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WWIgloA4_wtrRM_130315 1 3/18/13 10:33 AM

FLYINGHIGH

October-November 2013

Heathrow’s Reed Bed

Treatment Takes Off

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Colombia spearheads UV changeover in Latin America

SWCC to make Saudi Arabia king of solar desalination

Does China hold the answer to Jamaica’s leaky water assets?

1310WWI_C1 1 11/6/13 4:38 PM

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1310WWI_C2 2 11/6/13 3:15 PM

RAINWATER HARVESTING 20With the right collection and treatment, rainwater is being used to supplement potable supplies. Here’s how.

ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV) 25Tolu, Colombia is to take delivery of the country’s frst open channel UV system for municipal wastewater treatment. Will this be enough to change a region historially set on chemical treatment?

INDUSTRIAL WATER MANAGEMENT 30TOCs away for reed bed treatment: major UK airport Heathrow demonstrates how upgrading its wetlands is helping to treat challenging stormwater.

GROUNDWATER 33Kenya made the headlines when over 200 billion cubic metres of water was discovered using advanced mapping software. What could this mean for water scarcity across Africa?

T E C H N O L O G Y R O U N D U P

PUMPS, MOTORS & DRIVE SYSTEMS 50Clear bromine feeder from Neptune; repeat order for NOV Mono’s EZstrip pump at AB Produce; Blue-White Industries introduces single layer injection molded PVDF diaphragm for metering pumps; updated MEC-MG pump range from Caprari and single stage coupled process pump from Sulzer.

P R O D U C T R E V I E W

ION EXCHANGE & FILTRATION SYSTEMS 51 UF membranes from GE for SWRO pretreatment; RO/ion exchange showcased by LANXESS in Amsterdam; hollow fer product line launched by Koch Membrane Systems and modular, pre-engineered UF membrane system launched by Siemens Water Technologies.

R E G U L A R S

EDITORS NOTE 4

NEWS 6

TECHNOLOGY ROUNDUP 50

PRODUCT REVIEW 51

DIARY /AD INDEX/WEB PROMO 52

U P F R O N T

LEADER FOCUS 10SWCC’s governor, H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim speaks exclusively to WWi magazine about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase solar powered desalination.

THE BIG QUESTION 16Following the launch of Canada’s and Europe’s nutrient recovery facilties, we ask a panel of experts: What operational benefts and political motivation could help persuade utilities to instal nutrient recovery systems?

R E G I O N A L S P O T L I G H T

JAMAICA’S WATER - FAR FROM A RUNAWAY SUCCESS 36Despite boasting some of the world’s top athletes, Jamaica’s water sector is far from record breaking. Here’s why.

WIFIA: A BRIDGE OVER THE US FINANCIAL GAP? 40With the US requiring billions of dollars to fx leaking infrastructure, could WIFIA funds be the needed stimulus?

FRACKING: WASTEWATER CHALLENGES 44 With water heavy hydraulic fracking expanding across the US, are centralised treatment sites the answer for treatment?

THE RESOURCE RECOVERY MOVEMENT 47 An EPA blueprint could help turn traditional wastewater plants into a new generation of nutrient recovery centres.

CONTENTS OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013

10

25

30

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 1

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1310WWI_1 1 11/6/13 3:25 PM

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1310WWI_2 2 11/6/13 3:25 PM

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 3

Publisher Timm Dower

Chief Editor Tom Freyberg

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Production Manager Rae Lynn Cooper

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1310WWI_3 3 11/6/13 3:25 PM

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 20134

EDITOR’S NOTE

RESOURCE RECOVERY: A REVOLUTION OR RISK?

Following Canada and the US in the summer, Europe is set to open its

frst resource recovery facility. What will it take for other utilities to

make the jump and turn water plants into fertilizer production centres?

Tom Freyberg, Chief Editor

Follow on

he start of the winter months here at WWi HQ has not only brought with it a furry

of customary terrible weather, but a manic travel schedule for most of our team.

From Bangkok, Thailand, to Tianjin, China and next Amsterdam in the Netherlands

– the show season really has woken up and kicked in from its summer lull.

For those of you who attended the IDA World Congress in Tianjin, you may agree

that the event reaffrmed the potential opportunities in Asia’s economic dragon

but also highlighted the dangers. As you can read from the analysis (page eight),

membrane manufacturers are being cautious. The government has mandated

that within its planned network of desalination plants, 70% of the equipment

(membranes, pumps etc) used must be manufactured domestically.

Moving on quickly before we delve too deep into a China-based conversation,

WWi has reported on the use of reed beds in Hungary and an Oman installation

to treat oil-polluted water. The UK is not being left behind. As you can see from

the cover, in this issue we look at how Heathrow airport is seeing the benefts of

upgrading its existing wetland treatment systems (page 30).

Nutrient recovery is one phrase we’re hearing more of in the industry. At the

time of WWi going to print, what was being classed as Europe’s frst full nutrient

recovery plant was opened. Utility Thames Water is expected to save £200,000 a year

which it formerly spent on chemical dosing to clear struvite at the Slough site. The

announcement follows the opening of the Canada’s frst nutrient recovery plant in

Saskatoon in the summer.

I believe that the understanding of a potential looming phosphorus crisis is

becoming wider known. A key ingredient in fertilizer, phosphorus, is crucial to grow

food. Yet forecasts suggest that mineable reserves of phosphorus, in countries like

Morocco, the US and China, could be depleted in 100 years. Some experts believe a

peak for phosphorus could occur as early as the mid-2030s.

Therefore the new nutrient recovery facilities in Canada and the UK are a

welcome relief to take nutrients – such as phosphorus – from the very wastewater

we produce. Yet they raise one question: if nutrient recovery saves utilities money,

and cuts expensive overseas supply of fertilizer to grow our crops, why aren’t more

doing it? If technically it’s possible, and fnancially worthwhile, what’s the hold up?

WWi brought four experts together (page 16) for this issue’s ‘Big Question’ to try

and fnd out more.

Ultimately, water supply and treatment is still a public service. Utilities be can

risk averse as they are dealing with public well-being. Robust, reliable technologies

are always going to be preferred. Yet, the City of Saskatoon and Thames Water will

hopefully show that risk is not always a bad thing and can pay off in the long-term.

T

IF TECHNICALLY

IT’S POSSIBLE AND

FINANCIALLY

WORTHWHILE

WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?

1310WWI_4 4 11/6/13 3:25 PM

For more information, enter 4 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_5 5 11/6/13 3:25 PM

NEWS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 20136

GEORGIA, US

Siemens and Texas A&M AgriLife have signed agreements for research and

development into effcient and cost effective technology to remove heavy

metals from water and wastewater. A&M AgriLife is said to have developed

a single process unaffected by temperature or pH-levels which can remove

selenium, mercury, zinc, copper, chromium and other heavy metals, as well as

metalloids to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System limits.

WORLD NEWS

INDIA

Xylem has won a contract for

the installation of a biological

wastewater treatment system

in the Indian state of Gujarat.

The company said that it

will be responsible for the

new installation as well

as providing on-going

service and maintenance

for the 700,000 m3/day

wastewater treatment plant

for the Jamnagar Municipal

Corporation.

CHILE

Black & Veatch has been selected for a major desalination project at

world’s largest copper mine in Chile. The $3.43 billion Escondida

Water Supply (EWS) project will provide water to support expansion

of mineral production. Black & Veatch explained that its role is

leading the engineering design, procurement, feld inspection and

pre-commissioning for the marine and desalination elements of

the EWS project. Once complete the project will deliver 2.5 m3/sec

of water to the mine, which majority-owned and operated by BHP

Billiton.

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BANGLADESH

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)

has approved a $250 million loan to

expand the coverage and quality of

water supplies to nearly 11 million

people in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s fast-

growing capital city. According to the

ADB, Dhaka has been drawing heavily

on groundwater, but the current rate of

extraction is no longer sustainable with

the water table falling by 2 to 3 metres

a year. In total the project is expected

to cost nearly $675 million and be

completed by December 2019.

5 ISRAEL

IDE Technologies has

completed work on the

624,000 m³/day Sorek

seawater reverse osmosis

plant in Israel, which is now

fully operational. Located

to the south of Tel Aviv, IDE

said that the $400 million

plant is currently supplying

540,000 m³/day to Israel’s

water distribution system.

6

NEW JERSEY

Work is underway to develop

a renewable energy facility at

Middlesex Water Company’s

water pollution control plant in

the Village of Ridgewood, New

Jersey. The facility will feature

an anaerobic digester that will

produce biogas for energy

generation. There will also be

the potential to co-digest food

waste.

2

2

1310WWI_6 6 11/6/13 3:25 PM

NEWS

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 7

CHINA

NanoH2O is to build a 10,000

m2 manufacturing facility

in Liyang, China at a cost of

around $45 million.

The El Segundo, California

based manufacturer of RO

membranes for seawater

desalination, said that the

facility in China will allow

it to take advantage of the

growing domestic market.

The company added that

China represents 20% of the

world’s population but just

6% of the global fresh water

supply, and plans to increase

its SWRO capacity three-fold

by 2015.

PHILIPPINES

An upgraded wastewater

treatment facility has been

opened in Quezon City,

Philippines. The US$6.15

million facility was funded

by a US$1.32 million grant

under the World Bank’s

Global Environmental Fund.

The new facility is said to

be able to discharge up to

2,640 m3/day of treated

wastewater.

UNITED KINGDOM

In a recently published White Paper, analysts at Bloomberg New Energy

Finance claimed that increasing wastewater charges from £70 to £80 per

year, as proposed by Thames Water to pay for its new £4.1 billion ‘super

sewer’, could correspond to a 24% post-tax return on equity invested - more

than three times the average return in UK water assets. The analysts noted

that the project has been controversial environmentally and also because of

the need to raise water bills to fnance it.

BELGIUM

Water pollution caused by

nitrates has decreased in

Europe over the past two

decades, but agricultural

pressures are still putting

water resources under strain,

according to a new report on

the Nitrates Directive by the

European Commission.

However, the research went

on to caution that while the

overall trend is positive,

nitrates pollution and

eutrophication – the excess

growth of weeds and algae

that suffocates life in rivers

and seas – are still causing

problems in many Member

States.

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6

VIETNAM

Municipal authorities in

Ho Chi Minh need to issue

policies encouraging private

investment in wastewater

recycling, delegates at a

recent seminar in the city

were told. According to a

report in the Vietnam News,

the city releases a total of

around 1.7 million m3/day

of domestic and industrial

wastewater directly into

rivers and canals, badly

polluting the environment.

7

7

SYDNEY

A$10.4 million upgrade to Smeaton

Grange wastewater system in Sydney,

Australia is almost complete. Utility

Sydney Water began construction in

October 2012 with the replacement of

wastewater pumps to increase pumping

capacity of the station. Additionally, a

large emergency wastewater storage

tank was fnished in June this year and

the installation of the new wastewater

pressure main is currently underway

and expected to be completed by the

end of this year.

8

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1310WWI_7 7 11/6/13 3:25 PM

NEWS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 20138

ANALYSIS

MEMBRANES IN CHINA:

BOOM OR BUST FOR INTERNATIONAL

MANUFACTURERS?

Ahead of the IDA World

Congress in Tianjin, there was

an air of excitement about the

desalination market’s future growth in

China.

After all, in February 2012, China’s

State Council announced its 12th Five-

Year Plan (FYP) for desalination. In this,

it established a higher than expected

target of 2.2 – 2.6 million m3/day of

online capacity by 2015. This compares

to less than 1 million m3/day today.

And such excitement continued

through the week, with multiple

suppliers and OEMs holding back key

news until the event in China.

California’s Nano H20 kicked

things off by announcing a $45 million

investment into a manufacturing

facility in Liyang, China – a city in the

Yangtze River Delta, 250 km west of

Shanghai.

Yet caution continued to remain

over what could be a game-changing

footnote in the FYP. Despite the high

target set by the State Council, a goal

stipulating that 70% of all equipment

used in desalination plants should be

produced in the country is perhaps more

relevant to global suppliers. Potentially

all equipment such as membranes and

pumps in a Chinese desalination plant

will come from China.

Writing in WWi magazine, Khoo Teng

Chye, former CEO of Singapore utility

PUB, believes such a move does not

come as a surprise.

He said it’s a policy “similar to that

used to build up the country’s wind

energy industry a few years ago. In fact,

besides the similarity to the wind energy

industry, the aim of the government’s

plan for the Chinese desalination seems

similar to what was achieved in the

areas of rail and aviation.”

Surprise or no surprise, the message

is clear: China wants its water produced

by Chinese equipment. By putting its

peg in Chinese soil and establishing a

local manufacturing presence, Nano

H20 has clearly responded to this strict

demand.

Other membrane companies remain

guarded on China’s potential.

Brett Andrews, president and CEO

of Hydranautics, told WWi: “I think

business in China will get more and

more competitive. There are many

Chinese manufacturers coming onto

the scene - some of them are going

international. There are literally

hundreds in China.

“The Chinese latest Five Year

Plan calls for an increase in local

membrane technology. So this points

to local competitors and maybe even

shutting out the market in the future

for international players. This is a big

danger for us.”

Speaking to WWi magazine, Dr

Graeme Pearce, membrane expert

said: “Only one or two [Chinese

membrane manufacturers] have got

into exporting their products. But the

largest membrane makers of China are

quite substantial given the large size of

the Chinese market....I think the system

integrators should be pleased as it

creates another supplier for them.

“Western suppliers will fnd that

the technology at these companies

is becoming on a par with the best

technology from the west – that day

is fast approaching and has probably

dawned.”

On the positive side, the remaining

30% market share for non-domestic

desalination equipment is still a

lucrative amount given the predicted

size of the Chinese market.

IP challenges and competition to

one side, the original intrigue and

skepticism of the Chinese desalination

market remain. And with China’s

South-North Water Diversion Project

under construction utill potentially 2052;

clean, potable supplies provided by

desalination could be a faster solution to

China’s water woes.

1310WWI_8 8 11/6/13 3:25 PM

INDUSTRY NEWS

EUROPE’S FIRST NUTRIENT RECOVERY FROM WASTEWATER PLANT OPENS IN UK

WAVE POWERED SWRO PILOT MOVES FORWARD IN AUSTRALIA

IN BRIEF

Utility Thames Water in

collaboration with Canadian

frm Ostara has opened a £2

million nutrient-recovery

reactor at a wastewater

treatment plant (WWTP) in

Slough, Berkshire.

It is expected to produce

150 tonnes a year of Crystal

Green fertilizer from

effuent entering the works

rich in struvite, a nutrient

compound containing

ammonia and phosphorus.

If left unchecked struvite

settles as a rock-like scale

on pipes at the sewage

works until it clogs them

completely. The reactor forces

phosphorus to settle in the

form of struvite, turning

it into crystalline fertilizer

pellets.

Thames Water is expected

to save up to £200,000 a

year, which it has until now

spent on chemical dosing

to clear pipes of struvite at

Slough. The utility claimed

the operation could help

reduce the UK’s reliance on

international imports.

All 138,000 tonnes a year

of the phosphate fertiliser

used in the UK is currently

imported from abroad,

Thames Water said.

Mineable reserves of

phosphorus, in countries

like Morocco, the US and

China, are predicted to be

completely depleted in 100

years, according to some

experts. Others say ‘peak

phosphorus’ will occur

as early as the mid-2030s,

after which it is expected to

become increasingly scarce

and expensive. Struvite is

know to have scaled pipes as

far back as 300BC.

Wave energy developer,

Carnegie Wave Energy has

completed the Detailed

Design of its wave powered

desalination pilot plant.

The desalination pilot

plant will be integrated

into Carnegie’s Perth Wave

Energy Project on Garden

Island, Western Australia.

One of the aims of the

pilot is to demonstrate the

production of both power

and freshwater from the

ocean.

The detailed design of

the desalination plant has

been carried out by global

engineering frm GHD, local

Perth-based desalination

manufacturer Mak Water

Industrial and Carnegie’s

technical team.

The design integrates

operation of Carnegie’s

CETO technology offshore

with standard reverse

osmosis desalination

technology onshore.

The high pressure pump

of a standard containerised

reverse osmosis (RO) circuit

is driven by a variable

displacement hydraulic

motor installed within the

hydraulic system of the

wave energy facility. When

in operation, the mechanical

energy provided from the

hydraulic circuit of the

wave energy plant is hoped

to reduce or eliminate the

electrical power required for

the high pressure pump in

the RO circuit.

The desalination pilot

project is supported by

AUS$1.27 million in Federal

Government grant funding

from AusIndustry’s Clean

Technology Innovation

Program of which $320,000 of

this grant funding has now

been received.

Modern Water partners

with Beijing Green

Beijing Green Science and

Technology will distribute

Modern Water’s water trace/

heavy metal and toxicity

monitoring products across

mainland China, Hong Kong

and Macau.

Biosensors developed to

detect endocrine disruptors

A spin-off of the National

Museum of Natural History

in Paris, WatchFrog,

has developed a tool to

identify the presence

of endocrine disrupters

(such as thyroid, estrogen

and adrenocorticotropic

hormones) in wastewater.

Gates invests into FCC

Spanish water treatment

company Aqualia’s parent

frm, FCC, has had 6% of

its shares bought by a fund

linked to Bill Gates. FCC

is currently undergoing

a corporate revamp and

divestment of 2 billion euros

worth of assets under its new

CEO Juan Bejar.

Desalitech goes to the wire

Desalitech will supply its RO

system to Mid American Steel

and Wire’s Madill, Oklahoma

facility, to recycle 227 m3/day

of wastewater for reuse.

Dr Al-Alshaikh takes over as

new IDA president

Dr. Abdullah Al-Alshaikh,

Deputy Governor for

Planning and Development

of Saline Water Conversion

Corporation (SWCC) in Saudi

Arabia, has been named

President of the International

Desalination Association

(IDA) for the 2013-2015 term.

He has taken over from Dr

Corrado Sommariva from ILF

Consulting Engineers.

NEWS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 9

For more news visit us at wwinternational.com

1310WWI_9 9 11/6/13 3:25 PM

LEADER FOCUS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201310

Saudi Arabia is responsible for 18% of the world’s desalination capacity. Behind this amount and 28

desalination plants is the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC). Governor of the organisation,

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, speaks exclusively to WWi magazine about plans to increase current solar

powered desalination capacity by ten times and privatisation progress.

Tom Freyberg reports.

SUN SHINES ON SAUDI’S RENEWABLE DESALINATIONSWCC Governor to SpearheadSolar Energy Movement

Tianjin, China may well have

played host for this year’s IDA

(International Desalination

Association) World Congress yet there is

a clear infuence from the Middle East.

Minister of Water & Electricity in

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E.

Abdullah A Al. Hussayen delivers a

keynote address highlighting stark

statistics regarding water scarcity and

the sanitation crisis across the world.

He says that “building better

desalination plants could help bring

water to the masses and help avert

world catastrophe”.

Calling for a new award to recognise

water conservation, H.E. Al. Hussayen

then focuses his efforts on energy

demands of desalination. One facility

in Jeddah used to consume 9.8 kilowatt

hours per cubic metre (kWh/m3) but

today consumes less than 3 kwh/m3, he

says.

Not long after the keynote address,

the IDA announced its new president

for the 2013-2015 term. Dr. Abdullah Al-

Alshaikh, deputy governor for planning

and development of Saudi Arabia’s

Saline Water Conversion Corporation

(SWCC) is to take over the role from

Dr Corrado Sommariva from ILF

Consulting Engineers.

As well as engineering and service

providers from Saudi Arabia exhibiting

in Tianjin, SWCC was clear to send out a

strong message about its single handed

contribution to the global desalination

industry. In total, the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia (KSA) is responsible for between

18-20% of desalination supply globally.

The organisation is responsible for 28

plants along the west and east coasts, as

well as other independent and private

production plants such as Shoebah 3,

Shiqiq 2 and Jubail plants.

In the 2012 annual report, SWCC says

that total water export rose by 7.8%

compared to the previous year and total

water volume averaged 955 million

cubic metres.

The man responsible for all of this

capacity and ultimately, the production

of drinking water in the largest

desalination market worldwide is H.E.

Dr. Abdulrahman Bin Mohammed

Al-Ibrahim, governor of SWCC. WWi

magazine had a chance to speak with

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, governor of SWCC, says progress in RO pre-treatment

has improved opportunities for membrane desalination in Saudi Arabia

1310WWI_10 10 11/6/13 3:26 PM

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1310WWI_11 11 11/6/13 3:26 PM

LEADER FOCUS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201312

H.E. during the IDA World Congress.

Below is an extract from the interview

with the full, exclusive video interview

available online.

Water and Wastewater International

(WWi): Congratulations on SWCC’s

deputy governor for planning and

development, Dr Abdullah Al.

Alshaikh being elected as the new

IDA president. What does this signal

for KSA’s desalination capacity

worldwide?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim

(AA-I): We possess many desalination

capacities in the Kingdom compared to

worldwide. Currently we possess more

than 18-20% of the worldwide capacity

of desalination. We are number one in

that regard.

However, we do not produce

technology that is equivalent to that

kind of capacity available. Our ultimate

goal is to be able to reach a time where

we will be able to export technologies

equivalent to our capacities that we

possess in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We should be able to join hand

to hand with international elite

organisations such as the IDA. With my

colleague Dr Al. Alshaikh as the new

president and previous board member -

we will be able to use this platform as a

vehicle towards providing information

to all desalination members.

The driver for our industry is not

limited to not just supply the needs of my

people’s water demand. It goes beyond

that. We believe in Saudi Arabia that

water is needed for every living species

in the world. We would love to have the

information of how we should desalinate

water effciently, effectively and wisely

for it to be made available for every

human being and creation on earth.

To export the technology, to export

the know-how, to tell people what the

effcient way of how we should operate

and how we need to be operating our

plants today and the future is part of

our mandate in Saudi Arabia as the new

Saline Water Conversion Corporation.

Dr Abdulrahman obtained his B.Sc in Mechanical

Engineering from the King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah

For more information, enter 6 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_12 12 11/6/13 3:26 PM

LEADER FOCUS

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 13

WWi: What desalination lessons can

be learned in China from the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

After 30-40 years of experience in Saudi

Arabia of operating the plants, limiting

our scope to just producing water for the

people is extremely ineffcient. Currently

we are doing huge integration for the

whole chain of operation, including

the distribution centre, including the

reuse sector and including the industrial

sector.

In Saudi Arabia we are no longer

interested in importing black boxes.

This is my recommendation for China.

They should not import black boxes to

operate inside of China. They need to

rely on their industry to have a major

share of how they should build the

desalination industry. Not only that but

also it goes beyond the construction. It

involves the operation, maintenance and

skills of operators.

WWi: Since you’ve been Governor,

you’ve set out ambitions for SWCC in

terms of improving effciencies. Tell us

what you have achieved so far?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

There have been multiple ambitious

and strategic goals that we were able to

improve since the day I was able to join

the SWCC. I came into an elite and very

hard working environment. We realised

we had to improve the effciency of

our operation. I can name one specifc

project in that regard.

The Yanbu 3 project took a while to

be awarded with a specifcation that

didn’t have much attention to energy

effciency. With the awarded contractor

and consortium we managed to increase

the effciency by 10% with a very

small amount of premium investment

required. That 10% has caused a saving

nationwide more than the capital

cost that we made for the contractual

agreement.

WWi: On the topic of energy savings,

KSA is spearheading a move to

integrate more renewable energy into

its desalination plants?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

The other achievement that we were

able to proceed with further is the

introduction of renewable energy in

the desalination industry, across the

Kingdom. We believe that the whole

desalination industry is meant for a

sustainable development. Part of the

sustainable development element is to

be able to look at sustainable fuel. We do

have an abundance of renewable energy

available in the Kingdom, as well as

geothermal.

Part of the programme for

implementing renewable energy in

desalination is currently with the

National Research Institute of Saudi

Arabia in King Abdulaziz City for

Science and Technology (KACST). We

are collaborating with them on a plant

that will see 30,000 m3/day desalinated

water produced and powered by

photovoltaic cells. We want to go

beyond that – 10 times that value –

300,000 m3/day renewable. We can go

for thermal, we can go for photovoltaic,

we can go with wind, and we can go

with geothermal as well. So multiple

opportunities are available to enrich our

energy portfolio across KSA.

WWi: What about water

conservation?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

As part of the integration with the

distribution sector – we need to put

SWCC’s H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim tells WWi’s Tom Freyberg that his organisation is aiming to increase effciencies to

operate like a private company. He said privatisation is a “roadmap” and is a long procedure

1310WWI_13 13 11/6/13 3:26 PM

LEADER FOCUS

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 201314

our hands together. As much as we can

become more effcient and produce

more water, we need to work with

the distribution sector on the way we

manage the water.

There has been a tremendous amount

of efforts in this regard. For example a

campaign to give distribution saving

kits in every household, industry and

all the commercial sector. We are able to

preserve the amount of water that has

been ineffciently utilised. Data has been

provided to all as a benchmark to show

people how effcient they were.

We went also beyond potable water

when we were able to convince the

government that we were able to also

rationalise the utilisation of water for

other resources, like industrial and

agricultural. .

WWi: A typical arrangement of

desalination in the Middle East is

a combination of power and water

plants. SWCC is responsible for 28

desalination plants, with the majority

thermal. What are the opportunities

for membranes and will there be

more of an adoption into RO (reverse

osmosis)?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

With the more mature environment

of our electricity sector and the more

advancement in our technologies we

are looking more carefully that our

speciality has to be effciently produced

water, as well as producing electricity.

We’re shifting gears towards selecting

a technology that is able to obtain both

factors: energy effcient and therefore

the membranes are catching up.

The other factor is the reliability – we

need to have the membrane or thermal

plant that is reliable, and able to produce

in the Gulf Area – the water is not as

clear as it is in the North part of the Red

Sea area. Tremendous obstacles are faced

with RO.

Efforts from my team with pre-

treatment experience have meant we

have seen advancements. At any rate,

membrane technology is catching up in

Saudi Arabia.

Our ultimate goal is to be able to

produce more water for less, and more

reliable water. Therefore I can see that

membrane technology is catching up. If

we decide to go for thermal we need to

be very wise and need to go with very

advanced technology.

WWi: Tell me about the privatisation

progress of SWCC’s assets?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

Privatisation is a strategic choice that the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia adopted 10

years ago.

It was decided that water was

one of the sectors that needed to be

privatised. After fve to six years of

privatisation progress, there was a more

comprehensive evaluation on why

we should privatise and what is the

ultimate goal.

Our ultimate conclusion is that

privatisation is a vehicle towards a more

sustainable department. The ultimate

goal is sustainability. Sustainability

is not limited to my area of water

development but a comprehensive

sustainable Kingdom.

Therefore we are ultimately going

towards what is called a more effcient

operation, more easy and more reliable

operation as well as more attractive

environment.

Our current efforts are to change the

Saline Water Conversion Corporation

from a government entity into a more

corporatized entity, comparable with

the private sector. This is a migration

Partnerships for progress: SWCC is implementing a renewable powered

desalination programme with KACST, the governor told WWi magazine

1310WWI_14 14 11/6/13 3:26 PM

LEADER FOCUS

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 15

towards a more advanced state than we

are currently in. This is part of why we

have developed our strategic plans are

now we have our policies and we have

our KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

We have our targets that need to be

achieved and know exactly where we

stand now and what we need to achieve

at the end of the year 2013 and even till

2015. Privatisation is a roadmap - it’s a

very long procedure.

WWi: So the idea is customers are

feeling the beneft of private sector

effciency and operation but from a

government entity?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim:

It’s not the prospective of looking at

privatisation for someone else to take on

the burden. It’s a partnership between

the government and the private sector

towards a more advanced venture.

WWi: As part of that journey to

privatisation, what opportunities exist

for companies such as pump suppliers,

membrane manufacturers, pipes and

valve companies?

H.E. Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim: I

would recommend that the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia, specifcally in the

desalination sector, and the water sector,

and the power sector have changed

a lot during the past 10 years. We’re

extremely eager to have partnerships in

our operation.

We’re not interested in what’s called

“hit and run” – companies coming over

for a specifc project and then going

back. We want to have a long-term

partnership. I always tease companies

that come to my offce looking for an

opportunity. I always ask them do you

have a return ticket? If they say “yes”,

then I say you have no more business

with me. You need to have a one-way

ticket. You need to live in the country.

You need to be able to grab the future

and we reap the beneft together instead

of a short-term project.

Currently we have opened the doors

to our plants to all investors. We say

ok, even though that we are currently

operating ineffciently, we can put hands

together as an energy company and look

at opportunities how we can conserve

our energy and be able to utilise this

current energy to produce more water

and more energy or utilise it for other

purposes.

By changing the mind of only

producing water, now we have assets

that we can utilise more.

Tom Freyberg is chief editor of WWi

magazine. For more information on the

article and SWCC, email: tomf@pennwell.

com. The full video interview will appear on

www.waterworld.com/world-regions.html

I ALWAYS ASK COMPANIES DO YOU HAVE A RETURN TICKET? IF YOU SAY

YES, YOU HAVE NO MORE BUSINESS WITH

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1310WWI_15 15 11/6/13 3:26 PM

EXECUTIVE TECH COMPARISON NUTRIENT RECOVERY

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201316

The Big Question: What operational benefts and political motivation could help persuade utilities to install nutrient recovery systems?WWi’s technology comparison series continues with the topic of nutrient recovery solutions. With excess

nutrients leading to Harmful algae blooms (HABs) and eutrophication, ultimately affecting utilities is now is

the time for the adoption in modern technologies?

Utilities are looking for

sustainable wastewater

treatment solutions.

Increasingly, utilities are implementing

nutrient recovery systems to address

environmental concerns and economic

challenges, both with political impact.

Nutrient pollution is a matter of a

dislocated resource: we need nutrients

to grow the food we eat, but nutrients

in the water environment cause oxygen

defciency and hypoxia (dead zones).

Nutrient recovery systems prevent

nutrients from being discharged into the

water environment by recovering and

returning them to the agronomic cycle.

From an operational point of view,

nutrient recovery is essential to help

a utility meet its effuent phosphorus

limits. When biological phosphorus

removal is combined with anaerobic

digestion, a natural phenomenon occurs.

This returns most of the phosphorus

removed in the activated sludge process

back to the treatment plant in the solids

handling liquid side stream. A vicious

cycle occurs where phosphorus is

removed, released, and returned.

Nutrient recovery breaks this cycle,

replacing it with a virtuous cycle where

phosphorus is removed, released, and

recovered.

Closing the loopSteve Wirtel, senior vice president, Ostara

UTILITY APPLICATION: CITY OF SASKATOON

When Saskatoon’s H.M. Weir Wastewater Treatment Plant upgraded to bio-

phosphorus removal, the plant experienced two critical problems: excessive struvite

scale in their lagoon supernatant return pipeline and struvite build up in their

digesters as “grit”, according to Ostara. Eventually, the supernatant return line

became completely plugged with struvite, isolating the lagoons from the treatment

plant. In August 2013, the City built an Ostara Pearl Nutrient Recovery facility

with the waste activated sludge stripping process (WASSTRIP) to recover internal

phosphorus , solve the struvite problem and restore plant reliability. The process

has reduced struvite build-up and plant maintenance issues; resulted in lower

operating and maintenance costs; and, improved effciency and reliability. The

facility features a Pearl 2000 reactor, which has the annual production capacity of

730 tonnes of fertilizer.

In addition, nutrient recovery

avoids the use of costly, unsustainable

chemicals.

Without nutrient recovery, a utility

must add metal salts to tie up the

dissolved phosphorus in the solids

handling liquid side stream when

biological phosphorus removal is

combined with anaerobic digestion.

Instead of adding chemicals, nutrient

recovery captures phosphorus and

nitrogen in the side stream, converting a

problem into a solution by producing a

high value, slow release fertilizer.

In fact, utilities across North America

are seeing the benefts of nutrient

recovery and bringing millions of

revenue dollars into their facilities. But

more than just seeing the monetary

value, they are “closing the loop” on

a non-renewable resource that is in

limited supply and is essential to all

forms of life, specifcally farming and

food production.

Without phosphorus, nothing grows,

but too much negatively impacts water

quality. Nutrient recovery allows

utilities to address water quality

challenges and “upcycle” an essential

nutrient for the highest benefcial re-use.

As utilities move away from

wastewater treatment and disposal

towards the more sustainable approach -

used water recycling - nutrient recovery

is becoming a key component of

resource recovery facilities.

1310WWI_16 16 11/6/13 3:26 PM

EXECUTIVE TECH COMPARISON NUTRIENT RECOVERY

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 17

Reducing discharge feesDr Christian Kabbe, KompetenzZentrum Wassser Berlin

Focusing on phosphorus recovery

from the wastewater stream, water

utilities play a key role. Various

technologies have been developed over

recent years and a few of them have

already made it to full-scale application,

or are at least planned to start operation

in the coming years.

Looking behind the scenes, these

technologies not only provide recyclable

phosphorus products like struvite, they

also have some operational benefts,

which are more or less the reason for

installing such units.

We have heard all about the clogging

of pipes and aggregates with unwanted

struvite incrustation after the digestion

of sewage sludge. This can cause serious

trouble and additional maintenance

cost for the operation of wastewater

treatment plants.

Chemicals are available to avoid this

trouble but are also quite expensive. So,

why not opt for precipitating struvite

after digestion on purpose? Different

technology providers and plant

operators already run such units.

There are two hot spots for struvite

recovery at a wastewater treatment

plant with biological phosphorus

elimination and digestion of sludge:

directly subsequent to the digester

within the sludge matrix or

after dewatering in the process

water. In both cases, the

dissolved ortho-phosphate will

be recovered as struvite after

pH adjustment and addition of

magnesium salts.

In the frst case - prior

dewatering - additional benefts

like improved sludge dewatering

and reduced chemicals demand

for dewatering can lead to

reduction of sludge disposal

costs in big wastewater

treatment plants of several

hundred thousand euros.

So, the question arises, why

haven’t wastewater treatment

plant operators of these bio-

phosphorus plants installed

recovery systems?

The very frst point is the

fact that phosphorus recovery

is not essential for wastewater

treatment (elimination of

nutrients and pollutants).

Finally, all the unwanted

substances in the wastewater are

either degraded or transferred

into the sludge, which is only

a by-product or waste of the

treatment. It is not frst intention

of operators to produce another

“product” besides effuent water

meeting the legal requirements.

So, how to convince water

utilities to install phosphorus

recovery units, if they don’t see

benefts? Here, reasonable incentives

and legal requirements come into

place to generate motivation or even

enforcement to do so.

Operators can be motivated by

reduced discharge fees for a limited

period when upgrading their plants or

recovery quotes can be introduced. Of

course, this should always be linked to

practicability and not only scientifc-

political enacted. Also a market for

recovered phosphorus will help. But this

will only work, if there were a demand

for recovered phosphorus.

This can also be triggered by legal

requirements like strict limit values for

Cadmium in fertilizers or a blending

quota for recovered phosphorus in

primary phosphorus products. A

positive side effect will be that the

existing distribution infrastructure

can still be used and the quota can

be increased according to growing

quantities (availability) of recovered

phosphorus.

It will also be a much cheaper solution

to meet strict Cd limits by blending with

pure recovery products instead to apply

decadmiation, which is rather expensive.

This will allow European companies to

buy cheaper low grade phosphate (rock)

and strengthens their competiveness on

the global market in the long term.

Of course, there is a lot more

experience out there waiting to be

discussed and applied. But this will

fnally only work, if all relevant

stakeholders from supply and demand

side work together.

OPERATORS CAN

BE MOTIVATED

BY REDUCED

DISCHARGE FEES

FOR A LIMITED

PERIOD

1310WWI_17 17 11/6/13 3:26 PM

EXECUTIVE TECH COMPARISON NUTRIENT RECOVERY

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201318

Global phosphorus concerns

Cutting down on chemicals

Dr. Aleksandra Drizo, CEO, PhosphoReduc

Jean-Marc Philipot, chief technical offcer, Veolia Water

The need for nutrient capturing

and recovery technologies has

never been more apparent than

today. Harmful algae blooms (HABs)

and eutrophication caused by excess

nutrients loading from human activities

have become one of the major water

quality impairments.

Apart from being a major water

quality issue, phosphorus is also a key

component of fertilizers. There is a

growing concern regarding a decline in

phosphorus world reserves which are

estimated to reach their peak in the next

100 years.

The current regulatory requirements

for utilities are to reduce phosphorus

concentrations to 1-2 mg/L. However,

due to the exponential expansion of

HABs outbreaks and eutrophication, the

stringent phosphorus discharge limits

(to 0.5 mg P/L and/or lower) are being

considered in the most affected areas by

HABs and eutrophication.

Presently, phosphorus removal from

wastewater effuents at the utilities

can be achieved in two fundamentally

different ways: by physical-chemical

precipitation and by enhanced biological

removal. Both processes generate vast

quantities of sludge that needs to be

stored, dried and disposed of, imposing

signifcant additional costs on the

utilities.

Jiang et al (2005) developed capital,

operation/maintenance, and total costs

for the construction and operation of

plants removing between 20% and

99.3% of phosphorus with capacities

ranging between 1 and 100 million

gallons per day.

The analyses were made for four

different total phosphorus (TP)

discharge limits (2 mg/L, 1 mg/L,

0.5 mg/L and 0.13 mg/L). The

results showed that for all adaptation

confgurations, meeting the TP limit of 1

mg/l would require capital investments

of hundreds of millions of dollars,

excluding sludge storage and handling

costs.

Development and implementation

of cost-effective nutrient recovery

technologies for utilities could decrease

the fnancial burdens by generating

substantial cost-savings. Moreover,

they could create the new generation of

much needed high-value fertilizers and

in doing so offer an add-on value to the

utilities.

Today utilities face an ever-

tightening standard of effuent

discharge limits for wastewater.

With continued nutrient management

regulation changes, especially regarding

nitrogen and phosphorus levels,

many utilities are fnding that their

wastewater treatment plants may be in

need of an upgrade.

In the past, wastewater treatment

technologies focused strictly on nutrient

removal. Today, however, an emerging

trend is recovering and reusing the

nutrients from the waste stream.

Much value can be gained by

recovering these nutrients versus simply

removing them. Some operational

benefts from phosphorus recovery

include a reduced maintenance cost

by avoiding precipitation downstream

of the biosolids digestion, as well as a

reduced chemical consumption.

With an upgrade to a Biological

Nutrient Removal (BNR) system, ferric

chloride is no longer necessary in the

primary and secondary treatments. This

in turn allows the utility to reduce their

carbon footprint due to the lack of ferric

chloride in the process.

Perhaps the most valuable beneft is

that the recovered phosphorus by-

products can be converted into fertilizer,

which in turn can generate an income

stream for the utility. Once the initial

investment of the upgraded technology

is paid off, this new income stream may

help balance the operational costs of the

wastewater treatment plant.

This can be especially true for

industrial facilities that have high

phosphorus and nitrogen loads in their

waste streams.

Furthermore, recovering nutrients,

especially phosphorus, alleviates impact

on the environment. While phosphate

rock is a fnite resource, phosphorus can

be renewed through avenues such as

innovative wastewater treatment.

As the population continues to grow,

nutrient recovery will become more and

more essential.

UTILITY APPLICATION

In April 2013, two PhosphoReduc flters were constructed (10 m 3 volume each) to reduce phosphorus (P) and E.coli from a

combined raw sewage and urban run-off wastewater originating from favelas and thus prevent further eutrophication of

Tubarão Lagoons in Brazil. In the frst fve months of operation E.coli, total and soluble P were reduced by 99.9%, 96% and

98%, respectively. Up to date, the two flters retained approximately 8.8 lbs (4 kg) of P each, resulting in complete withdrawal

of algae and invasive species cover in the lagoons downstream. Once flters P removal effciency start to decrease, the spent

fltration media will be re-used as a sustainable, P rich fertilizer for use in forestry, horticulture and agriculture.

1310WWI_18 18 11/6/13 3:26 PM

Environment

Eco-design

Energy

CSR

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For more information, enter 8 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_19 19 11/6/13 3:26 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES RAINWATER HARVESTING

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201320

Chao-Hsien Liaw’s rainwater harvesting

installations in Taiwan. Rainwater has now been

recognised in law as a water resource by the

Taiwan Water Resources Agency

THE RAINWATER HARVEST SUPPER

1310WWI_20 20 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES RAINWATER HARVESTING

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 21

Rainwater harvesting involves the collection of precipitation for a wide range of agricultural,

commercial and domestic uses, from watering landscapes to fushing toilets. When properly

collected and treated, the method can also be employed to harness a valuable source of

potable water.

Andrew Williams reports.

With the exception of a few

high profle examples, most

notably the Star City project

in South Korea, rainwater harvesting

systems have tended to be small-scale.

However, as a new initiative in Hawaii

begins to explore how the technique can

be used on a larger-scale, there are some

signs that this may be about to change.

For several years, people on many of

the remote islands of Hawaii have relied

solely on harvested rainwater for all

their potable and non-potable needs. It

is estimated that nearly one-third of the

homes in Hawaii County (commonly

known as the ‘Big Island’) currently use

catchment water for their own private

use.

Alongside these household-level

systems, the Hawaii State Department

of Health also regulates four large-scale

‘public water systems’ that depend on

and serve rainwater as their primary

source of water - including two national

parks, one military camp, and one

‘youth challenge’ facility.

In an effort to build on this

growing area of expertise, a new

partnership between the University

of Hawaii’s Sea Grant Program and

the American Rainwater Catchment

Systems Association (ARCSA) has

been established to “advance the

understanding and adoption of such

sustainable water practices across the

islands”.

During August, the University

hosted a successful two-day workshop

on O‘ahu to provide training in all

aspects of rainwater harvesting - and

the partnership has ambitious plans

to conduct research and outreach

on practices and policies “to ensure

Hawaii’s coastal communities have

access to clean, fresh water now and for

generations to come”.

According to Matthew Gonser, an

extension agent for the University of

Hawaii Sea Grant College Program,

rainwater harvesting has a big role to

play in the future provision of potable

water, not just in Hawaii but worldwide.

“The technologies and competencies

exist today, and will only improve in the

coming years - rainwater harvesting is

not a new practice, it is something that

went out of vogue, and is now coming

back with improved technologies and

capacities,” he says.

While costs may be a factor in some

cases, Gonser’s view is that it is likely

that the greatest strides will need to be

made in the ‘public desire’ for water

catchment, through increased education

and awareness of its benefts and

necessity.

“Like wastewater reuse, this is a

social science and policy issue where

those involved in the research, design,

and maintenance felds can play a more

active role. In that sense it is also a

business and economics proposition,”

he says.

TAIWAN

Meanwhile, in Taiwan, a recently

established green building rating system

stipulates that rainwater harvesting to

supplement water supplies is required

for all new public buildings - and

private buildings must also install

rainwater harvesting systems in order to

attain green building certifcation.

“In the last year, rainwater has been

offcially recognised as an alternative

water resource and listed in the water

law by the [Taiwan] Water Resources

Agency,” says Chao-Hsien Liaw,

Professor in the Department of Harbor

and River Engineering, National Taiwan

For more information, enter 9 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_21 21 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES RAINWATER HARVESTING

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201322

Ocean University and President of the

International Rainwater Harvesting

Systems Association (IRCSA).

In the course of his work, Liaw

explains that he has designed many

rainwater harvesting systems for schools

and government buildings, as well as a

museum, an exhibition hall and public

attractions.

“We have implemented rainwater

harvesting systems in Taipei city zoo for

over ten years. Nowadays, more than

50% of potable water is [provided] by

rainwater,” says Liaw.

Other interesting examples of wide-

scale adoption include those in Gansu

Province, China, where more than

three million Shuijiao (water cellars)

have been used to provide people

with drinking water, and Bangalore

and Chennai in India. Each installed

several thousand rainwater harvesting

structures to replenish groundwater and

supplement surface water sources.

LARGE-SCALE ADOPTION

According to Srikantaiah Vishwanath, a

rainwater harvesting consultant based

in Bangalore, supportive government

policies can be very helpful in driving

large-scale adoption. He points out that,

when rainwater harvesting became

mandatory for new buildings, as well

as old buildings beyond a certain plot

size, a “fourishing entrepreneur driven

market” was created in the city.

“Plumbers were trained and were

willing to offer services competitively,”

he says. “Large-scale innovation of

flters happened with more than 40

flters in the market, employment was

created for plumbers and well-diggers

and there was a boom in the water

economy.”

For Vishwanath however, the single

biggest challenge is behaviour change

- and he warns that it is diffcult to

convince people that rainwater can be

drunk, “especially if it has not been a

cultural practice”.

“The other challenge is the up-

front costs of these systems. While

maintenance cost can be negligible over

the lifetime of the system, the upfront

costs of installation deter people from

adopting it. Subsidized mains water is

another problem as it makes rainwater

harvesting economically unattractive if

people are connected to mains systems,”

he adds.

Meanwhile, Liaw argues that,

although the technology already exists,

the main barriers to large-scale adoption

are “fnancial feasibility and operation

and maintenance”.

From a cost perspective, he also

agrees that it takes a long time to

recover the cost of installing a rainwater

harvesting system and he believes that

the establishment of a management

committee in charge of education,

planning, operation and maintenance

is the ‘cornerstone’ to successful

implementation.

He also adds that the removal or

storage of large quantities of water from

a given location may be disallowed by

the authorities because it decreases the

amount of water available downstream.

“This principle means that rainwater

may be viewed as a public resource

rather than [belonging] to the owner of

the land on which the rain falls,” he says.

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

According to Billy Kniffen, national

director and education program

chairman at the American Rainwater

Catchment Systems Association

(ARCSA), fear of the unknown

represents another challenge to large-

scale adoption - at least in the US.

“We capture rainwater in lakes and

Green measures: rainwater harvesting to supplement water supplies is

required for all new public buildings in Taiwan

1310WWI_22 22 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES RAINWATER HARVESTING

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 23

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rivers and use it in potable systems

but once you put it in a container

the fear factor goes up. Or else the

big manufacturers, consultants and

authorities either do not want to change,

they fear it will take time and money or

take money away from them and there

is not the necessity to do anything as of

yet in most of the US,” he explains.

“Necessity is the driver. Also it

takes lot of roof and storage to supply

needed amounts, double piping, fear

of cross connection and costs involved.

If it is critical - as in many developing

countries - it could be implemented

now. But smaller systems are easier to

install and costs are spread out,” adds

Kniffen.

LOOKING AHEAD

From a technological perspective,

Kniffen believes that microfltration

systems designed to remove cysts

“easily and without much maintenance”

will be a big help - and “could be

implemented easier with large systems”

Meanwhile, Jesper Skadhauge, global

product manager for domestic water

supply at Grundfos also points out that,

THIS PRINCIPLE MEANS RAINWATER IS

VIEWED AS A PUBLIC RESOURCE

RATHER THAN TO THE LAND OWNER

although it is “more problematic” to

install rainwater harvesting systems as

retro-ft, it is still “absolutely feasible”.

“However, if buildings are designed

for rainwater usage from the start it is

very easy. The main driver for these

systems is still legislation as water is

still a relative low-cost resource in many

parts of the developed world,” he says.

“One additional, and equally

signifcant, beneft of these systems is

their ability to buffer heavy rainfall. This

buffer-effect means that the municipal

rainwater system is not being peak-

loaded as it otherwise would, reducing

the need for expensive expansion,” adds

Skadhauge.

For Liaw, green building policies and

similar government mandates, which he

says are ‘gaining in popularity around

the world,’ will continue to fuel the

large-scale implementation of rainwater

harvesting systems.For more information, enter 10 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_23 23 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES RAINWATER HARVESTING

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201324

In the future, he argues that integrated

rainwater management systems, which

necessitate the design of large-scale

systems, will become the ‘new wave’

of rainwater harvesting. Moreover,

although it has not yet been developed

specifcally for rainwater treatment, he

also sees much promise in emerging

membrane technology.”

More broadly speaking , Gonser says

that an extensive review of measures

taken by other US states and territories

has revealed “progressive legislation”

that uses an array of strategies and tools

to encourage or mandate rainwater

catchment practices for both non-potable

and potable uses.

Specifc strategies and tools include

the creation of state-wide standards for

rainwater harvesting - including health

and safety standards for collection

and treatment of water intended for

drinking, cooking, or bathing - as well

as tax incentives and rebates to purchase

equipment and install catchment

systems and supporting grants for pilot-

projects

“Rainwater catchment practices raise

concerns of water quality and public

health. That said, at the heart of the

practice is a concern for water quantity,

whether as conservation measure or for

survival,” says Gonser.

“It is a challenge for any government

body to add monitoring protocols and

training-services to already burdened

staff and budgets, but our research

provides some examples, including

economic tools, that may be of use for

the state and county governments of

Hawaii or elsewhere, if water catchment

practices and uses are identifed as a

priority,” he concludes.

Andrew Williams is a freelance

correspondent for WWi magazine.

For more information, contact: tomf@

pennwell.com

The main driver for rainwater harvesting systems, as pictured above,

is legislation as water is still seen as a low-cost resource in many parts of the world

For more information, enter 11 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_24 24 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV)

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 25

LIGHTING UP LATIN AMERICA

Historically suffering from failing

water treatment infrastructure,

Colombia has had to embrace

change. A look into the country’s

frst open channel UV system

for municipal wastewater in Tolu

and efforts from global OEMs to

change a reliance on chemical

treatment across Latin America.

Tom Freyberg reports.

Change is on the horizon for

Colombia’s wastewater sector.

As reported in the June-

July edition of Water & Wastewater

International (WWi), the country’s

new Bello wastewater treatment plant

(WWTP) will have a capacity of 5 m3/

second. Once complete, the Bello WWTP

will end up servicing more than three

million inhabitants and cover 95% of

water discharged in the Medellin River.

It is hoped the US$347 million project

from Spanish frm Acciona Agua will

change the perception of public-private

partnerships. More importantly, if

successful, it could help plot a modern,

state-of-the-art wastewater facility on

a landscape usually accustomed to

failing facilities plagued with structural

problems.

The supplied UV solution in Tolu will achieve effuent quality of less than 10 milligrams per litre BOD and TSS

u

1310WWI_25 25 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV)

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201326

Such lagging infrastructure was

fagged up in February 2013 when

a technical report published by the

Colombian Superintendence of Public

Works (Superservicios) found that 89

plants investigated were not operating.

The regulator inspected 333 systems

– 59% of the 562 installed across 480

municipalities - in compliance with the

country’s National Development Plan

2010 to 2014. Problems found included

an inability to meet treatment standards,

lack of awareness of operation protocols,

lack of maintenance and susceptibility to

natural disasters.

A CHEMICAL DISINFECTION

MARKET

With chlorine and chemical

based disinfection widely used in

municipalities across Colombia and

Latin America, ultraviolet treatment

(UV) is still seen as a “young”

technology.

“Currently many water and

wastewater treatment designs are

based on long established technologies,

primarily because engineering

contractors here tend not use or specify

‘younger’ technologies – despite the fact

that they are proven, evidence-based

solutions,” Juan Contreras, projects

manager for Xylem Colombia tells WWi

magazine.

Others believe the slow growth can

also be attributed to perceived cost and

required operating expertise.

Professor Joel Ducoste, member

of the board for the International

Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) and

from North Carolina State University,

says: “In terms of why UV hasn’t really

penetrated the Latin American market, it

might stem from the fact that it’s a more

energy intensive technology, so there

would be more cost to it and it requires

more care in terms of operation and

maintenance…UV technologies require

a different skill set in terms of operation.

It’s not very complicated but does

require a different level of skills from the

operators.”

Speaking to WWi magazine, Wayne

Lem, municipal wastewater market

manager for Trojan Technologies, adds:

“Colombia currently has relatively

weak enforcement of regulations

when it comes to disinfection of

municipal wastewaters. As such,

there are challenges in the market for

adopting UV for disinfection. This

is being addressed by educating key

stakeholders on how UV technology

works and the benefts it has over

chemical disinfection.”

ODOUR ISSUES IN TOLU AND UV

SOLUTION

Public water supply and safety is

critical globally and even more so when

it comes to tourist destinations and

maintaining the wellbeing of visitors.

Colombia is one of a handful of popular

Latin America destinations that has the

tourist dollar income to protect.

One region heavily dependent on

tourism is Tolu, known as the jewel in

the crown along the east coastline. In

this respect, the region has to make sure

its water and wastewater treatment is

up to scratch so visitors will return and

provide repeated business.

However, the area in the past faced

challenges with odour from its water

treatment. When the current lagoons

discharge wastewater it travels near

to where the local population is living,

so any unpleasant odours left from

treatment potentially contaminates the

surrounding area, including the sea. As

Mature misconceptions: water treatment designs in Colombia and the region are based on long

established treatment processes – such as chlorine – as engineering contractors tend not to use

or specify what are perceived as ‘younger’ technologies, such as UV [Image credit: Heraeus]

1310WWI_26 26 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV)

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 27

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a result, many habitants living near to

the discharge zone complained about

unpleasant odors, which were amplifed

during warm weather spells.

Therefore the announcement in

summer 2013 of the country’s frst UV

installation for municipal use in Tolu

can be seen as an important one.

FIRST OPEN CHANNEL SYSTEM

Water treatment frm Xylem secured

a contract to install a secondary

wastewater treatment solution for

the Tolu Municipality. One of the frst

wastewater treatment systems to use UV

disinfection in Colombia, the supplied

solution will have a 400 square meter

footprint and will replace traditional

lagoons which have a 15,000 square

metre footprint.

Whereas closed UV systems for

industrial applications have been more

common in Colombia, this particular

UV solution from Xylem is the frst to

be installed in an open channel in the

country.

Supplied equipment as part of the

package will include an aeration system,

decanters, blowers, monitoring, controls

and instrumentation. Primary treated

water coming from Xylem’s Sanitaire

ICEAS is transported to an open channel

within which the Wedeco TAK UV

system is installed. The disinfection

process is then carried out by UV

amalgam lamps.

Speaking to WWi, Contreas says: “UV

destroys contaminates within seconds

where chlorine needs an extended

contact time to meet disinfection

regulations. Chlorination systems also

have potential health and environmental

risks that require additional handling

and processing to protect workers and

the environment.”

MEETING BOD AND TSS

REGULATIONS

Local regulations require effuent

quality of 50 milligrams per litre

For more information, enter 12 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_27 27 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV)

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201328

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

and 22 milligrams per litre Total

Suspended Solids (TSS). The supplied

Xylem Sanitaire ICEAS solution will

achieve effuent quality of less than 10

milligrams per litre BOD and TSS.

Boasting a reduced footprint and

an operational cost saving of 11%, this

raises the question of why has it taken

so long for UV technology to be used?

“While UV is used in a limited

number of industrial applications

locally, it is an unknown technology in

municipal circles – chlorine or chemical

based disinfection is widely used,” says

Contreas.

“However, we succeeded in

conveying the many benefts of UV

technology – including the fact that

it is environmentally sound and that

it provides for the potential reuse of

wastewater - to the Tolu municipality

after developing a good working

relationship with them.”

BRAZIL BREAKTHROUGH

Yet Xylem is not the only major player

seeing opportunity south of the US. At

the end of 2011 Canadian frm Trojan

Technologies was awarded a US$600,000

contract to supply UV systems to four

wastewater plants in the state of Espirito

Santo, Brazil. Collectively the plants will

treat 121,000 m3/day of wastewater.

It should be noted that at the time,

Trojan could also claim that it supplied

units into the largest UV wastewater

treatment installation in Latin America.

The Curitiba plant, located in the

southern Brazilian state of Parana, treats

up to 136,000 m3/day. Since then the

company has secured a US$1 million

UV project in the continent but didn’t

disclose any further details.

While Lem admits that the region

has not been without its challenges

“there have been a few installations not

operational or abandoned for various

reasons including closure of wastewater

treatment plants”, Trojan is growing its

installation base.

The Canadian company has 250 UV

installations in Latin America treating

a total of 750,000 m3/day of water/

wastewater. Although less than 10% of

the company’s global business comes

from the continent, it believes the

market is set for growth.

“Disinfection to safeguard public

health typically requires a regulatory

driver,” says Trojan’s Lem, before

adding: “We believe UV has a very

bright future in Latin America for water

and wastewater disinfection.”

UV’S FUTURE IN LATIN AMERICA

Xylem’s Colombia projects manager is

optimistic about the future of UV in the

continent.

“We see many opportunities for

business growth in Latin America, not

just in the municipal market but also in

the industrial sector,” he says. “Once

it is in operation it will be easier for

consultants, other municipalities and

the community in general to experience

and understand the benefts of UV

technology.”

The IUVA’s Professor Ducoste believes

regulation will be the key driver. “It’s

more of a regulatory driver than a cost

driver,” he says.

Legislation in the US, he adds,

makes it challenging for some chemical

disinfections to be used due to apparent

disinfection by-products. Because of this

UV is being seen as a “go-to” technology

to achieve adequate disinfection with no

known by-products, he says. Technology

evolution will also help level the playing

Canadian frm Trojan Technologies’ installed UV system in Orange County, California.

The frm has supplied technology to four WWTPs in Espirito Santo, Brazil as well as what has been

claimed as Latin America’s largest UV installation: the Curitiba plant in Parana, Brazil which treats

up to 136,000 m3/day.

1310WWI_28 28 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT (UV)

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 29

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PROCESS EXPLANATION: UV LIGHT DISINFECTION

Ultraviolet light is energy-rich light with a wavelength of 200 – 400 nanometres (nm). The intensive UVC radiation, most

strongly in the wavelength range of 254 nm, reaches the microorganisms and impacts directly on their DNA. By changing the

DNA the cell division of the microorganism is interrupted – it can no longer reproduce itself and thus loses its pathogenic effect.

UV technology manufacturers claim it is possible to destroy more than 99.99% of all pathogens within seconds.

The light necessary for UV disinfection is generated in special UV lamps. A watertight tube made of quartz glass which

allows the UV light to pass through surrounds each lamp. The liquid to be disinfected runs past the quartz tubing, being

irradiated by the UV light. The number of UV lamps employed vary according to amount, fow rate and transmittance of the

medium. Ultraviolet light is also suitable for oxidation and there-fore for the reduction of undesirable substances in water.

For example, UV light with a wavelength of 185 nm oxidizes hydrocarbons, chlorine, NDMA and reduces TOC values.

In combination with ozone and peroxide UV-light can additionally be used for advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for

degradation of persistent pollutants from drinking water or wastewater.

feld in the future when it comes to

competing with popular chlorine

treatment.

“The cost of UV will come down

signifcantly,” he says. “There is a lot

of work being done in developing

LEDs. They have already transformed

the visible light industry by providing a

long-lasting, low cost, low energy light

source.

“This is already making its way into

the UV wavelength. So at some point it

is going to be cost neutral – there will be

very little difference between chemical

disinfectants and some of the new [UV]

technologies because of the cost of

the sources. The cost will come down

dramatically and technology will last

longer, reducing the O&M costs as well.”

CLOSING REMARKS

The Superservicios report may have

fagged up Colombia’s poor performing

facilities but this might have not been

such a bad thing. Making headlines

around the world, attention has been

drawn on the country’s lagging water

sector.

This might have given Colombia the

necessary motivate to change, improve

and look to its Latin American siblings

such as Brazil – hosts of the Rio 2016

Olympic Games and 2014 FIFA World

Cup respectively, for inspiration.

Should the Tolu installation catalyze

other municipalities to adopt UV over

chemical treatment in Colombia, then

the doors could open to the other global

suppliers. One thing is for sure: the

move from chemical to UV will not be a

quick one in countries like Colombia.

Tom Freyberg is chief editor of WWi

magazine. For more information on this

article, please contact: tomf@pennwell.com

For more information, enter 13 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_29 29 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES INDUSTRIAL WATER

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201330

Say ‘Heathrow’ and runways,

terminals and radar-topped control

towers come to mind but much of

its 1,200 hectare footprint is grassland,

landscaped areas and natural habitats.

Off-airport land is managed to

maximise biodiversity and minimise

the airport’s impact on nature with the

plan accredited by the Royal Society of

Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark

Award. That green ideal is set against a

backdrop of minimising the impact of

winter operations on the environment

and the inherent costs of storing and

treating the resulting wastewater

contaminated by deicing fuids

Arctic environments are consistent

in their harsh weather pattern whereas

London’s varies wildly. In the winter

of 2012/13, 25 events were forecast but

only fve delivered heavy snowfall.

These unpredictable weather patterns

make it diffcult to manage biomass

which is the critical success factor in

natural processes.

Increasingly severe winters of recent

years across Europe and America has led

airport operators to review their storm

water treatment strategies as part of their

Winter Operations plans to support fight

safety and schedule continuity.

The desire to avoid airport closures

and travel delays has fuelled a surge

in the use of deicing fuids - partly

due to an increase in severe winter

conditions and also due to the increased

concentration of the deicer used on

aircraft. Waste streams generated from

airports are typically from de-icing

activities, aircraft wash down, fre

TOCs

AWAY

Heathrow has embarked on a natural

way of storing and treating

heavily-contaminated storm water at

its Mayfeld Farm Treatment Facility

by upgrading to Forced Bed Aeration

(FBA). Initial data shows that, as well

as dramatically increasing its treatment

capacity, the airport has also enhanced

its environmental performance.

By Tori Sellers.

Heathrow’s Reed Bed

Treatment Takes Off

1310WWI_30 30 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES INDUSTRIAL WATER

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 31

THE PROPOSED REDESIGN WOULD USE

EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH

INCLUDED RETRO-FITTING AERATION

SYSTEMS INTO THE WETLANDS

fghting training and the terminals

themselves. Airports have large areas

of concrete and tarmac which collect

rainwater which becomes contaminated

as it mixes with fuel and glycol residues.

The run-off from the southern

catchment of Heathrow airport had

been stored and treated by the Mayfeld

works, which included a constructed

wetland system installed in 2001. It

comprised 36,000 m3 of storage: a

primary reservoir, a foating reed bed

section, a balancing lagoon and twelve

constructed wetlands, each 0.5 m deep.

The original treatment wetlands at the

airport were designed to remove deicers

containing glycols using anaerobic

processes with a design loading rate of

590kg (Biochemical Oxygen Demand)

per day (BOD/d).

After planting 80,000 reeds, Heathrow is on

track to meet its biodiversity action plan, as

well as process diffcult to treat wastewater

using natural methods

Heathrow evaluated the plant’s

treatment effciency and whether it

was ft for purpose. It was struggling to

cope with all the challenges of harsher

winters while maintaining optimum

output and discharge compliance. The

solution called for a step change in

treatment capacity.

EVALUATING AND OPTIMISING

Heathrow wanted to optimise its

existing treatment system which was

designed to store and treat much lower

contaminant loads based on data from

the 1990s. It was decided that it needed

a natural treatment system to attenuate

and treat the fow of storm water before

discharging to the local watercourse.

The old system was the right size

physically for the volume of water but

increased use of deicer over the past few

years had overloaded the system so that

oxygen and nutrient availability were

the limiting factors.

Coupled with the fact that the run-off

is nutrient-poor, this resulted in a low

microbial count in the system. This

meant it was struggling to maintain

treatment performance, leading to

effuent having to be tankered off-site

for treatment.

A Forced Bed Aeration (FBA) system

was recommended by ARM, following

results from an installation across the

Atlantic, at the Buffalo Airport in New

York. The $9 million, full-scale, airport

wastewater treatment system was next

to the runway but it had no risk of

“bird strike” (collisions between birds

and planes) as it had been planted

with grass and has no areas of open

water.

The proposed re-design of the

treatment works at Mayfeld would use

the entire, existing infrastructure which

included retro-ftting aeration systems

into the constructed wetlands. The

design target was to remove a minimum

of 3,500 kg of BOD/d.

GLYCOL REMOVAL TRIALS

Before an effective treatment system

could be implemented, a trial was set

up in the winter of 2009-10 to monitor

the contaminant load and to test the

constructed wetlands’ ability to remove

deicer components. Three of the existing

constructed wetlands were taken off-line.

Bed A was re-engineered and the

aeration system (FBA) retro-ftted and

switched on. Bed B was re-engineered

with FBA but not aerated. This was so

that it had the same level of disruption

as Bed A to ensure comparative results

and Bed C was the control bed so it

stayed as per the original layout.

All three beds received the same

storm water and were monitored to

show storage and treatment capacity in

the three systems.

Increasingly severe winters of recent years across Europe and America

has led airport operators to review their storm water treatments

1310WWI_31 31 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES INDUSTRIAL WATER

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201332

TRIAL, RESULTS AND START OF

TREATMENT WORKS

The trial demonstrated the wetland

system was dealing with an actual

load of 1,900Kg BOD/d which was

three times the original design load.

As a result, in October 2010 BAA

commissioned ARM to optimise the

Mayfeld Farm Treatment Facility

including retro-ftting aeration into the

existing wetland treatment systems.

Based on the results of the trial,

twelve beds at Mayfeld Farm were

retro-ftted with FBA technology. No

new assets needed to be built as the

existing infrastructure of lagoons and

constructed wetlands were re-used.

The data for the whole new system

is currently being collated but, even

with very harsh weather conditions,

Heathrow has improved its removal

rates by a factor of fourteen since using

FBA.

MANAGING THE SOLUTION -

ONLINE INSTRUMENTATION

Extensive research and development

into effective wastewater treatment

consistently shows that an integrated

system – which is capable of adapting

to challenges - is the most effective

solution. However, even the most

effcient wastewater treatment system

will require management to ensure it

continues to effectively store and treat

contaminated run-off.

It will need to be adjusted - with

minimal time demanded from airfeld

operations staff - to meet varying

treatment demands as the climate

fuctuates so widely.

Natural wastewater treatment systems

require management of nutrient and

bacteria levels to ensure there is enough

biomass to treat the contaminants. At

Heathrow’s Mayfeld Farm Treatment

Site, online instrumentation and controls

were installed to help treatment process

integration.

GREAT POWER, GREAT

RESPONSIBILITY

Airports will need to commit to

integrated, sustainable, wastewater

treatment solutions to meet the demands

of best and worst deicing scenarios.

Heathrow has raised its game by

reducing the airport’s environmental

impact and will cut operating costs for

many years to come. Since installing

FBA, three major benefts can be noted

at Heathrow. The frst is that by re-using

the original wetland treatment facility,

Heathrow’s only needed to upgrade the

system.

Secondly, the airport’s environmental

team is able to control and monitor the

system’s performance remotely using a

SCADA system, requiring minimal on-

site intervention.

Finally, after planting 80,000 reeds,

Heathrow has made a huge contribution

to meeting its biodiversity action plan

by maintaining habitats for birds, bats

and the insects on which they feed.

As Heathrow’s environmental

operations manager, Russell Knight,

says: “This facility allows us to continue

fulflling our commitments to running

Heathrow responsibly and effciently.”

And when it comes to an airport

that’s in charge of hosting 70 million

passengers arriving and departing each

year, responsibility is one matter where

Heathrow cannot afford to cut corners.

Tori Sellers

is director at ARM Group. For more

information on the installed system, visit:

www.armgroupltd.co.uk.

t The original treatment wetlands at the airport were designed to remove deicers

containing glycols using anaerobic processes with a design loading rate of 590kg BOD/d.

q Plane deicing: Waste streams generated from airports are typically from de-icing

activities, aircraft wash down, fre fghting training and the terminals themselves.

HEATHROW HAS RAISED ITS GAME BY REDUCING THE AIRPORT’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND WILL CUT OPERATING COSTS FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

1310WWI_32 32 11/6/13 3:34 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES GROUNDWATER

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 33

Out of Kenya’s 41 million people,

17 million lack access to safe

water. Kenya is classifed among

the most water scarce countries in the

world. The region of Turkana is one of

the hottest, driest and poorest parts of

the country and devastating droughts

are not uncommon. With many of the

region’s inhabitants being nomadic

herders, the lack of rain and water has

a huge impact on day-to-day activities

where water is followed to sustain life.

Facing such severe challenges, Kenya

was one of fve countries including

India, Morocco, South Africa and

Tanzania selected for studies into the

management of groundwater sources.

The results were published in a 2011

World Bank report titled “Kenya –

Groundwater governance case study”.

It did not however make for positive

reading. Aquifers that do exist and were

actively being used in the country were

criticized for not being “managed”

properly.

And one major scheme designed

to project the Nairobi aquifer system

was slammed for completely failing

to “achieve this objective”. The report

concluded that “despite its importance,

the value of groundwater is not

appreciated, nor is its vulnerability

understood.”

The study attributed the “weak and

ineffective” groundwater management

to a “perception that groundwater is an

inexhaustible resource”.

It went onto say that: “This perception

is caused by poor knowledge of

groundwater resources, general

weakness in institutional capacity,

limited technical capacity that is not

appropriately deployed, poor funding

and weak political commitment at the

senior policy-making level.”

Such a prognosis wouldn’t not have

been welcomed in any country, let alone

one where every drop of water really

counts.

AQUIFER DISCOVERY

Fast forward two years and more

positive news about Kenya’s aquifers

positive made headlines around the

world. Findings from a UNESCO

project backed by the Government of

The discovery of over 200 billion

cubic metres of water in Kenya has

made headlines around the world but

what technology was used to fnd this

miraculous amount of water? What

could the technology mean for water

scarcity across the rest of Africa?

by WWi magazine

LIFEU N D E R G R O U N D

Mapping Additional Groundwater Supplies in Kenya

1310WWI_33 33 11/6/13 3:37 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES GROUNDWATER

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201334

Japan were announced in capital city

Nairobi. Under the GRIDMAP project

(Groundwater Resources Investigation

for Drought Mitigation in Africa

Programme), two new groundwater

sources were identifed and proven

following drilling.

First up was the Lotikipi Basin

Aquifer, located west of Lake Turkana,

the world’s largest permanent desert

lake.

Second was the smaller Lodwar Basin

Aquifer, which was touted to serve as a

strategic reserve for the development of

Lodwar, capital city of Turkana County.

Situated a short distance from Turkana’s

oil reserves, the second reserve is fed

by the perennial Turkwel River and has

an estimated reserve of 10 billion cubic

meters.

Judi Wakhungu, cabinet secretary

of the Ministry of Environment, Water

and Natural Resources, said at the time:

“The news about these water reserves

comes at a time when reliable water

supplies are highly needed. This newly

found wealth of water opens a door to a

more prosperous future for the people of

Turkana and the nation as a whole. We

must now work to further explore these

resources responsibly and safeguard

them for future generations.”

So what do these discoveries mean

in numbers? The study found that

Turkana hosts a minimum reserve of

250 billion cubic meters of water, which

is recharged mainly by the rainfalls of

the Kenyan and Ugandan highlands at a

rate of 3.4 billion cubic meters per year.

The water source alone is said to be

twice the amount Kenyans consume

today and could boost the country’s

share of water by 17%. Considered to be

the same size as the US state of Rhode

Island, the aquifer replenishes at a rate

of 1.2 billion cubic meters a year.

With experts around the world

warning that natural groundwater

sources are being depleted by industrial,

agricultural and human needs, such an

enormous discovery of water in an area

in such dire need, could not have come

at a better time.

MAPPING TECHNOLOGY

With such impressive amounts of water

discovered, this raises two questions:

why were they not discovered before,

considering the region suffered from

such severe drought and what process

was used to locate the aquifers that

differs from current methods?

The company behind the system used

is France-based Radar Technologies

International (RTI).

RTI’s remote-sensing and geophysics

based water exploration technology,

otherwise know as the WATEX System,

was used in the Turkana project. The

technology combines remote sensing,

seismic and conventional groundwater

information to explore and map

groundwater occurrence over large areas

in short periods of time.

Satellite and radar imagery is

combined with geographical surveys,

climate maps and seismic data to give

what could be likened to an MRI scan

(magnetic resonance imaging) of a

human being.

Rather than being used to diagnose

health conditions affecting organs, tissue

and bones on a person, this instead

system detects the porous geological

formations, or materials that are likely to

hold water wells on land.

Maps generated by WATEX are

claimed to have a 6.25-meter surface

accuracy and RTI claims can locate

underground water with over 94%

certainty in many areas.

Prior to the UNESCO project in

Kenya, the system had been used for

international aid agencies and foreign

governments, most recently in Ethiopia,

Angola, Chad, Darfur and Afghanistan.

Importantly, WATEX works without the

need for drilling boreholes – a practise

which in the past, solely by itself, has

been criticised as inaccurate.

Airborne electromagnetic surveys

(AEMs) of land to map groundwater

have been common in the past,

particularly in Nebraska’s Ogallala

area in the US, where water depletion

issues are serious. To obtain this data

helicopters fy 30 metres above the

surface, sending electromagnetic rays

into the earth, measuring the resistance.

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS AND

CHALLENGES

In its fnal technical report, RTI says

that the “large Lotikipi Basin Aquifer

System will “no doubt play a vital role

in the economic security of the country”.

An annual replenishment rate of 1.2

km3 represents 6% of the nation’s total

renewable resources (20.2 km3/year).

RTI says: “The importance of the

fndings of this study as a scientifc

advancement cannot be understated;

both in terms of the potential impact

these fndings may have on future

human development and in terms of

their contribution to hydrogeological

science in Kenya and the region.”

Discovering new water sources is one

thing, but the next stage is assessing

quality and putting in the right

infrastructure for distribution.

Karen Villholth, senior researcher

in groundwater management in

the southern African offce for the

International Water Management

Institute (IWMI), told National

Geographic that there still needs to be

more study before the water can be

used.

Local area chief, Mrs Elamach, undertakes rapid quality assessment at the test pumping site in Napuu Borehole

1310WWI_34 34 11/6/13 3:37 PM

TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES GROUNDWATER

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 35

“Some of these areas are inficted

with civil unrest between different

populations or ethnic groups, which

could slow down or even impede

immediate development,” she

reportedly said.

“Oil has also been detected in

the Turkana region, showing that

integrating the development of these

resources will be crucial.”

Furthermore, although the multi-

billion cubic metre aquifer source has

been heralded by the world’s media a

potential answer to Kenya’s water woes,

challenges could remain in making sure

the country’s farmers had access to it.

Tapping into groundwater requires a

major shift in irrigation practices, says

the IWMI, not only requiring tangible

equipment such as pumps and pipes,

but policies and strategies to catalyze

change.

Interestingly, the IWMI says that

only 3% of sub-Saharan Africa’s

groundwater resources are used for

irrigated agriculture. In a special edition

of Water International journal, scientists

from the institute – including Villholth

– set out to answer the question of why

groundwater is underused?

Coming back to the World

Bank report, the issue of effective

management is again brought up.

“Governments have to realize

their dual role as facilitator as well

as regulator in the development of

groundwater irrigation in SSA and

across relevant sectors,” says Villholth.

“Understanding the groundwater

resources and its users are managing

them require up-front attention and

integration into policy and decision

making. This becomes more critical as

larger shares of groundwater are being

taken for agriculture.”

GAINING A RESPECT FOR WATER

The discovered 250 billion cubic metre

water reserve found in Turkana is

enough to warrant calling it a “larger

share” of groundwater. The challenge

lies in conducting further studies

into water quality and whether the

source can be appropriately managed

and distributed in a region where

management and respect for water has

historically been lacking.

This article was written by WWi

magazine. For more information, please

email: tomf@pennwell.com

A drilling technician positions the drilling bit onto the

expected geo-coordinates with precision

A water bowser providing water necessary for mud-drilling

1310WWI_35 35 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201336

For many merely to mention the

Caribbean’s ffth largest country

is to conjure up images of water.

And not without some justifcation.

For Jamaica’s indigenous people,

the Taino, once referred to the island

as Xaymaca - ‘the land of wood and

water’. Which prompts one to wonder

what on earth their ancestors might

make of the fact that despite there

being rivers in virtually every one of its

fourteen administrative parishes - water

shortages remain a grim but regular

feature of Jamaican life.

In fact earlier this year Water, Land

and Climate Change Minister Bobby

Pickersgill went so far as to warn his

fellow countrymen that they should

brace themselves for drought conditions.

This rather unimpressive water

management hand is certainly not all

attributable to poor planning. Jamaica

is heavily dependent on agriculture

and being situated within the tropics

means that it is dependent on more

than one rainy season. But some of it

undoubtedly is.

To the extent that even if the island

proves resistant to privatisation, the

country’s Prime Minister, the formidable

Portia Simpson-Miller, has already

briefed her ministers that they should

busy themselves looking to partner with

Chinese companies on a wide variety

of water-related projects, a message

which has been both well-received and

acted upon in Beijing. There might well

be an absence of agreed-upon criteria

as to what makes a country developing

rather than developed. But Jamaica

nevertheless features on each and every

list of less-developed countries. Which

is not to imply, of course, that it is new

to issues of water and sanitation. On

the contrary, one of the frst ever piped

water supply systems in the whole of

the western hemisphere happened to

originate in Jamaica - in the town of

Falmouth, to be precise.

With the Martha Brae River as its

source, the Falmouth Water Works

Company was established way back in

1799, its objective to supply both the

local townsfolk and visiting ships.

Today it’s the NWC (National Water

Commission) which rules the roost,

supplying more than two million people

with water services daily and more

than half a million of those people with

wastewater services too. A statutory

body, it operates under the auspices of

Bobby Pickersgill’s Ministry.

FACTS AND FIGURES

The facts and fgures seem impressive

enough: the NWC produces more than

90% of Jamaica’s total potable water

supply from a network of more than 160

underground wells, 116 river sources

and 147 springs. It operates more than

1000 water supply and 100 sewerage

facilities across the island.

Its facilities include of 4000 km

of pipelines and more than 500 km

of sewer mains across the island.

Altogether it supplies over 190 million

While the Caribbean Island of Jamaica

benefts from its tropical setting and

bountiful fresh water supplies, the

nation’s water infrastructure is creaking

at the seams. Having once boasted

one of the western world’s frst ever

piped water supplies, a lack of private

investment combined with poor

planning has led to the prospect of

drought conditions. Could the Chinese

have the answer?

Jeremy Josephs reports.

JAMAICA’S WATER SECTOR NOT A RUNAWAY SUCCESS

Jamaica’s image as a popular Caribbean tourist

destination belies the many water challenges it faces

1310WWI_36 36 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 37

gallons (720,000 m3) of potable water

daily.

The NWC’s PR machine has not been

backwards in coming forward when it

comes to the supply of convincing prose

- its vision is ‘for the NWC to be the

number one water services utility in the

Caribbean’.

Its mission is ‘to contribute positively

to national development’ and its core-

values inextricably bound up with issues

of ‘honesty, integrity, transparency,

accountability, professionalism and self-

suffciency’.

Fine words – undoubtedly. But

do they tally with what is actually

happening on the ground, in the real

world which affects the lives of real

people? And to which the answer has to

be, alas, not really.

The fact of the matter is that access

to adequate sanitation stands at just

80%. This means that the poor - and

notably the urban poor – live in the

island’s numerous (last offcial count:

595) squatter settlements in conditions

which are both extremely unhealthy

and unsanitary and where the risk of

contracting a waterborne disease is

high indeed. It is estimated that 10% of

Jamaica’s 2.7 million people live in such

settlements - that’s well over a quarter of

a million.

And the very best of luck to the water

technician who is prepared to venture

into certain of these settlements - some

are highly-dangerous no-go areas

where rival gangs jealously guard their

patch of territory - a fact which has

undoubtedly contributed to Jamaica

now having the ffth highest murder rate

in the world. This again demonstrates

that issues of water management cannot

be assessed in isolation, as if cut off and

apart from broader economic and social

factors at play.

UNDER PRESSURE

For those homes fortunate enough to

receive water, they often do so at low

pressure. Most rural communities

receive water that is not (or only

irregularly) chlorinated. But perhaps

most worrying of all is that a recent

census revealed that 69% of Jamaica’s

households receive untreated drinking

water.

Non-revenue water (NRW) runs at

around a massive 66%. And the last

offcial fgures available reveal an even

more depressing fact - that of the 277

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million m3 of water produced, only 103

million m3 were consumed.

The NWC might well aspire to be the

model for the whole of the Caribbean,

but a World Health Organization

(WHO) report reveals that it in fact has

the second-lowest rate of drinking water

coverage in the region.

The inability of the island’s

administrators to properly manage

issues relating to agriculture has also

resulted in the pollution of water due

to soil erosion, deforestation and the

over-use of chemicals in the agricultural

sector.

The United Nations Environmental

Program (UNEP) examined these very

issues in Jamaica and concluded that

in order to protect its water supply,

the island had to develop legislative

standards such as water quality norms

and land use laws.

If you contact the NWC and the

Ministry they will inform you that they

are on to the case. Which perhaps they

are. And no doubt with the very best of

intentions.

Yet again, when it comes to their

implementation on the ground there

clearly remains much work to be

done, the island’s problems being

compounded, of course, during the

hurricane season which invariably

provokes further service interruptions

and increased incidences of water-borne

diseases.

It would appear, then, if one may

be so bold as to paraphrase Gilbert

and Sullivan, that when it comes to

water management issues in Jamaica,

the island’s lot is not a happy one.

p Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has been

looking towards China for partnership

For more information, enter 14 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_37 37 11/6/13 3:38 PM

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201338

PRIVATISATION?

While privatisation has become a

common currency in developed western

economies, this isn’t the case in Jamaica.

At least not in respect of its water

utilities.

For in truth privatisation did come

to the island as part of a more distinct

strategy of liberalisation and private-

sector led growth. It hit the sugar

industry in Jamaica with a vengeance

and despite signifcant preparatory

work it was considered to be a failure.

Jamaica’s privatisation of the

telecommunications industry, however,

was generally hailed as a success. But

the water sector, for better or for worse,

somehow managed to remain above the

fray. Until recently, that is.

For Jamaica’s The Gleaner newspaper

(which can hardly be described as a

local rag on the grounds that it was

established in 1834) recently called

for the divestment of the NWC. Why?

“Because the simple fact is that, as it

now stands, the Jamaican Government

cannot afford the NWC.”

“APPROXIMATELY

189 MILLION CUBIC

METRES A YEAR OF

WATER IS NOT PAID

FOR. MOST OF IT

LEAKS AWAY IN OLD,

ROTTEN PIPES”

It then proceeded to make a withering

assault on the NWC. “The Government

is currently negotiating with the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) for

an economic-support agreement. We

need that agreement because Jamaica

has amassed a Greek-style debt, the

servicing of which consumes over half

the Government’s budget. Then there is

the NWC itself.

“By its last published accounts,

that company has a debt of more than

J$10 billion ($96 million), which is a

contingent liability of the Government.

It has accumulated a defcit of J$17

billion ($164 million), to which another

J$3 billion ($24 million) will be added

this fscal year,” continued The Gleaner.

“That, of itself, is bad enough. But the

situation is likely to get worse. Nearly

70%, or approximately 50 billion gallons

(189 million m3) a year, of the water

produced by the NWC is not paid for.

Most of it leaks away in old, rotted

pipes.

“It would make sense, therefore,

to transfer the responsibility for the

overhaul of the NWC infrastructure, and

the cost of doing so, to the private sector,

as the Government is being forced to do

with other state companies,” argued the

paper.

CHINESE DELIVERY SERVICE

So far those siren voices calling for

the privatisation of the water sector

in Jamaica have not been heeded. But

that does not mean that there is not

movement in the air.

For the NWC has itself been looking

for partners for water projects. But not

looking towards the UK, the former

colonial power and, one could be

forgiven for thinking, its most natural

ally, but out towards the East and

Beijing.

For it was no less a fgure than

the country’s Prime Minister, Portia

Simpson-Miller (known locally as

‘Mama P’) who led discussions with the

China Development Bank this summer

with a view to implementing a number

of critical water and sewerage projects

worth billions of dollars.

The Prime Minister has said that

based on current plans, it is estimated

that US$1 billion is required to increase

coverage, reliability and effciency

of potable water systems across the

country with a further US$1 billion

required to install new central sewerage

systems in no less than sixteen major

towns.

The government is proposing to go

the route of Public Private Partnership

(PPP) arrangements, using the Build,

Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT)

approach, to implement one or more

of the required three potable water

treatment plants.

This is not to suggest, however, that

home-grown projects have been put

on hold. For just a few weeks ago the

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

p A global icon of Jamaica’s runaway success: world record holder in 100m and 200m Usain Bolt

p But behind the idealized image of Jamaica as a tourist

destination great poverty is not diffcult to detect.

1310WWI_38 38 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 39

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at Foster Printing Service, the official reprint provider for

Water & Wastewater International.

ground was broken for the US$12.6

million Lucea Pipeline Replacement

Project.

Although only a six month project,

it is set to provide employment for

over 100 workers, and will facilitate

the construction of a new 20 inch (508

mm) transmission pipeline through

Lucea, to allow water from the Great

River Treatment Plant to better supply

all areas along the corridor leading into

Negril.

Minister Pickersgill was out

and in fne form, boasting that the

project “represents the government’s

commitment to employing the necessary

technology and resources to monitor,

model, map and manage the nation’s

surface and groundwater resources “far

better than we have ever done in our

history”.

This happens to dovetail with the

Jamaican government’s ‘Vision 2030

Jamaica’ National Development Plan.

“Vision 2030 Jamaica plans to

ensure the development of world-class

transport, telecommunications, water

supply and sanitation infrastructure that

can contribute to the competitiveness

of Jamaican producers and improved

quality of life for the Jamaican people.”

More fne words? Possibly so – only

time will tell.

BOLT FROM THE BLUE

Of course no country profle of Jamaica

would be complete without mention of

its global icon Usain Bolt. Eight times

world champion, six times Olympic

champion and the world’s fastest man.

And what might all that have to do

with water issues? Well, everything, as

a matter of fact. At least according to a

certain Jamaican gentleman by the name

of Daryl Vaz from Buff Bay, Portland

and who recently wrote this to the editor

of that august journal The Gleaner. Few

would argue that he has a point.

THE EDITOR, SIR:

“I read with interest and amazement

a headline “Falmouth to get statue of

Usain Bolt” and, whereas I have no issue

with that, it brings to mind that Usain’s

birthplace, Sherwood Content, still after

his rise to fame, continues to have major

water woes.

“I would have thought that with all he

has done for our beloved country, and

continues to do, his home town and its

residents would have fnally got a water

supply.

“This would be far more appreciated

I’m sure by Usain and his family.

“I’m am really hoping and praying

that the promise of water becomes a

reality in light of the billions of dollars

spent every year and the Government’s

announcements of the billions of more

dollars to be spent under the National

Water Commission’s programme.

“Let’s hope that with all the glory

and fame that Usain has given Jamaica

another Olympics and IAAF World

Championships would not have come

and gone without the residents of that

community getting piped water.

“Over to you Members of Parliament,

Minister of Water, and Prime Minister.”

Over to you, indeed. It all leads one

to conclude, unfortunately, that when

it comes to Jamaica’s water, it has been

anything but a runaway success.

Jeremy Josephs is a freelance

correspondent for WWi magazine. For more

information, contact: tomf@pennwell.com

For more information, enter 15 at wwi.hotims.com For more information, enter 16 at wwi.hotims.com

1310WWI_39 39 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201340

Water and wastewater

infrastructure in US currently

faces a long list of issues.

Aging infrastructure, increasing

regulations, energy costs and funding

are all issues which the country needs to

address.

According to Tami Ray, director

at Black & Veatch’s management

consulting division, while many

US utilities are incorporating asset

management and sustainability

measures in an effort to decrease cost,

there remains a fnancing gap for capital

projects.

“The US EPA estimates a total of

more than $632 billion of infrastructure

investment needs in water and

wastewater up to the year 2028. Other

organisations, such as the US Conference

of Mayors, estimate investment needs

by 2028 to be upward of $2.8 trillion.

While traditional fnancing venues

remain, there is a desire to ‘bridge the

gap’ between necessary infrastructure

improvements and available funding,”

explains Ray.

The American Water Works

Association (AWWA), Water

Environment Federation (WEF) and

Association of Metropolitan Water

Authorities (AMWA), have undertaken

their own research on the situation

and the likely effects of this massive

infrastructure funding defcit.

The fruit of their labours has been

the creation of a Water Infrastructure

Finance and Innovation Authority

(WIFIA), modeled on the successful

Transportation Infrastructure Finance

and Innovation Act (TIFIA), to resolve

these issues.

Accessing funds from the Federal

Treasury at long-term Treasury rates,

WIFIA funds would be used to provide

loans or other kinds of credit support

to major - $20 million plus – projects

or State Revolving Funds (SRFs)

wanting to increase their capital. Loan

repayments, with interest, would

fow back to WIFIA and thence to the

Treasury, so WIFIA would have no net

long-term effect on the federal budget,

the organisations argue.

AWWA’s director of legislative affairs,

Tommy Holmes, explains that the

fnancial option represented by WIFIA

“is something we came up with after

study. I like the way we did it. The

studies pushed us in the direction of

The US’s drinking water and

wastewater infrastructure is in deep

trouble – the US Environmental

Protection Agency estimates that at

current levels of expenditure, the gap

between actual and needed levels of

investment in water infrastructure will

be in excess of $300 billion over the

next 20 years.

WWi investigates.

Is WIFIA the Answer for US Water Diffculties?

MIND THE GAP

1310WWI_40 40 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 41

WIFIA.”

“Water and wastewater infrastructure

is paid for by local rates and charges,

so we were driven to look for the

lowest cost, but still doing the job

right. The most cost effcient way was

WIFIA, which will provide low-cost

fnancing and flls the gap in existing

Federal programmes to fnance water

infrastructure,” he continues.

Holmes adds that while the SRFs

have done good things, most states

are unable to fnance projects over $20

million and a tool to fnance these larger

infrastructure projects is needed.

“SRFs tend to be prioritised at what

is the most immediate threat to public

health. So if you are a utility safely in

compliance but wanting to rehabilitate,

you go to the bottom of the list. We want

to rehabilitate infrastructure before it’s a

problem – an engineer can fx anything

with enough money, it’s just a lot more

expensive to fx after it’s broken,” says

Holmes.

WIFIA EXPLAINED

The way that WIFIA would work is

critical to understanding the benefts of

this fnancing approach. Under US law,

a federal entity can only provide credit

assistance to the extent that Congress

annually appropriates budget authority

to cover the “subsidy cost” of a loan –

that is, the net long-term cost of the loan

to the Federal government, which is

based on the risk of default.

In the case of TIFIA the leverage

ratio is around ten to one – every

$1 in subsidy supports $10 in credit

assistance, a fgure that may be even

higher for the water sector, Holmes

believes.

“Every dollar from WIFIA will result

in $33 being loaned out,” he estimates.

“Historically, US water utilities have a

loan default rate of 0.04 per cent, and most

of these are resolved in a couple of years.”

Holmes goes on to explain that WIFIA

will be housed within the US EPA.

When a loan application is made, the

regulator will evaluate the project and

its creditworthiness and make a loan.

“Another beauty of the project is that it

is long-term budget neutral. The era of

grant programmes is over,” he adds.

The Water Environment Federation’s

government affairs expert Tim Williams

notes that: “in the environment we are

in at the moment, a programme that can

provide funding without a cost to the

Treasury is attractive.”

The need for funding is far greater

than the money available through the

SRF regardless of its limitations, he

notes. “The numbers are very large,”

says Williams. “A lot of pipes and plants

were built at the time they passed the

original environmental laws in the

1970s, and these are now at the end of

their replacement life in many cities.

There are still pipes in the ground that

are 100 years old. It is a replacement era

we have to fnance.”

WIFIA provides the sort of low

interest, direct-fnance funding for larger

sums that can be combined with other

sources of revenue to fund projects

that would otherwise struggle to get

suffcient fnancing, he notes.

According to Williams the

entire industry and the states and

municipalities themselves, with big

responsibilities to fulfll and pressured

by having been through the worst

fnancial downturn in 30 or 40 years, are

also anxious for solutions.

“There are various proposals such as

a trust fund or a national tax that would

go into a fund to pay for local projects.

WIFIA is one tool in the toolbox – on its

own it will not solve the gap, but it will

solve the shortcomings of the current

programme, which does not fund larger

projects,” he adds.

STORMY WATERS AHEAD?

According to AMWA’s director of

legislative affairs, Dan Hartnett, US

drinking water infrastructure requires at

least $384 billion worth of rehabilitation

and upgrades over the next two

decades.

“WIFIA’s affordable low-interest

loans will help communities pay the

bill, while its leveraging structure and

loan-payback requirements will avoid

burdening the federal government with

new debt,” he explains.

“Investing in our water infrastructure

is good for the economy, good for

communities, and good for public

health. WIFIA will be a win-win for local

water ratepayers and federal taxpayers,”

concludes Harnett.

The frst House of Representatives

hearing on the bill occurred on 19

September.

CH2M HILL vice president for

federal affairs, Matt Chiller explains

that the Senate overwhelmingly passed

its version of the Water Resources

Development Act (WRDA) in a bi-

partisan show of support, and that the

House of Representatives Committee

on Transportation and Infrastructure

has now fnalised its version of the bill.

However, he also cautions of worrying

news.

“Their bill does not include WIFIA.

This is nuanced – the House supports

WIFIA, and the people on the

Committee support it as well, but they

didn’t want the bill to get too far into

issues around the Clean Water Act and

the US EPA,” he explains.

This fear of possible controversy does

not mean WIFIA is dead, however.

According to Chiller once the House

Bill has been debated a number of

representatives from both the House

and Senate will then be chosen for the

Conference stage.

“We are very hopeful that the House

will accept WIFIA. We are hopeful they

will because they support it in concept.

We are going to advocate it, and many

water industry-related people in

Washington will as well.”

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

According to Mike Matichich, frm-wide

practice area lead for fnancial services

at CH2M HILL, a number of water

industry associations have been putting

t

Dawn Kristof-Champney, president of

WWEMA, believes WIFIA would lead to a

true form of public-private partnership

tt

CH2M Hill’s Mike Matichich says WIFIA is

an important resource to private fnancing

tt t

1310WWI_41 41 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201342

out position papers and making known

their support, for which there has been

“keen interest”.

Matichich explains that WIFIA is seen

as an important resource in addition

to leading-edge approaches to private

fnancing such as the West Coast

Infrastructure Exchange, which brings

together the states of California, Oregon,

Washington and British Columbia in a

framework agreement.

Black & Veatch’s Tami Ray notes

that fnancing is a diffcult issue at the

current time.

“Today’s economic concerns have

delayed many critical infrastructure

projects and created a post-recession risk

aversion in the municipal bond market,”

says Ray.

Chiller adds that the 2011 Budget

Control Act brought in “pretty strict”

budget caps over the next ten years that

mean the Federal government’s scope

to provide funding for major projects is

limited. Large infusions of capital will

have to come from elsewhere.

STRUGGLE STATES AND

BANKRUPT CITIES

With California having struggled to

pass its budget and the bankruptcy of

Detroit, Matichich observes that states

and municipalities are looking for new

ways to deliver fnance, such as PPPs or

design-build-operate-fnance packages.

Bundling projects, as in the West

Coast Infrastructure Exchange, provides

the sort of scale ($150 million plus) that

many such groups are interested in.

Most large municipal projects, while

larger than SRF funding could support,

are between $30 million and $75 million

and therefore too small in themselves to

be attractive, Matichich adds.

He also notes that WIFIA is an

important element of the solution

because “the impact on consultants

and other project delivery groups such

as construction contractors follows the

interests of clients. If the pipeline of

needed projects is stalled, the need for

consulting and contractor support to

advance projects slows in relation”.

Chiller meanwhile adds that one of

the attractions of WIFIA is its broad

array of eligibility - projects as disparate

as desalination, rehabilitation, energy

effciency and food control could all be

funded.

Water and Wastewater Equipment

Manufacturers Association (WWEMA)

president, Dawn Kristof-Champney

notes that given the funding gap and

trying economic times, “WIFIA is a

creative option that provides [larger

cities] access to lower-cost capital from

the US Treasury with limited to no

impact on the federal budget as funds

are repaid to the Treasury with interest.

“It is a true form of public-private

partnership that is warranted if we are

to protect public health by ensuring the

integrity of our nation’s water supply

and wastewater treatment systems.”

She explains that the current situation

is having a grave effect on equipment

manufacturers. “Without access to

affordable capital, our municipalities are

unable to maintain or upgrade existing

projects or invest in new ones. This has

had a crippling effect on the water and

wastewater equipment market, viewed

by many these days as “in the toilet”.

“With the exception of a few pockets

driven by regulatory mandate – such

as nutrient removal or combined sewer

overfow reduction – and the occasional,

though increasingly frequent,

distribution system malfunctions,

business for the most part is fat

or contracting, with little cause for

optimism anytime in the immediate

future.

“The majority of projects that do

exist involve small orders for spare

parts. The few big projects attract

swaths of competitors bidding at

rock-bottom prices in order to sustain

their businesses during this economic

slump,” adds Kristof-Champney.

WIFIA, she feels, is the shot in the

arm that the industry needs. “WIFIA

provides a means for resuscitating

the market and moving projects

forward. This will beneft all sectors

of the industry, including municipal

employees, consulting engineers,

contractors, equipment manufacturers,

sales representatives and – most

important – the consumer, who benefts

from the life-sustaining services our

industry provides.”

CONCERNS

However, she does issue a warning:

“The one aspect of this legislation that

gives us grave cause for concern is

the prospect of requiring compliance

with Buy American as a condition of

receiving these funds. The readership of

Water and Wastewater International is

undoubtedly aware of the unintended

consequences associated with restrictive

domestic procurement rules that limit

competition, increase costs, delay

projects, add administrative burdens,

and put equipment manufacturers

at risk of being locked out of foreign

markets as other countries replicate

such practices in their government

procurement and public works

projects.”

WWEMA is also working to advance

the Sustainable Water Infrastructure

Investment Act, which Kristof-

Champney believes “has the potential

to bring $5 billion annually in private

investment in water and wastewater

infrastructure projects”.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the clear need and enthusiasm for

WIFIA, the need for a clear rationale for

projects must remain, cautions Tami Ray.

“Many utilities continue to struggle

with needed capital improvements that

may not be supported by signifcant

business case. These projects need a

small degree of public assistance to

become viable and affordable at the local

level,” she says.

“Consideration must be given to

affordability and effectiveness when

planning for projects that address our

nation’s water security and safety. A

criterion has been established by the

US EPA to weigh these considerations

and provide fnancial assistance to

encourage these projects. It is important

the same considerations be addressed by

WIFIA,” concludes Ray.

This article was written by WWi magazine.

For more information, contact: tomf@

pennwell.com

WIFIA IS A SHOT IN THE ARM THAT

THE INDUSTRY NEEDS. WIFIA CAN HELP MOVE PROJECTS FORWARD

1310WWI_42 42 11/6/13 3:38 PM

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water/wastewater

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and Eastern Europe

3-6 June 2014Russia, MoscowIEC “Crocus Expo”

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1310WWI_43 43 11/6/13 3:38 PM

44

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US / CARIBBEAN

With the already signifcant

fracking industry set for further

rapid expansion in the US, the

demands on fresh water supplies

are mounting, as is the need to

process the large volumes of

produced wastewater. Centralised

treatment of wastewater is

emerging as a viable solution for

long-term effciency in managing

water sourcing and wastewater

treatment in hydraulic fracturing.

Jeff Easton reports.

The number of hydraulic fracturing

(fracking) shale oil and gas

wells in the US, and worldwide,

continues to increase. The Bakken

Shale formation alone, located in

North Dakota and Montana, is home to

upwards of 15,000 hydraulic fracturing

wellheads, with another 20,000 planned.

The US has vast reserves of oil and

natural gas which now are commercially

reachable as a result of advances in

horizontal drilling and hydraulic

fracturing technologies. But as more

hydraulic fracturing wells come into

operation, so does the stress on surface

water and groundwater supplies from

the withdrawal of large volumes of

water used in the process – needing up

to one million gallons (3,780 m3) of fresh

water per wellhead to complete the

fracking process alone.

Equally important is the growing

volume of wastewater generated from

fracking wells, requiring disposal

or recycling. Up to 60% of the water

injected into a wellhead during the

fracking process will discharge back

out of the well shortly thereafter, as

fowback wastewater. Thereafter, and for

the life of the wellhead, it will discharge

up to 100,000 gallons (378 m3/day) of

wastewater. This wastewater needs to be

captured, and disposed of or recycled.

Because water is the base fuid and

biggest component used in hydraulic

fracturing, its importance remains

a critical factor in the operation

and economics of shale oil and gas

production. But signifcant and growing

water management challenges are

impacting hydraulic fracturing.

Fresh water and wastewater operating

procedures which have been in place

since the late 1990s are experiencing

increasingly stiffer governmental

regulations on water availability and

disposal limitations. These factors are

prompting oil and gas executives to

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013

Process of mixing water with fracking fuids

to be injected into the ground.

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US / CARIBBEAN

Process of mixing water with fracking fuids

to be injected into the ground.

FRACKING WASTEWATER

MANAGEMENT Is Centralised Treatment the Way Forward?

1310WWI_44 44 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US / CARIBBEAN

reassess their current water utilization

activities regarding fracking, and

adopt a more unifed, and longer-range

perspective on their water life-cycle

management.

SOLUTIONS

One solution that promises a truly

comprehensive approach to integrating

all aspects of fresh water and

wastewater management in shale oil and

gas production, while optimising the

utilisation of water resources throughout

the entire lifecycle of well production, is

a centralised approach to the treatment

and reuse of wastewater.

Centralisation not only provides

treatment and reuse of fowback

wastewater from a large number of

wellheads when the wells are fracked,

but also provides treatment and reuse

of the produced wastewaters for the

long-term, full lifecycle of the wells –

which represent the vast majority of

wastewater fowing from wellheads.

Furthermore, a centralised system can

more easily access and use alternative

water sources, such as from municipal

wastewater facilities, which otherwise

would be highly unlikely to be accessed.

Inherently, wellheads providing shale

oil and gas production are long-term

processes, typically exceeding 20 year

terms, but conventional solutions in

play for handling fresh water resources

and wastewater are geared towards the

short-term.

Impounding wastewater for

evaporation in surface ponds, trucking

water over long distances to deep-well

injection sites, and treating fowback

wastewater for reuse at the wellhead

are all short-term options which do

not address critical long-term issues

impacting of the industry – such as

diminished water sources, increasing

regulations limiting wastewater

disposal, and growing safety and

environmental concerns from

government and the public.

The centralised wastewater

management concept is gaining

momentum. In North America, well

over a dozen centralised wastewater

treatment facilities servicing shale oil

and gas drilling are now either up and

producing, or in development.

DIMINISHING OPTIONS FOR

WATER SOURCING

Fresh water supplies for use in hydraulic

fracturing are becoming more expensive

harder to obtain.

Relatively recently, the Army Corps of

Engineers mandated against the long-

standing policy of acquisition of water

from the Missouri River watershed

for use in shale oil and gas fracturing.

This diverted fracking operators to

purchase pond and well water at higher

rates from local landowners. Now

these landowners are running out of

water. The 2013 water usage in Bakken

formation fracking wells is expected to

reach six billion gallons (2.27 million

m3). Today, water sourcing is the main

fracking challenge in the Bakken.

In Texas, where hydraulic fracturing

wells work the Eagle Ford, Barnett Shale

or Permian Basin formations and deal

with the constant threat of drought,

fracking operators compete with farmers

and ranchers for their share of fresh

water. As with North Dakota, water

sourcing is the main fracking challenge

in Texas. In both of these areas, there

does not exist an indefnite supply

of water for expansion of hydraulic

fracturing operations.

Even in Pennsylvania, and

throughout the Marcellus and Utica

Shale formations, where water is more

accessible, with the increase in numbers

of well sites water sourcing is becoming

more tightly controlled. According to the

Susquehanna River Basin Commission

(SRBC), hydraulic fracturing a

horizontal Marcellus well may use four

to eight million gallons (15,150 m 3 to

30,300 m 3) of water, typically within

about a one week period.

However, the Commission states,

some Marcellus wells may need to

be fractured several times over their

productive life (typically fve to twenty

years, or more). These large water

withdrawals may come from streams,

rivers, privately-owned lakes and

ponds, or groundwater, and could affect

availability of nearby drinking water

sources and other uses, increasing the

potential for conficts between water

users.

WASTEWATER DISPOSAL

LIMITATIONS

Many fracturing wells operating in the

Bakken formation in North Dakota and

Montana, and those functioning in the

Eagle Ford, Barnett Shale and Permian

Basin formations in Texas, use surface

ponds to store hydraulic fracturing

fuids (fowback and produced

wastewater) for evaporation, or until

arrangements are made for disposal.

Almost 50% of the wastewater

generated from hydraulic fracturing

in these states is diverted and stored

in surface ponds. Within the past 24

months however, Pennsylvania has

completely eliminated the use of surface

ponds for wastewater storage.

But the future use of surface ponds

is sure to become more regulated. The

EPA is currently evaluating industry

practices and state requirements, and

is considering the need for technical

guidance on the design, operation,

maintenance, and closure of surface

ponds under the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act (RCRA) in order

to minimise potential environmental

impacts.

DEEP-WELL INJECTION

In many regions of the US, including

Texas, North Dakota and Montana,

deep-well underground injection is

a popular method for the disposal of

fracking fuids and other substances

from shale oil and gas extraction

operations. Pennsylvania however,

outlawed the use of deep-well injection

some time ago.

Fracking companies operating in

Pennsylvania, desiring to deep-well

inject their wastewater, must have it

trucked to Ohio for deposition. This

opens another set of potential issues

relating to transporting large volumes

of wastewater. Municipalities are

concerned about the safety of high

numbers of trucks traveling on rural

roads and through small towns, and the

safety implications for local residents.

Another consideration is the impact of

feets of heavy trucks traveling on these

roads.

To help offset this issue, some local

governments in Pennsylvania require

fracking companies to post bonds to

cover road repair and maintenance.

Issues with trucking wastewater from

fracking wells to deep-well injection

sites are not isolated to Pennsylvania.

The costs for hauling away

wastewater for deep-well injection

ranges between $3 and $7 per barrel

($0.35 to $0.85 per cubic metre). For a

newly fraced well, the cost could reach

$100,000 for transporting over 14,000

barrels (1,670 m3) of fowback – water

levels produced from each basin, and

45WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013

1310WWI_45 45 11/6/13 3:38 PM

46

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US / CARIBBEAN

indeed, each wellhead can vary. Plus,

an additional potential 3400 barrels (405

cubic metres) each day of transported

produced wastewater, at $20,000 per

day.

To haul water off-site for disposal over

the 20 year life of a hydraulic fracturing

well-project, it was estimated to cost

$160 million (includes trucking costs,

water disposal costs and labour).

WELLHEAD WASTEWATER

TREATMENT

Wastewater associated with shale oil and

gas extraction can contain high levels of

total dissolved solids (TDS), fracturing

fuid additives, total suspended solids

(TSS), hardness compounds, metals,

oil and gas, bacteria and bacteria

disinfection agents, and naturally

occurring radioactive materials.

These contaminants are partially a

combination of chemicals and agents

inserted deep into the well (9,000 feet

and deeper) which facilitate fracking

by modifying the water chemistry to

increase viscosity, carry more sand and

improve conductivity. Effectively, the

fracking process is pushing the water

down into the rock formation, trying

to wedge the rock cracks open. The

sand flls in between the cracks that the

hydraulic fuid has propped open.

Once the fracking is done, much of

the water comes back up the well as

fowback wastewater. Along with it

comes bacteria and characteristics of the

geologic formation, including minerals,

radioactive materials and oil and gas.

Some drilling operators elect to

re-use a portion of the wastewater

to replace and/or supplement fresh

water in formulating fracturing fuid

for a future well or re-fracturing the

same well. Re-use of shale oil and gas

wastewater is, in part, dependent on the

levels of pollutants in the wastewater

and the proximity of other fracturing

sites that might re-use the wastewater.

This practice has the potential to reduce

discharges to surface ponds, minimise

underground injection of wastewater,

and conserve and reuse water resources.

Mobile solutions to treat wastewater

at the wellhead enable recycling and

reuse of fowback without the need

for storing wastewater in surface

ponds on-site, or for trucking fowback

wastewater for disposal at off-site

deep-well injection locations. Recycled

wastewater is treated specifcally for a

different well site frac. The treatment

is customised for the geology of that

specifed well site.

The drawback of wellhead mobile

solutions is that they do not provide

continuous processing to handle

produced wastewaters, which would

need to be processed for potentially 20

years following fracking.

CENTRALISED WATER

MANAGEMENT

Centralised treatment of wastewater

is emerging as a viable solution for

long-term effciency in managing water

sourcing and wastewater treatment

in hydraulic fracturing. Centralised

treatment facilities handle both the

fowback wastewater and produced

wastewater from oil and gas wells

within a region, at a radius of 40 to 50

miles. Pipelines connect all wellheads

directly with the central treatment plant.

Wastewater received by the plant is

identifed as originating from a specifc

well. The targeted usage requirements

for that wastewater are specifed and

the wastewater is then processed to

meet that usage. Once processed, the

wastewater is then piped directly to the

targeted well site.

Central wastewater treatment facilities

processes can include:

• Primary three-phase separation to

remove dissolved natural gas, foating

gel, oil, sand and suspended solids,

followed by storage for equalisation of

chemical composition and fow

• Secondary separation utilising

dissolved air or gas fotation for removal

of a wide variety of contaminants

including polymers, oils and suspended

solids. Bactericide is added to control

bacterial growth

• Removal of metals by precipitation,

and removal of salts by reverse osmosis

• Sludge management for dewatering

collected solids.

Such centralised plants can be

integrated with alternative sources of

water to supplement fresh water needs

for fracking, such as from abandoned

mines, storm water control basins,

municipal treatment plant effuent, and

power plant cooling water.

Such initiatives are in alignment with

mandates from Pennsylvania’s SRBC

and its Department of Environmental

Protection, which emphasise future

trends in water use for oil and gas

drilling should represent more reuse

of water for fracking, and more use of

other waters, such as treated wastewater

and acidic mine drainage, in the

hydraulic fracturing process.

CRITICAL IMPORTANCE

The development of an integrated

infrastructure for water management

in shale oil and gas production has

lagged behind improvements in drilling

technology, which have been successful

in spearheading this industry into recent

national prominence.

In the face of increasingly constricting

traditional water sourcing options

and tightening wastewater treatment

regulations, the need for an industry

initiative to develop this infrastructure

network to deal with these water related

issues is of critical importance if oil

and gas producers are to effectively

manage their frack well operations and

maximise profts.

Centralised water management

allows wastewater processing to be

implemented on an economy of scale

that has not before been realised in the

shale oil and gas production industry.

Reduced capital costs for treatment

and distribution systems, lower

operating costs, and a more favourable

position to garner public and

governmental acceptance are the key

benefts of this centralised approach to

water management.

Jeff Easton

is principal process engineer at WesTech

Engineering, email: jeaston@westech-inc.com.

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013

Hydraulic fracturing the Marcellus well may use four to

eight million gallons of water per week

1310WWI_46 46 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 47

In its most recent infrastructure

report card, the American Society

of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave

the state of US water infrastructure,

encompassing dams, levees, wastewater

and drinking water infrastructure, an

average grade of a D.

According to the report, as of 2008

the US has approximately 14,780

wastewater treatment facilities and

19,739 wastewater pipe systems.

Although access to centralised

treatment systems is widespread, the

condition of many of these systems is

reported to be poor, with aging pipes

and inadequate capacity leading to the

discharge of an estimated 900 billion

gallons (3.4 billion cubic metres) of

untreated sewage each year.

The US Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) estimates that the cost

of the capital investment required to

maintain and upgrade drinking-water

and wastewater treatment systems

across the US in 2010 was $91 billion.

However, only $36 billion of that was

funded, leaving a capital funding gap of

nearly $55 billion.

BLUEPRINT FOR INNOVATION

In March this year the EPA published

its Blueprint for Integrating Technology

Innovation into the National Water

Program.

The Blueprint highlights the EPA

Offce of Water’s plans to advance and

promote technology innovation across

various water programs.

“Technology innovation can accelerate

progress toward our goals of clean and

safe water. EPA and many stakeholders

will strive to support technology

innovation to solve water resource

problems…cheaper, faster and using less

energy,” explains Nancy Stoner, acting

assistant administrator for water at the

EPA.

To this end, the blueprint notes that

the 150,000 drinking water and 15,000

wastewater facilities nationwide account

for as much as 4% of the country’s

electricity consumption - approximately

56 million MWh at a cost of around $4

billion. As such, energy conservation

and recovery are said to hold

signifcant promise for reducing energy

consumption and treatment costs, while

With funding for wastewater

treatment infrastructure in the US

increasingly stretched, the idea of

recovering valuable nutrients and

even precious metals such as silver

is gaining momentum. In addition

to the recent EPA blueprint

aimed at encouraging the

integration of such technologies,

scientifc organisations such as

the Water Environment Research

Foundation are working to bring

such technologies to commercial

fruition.

by Carrie W. Capuco

WERF’s energy program aims to support net energy neutrality at all wastewater treatment facilities,

starting with those that treat fows of 18,900 m3/day or more

WASTE NOTWANT NOT

The Rise of Resource Recovery

1310WWI_47 47 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201348

certain technologies may even turn

some of these facilities into net energy

producers.

WASTED NOT WASTEWATER

According to the EPA’s blueprint,

wastewater facilities in the US process

approximately 9.5 trillion gallons (36

billion cubic metres) of wastewater per

year. However, the agency says that

due to a combination of drought and

increasing water demands, wastewater

should be viewed through a new

paradigm - as ‘water that is wasted’.

With this in mind, the blueprint

explains that there are signifcant needs

for technologies and approaches that

foster substantially greater water reuse,

which in turn can reduce pollution and

conserve energy. Further to the potential

to reduce the energy consumption of

certain wastewater treatment processes,

as well the as ability to recover energy

from others, the blueprint also notes

the impact being felt from nitrogen

and phosphorus pollution, which

is threatening surface water quality

and drinking water supplies. New

techniques are needed to reduce

nutrient pollution at substantially less

cost and with reduced carbon footprint.

To this end the agency also highlights

a number of emerging technologies

which can recover nutrients, such as

phosphorus and nitrogen, from water/

wastewater for use/reuse elsewhere.

RESOURCE RECOVERY

With wastewater being increasingly

recognised as a valued source of

renewable resources, the EPA is urging

wastewater treatment facilities, which

treat human and animal waste, to

be viewed as Renewable Resource

Recovery Facilities that produce clean

water, recover energy and generate

nutrients.

This view is backed by not-for-proft

organisation, the Water Environment

Federation (WEF), which believes that

wastewater treatment plants are not

waste disposal facilities, but rather

water resource recovery facilities that

produce clean water, recover nutrients.

Such facilities, it argues in a position

statement, have the potential to reduce

the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels

through the production and use of

renewable energy.

The potential to transform these

facilities exists because wastewater

contains potentially marketable

products. However, technical, social,

and economic challenges remain before

treatment plants can realise the full

potential of nutrient recovery from

wastewater.

Numerous individual products can be

recovered from wastewater treatment

plants, including biodegradable plastics,

adhesives, and enzymes useful in

biomedical applications. Additionally,

several carbon based materials such

as biopolymers, PHAs and others, are

present in domestic wastewater and

perhaps biosolids.

There are however, lingering

questions about the quality, product

yield and technological requirements,

as well as the practicality of recovering

these products at a municipal facility.

Markets value and demand for these

products are also not well understood.

In addition, there is a need to better

understand the relevant trade-offs and

consequences, including those that

may directly affect discharge permit

compliance.

RESEARCH NEEDED

Many scientifc papers have been

published on the availability of these

products in wastewater. However, the

industry needs to get an objective and

unbiased view of the value and current

and future demand for these products.

This will help the industry to position

for the both the medium and long term

in its attempts to become energy neutral

and environmentally and economically

sustainable. One of the critical

knowledge gaps is a comprehensive

technical and economic review of

existing and emerging technologies

which can produce carbon-based

and/or non-nutrient products from

wastewater or wastewater by-products.

The Water Environment Research

Foundation (WERF) hopes to support

projects that can fll these vital

knowledge gaps while also providing

practical information for water utilities

interested in expanding their investment

in resource recovery.

WERF is seeking answers to resolve

several resource recovery questions

with its current funding research on

the recovery of three resources: macro-

Nutrients, Energy and Water. The

organisation has also funded research

on appropriately treated sewage sludge

(biosolids), as a resource in the form of a

nutrient rich soil amendment.

The overarching goal of the Resource

Recovery program is to transition the

wastewater treatment industry to one

focused on resource recovery (starting

with nutrients) with the vision that

most, if not all, materials in wastewater

can be commoditised.

In the area of energy, WERF is seeking

to advance processes/practices with

potential for energy recovery/effciency

or which address barriers to energy

recovery in the wastewater treatment

process. The overarching goal of

WERF’s Energy program is to develop

information that will support net energy

neutrality at all wastewater facilities

starting with those that treat fows of

fve million or more gallons per day

(18,900 m3/day).

TRANSITION

To initiate a transition toward nutrient

recovery, in 2012, WERF selected

a global research team to begin to

understand and guide the acceptance

and implementation of nutrient recovery

from wastewater. This research (WERF

project # NTRY1R12) also focuses on

extractive macro-nutrient recovery

technologies for phosphorus.

In the last few years, the potential

to recover phosphorus has increased

dramatically. This represents an

emerging frontier for utilities to address

both nutrient load limitations and to

develop alternative revenue streams.

The international team, led by Hazen

and Sawyer, has collaborated with other

consulting frms, utilities, technology

providers, and academic experts to

achieve three main objectives:

• Characterise factors infuencing the

adoption of resource recovery systems

(primarily on macro-nutrients, nitrogen

and phosphorus)

• Provide a guidance tool for the

PRODUCTS CAN BE RECOVERED FROM

WWTPS, INCLUDING ENZYMES FOR USE

IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

1310WWI_48 48 11/6/13 3:38 PM

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT US/CARIBBEAN

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM 49

implementation of resource recovery

technologies for water resource recovery

facilities (previously known as WWTPs)

• Experimentally evaluate

phosphorus recovery technologies.

Then, WERF’s newest research will

build upon the prior and on-going

research by focusing on additional

resources: value-added commodities or

groups of commodities that are likely

to be used by utilities (e.g., methanol or

other specialty chemicals or precursors,

carbon-based compounds, etc.).

It will also focus on commodities that

can be produced in quantities that can

be effectively marketed and/or used

regionally - such as hydrogen peroxide,

high-quality ‘designer’ biosolids

products with specifc N-P-K ratios, or

other products that can be sold, etc.

Additional commodities that could

be recovered may also be studied if

they are determined to be economically

viable, such as metals including

silver, micro-nutrients, biodegradable

plastics/polymers, etc., while having no

detrimental impact in the overall fnal

effuent quality.

This effort seeks pioneering research

that will advance knowledge and

understanding on the generation or

recovery of a particular commodity,

or group of commodities, that can be

recovered from wastewater. It will

complement WERF’s ongoing initiatives

in evaluating and demonstrating new

technologies to accelerate the adoption

of innovative treatment technologies

RATIONALE

This research is needed because as

various new technologies and processes

that could be used to recover potentially

valuable commodities intrinsically

present in wastewater are currently

being researched and developed. Water

Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs)

that would beneft from these new

technologies need a scientifcally sound

view of the new technologies that can

be adopted as part of their standard

processes.

It is hoped WERF’s research results

will help the Water quality community

position itself for both the medium and

longer term in its strategic attempts to

transform WRRFs to be energy neutral,

environmentally, and economically

sustainable.

Ultimately, in order to promote

WRRFs as product recovery facilities,

the water quality community must

demonstrate that these facilities can

generate or produce high quality

value-added products. These must

be able to be used to either enhance

facility operations and economics or

more generally meet the needs of our

communities and economies. WERF’s

newest portfolio of research seeks to

accomplish that task.

CONCLUSIONS

Water and wastewater treatment

infrastructure is facing a signifcant,

and growing, funding gap in the US.

The prospect of reducing the cost of

treatment, or increasing the revenue

generated through the production of

additional marketable energy, nutrients

and commodities is an appealing one.

The idea of recovering valuable

products from wastewater may once

have seemed fanciful, but encouraged

by the noises coming from federal

government, it’s a prize that many in the

water quality community are working

towards.

Of the wide variety of innovative

projects underway not all will succeed,

but those that do may just hold the key

to plugging the funding gap for US

wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Carrie W. Capuco

is director of communications at WERF.

For more information on resource recovery,

email: ccapuco@werf.org.

Despite the promise of abundant products in wastewater,

market value and demand are not well understood

1310WWI_49 49 11/6/13 3:38 PM

Koch Membrane Systems (KMS) has launched its MegaPure hollow fber product

line, designed for high-solids water and wastewater applications. With an average

continuous solids tolerance of up to 250 mg/L, the MegaPure hollow fber system

has been designed for high solids applications such as surface water treatment, high

TOC water treatment, RO pre-treatment and tertiary wastewater treatment.

The MegaPure ultrafltration system features a single-potting cartridge design which

KMS said allows air scouring to penetrate the fber bundle more completely and release

accumulated solids to the bottom where they are easily drained away. The cartridge employs

the same reinforced fber as seen in the company’s PURON submerged hollow fber product line.

www.kochmembrane.com

50 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013

TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP PUMPS, MOTORS & DRIVE SYSTEMS

For more product news and reviews visit us at wwinternational.com

Hollow fber system from KMS sets out to eliminate clarifer

UF membranes introduced by GE for SWRO

RO/ion exchange range showcased in Amsterdam by LANXESSChemicals company LANXESS used the Aquatech Amsterdam event to showcase

ion exchange resins from its Lewatit range together with reverse osmosis (RO)

membrane elements from the Lewabrane range. The following RO product types are

currently available from LANXESS:

• HR (High Rejection) elements with high salt rejection for optimal permeate quality

• HF (High Flow) elements for optimal balance between fow rate and salt rejection

• FR (Fouling Resistant) elements with special feedspacer to prevent fouling

• LE (Low Energy) elements for saving energy using low-pressure operation and

optimal salt rejection.

LANXESS said: “Depending on the respective conditions, combining the two

methods [ion exchange and RO] can be an effective option.”

www.lewabrane.com

UF system launched for industrial and municipal markets

Siemens Water Technologies has introduced the MEMCOR CP II modular, pre-engineered ultrafltration

membrane system including MEMCOR PVDF membrane technology. Up to 28 L40N-type membrane

modules can be combined on a single MemRACK unit, which integrates feed, air, fltrate and waste

headers into one assembly. The fully assembled, self-supporting racks are then manifolded together. Piping

connections on the ends of the racks further facilitate easy installation.

The MemRACK array’s design also optimizes hydraulics for minimal pressure loss to improve fuid

distribution resulting in more stable fltration, according to Siemens. The core of the CP II system is the L40N

membrane module. The L40N uses the family of MEMCOR ultrafltration membrane fbers, which feature

more than double the surface area of previous MEMCOR modules. Introduced in 2010, the ‘N’ fber delivers

enhanced abrasion resistance and better performance to end users. www.water.siemens.com

GE has launched new pressurized and submerged ultrafltration (UF) membranes designed for pre-

treatment of feedwater for seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems. The new technology includes

GE’s ZeeWeed 1000 and ZeeWeed 1500 hollow-fber membranes. GE claimed the new ZeeWeed

seawater membranes offer a reduction in cost greater than 25% and a reduced footprint of 10% to

25%. GE’s immersed ZeeWeed 1000 UF membranes are designed for larger treatment systems and an

“immersed design” is said to help the modules align well with dissolved air fotation technology and

directly coupling to SWRO. In a statement the company said: “The advancements in the ZeeWeed

1000 product results in one of the industry’s lowest installed costs for membrane technology.”

www.gewater.com

1310WWI_50 50 11/6/13 3:38 PM

PRODUCT REVIEW

51OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 WWINTERNATIONAL.COM

Neptune Chemical Pump Co has launched

its Model CLR-25 and CLR-50 Clear Bromine

Feeders designed to feed solid biocide or

other corrosive water-treatment chemicals into

closed-loop systems in cooling towers. Other

design features of both the CLR-25 and CLR-50

models include: a clear PVC body that allows

the bromine to be viewed without opening

the cap; two threaded bottom inlets and drain

connections; 15.2 cm (6 in.) top opening with

threaded, O-ring enclosure; maximum pressure

to 8.6 bar (125 psi); maximum temperature to

38ºC (100ºF) and standard pressure relief valve

set at 8.6 bar (125 psi).

www.neptune1.com

Blue-White Industries has introduce a

Single Layer Injection Molded PVDF

Diaphragm for the Chem-Pro Series C2

and C3 Metering Pumps. Manufactured

100% in-house, this new single piece,

longer lasting diaphragm design does not

consist of multiple layers like traditional

diaphragms.

The pump head consists of only one

material, PVDF, in order to reduce chemical

compatibility issues of the wetted parts.

Patent Pending, the design is available in

three various sizes. New PVDF Diaphragms

retro-ft onto current ProSeries Chem-Pro

pumps.

www.blue-white.com

Single layer injection molder

PVDF diaphragm introduced

Italian pump manufacturer Caprari has

updated its MEC-MG series of pumps to

include the new MEC-MG125 HT - HI

TORQUE size. The pump includes a new

coupling system for the impellers, with

precision spline profle leading to an optimal

load distribution on shaft and hub.

The manufacturer said the drive coupling

key can be eliminated with the use of a

shrink disc with tapered clamping bush

(keyless), leading to total elimination of stress

concentration on the shaft. Caprari said: “The

product addition also features a stainless

steel shaft with high yield point and excellent

fatigue strength.”

www.caprari.com

New MEC-MG HT pumps

from Caprari

Sulzer Pumps has launched its AHLSTAR

end suction single stage close coupled process

pump series developed for applications in oil

and gas, hydrocarbon processing, chemical,

pulp and paper, general industry, power

generation and water & wastewater industries.

The pump is equipped with Sulzer EnerSave

impellers according to types of pumped liquid

and applications.

It is designed with a patented Rotokey impeller

mounting and an externally adjustable side

plate fxing. Balancing holes in the impeller are

said to guarantee the right fow and pressure

condition in the whole shaft seal area.

www.sulzer.com

New MEC-MG HT pumps from

Caprari

Xylem has launched a system specifcally

for pump station applications called the

Flygt MultiSmart, which sets out to enable

operators to maximise the effciency of their

facility. Xylem’s Flygt MultiSmart can control

up to six pumps. The controller’s default

settings can be easily adapted to suit the

requirements of individual pump stations

while a remote control feature reduces the

frequency of site visits. The controller’s

intuitive interface is designed to be user

friendly and a setup wizard guides simple,

step-by-step installation.

Based on feld tests carried out at a pump

station in London, UK, Xylem claimed the

system can reduce the energy consumption

of a pump station by up to 35%. A built-

in ‘pump reversal’ feature is designed to

prevent clogging while the controller can also

clean out the well by removing foatables on

a regular basis. An alarm feature prompts the

operator to carry out necessary maintenance

to prevent problems occurring in the system.

Patrik Stolpe, monitoring and control

manager for Xylem, said: “The controller’s

advanced capabilities ensure that a pump

station is run as effciently as possible, saving

valuable time as well as operational costs.”

www.xyleminc.com

Pump station controller aims to

cut energy consumption by 35%

A major supplier of prepared vegetables

to the UK food industry has recently taken

delivery of another EZstrip cake pump

from NOV Mono. Measham-based AB

Produce trialled an EZstrip cake pump

before installing its frst unit a year ago. The

delivered Mono EZstrip cake pump features

a specially designed feed chamber, which

can be disconnected to provide access to the

rotor and screw conveyor assembly. The rotor

can then be separated from the conveyor,

allowing removal of the rotor and stator

while in-situ, with no need to disconnect any

of the suction or delivery pipe work.

www.mono-pumps.com

EZstrip cake pump delivered to

UK food supplier

Clear bromine feeder

from Neptune

1310WWI_51 51 11/6/13 3:39 PM

WWINTERNATIONAL.COM OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 201352

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 5-8, 2013Aquatech Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlandswww.aquatechtrade.com/amsterdamen/Pages/default.aspx

November 10-13, 2013North Carolina AWWA/WEAwww.ncsafewater.org/events_education/conferences/ac2013

November 13-15, 2013Urban Drainage Group (UDG) Au-tumn Conference, Nottingham, UK.www.ciwem.org/events/events-calendar/2013/nov/13/udg-autumn-conference--exhibition.aspx

December 1-3, 2013Saudi Water & Power Forum 2013, Jeddah, Saudi Arabiahttp://ksawpf.com/

December 2-4, 2013Water Expo China + Water Mem-brane China, Beijing, Chinawww.waterexpochina.com

December 3-6 2013Pollutec 2013, Paris Nord Villepinte,Francewww.pollutec.com

January 9-11, 201411th EverythingAboutWater EXPO, Delhi, Indiahttp://www.eawater.com/expo

January 20-22, 2014International Water Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAEhttp://iwsabudhabi.com/portal/home.aspx

January 29-31, 2014InterAqua 2014, Tokyo, Japan.www.interaqua.jp/eng/

March 10-13, 2014AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technol-ogy Conference & Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USwww.awwa.org/conferences-education/conferences/awwa-amta-membrane-technology.aspx

March 26-28, 2014GLOBE 2014, Vancouver, BC, Canadawww.globeseries.com/

April 8-9, 2014Water & Environment 2014: CIWEM’s Annual Conference, Royal Geographical Society, London, UKwww.ciwem.org/events/annual-conference.

April 13-16, 2014International Conference on Desalination, Environment & Marine Outfall Systems, Muscat, Omanwww.idadesal.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Brochure_First-announcement.pdf

April 14-16, 2014WETEX 2014, Dubai International Convention and Exhibit Centre, Dubaihttp://www.wetex.ae/

April 29 – May 1, 2014Ozwater’14, Brisbane, Australiawww.awa.asn.au

5-9 May, 2014IFAT, Messe Munchen, Munich, Germanywww.ifat.de

May 11-15, 2014Desalination for the Environment: Clean Water and Energy, Limassol, Cyprushttp://www.desline.com/congress/Cy-prus2014/home.shtml

June 1-5, 2014 Singapore International Water Week, Singaporewww.siww.com.sg/

October 5-8, 2014Saudi Water & Power Forum, Jeddah, Saudi Arabiawww. ksawpf.com

Analytical Technology, Inc. C2

Auma Riester GmbH & Co. KG 23

Blair Rubber Company 39

Blue-White Industries 37

Burkert Fluid Control Systems 27

Cantoni Motor 12

Caprari S.P.A. 2

ECWATECH 2014 43

ESRI 11

Fluid Components International 24

GEFCO (The George E. Failing Company) 15

Grundfos Management A/S C4

Membrana 5

National Water Company - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

C3

Pollutec Horizons 2013 19

Reed Manufacturing Company 21

Swan Analytische Instrumente AG 29

WWI Reprints 39

Zoeller Waste Systems Ltd 3

ADVERTISERS INDEX

Advertiser Page Advertiser Page

A selection of events related to the water and wastewater industry in 2013 and 2014 can be found here.

For a full list, visit: www.wwinternational.com and click on the Events tab at the top of the page.

CLASSIFIED

1310WWI_rev_52 52 11/7/13 4:16 PM

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1310WWI_C4 4 11/6/13 3:15 PM