encryption, access controls and more... Without large capital budget investments, hiring specialised IT, da ta and other resources which aren’t the core expertise of the utilities also reduc es the pressures of maintaining the right workforce for growth.

What kind and size of water oper ators can benefit most from DaaS models? Can you share a success story of DaaS implementation in the water industry?

We have operators of all kinds and sizes who benefit from the KETOS solution. For example, we have small commu nities that use the KETOS as well as some of the largest companies in the world. Because the solution is modular and interoperable, it’s flexible enough to be used in nearly any environment - regardless of size. Small utilities, es pecially the ones that struggle with re sources and budgets could be a great target as they can leapfrog years ahead in transforming their organisation into a sustainable and effective operator for a very affordable cost while still experi encing strong ROI.

The mission to transform the water industry with the goal of making water safer and sustainable has been the foundation of why KETOS exists

One example of this is vertical farming. We have a customer that has a global op eration with over a dozen locations. We started in one location with two devices and are now installing across their entire network of farms. We’ve helped this cus tomer have both a farm-by-farm view of water quality and a centralized network view of water quality across nearly 20 farms. They have been able to better un derstand water quality - which impacts plant health and product quality - and even identify anomalies that showcase the inefficiencies in their overall water management system for proactive res olution. The centralised network view

allows for several predictions and inte grated analytics that can help improve optimal yield for farmers while maximis ing their footprint on water reuse.

Could you tell us about recent trends in relation to digital technologies for real time water quality monitoring?

KETOS has seen rapid adoption across industries including municipal, controlled environment agriculture and a variety of industrial verticals like manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas. As a result of lower worker availability, organizations are focused on automation and autono mous operations like remote sampling and

testing, self-calibration, and self-cleaning. In addition, there is greater comfort and interest in real-time data, alerts, and data aggregation for analysis and reporting.

What are your expectations for the modernisation of water infrastructure as a result of government funding be coming available in the U.S.? Improving and upgrading water and wastewater utility systems is a capital-in tensive endeavour. These upgrades to water and wastewater systems are nec essary to ensure safe drinking water de livery for communities and guarantee that wastewater is treated and appropri ately discharged to protect water bodies, wetlands, and downstream users. In the past, these services and infrastructure upgrades have been funded by increasing taxes, issuing bonds, or obtaining low-in terest loans through State Revolving Funds (SRF) or grants from federal agen cies. The passage of the recent one tril lion-dollar infrastructure bill authorizes 55 billion dollars for water and wastewa ter infrastructure upgrades and improve ments across the country. However, this is only the latest funding round aimed at improving aging and dangerous water infrastructure. Other bills have passed recently to address potential health and safety issues in water and wastewater treatment systems. These bills aim to increase the capacity to handle growing populations and improve the resilience of water, wastewater, and stormwater in frastructure. Finally, some of these fund ing initiatives are directly funding digital water and water data initiatives.

"Digital solutions enable water operators to proactively solve mission-critical efficiency and quality challenges in real-time"

MEENA

From residential to industrial construc tion or refurbishment, Green Building is becoming the new standard. Client demand and stricter environmental reg ulations are driving the future of Real Estate towards the integration of more sustainable practices.

This shift has led to an exponential growth in the green building certifica tion market. As of 2014, approximately 80 recognized rating systems have devel oped spanning six continents. Whether it is LEED, BREEAM, HQE™, or any of the other widely recognized certifica tion programs, they all share two com mon goals. The first is to verify just how sustainable your building is and the second, allows for a benchmark against others.

Rise of IoT and water monitoring

Proptech and the Internet of Things (IoT) are allowing for a much more comprehensive understanding of actu al building performance. All the way from preliminary design stages to pro ject completion and occupancy. IoT provides accessible data that can be integrated into existing Building Man agement Systems (BMS) to help build ing operations become more predictive, ultimately making facility management more proactive and efficient.

Unlike the energy sector, the water sector has been slow at adopting this cutting-edge technology, but times are changing. With more and more cases of regions facing extreme water shortages and drought, policy makers and build ers are starting to see significant advan tages of understanding water consump

Proptech and the Internet of Things (IoT) are allowing for a much more comprehensive understanding of actual building performance

Green building construction is increasingly accessible and with certifications on the rise, and water is a central focus that must be addressed to truly be green.

tion and its payback of performance in buildings. In turn, green certification bodies are championing a new era of water conscious buildings. No matter which certification you are looking in to, water is a central focus that must be addressed in order to truly be green.

Droople can help achieve your most ambitious water goals

Lombard Odier Group (LODH), a for ward-thinking banking institution, has long relied on cutting-edge technologies to achieve sustainability objectives. They are currently in the final construction phase of a new headquarters building on Lake Geneva’s right bank, and aim to achieve three different green build ing certifications (SNBSm, Minergie-P and BREEAM) to showcase the high standards of their design and execution. To go above and beyond the bare min imum requirements for water manage ment, LODH mandated Swiss cleantech Droople to digitize their water assets at every point-of-use within the building.

Droople’s IoT full-stack solution in cludes smart devices with a wide range of sensing capabilities (flow, tempera ture, pressure, hardness, pH, conductiv ity, etc.), retrofit capabilities (in & out, ultra-low battery-operated, leverage ex isting sensors) to adapt to a wide range of water assets, from the main meter to

point-of-use (toilets, faucets, showers, appliances, filters, etc.). On top of the hardware layer, our water intelligence platform delivers tailored modules and

analytics to optimize your building’s wa ter and energy usage, localize leaks, and monitor water quality all in real-time.

Last year, Droople was awarded the International PropTech Innovation Label by the PropTech Switzerland Association as one of the top 20 most innovative Swiss companies in the con struction and real estate industry. As of April 2022, Droople’s Water Intel ligence Platform has been labeled as a Solar Impulse Foundation Efficient Solution, proven to optimize water-en

ergy savings and CO 2 emissions 23% more sustainable than mainstream al ternatives.

Interested in green building certifi cations?

Whether you are interested in getting started or are in the process of getting your building certified, Droople can help you check important prerequisites and requirements.

For LEED, Droople’s full-stack solu tion will help you meet the Water Per

formance prerequisite outlined in LEED v4 and obtain an innovation point for installing water sensors on water using subsystems, incorporating a leak detec tion system, and enabling facility man agers to acquire sensor data in real-time.

For BREEAM, Droople will help you obtain the highest possible credits for areas related to asset performance, building management, and occupier management. From leak prevention to legionella management, Droople has you covered.

For HQETM, integrate Droople’s tech nology or API to achieve the highest pos sible marks for Target 5: Water by getting accurate data for water consumption at any point-of-use (PoU).

Note that requirements vary within different green certification programs depending on region and project type.

Visit www.droople.com for more smart technology or email sales@droople.com for further inquiries.

INTERVIEW

IAN ROBINSON

PRESIDENT/COO, BLUECONDUIT

“Our platform brings data management, regulatory compliance, and decision support to our customers”

BlueConduit uses machine learning software to locate lead service lines, providing authorities the information they need to focus their resources and efficiently remove pipes containing lead.

Up to 10 million households in the United States connect to water through lead pipes and service lines, making them vul nerable to the health risks of lead exposure. Using predictive modelling, BlueCon duit’s AI-based solution has helped cut costs by up to 70% when compared to the traditional approach of removing lead pipes in U.S. cities. The business emerged from a project by University of Michigan professors to guide Flint’s lead service line (LSL) replacement program in 2016. It has since received philanthropic funding from different sources, including $1 mil lion from the Rockefeller Foundation last July to ensure that disadvantaged com munities are able to identify lead pipes as efficiently and affordably as possible. We speak with President and COO Ian Robinson about their solution and how it addresses the challenges of lead service line replacement efforts.

For more than 15 years, I have scaled startups, increased the real-world impact of university research, and worked in com munity development. I started my career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. I went to grad school at Michigan to better un derstand the crossroads between business and sustainability, exploring strategies to scale ideas and impact. After grad school, I worked with business incubators, doing start-up consulting, and impact investing. I bring the combination of these experiences to my work at BlueConduit.

I met Eric Schwartz, co-founder of BlueConduit, in the summer of 2019 when I was managing an innovation studio at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He described his team’s work using machine learning to help Flint, Michigan, locate its lead service lines. He outlined his visions for scaling that impact across the country. I was looking for an opportunity to be part of a mission-driven social enterprise, and it was an ideal match.

On any given day at BlueConduit, I en gage in discussions with community orga nizers about water quality issues facing their cities, comment on proposed environmen

Z Cristina Novo Pérez

tal regulations, present about BlueConduit at state water conferences, and develop and manage our company’s finances. In a dy namic, growth company like BlueConduit, there is no “typical” day. I’m energized by finding different ways to support my team and the organization as we grow.

How can digital solutions help with the challenges of lead service line (LSL) replacement?

Much of our drinking water infrastruc ture was planned and built at a time when there were different record-keeping standards. Record-keeping technology has shifted over time, and there are now requirements for water systems to track information about service lines that they were never required or expected to track. This is the crux of the challenge that our team solves. We overcome the incomplete, inaccurate, and unreliable records in order to support cities in making crucial plan ning decisions. Our platform brings data management, regulatory compliance, and decision support to our customers.

BlueConduit’s approach can help cut the costs associated with removing lead pipes; can you explain how it works? Is it possible to prioritise LSL removal based on highest risk of lead exposure?

Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role at BlueConduit?

"We overcome the incomplete, inaccurate, and unreliable records in order to support cities in making crucial planning decisions"

Our team pioneered the use of machine learning for service line inventory in helping the city of Flint, Michigan, find and replace LSLs

ly engage with community members, so that residents have all of the information needed in order to understand their rel ative risk and steps that they can take to reduce possible exposure.

EPA’s new regulations require that wa ter systems make their service line inven tories publicly accessible, and maps are one option to do so.

Our team pioneered the use of machine learning for service line inventory in helping the city of Flint, Michigan, find and replace its lead service lines. The goal at that time was to reduce the amount of time that residents lived with the risk of lead exposure. That same mission drives our team today. Our predictive model saved Flint millions of dollars in its re placement project. More importantly, it provided decision-makers with the in sights required to target replacement ef forts at locations with the greatest risk of lead exposure. We are now applying the same methodology across the country.

Our predictive models use pieces of information about homes where the ser vice line material is already known, such as the age of home, zoning information, historic building practices, in order to predict the material at addresses where that information about pipe material is not yet known with certainty. Across more than 50 cities, BlueConduit’s mod els have performed over an 80% hit rate of accuracy, which has resulted in tens of millions in savings for utilities and the accelerated removal of lead as part of re placement programs.

How can an LSL inventory and re moval strategy help build trust in local communities?

Public trust is essential to the work of water utilities. If damaged, it can take a long time to be earned back. That is why it is so important for water utilities to proactive

We have found that people find maps a good way to present and receive this in formation. In Flint and Toledo, we have built maps where community members use the map information to direct their door-to-door outreach. Our maps are multilingual, written with accessible lan guage, and designed to be colour-blind friendly. I heard from a community group this week in Flint that continues to rely upon the map, three years after we put the map online.

Increasing efficiency is paramount. To what extent is it possible to couple LSL removal in coordination with other infrastructure projects, optimise field work and track progress?

Considering service line replacement with other infrastructure projects pre sents an opportunity for utilities to ex tend service line replacement funding further.

We work with several utilities that combine service line replacement with road-paving programs or water main replacement, so that they only have to break the pavement once. This is even more important in communities where the city is penalized for digging up re cently paved streets. In most instances, the cost of those penalties is equal to the cost of replacing multiple lead ser vice lines.

Could you tell us about a case study with a successful LDL replacement strategy?

When our team began working in To ledo, Ohio in 2020, the water utility estimated that it would take 20 years to replace all of their lead service lines. They wanted to accelerate service line replacement, particularly in environ mental justice communities. But they needed better data to be able to direct resources to those neighbourhoods. Our team worked with the utility to devel op an actionable service line inventory, with reliable estimates of service lines across the system. With this informa tion, Toledo was able to leverage dif ferent funding sources and prioritize replacement efforts to Environmental Justice communities. They also have a map where residents can see their like ly pipe material, understand what year their pipe will be replaced, and upload data to continually improve the service line inventory. Toledo now anticipates replacing all of its 30,000 lead service lines in the next 5-7 years. This means that the city’s lead service lines are going to be out of the ground more than 10 years sooner than previously planned.

Blue Conduit has received philan thropic funds, most recently from the Rockefeller Foundation, to help sup port LSL removal, including further development of software tools. Could you comment on what you are hoping to accomplish thanks to this funding?

We are really excited about this project. I will allow us to help under-resourced communities accelerate the process of lo cating their lead service lines, making it easier for them to make this information publicly accessible. With this, it will em power residents with information about their service line materials and steps they can take to address any risks. We will be delivering this through a free tier of our platform for utilities to use and a nation wide map of lead service lines.

The Rockefeller Foundation is commit ted to using science, technology, and innovation to enable communities to flourish. These tools will help address some of the critical technical challenges to locating and communicating about lead service lines.

How have the LSL replacement efforts in the U.S. evolved in the past few years, and what are your expectations as a result of government funding becoming available in the U.S.? For a long time, we heard that money and information were the biggest barriers to start getting the lead out. Those are no longer barriers.

EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions require each utility to make a public service line inventory by October 2024, and there is going to be $15 billion from the federal government over the next five years for service line replacement. As a result, we have seen more activity toward replacing lead service lines.

There is a significant amount of fund ing available, but $15 billion is not going to be enough money to replace all of the lead service lines in the United States. We urge utilities to act quickly to create their inventories so that they can apply for and win the needed funding.

Thank you very much for your interest in our work and in this pressing infra structure issue in the U.S. We know that the U.S. isn’t the only country that will need to replace its lead service lines, and we hope that our experience in North America can inform others as they ad dress this public health issue.

"Public trust is essential to the work of water utilities; it is very important for utilities to proactively engage with the community"

IAN ROBINSON

RENÉ ALBRECHT

VP SOUTHERN AND EASTERN EUROPE AT 1NCE

Z Cristina Novo Pérez

1NCE specializes in managed connectivity services for low bandwidth IoT applications such as smart metering. Their global flat rate model offers fast, secure, and reliable cellular connectivity and software services in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Water metering devices need to be able to communicate in difficult locations. 1NCE adds the simplicity of a single worldwide valid cellular fee at a fixed price, that usually serves for the entire lifetime of the device. Smart Water Magazine speaks to René Albrecht, VP Southern and Eastern Europe at this company headquartered in Germany, where it was founded in 2017, to learn more about its services for the water industry.

Can you tell us briefly about your career path and your current role at 1NCE

After studying computer science, I re alized that I wanted to travel the world!

So, I set off for two years to work as a freelancer and visited many countries

and cultures. Finally, I settled in Italy, where I have been living and working for almost 7 years now and where I had my first experience in the IoT industry. Here I got in touch with companies that created smart solutions to real-world problems. After these years of growth, I joined 1NCE two years ago. As Vice President for Southern and Eastern Eu rope at 1NCE, I am very fortunate to lead a highly skilled and talented team. This, together with 1NCE's offering, makes my job a fun and highly moti vating challenge to expand and innovate the IoT market together with our cus tomers with constantly new solutions and use cases.

complicated, or they simply did not real ly simplify the processes.

Some of the issues utilities face as they modernize their water networks include interoperability between technologies, as well as deployment and maintenance costs. How can a cellular IoT provider help with these concerns?

"Searching for the optimal digital solution, the question is which one is easiest to implement and does not entail large follow-up costs"

Adopting digital solutions can be daunting for water utilities. How can they know which technologies are best suited for their specific needs? When searching for the optimal digital solution, the first question always must be which technology is easiest to imple ment and does not entail large follow-up costs. Utilities have tried many technol ogies and either they were too expensive to implement because they were still too

Compared with many other technolo gies, cellular radio has one major advan tage: it is already widespread, tried and tested over many years, standardized and secure. There is no need to reinvent the wheel like setting up a local network infrastructure. The only reason why mobile communications have not been in focus so far is because providers have not made a suitable offering for device communication. Cellular radio has al ways been something for phones. New, pure IoT-focused providers like 1NCE, are now changing that with an offering that is perfectly tailored to the needs of device communication where it is usu ally a matter of much lower bandwidths and data volumes, but more battery runtimes for the sensors.

“If the cost of connectivity alone far exceeds the total cost of a device, the use case falls apart”

How can a flat rate pricing model help manage the complexity of IoT connectivity for smart meters and other sensors?

A very important issue is the operating costs. If the cost of connectivity alone far exceeds the total cost of a device, the use case falls apart. 1NCE offers a flat rate pricing model with a one-time

payment of 10 euros over 10 years. This typically covers the entire lifecycle of a device and thus costs only one euro per year for connectivity. These costs can be perfectly integrated into the overall cost of the device. No additional costs either for maintaining a network infrastructure or any other service fees will be added to the use case.

Can you comment on data security is sues related to IoT connectivity?

We have built our whole network tech nology on licensed cellular technology. Since it is a standardized commercial ra dio technology, it follows the highest se curity standards. That is why key players like network operators, SIM manufac turers but also service providers like us need to fulfil standardized security mea sures. Since the introduction of SIM card technology into the GSM commu nication, it is a globally accepted secure element. We use only M2M Grade SIM Cards, that already are more robust on a physical level. Additionally, to that, we support a wide variety of authentication and communication protocols and ap plications.

At the end of the day, utilities would look to improve water system management and save on costs. Could you tell us about a successful use case of 1NCE’s digital solutions in the water sector?

One of our customers is Poland-based company Plum. With 30 years of expe rience, the company is specialized in the design and manufacture of Electronic Volume Correctors, Flow Computers and Data Loggers that meet international standards. With their devices, they enable cost-effective management of energy, gas, or water consumption by customized smart-metering solutions. Their solution has recently been installed for a large wa ter distribution company in Croatia that needed an automated billing solution as well as a real-time monitoring system to detect system anomalies more quickly.

"Cellular radio has one major advantage: it is already widespread, tried and tested over many years, standardized and secure"

WHAT IS SMART WATER AND HOW CAN IT BE INSTRUMENTAL IN COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE?

growth and the social, strategic and economic importance of farming, it is crucial to increase control over water efficiency, consumption and possible leaks in the network. According to Be goña Tarrazona, Idrica’s Irrigation Spe cialist, "Agriculture is a strategic sector as it is essential to achieve sound land management and planning". In addi tion, she mentions three technologies that will have a major impact in the coming years: smart irrigation, remote sensors and remote reading. Digitally transforming agriculture is therefore a driver to meeting sustainability goals.

The environment needs ways to success fully combat climate change. In this con text, smart water solutions are becoming increasingly relevant. Smart water involves digitally transforming the entire water cy cle, providing technological solutions and improving resource management. How ever, above all, it is one of the keys to en suring economic, social and environmen tal sustainability, and tackling climate change by reducing the water footprint.

The Eurobarometer Climate Change survey, published in April 2021, ranks climate change as the most important challenge facing the world, followed by poverty, hunger and water scarcity. It is, therefore, essential to implement digital solutions that focus on sustain ability and service strategies that tackle climate change by improving water and energy efficiency.

The data provided by the abovemen tioned survey reveal another chal lenge that needs urgent attention: wa ter scarcity. Technological solutions facilitate efficient water management by monitoring the steps in the urban water cycle and optimizing operations at each stage, reducing water con sumption and costs.

The boom in digital transformation has brought with it a number of tech nological solutions which can be cus tomized to tackle different challenges. However, this type of 4.0 manage ment is not exclusive to any particular field. In fact, innovative smart water solutions promote operational effi ciency in all areas.

Approximately 70% of freshwater is used for agricultural irrigation. There fore, given the forecast population

Concerning urban areas, gradual population increases and, above all, the rise in urban temperatures (3-4ºC higher than in rural areas, according to WWF) highlight the need to im plement solutions to combat this sit uation. Moreover, cities face another problem: a quarter of the water sup plied to the network for domestic con sumption is lost. It is therefore imper ative to implement solutions that can reduce the water footprint and slow climate change. These solutions must be geared to data acquisition, process ing and standardization, so as to har monize indicators and obtain relevant information for decision-making.

Irrespective of the approach, there is a need for a paradigm shift towards digital models, based on decisions that promote sustainability and tackle cli mate change. These decisions must be supported by data, technology, opera tions and a team of experts in the field.

The digital transformation has brought technological solutions which can be customized to tackle different challenges

AQUASIGHT AND AMAZON

WEB SERVICES PARTNER FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The partnership will deliver advanced digital solutions to solve the most pressing water and wastewater challenges

Aquasight has announced its official partnership with Amazon Web Services changing how the smart water indus try will evolve in the 21st Century. "Aquasight reached this milestone at an unheard-of speed, which is a testa ment to how well architected they are," said Patrick Keaney, Worldwide Head of Business Development for Water of Amazon Web Services.

How are communities benefitting? Utilities across the nation will bene fit from this powerful partnership that

will deliver advanced digital solutions to solve the most pressing water and waste water challenges. By passing the rigorous AWS Foundational Technical Review, all six of Aquasight's Intelligent Water Solutions have achieved a high bar on architecture and cybersecurity.

"As we look at the road ahead from where we stand today, we see endless possi bilities to assist our customers in re-build ing the 21st Century Water Infrastructure for their communities," says Mahesh Lu nani, Aquasight Founder and CEO.

In addition, Aquasight was nominated for the Public Sector Program at AWS. This allows Government and public sector or ganizations to receive the best value when pursuing their digital transformation with Aquasight. This nomination vali dates the leading position of Aquasight's cloud-based solution suite in supporting the water sector around the world.

Aquasight provides real-time intelli gence software for municipal water and wastewater, helping utilities reclaim dig ital resources and build a digital legacy.

SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT: GROUNDBREAKING DIGITAL TOOL GETS A GLOBAL BOOST

WaPOR processes satellite data to provide information that can help farmers achieve higher, more reliable agricultural yields

An innovative water management tool will expand to become available around the world thanks to a contri bution from the Foreign Affairs Min istry of the Netherlands to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

FAO has developed and used data and information presented in a portal, known as WaPOR – Water Productiv ity through Open Access of Remotely sensed derived data – to provide near re al-time data that can be used for a range of applications in agriculture and wa ter resources management. The portal presently offers data that, at the coarser resolution, covers Africa and the Middle East. The WaPOR project, centered on the database, works closely with 10 part ner-countries to help build their capac

ity to use the data for optimizing water management and policy needs.

The additional funding of $4.95 million, announced at World Water Week in Stockholm, will allow for a global expansion of the database and the addition of two new partner-countries in Asia and Latin America.

WaPOR has been showcased as a concrete example of using artificial in telligence to support decision makers in facing the global agri-environmental challenges and to help farmers produce more nutritious food with less water. At this year's World Water Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, WaPOR was recognised as a Dakar 2022 Initiative project, rec ognizing its real economic, social and environmental values and the positive impacts on the lives of populations.

SUEZ WATER TECHNOLOGIES & SOLUTIONS EXPANDS SUITE OF ADVANCED ANALYTICS SOLUTIONS

SUEZ WTS’s solutions create a virtual model of a plant’s assets

SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions has unveiled the latest additions to its ro bust suite of advanced analytics: IVAP* and CompRISE*. These data-driven analytics enable customers to optimize the operation of critical assets and drive a positive impact on both their bottom line and the environment.

IVAP’s technology brings together raw data from SUEZ WTS’ InSight* Asset Performance Management platform with machine learning to provide predictive analysis of ethanol evaporator perfor mance and maintenance cleaning needs. This arms operators with the knowledge to optimize evaporator maintenance clean ings by replacing traditional time-based scheduled clean-in-place programs with performance-based cleaning programs.

CompRISE offers ethylene producers a fully integrated value-add program for process gas compressors that is unique to the design, operation and perfor mance reliability needs of their PGCs. By integrating InSight APM data from various pieces of equipment and mea surement devices, the analytic functions as a coordinated asset protection, moni toring and reporting system.

“The advanced capabilities offered by IVAP and CompRISE will be transfor mative for our customers in ethanol and ethylene production, and we are excited to extend these Industry 5.0 capabilities to other industrial sectors,” says Bernie Anger, Chief Digital Officer. SUEZ WTS leverages its expertise in water and chem ical process treatment and continues to augment its digital offering capabilities.

©FAO/ Sarah Elliott

a

reduction in chemical

WIM AUDENAERT

CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF AM TEAM

DIGITAL TWINS IN THE WATER INDUSTRY: IT JUST STARTED AND THE POTENTIAL IS HUGE

Digital twins. Who is not using the phrase nowadays? In 2014, the use of the phrase started exploding (check Google Ngram and you’ll discover the hockey stick curve I’m referring to). But while everyone is talking about it, only a few know what it means, and what it can offer in terms of practical value for the water industry.

While multiple definitions are developing, for now I would like to describe a digital twin as a digital version of a real sys tem or process that offers additional value compared to the situation without the digital component. This ‘value’ can mean different things as you’ll discover later in this article.

In my opinion, there’s a paralysis by overanalysis and a lack of inspiring practical examples. Especially at the ‘treatment side’: the treatment of wastewater, production of process or drinking water or water reuse. We have seen quite some DT exam ples at the ‘network side’ to solve leakages or save pumping energy. These were almost exclusively da ta-driven (e.g., AI) applications.

There is also a lot of confu sion and only few distinguish data-driven from mechanistic models, for example. Data-driven models are black box approaches, meaning that an algorithm gets trained on available (big) data sets. Mechanistic models are based on process understanding and are often forgotten in the context of the AI buzz. An example is the family of activated sludge models (ASM) that have been applied for wastewater treatment plant design since the late 80s. Or AMOZONE, our company’s mechanistic model for ozona tion and advanced oxidation. Mechanistic models can be ge nerically applied across plants and their parameters have a physical, chemical or biological meaning and can hence be interpreted by process people, accelerating their process un derstanding and building trust. Our laws of physics, chem istry and biology are too often forgotten. While data-driven approaches will play their role, a major barrier I see is bridg

ing the gap between data science and process engineering. Only that bridge will lead to practical outcomes.

We have been building a mechanistic digital twin for the oxi dation process of a Dutch drinking water utility. A unit process that was chosen because of urgent needs. The digital twin pre dicts in real-time the removal of individual trace organics and the formation of undesired by-products. These are variables that cannot be measured with an onsite sensor. In addition, the utility is using the DT to run ‘what-if’ scenarios to save energy and better prepare for the future. For example, ‘how would our treatment process react to blending different surface water sources?’ Finally, the DT will be used to support a future plant extension. Going ‘live’ in 2023, this DT will be the first of its kind in the world.

Even though we could have started building a DT for the whole treatment train, we started small. And that’s important to un derstand in this early stage of DTs, it is important to establish a final roadmap. Most important is to get started with a concrete case focused on acute needs. Module by mod ule, a DT can be extended while demonstrating the value.

The value of DTs can be summa rized in five categories. The first and most obvious one is smart and proactive operation, with the goal of balancing cost, per formance and carbon footprint in a changing world. A second one is fast and efficient training. We see lots of potential in disruptive training programs through models combined with augmented or virtual reality. A third is preparing for change, including climate impact. The fourth category is better com munication and documentation. A DT serves as a database for operational experiences and improves with time. And finally, a DT enables informed and fast decision making.

We need to be practical, basic education around DTs is needed and examples need to be shown. The business case for DTs has never been so strong and they will be a key enabler for a bright future.

While data-driven approaches will play their role, a major barrier I see is bridging the gap between data science and process engineering

SECURITY

“Long-term water security is key to climate change adaptation just as the energy transition is to climate change mitigation”

GONZALO DELACÁMARA DIRECTOR OF THE IE CENTRE FOR WATER & CLIMATE ADAPTATION

INTERVIEW

Based at IE University, the Center for Water and Climate Adaptation aims to become a worldwide reference on sustainable water resources management for water security and climate change adaptation.

Leading the Center for Water and Cli mate Adaptation is Gonzalo Delacámara, a charismatic natural resources econo mist. With years of experience working for multilateral organizations in the EU, Latin America, the Caribbean, MENA re gion, Central and South Asia, Delacámara

works as a water and climate change pol icy advisor, preaching the fundamental need to improve water services in order to achieve all Sustainable Development Goals. In this interview, Gonzalo tells us more about his newly appointed role and how to respond to climate change, one of the most complex challenges of our times.

First of all, could you tell us how you became involved with the Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation?

The IE Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation has been set up under the innovation ecosystem of IE University, a highly ranked academic institution founded 50 years ago. With over 140 na tionalities represented on campus, more than 30 offices worldwide, and at least 1,200 faculty members from over 60 na tionalities, we felt IE is an ideal environ ment for a global Centre like this.

The life and soul of this initiative and Chair of the Centre is Carlos Cosín,

CEO of Almar Water Solutions, part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy. Carlos is also the incumbent President of the International Desalination Association. Since we met up several years ago, Car los and I have a shared view towards sustainable water management. It is based on a contemporary and global approach to long-term water securi ty and climate change adaptation and mitigation – we have both worked worldwide for the last decades – that encompasses the need to master com plexity as part of sound water govern ance, and the idea that technology is key but as a means to an end.

On May 2022, I was appointed by IE as the Director of this new Centre. IE is highly committed to fostering sustainability, and this Centre is at the core of this effort.

"The Centre’s ambition is to become a worldwide reference in terms of cutting-edge skills development for the private and public sectors"

Z Laura F. Zarza

What are the objectives of the Centre, and which strategic partners are you working with to achieve them?

The Centre’s ambition is to become a worldwide reference in terms of cut ting-edge skills development for the private and public sectors and the civil society on sustainable water resources management for long-term water securi ty and adaptation.

Thus, we aim at providing specialized knowledge and talent. We will therefore study the corporate, political (including geopolitical), economic, environmental, and societal dimensions of globally ensuring adaptation through long-term water secu rity, from a transdisciplinary perspective. In other words, we build on science, tech nology, engineering, and mathematics, but mostly focus on economics, strategic financ ing, institutional analysis, and regulation.

We are signing strategic alliances with other universities worldwide, as well as

with reputed think tanks, multilateral organizations (for instance, the Centre is now part of the OECD Water Gov ernance Initiative), and also corporate organizations.

At the moment, what would you say are the main barriers to addressing sustainable water management world wide? What about climate change? A major drawback, and one that is not specific to water management by the way, is the inability to acknowledge and address the fundamental uncertainties that stem from working under com plexity. Water is highly interconnect ed to many critical issues but the way those linkages are shaped is not always fully understood. They are rather often downplayed, when not completely over looked. A clear example is the difficulty to link in practice climate and water with wider socioeconomic goals.

Another major difficulty is the confu sion between water resources manage ment and water services delivery. They are intertwined, how could they not be? However, it is critical to understand that whilst water resources management shows some challenges, others, funda mentally different, compound those when referring to urban water manage ment and other water services. Some are relevant at a basin level, others only at a plot or at an urban district level.

We increasingly face problems that de rive from the overexploitation of surface and groundwater resources, thus increas ing long-term scarcity, drought risk and occurrence. We also face an increased risk of flooding and waterlogging globally –sometimes, this happens in areas where chronic scarcity and drought events are the norm (i.e., California, Mediterra nean basins…). Water quality degrada tion is also a major concern worldwide.

Last but not least, biodiversity loss rates and the risks of potential ecosystem col lapse are higher in aquatic ecosystems than in any other ecosystem type.

There are many drivers for these major challenges: a number of lock-ins (insti tutional, financial, technological…), the fact that water is systematically underval ued (as highlighted by the World Water Development Report 2021), the prev alence of strong (financial) incentives to make unsustainable choices, the pervasive weakness of vertical and horizontal sec toral policy coordination, sometimes the existence of old institutions unable to deal with new challenges, more often than not the lack of proper regulation to align indi vidual interests and collective goals.

Water-borne risks and weather and climate extreme events (including droughts and floods) are amplified (in frequency and intensity) by climate change. There is solid scientific evidence that we are set to go beyond the 1.5 °C threshold by 2040 – if all 165 UNFCCC parties that have agreed to non-binding carbon emission abatement plans were to comply, global temperature would still rise 2.7 °C. What is relevant is not change itself but its inten sity and pace, for which humans are the main drivers. Besides, methane emissions seem to have remained, somehow, unno ticed for years despite the fact that their global warming impact is 84 times higher than that of CO2 over a 20-year period.

Long-term water security is key to climate change adaptation just as the energy transition is to climate change mitigation. Yet, whilst there is a roadmap for the latter, we still miss one for the for mer. Our Centre is committed to mean ingfully contribute to this global effort.

Do you think the current geopolitical and the subsequent economic crisis will have an impact on climate change policies?

On 24 February 2022, when Vladimir Putin launched a “war of aggression” against Ukraine, planning a quick take

Biodiversity loss rates and the risks of potential ecosystem collapse are higher in aquatic ecosystems than in any other ecosystem type

over and the establishment of the socalled “Russia-friendly” administration, a plausible explanation of this geopolit ical conflict was the illegal and illegit imate ambition of a country to expand beyond its boundaries.

There are several other non-excluding explanations, though. The aggression against Ukraine can also be seen as an illustration of the dialectics between those who believe in liberal democracy as the best way to coexist versus those who advocate for autocracy and na tional populism. This war is also a good example of how the nature of power is changing: the extensive influence of non-state groups acting autonomously on the international stage, the extent to which relationships between states serve as key sources of power that are vital in shaping conflict outcomes, and the fact that boundaries between hard (military capabilities, economic wealth) and soft power (norms, ideas) are now blurred to a large extent.

However, I would like to highlight a third explanation. “Tectonic plate” shifts are happening at world scale on geopo litical grounds as a result of the decar bonisation of the economy required for climate change mitigation. China, India,

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union, just to name a few, are far from being indifferent about strategic energy reserves, and Ukraine plays a central role in the supply of nat ural gas to western European countries.

By sparking a global energy crisis, the war also poses an indirect threat to global climate goals, in principle. The conflict has clearly exposed the world’s dependence on oil and gas that, in turn, funds Russia’s intervention. As western countries scramble for alternatives, it is already evident many are leaning toward even more polluting energy sources, pro moting a fossil fuel “gold rush”.

Further, this conflict might put many U.S. promises on hold, in what I consid er a pivotal moment for climate finance. Months after renewing its pledges at COP26, the U.S. has not yet passed any major climate legislation. The Biden ad ministration has rolled back limits on domestic oil and gas drilling to cope with rising energy prices. Last spring, Con gress allocated less than one third of the international climate funding it pledged.

As a way out to the potential supply cut of Russian natural gas, new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are now pro posed in Canada, Germany, Greece, Ita

ly, and the Netherlands. Algeria, Egypt, Qatar, the U.S., have all signed deals to export LNG to the EU, while gas proj ects are also being invigorated in west Africa. If they are all implemented, they will either end up as massive, stranded

assets or, I am afraid, they will lead into irreversible global warming. However, European countries could quickly mit igate gas dependence through energy efficiency and ramping up renewable energy investments.

Widely, the war seems likely to have a far-reaching effect on the world’s re sponse to climate change, through the largest energy shock in decades. Yet, that could have both positive and negative consequences for the energy transition. In other words, Russia’s unprovoked invasion has driven a short-term spike in prices but could prompt a long-term shift towards sustainability.

Nowadays, do you think there is in creasing interest from both public authorities and private companies in issues such as long-term water security or climate change adaptation? Overall, I feel we are not taking the cli mate emergency and the global water crisis too seriously. Those that will suf fer more the unintended consequences of climate change and the water securi ty crisis are not here to state their pref

is

at every

erences. The lack of urgency is a clear drawback too: we have solid evidence from IPCC and also personal experi ence that climate change is happening. We basically know many solutions, but we show lack of attention (the war in Ukraine and the upcoming economic re cession are now under the spotlight) and seem unable to take the short run needed sacrifices. As above, also in this case we would need institutional innovation to enforce international agreements – insti tutions should not only be international, but truly transnational and global. Fur ther, unless inequity is addressed (both between wealthier and poorer countries and between high- and low-income cit izens), it will be hard to implement the right solutions at the necessary scale.

Undoubtedly, closing the knowledge and skills gap in sustainable water

management and climate change ad aptation and mitigation is key to achieving a better life for current and future generations. What is the way to close that gap?

Most people make decisions at a profes sional level on the basis of knowledge and skills acquired in their 20s. That would not pose significant problems provided the world remained mainly unchanged. However, there is evidence that, in terms of climate and water policy, sometimes we plan for a world that does not exist anymore. IE Exponential Learning’s mis sion is to provide tools to professionals with a lifelong learning mindset who seek personal and professional growth at every stage of their careers. At IE we mainstream sustainability (and this of course includes water and climate) in undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programmes.

Demand for this kind of talent is al ready outstripping supply. We feel there is a need for fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-management skills like resilience, which will definitely be among the most in demand if we are to approach global challenges, as those discussed in this interview, in a solid way.

What role does the Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation play in this context? The Centre will not just focus on educa tion, though. We will be offering tailored educational programmes for the C suite, high-level public officers, civil society leaders, social innovators, multilateral organisations, etc. However, we will al so work on impact-oriented research, building on internal resources, but also on top-notch world, external experts. Furthermore, we are highly committed to innovative outreach activities, as we see a major need for new narratives: new stories (or new ways of telling meaning ful stories that we tend to bury on a daily basis), new relators (so as to prevent us all from self-indulgence and endoga my), new formats (moving away from

conventional discussion panels that end up being a succession of unconnected monologues), and new channels (since oral and written communication is but one alternative, yet not the only one).

And finally, what are the expectations for the future in terms of climate change adaptation? Is there a solution? Adaptation is not only a vital need, but also crucial to the analysis of climate change and climate action itself. The nature, speed and costs of adaptation are the key drivers of the cost of cli mate change. However, as Prof. Michael Hanemann (ASU, Berkeley), who has already been cooperating with us, has put it: “for the most part, the economic analysis of adaptation is superficial if not fatuous”. Adaptation involves chang es in outlook, motivation, and prefer ence; major behavioural changes; social and institutional reforms; technological progress; changes in the organization of economic activities. As is the case with circular economy or sustainability as such, adaptation is just rational be haviour, but it does not always happen spontaneously. At the IE Centre we feel it is critical to understand the differences between individual and collective adap tation strategies, to accept that we are dealing with future consequences, and to embrace higher levels of uncertainty. These can all impede and delay adapta tions but ignoring them will actually pre vent us from adapting. As John Lewis, the American politician and civil rights activist, said: “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”.

"The war seems likely to have a far-reaching effect on the world’s response to climate change, through the largest energy shock in decades"

BENOÎT LE ROY

FOUNDING MEMBER & CEO: SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CHAMBER NPC

South Africa has always been a water-scarce country with around half the global average in rainfall and relatively high evaporation rates, making water security an ongoing prob lem. The rapid increase in population growth and increas ing urbanisation has further strained our water resources as food demand has increased substantially, putting pressure on the agricultural sector that uses in round numbers 60% of our water reserve.

The economy has simply lagged way behind the popula tion growth, resulting in fewer financial resources to keep the water infrastructure and delivery systems able to match the demand. The government recently disclosed that 59% of households do not pay for water-related services, a clear indication of economic hardship and undervalued water services. In reality, our water re serve was reportedly 98% allo cated already in 2002 and now with an additional fifteen million population, we are simply unable to satisfy the demand without radically changing and imple menting different economic and infrastructure policies.

To add to our very real prob lems, the recently published Green Drop report showed that an astounding 97% of our sewage works did not achieve the required status. This does not only result in a reduced water reserve availability, but it also clearly indicates the reduced capacity of municipalities to adequately manage sewage systems since the last reports were published nearly a decade ago.

The Blue Drop reports were not much better, confirming the serious reduction of our state’s ability to manage our wa ter and sanitation systems. The No Drop report that covers Non-Revenue Water (NRW) had not been published for nearly a decade and stood at 41% then as a national average; my feeling is that it would have deteriorated like the rest of the infrastructure to over 50% which makes any water

augmentation efforts fruitless and irresponsible. So, we call this the perfect storm of problems, where we have no choice but to all get stuck into turning the situation around with the 2018 Water and Sanitation Master Plan stating that at least R900 billion (USD 60 billion) would be required. This amount is more than double the average current water infrastructure spend if implemented in a planned decade-long programme, far too late in reality. To add to this, like energy, there simply is not sufficient fiscus to fund such a massive programme; herein lies the opportunity for change.

The very real opportunity to engage the private sector and its skills and funding abilities is now upon us, after decades of trying but to no avail, with a major push back then from government in what was perceived as privatisation as opposed to private sector participation.

The National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP 2050) has four sectoral priorities and water is one of them, with private water sector participation central to the plan, and with various initiatives to attract the private sector whilst removing dated policies and con straints. The South African Water Chamber has been central to influencing change, where three main themes were prioritised:

J Policy certainty.

J Regulatory certainty.

J Contracting certainty.

These themes are clearly embedded in the NIP 2050 and now it’s time to get traction as the stark reality is that since 2018 very little has been implemented due to political insta bilities and leadership issues.

We are happy to state that now much of this has been re solved at the national level with a ministerial team in the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) consistently confronting issues, having appointed a permanent Director General after years of temporary or acting ones, and the en

The real opportunity to engage the private sector and its skills and funding abilities is upon us after decades of trying but to no avail

tire directorate being placed on a steady footing, creating an environment conducive to the required action.

The traditional water resources and associated bulk infra structure are generally not the main thrust of the master plan as we are dammed out and rainfall patterns have changed dra matically over the past two decades. This means that water reuse and desalination, far more complex than large dams, are the new resource initiatives and hence all at the local gov ernment level of mandate, that is the weakest it’s ever been; the DWS minister stated earlier this year that 99% of mu nicipalities cannot deliver on their water mandates. To add to this, we are losing over R10 billion per annum in NRW; that is a parallel priority to redressing the water insecurities of South Africa.

There is clearly sufficient fund ing in the system, R10 billion, to address the NRW issue, where a combination of hardware and software with unique financial engineering will be the way for ward, driven by the private sector in short-, medium- and long-term programmes.

The reuse and desalination pro grams are very capital intensive by nature and will generally require long term programmes to affordably depreciate, so twenty years which is our PPP time limit. The infinite avail ability of sea water will bring our coastal towns to 99,5% water availability independently of rainfall with a consistent ly high quality. Some 1,600 MGLD is planned according to the master plan. There is an additional benefit with de salination in that the latest concession awards in 2021 in the MENA region are hovering at around USD 0,30/m³ de livered, which is half to a third of the current average bulk water costs delivered by water boards in South Africa to their clients and escalating at 1270% the last quarter decade. We also understand that the continual reduction of desalination costs is not yet at its end as the sector is driving for USD

0,20/m³ by 2025. So higher availability, consistent quality and reduced prices can only be favourable for South Africa in general. It will also lead to making more inland water reserves available once the coast is on desalination for base load.

We are also finalising a Water and Sanitation Industrial isation Master Plan with the DTIC that seeks to re-establish South Africa’s local participation in the supply chains, as we have over the past two decades become net importers of most of the supply chain. So, from chemicals to plumb ing components to process systems and technology, we are often reimporting what was developed in SA at a premium. We can not only create new jobs but also stimulate massive SMME establishment on the back of a “Marshall Plan” for water and sanitation where we all win and export our prod ucts, services and systems whilst earning significant hard currency and probably to kick start serious FDI to catalyse the sector’s mo mentum.

Whilst South Africa has serious problems with respect to water security, we also have the perfect opportunity to change it on the back of a mega reindustrialisation strategy with serious multipliers in the economy.

Benoît Le Roy is an environmental alchemist with forty years of water engineering experience and is the CEO and co-found er of the South African Water Chamber established to represent the private water infrastructure sector to collaborate with and will assist the government to implement the national water and sanitation master plan; he is also a founding director of Nexus Water Alchemy and Water Ledger South Africa, both incorporat ed South African companies at the leading edge of the nexus of water digitisation. This will not only be key in reindustrialising the water sector, but it will also provide a myriad of skilled jobs and the opportunity to again export water related products and expertise globally.

Whilst South Africa has water security problems, we have the opportunity to change it on the back of a mega reindustrialisation strategy

MEHUL PATEL

Z Cristina Novo Pérez

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, ORANGE COUNTY WATER DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA.

“People are willing to get over the ‘yuck’ factor to have a safe and reliable supply of water”

Operational since January 2008, the world's largest advanced water purification system for potable reuse – the Groundwater Replenishment System in Orange County, California – is a state-of-the-art water purification project that can produce up to 100 million gallons (379,000 cubic meters) of high-quality water every day, enough to meet the needs of nearly 850,000 residents.

The Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) provides a drought-proof and reliable supply of high-quality water in a manner that is environmentally sensitive and cost-effective. Treated wastewater is purified with a three-step advanced pro cess, then injected to create a seawater intrusion barrier that protects the Orange County Groundwater Basin as well as pumped to recharge basins where it nat urally percolates into groundwater. Lead ing the way in water recycling in semi-ar id southern California, other counties are following in the footsteps of the Orange County Water District (OCWD) and turning to water reuse to address their wa ter supply challenges. We interview Me

hul Patel, Executive Director of Opera tions for OCWD, to hear the ins and outs of this pioneering yet now long-standing system, as well as recent developments.

Can you tell us briefly about your ca reer path and your current role at the Orange County Water District?

keys to its success at a time when other water recycling initiatives proposed in California didn’t materialize?

"For this project to come to fruition it had to be accepted and that meant educating about the benefits and safety of recycled water"

I am currently the Executive Director of Operations for OCWD. I started at OCWD in 1996 as a student intern while working on my master’s degree in college. I was helping do research on the lab scale treatment technologies that were being considered for the eventual GWRS pro ject. Eventually I was hired full time as an engineer and was lucky enough to be in volved in the pilot testing, demonstration testing, pre-design, design, construction and eventual start-up of the GWRS pro ject. This led to several promotions along the way until I got to my current position as an executive director.

The GWRS pioneered potable reuse and is a model for other regions in the U.S. and the world. What were the

From the beginning, public education was a priority for our leadership. We knew that in order for this project to come to fruition it had to be accepted by the pub lic and that meant educating legislators, regulators, stakeholders and the general public about the benefits and the safety of recycled water. We embarked on an ex tensive public outreach campaign during the design phase of the project and it has continued to this day. Our outreach ef forts include a robust tour program that brings thousands of people each year to our facility to see the treatment pro cess up close; an active speakers’ bureau that goes into the community to offer presentations about the Groundwater Replenishment System; a bottled water campaign that allows us to bring samples of the GWRS water into the community for people to taste, see and smell; educa tional resources and programs for schools and teachers; and informational materials available on our website.

Can you comment on the role of pub lic awareness and acceptance of potable reuse, and how it has evolved?

Over the past two decades we have seen a much broader understanding by the public of the importance of water reuse for water supply and reliability, but also a much stronger sense of confidence in the quality of the water. Education is the key to this level of acceptance. 20 years ago people weren’t as engaged with water is sues or where their water came from, so the concept of reuse was unappealing to the general public. But teaching people about water supply and management and the need for new water supplies lays the groundwork for understanding the im portance of water reuse. We find over whelming support of the concept of reuse, and specifically our project, from people who have come on a tour of our facility and learned the facts. People are willing to get over the ‘yuck’ factor in order to have a safe and a reliable supply of water.

How does the OCWD manage sea water intrusion to protect the Orange County Groundwater Basin, and why is this important? What percentage of the water purified at the GWRS is in jected into the seawater barrier? OCWD manages seawater intrusion by using a series of strategically placed mon itoring wells throughout the groundwa ter basin to determine the extent of the intrusion. In addition, OCWD main tains a 3D groundwater model that helps us model the flow of groundwater as well as groundwater usage throughout the ba sin. Constituents like chloride are key in

INTERVIEW

dicators of seawater intrusion. The main management technique is to operate a series of thirty-six individual injection wells sites located along the coast in the cities of Huntington Beach and Foun tain Valley. These sites consist of over one hundred individual injection wells where purified water from the GWRS is injected at various depths. About 30% or up to 30 mgd of the purified water from GWRS is used for the seawater barrier.

How have water purification technologies and regulatory requirements evolved in recent years?

Water purification technologies like tech nologies in other sectors continues to evolve. They are capable of greater constituent removal and prices of advanced technologies are becoming more competitive with conventional technologies. These in clude RO membranes with greater salt and contaminant rejection capability while op erating at lower pressure than those pro duced just five years ago. Low pressure membrane technologies like MF and UF are offering more choices while standardiz ing to a certain extent on membrane poly mer material type. There is also a larger of fering of products for advanced oxidation including UV/peroxide, UV/free chlorine, and UV/Ozone technologies.

In California the regulations for po table reuse have evolved greatly within the last ten years. The finalization of the Groundwater Replenishment Recharge Projects regulations in 2014 and Sur face Water Augmentation regulations in 2018 were real game changers. They now offer a specific regulatory framework for groundwater recharge and reservoir aug mentation reuse applications.

How do the operating costs of the GWRS compare to the costs of import ing water or other measures to aug ment the water supply (such as seawa ter desalination) or curb the demand (such as conservation and increasing network efficiency)?

GWRS water is comparable in cost to un treated imported water, but several hun dred dollars an acre-foot less than treated imported water. The difference in cost be tween GWRS water and desalinated wa ter is very significant – desalinated water is more than twice the amount of GWRS water. Conservation is a much more chal lenging area to quantify because the costs range and fluctuate a great deal depending on the method of conservation.

How would it compare to other alternatives if you consider environmental costs, such as the impact on marine or land-based ecosystems and the carbon footprint?

The GWRS compares favourably with other alternatives such as imported water or seawater desalination. It offers a fa vourable carbon footprint output based on the energy requirements of the alter natives. It does also allow for a reduction in the amount of ocean discharge of treated secondary effluent in north Or ange County.

Can you tell us about the GWRS Final Expansion Project?

The GWRS Final Expansion will expand the output of the current facility from 100 mgd to 130 mgd. This will then al low the project to reach its ultimate build out as was planned during the original project’s conception. It also allows the Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) to reuse all of the reclaimable sec ondary effluent wastewater it currently produces. The project adds additional microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and UV/Advanced Oxidation treatment ca pacity. It also allows for the GWRS to receive secondary effluent wastewater feed water to come from a second OC San facility known as Plant 2 located in Huntington Beach, California. Current ly the GWRS is fed by OC San’s Plant 1 facility located adjacent to OCWD in Fountain Valley, California. Bringing in this additional source of feed water

involves using an existing gravity-based pipeline that connects the two OC San wastewater treatment plants that will be slip-line to allow for it to function as a pressurized pipeline. Finally, flow equal ization storage tanks and a pumping sta tion will be constructed at OC San Plant 2 to help convey the additional required feed water to GWRS. The total project cost is $300 million and will be complet ed in the first quarter of 2023.

As water supply challenges mount, other Californian counties are turning more and more to water reuse using groundwater recharge or surface water augmentation. In addition, California is in the midst of regulating direct po table reuse. What do you think is the outlook for indirect and direct water reuse in the state as it faces potentially drier conditions in the future?

I think the outlook is great for a greater implementation of potable reuse across California. The regulations currently in place and the finalization of the di rect potable reuse regulations come at an opportune time given the severity of the current drought plaguing the entire southwest of the United States. Califor nia is especially impacted by the current drought and with cycles becoming more extreme, it is only natural to assume re use has to play a larger role in meeting future water supply needs. Reuse along with greater conservation and protection of our existing supplies (like groundwa ter) are absolutely essential to meet fu ture water demands in all of California.

"Over 2 decades we have seen a much broader understanding by the public of the importance of water reuse for water supply and reliability"

INVESTORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD LAUNCH FIRST WATER VALUATION FINANCE INITIATIVE

Institutional investors from around the world joined Ceres in launching the Valuing Water Finance Initiative, a new effort to engage 72 corporate wa ter users and polluters to value and act on water as a financial risk and drive the necessary large-scale change to bet ter protect water systems. The initiative is the only global investor-led initiative aimed at moving companies to respond to the global water crisis.

The Ceres Valuing Water Finance Initiative offers the most comprehen sive and ambitious guidelines available to investors while also considering the full suite of water-related issues, from water availability and quality to board oversight and public policy engage ment. Signatories at launch include financial institutions such as pension funds, mainstream asset owners and

socially responsible investors spanning the globe; click here to see the full list of focus companies Ceres is engaging through this initiative.

The Ceres Valuing Water Finance Ini tiative raises the profile of fresh water as the world’s most precious natural re source and its essential role in industries, communities, and ecosystems and pro vides investors with the tools required to “make the case” for prioritizing water risk. The initiative prioritizes a set of six science-based, actionable Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water, which is informed by scientific evidence that aligns with the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for Wa ter (SDG6) and supports the aims of the Ceres Roadmap 2030.

"The water crisis is playing out across the U.S. and around the world

in many ways, from severe drought and pollution to inadequate access to safe drinking water, all of which disproportionately impact our most vulnerable communities,” said Min dy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres. “The private sector must recognize water’s importance for their institutions and investments lest they further expose themselves and society to increased material water risk. We are grateful to see so many investors signing on to the Ceres Valuing Water Finance Initiative at its launch, but we need more investors to step up and join us in supporting the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water and engaging with the companies they own on water stewardship.”

The initiative is the only global in vestor-led initiative aimed at moving companies to respond to the global water crisis. The initiative and expecta tions were guided by an advisory coun cil of major investors including mem bers of the Valuing Water Finance Task Force and other investor and NGO partners, signaling capital market sup port for properly valuing water. Task Force members include ACTIAM, AustralianSuper, California State Con troller Betty T. Yee, New York City Comptroller Brand Lander and PG GM Investments, among others.

The Valuing Water Finance Initiative builds on Ceres’ work over more than a decade to build the scientific and finan cial cases for investor water action and draw attention to the water crisis’ risks.

Investors representing $9.8 trillion in assets under management to engage with companies to drive sustainable water leadership

AFRICA NEEDS INVESTMENT TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE, WARNS WMO

High water stress is estimated to affect about 250 million people in Africa and is expected to displace up to 700 million people by 2030

Water stress and hazards like withering droughts and devastating floods are hit ting African communities, economies and ecosystems hard. Rainfall patterns are disrupted, glaciers are disappearing, and key lakes are shrinking. Rising water demand combined with limited and unpredictable supplies threatens to aggravate conflict and displacement, accord ing to a new report from WMO.

The State of the Climate in Afri ca 2021 report provides authoritative scientific information on temperature

trends and other climate indicators. It shows how extreme weather and climate change are undermining human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development. Africa on ly accounts for about 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions but suffers disproportionately from the results.

The report has a special focus on water. High water stress is estimated to affect about 250 million people in Africa and is expected to displace up to 700 million people by 2030. Four out of five African

countries are unlikely to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030.

“Africa’s climate has warmed more than the global average since pre-industrial times (1850-1900). In parallel, the sea level rise along African coastlines is faster than the global mean, contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of coastal flooding and erosion, and salinity in low-lying cities. Changes in continental water bodies have major impacts on the agriculture sec tor, ecosystems, biodiversity,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

Droople’s AI IoT full-stack solution justifies Water Performance Certifications

Providing you the only fully retrofit solution on the market packaged with actionable insights. Tap into hidden data with AI-enabled edge and cloud data processing by mea suring water consumption and quality parameters at any water point.

WATER LEADERS TO ACCELERATE ACTION TOWARDS UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Xylem executives shared perspectives on increasing resilience to water scarcity, and strategies for decarbonization of water networks

There are 2.3 billion people who now live in water-stressed countries and 18 million people risk being displaced by floods every year. Against this backdrop, global water technology company Xy lem, joined water sector leaders at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, to explore solutions to build water security. Xylem executives shared per spectives on actions to increase commu nities’ resilience to water scarcity, and strategies to accelerate the decarboniza tion of water networks. Xylem also held two business forums at the congress.

Dave Flinton, Xylem’s Chief In novation, Technology and Product Management Officer, discussed the business models and multidisciplinary approaches needed for successful inno vation in resource recovery. Learning to

Dance in the Rain — How to Thrive in an Era of Climate Change, explored actions taken to date and future trends.

Austin Alexander, Vice President, Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem, took part in a keynote plenary discussion – Practical Perspectives in Building Resilience into Urban Water Management. She shared insights on building urban resiliency in the face of climate change, the solutions that are available, and the importance of main taining momentum on the UN SDGs.

Xylem’s Global Procurement Sustain ability Manager, Andrea Montuori, par ticipated in a keynote plenary session on Uniting Youth for Water. This ses sion examined the role of youth within the water sector, with a special focus on the UN 2023 Water Conference.

DROUGHT, FLOODS AND FOOD INSECURITY CONTRIBUTE TO CONFLICT RISK IN PARTS OF AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

The WPS global early warning tool predicts possible conflict

Continuing drought brings food inse curity and risk of emerging or ongoing conflict in Kenya, Ethiopia and Soma lia, as well as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, according to a new quarterly update that analyses findings from a global ear ly warning tool. Meanwhile, floods in South Sudan and South Africa contributes to a risk of conflict there.

The update, issued by the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership, notes that almost 19 million people in Ethio pia, Kenya and Somalia face acute food insecurity and growing malnutrition. Food shortages caused by drought span ning four consecutive growing seasons are compounded by the Russia-Ukraine war, which has ended much of the re gion’s grain imports. The drought, which is predicted to continue into the Octo ber-December growing season, and the resulting food shortage, contribute to the early warning tool’s predictions of con flict emerging over the next 12 months in most of southeastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia, and ongoing conflict for large parts of the rest of the region.

The tool applies machine learning to predict possible conflict up to a year in advance. The WPS partnership’s latest update is based on an August 2022 anal ysis and focuses on the next 12 months.

“In current times of global insecurity, it is important to keep track of water-re lated conflict risks in order to engage in early action for conflict prevention and mitigation,” said WPS coordinator Susanne Schmeier, IHE Delft Associate Professor in Water Law and Diplomacy.

DR BLANCA ANTIZAR

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR OF CONSULTANCY, ISLE UTILITIES

RACE TO ZERO CARBON AND A GREEN TRANSITION IN THE WATER INDUSTRY

From drought and fire to flood and famine, the impacts of cli mate change are being felt across the globe. In 2021, weather and climate-related disasters totalled an estimated USD 329 billion in economic losses, the third costliest in history. Gov ernments and industries around the world are responding with an array of new objectives, commitments and strategies in the race to net-zero carbon. But water is not yet included as a central part of decarbonization strategies and roadmaps to success.

In response, Isle Utilities (Isle), a global and independent technology and innovation business consultancy, launched the Trial Reservoir in December 2021: a new evergreen loan fund, to deploy £1 million of funding per year into trials of climate change mitigation technologies in the global water industry and adjacent sectors. In partnership with Xylem and 12 other spon sors including utilities, investment firms, and engineering companies, Isle has developed the award-win ning Trial Reservoir to provide funding and support for technol ogy trials and shorten and de-risk the path to commercialisation.

The Trial Reservoir is gather ing momentum and was recently recognised for the innovation in decarbonising category at the WEX Global Awards 2022, held in Valencia, Spain in June this year. The Trial Reservoir has also featured in a briefing paper presented by Isle at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in May. The briefing paper sets out how the wa ter sector can overcome barriers to innovation.

The Trial Reservoir provides loans to technology companies to cover the costs of the trials of their technology (with a TRL 8 or 9), which only become repayable if a trial proves to be successful, thus triggering a commercial contract. A key feature is that the Trial Reservoir only funds trials when there is a commitment in place from the client to deploy the tech nology under a commercial contract if the trial is successful. While such contracts are particularly difficult to secure, Isle’s

long held and trusted relationships with water utilities around the world mean that it is well-placed to assist technology com panies with these negotiations. Participants of the Trial Reser voir can also opt to self-fund trials or leverage their trial and purchase agreements to raise commercial debt. For larger tri als, Isle may approach its sponsors, which also include Stratford Capital and Pura Terra Ventures to fund trials directly.

The essential strength of the Trial Reservoir is that it bridg es and de-risks the infratech investment gap through loans for innovative technologies. Seven trials have been funded across seven countries since the programme started with an estimated carbon saving of 120,000 t CO₂e per annum and there are six ongoing trials currently from the 120+ in the Trial Reservoir pipeline.

But being innovative is challeng ing, and rising to this challenge demands a paradigm shift, which can be done by multinationals, utilities, municipalities and small companies. The water sector can also be risk-averse, resulting in the slow uptake of innovative technol ogies. Common barriers to inno vation include a poor selection of technology, lacking a clear understanding of the value tech nology brings, no executive sponsorship, lack of processes on how to innovate or rejection by the utility of the new and un known. Adding to this, insufficient capital is the most com mon barrier for technology developers to enter the market and widespread uptake of their innovations. In fact, according to recent statistics, 38% of technology start-ups that failed be tween 2018 and 2022 across all sectors included insufficient funds among their reasons for failure.

I believe that the Trial Reservoir has all the elements to be a programme that accelerates the path to commercialisation and helps the water sector overcome barriers to adopting in novation in the race to carbon zero and green transition in the water industry.

Including water in net-zero carbon strategies requires innovative technologies, know-how, financial instruments and governance

WATER AND SANITATION IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

Source: UNICEF AND WHO (Data from 2021)

Only 51% of health care facilities in the world have basic hygiene services.

In the least developed countries, only 53% of health care facilities have access on-premises to a protected water source.

688 million people

receive care at facilities with no hygiene services at all.

1.7 billion people lack a basic water service at their health care facility

765 million people globally have no sanitation service at their health care facility.

NEW RESEARCH: COMPANIES NEED TO INVEST IN WATER AND TOILETS TO DRIVE HEALTH, WEALTH AND BUSINESS

First-of-its-kind research released by Wa terAid shows when companies invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for their em ployees, their business thrives. Productivi ty, punctuality, health, morale and loyalty all improve; absenteeism and staff turn over decreases - ultimately driving business profits through increased productivity.

The new data, released in two reports titled ‘Boosting business: why investing in water, sanitation and hygiene pays off’, supported by HSBC, was carried out in the apparel and leather industries across six workplaces in India and Ban gladesh over two years. The reports in clude projections for the next ten years.

It is the first time that the impacts from WASH investment on employees and businesses have been documented and analysed, and where the return on investment (ROI) is so clear.

With trends showing that consumers increasingly care how their clothing is made and seek out products and brands that prioritize employee welfare, the health of employees should be on top of any business leaders’ mind, and invest ment in WASH should become a core part of companies’ Economic, Social and Governance strategies and action.

The key to success is to deliver these basic essentials in workplaces, em ployees’ communities and throughout business supply chains.

Ruth Loftus, project lead and Wa terAid’s Senior Private Sector Advi sor said: “These investments increase health and productivity of employees, increase worker morale, reduce ab senteeism and help prevent diseases - all of which mean lower operational costs, ultimately enhancing a com

pany’s bottom line and delivering on their ESG commitments.”

“There’s a compelling case for fac tory management to pick up the gauntlet and invest in taps, toilets and good hygiene for their employees. The participating factories are showcasing the business benefits, generating a return on their investment, align ing with regulation and reputational expectations, and potentially driving change for millions of people through the companies they supply – many of which are global brands.”

“The human stories reveal the less tangible, yet priceless value of investing in decent WASH facilities in commu nities and in the workplace. Now for example, the largely women workforce in the clothing factories can learn about menstrual health and hygiene, they can access period products, and share new advice with family and friends.”

Kelly Parsons, Chief Executive Of ficer of WaterAid America said: "This ground-breaking report demonstrates how clean water, toilets and handwash ing generate a sizable return on invest ment in the ready-made garment indus try through improved health, morale and productivity. Companies that invest in water infrastructure and education are making a smart decision both for their employees and their bottom line, and we have the data to prove it. We're committed to working with the private sector to drive positive, lasting change for the millions of people working in apparel factories across the globe."

The research was carried out in the apparel and leather industries across six workplaces in India and Bangladesh over two years

© WaterAid/Anindito Mukherjee

WHO: HALF OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES GLOBALLY LACK BASIC HYGIENE SERVICES

Newly established global estimate on hygiene reveals the risk of disease spread and infections to patients and health care providers

Half of health care facilities worldwide lack basic hygiene services with water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care and at toilets in these facilities, according to the latest Joint Monitoring Programme report by WHO and UNICEF. Around 3.85 billion people use these facilities, putting them at greater risk of infection, includ ing 688 million people who receive care at facilities with no hygiene services at all.

“Hygiene facilities and practices in health care settings are non-negotia

ble. Their improvement is essential to pandemic recovery, prevention and pre paredness”, said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health.

The latest report, “Progress on WASH in health care facilities 2000–2021: special focus on WASH and infection prevention and control”, has established this global baseline on hygiene services, as more countries than ever report on critical elements of WASH services in their hospitals and other health centres.

DIGITAL TWINS: A PATHWAY TO ACHIEVING THE WORLD’S SUSTAINABILITY GOALS?

Attention must be paid to addressing socioeconomic and technological barriers, with a focus on inclusive design, accessibility and diversity

The transformative potential of Digital Twins could have a profound influence on how society addresses global sustain ability challenges, but more inclusive, re liable and responsive computer simula tions are needed to support these efforts, say researchers in a study recently pub lished in Nature Sustainability journal.

A review of the potential of Digital Twins to support society in mitigat ing and adapting to environmental changes, found that they have many benefits, especially in helping to realise

ambitions set out in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, where digital divides exist, particularly in lower-income countries, the possi bility of these countries missing out on the benefits increases.

The study, authored by Dr A. Tzach or and Dr C. Richards, from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, in collabora tion with researchers from the Univer sity of Melbourne, identifies four ben efits that Digital Twins can contribute

For hygiene, data are now available for 40 countries, representing 35% of the world’s population, up from 21 coun tries in 2020 and 14 in 2019.

The newly established global estimate reveals a clearer and more alarming pic ture of the state of hygiene in health care facilities. Though 68% of health care facilities had hygiene facilities at points of care, and 65% had handwashing facili ties with water and soap at toilets, only 51% had both and therefore met the criteria for basic hygiene services.

to the SDGs: the ability to monitor sig nificant amounts of real-time data and model actions and events with great precision enables efficiency in resource allocation; providing a virtual space for safe innovation in green technolo gies; creating comprehensive computer simulations of whole environments, including farms, factories and electri cal grids, that can be accessed via cloud computing; and the ability to monitor and report on the progress of the SDGs, regardless of geographical distance.

How do you think communication in the water sector has evolved in recent years?

The topic of water as the most valuable resource in the world has become more relevant due to the current global challeng es like climate change with its droughts and torrential rains, urbanization with its higher demands for drinking water, water pollution, and stricter laws and regulations. That is why communicating on how to combat these challenges is not only the responsibility of our society and politicians, but also of technological drivers and industrial companies.

Why do you think it is im portant to communicate about water?

At Siemens we are committed to our technologies to make the water industry more efficient and sustainable, thus conse quently contributing to the UN goal 6 SDG (Sustainable Devel opment Goals) to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. We have smart intelligent technologies ready to be implemented, e.g., for

leakage detection, prevention of sewage blockages, optimization of energy consumption of most intensive units like pumps, vir tual commissioning of plants saving costs and resources, etc.

Our marketing and commu nication activities are aimed at making our industrial solu tions known primarily among B2B and private water utilities, municipalities, system integra tors, EPCs, solution partners and associations, but also in B2C addressing society and politics. With the communi cation measures, we, therefore, strive to make an impact on further development of the water industry incl. water & wastewater treatment and de salination. And this is of great importance, since water is life and of concern to everybody.

What are the most challeng ing aspects of communicat ing water-related research?

In the current digital era, it be came easier to access data via dif ferent platforms and research in stitutes delivering water-related market information. The main challenge, though, is to define

among all suppliers the most trustful and reliable partners.

Could you highlight one of your organization’s communication success stories?

We have a lot of great refer ence projects to communicate about, but one to highlight is the success story of one of the first solar-powered desalina tion plants, Al-Khafji in Sau di Arabia. Erected in 2017, it was then the world’s largest solar-powered RO desalina tion plant. Siemens was cho sen as the main contractor for the electrical, automation, and instrumentation packages for this great project, which were implemented within a record time of 14 months. Thus, we contributed to the sustainable water supply of 60.000 m3 per day for the needs of the popu lation, agriculture, and indus try in Al-Khafji.

Desalination of seawater is getting even more important nowadays with the steadily growing demand for fresh wa ter and 97.5 % of the water on earth is seawater, which can be desalinated with the help

of technologies covering this high demand. In addition, using solar energy makes this process more energy-efficient saving resources and costs.

Shortly after the publica tion of the reference video on Youtube, the number of views grew to 316,273 just within a few months!

Who or what organization inspires you when it comes to ways of communicating?

When it comes to the way of communicating key messag es, from my point of view it is all about being authentical, creative and emotional. I do really appreciate the work of non-profit associations like Unicef, WWF etc., committing themselves to making this world better. Their reports are always based on real facts, are authen tic, vital and even emotional in their way of communication. Besides, the communication from B2C companies also in spires me from time to time, for example, I am a big fan of Hari bo advertisements (though I do not eat these sweets), which are extraordinary and creative.

In the water sector, Siemens aims to help its customers achieve their sustainable water management goals. We speak with Maria Mülbaier, Marketing Manager at Siemens, about its communications strategy.

Z Olivia Tempest

Maria Mülbaier, Marketing Manager at Siemens

"AT SIEMENS WE ARE COMMITTED TO OUR TECHNOLOGIES TO MAKE THE WATER INDUSTRY MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE"

MEDIA LIBRARY

SOMETHING TO READ...

WATER: A BIOGRAPHY

“The story of water is not technical, but political”

Combining environmental and societal history, this book narrates how the relationship of humans with moving water has shaped civilizations and transformed political institutions. Author Giulio Boccaletti is a renowned expert on water security and sustainability who has worn many hats, including water lead for The Nature Conservancy.

SOMETHING TO ENJOY...

EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL

Coldplay’s “ritmo de la noche”

The song was released as the lead single for Coldplay’s fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto in 2011. It was criticised for plagiarism and a note was added in the band’s website to clarify where its inspiration came from. The song did generally receive positive reviews and was nominated for the 54th Grammy Awards.

BY: SWM TEAM

SOMETHING TO WATCH...

THE WATER DIVINER A father’s grief

This 2014 historical drama film follows an Australian farmer and water diviner who tries to find three sons who disappeared at the battle of Gallipoli during The Great War, four years previously, and are presumed dead. When he travels to Turkey in the hope to find closure, he meets others who have also suffered losses. It was Russell Crowe’s directorial debut.