WORLDS FIRST ENGINEERING NEWS

FOR YOUNG ENGINEERS

SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE NO. 007

EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEWS:
Water For People
Cranfield University
Imagine H2O
WaterAid
Aviscus

VEOLIA WATER
TECHNOLOGIES:
SUSTAINABLE WATER
CHAMPION
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE COO
SEPTEMBER 2016
1
Clean Water Technologies
 GINEERSNOW TEAM

Ems Bagatsing
Sales & Marketing Director
Ems@LincolnMartin.com
Robert Bagatsing
Editor-In-Chief
editor@GineersNow.com
Engr. Alice Hernandez
Senior Editor-At-Large

John Vauden Charity Bagatsing Raymond Gerard del Valle

Senior Editor Senior Editor Junior Editor
Asia-Pacific North America
Abhishek Tarafder
Hina Sapra Engr. Dion Greg Reyes Matrix Media
Senior Editor Junior Editor Information Technology
South Asia
Engr. Cielo Panda Aaron Kesel
Therese Matheren Junior Editor Contributor
Senior Editor North America
North America Lauren Lloyd Del Mundo
Video Editor Amanda Pelletier
Goran ulibrk Creative & Layout Contributor
Newsletter Specialist North America
Afsana Alam Margaret Banford
Contributor Contributor
Middle East United Kingdom
Engr. Emmanuel Stalling Patricia Eldridge
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 Editor's
Note
If youre reading this, make sure
you look around you and realize
that youre one of the lucky few
who enjoys the simple things in
life. It may include catching a
few Pokemon characters on your
smartphone or browsing through
your social media without a care
in the world. But think deeper and
realize that there are more things
we should be thankful for and that
includes the water were drinking,
bathing and using for everything
else. Unfortunately, thats not always
the case for most of us anyway. Most
of us just take advantage of the idea
that clean water will always be there.
The truth is were running out of
freshwater supply and its evident
in so many regions of this planet
already. Millions of people are
already suffering from the lack of
access to clean water. Millions have
died because of diseases related to
diarrhea. It's a scary thought that
one day, you will no longer see
water coming out of your faucet.
It's terrifying to think about a
future where only billion-aires can
afford water. What was once taken
for granted will become the most
valuable resource to survive in this
ever-changing world.
In this month's issue, different
water technologies are given the
spotlight. Different stories about
how engineers and scientists
all over the world are working
together to provide clean water for
the billions of people worldwide.
Weve included feature stories about
engineers contributing to social
good around the world as well. Also
included in this month's issue are
exclusive interviews from different
companies about what they're doing
in saving the planet, in providing
new technologies to provide safe
water and sanitation to different
regions around the world.
With so much to do yet not enough
technology to solve the world's
most pressing issues in water, we
are running out of time. If we
don't make swift actions to solve
these problems, it'll only take
a few decades before suffer the
consequences. So take a good look
of that glass of water in front of you,
appreciate the idea that you're lucky
enough to have access to clean water
now. May it inspire you to make a
movement in saving our planet's
precious water resources.
CONTENTS
PAGE TITLE
06
COVER STORY
VEOLIA: INTEGRATING WATER,
WASTE AND ENERGY TO OPTIMIZE
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
12
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE
GROUNDWATER TABLE
15 WHAT DO THEY DO IN WATER
ENGINEERING?
16 IS IT STILL POSSIBLE
TO CLEAN THE WORLDS
OCEANS?
22
THIS ROBOT MERMAID
LENDS A HELPING HAND IN
OCEAN EXPLORATION
26
BACTERIAL RESEARCH
COULD LESSEN
PHOSPHORUS POLLUTED
WATERS
28 HOW DO COMPANIES
WATERPROOF YOUR DEVICES?
33
THE KIDS ARE SAFER THAN
EVER IN POOLS WITH THIS
WEARABLE WARNING
DEVICE
34
THIS INTERACTIVE WATER
BOTTLE TEACHES KIDS TO
DRINK MORE WATER
40
THESE WATER HACKS WILL
GET BUSY ENGINEERS TO
DRINK MORE WATER
48
THE WATER YOURE
DRINKING COULD BE OLDER
THAN THE SUN
PAGE TITLE
52
WHY I MARRIED AN ENGINEER
54
WATER FOR PEOPLE: BRINGING SAFE
WATER AND SANITATION TO 4 MILLION
PEOPLE ACROSS 9 COUNTRIES
58 AVISCUS: CREATING A WORLD WHERE
ACCESS TO WATER, SHELTER, AND
ELECTRICITY IS AFFORDABLE
64 IT MIGHT GET WORSE: THE
BEST PREDICTION ABOUT
ASIAS WATER PROBLEM
66 WATERAID: TRANSFORMING
THE LIVES OF MANY WITH
CLEAN WATER
72
IMAGINE H2O: INSPIRING
PEOPLE TO TURN WATER
CHALLENGES INTO
OPPORTUNITIES
76 CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY:
REINVENTING THE TOILET
78
HOW THE WATER CRISIS
IS CAUSING HEADACHES
FOR THE PEOPLE IN LATIN
AMERICA
82
WATER SCARCITY: A
PROBLEM EVERYBODY
SHOULD BE AWARE OF
84
THE DAYS OF ABUNDANT
POWER AND WATER MAY
BE OVER
88
THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
ON FOOD AND BEVERAGES
WASTEWATER DISCHARGE
6 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
 COVER STORY

VEOLIA WATER
TECHNOLOGIES:
INTEGRATING
WATER, WASTE
AND ENERGY TO
OPTIMIZE RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Veolia Water Technologies provides public authorities and
industries with a range of water, energy and waste management
services vital to human development and sustainable growth in 48
countries around the world.

They continue to adapt and innovate in step with economic growth

and human development by designing and implementing solutions
that will have a positive impact on the environment and resources.

GineersNow conducted an exclusive interview with Thierry Froment,

the Chief Operating Officer of Veolia Water Technologies in the
Middle East

Thierry Froment grew up in the French Alps and got his engineering
diploma from the Mining school of Paris and his Master of Science
in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
He started his career working for a drilling contractor, a subsidiary
of Schlumberger, and since 30 years he has been working in water
treatment as Managing Director of various companies in France
and abroad for almost 20 years first in desalination, then in water
treatment associated to the Oil & Gas industry.

SEPTEMBER 2016
7
Clean Water Technologies
COVER STORY
THE COMPANY
GN: Tell us about your
company. Describe your
mission, vision and values.
Froment: With 160 years
of expertise, over 174 000
employees worldwide and
a consolidated revenue of
25 billion in 2015, Veolia
promotes under the banner
Resourcing the World an
approach that integrates
water, waste and energy
to optimize resource
management.
Within the Veolia group,
Veolia Water Technologies
offers integrated water
treatment solutions, from
design & build projects to
standard systems. It applies its
process expertise and industry
knowledge to respond to the
needs of industrial clients as
well as municipalities in terms
of both process water and
wastewater, with a specific
focus on water reuse. We
strive to deliver innovative,
sustainable and cost effective
water solutions to our
customers to improve their
economic and environmental
performance. In the Middle
East we employ more than
1300 people with a revenue
in excess of 500 million Euros.
Our vision is to be a trusted
partner in the Middle East,
combining the global
expertise of a worldwide
leader to the strength of
our local teams. Increasing
access to resources as well
as preserving and renewing
them is our motto.
Our values are concentrated on
our Customers Satisfaction,
A lot of the trends we
see have to do with reducing
carbon footprint, increasing
renewable energies and with
water reuse
8 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Responsibility, Respect,
Solidarity, and Innovation.
GN: Where is this company
headed? Whats your future
expansion plans? Describe
briefly your strategic goals
(10 years to 20 years plan)
Froment: We are fortunate
enough to be active in the
Middle East in both the
municipal and the industrial
fields and with growing water
scarcity, water reuse is our
top priority. Of course we will
continue to chase and execute
large desalination projects or
municipal water treatment
plants in the region where
we can differentiate through
improved energy efficiency or
better value for money for our
clients but with our objective
of Resourcing the World, and
with the increasing scarcity of
water in the region and the
ever growing need of water
for human consumption,
industries and agriculture, we
want to focus on developing
water reuse. This is the best
way to reduce the electricity
consumption related to water seawater or aquifer water so energy cost (in Qatar 87%
treatment. With its wealth water reuse plants operation of the Clean water comes
of in house water treatment requires more attention than from desalination). Waste
technologies (more than 350) conventional process water water comes from both the
Veolia can basically treat treatment plants), Veolia can human consumption and
almost any kind of waste water operate the plants on behalf the industries. This waste
to pretty much any required of the customers bringing water has to be treated to
process water characteristics its wealth of operational be rejected (generally back
while minimizing the experience and increased to the sea) or reused. In the
energy consumption of the productivity. region, unlike other parts
process. In addition where of the world, the reuse of
our customers do not wish INTRODUCTION waste water as potable
to develop in house the GN: How does your company water is not acceptable
skills to operate such plants define clean water and although technically such
(waste water varies much wastewater? How do people treatment is easy. So most
more in characteristics than gain access to clean water? of the reused water is used
Do we have limited access to as irrigation water or treated
clean, drinkable water? Are to the characteristics required
we running out of it? for industrial process water.
Froment: Clean water is either According to the Arab Water
potable water, irrigation Council only 40% of the
water or process water (used waste water in the MENA
for industrial purpose). In region is reused and more
the Middle East due to the than 50% is discharged
very significant increase in without treatment.
the Clean water consumption
and the limited aquifer water THE MACRO LEVEL OF
available, most of the Clean CLEAN ENERGY
water is generated using sea GN: Where are we today?
water desalination at a high What is the current situation
 at its new dairy plant in Froment: As mentioned
Water treatment Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. above, Veolia already
Nestl has reduced its water has in housed most of the
and more widely consumption globally by technologies necessary to
one third during the past 10 generate water with any
Environmental Engineering years and by 50 percent at desired characteristics from
its plants in Mexico, even any waste water so we believe
contribute directly to creating while global production has the next challenges are to
increased. Antero Resources, make these technologies
a better world tomorrow one of the top ten producers more competitive and more
of natural gas in the USA, accessible to our clients,
is another company that is preserve and explore all
of clean water and waste industrial companies are proactively addressing water the different ways to reuse/
water (locally or globally)? considering ways to reduce consumption by building a recycle every drop of water
What are the latest water their water discharges and US$275 million centralized while reducing the carbon
technologies today? ZLD is a great solution. Shell water treatment facility to footprint of the plants and
Froment: A lot of the trends is one of the many companies treat 9,500 cubic meters of recovering the pollutants in
we see have to do with that chose to implement produced water per day for such a way they can also be
reducing carbon footprint, a sustainable ZLD water reuse. Recycling the produced recycled.
increasing renewable energies management solution, at water from its shale oil and
and with water reuse. With their Pearl GTL complex in gas operations will enable
climate change concerns, Qatar. Antero to realize substantial THE MICRO LEVEL
there is a strong push to Water scarcity is a serious savings, as well as reducing GN: What are the initiatives /
reduce carbon footprint. problem in many parts of its environmental footprint. projects that you are doing (or
Although carbon dioxide is the world particularly the Most companies nowadays, have done) that will provide
released into the atmosphere Middle East. More and more big and small, are looking into clean water to third world
in much greater amounts, industries are interested in ways to reduce their water countries?
methane has contributed just implementing solutions that footprint and we definitely Froment: Veolia supports
as much to global warming use as little fresh water as see this trend going on and humanitarian, educational,
over the past two decades. possible, and reuse as much accelerating in the future biodiversity and conservation
Waste and wastewater as possible. Veolia has particularly in the Middle East. programs with 1,000 projects
treatment activities can been working with Nestl supported to date. Check out
produce a lot of methane, at several of its plants to GN: Where should water tech Veolia Foundation website
which can be repurposed to reduce the companys water head 20 years from now? Are to discover all the actions
produce renewable energy consumption and results we on the right track? Are we deployed in the third world
through biogas, quickly have been particularly good delayed? Are we progressing? countries: http://fondation.
producing positive effects.
Obviously, sludge offers a lot
of potential as far as energy
production goes and it is
viewed more and more as a
valuable resource to capitalize
on rather than a waste
that needs to be discarded.
Our innovative Exelys
technology, for instance,
represents the next generation
of thermal hydrolysis. By
concentrating the matter to
be treated, the volume to be
heated is reduced, yielding
20-40 percent more biogas
than conventional digestion
and up to 50 percent more
capacity for existing digesters.
We also see a lot of interest in
evaporation and Zero Liquid
Discharge (ZLD) technologies.
As regulatory issues,
environmental sensitivity,
and long term water supply
concerns increase, many

SEPTEMBER 2016
9
Clean Water Technologies
COVER STORY

veolia.com/en. Directly, Veolia

works with municipalities in
many third world countries
to finance, build and operate
water treatment plants
providing clean water to the
populations.

GN: What are the future

innovations that you or your
company pursuing?
Froment: The past few
years have presented many
challenges for Veolia Water
Technologies, with a market
that has been rapidly
changing and we ourselves
now need to change and
adapt. As Veolia Water
Technologies, our wealth is
made of our technologies
and we will keep capitalizing
on them, improving them
and developing new ones.
Meanwhile, we want to
simplify our portfolio of
technologies, making them
available faster and at a more
competitive price point. We are
also looking into digitalization
of some of our standard
equipment. Another key point
for us is to further develop our
bundled services, for instance
our mobile water services,
traceability for specific
regulations, digital functions,
etc. There is a strong demand
for these types of services and
we want to better capitalize
on that through our local
teams. We are still relying
on our strong design and
engineering capabilities to
secure some big design-and-
build contracts, for instance
for desalination plants in the
Middle East, municipal water
and wastewater treatment
plants in Europe, Africa and
Asia, and industrial projects in
North and South America.
GN: What impact have you
delivered (social, economic
and environmental)? Do you
have metrics or statistics of
your accomplishments?
Froment: Here is an
infographic of Veolias
accomplishments:
(See figure A)
Figure A: Infographic of Veolia's Accomplishments
THE CHALLENGES &
SOLUTIONS
GN: What are the greatest
challenges in the water
industry? What do you think
the government, private
companies and NGO of each
country should do to get rid
of this? How do we provide
water accessibility to more
than 7 billion people?
Froment: Demand for raw
materials, including water,
is exploding as a result of
demographic growth, rising
living standards and climate
change. As we are all aware,
we cannot endlessly draw on
the natural environmenta
number of shortages are
already making themselves
felt and the growth model
based on linear consumption
(extract-use-throw away)
has reached its limits.
Scarcity of raw materials,
scarcity of water, carbon
footprint: these are huge
challenges facing our world
today. The management
of environmental issues
is becoming increasingly
important and complex in

10 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
both rapidly developing and
developed countries.
Access to water is a key
factor in the growth of entire
economies, cities and many
different industries. Today,
on a worldwide scale, barely
2 percent of wastewater
is reused: that remaining
98 percent of wastewater
represents a valuable and
readily available resource that
we must tap into. Wastewater
also has the tremendous
advantage of being available
where water is needed. The
whole point of the circular
economy is to give back value
to things that had lost their
value, which of course applies
to water and wastewater.
When scarcity strikes, the
circular economy allows
economic players not only to
secure their supplies, but also
to reduce their expenditure
and create additional
revenue. This approach does
not arise exclusively from
environmental concerns; for
the regions, it is a factor in
their development and for
businesses, it is a source of
competitiveness and wealth.
Last year Veolia unveiled its
energy efficient desalination
pilot plant for Masdar in
Abu Dhabi. How much
emphasis does Veolia put into
desalination technologies and
why? Veolia has always been
very active in developing new
technologies in all disciplines
of water treatment; you
could even say that it is a
part of our DNA. Particularly
in desalination, we have
constantly innovated over the
years on design and processes
involved in desalination
plants to improve their
efficiency and reliability,
and cope with changing
economic parameters and
physical conditions, especially
in the Gulf. One of the great
advantages Veolia has to
ascertain its own design, and
the suitability of the whole
conception of a desalination
plant in a defined technical
and economic environment,
is its dual competence and
experience as designer and
builder in addition to operator.
Veolia is also a leader in all
desalination technologies,
be it thermal or physical,
which allows a fully objective
approach towards our clients
to put forth the most suitable
solution to address their
specific needs and objectives.
We have pioneered energy-
efficient hybrid desalination,
which combines Multi Effect
Distillation (MED) and Reverse
Osmosis (RO) to optimize
electricity use and reduce
production costs.
We are very involved in
the coming challenges of
desalination that are linked
to environmental protection
and energy savings. These are
two major components that
still have to be improved for
the ever growing desalination
demand in water-scarce
regions. That is why, when we
found out about Masdars bid
for the development of new
desalination technologies, we
applied without hesitation as
we were eager to implement
ongoing developments
on several process parts.
Many developments will be
coming in the near future as
innovation is in the genetics
of Veolia. Most of these
developments converge to
better power efficiency and
at the same time, to extend
the lifetime of the plant.
Contributing to building ever
more reliable and efficient
desalination plants is one of
our main drivers.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and
words of wisdom about
water and wastewater to our
young global audience. What
would you like to tell to the
millennials? Any inspiring
words that you can share?
Froment: Water treatment
and more widely
Environmental Engineering
contribute directly to creating
a better world tomorrow and
are necessarily attractive to
young engineers wanting
to take an active role in this
task. With its Resourcing the
World motto, I believe Veolia
is definitely contributing to
this aspiration of making
a better use of the Planet
limited resources particularly
as the population develops.
SEPTEMBER 2016
11
Clean Water Technologies
THINGS TO KNOW
ABOUT THE
GROUNDWATER TABLE
To be able to understand what a
water table is, lets take a look at a
cut section of the earth. The image
shows the different layers of the
earth according to the relationship
of the water and the soil.
Basically, the water table or
groundwater table is that boundary
separating water-saturated ground
and unsaturated ground. The
water-saturated ground, or zone
of saturation or phreatic zone, lies
below the water table wherein
all the openings of the rock are
filled with water. Meanwhile, the
unsaturated ground, also called as
zone of aeration or vadose zone, is
the layer or part of earth between
the land surface and the top of
zone of saturation. Vadose means
12 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
shallow in Latin, which is exactly
what relative to the ground.
Water table is not a fixed surface
as it fluctuates depending on how
much the water seeps downward
from the ground surface. This is
why it varies over the course of
seasons and climatic variations
during drought, the water table is
low; during deluge, the water table
is high. But to be safe, better build
that shallow or deep well as deep
as possible into the ground enough
to reach the zone of saturation to
have supply of water.
It is not a flat table as what others
might think being a table
but it almost always follows
the topography of the land
above them. The water table is
influenced by geology, weather,
ground cover, and land use, other
than topography.
Aquifers are pockets of water
that exist below the water table.
They are used to extract water
for people, plants and every living
organism. It is a finite source of
water, with some aquifers already
threatened to be totally drained
from over usage.
Photo by CuttingsWaterworks
Photo by Quizizz

OREGON COMPANY
USES THE POWER
OF THE SUN TO
PURIFY WATER
Portland is a start-up
company based in Oregon
that is using solar technology
to reduce E. coli, Salmonella
and Listeria contamination
in agricultural water. They
have received a state grant
to develop their passive
treatment system, Ray.
According to Ken Vaughn,
the commercialization
director at Oregon Best
(a supporter of the
development of cleantech
businesses), that while the
idea of Portland-based Focal
Technologies Innovative
Solar Water Treatment
System is not new, small
scale efforts to purify water
with similar technology have
been expensive. He says that
Ray is a promising clean
technology that may be able
to provide an inexpensive,
Photo by Scoopnest Photo by WomenInNano
THIS MINI
GENERATOR GETS
ENERGY FROM
SALT WATER
large-scale solution to Aleksandra Radenovic, molybdenum disulfide. The
using solar energy in a nanoscientist at the holes are just the right size
purifying water. Swiss Federal Institute so that only certain sized
So it looks like Focal of Technology, recently salts can pass through.
Technologies has a new published the schematics According to Radenovic,
product that theyve been of a new type of flat, the electric promise of
developing over a number membrane-like power her generator could be
of years thats really generator. This generator will enormous. Estimating only
a fundamentally new get energy from the process a three foot square made of
technology that harnesses of osmosis. Osmosis happens her flat device will be able
the power of the sun to when the salts in salty water to theoretically produce a
provide a cost-effective spreads out evenly into megawatt of power.
way to treat wastewater, freshwater passing through
Vaughn said. a membrane.
This mini generator will
only be three atoms wide at
its thinnest point. It could
be used in places like river
mouths and creeks, or other
places where waters with
different salinities constantly
mix.
The membrane is a thin sheet
that is studded with an array
of very tiny holes. It is made
up of cheap compound called
SEPTEMBER 2016
13
Clean Water Technologies
WHY
ENGINEERS
SHOULD
CARE ABOUT
OCEAN
EXPLORATION
What majority of the people
know about the Earths
oceans are merely on the
surface, or just the shallow
part of it. Rarely do people
recognize the importance
of the vast ocean space
that lies hundred meters
and further below. This can
only be done by ocean or
deep sea exploration.
There are still a lot to
discover about the ocean
water. Only about 5% are
explored of the Earths
ocean, and there are still
more to know about it to
unfold mysteries that some
of our food, energy and
other resources depend on.
Ocean exploration is a
disciplined and systematic
science that includes
rigorous observations
and documentation of
biological, chemical,
physical, geological, and
archaeological aspects of
the ocean. Its not merely
wandering underwater and
hoping to find something
new. The science is to
further provide high-
value environmental
intelligence that address
14 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Photo by OceanExplorer
emerging science and
management needs. And
engineering too, so that
what we discover from the
ocean can be utilized with
the least environmental
impact possible and
squeezing out the best in
their applications.
Going deep into the sea
offers an understanding
of future conditions
and informed decisions.
Who knows, we might
discover new sources
for medical drugs, food,
energy resources and
other products that Photo by OceanExplorer
have been lurking below
sea level for a long time.
Deep sea exploration also
helps in the prediction of
earthquakes and tsunamis
by checking on fault lines
not on land. And engineers
are also responsible of that.
The challenge is to have
more links towards the
engineering of deep sea
exploration because it is a
struggling field right now.
There is still so much space
in the ocean that needs to
be discovered. Photo by Youtube
 WHAT DO THEY
DO IN WATER
ENGINEERING?
The Earth is about 70%
water. Its just fitting that
theres a field in engineering
dedicated and take care of
just that.
Water engineering is
that discipline where the
relationship of water with
its environment built and
natural are studied. It is
the field in engineering that
looks at the behaviour of
natural systems such as rivers,
estuaries and the coasts; and
manages the design of the
infrastructure to store and
direct water.
It deals with the water demand
like drinking water, water
for industry and agriculture,
and water for the natural
environment, while constantly
Photo by Envirotect
addressing challenges One can get degrees in
like global warming, environmental engineering,
aging infrastructure, chemical/process
population growth, and engineering, biochemistry,
higher quality living environmental science
standards. It also studies (physical), geography
flooding, groundwater and (physical), geology,
coastal water. Also, water geophysics/geotechnology
engineering makes sure that , mechanical engineering
water quality requirements and civil engineering to be
are met. relevant in the field of water
engineering.
With the mentioned areas of
study, water engineers need
a background in repairing,
maintaining and building
structures that control water
resources, e.g. sea defence
walls, pumping stations
and reservoirs to effectively
serve humankind. All those
are anchored in asset
management.
SEPTEMBER 2016
15
Clean Water Technologies
IS IT STILL
POSSIBLE TO
CLEAN THE
WORLDS OCEANS?
16 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
The world is in big trouble now.
Our trash has endangered
different species and have
cause calamities in different
parts of the world. With the
alarming rate of disasters and
different deaths of animals,
scientists, engineers and
researchers have worked hard
to find a solution to problems
in pollution. This includes
cleaning the worlds oceans.

The Ocean Cleanup just

recently released a very simple
prototype that could help solve
water pollution problems.
This barrier prototype is 328
foot-long and it collects trash
that floats around in the
North Sea. People behind the
project wants this prototype
to work given the harsh water
conditions in the sea so this
ones an ambitious project.

If the prototype launching

becomes successful, it will
send a 62 mile-long barrier to
the Pacific Ocean. It aims to
collect half of the trash field
in 10 years!

If youre worried that it could

disturb the animals in the
sea, dont worry. It wont.
However, Jeffrey Drazen from
the University of Hawaii
warned Scientific American
that this barrier could mess up
the distribution of the animals
in the region. He also says that
this barrier could only clean up
whats in the surface of the
ocean.

Photo by Engadget

SEPTEMBER 2016
17
Clean Water Technologies
 THE AMSTERDAM
NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS
DIRECTLY OVER WATER
Would you live in a house
over a body of water?
For some people in
Netherlands, thats not a
problem anymore because
they are already living that
kind of life. And they love it.
The diminishing area of
land for residences, as a
consequence of rising
water levels due to climate
change, has made a certain
neighborhood in IJburg,
Netherlands to live and
love the life above water.
Built by Architectenbureau
Marlies Rohmer, the
homes in this Amsterdam
community feature a
modern design of colored
plastic or glass panels,
also spaced and faced to
18 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
optimize interaction with
the neighbors. The houses
are designed to have almost
uniform height and aesthetic.
The water just right outside
of the houses serves as an
instant swimming pool for the
family during the summer,
and an instant ice skating Photo by Inhabitat
field during the winter.
To make this virtually
unsinkable, this floating
neighborhood is made with
concrete foundation then
filled with styrofoam. This
urban planning experiment
might be the first floating
neighborhood there is, with
97 houses.
Photo by AmusingPlanet
Photo by AlJazeera
ENGINEERING
MARVEL: AUSTRIAS
MOBILE FLOOD
WALLS
Technology has so many
applications in our world
today, this includes saving
humankind from disasters such
as earthquakes, fire, and floods.
Over the years, many engineers
have been developing different
technologies to keep us safe
from such dangers. An example
of such, is an engineering marvel
that was developed to save
millions of lives from the dangers
of floods mobile flood walls.

When a city in Austria was

swamped from the Danube River
in 2013, many were in danger of
being hit by the overflowing river
water. Thats why city officials
and officials from other territories
tried to find technology that
could ensure the safety of the
citizens. This is when the mobile Photo by India
flood walls were installed.

Flood Resolution Co. Ltd., a UK

based company explained the
technology behind these flood
walls. The system is composed of
two parts: permanently built solid
foundations and the removable
mobile barriers.

As the flood water rises,

removable mobile barriers will be
added. This system can protect
the land from up to 4.6 meters
at the upstream end of the site.

Photo by StrangeSounds

SEPTEMBER 2016
19
Clean Water Technologies
HOW MUCH
WATER DO WE
REALLY GET FROM
DESALINATION
PLANTS? Photo by IDE

Not everyone has access to clean water world as reported by the International Desalination Association (IDA) in June 30 last year. Collectively, the
today. The United Nations even predicts desalination plants generate 22.9 billion gallons of water everyday, to which over 300 million people depend
that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will suffer on.
living with absolute water scarcity. But
this may change when companies like
IDE Technologies will expand to use the
desalination process in producing clean
water.
IDE Technologies in Israel is already
revolutionizing the water sector by treating
sea water to become fresh water. The
company claims to produce 3 million cubic
meters of high quality water worldwide in
only a day. It boasts of the Sorek Project,
which the company say is the worlds
largest and most advanced seawater
reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination
plant. The plant uses a process called
reverse osmosis, wherein the sea water
is pumped out of the sea and is forced
through membranes under high pressure
which leaves the salt behind.
Miriam Faigon, senior director of
water solutions and products at IDE
Technologies, affirms the companys
contribution with the water supply in the
country. She said, The Sorek desalination
plant is producing 624,000 cubic meters
(of water) per day, which is about 20
percent of the domestic usage in Israel.
IDE Technologies is only one of the more
than 18,000 desalination plants in the
Photo by GrahamScutt

20 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
WATER SHORTAGES FROM
CLIMATE CHANGE THREATEN
GLOBAL POWER SUPPLY
In a 2016 study that linked water
shortages due to climate change
to power generation on a global
scale, it showed that not only are
power plants one of the main
causes of climate change, they
might also be the most vulnerable
to its effects.
As rivers slowly dry up, and what
water is left starts to warm,
power plants that use water as an
integral part of their generation
will suffer. Hydroelectric power
plants, of course, rely on strong
river currents with lots and lots
of water to power their turbines,
while thermoelectric power plants
nuclear, biomass, as well as
fossil-fuelled need water to cool
down.
According to the study, the 40%
shortfall in the global water
supply will cause more than 60%
of power plants across the globe
to drastically reduce capacity
starting from 2040 onwards. This
will be worse during the hot and
dry summer months.
Photo by WSCorp The study recommended short-
and long-term solutions, which
included a deeper understanding
of the water footprint of energy
technologies and the creation of
a regulatory framework that will
oversee the production processes
of existing power plants. A
shift towards renewable energy
sources was also reiterated, as
well as the development of better
energy infrastructure. The authors
of the study stressed the need
for international cooperation,
especially in terms of utilizing the
over 200 transboundary water
basins that make up 45% of the
planets surface.
In other words, the water shortage
can only be solved through
international cooperation
because if that doesnt happen,
then we have a Mad Max-level
doomsday scenario on our hands.

Photo by Eurelectric

SEPTEMBER 2016
21
Clean Water Technologies
This Robot Mermaid
Lends a Helping Hand
in Ocean Exploration
Recently, a not-so-ordinary diver
visited the shipwreck La Lune in
Mediterranean waters, a vessel
in King Louis XIV fleet which was
untouched and unexplored on the
ocean floor since it sank in 1664.
What makes this quest so special
is the fact that the diver that
visited the wreck isnt a human,
its a robot.
Meet OceanOne, an orange
diving robot-slash-mermaid that
was designed to help out in ocean
exploration. It is about 5 feet and
like a mermaid, its torso is human-
shaped. It has stereoscopic vision
and it has articulated arms. Its
lower body contains its computer
brain, power supply and eight
multidirectional thrusters.
Remotely operated vehicles the ocean, but it can also do so
(ROV) are already commonly used with the flexibility and dexterity
for ocean exploration. OceanOne of a human diver.
is special because it was not only OceanOne is guided by a
designed to investigate parts of computer scientist from a boat.
OceanOne is a combination of
artificial intelligence, sensory
feedback and mechanical artwork
to be able to perform needed
tasks underwater. For example,
retrieving sensitive artifacts from
the wreck and securing it in a
box so it could be brought to the
surface.

Photo by LiveScience

22 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
 SEPTEMBER 2016
23
Clean Water Technologies
WORLDS BIGGEST
INDOOR VERTICAL FARM
WILL SAVE LOTS OF
IRRIGATION WATER
From being an old steel
factory in New Jersey, this
69,000 square foot space is
the new home of the worlds
largest vertical farm. It is
predicted to grow 2 million
pounds of pesticide-free
produce every year, making it
75 times more productive per
square for than open fields.

Called AeroFarms, the facility

can accomplish the same
output as s farm field while
using 95% less water. The
company explains, We use
aeroponics to mist the roots
of our greens with nutrients,
water, and oxygen. Our
aeroponic system is a closed
loop system, using 95% less
water than field farming,
40% less than hydroponics,
and zero pesticides.

The vertical farm boasts of

a smart pest management
and detailed data feedback
loops to monitor efficiency
and provide opportunities for
improvement. Another factor
is that the facility is close to
the Big Apple which lowers
the transportation costs and
attracts a large urban market
wanting fresh local produce.

AeroFarms aims to produce

safe, dependable, nutritious
locally grown food by
transforming technologies
related to agriculture. Their
work now depends on
specialized LED lights and
climate controls that remove
the need for sunlight or soil.
Photo by WebUrbanist

24 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
 Photo by WebUrbanist

Photo by NJBMagazine

SEPTEMBER 2016
25
Clean Water Technologies

BACTERIAL
RESEARCH
COULD
LESSEN
PHOSPHORUS
POLLUTED
WATERS
The agricultural industry
uses different chemicals
to help their crops grow
efficiently, this includes
phosphorus. Phosphorus
is an important nutrient
that is frequently added to
crops. However, too much
phosphorus can be carried
by rainwater into bodies
of water which can cause
problems for aquatic
environments.
Phosphorus in small
amounts, around less
than 0.02 parts per
million, phosphorus is
good for water systems.
It aids in the growth and
development of algae
and other aquatic plants
which provides a good
habitat for fish and other
organisms. But if too
much phosphorus goes
into waterways, there will
26 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Photo by ModernFarmer
be overgrowth of algae, to understand two groups
and therefore leading to of bacteria that could
depletion of dissolved affect whether phosphate
oxygen which can kill is retained in the soil or
aquatic life. becomes mobile and gets
To stop this problem, into the water,"
researchers at Penn Once the researchers will
State collaborated with be able to find out how and
Cornell, Central Michigan to what extent bacteria
University and the USD. influences the release of
They are trying to learn phosphorus, they will be
more about the different able to include microbial
kinds of interactions that processes in their models.
affect phosphorus mobility
in agricultural soils and
streams. Their findings
are going to be used to
develop better methods to
control phosphorus losses
in agriculture.
According to John
Reagan, a progessor
of environmental
engineering at Penn
State and lead project
director, "We are trying
Photo by PSU

SEPTEMBER 2016
27
Clean Water Technologies
How Do
Companies
Waterproof
Your
Devices?
Who doesnt want a
waterproof smartphone? I
mean, you can carry it around
without the fear of water
wrecking your smartphones
internal parts. You can use it
underwater or while in the
shower too, to optimize your
smartphone use. While that
is convenient to some ready-
made waterproof devices,
there are companies willing
to coat your existing device to
make them waterproof.
P2i has offered a solution
by coating devices with
invisible, water-repelling
nano-polymers. But this is only
28 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
limited to splashes and not
submersion. So if youre fine
with that, P2i is the company
you are looking for.
But theres HzO in Utah and
Liquipel in California able
to make your smartphones
repel water totally. These
companies place the device
inside a sealed chamber, in
which the air is sucked out
after and injected with
a carbon-based gas. The
vapor is let to settle on the
smartphone parts and soon
solidifies as a transparent
layer that is one thousandth
the thickness of a human hair.
Photo by Inhabitat
Voila, you have a waterproof
cellphone. The next time your
waterproofed smartphone is
exposed to water, the water
beads up and just rolls off.
HzO specializes in protecting
your smartphones internal
parts such as processors and
sensors, while Liquipel coats
both the interior and the
exterior.
This makes you want to
waterproof your smartphone
now, eh?
ROLLS-ROYCE WANTS
AUTONOMOUS SHIPPING
FOR CARGO SHIPS
Its a trend in automotive
companies to make cars
driverless nowadays. If a
companys not planning to
produce an autonomous car,
then chances are theyll get
left behind by technology.
Later on, people would
start choosing cars that no
longer requires people to
drive it anymore. But how
about ships? Would heavy
cargo ships be safe to travel
without crews inside it?
Now, Rolls-Royce PLC wants
autonomous shipping
to be the future of water
transportation. In a paper
(Advanced Autonomous
Waterborne Applications)
released by the company,
it announced its plans of
making ships driverless.
Oskar Levander, the
companys Vice President of
Innovation - Marine, spoke
during the Autonomous
Ship Technology Symposium
2016 and said:
This is happening. Its not if,
its when. The technologies
needed to make remote and
autonomous ships a reality
exist. The AAWA project is
testing sensor arrays in a
range of operating and
climatic conditions in Finland
and has created a simulated
autonomous ship control
system which allows the
behaviour of the complete
communication system to
be explored. We will see a
remote controlled ship in
commercial use by the end
of the decade.
These driverless ships would
only be communicating
via satellite. If anything
happens within the ships,
people assigned in control
site would send drones over
to check whats wrong.
Photo by DesignBoom
SEPTEMBER 2016
29
Clean Water Technologies
HELP FUND CLEAN WATER
JUST BY BEING 5 MINUTES
AWAY FROM YOUR PHONE
How is it possible to support
a clean water project just by
separating yourself from your
phone for just 5 minutes?
Its quite a disconnected
agreement, but this is what
the UNICEF Tap Project is all
about.
Giorgio Armani and Swell
committed to provide the
funding equivalent of one
day of clean water for a child
30 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
for the UNICEF Tap Project ,
if a user of a mobile phone
visit the UNICEFTapProject.
org site, click Begin and
put the phone down for five
minutes. Thats it. Although
this is quite a hassle for those
who live by their phones, this
simple contribution will go a
long way.
This month of March, this
campaign can get up to
$75,000 from Giorgio Armani
Fragrances, while up to
$100,000 from Swell, which
depends on the participation
of the users.
With an increasing threat
in polluted water, millions
of children still are deprived
of safe, clean water to
drink. Approximately 663
million people do not have
clean drinking water and 2.4
Photo by Tumblr
billion live without adequate
sanitation facilities.
This is how we can take part
for cleaner water in the world!
Visit UNICEFTapProject.org
now and leave your phone for
just five minutes.

As the old saying goes,
Cleanliness is next to
godliness. Cleaning has
always been part of every
household life. The most
dreading part of the house to
clean? The toilet, of course!
The stench and the grueling
back and forth scrubbing,
soap and dirt splashing on
you everywhereUgh! You
can only wish someone would
invent something to make
your life easier. Well, your wish
has been granted!
Spyglass Innovations'
Garry Stewart has wowed
the toilet cleaning industry
with the launch a new
germ-killing, quick-drying
Photo by LooBlade
reinvention of the toilet brush
called the LooBlade. This
ingenious invention works on
SwipeClean Technology(TM)
and follows hard-to-reach
toilet contours.
Unlike the bristles of an
ordinary brush, this blade
easily reaches under the rim
and has an anti-microbial
additive to kill 99.9% germs.
It also has hydrophobic
properties that repels water
and dries quickly unlike
your traditional brush that
sprinkles water droplets all
over the bathroom surface.
The blades hollow-point
head feature acts as a nozzle
to clear blockages. Its unique
REVOLUTIONIZING
THE TOILET
CLEANING
TECHNOLOGY
holder design allows for free
air flow to ensure that no
residual water collects. Now,
you dont have to scrub your
toilet surface back and forth,
as this new blade maintains
continuous contact with the
toilet bowl so that its blades
wipe the surface clean in a
single pass.
Appearance is always
important in any product in
the market. So, why spare a
cleaning tool? This new brush
scores high on its looks for its
iconic handles, aesthetically
pleasing head and modern
range of color options.
The brush also cuts down your
cost and helps you in saving
water. As an effective cleaning
tool, this brush requires lesser
bleach and water to make
your bathroom shine like its
new. Thats not all! The new
brush comes with a 3-year
replacement guarantee.
The new brush has been
designed with an idea to
improve existing toilet
cleaning techniques and
replacing one of the most
poorly-designed available
products in the market.
The kickstart campaign has
already collected a total of
28,336 against its target of
20,000. Lets see how much
more interest this innovation
can generate.
SEPTEMBER 2016
31
Clean Water Technologies
YOU CAN NOW NEBIA: THE
TAKE A QUICK SMART SHOWER
HOT SHOWER HEAD THAT
ANYWHERE CONSERVES
WITH THIS WATER
PORTABLE Most showers head tend up of tiny water dropletswith 10

SHOWER
For those of you who love doing
outdoor activities like camping,
hiking, or trekking, Im sure
there is always one thing we
would like to do after doing these
activitiestake a comforting hot
shower. Unfortunately, taking
a quick shower isnt always easy
to find outdoors. Now, you wont
have to worry because theres
a new gadget just for you. This
pocket camping shower allows
you to take a hot shower, anytime,
anywhere.
The Summer Shower portable
hot shower uses solar power, so
you can use this awesome device
even without electricity. It can
hold up to 5 gallons of water and
has a thick reinforced front and
back panels that makes it strong
and durable.
It also has a wide handle grip that
makes it comfortable to carry and
has a variable flow shower head
so you can change it according
to your preference. So, if youre
planning your next outdoor trip,
this portable hot shower is a must
have in your to-buy list.
Photo by HiConsumption
to use a lot of water when we
use them. This shower head,
however, conserves water when
you use itand still leaves you
squeaky clean and satisfied with
your bath.
The Nebia Atomized showerhead
is a new innovation that are re-
engineered versions of traditional
showerheads. It gives you a new
refreshing after-bath feeling,
just like a normal shower, but it
makes you use 70% less water
than that of an ordinary shower
head. So how does it work?
This shower system technology
uses pressure to break down the
streams of water into millions
times more surface area than
that of a traditional shower. This
means that more water would hit
your body, therefore giving you a
cleaner feeling. By breaking down
the water into smaller segments,
this new shower system uses 70%
less water. This shower head is also
thermally efficient, so youre not
only helping the environment
youre saving money too!
Photo by TechInsider

32 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
THE KIDS ARE SAFER THAN
EVER IN POOLS WITH THIS
WEARABLE WARNING DEVICE
Photo by SEALSwimSafe
Photo by Raleighmag
Its summer. When the kids are
out in the swimming pools by
themselves with the guardians
dry, its important that they stay
afloat and enjoy their swim.
There is a lifeguard, of course,
but one can never be too sure as
sometimes swimming pools are
too crowded and kids drowning
can sometimes be noticed.
To answer this problem, a
wearable device called SEAL
Swim Safe has been developed.
It works as a band worn on the
neck, and sends off signals to
a hub. The hub will sound off if
the child wearing the band is
submerged in the water for too
long, so rescue could immediately
be on the way when something
might be wrong.
The device has an alarm that can
be set according to the level of
the childs swimming abilities.
Novice to expert swimmers can
wear the band and adjust to
whether how long they can stay
underwater. Parents with the
hub would have to be several
hundred feet away from the kids
at most so the signal can be sent.
In a tweet, SEAL Swim Safe called
itself to be the only wearable
technology designed to help
prevent drowning and drowning
injury. It is also the first-ever
portable swim monitoring and
drowning detection system,
which started as a crowdsourcing
effort in IndieGogo in 2013.
SEPTEMBER 2016
33
Clean Water Technologies
 Photo by Pocket-lint
THIS INTERACTIVE WATER
BOTTLE TEACHES KIDS TO
DRINK MORE WATER
Many kids may not be
drinking the right amount of
water everyday, so a company
created an interactive water
bottle which teaches kids to
drink water and let them have
fun at the same time. The
Gululu Interactive Bottle isnt
your ordinary water bottle, it
has a screen, a home button,
touch sensors, WiFi and
wireless charging. Its main
purpose is to track how much
water is being drank.
Have you ever played the
game Tamagotchi? Well, this
water bottle is similar to that.
When you first use the bottle,
you have to set a goal for
how much your child should
be drinking, then the bottle
34 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
will track their progress on
the bottles screen in different
fun ways. There is a map that
reached toward a goal as your
child drinks more. They will
also have a cute digital pet
which evolves as your child
meets their goals. With this fun
technology, the company hopes
to be able to motivate kids to
drink more water.
With the help of the Gululu
app, parents will be able to
check on their childs progress.
The app sets the hydration goals
based on the childs weight, age,
and location. Accompanying
its eye-catching designs and
interactive platform, this bottle
can also be charged wirelessly.
GET READY FOR
DUBAIS SMART BEACH
Youve heard of smart phones,
smart cars and even smart
homes. Now, get ready for
Dubais smart beaches. This
project, according to Obaid
Al Shamsi - director of Dubai
Municipality, will be providing
hi-tech features, which include
environmental-friendly
features, to its beachgoers. It
will be launched during the
summer time at the Umm
Suqeim 2.
According to Al Shamsi:
The pilot project will be at
Umm Suqeim 2 but once we get
the services perfected, we can
then introduce the eco-friendly
services to other beaches that
are under the supervision of
Dubai Municipality.
One of the features of the smart
beach is a smart changing
room. It has the same basic
functions but it will also
provide its beachgoers with
lockers with key-codes. This
will protect their things from
being stolen. They will also
include free wireless internet
access for everyone. Stations
will also be provided where
people can quickly charge their
mobile phones and laptops.
These stations will look like
palm trees. Just like the Smart
Palm.
Dubai has previously made
headlines with its Smart Palm,
which provide free internet
access to anyone within its
radius of 53 meters. In a
statement released by the
director general of Dubai
Municipality, Hussain Lootah,
he said:
Through Smart Palm, the
public will be able to benefit
from free direct access to
the internet while providing
valuable public information
covering a range of topics
including weather forecasts
and orientation guides. Most
importantly, these structures
are entirely self-sufficient
thanks to their mono crystal
solar panels, which provide up
to 21 per cent efficiency.
SEPTEMBER 2016
35
Clean Water Technologies
INDIAN SCIENTISTS
USE WASTE STEAM
TO PURIFY SEA
WATER
Necessity is indeed the mother
of invention. If it wasnt for
the drought that hit 13 states
in India, this new way of
converting sea water to potable
water may not have been
devised by Indian scientists.
This new filtration process
produces 6.3 million liters of
potable water a day.
Water from the sea is being
processed by the pilot plant
at Tamil Nadus Kalpakkam,
which is built by scientists
of Bhabha Atomic Research
Center (BARC). They use waste
steam from a nuclear reactor to
purify the seawater. The center
also developed membranes to
36 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
filter uranium and arsenic from
groundwater.
Devices like a bicycle pedal with
a water purifier installed and a
household water purifier using
thin membranes and special
filters were also invented by the
group. Both turn contaminated
water into potable water.
KN Vyas, Director of BARC, said
that other plants have been
built in Punjab, West Bengal and
Rajasthan to cater to the water
needs of the people.
Photo by IndianNerve
Bhabha Atomic Research Center
Photo by NuclearWeaponArchive
INVESTOR TRIES
TO HARNESS
ENERGY FROM
OCEAN WAVES
Inventor and investor Adam
Norris is looking to solve
one of the most difficult
problems in the field of
renewable energy. He wants
to harness power from ocean
waves. Everyone knows
the overpowering strength
of the sea, but harnessing
that energy is down-right
difficult. No one in the world
has been able to create a
commercially viable wave-
power business, and many
of these companies have
died trying.
Norris set up a company of
his own, called Wavepower
Photo by Quartz
Photo by ScottishRenewables
Ltd, and hired people to work
for him. He says hes in it for
the long haul. When he was
asked how much energy will
we be producing from waves
by 2020, he said None. I
dont think by 2020 therell
be anything meaningful out
of the wave industry,
But hopefully in a year or
two after that, the sector will
be reaching its tipping point.
I think in five to six years we
could be producing electricity
[that is] commercially
meaningful. He said.

Photo by CoolShitYouCanBuy
Rainy days are such a hassle
even with an umbrella. Its
either you get wet or you
get some other person
soaked. Hauling around
a wet umbrella is an even
bigger problem with its risk
of getting everything wet.
Weve all had our fair share
of rainy days and know
the inconveniences these
umbrellas provide. But what
if we told you that theres
an umbrella design that
not only keeps YOU dry, but
everything around you as
well?
Photo by Grist
Water is the most vital
need of the human body.
It comprises of 50-65%
in adults and 75-78% in
infants. So its important
for us to stay hydrated
everyday. Usually, to be
able to get through the day
hydrated we usually pack
water with us or sometimes
when the need arises we
just purchase a good ol
bottle of water from the
nearest convenience store.
In the US, more than 60
million plastic bottles are
thrown awaywhich can
SAY GOOD BYE TO
YOUR RAINY DAY WOES
WITH KAZBRELLA
Introducing the KAZbrella
from KAZ Designs. This
umbrella redesign is a good
way to keep everything dry
and keep everyone happy.
KAZ Designs based their
prototype out of 3 main
umbrella dilemmas: wet
floors, problems exiting
and entering a vehicle or
building, and opening amidst
a crowd. The umbrella, unlike
JUST WATER: WATER
BOTTLES CAN NOW BE
ECO-FRIENDLY
cause harmful effects to our
environment.
DRINK RESPONSIBLY. This
is what youre going to see
once you open the JUST
Water website. They take
pride in their bottled water,
since their water bottle
is made up 53% paper
making it recyclable and
environmentally friendly.
According to their website,
JUST water is responsibly
sourced, produced and
its predecessors, opens the
other way around, causing
easier transition and lesser
obstruction from doors.
The unique design combats
these problems and helps
you survive the rainy season.
Photo by HiperFM
packaged for improved
environmental and
community impact.
Compared to a medium-
weight PET plastic bottle,
their water package gives
less harmful emissions like
CO2. Their water bottle is
100% recyclable, and they
use 100% spring water.
Photo by JUSTWater
SEPTEMBER 2016
37
Clean Water Technologies
 THIS
PAPER
WILL
FURTHER
FILTER Access to safe drinking water
is identified by the UN as a
perennial problem in most parts
green algae. It is so named
because of its internal
architecture likened to the
easily as brewing coffee.
Water viruses are dangerous
as they are physically difficult

VIRUSES of the world, placing it among

its Sustainable Development
Goals. Researchers from various
French puff pastry mille-feuille.
Albert Mihranyan,
researcher and Professor of
lead
to remove due to their size.
They can also be resistant to
disinfectants such as chlorine.

IN YOUR institutions have already

devised ways to purify water,
but its only now that we are
Nanotechnology at the said
university, shared, With a filter
material directly from nature,
This path, filtration, is perceived
to be the more effective and
energy-efficient purification

WATER offered with a solution and its

a paper to further clean the
water with its viruses.
Scientists at Uppsala University
and by using simple production
methods, we believe that our
filter paper can become the
affordable global water filtration
option and the paper being the
cheapest to date.

created a paper called Mille-
Feuille Filter, which is composed
of layers of thin cellulose
nanofibers developed from
Photo by SimonGustafsson
solution and help save lives.
Our goal is to develop a filter
paper that can remove even the
toughest viruses from water as

HOW and landfill leachate which can

include ammonia and nitrates.

DIAMONDS Its the fact that diamond is

a catch-all advanced oxidation

ARE USED IN
WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
Diamonds are commonly used
as ornamental accessories,
but little do we know about
its many applications in the
engineering field. It is used in
precision machining, drilling,
optics, acoustics, electronics and
even wastewater treatment
yep, thats right. Wastewater
treatment involves using
diamonds.
According to Dr. Tim Mollart,
senior applications engineer
at Element Six group in a
podcast there are many
applications for the boron
doped diamond. This include
caustic wastewater from oil
refining processes, de-coloring
of textile waters, toxic
pharmaceutical wastewater,
treatment process thats really
key here, Mollart said in a
podcast.
According to the podcast, boron
diamond is effective for three
important reasons:
It suppresses the oxygen gas
generation while generating a
hydroxyl radical.
It is chemically inert.
You can operate the systems
at extremely high-power density
and extremely high efficiency.
Photo by Playbuzz

38 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies

Photo by TreeHugger
What did you do when you were 15
years old? Were you busy studying
for your math exam for the next
day? Were you one of those kids who
was part of the cool crowd? Were
you one of those who obsessed over
boy bands and sexy solo artists?
While most of us engaged in
activities that were appropriate for
young teenagers, Hannah Herbst
got inspiration from her 9-year-old
pen pal in Ethiopa and designed
a probe that generates power and
fresh water from ocean currents.
Now thats something we normally
dont expect a 15-year-old would do.
In this years Discovery Education
THIS GIRL INVENTED
SOMETHING AWESOME
FOR HER PEN PAL
By Alice Hernandez
3M Young Scientist Challenge,
this young girl from Boca Raton
won the title of Americas
Young Top Scientist and received
$25,000 USD. The competition
was held at 3M Innovation
Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
For three months, Herbst and
other competitors worked with
3M scientists to develop their
own inventions and showcase
it during the competition itself.
Herbst was paired with one of the
companys corporate scientists,
Jeffrey Emslander. All the finalists
presented their inventions in
front of judges such as Science
Channels Outrageous Acts of
Science star, Hakeem Oluseyi.
Aside from their presentation, the
finalists also had two challenges:
yielding new solutions by using
different 3M technologies and
building new technology while
applying science and technology
concepts.
Eigth grader Raghav Ganesh won
second place in the competition.
His invention was for people with
Autism Spectrum Disorder and
how it can monitor physiological
and environmental factors that
may trigger their meltdown.
Third place went to seventh
Photo by TechInsider
grader Amulya Garimella, who
invented a system that monitors
EEG brainwaves and alerts users
when he or she is distracted.
As for Hannah Herbst, aside from
saving some of it for her college
funds, she plans to give part of the
money she won to her Ethiopian
pen pal and the other part of
her money will be donated to her
school.
Isnt it amazing how these young
kids are making a difference in
science and technology? Hopefully,
more kids would follow in their
footsteps.
SEPTEMBER 2016
39
Clean Water Technologies
THESE
WATER
HACKS WILL
GET BUSY
ENGINEERS
TO DRINK #1 Find a drinking buddy
Find another water-phobic friend
MORE WATER and have water-drinking goals
together. Its just like having an
alcohol- drinking buddy, except
youre drinking for healthier goals.
Everyone knows how important
drinking water is. Unfortunately,
there are a lot of people who find Photo by SkymetWeather
it difficult to drink the necessary
amount of water everyday. Some
#3 Add some chunks of something
find water not suitable to their
Natural flavoured water is becoming
taste, or their schedules are just too
a thing now. You can add frozen
busy that they forget to drink water
fruits like watermelon, strawberries,
throughout the day. Lack of water
cucumbers and even mint leaves.
in our bodies could lead to different
They can also help detox your body.
medical problems. With this in mind,
here are some tips on how to get you Photo by Elle
to drink more water.

#2 Add some flavor into your drink

Add a bit of lemon juice into your
drink, or any citrus fruit juice, just to
transform that flavorless liquid into
something that will suit your palette.

Photo by BodyAndSoul

40 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
#4 Sleep next to a glass of water
Sometimes we wake up in the middle
of the night thirsty, and we get too
lazy to stand up and get water from
the kitchen so we just go back to bed
and wake up sallow and dehydrated.
Having a glass of water by your
bedside table will help a lot.
Photo by TheOnion

#6 Mark your water bottles

Mark lines on your bottle with
different times you should be drinking
throughout the day.

Photo by BlogspotKathyFannon

#5 Invest in a water bottle

Get a water bottle thats visually
appealing and at the same time
functional, that way youll be more
tempted to drink more often. Youll
also be helping the environment, since
you wont be buying bottled water.
Photo by BlueRoadToHikingTrails

SEPTEMBER 2016
41
Clean Water Technologies
CAN
COCONUT
WATER
REPLACE
SPORTS
ENERGY
DRINKS?
Most athletes and busy
people like engineers, nurses,
and even students rely on
sports energy drinks to be
able to be productive in their
routines. Unfortunately,
while sports energy drinks
do work, they are artificial.
So is there a more natural
alternative for energy drinks?
YesCoconut water.
Pure coconut water is loaded
with lots of electrolytes, like
42 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
sodium which is the one that
is most lost from our body
when we sweat. According
to a study published in
Medicine & Science in Sports
& Exercise, coconut water
replenishes our bodily fluids
just as well as sports drinks
and even better than water.
It is only the flavor of the
sports drinks that attracts
the masses.
According to sports
Photo by Mercola
nutritionist Nancy Clark, MS,
RD and author of Nancy
Clarks Sports Nutrition
Guidebook, coconut water
wont rehydrate the body
unless you can drink plenty
of it. If one can tolerate large
amounts of this, it could help
in keeping you hydrated.
Photo by SBsportlive
EXPLAINED: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DISTILLED, MINERAL AND PURIFIED
WATER
There will always be that moment in
the grocery store where one stands
in front of the bottled water station
or shelf to choose which one to buy.
You are confronted with many types
of bottled water distilled, mineral
and purified and in different brands.
But what exactly is the difference
between the three?
Distilled Water
Water that is a product of distillation
is called distilled water, of course.
Essentially, the process of distillation
is just boiling pure water to remove
the contaminants or solid residues
like inorganic minerals, metals,
etc. Such contaminants have high
melting points and even higher
boiling points. The water, along with
its contaminants, is boiled and the
pure water turns into steam which
is captured and cooled to become
distilled water. Whats left after
boiling are the contaminants already
separated from the water.
Purified Water
As the name suggests, purified water
is the type of water that is in its
purest form. It is often confused with
distilled water but the truth is that
this water undergoes more processes
like deionization and reverse osmosis
to reduce impurities to extremely low
levels. The impurity load of dissolved
solids in purified water cannot exceed
10 parts per million.
Mineral Water
This type of water also bears the clues
in its name. Mineral water is water
from a mineral spring that contains
various minerals, such as salts and
sulfur compounds. It includes calcium,
magnesium, sodium, potassium,
chloride, sulphate, fluoride and nitrate
that are beneficial to health at certain
amounts. But the minerals can also
be added artificially. Mineral water
may be effervescent, or sparkling, due
to contained gases.
Which one would you grab the next
time you stand in front of the sea of
bottled water?
Photo by LiveStrong
SEPTEMBER 2016
43
Clean Water Technologies
 WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU
DRINK ONLY WATER FOR 30 DAYS?
Everyone loves a good cup of coffee, tea, soda or juice everyday. But have you ever thought what might happen if
the only liquid you drink everyday for 30 days is water?
Our bodies are very reliant on water. After all, it makes up more than 50% of our bodies. Water can greatly affect
our daily performance. When you drink only water as your primary drink, there are a lot of awesome things that
can happen to your body. Heres what can happen if you drink only water for 30 days without changing your diet.

A Boost in Mental Creativity and Performance

According to the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Journal, drinking
only water for 30 days makes your brain react faster. This is because
the brain needs a lot of oxygen to operate efficiently, and therefore
drinking water will boost your brainpower. Drinking 8 to 10 cups of
water daily can improve your brainpower by 30%
Photo by NaturallySavvy

You Age More Slowly

Drinking water helps slow down the aging process by keeping your
skin hydrated. Water moisturizes your skin, keeping it soft, plump,
glowing, and wrinkle free. It helps maintain muscle tone as well.
Photo by Infruition

Immunity is Boosted
Drinking adequate amounts of water everyday helps the
performance of your liver and kidneysthe organs that remove
toxic substances and salt from your blood. Water strengthens your
immunity, and helps battle body aches and headaches as well.
Photo by MyHealingPartner

Strong Heart
A glass of water an hour before bed is said to prevent heart attacks
or strokes. Water helps the heart become healthy and decreases
the risk of heart attack my preventing the thickening of blood and
lowering blood pressure.
Photo by TaberuKintore

Your metabolism will be enhanced

According to studies, consistently drinking water everyday
helps dynamic metabolism. And according to the Health Fitness
Revolution, drinking 16 ounces of water upon waking up in the
morning raises your metabolism by 24%.
Photo by Shape

44 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
 BONER KAYAK SOUNDS LIKE AN
EXCITING RIDE, AND IT ACTUALLY IS
It is highly likely that there wont
be ads for the Boner Kayak in the
English-speaking world at least for
the foreseeable future. Nonetheless,
youve got to admit that it is a beautiful
kayak. The design is sweet enough
to appeal to any kayak enthusiast
irrespective of the language barrier or
the unusual name. The Boner Kayak
is the creation of one Hans Boner, a
Swiss inventor.
However, once you take a look at
the kayak, the name will be the
last thing in your mind. It features
a modular design that allows the
kayak to be broken down into 3 parts.
These pieces can be slotted together
to make it easier to carry. Broken
down, the kayak can be stuffed inside
the backseat of your car. No more
do you have to indulge in a bit of
exercise trying to get the damn kayak
attached to the roof of the car.
Of course, modular kayaks by
themselves are nothing out of the
ordinary. There are quite a few of
them these days. However, what
makes the Boner Kayak stand out is
that it eschews plastic, the popular
construction material for modular
kayaks. Instead, it opts for fiberglass
and wood. That makes the kayak look
like a classy work of art when floating
across the waters.
When assembled, the kayak will
give you a high seat along with a
comfortable support for the knees.
There are even foot rests that can
be adjusted as per your needs. Pretty
nifty, right? You even get locking
hatches to store items. The storage in
front has a capacity of 55 liters and
75 liters in the one at the back. Quite
useful for those tranquil overnight
trips.
When broken down, you can use the
wheel attachment provided to carry
it wherever you want, even to the
very edge of the waters. Moreover, it
can be assembled in just 3 minutes
without any tools whatsoever.
Kayaking is now extra convenient
because of this innovation.
Photo by: woodz
SEPTEMBER 2016
45
Clean Water Technologies
 Water Scarcity to Hit
Two-Thirds of the World
in 10 Years
Currently, the status of water
resources is worrying, since
groundwater levels have fallen by
20% and many parts of the world
are faced with a lack of water. This
is what Seyyed Mohsen Tabatabaei,
the Secretary of the Iran Urban
Economics Scientific Association
(IUESA), said and warned about the
increasing growth in the need for
water.
The secretary followed his statement
with a more important cause of
alarm, saying that about two-thirds
or the worlds population will suffer
from severe or relative scarcity by
2025 according to some experts.
Right now, 80% of the worlds
46 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
population has access to only 20% of
the worlds safe drinking water.
Tabatabeis call to action is the
investment of developing countries
in their water and sanitation sector.
He also urged city managements to
make specific decisions to reduce
water consumption by having
a scientific and comprehensive
approach to water consumption
management.
He believes that water and its
resources remain core issues related
to sustainable development food
security, health and environment are
all affected by water.
Photo by TheGuardian
 PEEING
IN THE
SHOWER
COULD SAVE
Photo by Mamamia THE WORLD
The world is divided into two sides,
those who dont mind peeing in the
shower, and those who do.
This topic has been long debated
over, and we think that peeing in the
shower is a thumbs up and we have
the mathematical evidence that may
help (those against) change their
minds.
There have been reports that peeing
Photo by Teen
in the shower could help save the
world! How? By conserving water!
Flushing toilets account for around
27% of Americans water usage,
thats with each standard toilet that
uses around seven liters per flush!
The average adult pees around seven
times a day, and if we flush each time,
that will be around 49 liters of water
per day. If you compute that, itll
add up to more than 17,000 litres of
flushed water, per year, per person.
Wow! Thats a lot.
By peeing in the shower, you will
reduce the amount of water being
used for one out of seven of your
daily pees. Lets say you do this for a
year, youll save 2,555 liters of water
per year.
If youre worried about how gross
this is: Reassured, youre pee isnt
toxic and wont ruin your precious
skin. Youre in the shower and getting
yourself clean anyway. And while this
may be an interesting read, lets all
genuinely save the world and reduce
the amount of water we use on a
daily basis.

New Desalination membrane disallows salty water to

Technology in
the Works in
Qatar
Membrane distillation is an emerging
desalination technology, and Qatar
University College of Engineering (QU-
CENG) is up for the challenge to forward
this field.
The research project led by QU-CENG
chemical engineering professor Dr.
Farid Benyahia, with the funding from
ConocoPhillips pioneered a process called
membrane distillation desalination. The
project has discovered that a hydrophobic
pass through and allows fresh water
vapour to permeate and condense.
Requirements of this process are
minimal to a low temperature feed
of salty water, often not exceeding
80 C, and low usage of atmospheric
pressure.
The process has been tested in two
pilot plants at the Ras Bou Fantas
power and desalination plant and
got promising results. The tests
showed that membrane properties
need to be improved for long-term
usage and to combine thermal
integration with existing chemical
processes in Qatar. This will exploit
low-grade heat being dissipated
into the environment, which in turn,
will reduce energy consumption
for fresh water production, thus
cheaper water.

SEPTEMBER 2016
47
Clean Water Technologies
 THE WATER YOURE
DRINKING COULD
BE OLDER THAN
THE SUN
We all know that our Earth is old, and
so is our sun. But did you ever think that
water could be older than the both of
them?
It has always been a mystery on how
our earth came to be, and how water
became part of it. But there has been
one prevailing theory that says that
4.6 billion years ago, water came to our
earth from ice specks that were floating
in a cosmic cloud even before our sun
went ablaze.
According to astrophysicists
calculations, half of all the water on
earth may be from that interstellar gas.
This could mean that the same water
we are drinking and the bodies of water Photo by IOP
on our earth may be millions of years
older than our solar system!
The astrophysicists believe that some
of the ancient ice made it through
the solar systems chaotic creation and
found its way to earth. Researchers
analysed the oceans water molecules
for clues of their history.
The clue was through finding heavy
water. Heavy water has water molecules
that contain hydrogens twin
deuterium. Water rich with deuterium
is found on other planets and moons,
even here on our world, but researchers
arent really sure where they came from.
An idea is that most of the heavy water
formed in the interstellar cloud then
found its way across the solar system.
The researchers concluded that
remnants of that ice remain scattered
in our solar system. This includes the
moon, different planets, and even your
water bottle. So, lets drink to that! The ice floating on the water is made from normal water (H2O), while the ice
Cheers! on the bottom is made from heavy water (D2O)
Photo by Scind

48 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
NASAS
CURIOSITY
ROVER TO
SAMPLE
WATER ON
MARS
NASA scientists have been
searching for liquid water
on mars, and theyve found
hints. Now, they want to
have a closer look at it. NASA
revealed that the Curiosity
rover will be investigating
recurring slope lineae
the dark narrow streaks on
the above photoaround
Mars Gale Crater hoping to
find water.
It will first take a photo
using its mast camera to
make sure that there really
is water. If it does find
water, the machine will
go and get samples. The
agency is expecting to take Photo by: Express
photos within a year.
However, finding water
doesnt mean Curiosity will
find life. As we all know,
Mars harsh conditions like
fierce radiation might have
prevented life in the first
place. We may take a look
at this investigation as a
stepping stone for mankind.
By getting results, the
findings Curiosity will collect
may help plan a mission
for finding signs of life. A
small success in this trip may
lead to greater things in the
future.
SEPTEMBER 2016
49
Clean Water Technologies

ASTRONAUTS PEE
TURNED TO ENERGY
AND DRINKING
WATER GULP-GULP
When we think about space exploration,
we usually end up thinking something
along the lines of Star Trek. The
immense expanse of space filled with
undiscovered planets and solar systems
is certainly a breathtaking idea. Few
consider to imagine the less glamorous
side of it all, such as waste. However,
for the guys at NASA, it is a crucial
point when it comes to making space
exploration livable.
According to scientists, the human waste
generated during any space journey
is half of their total waste generated.
This includes trash, used food cartons,
etc Therefore, they are trying to come
with a solution that is more useful than
simply ejecting the waste into space.
Their aim is to develop a technique that
50 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
can convert the pee of astronauts into
drinkable water and even fuel. Before
you get all disgusted, remind yourself
that this technique can be potentially
lifesaving when you are wandering
around in space. After all, there are no
water tanks in space where you can refill
your water supplies.
For this purpose, the scientists used a
specific wastewater treatment process
known as forward osmosis. When
combined with a fuel cell, this process
can be used for generating power. That
is actually cool once you get over the
fact that the major component will
be pee. As for the scientist, they used
wastewater from the shower and urine
and processed it with forward osmosis
to separate urea and water from the
Photo by ScienceNews
contaminants. With the help of the
new Urea Bioreactor Electrochemical
system developed by them, the urea
was converted into ammonia which is
further transformed to energy.
This tech does have potential
applications in space. After all, it will
enable astronauts to get an additional
source of water if the supplies they
have onboard prove to be insufficient.
However, it can also be used back here
on Earth for processing wastewater into
something more useful.
FILTER HELPS ASTRONAUTS
DRINK THEIR OWN PEE
Photo by SmithsonianMag
It is one of the toughest jobs to ensure
that astronauts have enough drinking
water when they are travelling in space
for a long time. Water is a substance that
is rapidly used up in space. It is also very
difficult and expensive to procure them
in the orbit. It should be noted that the
cost involved in travelling to space is
$10,000 for each and every pound of
weight. A gallon of water has a weight
of 8.33 pounds. Thus, it would be veeery
expensive.
Astronauts are currently researching
TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP TRACK
OF YOUR PEE AT HOME
Just pee once and we can provide you
with your exact medical reports.
Yes, its true! Lucy Jung, Do Hyung Kim,
Jee Young Kim and Green Kim brought
artificial intelligence to your washrooms
with their new product called The
GP Toilet. They together created an
intelligent washroom that can keep a
tab of your entire medical condition, be
it diabetes, blood pressure, BMI or any
other. This innovative idea will simplify
your life and if permitted, it can even
track your social media accounts and
post results there.
The new invention was designed
considering the fact that toilet is a
Photo by Walyou
ways for people to live on Mars. Thus,
they will have to find an effective way to
recycle and reuse water. Astronauts are
allowed to drink up to 3 gallons of water
every day. So, with the scarcity of water
in space, recycling could really be a great
help.
So what is their ingenious plan? Drink
your own urine!
Wait. What?!
Since 2009, astronauts have been
drinking their own urine that passes
known place where everyone visits at
least once a day. It has made the toilet
talk to the humans by analyzing the
patients urine and giving a report on
it. A sort of needle sprouts out of the
throne to take your samples when you
do your thing. It then, analyzes and
displays the results on the screen.
So, next time when you plan to visit
a doctor for your menstrual cycles,
pregnancy or sugar levels, think about
trying this innovative device once. This
one-time investment can save you huge
money for years to come. Now, your
toilet will always be there for your help!
through a process of distillation. This is
a way that has been developed by them
to battle the problem of water scarcity.
However, the process has not been
perfected yet. The purifier is heavy,
slow and has a tendency of breaking
down. The purifier spins at a high speed
which then isolates the water vapor.
Then the separated vapor is treated in
a chemically. The system is capable of
producing about 6000 liters of water in
a year. This is still not sufficient for a big
group of astronauts who are travelling to
space for a long period of time.
So, the astronauts of the International
Space Station are looking for new ways
to filter urine for drinking purposes. A
Danish Biotech Company, Aquaporin
A/s, is known to have manufactured a
filter that makes the use of aquaporin
protein to take out clean water out of
sweat, urine condensation, wastewater,
or any other source of liquid that is
available in space. Aquaporin molecules
are present in the membranes of the cell
and very efficient to let only water pass
through it.
Hopefully, this device will be able to help
our astronauts in their space missions.
So how do you feel about drinking your
own urine? Well, if youre in Mars,
you dont have much of a choice. But
who knows, you might not notice the
difference!
SEPTEMBER 2016
51
Clean Water Technologies
 WHY I MARRIED
AN ENGINEER By Margaret Banford
Reader, I married him. The man of my
dreams, the love of my life, an engineer.
I know what most of you will be thinking
right now an engineer?! A civil engineer?!
Arent they all introverted, unsociable nerds
who have pocket protectors?
Well, reader, maybe the stereotype has a
grain of truth to it (though obviously not in
every case), but why is that automatically
a bad thing? Not everybody likes going out
that much I certainly dont and while
it might take a few glasses of wine to get
me to admit to an encyclopedic knowledge
of the Wheel of Time series (Ill never tell),
whats wrong with being nerdy? In practice,
all it means is that you are knowledgeable
about the things you love, and reallyis
there anything wrong with that?
52 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Be assured: smart really is the new sexy.
I admit that sometimes we have our
differences our personalities can be very
different, with him not understanding that I
just need to vent sometimes: I dont need any
problems solved, I dont want a reasonable
voice explaining to me what is happening I
just want to be heard with a sympathetic
ear! But all types of engineers chemical
engineers, mechanical engineers have
been trained to seek solutions for problems.
Thats just how they approach things, and
unfortunately it sometimes bleeds over into
their personal lives too. All it took was an
explanation (and, to be completely honest, a
few reminders), and my husband now lets
me vent, gives me a hug or a drink depending
on how bad the venting session was, and we
get on with our lives!
Photo by newsfeedtoday
We all have our quirks I may not understand
why my husband has to have his socks rolled
up into perfectly symmetrical balls in the
sock drawer (I mean, seriouslyWHO DOES
THAT?!), but Im sure he finds my habit of
leaving my shoes and coat in a heap by
the door after Ive had a hard day equally
annoying. We all annoy each other, and are
annoyed in our turn by them. At the end of the
day, we love each other, so I will roll his socks if
Ive done a load of washing, and he will hang
my coat up if I havent got round to it yet.
He can fix next to anything! Even if he is a bit
useless at deciding what colour we should paint
the hall (hint: cream), the actual painting is a
dream, because he brings the same intensity
towards it that he does towards most aspects
of his life electrical engineers are particularly
good for this, because they straddle the line
between building things and making them run
properly. No light fixture is safe in his domain!
That intensity is probably the highlight of my
life right now my husband is an extremely
focused man, and while the majority of his
focus is on his work, when that focus is turned
to me, he makes me feel like the only woman
in the world!
Does his engineering brain ever make life
difficult? Well, yes, sometimes. Perhaps. It can
be difficult for him to switch off, just because
of how he thinks. I can quite easily switch
off my brain after coming home from work
(sometimes with the aid of aforementioned
venting session), and spend a happy evening
watching tv, reading, playing against in a
game of League Of Legendsbut he finds it
much more difficult to stop thinking in that
way. It can be frustrating, because if Ive
had a bad day, I just want to leave it behind
and focus on an enjoyable evening, and
my software engineer husband is still lost
in thought about the latest technical issue
which is plaguing his work this week.
My husband could work on his romantic
gestures a bit more (it was a lonely Valentines
Day this year) but I wish I could show you
just how dedicated he can be. I am the
happiest woman in the world, I promise.
About the author:
Margaret Banford, when not writing, spends
her time reading and playing several musical
instruments. She is also a fair baker and the
CEO of C.M. Cornes, Birmingham UK.
SEPTEMBER 2016
53
Clean Water Technologies
 WATER FOR PEOPLE:
BRINGING SAFE WATER
AND SANITATION TO
4 MILLION PEOPLE
ACROSS 9 COUNTRIES

and thriving, instead of walking

1.8 billion people around the
world don't have access to safe
water and 2.4 billion lack access
to adequate sanitation. Women
and children spend more than 4
hours walking for water each day,
and more than 840,000 people
die each year from water-related
diseases. Water For People aims
to change this bleak statistic. As
they said on their website, they
want to see communities break
free from the cycle of poverty and
spend time growing, learning,
for water and fighting off illness.
GineersNow conducted an
exclusive interview with Eleanor
Allen, the CEO of Water For
People.
THE PERSON
Eleanor Allen has been working in
the water sector for 24 years. She
is a registered professional civil
engineer and a board certified
environmental engineer. Before
becoming the CEO of Water
for People, she was the Global
Director of Water at ARCADIS,
the Latin America Director of
Water at CH2M, and a Peace
Corps volunteer in the Dominican
Republic.
THE COMPANY
Water For People is a nonprofit
organization that has been
around for 25 years. They
envision a world where every
person has access to reliable
and safe drinking water and
Technologies to make
processes more efficient,
conserve water, and improve
water quality are all being
continuously developed and
we are on track.
sanitation. Their mission is to
promote the development of
high-quality drinking water and
sanitation services, accessible
to all, and sustained by active
communities, businesses, and
governments. Their values
center on demonstrating
integrity in everything that they
do: Accountability, Courage,
Empowerment, Partnership, and
Transparency.
GN: Where is this company
headed? What are your future
expansion plans? Describe your
strategic goals briefly.
Allen: In 10 years, we plan to
have a complete infrastructure
and establish services for 7
million people; as well as grow
our advisory & social enterprises.
In 29 years, we'll act extensively
in an advisory capacity for
sustainable operations &

54 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
social enterprises since the
infrastructure will be complete.
INTRODUCTION
GN: How does your company
define clean water and
wastewater?
Allen: Clean water = safe to
drink. Drinking water standards
for each of our nine countries
and liters/per capita/per day
for basic water service are all
different. Wastewater = There
is no standard definition. We
are working in rural areas with
on-site sanitation and collection
of fecal sludge from latrines and
septic tanks. No sewer system,
therefore, no wastewater!
GN: How do people gain access
to clean water?
Allen: Household connections
and community water points.
We have an extensive monitoring
and evaluation program for
our district-level work. We track
over 40 indicators that measure
progress in 4 categories: Level
of service for water, the level
of sustainability for the service
provider (utility or service
authority), household data for
sanitation, and public institution
(clinics and schools) level of
service. We also have asset
registers and an exit strategy for
both water and sanitation when
the districts can maintain reliable
and quality level of sustainable
service and aid independence
then Water For People can exit.
GN: Do we have limited access
to clean, drinkable water? Are we
running out of it?
Allen: Not running out there
is enough water in the world. It
needs to be allocated adequately
to people/agriculture/industry,
with proper stewardship, to meet
the basic needs of all and treated
to be safe. In our districts, we
often have to develop secondary
sources as we have lost water
supply due to climate change.
THE MACRO LEVEL OF
THE WORLDS WATER
TECHNOLOGY
GN: Where are we today? What
is the current situation of clean
water and wastewater? governments, and communities company is pursuing?
Allen: 1.8 billion people globally to create systems and services Allen: We are working on
do not have access to safe water that last. It isn't just about innovations to scale and replicate
and 2.4 billion people lack access digging wells, building water faster. We are pleased that others
to adequate sanitation. This is a systems, and installing toilets. We are replicating Everyone Forever,
global crisis! Each day, women focus our Everyone Forever model for example, in places like Bolivia.
and children spend 200 million on the long-term change and
hours collecting water for their societal progress in developing GN: What impact have you
families equivalent to 20% of (no longer third world) countries. delivered (social, economic and
the US workforce dedicated to We deliver measurable impact environmental)? Do you have
continuously collecting water! as we help build water and metrics or statistics of your
Additionally, 840,000 people die sanitation infrastructure as accomplishments?
each year from diarrhea from well as local institutions and Allen: We are implementing
contaminated water. Solving the service authorities (utilities). our 2013 strategy to provide
global water and sanitation crisis They operate and maintain the sustainable services to 4 million
would be a dramatic positive systems for generations to come, people. Currently, we have
change on health, quality of life, supported by local entrepreneurs reached over 600,000 and will
and the economy. There is a 5:1 and market forces. We have reach 4 million by 2022. In
benefit to cost ratio. It will cost reached the tipping point in 2017 a second program will
$50B per year through 2030 several of our districts, and we begin for 3 million more people.
to meet SDG6 (United Nations are now replicating and scaling Our monitoring and evaluation
Sustainable Development Goal our model. program (called EF Tracker)
#6) which is water and sanitation is world-class. Also, we have
for all. The return on this GN: What are the future developed numerous water and
investment is incredible - $250B innovations that you or your sanitation offices staffed with
per year! Without a doubt, the
investment is worth it!
GN: What are the latest water
technologies today?
Allen: There are new ones every
day. We have the technologies we
need. To successfully implement
technology we need national
leadership to prioritize water
and sanitation, governance,
regulation, supply chain
development, and investment
in infrastructure and institution
building (without corruption).
GN: Where is water tech heading
20 years from now? Are we on
the right track? Are we delayed?
Are we progressing?
Allen: Technologies to make
processes more efficient,
conserve water and improve
water quality are all under
continuous development, and we
are on track.
THE MICRO LEVEL OF
THE WORLDS WATER
TECHNOLOGY
GN: What are the initiatives/
projects that you are doing (or
have done) that will provide clean
water to third world countries?
Allen: Our innovative approach
to development brings together
local entrepreneurs, technology,
SEPTEMBER 2016
55
Clean Water Technologies
municipal employees that we
train to operate and maintain
the systems. Their scope of
work includes water resources
management, monitoring and
evaluation, rate setting/collection,
and asset management. We have
also trained craft workers to build
and manage their water systems
and toilets. Additionally, our
school and community hygiene
programs for behavior change
are very successful. We have
trained sanitation entrepreneurs
and helped them start their
businesses selling toilet/septic
systems, pit emptying services,
decentralized fecal sludge
treatment plants, and sludge
repurposing for biofuels and
fertilizers. We also have developed
water and sanitation product
lines for microfinance lenders
and community cooperatives for
water and sanitation credit to
build water systems and toilets.
Some of these are self-funded
by the communities through
revenue collection.
THE CHALLENGES &
SOLUTIONS
56 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
GN: What are the greatest
challenges in the water industry?
Allen: To reach the UNs
Sustainable Development Goal
#6(SDG6) we need national
leadership to prioritize water
and sanitation, governance,
regulation, supply chain
development, and investment
in infrastructure and institution
building (without corruption).
GN: What do you think the
government, private companies
and NGO of each country need
to do to get rid of these?
Allen: To reach SDG 6 we need
to achieve greater collaboration
between governments (those
providing aid and those needing
aid), private industry, and NGOs.
Development of country-wide
plans with bottoms-up bankable
investment plans to meet SDG
6 is already underway (we are
helping Bolivia, Rwanda, and
Uganda) where national leaders
have prioritized water and
sanitation. All 193 signatory
countries of the SDGs need
to do this to achieve SDG 6
globally. Today between national
governments, aid, private
industry, and philanthropy the
world invests $10B per year. So
we need to step it up to get to
the $50B per year. In the scale
of the global economy, this is
not a large number we just
need to make clean water and
sanitation a priority. We need to
raise awareness and educate to
get to this level of funding. And
the business case is there we
know there is a 5:1 return!
GN: How do we provide water
accessibility to more than 7
billion people?
Allen: We need to develop
infrastructure in each country,
village by village, and city by city.
Just like we did in the US and
other nations around the world.
We have done this before, and we
know how to do it. It isnt easy
and needs all the items above to
happen!
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and words
of wisdom about the clean water
campaign to our young global
audience. What would you like
to tell to the millennials? Any
inspiring words that you can
share?
Allen: Water is one of the most
rewarding fields - challenging
for its technical and societal
aspects. Development work
is infrastructure and social
engineering the perfect
combination! Imagine you have
an orchestra of community
voices, government, business,
and technology. When they
make music together, it is
amazing!! This truly is a career
for those that want to build a
better world and improve the
quality of life, especially for
women and children. Plus, in this
field, you can help clean up the
environment by treating human
waste appropriately for reuse and
resource recovery. By doing this,
we will leave the earth in better
shape for our children and future
generations.
 SEPTEMBER 2016
57
Clean Water Technologies
AVISCUS: The Gaia Dam, a project
licensed under the Philippine-

CREATING A
based start-up company
Aviscus, is a small, low-cost
and environment-friendly dam
that serves primarily as an

WORLD WHERE
irrigation dam. The dam was
also designed to be utilized
in helping prevent extreme
flooding due to heavy rains by
re-routing the flow of surface

ACCESS TO WATER, water through the storm runoff

pathway and swales present in
the area. Another use of this
dam is that it could help in

SHELTER, AND
the generation of hydroelectric
power by diverting water into
the intake structure, which will
eventually reach the penstock

ELECTRICITY IS
and then into the turbine.
GineersNow conducted an
exclusive interview with Kent
Renier Carandang, the CEO and
President of Aviscus.

AFFORDABLE Kent Renier Carandang is a civil

engineering graduate from the
University of the Philippines
Diliman, and has been working
in the engineering industry for
more than two years. He started
working as a climate and flood
consultant for the Philippine
local government, and at the
same time as a water resources
engineering consultant.
After a year, he joined a US
based company in Guam that
specializes in constructing
structures and installations for
the United States military.

THE COMPANY
GN: Tell us about your
company. Describe your
mission, vision, and values,
where this company headed
and what are your future
expansion plans?
Carandang: Aviscus is an
engineering and construction
social enterprise operating
in the Philippines, comprised
of a small group of engineers
and an architect. Our board of
advisers is a mix of professionals
from the fields of engineering,
science, business, finance, and
law and they add value and
provide the needed advices for
the growth and development
of the company. Our mission
(left to right) Top: Kent Renier Carandang, Rhey Joseph Daway, is to create infrastructures with
Ralph John Barte; Down: Dr. Leonardo Liongson, Dr Mark Albert
Zarco, Ian Kaye Alejandrino, Jeanne Chrystel Dellosa

58 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
the highest level of quality from
our design and construction
services. Our vision, on the
other hand, is to create a world
where access to water, shelter,
and electricity is affordable.
Integrity, excellence, innovation,
and accountability are the core
values that we practice in our
company.
INTRODUCTION
GN: How does your company
define clean water and
wastewater?
Carandang: Clean water is also
known as potable or drinking
water while wastewater is any
water which has been affected
by human actions such as
farming, commercial, residential,
industrial, etc.
GN: How do people gain
access to clean water? Do we
have limited access to clean,
drinkable water? Are we
running out of it?
Carandang: According to the
United Nations, 783 million
people do not have access to
clean water and considering
the demand of the growing
population, this number will
tend to grow. Providing access
to clean water and sanitation is
one of the basic human rights
recognized by the UN during its
2010 General Assembly which
place the main responsibility to
the governments. We can help
people to gain access to clean
water by building dams to store
storm run-offs and surface water,
recharging aquifers, putting up
wastewater treatment plants
and distributing it to off-grid
areas.
Almost 900 million people
have limited access to clean
and drinkable water and the
projected number of people
that will be located in areas
that has limited access to clean
water shall rise to 3 billion if
we are not going to act now.
We are currently running out
water supply but we can still
turn the tide if well have a
concerted action and focus all
efforts to innovate and tackle
this problem as soon as possible.
THE MACRO LEVEL OF
THE WORLDS WATER
TECHNOLOGY
GN: Where are we today?
What is the current situation
of clean water and wastewater
(locally or globally)?
Carandang: There are
numerous advancements
in water technology today,
however, these are mostly
being developed in first-world
countries. Sadly, development
in the local water sector is slow
and sporadic, and the start-ups
are struggling to scale because
people are not ready to accept
SEPTEMBER 2016
59
Clean Water Technologies

The emerging water technologies today-
aside from Gaia Dam- are focused on providing
more affordable ways to treat wastewater, be
it for domestic use or for farming use
changes or try a new technology.
GN: What are the latest water
technologies today? Where is
water tech heading 20 years
from now? Are we on the right
track? Are we delayed? Are we
progressing?
Carandang: The emerging
water technologies today- aside
from Gaia Dam- are focused on
providing more affordable ways
to treat wastewater, be it for
domestic use or for farming
use. Ranging from the usage
of natural cleaning methods
through solar technology up to
the utilization of thin graphene
sheets with a biomaterial that
treats three kinds of bacteria in
the water, such developments are
very promising in the crusade to
provide access to clean water to
60 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
the poorest people.
Eventhough there are setbacks
in the development of new water
technologies, we believe that
there is already an increasing
interest towards its due to
the pressing demand to clean
water and the effects of climate
change. Governments and
private enterprises are looking
for ways on how to manage
the water resources of their
countries because of the existing
issues. Though progress is still
slow, we can only strive and
continue to pursue research and
development.
THE MICRO LEVEL
GN: What are the initiatives /
projects that you are doing (or
have done) that will provide
clean water to third world
countries?
Carandang: I have co-invented
the Gaia Dam - a low-cost dam
that is environmental-friendly
yet equally effective with its
counterparts which is being
licensed by the University
of the Philippines to our
company (Aviscus Construction
Corporation) in order to
implement the technology
in its projects. The dams core
produces nutrients and enzymes
which act as natural fertilizer
and pesticides, thus, helping to
produce organic crops.
GN: What are the future
innovations that you or your
company is pursuing?
Carandang: In line with its
promise to modernize its green
engineering commitment, the
company shall develop the
water treatment capabilities
of the dams core in order to
treat polluted water that will
pass through it and the wireless
connectivity and communication
of the chains of dams in order to
smartly impound and store storm
water for future usage.
Though our company is a
new startup, we have already
conducted initial talks with
several government agencies
for potential partnership and
adoption of the technology in
their future projects especially
in the field of agriculture and
disaster adaptation.
THE CHALLENGES &
SOLUTIONS
GN: What are the greatest
challenges in the water
industry?
Carandang: The greatest
challenge in the water industry
aside from the adoption and
scalability of the technology is
the cost to distribute water to
the poorest and underprivileged
people. Majority, if not all, of
the people who lack accesses
to water are the ones who live
below the poverty line. They
do not have the means and
financial capability to because
aside from the skepticism of the
government, private corporations,
and NGOs of every country with
introduction of new technology
in their portfolio, they are also
looking on the profitability of
when they adopt it. I think that
if we just allow ourselves to really
focus on the problem and provide
and implement solutions, we can
truly achieve the change we
want. By doing a whole system
approach by utilizing, treating,
and distributing water.
GN: What do you think should
the government, private
companies and NGO of each
country do to get rid of these?
How do we provide water
accessibility to more than 7
billion people?
Carandang: In order for us to
provide water to more than 7
billion people across the world, we
must first have the political will
to implement stricter sanctions
and penalties to people and
organizations that fail to comply
with environmental regulations
which adversely affects our
fresh water sources and also to
prioritize projects and regulations
that will enable the connectivity
of the off-grid areas to the main
distribution system. Lastly, we
can also increase our supply
by impounding and utilizing
flood and surface water and by
recharging aquifers.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and
words of wisdom about the
clean water campaign to our
young global audience. What
would you like to tell to the
millennials? Any inspiring words
that you can share?
Carandang: As we all know,
humanity is standing in a
threshold now and our generation
will be the one to carry the
burden of saving our planet. Still,
we need to remember that no
matter how deep the despair,
hope always rises out of it. We
are the new light of the world-
the ones wholl guide humanity
to a promising future. For this
very reason, no matter what your
age, race, gender, or social status,
we can help each other and make
use of our knowledge, passion,
and dedication so that together,
we can make our world a better
place especially to our brothers
and sisters in need.
SEPTEMBER 2016
61
Clean Water Technologies
 THE REALITY
OF WATER
SCARCITY IN
THE MIDDLE
EAST
by Cielo Panda
Is desalination the only option
to solve water scarcity in this
region?
Lately, The Middle East has
been experiencing numerous
environmental concerns,
especially so when it comes
to water concerns. Water
resources in the Middle East
are becoming scarce, especially
for the millions of people there
who have already been lacking
access to sanitary water. This
includes some of the most
water scarce countries in the
world: Yemen, the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
According to The Water Project,
these countries have one thing
in common, they all lack water
resources and have poor water
management.
The Middle East is known to
have some of the largest oil
reserves in the world, and this is
where most of the areas wealth
comes from. But even if this is so,
their geographical climate and
environment can be very harsh
to live in. The Middle East needs
water resources and the proper
type of land for agriculture,
since most of their land that is
available for producing food
gets destroyed due to increasing
desertification.
62 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Desertification
Desertification is the process
by which rich, fertile land turns
into a desert due to drought,
deforestation, unsustainable
agriculture, and overgrazing. This
is a big environmental problem
that has vast effects on countries
like Jordan, Iran, and Iraq. In this
region, agriculture uses 85 percent
of water and it has been common
to misuse land by irrigation in
the Middle East. This is especially
so in areas where droughts are
more frequent. Overusing water in
agriculture can affect the countries
already scarce water resources.
Jordan which is found in the Syrian
Desert, and Yemen which is on
the southern tip of the Arabian
Peninsula, are both enduring
severe water scarcity in the Middle
East.
According to an article by The Water
Project, the freshwater withdrawal
in Jordan is less than 10 percent
than that of Portugals average
despite the two countries having
the same size. Since there has been
a quick shortage of groundwater
in the past 10 years, the cost of
water in Jordan has increased by
30 percent.
Yemen, on the other hand, has
one of the worlds highest rates
of malnutritionmore than 30
percent of its population doesnt
Photo by: ibtimes
meet their proper food needs.
Over the past few years, Yemen
has not been able to produce the
right amount of food to sustain its
populations.
The standard of living in the Middle
East has definitely affected the
standard of living of its inhabitants.
The United Arab Emirates, which
is found on the Arabia Peninsula,
is world famous for its beautiful,
luxurious cities that are full of
expensive resorts, shopping
centers, and enormous attractions.
Because of this, no one would
ever think that water scarcity is a
problem for these rich states.
However, in reality, the UAE is
being confronted with a serious
depletion of their areas available
water resources. According
to a report from the Emirates
Industrial Bank in 2005, it said that
the UAE had the highest per capita
consumption of water in the world.
Also, this regions water table has
dropped about one meter year, for
the past 30 years. If this continues,
the United Arab Emirates will
deplete its natural freshwater
resources in around 50 years.
Although this region has a large
amount of desalination plants to
help solve water deficiency, it is
still important for this region to
adjust their water consumption
habits before it may be too late.
 Overuse of Desalination
Plants
In the Middle East, desalination
plants are overusing water
resources. Seventy percent
of the worlds desalination
plants are found in this area
most of which are found in
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Though these desalination
plants produce water that
is needed by this region,
they could cause health
problems and pollution in the
environment.
The seawater that is mostly
used in desalination plants
Photo by: thenational have high doses of boron
and bromide, and the
desalination process can also
remove essential minerals like
calcium. Another concern is
that the concentrated salt is
often disposed back into the
oceans which will increase
in the salinity of the water
and can have harmful effects
to the ocean environment.
Additionally, desalination is
the most energy-costing water
resource. According to the
Pacific Institute, an American
non-profit research institute,
the high use of energy results
in increasing energy prices
Ras Al Khair Desalination Plant, Saudi Arabia
Photo by: susris
and higher prices on water
produced as well, which would
financially hurt the consumer.
It is true that the water
produced could be beneficial
towards substituting the lack
of freshwater in the region,
but these areas have the
tendency to overuse their
natural resources. Instead
of encouraging alternative
forms of water, energy, and
conserving freshwater, large
amounts of desalination plants
is the method that Middle East
focuses on.
With the water scarcity Middle
East is having, the region needs
more than just one solution
to solve their environmental
problem.
Drilling for Water in the Jordanian Desert
Photo by: bund

SEPTEMBER 2016
63
Clean Water Technologies
 Photo by The Quint

It Might Get Worse: The Best

Prediction About
Asias Water Problem
An MIT study probes Asias water
problem with an in-depth model.
by Dion Greg Reyes

About half of the worlds total population reside
in the largest continent. More people only means
more demand with water, among other needs.
But it looks like Asias relationship with water will
be much more complicated as we reach the year
2050.
A study from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology entitled, Projections of Water
Stress Based on an Ensemble of Socioeconomic
Growth and Climate Change Scenarios: A Case
Study in Asia suggests that in 35 years, Asia will
suffer from serious water shortages with roots
from economic and population growth on top
of climate change. Using a detailed modelling
to measure the full range of scenarios involving
water availability and use in the future, the
scientists conclude that there is a high risk of
severe water stress across Asia.
The scientists find that the median amounts of
projected growth and climate change by 2050
would lead to about 1 billion more people
becoming water-stressed compared to today.
They looked at a large number of simulations of
future scenarios to arrive to this conclusion.
The scientists used an existing model developed
previously at MIT called the Integrated Global
Systems Model (IGSM). It has the probabilistic
projections of population growth, economic
expansion, climate, and carbon emissions from
human activity, which they linked with detailed
models of water use in Asian countries like
China, India, and many smaller nations.
Three main scenarios were used as an approach
to tease out the human and environmental
factors. They were done in extensive series of
repeated projections using varying conditions.

64 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
In one scenario they call Just Growth, they held
climate conditions constant and evaluated the effects of
economic and population growth on the water supply.
In another scenario called Just Climate, they held
growth constant and measured the climate-change
effects alone. The third scenario, which is Climate and
Growth, the scientists used the rising economic activity,
growing populations, and climate change as studies of
impact.
The distinct kind of modelling enabled the scientists
to evaluate some of the particular factors that affect
the different countries in Asia to varying extents. For
example, in China, the industrial growth has the greatest
impact as people get wealthier. Meanwhile in India,
population growth brings upon the greatest effect. The
factors vary by region.
What the scientists also emphasized in their modelling
is its complexity: its not merely adding the effects of Photo by South Asia Water Initiative
economic growth and climate change, but also on the
networked water supply into and out of the area. Part
of the model is a network of water basins, which means
involvement of upstream and downstream both of
which affect each other. One cited situation is when
the amount of rainfall near upstream basins is lowered
because of climate change while the population is
growing, the basins farther away from the initial water
shortage would be affected more acutely.
The team of scientists includes Adam Schlosser, a senior
research scientist and deputy director at MITs Joint
Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change;
Charles Fant, lead author of the paper and a researcher
at the Join Program; Xiang Gao and Kenneth Strzepek,
who are also researchers at the Joint Program; and John
Reilly, a co-director of the Joint Program who is a senior
lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Taking the Study Conclusions Further Photo by adb

While the scientists from MIT have used a complicated
tool to predict the roots of an impending water crisis
in Asia, it got commendation it deserves from various
bodies.
The United Nations World Institute for Development
Economics Research, through its agricultural economist
Channing Arndt, said that the paper is looking at a really
important issue for the world and thought that the
basic finding of the study makes sense. Arndt added
that the scope and evaluation approach of the paper,
which is integrating climate change with economic and
population growth, is worthwhile.
MITs scientists is taking its study further by working on
related projects, like one on the effects of mitigation
on water shortages. They are extending on adaptation
practices such as more efficient irrigation technologies
which will help in alleviating the water problem in
nations who are categorized to have high water stress.
Their preliminary findings indicate strong cases for
effective actions and measures to reduce risk. It doesnt
stop there though, as the team aims to still look for ways
in fine-tuning their modelling, ultimately to estimate Photo by ipsnews
significant water shortages in the future.

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WATERAID:
TRANSFORMING
THE LIVES OF
MANY WITH
CLEAN WATER
Vincent Casey, Technical Support Manager
- Water Security, WaterAid
Clean water is one the primary
needs of human living and its
devastating to see that there are
still some communities in the
world who do not have access
to it. These are the poorest
and most marginalized people
that are deprived of the most
basic service. This is what drove
WaterAid to bring clean water,
good sanitation, and proper
hygiene to these communities.
GineersNow conducted an
exclusive interview with Vincent
Casey, Senior WASH (Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene) Advisor
of WaterAid.
66 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
THE COMPANY
GineersNow: Tell us about WaterAid.
Describe your mission, vision, values,
and where the company is headed.
What are your future expansion
plans?
Vincent: WaterAid is an international
non-governmental development
organization based in the UK with
federation members in the United
States, Canada, Sweden, Australia,
India and Japan. We were founded
in the UK in 1981 by the water
companies to bring clean water to
poor communities. Today, we have
over 200 full-time staff in the UK,
and work in 37 countries across Sub-
Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin
America and the Pacific to bring clean
water, good sanitation and hygiene
promotion to the worlds poorest
people. We work with local partners
in communities, at household level
and in schools and healthcare
facilities.
Over the next five years to 2020,
we will strengthen our partnerships
and focus on accelerating progress
towards everyone, everywhere
having access to safe water, sanitation
and hygiene by 2030.
INTRODUCTION
GineersNow: How does your
company define clean water and
wastewater?
Vincent: WaterAid aims that the
quality of drinking water delivered to
consumers by the programmes that
it supports should:
Be such that no significant health
risk arises from its use
Conform to at least the broadly
accepted quality standards of the
region or the country where the
installation is located (or be better
if this can be achieved at reasonable
cost and effort)
Be acceptable in appearance, taste
and other local aesthetic aspects
Wastewater is generally taken
to mean runoff from domestic,
agricultural or industrial processes
that is contaminated in some way,
and unfit for human consumption.
GineersNow: How do people gain
access to clean water?
Vincent: Usually, and ideally, people
get access to clean water through
government or utility investment
in improved water supply services
that are able to capture, store,
treat if necessary, convey and
deliver water to people as close to
their homes as possible.
Groundwater is a big source of
water for domestic supply over
half of the global population
depends on it for drinking.
Tapping into it requires a good
understanding of hydro-geology to
ensure that there is actually water
present, and a good understanding
of the social and political context
in each setting, as well as
governance and financing issues.
Once services are introduced, they
need to keep running, and this
requires a functioning in-country
government, community and
private-sector institutions.
GineersNow: Do we have limited
access to clean, drinkable water?
Are we running out of it?
Vincent: Some 650 million people
in the world today do not have
access to clean water.
However, water is a renewable
resource -- we are not running
out of it. The issue is that water
cannot always be found where and
when it is needed most. There are
also situations where demand for
water outstrips available supply or
where available water is unfit for
human consumption.
In situations where demand
outstrips supply, careful
management of water resources
is required to allocate between
different water users and the
environment.
Water resource management
is going to become increasingly
important in the years to come,
as climate change and extreme
weather patterns exacerbate
existing challenges. At least 2.7
billion people live in basins where
water scarcity is severe for at
least one month each year. And
competition for water is increasing
from population increases, a
lack of political and economic
power behind water management
infrastructure, and freshwater
pollution and alteration.
THE MACRO LEVEL OF THE
WORLDS WATER TECHNOLOGY
GineersNow: Where are we today?
What is the current situation of
clean water and wastewater (locally
or globally) and what are the latest
water technologies today?
Vincent: Water supply is not solely
a technical problem it cannot
be solved with a new silver bullet
technology. The technology for
making water supplies available has
been around for the last 100 years.
It is largely a management problem
whereby the skills, human resources,
finances and political willingness
do not always exist to extend
services to the unserved, manage
existing services and manage water
resources.
That being said, big advancements
have been made in large scale
coastal desalination, not just in
technology but also in management
arrangements which means the
cost of desalination has fallen
dramatically, to as low as $0.5 per
cubic meter in some places. This is still
more expensive than conventional
treatment but it enables wealthy,
water-stressed nation-states to
bring more water into the equation,
allowing them to avoid difficult,
political water management and
allocation decisions. However,
desalination is not an option for many
developing countries as it remains
expensive and energy-intensive.
GineersNow: Where is water tech
heading 20 years from now? Are we
on the right track? Are we delayed?
Are we progressing?
Vincent: Again, the issue is not a
technical problem the focus needs
to be on management, financing and
governance of efficient, effective
institutions.
Wastewater is generally taken
to mean runoff from domestic,
agricultural or industrial processes
that is contaminated in some way, and
unfit for human consumption
Wealthy nations with very little
renewable fresh water and
high institutional capacity for
management, such as Singapore, can
invest in coastal desalination, inter-
basin water transfers, wastewater
reuse, food imports, tariff
adjustments to regulate demand,
and cutting the amount of water
allocated to thirsty agricultural
practices.
However when it comes to low-
income countries, the innovations
required cannot be transposed from
someones garden shed in the UK,
but rather developed in the countries
facing water supply problems, in
government instutions and in utilities
and service providers. Particularly
in remote rural settings, we need
innovation in how services are
managed and financed. A breakdown
might leave a community without
water for weeks if there is no system
to ensure its fixed in a timely way.
THE MICRO LEVEL
GineersNow: What are the initiatives
/ projects that you are doing (or have
done) that will provide clean water
to developing world countries? What
are the future innovations that you
or your company is pursuing?
Vincent: WaterAid focuses mainly
on developing groundwater, which
is less drought-prone than surface
sources, can be developed close to
where people live, is usually of good
quality and is generally cost-effective,
requiring less treatment than surface
sources of water.
Manually-operated handpumps can
be used where groundwater levels
are up to 50m below the surface,
which is the case for about 85%
of Africas population. Motorized
pumping is generally required at
greater depths or where a large
number of people need to be served
such as in towns or cities.
In WaterAids work, we generally
use technologies that are low cost,
appropriate to the local area and are
relatively easy to maintain including
gravity-fed water schemes, hand-dug
wells, handpumps, protected spring
sources and rainwater harvesting.
We promote household filtration,
exploring business models that
enhance product availability on local
markets. Solar and diesel-powered
pumped schemes are also used
where appropriate. We work to
strengthen ownership of services and
promote good water management
practices. We promote the use
of water retention structures to
encourage soil water infiltration and
groundwater recharge. Catchment
protection is also encouraged.
Other technical innovations
including pre-paid water dispensing
machines in East African urban
slums, simplified sewer systems
and the Gulper pit-emptying pump
are important means of addressing
water and sanitation challenges, but
they work best if they are developed
in response to residents needs and
led by local water and sanitation
authorities, and fit within broader
plans.
Finally, we focus on strengthening
in-country institutions so they can
manage the services better. This
requires attention to planning,
monitoring, financing, service
delivery, post implementation
support and asset management,
as well as choosing appropriate
technologies.
GineersNow: What impact have
you delivered (social, economic
and environmental)? Do you
have metrics or statistics of your
accomplishments?
Vincent: 2015 marked the final year
of our 2009-15 Global Strategy,
which focused on promoting the
right to safe water and supporting
governments in developing their
capacity to achieve this.
During this period, we reached
a total of 9.6 million people with
safe water. We now work across 37
countries to promote and secure
poor peoples rights to clean water
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67
Clean Water Technologies
 The challenge of bringing clean
water to people is immense,
and the role of engineers who
understand social, political and
economic constraints as well as the
opportunities is critical
and sanitation through advocacy
with the governments and decision-
makers, through support for
municipal and national departments
working in water and sanitation, and
through work with local partners to
deliver water and sanitation services.
In one innovative example, we
conducted studies in Maputo,
Lagos, Kinshasa and Lusaka to
improve city-wide planning for
water and sanitation services that
would reach poor communities as
well as the better-off. In another,
we organized menstrual hygiene
training for schools, womens groups
and government employees across
14 countries including Bangladesh,
Ethiopia and India, to combat the
existing taboos which become more
entrenched in the absence of clean
water and sanitation.
THE CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
GineersNow: What are the greatest
challenges in the water industry?
What do you think should the
government, private companies and
NGOs of each country do to get rid
of these? How do we provide water
accessibility to more than 7 billion
people?
Vincent: Some of the main challenges
that exist in the countries where
WaterAid works include:
Insufficient political will to
improve water supply services and
management of water resources
Insufficient investment in water
supply services and management of
water resources
Insufficient skills to manage water
supply services and water resources
Insufficient human capital to
manage water supply services and
68 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
water resources
Exclusion of certain groups,
because of inability to pay, political
affiliation,
disability, race, caste, gender, age or
social status.
In many places, water industries are
also coping with rapid urbanization,
population growth and economic
development which increase
demands for water, and with
balancing domestic needs against
those of agriculture, energy and
industry.
Another key challenge is sustaining
water and sanitation services
because of the lack of funding.
To deal with these challenges,
first and foremost, governments,
private sectors and NGOs need
to work together to strengthen
institutions tasked with delivery
and management of services, to
ensure they can fulfil their roles and
responsibilities.
Governments need to play a lead
role in ensuring equitable access
to domestic water in the face
of competing demands; both
governments and service providers
need to pay more attention to skilled
management and maintenance
of facilities that are appropriate,
affordable and accessible, so that
services continue to function.
The UN Global Goals on Sustainable
Development call for universal
access to water and sanitation by
2030. To achieve this, developing
countries need effective leadership
that prioritizes water and sanitation,
and to finance these programmes
accordingly.
Our strategic aims are centered
around equality, sustainable services,
integration and hygiene; working
with the smallest communities to the
largest governmental organizations
to ensure everyone has the right to
clean water.
Continued support from our
cooperate partners, public
fundraising and donations play a vital
role in realizing the potential to get
clean, safe water and sanitation to
everyone and everywhere by 2030.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GineersNow: Please give advice and
words of wisdom about the clean
water campaign to our young global
audience. What would you like to
tell to the millennials? Any inspiring
words that you can share.
Vincent: The challenge of bringing
clean water to people is immense,
and the role of engineers who
understand social, political and
economic constraints as well as
the opportunities is critical. The
Sustainable Development Goals
places an emphasis on sustainable
management of services. This is
where the greatest challenges exist
and where the greatest need for
innovation is required. Even the most
basic technology requires some level
of management and maintenance.
Without viable management
arrangements, technologies would
frequently fail or offer sub-standard
service levels (poor water quality,
unreliable supplies). More can be
done to resolve these challenges,
this makes the role of engineers
important.
BREWERY WASTES
CAN NOW BE
REUSED AS CLEAN
WATER
If you are drinking quite a
lot of liters of beer in a week,
you are in a way helping treat
water, although far indirectly
because there is now a
water treatment system that
converts used brewing water
into reusable water.
Developed by Cambrian
Innovation, this water
treatment system called
EcoVolt Mini will allow the
Seismic Brewing Company in
Santa Rosa, California to use
its wastewater into usable
water.
Chris Jackson, founder and
CEO of the company, said he
wanted his new brewery to
be water efficient considering
California is a drought-stricken
state. He aimed to have a
water to beer ratio of 2:1.
The odds are on his side as
Cambrian had an on-site, one-
container water treatment
and reuse system ready to
order.
The system is designed for
small and midsize food and
beverage producers. This
will remove 99.9 per cent of
contaminants and solidsfrom
Seismics brewing wastewater;
in turn, the recycled water
will be used for the industrial
processes in the brewery.
In essence, Seismic will
significantly reduce freshwater
use causing companys
expenses with water bills
to cut down. Cambrian
estimated that a brewery can
save from $100,000 to more
than $1 million a year using
an EcoVolt system.
Lets drink to that!
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Clean Water Technologies
 The Ugly Truth About Our
Global Water Crisis
Photo by alarabiya
Dissecting the worlds problem with
water availability, supply, usage and
demand
Anyone who has seen a map of the
world can easily conclude that it is
bluer than greener, signifying that
the majority of the Earth is water.
According to the United States
Geological Survey Water Science
School, about 71 percent of the
Earths surface is water-covered,
with the oceans holding about 96.5
percent of all Earths water.
There is roughly 326 million cubic
miles (1.332 billion cubic kilometers)
of water on Earth. Over 95% of
this quantity is comprised of the
groundwater aquifers, with the
remaining 5% as rain, rivers, and
lakes. The huge quantity of this
water at our disposal, however, is not
suitable for drinking. That fact alone
and a couple other complex reasons
70 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
connected to the humans interaction
with water, the growing population,
the uneven water distribution largely
contribute to the perennial global
water crisis. And engineers are up for
the challenge to turn this all around.
A report from the World Bank
indicated that 80 countries suffer
from water shortages and 2 billion
people lack access to clean water.
This is supported by a separate from
the World Health Organization, who
says that 1 billion people lack enough
water to simply meet their basic
needs.
The Global Water Availability and
Usage
For every person on the planet, there
is an allotted water of about 1,700
cubic meters. This is alarmingly low
number, since the Water Stress Index
categorizes any region with less than
1,700 cubic meters per capita as
water stressed.
There is also a problem on the water
distribution among countries in terms
of location and availability. Certain
areas of the world do not have
adequate access to water and they
do not have water equally available
throughout the year. This map below
shows the water availability per
person within a country.
The blue countries in the map show
that they have more readily available
freshwater supply, but such fact is
still illusive. These countries with high
annual averages of per capita per
year experience alternating seasons
of drought and monsoons. Notable,
the availability of freshwater in North
Africa is a cause of alarm.
When it comes to usage, there lies
a difference between developing
countries and developed ones. For
developing countries, 90% of their
water usage goes to agriculture, 5%
for industry, and 5% for urban areas.
For developed countries, 45% is used
for agriculture, 45% for industry, and
10% for urban areas.
The water usage is also affected by
the ballooning global population. In
2016, the world is home to 7.4 billion
people, a significant increase from
the last centurys 1.7 billion people.
As the population continues to grow,
the groundwater supply depletes
and the potable water decreases. A
graph by World Resources Institute
illustrates the water consumption
rate of countries, with red reaching a
non-renewable rate.

The Sectors Consuming the Most

Water
Being the largest consumer of
freshwater resources at 70% global
consumption, the agricultural Photo by New Indian Express
sector is the most at risk in this
crisis. Irrigation eats up most of
agricultures water which is a critical
factor in farming.
The industrial sector, which uses
22% of the total water consumption,
is growing to the point that this
may soon take precedence over
agriculture because of one reason: it
is cheaper. A thousand ton of water
used can produce 1 ton of wheat,
valued at $200; in contrast, the same
amount of water in the industrial
sector can make $14,000 worth of
goods.
On the other hand, the residential
sector consuming 8% of the total
water supply has an impending
growth of water consumption in
the future. The increased urban
population now utilizes modern
luxuries like flush toilets, showers and Photo by API
washing machines which establishes
a potential large demand.
responsible of the constant water done in the most economical ways
How Our Water Becomes Polluted pollution. possible. Engineers need to devise
One of the greatest challenges of our The Challenge for Engineers methods and processes in converting
global water crisis is the pollution of Water is an essential natural resource seawater and wastewater to potable
our waters. A report from the United that humans now compromise. It and usable water the magic lies in
Nations Environmental Program is given that we only have so little the technologies only engineers can
(UNEP) states that 1.2 billion people valuable water at our disposal, with provide.
are being affected by polluted water, some factors beyond our control
and that dirty water contributes to that affect its availability and supply.
15 million child deaths every year. Having identified the sources of our
This problem persists along with global water crisis and disregarding
modernization as both exist as a the politics that comes with it,
pair. As developing countries enter engineers can act on them and
the industrial age, water pollution identify viable solutions that will help
will still be anchored to our water alleviate the problem.
problem. The agricultural sector
having the greatest demand largely The challenge for engineers is to
contribute as well especially in food make sure that the Earth wont
production wherein excess amounts dry up on water resources through
of nitrates, posing risk to plant and developing techniques, innovations,
animal life, go along with runoff. The and systems that will provide water
industrial sector, through the vast for our sustainable living on a large
amounts of animal feces, is partly scale. Not only that, it should be

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Clean Water Technologies
 IMAGINE H2O:
INSPIRING
PEOPLE TO
TURN WATER
CHALLENGES
INTO
OPPORTUNITIES
Imagine H2O is an international
startup accelerator, and a 501(c)
(3) non-profit organization. They
have been around since 2009,
with around 200 people in their
organization working together to
inspire and empower other water
entrepreneurs to succeed.
GineersNow conducted an
exclusive interview with Tom
Ferguson, the organizations VP
of Programming.
THE COMPANY
GineersNow: Describe your
mission, vision and values.
Tom: Our vision is a global
ecosystem for water innovation
and entrepreneurship, and
our mission is to empower
entrepreneurs, businesses and
communities to develop and
deploy innovation to solve water
challenges. We have ten core
values, but the most important
are focus on the innovator,
celebrate success and have
fun.
GN: Where is this company
headed? What are your future
expansion plans? Describe briefly
your strategic goals (10 years to
20 years plan)
Tom: Were lucky in that we have
some fantastic backers including
Wells Fargo, Suez NA, Tetra Tech
and others, which are allowing
us to build out our support not
only for entrepreneurs in business,
but entrepreneurs in policy. We
72 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
have plans to support the piloting
of water technology in California,
and eventually further afield, to
reduce barriers to implementation
of innovative technology which is
the single most important issue
around improving California and
Americas water infrastructure.
INTRODUCTION
GN: How does your company
define clean water and
wastewater?
Tom: While there are scientific
definitions for clean water and
wastewater, water can be
viewed through different lenses.
For instance, one industrys
wastewater can be an opportunity
for an entrepreneur to create
a recycling marketplace--a
venture one of the startups in
our accelerator is working on.
You can argue that wastewater
is a misnomer, and that it
should actually be called
opportunitywater but we doubt THE MACRO LEVEL OF
that will stick. We define clean
water as just that - clean, and that
is what utilities strive every day to
deliver and they do an amazing
job at it.
GN: How do people gain access to
clean water?
Tom: Its difficult to accept that
people dont have access to clean
water in 2016. It is unconscionable
that we spend $750m of public
money on football stadiums when
there are 1M people in California
Ignitia (IH2O '16)
alone without clean running
water. The way to gain access is
for people to demand it of their
elected representatives. Thats as
true in California as it is in Sao
Paolo, Addis Ababa, and Jakarta.
GN: Do we have limited access
to clean, drinkable water? Are we
running out of it?
Tom: Considering less than 1% of
the planets water is available for
drinking, clean water is absolutely
a limited resource that we need to
be making smart decisions with.
Its basically supply and demand.
Supply is increasingly limited in
many regions due to drought and
climate change, and yet demand
is growing as our population
expands. Water is going to get
scarcer and scarcer, so we have to
get better at managing it. That
includes thinking not only about
how we grow, but what we grow.
THE WORLDS WATER
TECHNOLOGY
GN: Where are we today? What
is the current situation of clean
water and wastewater (locally or
globally)?
Tom: Water challenges dominate
our headlines from California to
Flint, Michigan. The good news
is that the unprecedented level
of public awareness is helping to
prioritize more resources towards
these issues. In moving forward,
the question becomes how to

best leverage the spotlight to
create the political, financial, and
technological solutions necessary
to unlock change. We think this
is a trend that will continue.
Our own view is that the water
industry is at an inflection point,
in that the infrastructure that
went in the early to mid-20th
century is due for replacement. In
other major markets like China,
Indonesia, India, and Brazil,
the reality of water scarcity is
setting in and it will become a
major spending priority for their
governments, both on the drinking
and wastewater side of things.
Its a good time for any young
engineer to get involved because
the opportunities are vast and
international.
GN: What are the latest water
technologies today?
Tom: This year, our accelerator
is focused on the water data
space, and there are a number of
promising water technologies that
have emerged. Ceres Imaging is a
platform-agnostic aerial imaging
company that can reduce a
farmers water usage by 30%.
Ignitia, a social enterprise in North
Africa, helps small-scale farmers
manage drought through highly
accurate weather forecasting. For
communities served by outdated
lead pipes, ANDalyze offers a
hand-held sensor that can detect
lead concentrations in real time.
All of these technologies, if
Israel
Ayyeka (IH2O '16)- Water Supply Installation in Bat Yam,
Lisa Petrykowska, Managing Director of Ignitia (IH2O '16)
deployed on a large scale, have - from the drought in Ghana to
the potential to solve many of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh.
the water problems that our world These entrepreneurs are on the
faces. ground talking to locals and
building out solutions. One
GN: Where is water tech heading example is DloHaiti, a venture
20 years from now? Are we on the that provides clean drinking
right track? Are we delayed? Are water to locals in Haiti using a
we progressing? decentralized production model.
Tom: We think the first step has With DloHaitis locally-operated
to be data. For an undertaking the water kiosks, locals are able to
size of fixing the water systems of access drinking water without
the world, we have to be able to relying on dirty and expensive
prioritize, and we cant prioritize trucks to deliver it.
without data. The water network
has to move from Dumb to GN: What are the future
Smart, and fast. Alongside innovations that you or your
data, we think that distributed company is pursuing?
treatment and recycling will be a Tom: Data and smart
huge deal. There is no question we technologies are revolutionizing
are progressing, but there is always our lives. We believe in the
room for things to move faster potential of these same
regarding water tech. Things will technologies to transform the
look different in 20 years but the water sector. Our accelerator
central priority remains the same is embarking on a multi-year
- predictably deliver the right initiative to provide a path-to-
quantity, at the right quality, to market for new data innovations
the right place, when it is needed. from early-stage companies.
Sounds simple, and yet its an Alongside our accelerator, were
incredible challenge! spotlighting policy ideas that can
increase the deployment of data
THE MICRO LEVEL technologies for water. The future
GN: What are the initiatives / is data.
projects that you are doing that
will provide clean water to third GN: What impact have you
world countries? delivered (social, economic and
Tom: Our accelerator is a global environmental)? Do you have
ecosystem for water innovation. metrics or statistics of your
Several of the startups we work accomplishments?
with are focused on water Tom: To date, we have worked
challenges in developing countries with over 550 startups from
SEPTEMBER 2016
73
Clean Water Technologies

20 countries. Our accelerator
represents 1 in every 10 dollars
of early-stage water investments.
The startups we accelerate have
a vast and quantifiable impact.
Some like Ayyeka, a provider of
remote monitoring solutions,
deliver services to large municipal
utilities with thousands of
customers. Others like Ignitia,
a mobile drought forecasting
subscription with 80,000 users,
have products that directly
benefit their end-users. There is
no limit to the innovation that
can happen in water, and we are
proud to support entrepreneurs
who are solving vital problems in
the industry.
THE CHALLENGES &
SOLUTIONS
GN: What are the greatest
challenges in the water industry?
Tom: Thats not an easy question
to answer. The challenges in the
water industry are unusually
complex in terms of incentives
and structures. A key issue we
run up against in our work is the
conservative nature of the water
industry. When the primary goal
is just to ensure clean water flows
from the tap, decision makers at
utilities understandably prefer
to maintain existing operations.
But we need early adopters in
the water industry to support
innovations that can have a vast
impact on improving monitoring,
access, and quality. Proof points
for new technology are critical,
and dont happen fast enough.
74 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
(IH2O '16)
Ashwin Madgavkar, Founder of Ceres Imaging
Natel Energy (IH2O '15)
GN: What do you think should the of wisdom about the clean water
government, private companies campaign to our young global
and NGO of each country do to audience. What would you like
get rid of these? to tell to the millennials? Any
Tom: There are many potential inspiring words that you can
solutions to encourage the share?
adoption of water innovations, Tom: One, build your network.
but Ill choose a big one. Currently, Aspiring water entrepreneurs have
most Utility revenue in the US more resources than ever, including
depends on how much water they accelerators like Imagine H2O and
deliver to the customer, so many an increasing number of funding
utilities lose revenue when their sources, to create deployable
customers conserve water. As a solutions. Two, understand the
result, utilities are not incentivized problem youre solving. Talk to
to pursue any conservation as many customers as you can
measures. If water rates were so you can figure what job they
decoupled, utilities would be need you to do, what problem
more receptive to technology that they need you to solve. Three, be
reduces water usage. impatient. Demand change, and
try and create it yourself. The
GN: How do we provide water more energy the better. Looking
accessibility to more than 7 billion across the industry, the stage is
people? set for new ideas and the next
Tom: We believe innovation generation of water leaders. Its
is the key to increasing water an exciting time to be a water
accessibility. Better policies entrepreneur!
along with the right pieces of
technology are both critical for
managing water for 7 billion
people. Policy and technology go
hand in hand, and our accelerator
is an ecosystem that supports
innovation in both sectors. That
said, this stuff doesnt go into the
ground without leadership. Social,
political, and business leaders
need to stand up for the 7 billion.
Without that leadership, nothing
happens.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and words
Photo by Regmedia
THESE A group of researchers namely
AUTONOMOUS Diana Vilela, Jemish Parmar,
and Samuel Snchez from
the Max-Planck Institute
SWIMMING
for Intelligent Systems and
Yongfei Zeng and Yanli Zhao
of Nanyang Technological
MICROBOTS
University have found out that
Graphene-Based Microbots
can be used to clean up toxic
heavy metals in contaminated
SOAK UP 95% water. It can remove 95
percent of lead in an hour.
OF SPILT LEAD
"Heavy metal contamination
in water is a serious risk to
the public health and other
life forms on earth," the team
says.
"We report graphene oxide-
based microbots (GOx-
microbots) as active self-
propelled systems for the
capture, transfer, and removal
of [lead] and its subsequent
recovery for recycling
purposes.
"Mobile GOx-microbots
remove lead 10 times more
efficiently than nonmotile
GOx-microbots, cleaning
water from 1000 ppb down to
below 50 ppb in 60 min."
These microbots are made
of nanosized multilayers
of graphene oxide, nickel,
and platinum. The graphen
oxide outer coat captures
the suspended lead, while
the inner platinum layer
decomposes hydrogen
peroxide for self-propulsion,
and the middle nickel
band lets the machines be
magnetically retrieved from
the water.
They can also be reused as
soon as the lead is chemically
separated.
SEPTEMBER 2016
75
Clean Water Technologies
System configuration
A waterless self-contained toilet
for private household of 10
people
Faeces processing
1. Archimedes
screw
Removes solid waste from
holding after settling period
2. Drier pelletizer 3. Gasifier 4. Reservoir
Reduces moisture con- Burns the faeces to pro- The pathogen free water will be
tent of the solid waste duce the energy for the stored ready for either use around
before dosing the fuel system the home or easy disposal by the
into the gasifier below home owner
CRANFIELD
A research team in Cranfield
University is developing the
Nano Membrane Toilet, a
toilet that can treat human
UNIVERSITY: water onsite without external
energy or water. This toilet is
being developed in response
REINVENTING
to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation's Reinvent the
Toilet Challenge.
THE TOILET GineersNow conducted an
exclusive interview with Dr
Alison Parker, a member of
the team developing the
Treating human waste without the need Nano Membrane Toilet.
for external energy or water
Dr Parker has been working
on sanitation research for
eight years, and her role
within the team is to ensure
that the potential users views
are represented and that the
Nano Membrane Toilet will be
accepted by their target users.
THE COMPANY
GN: Tell us about your
company. Describe your
76 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Urine processing
1. Weir channel
Urine will pass over the weir
and into the channel where
it will warm up around the
exhaust of the gasifier
2. Membrane
bundle
The urine will pass into the
membrane chamber and
pure water will pass out of
the hollow membrane fibres
3. Heat exchanger
The water vapour will
condense to liquid and fall
to the bottom
mission, vision and values,
where this company is headed
and what are your future
expansion plans?
Dr Parker: Our team works
at Cranfield University in
one of its four schools the
School of Water, Energy and
Environment (SWEE). The
team has 21 members, a
mix of research students,
research staff and senior
academic advisors. We are
all based at the Cranfield
campus in Bedfordshire in
the UK. The teams vision is
to develop and test the Nano
Membrane Toilet and see it
commercialized so that the
number of people who do not
have access to a toilet at all is
reduced. Our target market
is people living in dense
urban areas where providing
other forms of sanitation is
challenging.
INTRODUCTION
GN: How does your company
 define clean water and
wastewater? How do people
gain access to clean water?
Dr Parker: We use the WHO
(World Health Organization)
/ UNICEF (United Nations
Children's Fund) definition of
improved water source and
improved sanitation. Many
communities, governments,
non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and
other agencies are working
towards providing clean water.
However, providing good
sanitation is also important
so that water sources do not
become contaminated with
human waste.
Dr Alison Parker
THE MACRO LEVEL OF
THE WORLDS WATER
TECHNOLOGY
GN: Where are we today?
What is the current situation of
clean water and wastewater?
What are the latest water
technologies today?
Dr Parker: UNICEF and
the WHO provide regular
updates on the progress
towards universal water and
sani-tation coverage. There
are still some technological
changes to achieving universal
coverage, including find-
ing a hygienic way to empty
existing pit latrines and finding
alternatives to pit latrines.
THE MICRO LEVEL
GN: What are the initiatives /
projects that you are doing (or
have done) that will provide
clean water to third world
countries?
Dr Parker: Cranfield University
is developing the Nano
Membrane Toilet which will be
able to treat human waste on-
site without external energy or
water. The Cranfield toilet is
designed for single-household
use (equivalent to 10 people)
and will accept urine and
faeces as a mixture. It is still
under development but this is
the vision of how it will work.
The Cranfield toilet flush uses a
unique rotating mechanism to
transport the mixture into the
toilet without using any water
while simultaneously blocking
odour and the users view of
the waste.
Solids separation (faeces)
is principally accomplished
through sedimentation.
Loosely bound water (mostly
from urine) is separated
using low glass transition
temperature hollow-fibre
membranes. The unique
nanostructured membrane
wall facilitates water transport
in the vapour state rather than
as a liquid state which yields
high rejection of pathogens
and some odorous volatile
compounds. The water will
be collected for reuse at the
household level in washing or
irrigation applications.
Following release of unbound
water, the residual solids are
transported by mechanical
screw into a gasifier which
will convert them into ash and
energy. The energy will power
the membrane processes, and
there may be extra energy for
charging mobile phones or
other low voltage items.
The Cranfield toilet will be
rented by the households
and maintenance will be
undertaken with a trained
operative responsible for the
franchised area.
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and
words of wisdom about the
clean water campaign to our
young global audience. What
would you like to tell to the
millennials? Any inspiring
words that you can share?
Dr Parker: The water sector
has many challenges that need
solving not only technical
challenges but social, political
and institutional challenges
as well. We need well-trained
scientists, engineers, designers
and social scientists who have
a good understanding of these
challenges and who arent
afraid to propose radical new
solutions.
SEPTEMBER 2016
77
Clean Water Technologies
 Photo by BBC

How The Water Crisis Is

Causing Headaches For The
People In Latin America
by By Alice Hernandez

Having four of the worlds 25 largest rivers, Latin

America is known to have a large supply of freshwater.
It also has some of the worlds largest lakes around.
An estimated 110,500 cubic feet per person per year
is expected because of the supply naturally provided
by the environment. However, it is often a mystery to
most researchers why the region suffer from water
shortages. Given the water crisis it is going through
these past few years, it has affected the political and
economic agendas of the countries involved.
According to the World Water Council, about 77 million
Latin Americans do not have access to safe water while
100 million of them do not have access to sanitation.
People also suffer from lack of treatment of sanitation
wastes while dealing with large water pricing inequality.

So what exactly is going on in Latin American

countries?

Global Policy Forum reports that some of the major

factors that have affected the distribution of water
resources include poor farming practices, unregulated
industrialization and urban poverty. With a major

78 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
increase in the population growth, more demands must
be attended to thus industrialization has devoured a lot
of the water supply. With more people to feed, farming
practices must be enough to feed millions of people,
which may lead to unregulated distribution of pesticides.
All these practices have led to contributing to water
pollution.
Water pollution is the main reason why water resources
become more limited than it is before. People have made
water basins and other water bodies a dumping site for
different kinds of wastes - garbage, effluent, industrial
and mining.
What has this water shortage led to?
Latin America was known for being a global leader in
clean energy because it is abundant in water. The water
shortage has affected the energy distribution in these
countries. Energy usually comes from hydropower
production but the water crisis has made it impossible
for the people in the region to rely solely on it. A lot
of these countries like Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela,
Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia have experienced power
blackouts most of the time. Some governments have
resorted to using fossil fuels lately.
Costa Rica invested almost $1 billion in order to use
geothermal energy while Uruguay will be investing
over $1.4 billion for wind energy. Other countries have
imported natural gas from the US.
The water shortage has also affected the water
distribution between the rich and the poor people in the
region. In a study conducted by World Bank (2006), it
showed that people in Latin America have the highest
water bills in the developing world. Those who suffer
from this are the poor ones who have to pay more than
the rich ones for clean water. These people also spend
more time collecting water. Studies have also shown that
they are more likely to be exposed to different water-
Photo by PRI
Photo by BBC World Online
related health problems.
In a study reported by the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), it stated, "People suffering the most
from the water and sanitation crisis -- poor people in
general and poor women in particular -- often lack the
political voice needed to assert their claims to water.
Different organizations have been made to fight for
the peoples right to access to clean water. While
there have also been an increase in private and public
partnerships throughout the area in an attempt to
support sustainable development. One private company,
the US-based brewing company Anheuser-Busch, help
water management pilot projects that would help
barley-growing regions like Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and
Argentina.
What can people do to improve it?
Now, if these organizations would be able to preserve
their water resources, theres still a chance that these
countries will run out of freshwater. Water pollution,
which has been a major factor as to why theres a water
crisis going on, should be a priority for the private
institutions and governments. They must find a way to
reduce the pollution at all cost.
Not only has the water crisis affected the economic and
political growth of the region. It has also affected the
quality of life for its people. Millions of people suffer
from not being able to drink enough water or have access
to proper sanitation. It is up to engineers, researchers,
scientists and businessmen to come up with creative
solutions to address these problems that not only affects
Latin America, but also the whole world.
SEPTEMBER 2016
79
Clean Water Technologies
THE MOST
WATER-STRESSED
COUNTRIES BY
2040
The world is already in deep trouble.
Whatever news channel you go to,
whatever newspaper you read, there
are things everyone should be aware
of. This includes being environmental
problems the world is facing because of
climate change. We all know how it has
dramatically changed the landscapes of
different places but did you know that
decades from now, the world will be living
in a planet that may not be able to
sustain human life anymore?
One of the alarming environmental issues
we must be aware of is the high demand
of water now. Given this demand, there
is low supply of water consumable for
people in each country. Adding climate
change to the issue, water levels have
changed in different regions - affecting
not only the environmental situations of
different countries, but also the political
and economic sectors. With some areas
becoming drier and others having more
water than expected, were not entirely
sure where to get the water we need to
sustain the lives of people from different
nations.
In a study conducted by the World
Resources Institute (WRI), they have
identified the places that will likely have
trouble getting enough supply of water.
Their study includes a ranking of the
future water stress by each country in
the year 2040. Water stress is based on
the ration of withdrawals to the supply of
water available in each country.
Water stress are categorized from low
to extremely high, which depend on the
given scores. 0 be-ing the lowest and
5 being the highest. 33 countries were
ranked in the category of being the most
water stressed countries where 14 of
them will be coming from the Middle
East. 9 out of 14 got a score of 5.0! This
may be expected since geographically
speaking, these countries have the least
supply of water. These countries rely
on groundwater and desalinated sea
water for their supply. These countries
are: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Palestine, Kuwait, Isra-el,
Oman and Bahrain.
The challenges these countries face
80 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
by By Alice Hernandez
Photo by Carbon Neutral
have affected the livelihoods of different
nations. For exam-ple,Saudi Arabia normally
plants their own supply of grains but due
to the water scarcity the coun-try is facing,
its government announced it will be relying
on grain imports this year. Water has also
played a major factor in different national
and international problems several countries
face in the-se areas.
As for the countries with the largest economies,
United States, India and China also are at
risk with their water supply. While these
countries will see a constant level of water
stress by 2040, there are specific regions for
each country that will have a water stress
level increase by up to 40-70%. These huge Photo by BBC
countries have different regional variations
which cause a difference in the actual wa-ter
stress level in each region. One must also take
note that there are countries that manage
their water supply exceptionally well, which
may cause the difference between the actual
and expected water stress level.
For each country, there are different factors
why the water stress level is high. Usually,
its a com-bination of these different factors
that worsens the amount of water supply
available. For example, Chile is projected
to have extremely high stress (compared
to a previous medium water stress in
2010) because of rising temperatures and Photo by World Resources Institute
precipitation patterns. While countries like
Botswana and Namibia have limited water
supplies and more likely at risk from floods
and droughts.
While this study wouldnt be able to predict
the water conditions in the future, it will
certainly help different organizations, private
institutions and governments in dealing with
whatever possible solu-tions necessary to
improve the situation. Water is very crucial to
human life and the progress of every nation
to obtain such high water stress level can
pose as a threat economic growth and may
lead to more problems in the future. Water
organizations and different governments all Photo by Washington Post
over the world must work hand in hand to
manage these water problems and make
rules that will allow eve-ryone to join in on
the different conservation practices out there.
Again, the world is in danger. Once the water
demand is too low, theres no telling whether
humans will still have a bright future or not.
These are the top 33 water-stressed countries by the year 2040:
Source: World Resources Institute

SEPTEMBER 2016
81
Clean Water Technologies
WATER
SCARCITY:
A PROBLEM
EVERYBODY
SHOULD BE
AWARE OF
by By Alice Hernandez

82 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Take a look at the water youre
drinking right now? Amazing
how one sip can energize the
body. Incredible how one drop of
water can save lives. Take a look
at it now. Marvel at how engineers
across the globe have found a way
to make it safe to drink and how
it was delivered to you like it was
that easy. Take a look at it now
before one day, youll realize what
was once something we took for
granted becomes so scarce that
people will spend millions just to
get a taste of it.
Thats the scary future of the water
were using now. Its not going to be
available for human con-sumption
forever. You may think, But
70% of the planet is covered with
water, how is it possible for it to be
scarce?
Yes, the world is covered with
70% water but only 3% of that is
freshwater - the one safe to use for
drinking, bathing and irrigation.
Two-thirds of this freshwater,
however, is tucked away in frozen
glaciers. Now, can you imagine how
limited our supply to freshwater is?
According to the World Wildlife
Organization (WWF), around
1.1 billion people do not have
access to water while 2.7 billion
people experience water scarcity
for at least one month. Due to
lack of water available, millions of
people die - usually from diarrheal
diseases.
Climate change has also played a
huge part in this problem since it
has affected the water stress level
from medium to extremely high
levels. Water stress is the ratio of
the withdrawal of water needed
to the supply. As greenhouse
gases increase in the environment,
the weather were dealt with has
affected the ecosystem. Places
become drier while the others
become wetter. It is esti-mated that
by 2025, only 1/3 of the worlds
population will be left with enough
water for consump-tion. What
will happen to the remaining 2/3?
What is the future for the whole
world when we wont have enough
water available?
Another factor that plays a huge
part in water scarcity is water
pollution. Water pollution is
caused by industrial wastes,
untreated human wastewater and
the pesticides that come from
farms. These wastes poll the water
by leaching into underground
aquifers. The water then becomes
unsafe to use for everyone. As
for the pollutants that come from
farming, did you know that 70%
of the freshwater accessible to
humans is used in agriculture?
The terrible thing about this is that
60% of that water used is wasted
due to inefficient systems used in
farming. Imagine rivers and lakes
be-ing dried up but only wasted in
irrigation systems.
Population growth also plays
an important factor in water
scarcity since more demands
must be supplied to the growing
population. However, there is
limited supply already. With more
people to feed, more production of
energy and commodities are also
needed which leads to a decrease
in water availability.
So how does this affect us all? Aside
from the obvious answer which is
we will suffer from water shortage
years from now, this also damages
ecosystems. Dried out lakes and
rivers means sever-al species have
died. Pollution has resulted to
destruction of homes to different
kinds of animals - invertebrates,
fish, birds and even mammals. This
has also affected the cultivation
of rice and a shortage in food
production.
But what can we do? Is there
anything that can be done to
prevent the increase in mortality
rate because of the water shortage?
Different organizations and
governments must work together
to find solutions to manage water
scarcity. Proper water management
must be implemented in different
regions to control the water
distribution and to avoid water
shortages if possible. Actions must
also be done to further avoid water
pollution.
To end this special coverage on
water scarcity, heres an important
thought we want to let you know.
Theres still time to save the planet.
Take a look again at that glass
of water in front of you. Its still
drinkable. But if you dont do you
part in protecting our water, you
wont be seeing drinkable water a
few years from now. So from an
engineer to another engineer, lets
work together in saving our water.
Its possible if we work together. It
still is.
Photo by Emazet
SEPTEMBER 2016
83
Clean Water Technologies
THE
DAYS OF
ABUNDANT
POWER
AND WATER
MAY BE
OVER
by Raymond Gerard del Valle

For most of us, having electricity and

water in our homes, schools or offices
is a foregone conclusion. These days,
turning on the tap and finding that
water is freely flowing no longer
merits hurrahs and hallelujahs. In
the same vein, connecting a charger
to your mobile phone and seeing
the battery bar virtually fill up
should no longer come as a surprise.
Indeed, water and electricity are
ubiquitous, that life without them is
unimaginable.

This, however, is not the case for

everyone. Currently, there are
650 million people without access
to water, and more than a billion
without access to electricity. And
with the continuous growth in the
worlds population, which spurs a
proportional increase in the demand
for power and water, meeting the
future demand for the two assets
is set to become more challenging
in the coming years. As power and
water are intertwined in more ways
than one, a collective analysis of
both holds the potential to greatly
help stakeholders in coming up with
sustainable solutions to the worlds
escalating utility challenges.

How power and water are Photo by Energy.gov

intertwined
Water for power
All types of electric power generation
involve the use of water, either in
processing raw materials utilized in
the energy facilities, constructing
or maintaining power plants, or in
producing electricity. In fact, even
renewable sources of energy, like
solar and wind, which use very
little or no water in generating
energy, may still require water in the
development of raw materials used
in building turbines and solar panels. Photo by AltaaqaGlobal

84 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies

One of the methods of power
generation that is highly dependent
on the availability of water is, of
course, hydropower generation.
A consistent supply of water is
extremely important in hydropower
plants, that even minute variations
in rainfall and ambient temperature,
and a small dip in water levels in
dams and reservoirs can have a huge
effect on hydropower generation
and on the health of the turbines.
Water-related weather phenomena
like droughts, El Nio, or floods can
lead to exceedingly low levels of
water in dams, or to destruction of
and damage to turbines due to silt,
respectively. When these happen
to hydropower plants, a shortage
in electricity supply may ensue,
which may jeopardize business and
industrial operations, and the daily
activities of common residents.
Power for water
Water supply and sewage disposal
requires power. A considerable
amount of electricity is needed to
extract, transport, treat and use
water in urban and rural areas.
For instance, drinking water must
be pumped to treatment facilities,
pre-treated, and then pushed or
transported to consumers. According
to experts, energy consumed in
pumping groundwater is within the
area of 537 kWh and 2,270 kWh per
million gallons depending on the
pumping depth.
Water desalination is another process
that involves a copious amount of
power. As fresh water may not always
be abundant or available, salt water is
desalinated to produce water suitable
for human consumption or irrigation.
Compared to extracting water from
rivers or the ground, water recycling
or water conservations process,
desalination entails a relatively
increased level of electricity.
Managing power and water for
the next generations
In the interest of maintaining a buoyant
supply of power and water for the
future, there is a steady drumbeat on
harnessing viable alternative sources
of energy that only require a negligible
amount of water, or are completely
independent. But as one may predict,
the adoption of nascent technologies
Photo by Boschrexroth
cannot happen overnight nor
even in a span of few years. There
are numerous factors involved in
shifting a paradigm, and for new
technologies to gain traction, all
variables should fall into place, and
all parties involved should agree to
head to the same direction.
While industry experts are looking
into the wider adoption and
improvement of renewable energy
sources, like solar and wind, they
may find merit in tapping the
support of other stable power
technologies, like multi-megawatt
temporary power solutions. As the
world transitions to water-friendly,
alternative power sources, the need
of the hour is to find a balanced
energy mix traditional, renewable
and temporary where sources
complement each other to create
a system capable of providing
the most sustainable and stable
electricity supply possible.
SEPTEMBER 2016
85
Clean Water Technologies
ECO-UV PROJECT BY
EU FORWARDS NON-
CHEMICAL WATER
TREATMENT PROCESS
Dr. Rainer Kling of KIT. Photo by 3DPrint
IRON-RICH DUST
CAUSES OXYGEN LOSS
IN OUR OCEANS
Researchers in Georgia Techs
School of Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences shows that for decades,
air pollution that drifts from East
Asia to the worlds largest ocean
has started a chain reaction which
has contributed to the depletion
of oxygen levels in tropical waters
thousands of miles away.
According to Taka Ito, an associate
professor at Georgia Tech,
"There's a growing awareness
that oxygen levels in the ocean
86 SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
may be changing over time. One
reason for that is the warming
environment -- warm water holds
less gas. But in the tropical Pacific,
the oxygen level has been falling
at a much faster rate than the
temperature change can explain."
This study was published May
16th in Nature Geoscience, and
was sponsored by the National
Science Foundation, a Georgia
Power Faculty Scholar Chair and a
Cullen-Peck Faculty Fellowship.
Towards an environmentally
friendly approach to clean water,
an Eco-UV research project was
funded by the European Union
with EUR 3.9 million which is under
the Horizon 2020 program, to be
participated by engineers from
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(KIT). They are tasked to develop
efficient ultraviolet (UV) emitters
and long-lived electronic systems
in treating the universal solvent.
How UV water filter and
purification systems work.
The concept of UV radiation is not
unfamiliar in water purification.
The use of short-wave radiation
is an alternative to chemical
additives by still reducing
significantly the bacterial count
present in water in short periods
of time.
The Eco-UV project will focus
The researchers described in the
report how air pollution from
industrial activities increased
the levels of iron and nitrogen
in the ocean of the coast of East
Asia. Iron and Nitrogen are key
nutrients for marine life, and are
carried into the tropical regions by
ocean currents, where they will be
consumed by photosynthesizing
phytoplankton.
But while tropical phytoplankton
may release more oxygen into the
on the water processing from
drinking water disinfection
to detoxification of industrial
process water. Along with their
focus is to reduce the carbon
dioxide emission and overall
environmental pollution.
Dr. Rainer Kling of KITs Light
Technology Institute said, A high
energy efficiency and long service
life will be major features of the
new system. At KIT, we are working
on the key component, a new,
mercury-free UV emitter. With
silicon carbide as semiconductor
material, we reach a very high
power density. This does not
only increase efficiency, but also
reduces energy consumption and
CO2 emission.
The emitters produced by the KIT
engineers will be integrated into
a system of Hanovia, a British
manufacturer of UV systems.
Photo by EScienceNews
atmosphere, their consumption of
excess nutrients have a negative
effect on the dissolved oxygen
levels deeper in the ocean.
HOW LAS VEGAS
ROSE FROM THEIR
WATER CRISIS
Perhaps quite an application to
the famous adage What happens
in Vegas, stays in Vegas is with
their water, although water is not
very exclusive to them only they
have an edge due to their water
technology.
The thirstiest city in Nevada, a
state wherein they only get 4
inches of rain annually, Las Vegas
has to find a way around their lack
of water blessing, and so far they
are delivering well in conserving
their water. New front lawns
have been banned for years; golf
courses are being punished with
fines due to their excessive water
rationing. Not only that, they also
have a recycling program wherein
the citys indoor water goes back
and forth Lake Mead that enabled
them to trim their aggregate
water use by a third despite the that treats water for research.
considerable population growth Vegas locals and visitors can
since 2000. Behind these efforts gamble and need not to worry
are more, especially in their water about water anymore as things
innovation. are patching up despite their
Research and development in history with water. They can even
Las Vegas grew more with the be rightfully called the Silicon
areas umbrella water utility, the Valley of Water with their water
Southern Nevada Water Authority, innovation.
being a recognized water quality
treatment. It has state-of-the-art Photo by OutsideOnline
laboratory that produced major
academic journals together with
their accomplished group of
scientists.
There are also efforts from the
teaming up of the state, the city,
the University of Nevadas Desert
Research Institute, the regional
water authority and private
industry that produced what they
call as WaterStart, a tiny incubator
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THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
ON FOOD AND BEVERAGES
WASTEWATER DISCHARGE
Truth be told, water treatment is
taken for granted in the food and
beverage production sector. It
only comes to mind when there
is a problem after the water
they utilize is discharged; but
nonetheless, it will soon become
a problem.
Such is the case of Oland
Brewery, who two years ago had
a wastewater discharge problem
that affected the Halifax municipal
treatment plant. The brewery
forced the Nova Scotia city to
release water with dangerous
levels of biological oxygen demand
(BOD) and total suspended solids
(TSS) into the Halifax Harbor.
Heres the catch: Oland Brewery
was torn between two options
to solve the problem: one, is
to upgrade the municipal plant
which would cause surcharges
to quintuple to almost $1 million
annually based on the BOD and
TSS levels at the time; or two, is
to invest in a new system that will
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eliminate surcharges. Although
the first option was the cheaper
one, the second one was chosen
as it was seen to be most beneficial
in the long run.
The brewery invested $13 million
in an anaerobic digestion system
that will remove surcharges and
will also meet the natural gas
demand for plant boilers of up to
5 per cent.
What they did was contrary to
the popular mantra among water
treatment circles which is the
solution to pollution is dilution,
Photo by SustainabilityMatters
but Oland managed to control the
problem just fine.
See, the problem with food and
beverage wastewater discharge
is taking responsible of where
the water goes before the effect
becomes irreversible. That is why
companies like Oland are worth
emulating when it comes to their
social responsibility with water
treatment.
Photo by TheChronicleHerald
 Photo by WarnerLeisureHotels
HERES A BOOZE THAT WILL
MAKE YOU LOOK YOUNGER
Have you ever wanted to look
young through alcohol? Although
the thought may be disconnected,
but its already happening: you can
now enjoy a gin that is reportedly
to have anti-aging properties.
Cleverly named Anti-AGin, this
age-defying booze is distilled with
ingestible collagen and botanicals
like chamomile and tea tree that
will do the anti-aging magic.
Collagen declines as we age
which causes wrinkles and loose
skin, which is why that protein is
the main component of this gin.
Beauty shops and food in Japan
also use the same secret to keep
the Japanese beauty intact.
The gin was made by food and drink
alchemists Bompas & Parr and
commissioned by Warner Leisure
Hotels. It comes with quite a price
tag though it can be bought for
retail at 34.99 ($50) over this
website, drinksupermarket.com.
This new booze gives alcoholics
more reason to justify their habit
of drinking, and we cant blame
them if they want to look young.
This will also allow others to just
drink gallons of this gin than
undergo the actual plastic surgery.
Heres for a drunker and younger
version of you!
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