CONTENTS

Vol 01 No 5 April 2018 Pages 60 MARKET

Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka
Sr Vice President - BPD
28 VALUE OF WATER SHOULD
BE CONVEYED!

Neil Viegas
Editor 30 A BREAKTHROUGH
TECHNOLOGY FOR
Mayur Sharma* TOUGHEST WASTEWATER
PROBLEMS
DESIGN

National Design Editor

Bivash Barua
32 ACCELERATING INNOVA-
TION IN URBAN WATER
MANAGEMENT
Assistant Art Director

Pravin Temble COLUMNS

Chief Designer

Prasad Tate
Senior Designer 38 KNOWING OUR WATERS
By Australian Water
Partnership (AWP)
Rekha Bisht
Graphic Designer

Gauri Deorukhkar 39 MARKET INSIGHTS

By Frost & Sullivan

40
DIGITAL TEAM WATER WISE

JALSABHA2018
Head of Internet By WaterAid
Viraj Mehta
Web Developer

Dhaval Das APPLICATION

Senior Executive - Online

Pushkar Worlikar
Executive - Online
Organized by The Indian Express Group and Express 42 EFFICIENCY OR
RELIABILITY - THEIR
INFLUENCES ON PUMP
Salil Sule Water, Jal Sabha brought together top decision- SELECTION AND SYSTEM

SCHEDULING & COORDINATION

makers from the Indian Municipal Corporations tasked OPERATION

Santosh Lokare with managing the water and sewage networks within
Photo Editor the urban local bodies. CASE STUDY
Sandeep Patil

MARKETING

Kailash Shirodkar
19-26 44 CONTINUOUS DATA KEEPS
BRAZILIAN PORTS’
BUSINESS FLOWING
CIRCULATION

Mohan Varadakar
48 ENDURANCE TEST AT THE
PFLEGELBERG CENTRAL
SEWAGE PLANT
PRODUCTION

General Manager WATER DIALOGUE

B R Tipnis
Manager
52 CONTROLLING WATER
FLOW IN SALALAH, OMAN

INTERVIEW
Bhadresh Valia
16 Shyam J Bhan
Express Water
TM
CEO, SUEZ India PROJECT TRACKER
REGD. WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2017/74894.
Printed by The Indian Express (P) Ltd.
and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on
behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot
57 SUEZ EXPANDS ACTIVITY
IN INDIA WITH NEW CON-
TRACT
No. EL-208, TTC Industrial Area,
P06 : EDITOR’S NOTE
Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and
Published from Express Towers, 1st 58 IDE WASTEWATER REUSE
DEMO FACILITIES IN CALI-
Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021. P08 : IN THE NEWS FORNIA

(Editorial & Administrative Offices:

Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman P13 : EXPRESS WATER REPORT
Point, Mumbai – 400021)

Copyright © 2017
The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
*Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act

4 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 EDITOR’S NOTE

JAL SABHA
In this issue, we are covering the 2018 edition of
Jal Sabha (8-9 March, Pune), the first big water event
organized by Express Water. Jal Sabha is a forum ex-
clusively designed for the heads of the water supply
and sewage departments of Municipal Corporations.
In this -by invite only- forum, top municipal profes-
sionals from different states and cities came together
to debate and discuss issues faced by the corpora-
tions around water supply and sewage, 24x7 water
supply, smart metering, STPs (financing, and decen-
tralized STPs), among others. Rajendra Jagtap, CEO
- Pune Smart City, was the keynote speaker. High-
lights of the event were engaging panel discussions
on smart cities, safe drinking water, and recycle &
reuse of sewage. The event concluded with Smart In-
frastructure Innovation Awards. The success of this
event clearly highlights the growing needs and chal-
lenges prevailing in the Indian Municipal Water seg-
ment.
The positive interest of International Water Com-
panies in the Indian Water Sector can also be seen by
the recent updates on new projects, contracts and ex-
pansion plans of companies. We’ve included these up-
dates in News and Market sections this month.
All our monthly columns prove to be a very inter-
esting read this month. The WaterAid column re-
members the noted environmentalist Anupam
Mishra and his ideas on water (he wrote classics like
‘Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein’ and ‘Aaj Bhi Khare
Hain Talab’ highlighting how from centuries commu-
nities with their immense wisdom managed water
through traditional rainwater harvesting systems,
pond creation, community forestry, etc).
Frost & Sullivan column in this issue focuses on
Global Water and Wastewater Disinfection Market.
“Clean water,the essence
of life and a birthright for
everyone,must become
available to all people now.”
- Jean-Michel Cousteau
It specifically says that the advanced disinfection
technology, UV-LED is gradually but surely replac-
ing chlorination as a reliable and sustainable disin-
fectant. UV and Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP)
disinfection is expected to constitute 34% of the to-
tal disinfection market share by 2024.
Globally, women only make up 17% of the paid
workforce in the water sector. Despite their vast expe-
rience with water management, women have been
consistently excluded from professionally entering
this sector. The column by Australian Water Partner-
ship (AWP) looks at the involvement of women in wa-
ter utilities & upper leadership roles.
Ensuring access to good quality water can be a
challenge due to economic as well as domestic activ-
ities impacting the quality of surface and groundwa-
ter supplies, as per the column by Robert Brears this
month. Hence, to avoid having to develop new water
supplies due to contamination a number of jurisdic-
tions are turning to water source protection meth-
ods which involve the protection of surface water
sources and the protection of groundwater sources
from contamination of any kind.
In our May issue, we will focus on “Water Loss”
(non-revenue water, leakage detection & control,
pressure management, water-supply efficiency, soft-
ware modelling, smart water networks, etc). I wel-
come editorial contributions on this and all other top-
ics which you find significant for the water sector.
Keep sending me your updates on new water &
wastewater projects, policies and people.
MAYUR SHARMA
Editor
mayur.sharma@expressindia.com
@TheExpressWater

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6 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 IN THE NEWS
Fluence’s NIROBOX™ Continues
to Expand its Global Reach
EW Staff
Australia
FLUENCE CORPORATION
LIMITED has announced its
continued global growth strat-
egy (entering the Philippines,
and further growth in
Argentina) with agreements to
provide its award-winning
NIROBOX™ smart decentral-
ized water treatment solution.
Commenting on the contin-
ued expansion of Fluence’s
NIROBOX solution, the compa-
ny’s Managing Director and
Evoqua Acquires Pacific Ozone Technologyto Expand Industrial
Disinfection Treatment Solutions
EW Staff
USA
EVOQUA WATER
TECHNOLOGIES Corp. has
acquired privately held Pacific
Ozone Technology, Inc., a
manufacturer of advanced
ozone disinfection systems,
testing products and support
services for a wide range of
industrial applications.
The acquisition adds a new
technology - ozone disinfec-
tion - to the Evoqua portfolio
8 April, 2018
CEO Henry Charrabé said:
“Fluence’s decentralized treat-
ment solutions continue to pro-
vide fast, effective options for
production of potable water
around the globe. Our entry
into the Philippines with com-
missioning undertaken one
week after order receipt, and
further growth in Argentina,
clearly show the increasingly
global reach of the NIROBOX™
family of water treatment solu-
tions, as well as the versatility
of treatment options available
from Fluence.”
and further underscores the
company’s industry-leading
capabilities in the water treat-
ment market. Terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Pacific Ozone Technology
Inc, serves the beverage, food
processing, high purity, textile,
ground remediation and aqua-
culture markets globally.
It serves its customer base
with state-of-the-art ozone
generator systems, ozone test
kits and field service support.
Their Floating Plate
In the Philippines, Fluence
provided a Nirobox SW (sea-
water) unit to a new resort
facility, to produce 1,000
m3/day of desalinated, potable
water for consumption. The
unit was installed and operat-
ing within one week of receiv-
ing the order.
In Argentina, Fluence
Corporation will provide its
first two Nirobox BW (brackish
water) units in South America
to the Municipality of
Berazategui, in the province of
Buenos Aires.
Technology produces reliable
and efficient ozone generation
in an economical, air-cooled
system.
It will become a part of
Evoqua’s Products segment,
which specializes in innova-
tive water disinfection tech-
nologies and global service
and support.
“We are excited to wel-
come Pacific Ozone to the
Evoqua family,” said Ron
Keating, Evoqua CEO. “The
addition of ozone technology
AquaVenture Holdings to
Acquire MajorityInterest in
Desalination Plant in Ghana
EW Staff
Ghana
A Q U AV E N T U R E
HOLDINGS LIMITED has
entered into a binding agree-
ment with Abengoa Water,
S.L.U. to purchase a majority
interest in a desalination plant
in Accra, Ghana. The plant
has the capacity to deliver
approximately 18.5 million gal-
lons (60,000 m3) per day of
potable water to Ghana Water
Company Limited (GWCL)
under a long-term, U.S. dollar-
denominated water purchase
agreement. Political risk
insurance is provided to the
project lenders and project
equity sponsors by
Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a
division of the World Bank.
The facility has been opera-
tional since 2015 and, through
its customer, supplies water to
approximately 500,000 resi-
to our current offering of dis-
infection solutions is consis-
tent with our acquisition
strategy to broaden our tech-
nology offerings and fill cur-
rent product portfolio gaps.
We are excited to market
Pacific Ozone as an Evoqua
brand to our industrial cus-
tomer base.”
Ozone technology is widely
used throughout key industri-
al markets and can be added
at several points throughout
the treatment system - such
dents of Accra. The base pur-
chase price for this interest is
approximately USD 26 mil-
lion, subject to adjustment in
accordance with the purchase
agreement. Completion of the
purchase, which is expected to
occur by the end of the second
quarter of 2018, is subject to
the satisfaction of certain con-
ditions precedent.
Doug Brown, Chairman,
and CEO of AquaVenture
Holdings, commented: "We
are excited about this project.
This will be our first desalina-
tion plant in Africa. The
acquisition will expand our
base of facilities that provide
WAAS solutions to our cus-
tomers. We look forward to
working with the project
stakeholders in completing
the various conditions to clos-
ing and becoming a long-term
partner to the Government of
Ghana for water treatment
and services."
as during pre-oxidation, inter-
mediate oxidation or final dis-
infection.
The acquisition of Pacific
Ozone marks the second
transaction by Evoqua in 2018
and the 10th acquisition by the
company in the past two
years.
The brand will join
Evoqua’s stable of disinfection
brands which includes
Wallace & Tiernan® systems,
and ETS™, Barrier®, and
Delta® UV products.
EXPRESS WATER
 IN THE NEWS

Aquaporin Enters Distribution L&TConstruction Wins Orders

Agreement for the Indian Market Worth Rs.3,687 Crores in
Water & Effluent Treatment
EW Staff
Denmark
Business Segments
INDIA IS ACTING to solve
the country’s water & waste-
water challenges. Annual
investments in water & waste-
water treatment systems cur-
rently exceed DKK 9 billion
and are expected to increase
to DKK 12 billion by 2020.
The Aquaporin Inside™
Hollow Fiber Forward
Osmosis product is ideally
positioned to capture the
shares of this highly attractive
market and is already now
being implemented as an inte-
gral part of sustainable solu-
tions to India’s water chal-
lenges.
Aquaporin and Goldfinch,
India, have signed a distribu-
tion agreement for the
Aquaporin Inside™ forward
osmosis technology within the
fields of wastewater treat-
ment and process application
for industrial and commercial
segments.
“The Indian market is of
high interest for the
Aquaporin Group. India faces
increasing challenges in water
quality and health due to rapid
urbanization. As a result, the
governmental legislation has
been rolled out across India to
limit the wastewater dis-
charge and reduce contami-
nant levels. Traditional waste-
water reduction technologies
come at high OPEX & CAPEX
costs, which is now - more
than ever - fueling a drive for
the innovative cost-effective
technologies. The Aquaporin
Inside™ technology can serve
as a very effective solution”,
Mark Perry, Vice President of
Business & Sales in
Aquaporin Asia comments.
Business Development
Director in Goldfinch,
Santosh Bhide continues
“With increased awareness
and stricter regulatory
requirements, innovative
processes offer the key for
compliance to Indian industry.
Goldfinch visualizes that
Aquaporin FO offers energy
saving solution for optimizing
the CAPEX and OPEX for
wastewater treatment and
recycling, and we also foresee
many potential applications
both in-process and end of the
pipe.”
EW Staff
Mumbai
TWO EPC ORDERS, worth
Rs. 949 crore, have been
secured from Bangalore
Water Supply & Sewerage
Board for 'Providing
Underground Drainage
Facilities (Laterals) to
Bommanahalli, RR Nagar &
Dasarahalli Zone coming
under 110 Villages of BBMP
(Bruhat Bengaluru
Mahanagara Palike)', in
Bengaluru. Another order has
been secured from Krishna
Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited
for the execution of 'Bhima
Lift Irrigation Project on
turnkey basis.'
Three other orders worth
Rs. 1,058 crore include an EPC
from Pune Municipal
Corporation for Study, Survey,
Investigation, Assessment,
Design Validation and
Revamping of the entire Water
Supply System for Pune City.
Pune Municipal Corporation
has launched an ambitious
plan to transform the prevail-
ing intermittent water supply
into the 24x7 pressurized
water supply and to implement
100% smart metering covering
every household in Pune City
over the next 5 years. The
scheme envisages to substan-
tially reduce the Non-Revenue
Water (NRW) of the city by
plugging losses and upgrading
the entire water supply sys-
tem. Pune is the first metropol-
itan city in India that will exe-
cute a project of this nature at

IPMA Solar Sub-committee order which has been secured

from Udaipur Smart City
Limited for 'Integrated
such a large scale. “We are
delighted to have bagged this
very prestigious order which

Discusses New Solar Water Infrastructure package of the

ABD area of Udaipur City.' It is
the first of its kind brownfield
has the potential to be a game-
changer in the realm of water
infrastructure development,”

Pumping Systems Standards project for the development of

Ahmedabad on 10 March 2018 to discuss
MNRE’s new standards on “Testing Protocol
and Benchmarking Criterion for Solar Water
Pumping Systems”, and “Solar Photovoltaic
Water Pumping Systems” to be implemented
w.e.f 1 April 2018 and also to check its harmo-
nization with proposed Indian Standards on
“Solar Photovoltaic Water Pumping Systems-
Part 1-Centrifugal Pumps Specification”.
Clause-wise joint comments of IPMA, SIEMA
& REA, against MNRE’s new “Testing Protocol
and Benchmarking Criterion for Solar Water
Mayur Sharma Pumping Systems”, were submitted to MNRE
Ahmedabad on 12 March 2018. The response is awaited from
MNRE. Indian Pump Manufacturers'
INDIAN PUMP MANUFACTURERS' Association (IPMA), established in 1951, is
Association (IPMA) Solar Sub-committee’ working for the growth of pump and motor
technical meeting was recently arranged in manufacturers.
smart infrastructure in the
city. Another order has been
secured from the Rural Water
Supply and Sanitation, Odisha
for providing water supply to
Narasingpur, Badampa,
Balikuda, Erasma and
Naugaon blocks of Cuttack and
Jagatsinghpur districts in
Odisha. The Dholera Industrial
City Development Limited has
awarded the work for design &
construction of Industrial
Effluent Pumping Stations,
Common Effluent Treatment
Plant (CETP), Master
Balancing Reservoir - sumps & house service connec-
Recycled Water and Pumping
Station at Dholera, Gujarat.
The Water & Effluent
Treatment business of L&T
Construction has secured EPC
orders worth Rs. 1,680 Crore
said S. Rajavel, Senior Vice
President & Head - Water &
Smart World Communication,
L&T Construction. “With
potable water becoming
increasingly scarce globally,
Pune city is leading the way
with this ambitious project
which also reaffirms our status
as one of the foremost
providers of vital water infra-
structure in the country.” The
scope of the project includes
supply, laying, testing and com-
missioning of water transmis-
sion pipelines, optical fiber
cable ducts, construction of
tions along with water audit,
Non-Revenue Water
Reduction, SCADA, bill read-
ing & generation and other
associated electromechanical
& instrumentation works.

10 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 IN THE NEWS
Tahal Group Secures USD 28 Million Contract for a Water SupplySystem in India
EW Staff
Bengaluru
TAHAL GROUP, THROUGH
its subsidiary TAHAL India, is
already engaged in six differ-
ent infrastructural projects in
India, and its backlog of work
for immediate execution
there, after signing the agree-
ment, will be USD 170 million.
Saar Bracha, TAHAL
Group's President & CEO
said: "2017 was the best year
for TAHAL in India, with
unprecedented sales totalling
over US$ 35 million, and a
backlog of new orders
amounting to more than US$
140 million. The new project
Hunter Water to Pilot TaKaDu as Part
of its Drive Towards Total Efficiency
EW Staff
Australia
THE SECOND LARGEST
water utility in New South
Wales, Australia, Hunter
Water Corporation, has select-
ed TaKaDu’s Integrated Event
Management solution as part
of its concerted efforts to
achieve total water efficiency.
Serving around 600,000 peo-
ple, Hunter Water is deploying
TaKaDu’s technology with
predictive analytics to give
them greater visibility of its
water network, tackle data
sources and reduce water loss.
Richard Harris, Chief
Information Officer at Hunter
Water, said, “We are commit-
ted to saving water to provide
our customers with affordable
products and services.”
“To achieve this aim we
actively invest in new innova-
tions and by using TaKaDu’s
technology, we can extract the
most value from all our data
sources and address all types
EXPRESS WATER
will enable TAHAL to contin-
ue operating in Karnataka in
the next few years, even after
successful completion of the
Gadag project in the coming
months."
TAHAL Group has won a
USD 28 million tender for
upgrading and operating a
large-scale water supply sys-
tem for the city of Bangalore,
Karnataka.
This is the seventh project
in India awarded to TAHAL,
following four water supply
projects and one undertaking
involving natural gas infra-
structure in 2017.
Altogether, TAHAL has
clinched assignments in India
of issues like leaks, bursts and
faults in almost real-time – fix-
ing any problems quickly and
preventing service interrup-
tions.”
TaKadu’s cloud-based
service enables utilities to
detect, analyze and manage
network events and incidents
such as leaks, bursts, faulty
assets, telemetry/data issues,
operational failures, and more.
Amir Peleg, TaKaDu’s
Founder & CEO, said, “Hunter
Water is recognized as one of
the most progressive water
utilities in Australia. We’re
delighted to add them to our
global customer base, repre-
senting our seventh customer
in Australia spanning water
utilities across Victoria,
Queensland and New South
Wales. It’s encouraging to see
Australian utilities taking
important strides towards
water efficiency using digital
solutions like ours to drive
operational change and
empower their workforce.”
valued at more than USD 240
million during the past three
years.
The project, to be carried
out for Karnataka State Water
and Sewage Company, will
include renovation, expansion,
upgrading and operation of
the water supply system in the
city of Bangalore, with a popu-
lation of 11 million. The system
will supply water to 42,000
households and is expected to
include about 400 km of new
transmission mains, advanced
systems for reducing and pre-
venting leakages and other
water losses, and monitoring
and control systems for opera-
tional support. The construc-
2018 Lee Kuan YewWater Prize Laureate
Honoured for Revolutionizing Fight Against
Waterborne Diseases
EW Staff
Singapore
Professor Rita R. Colwell
has been announced as the
recipient of the prestigious
Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize
2018.
Professor Colwell’s accom-
plishments and commitment
tion works are expected to
last approximately 36 months,
and a 12-month operation and
maintenance period will be in
effect following the handover
of the project to the client.
In November 2017, the
company won a USD 29 mil-
lion contract for construction
of a water supply system to
serve some 85,000 house-
holds, financed by IBRD and
the World Bank. In September
2017, it won two turnkey proj-
ects, including design and
construction of water treat-
ment and supply systems in
the city of Nirsa, the state of
Jharkhand, totalling USD 80
million. The two projects
to the pursuit of science and
its application have been
exceptional.
Over her immensely rich
and multi-faceted career
which continues till today, she
has benefited the lives of mil-
lions worldwide through her
pioneering insights into
microbial water quality sur-
together are expected to sup-
ply water to approximately
127,000 households.
Saar Bracha, President &
CEO of TAHAL Group, states:
"TAHAL Group is one of the
largest Israeli infrastructure
companies operating in India.
This is the fifth contract to be
awarded to us in the past few
months and our current work
in India is valued at over USD
170 million. The Indian gov-
ernment is planning huge
investments to the tune of
USD 31 billion in the develop-
ment of water supply and
agricultural systems, and
TAHAL is well positioned to
realize this huge potential.
veillance and her tireless
efforts in building upon these
insights to transform the sur-
veillance and control of
cholera and other waterborne
diseases.
In addition to her seminal
scientific contributions,
Professor Rita Colwell is also
an influential scientific advi-
sor and public administrator
who has led and shaped policy
and practice through the
numerous advisory and lead-
ership positions she held in
the U.S. Government, non-
profit organizations, as well as
various scientific advisory
boards.
Her work spans the globe,
from Africa, Bangladesh,
India, Singapore to Central
and South America, where
she has advised governments
and communities in tackling
cholera and other waterborne
diseases.
April, 2018 11
 IN THE NEWS

OPIC Loan to Expand Access to Clean Water in India

Mayur Sharma a subsidiary of WaterHealth
New Delhi International, Inc. of Irvine,
California, will help finance
THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE the installation of as many as
Investment Corporation 900 decentralized plants that
(OPIC), the U.S. purify the water on site and
Government’s development sell it at a price that is three
finance institution, has com- to four times lower than bot-
mitted a $12.5 million (Rs. 80 tled water alternatives cur-
crores) loan to a project that rently available in the mar-
will expand access to afford- ketplace.
able clean drinking water to These WaterHealth
millions of low and middle- Vending Machines (WVM)
income people in India. are installed at locations like
OPIC’s loan to railway stations, bus stations,
WaterHealth India Pvt. Ltd., shopping malls, public and
private institutions or any
high footfall location where
consumers are able to pur-
chase purified water ranging
in amounts from 300ml to 5
liters. Most consumers carry
their own bottles and
WaterHealth refills them, but
consumers may also pur-
chase reusable bottles.
“This project offers an
innovative approach to mak-
ing safe water more available
and affordable and illustrates
how businesses can develop
new solutions to longstanding
global challenges,” said Ray
W. Washburne, OPIC
President and CEO. “By
increasing access to clean
water, the project will
improve the health and quali-
ty of life for millions of
Indians, particularly women
who typically have the pri-
mary responsibility for
obtaining and managing the
household water supply.”
“WaterHealth International
has been committed to
improving access to safe and
affordable drinking water for
underserved consumers for
over a decade. During that
time, we have built the world’s
lowest cost, global operating
platform for decentralized
water purification plants,” said
Sanjay Bhatnagar, CEO of
WaterHealth International.
OPIC’s loan to
WaterHealth was committed
under OPIC’s new 2X Global
Women’s Initiative to mobi-
lize $1 billion to invest in
women and unlock the eco-
nomic opportunity they rep-
resent.

Grundfos Delivers Strong Results Energy Recovery

EW Staff
Denmark
GRUNDFOS HAS GAINED significant mar-
ket share by managing to grow sales organical-
ly by 5.3%. Profitability and cash flow have con-
tinued to be strengthened in 2017. With a
turnover of DKK 25.6bn, 2017 was the strongest
year ever in Grundfos history. Earnings before
interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to DKK
2.346bn (9.2% of net turnover).
“We are very satisfied with the result. We
have achieved the highest turnover in company
history, our sales growth far exceeded the mar-
ket trend, and we are well on our way to our
2020 ambition of an EBIT ratio of 10% or high-
er,” says Group President Mads Nipper.
Growth was generally strong across the
Awarded $4 Million
for Desalination
world, but particularly China contributed with
very high growth rates. In China, Grundfos fur-
ther expanded with more sales offices across
China, and succeeded in offering solutions to
support China’s plans to reduce its energy con-
sumption significantly.
European markets, including the UK, Spain,
Projects in Egypt
France and several Eastern European coun-
tries, showed solid growth, and the important
Russian market recovered after several years
of decline. Despite challenging market condi- EW Staff ties avoid over 80,400 tons of
tions, growth was also delivered in the USA. In Egypt CO2 emissions per year.
South America, we have been able to gain mar- Energy Recovery's
ket share despite difficulties in the Brazilian ENERGY RECOVERY, INC. President and CEO Chris
market. Sales also increased in countries such has announced total awards Gannon stated, "These
as Australia, Japan, India and Korea, where of $4 million to supply its PX® recent awards are the direct
Grundfos is a large-scale supplier to the Pressure Exchanger® tech- result of the dedicated
machine tool industry. nology for desalination proj- efforts of our water team and
“During the year, we have made consider- ects in Egypt. The orders are an indication of Energy
able investments in initiatives aimed at expected to ship in the 1st Recovery's continuing
strengthening our competitiveness. We have half of 2018. strength in the global desali-
launched new products and solutions. By Energy Recovery will sup- nation market. As we have
investing heavily in our global service business, ply its PX-Q300 Pressure emphasized in our most
we have strengthened our ability to offer inno- Exchangers for multiple recent earnings call, we are
vative and high-quality services to our cus- desalination facilities in laser-focused throughout
tomers. Our ambition is to offer the best digital Egypt, which will produce up 2018 on supporting and
customer experience on the market. This to 160,000 cubic meters of growing our desalination
requires considerable investments in a broad water per day. Energy business and unlocking pre-
range of digital tools and solutions. Recovery estimates the PX viously untapped market
Furthermore, we are collaborating closely with devices will reduce the facili- potential through packaged
our customers to understand how we can best ties' combined power con- solutions and offerings like
create value through digital solutions that fur- sumption by 15.6 MW, saving the Prime Performance
ther strengthen our core business,” explains over 134.5 GWh of energy per Energy Services
Mads Nipper. year, and helping the facili- Agreement."

12 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 INTERVIEW

WATER DIALOGUE
With
Shyam J Bhan
CEO, SUEZ India
SUEZ Group has been present in
India for more than 30 years now. It
has designed and built more than
250 water and wastewater
treatment plants and currently
operates 23 of them. SUEZ also
plays the role of a water services
provider for major municipalities
such as Mumbai, Bangalore, New
Delhi and Kolkata. Its activities
contribute towards the distribution
of 5 billion litres of drinking water
to over 44 million people every day.
The wastewater treatment
services of the plants built and
managed by the company serve
some 5.5 million inhabitants. Its
water services expertise has
benefitted 15 million people across
major metros in India, and it
employs over 900 professionals in
the country.

16 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 INTERVIEW
“ “
With over 30 years of
experience of
working with
municipal
corporations in India,
we have solid
understanding of the
market needs and
the ability to provide
sustainable solutions
based on excellent
customer service
and commercial
efficiency.
Recently India has been
trying to position itself as
a leader on climate change
in the global arena. How do
you see SUEZ's role in sup-
porting the Government of
India's efforts?
Shyam Bhan: Today,
India is going through major
environmental challenges
resulting from the exponen-
tial growth in population,
exploding urbanization, cli-
mate change, scarcity of
resources, etc. As a global
leader in water and waste
resource management with
over 30 years of experience
of working with municipal
corporations in India, we
have solid understanding of
the market needs and the
ability to provide sustain-
able solutions based on
excellent customer service
and commercial efficiency.
We are confident that with
this, we will be able to pro-
vide smarter and sustain-
able solutions in some key
areas like waste manage-
ment desalination, waste-
water treatment industrial
water, water distribution,
network operation, etc.
SUEZ has been in India for
30 years. How has the jour-
ney been so far?
Shyam Bhan: Over the
last three decades, we have
built more than 750 state-
EXPRESS WATER
of-the-art water and
wastewater treatment
plants for local authorities
and industries. SUEZ activi-
ties contribute towards the
distribution of 5 billion litres
of drinking water every day
to over 44 million people in
India. The wastewater treat-
ment services of the plants
built and managed by the
company serve some 7.5
million inhabitants. More
than one-third of popula-
tion in Delhi, Mumbai and
Bangalore drink water pro-
duced from plants built by
SUEZ.
From being the market
leader of Design, Build and
Operation of water and
wastewater treatment
infrastructure over the last
three decades, SUEZ has
now established itself as
the leader of water distribu-
tion and services business.
Apart from working with
utilities in cities like New
Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru,
etc., the company recently
won two major long-term
water services contracts
worth 500 million Euros in
Coimbatore and Davangere.
These two projects can
potentially become excel-
lent templates for replica-
tion in other parts of the
country. These cities will
benefit from SUEZ's expert-
ise, world-class technolo-
gies and operational excel-
lence, making a direct
impact on millions of peo-
ple by supplying safe drink-
ing water and ensuring
much improved interface
with the utilities' staff for
their grievances and issues
and better revenue man-
agement for the local
authorities.
You are a veteran in the en-
vironment industry with
more than 25 years of ex-
perience. What steps must
the government take to
motivate more private sec-
tor investment in waste
management?
Shyam Bhan: I believe
that the investment climate
at the municipal level needs
to be improved significantly
before private sector
investments in waste man-
agement projects become
viable. The payment securi-
ty mechanism continues to
be a serious issue. It is very
important to ensure sus-
tainable cash flows for the
municipality, including user
charges for all municipal
services, which are ring-
fenced for timely project
payments.
Almost all waste man-
agement projects have
failed in the last two
decades and there is need
to develop some marquee
projects for demonstration
effect. In this context, the
We have played a
role in transforming
India's water
sector.
government should develop
model contract agreement
for integrated waste man-
agement, including
resource recovery and
waste to energy plants, giv-
ing due importance to proj-
ect viability.
Land acquisition for
waste projects is a major
issue, and many municipal
waste management proj-
ects are facing delays due
to this problem. Our sug-
gestion is to have a
Regulator at Federal and/or
State Government to assist
cities in development and
execution of these projects.
Do you see much growth
for water companies? What
are some of your recom-
mendations to improve the
water sector?
Shyam Bhan: As digital
technology enhances citi-
zens' access to information,
they are increasingly
expressing their concerns
for environment and calling
on public and private actors
to act more responsibly.
The global aspiration for a
less resource-intensive
and environmentally-
friendly growth model have
led to evolution of stricter
environmental regulations.
These dynamics have creat-
ed a potential market for
environmental services
companies like SUEZ.
In India, there is over-
emphasis on building new
assets and less emphasis
on long-term sustainability
of existing assets through
effective O&M practices. As
an Operator, SUEZ always
focuses on optimal usage of
capital funds and works
towards improved service
delivery to the citizens. Our
suggestion to cities and
their utilities is to structure
projects with performance
orientation that directly
benefits the citizens.
Desalination plants in
coastal cities should be
developed with appropriate
structuring of risk-reward
balance for the private sec-
tor. Blend AMRUT and other
federal Government funds
to make such projects
viable on PPP basis.
From our experience of
working in various cities, we
felt that there should be a
nodal body to coordinate
with all stakeholders for
effective execution: city
water distribution projects
are complex and require
permissions/permits from
multiple public entities,
“
Apart from working
with the utilities in
Indian cities like New
Delhi, Kolkata,
Bengaluru, etc., the
company has
recently won two
major long-term
water services
contracts worth 500
million Euros in
Coimbatore and
Davangere.
In India, there is over-
emphasis on building
new assets and less
emphasis on long-
term sustainability of
existing assets
through effective
O&M practices. Our
suggestion is to
structure projects
with performance
orientation that
directly benefits the
citizens.
such as state PWD, Traffic
police, Municipal
Corporations (water utility
is often different from
municipality in many
states), Development
Authorities, etc. Lack of
coordination among these
entities result in inordinate
delay in road cutting and
pipe laying activities.
What are some of the ob-
jectives you have set for
yourself?
Shyam Bhan: I believe
companies like us have a lot
of potential to grow in India.
We will keep on looking for
fresh opportunities with our
typical characteristic of a
total service provider with
proven global records,
which does not believe in
making compromises to
bag anything. We want to
grow in a sustainable and
reasonably profitable man-
ner.
I am equally committed
to the growth and develop-
ment of our employees as I
believe 'happy employees
make happy customers'.
Health and Safety and
women empowerment are
two areas which are very
close to me and I would like
to see SUEZ excel in these
two areas.
(Source: The Indian
Express)
April, 2018 17
 MARKET

Xylem Expands Presence in India

for its customers in India and
around the world.
To propel the availability of
safe water, Xylem India had
begun the ‘Water for People’
initiative in 2017 to provide
access to safe drinking water
for nearly 3,000 community
members across four schools
and 19 communities in India
through the implementation
of borehole systems, along
with new and rehabilitated
water points. The company
continues to build on its other
social initiatives like Xylem’s
Essence of Life brand of prod-
ucts, and its corporate citizen-
ship program called
‘Watermark’.

Xylem India Technology Center in Bengaluru

The India Technology Center in Bengaluru was inaugurat-
ed by Smt. K Ratna Prabha, Chief Secretary, Government of
Karnataka and Patrick Decker, President and CEO of Xylem.
The center will develop products and solutions with a
focus on developing software and advanced infrastructure
analytics. It will ultimately have over 400 engineers creating
smart, innovative solutions to treat, analyze, monitor and
return water to the environment, and to address critical
energy resource infrastructure needs. The innovations creat-
ed will be used in public utility, industrial, residential and
commercial building services, along with agricultural set-
tings embedding sustainability at the core of water manage-
ment. For India, which currently uses 230-250 cubic kilome-
ters of groundwater each year, the center is set to ease the
burden of looming water scarcity that is anticipated due to
rising urbanization and industrialization.
“India has long been a focus for Xylem as the country
Xylem Leadership Team at the Launch of the India Technology Center in Bangalore steers towards the implementation of sustainable water man-
agement solutions, leveraging technology to tackle the inher-
Expansion of India Opera- and Customer Experience facilities, Xylem is bringing ent waste that occurs in current processes. The tech-savvy
tions Center in Bengaluru, together a broad spectrum of solutions we develop will play a key role in helping to advance
Xylem Inc has announced Karnataka. The launch fol- competencies that are the national drive towards smart cities. Our expansion in
the expansion of its India lows the opening of a similar enabling it to accelerate the India further supports the country’s economic growth
operations through the open- technology center in development of critical water through investment in manufacturing and technological tal-
ing of an India Technology Vadodara, Gujarat. At these and infrastructure solutions ent, and we look forward to building upon this work in the
years to come,” said Patrick Decker, President and CEO of
Xylem.
Xylem India Technology Center in Vadodara Over the years, Xylem has executed major Lift Irrigation
The Vadodara center was inaugurated by Dr. Vinod Rao, I.A.S, Commissioner, Vadodara Projects in several states, executing more than 30 treatment
Municipal Corporation and Patrick K Decker, President and CEO of Xylem. It will serve the projects in Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and
growing demand from the municipal and industrial sectors across the state of Gujarat, offering Rajasthan. Xylem is currently sourcing over USD 80 million
smart water and wastewater management solutions. from India for its global facilities in Europe, Asia, and the
Located in Gorwa, it will develop solutions to meet the growing demand of the country’s USA and will continue to develop suppliers to support global
water and wastewater challenges. With more than 200 technology specialists, it will focus on growth out of India, with plans to double the export from
providing innovative and smart technology solutions that will accelerate the sustainable devel- India over the next few years.
opment of India. “Since 2014, Xylem has generated double-digit growth in
“The state of Gujarat is an important market for Xylem - one where we have a strong histo- India with our product and solutions being installed in munic-
ry as well as a promising growth plan ahead,” said Patrick Decker, President and CEO of Xylem. ipal, irrigation and industrial sectors. Our technological solu-
This technology center is IGBC-LEED Gold-rated and caters to India and its neighboring tions aim to enhance and achieve priorities like energy effi-
countries. Xylem also has built one of the world’s largest pump testing facility in Vadodara, with ciency and water provision, which are critical for India’s eco-
a capacity of 7.5 MW and 80,000 m3/hr. The facility is capable of testing vertical turbine pumps, nomic growth. Our solutions for water and wastewater man-
horizontal split case pumps and dry pit sewage pumps along the parameters of performance, agement will help meet the rising demand, as the country is
submergence, and reliability. pacing towards rapid industrialization. This center in
“This new center further expands our presence in the state of Gujarat, enabling us to meet Bengaluru will help bridge the gap between water demand
customers’ needs with timely, products and solutions from a single, experienced source. We look and supply, bringing greater efficiency in water management
forward to partnering with the state and central government to offer innovative and cost-effec- through technology” said H. Balasubramaniam, Managing
tive solutions,” concluded H. Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, Xylem India. Director, Xylem India.

EXPRESS WATER April, 2018 27

 MARKET

Value of Water Should be Conveyed!

Prayas Goel is the Director at Rochem Separation System (India) Pvt. Ltd. Rochem and its
group companies have been involved in the business of development, manufacturing and
installation of waste water treatment and reuse systems for more than 27 years. The
company produces Advanced Membrane Module Technology Based Separation Systems for
recovery and reuse of difficult waste water and aims to be the primary source of effluent
recycling, desalination and process separation technologies, and services for industries with
difficult-to-handle waste water streams. Mayur Sharma talked to him about his journey in
the water industry, ZLD, Rochem’s recent projects and future plans.

for meeting these industrial waste water as a source of

Please tell us about your
journey in the water indus-
try. How has been your ex-
perience so far?
Prayas: Our journey into
this water and waste water
market started from the
desalination for off-shore and
moved into the waste water
recycling - which we had fore-
seen 20 years back as being
the future. We have been
investing slowly and steadily
in being able to directly recy-
cle wastewater for industry
into the now changing man-
date, which you see especially
in the coming future will be
completely related to the
onsite reuse of wastewater to
meet your fresh water source.
I started in this field work-
ing on waste water treatment
plants and recycle-plants in
various parts of the world
including India and Europe.
As a young mechanical engi-
neer, getting in this field, I
gained a lot of experience in
recycling applications using
membranes. Then I spent a lot
of time on the development of
membrane-based applications
for textile, landfill leachate,
sugar and distillery industries
and we came up with solutions
requirements.
It’s been challenging get-
ting the market to commit to
waste water recycling based
on their responsibility to
ensure that they are commit-
ted to the environment.We
have done a lot of innovative
work, been associated with a
lot of early-stage technologies
as well and had a fair bit of
failures but my belief is that
you have to bring the tech-
nologies to a scalable level
into the market to really test it
up and bring it out of the lab.
ZLD has been a hot topic
for a few years now. How
would you describe it in
the context of your tech-
nologies?
Prayas: For us, ZLD (Zero
Liquid Discharge) started
with looking at what we then
perceived as a non-biodegrad-
able waste. So, 15-20 years
back if the waste water was
treatable - that is bio-degrad-
able - we would treat it biolog-
ically and then send it into
nature. But, there were the
stream or sources of waste
water which were non-
biodegradable, and for such
non-biodegradable sources
then, the only option was that
you concentrate them - sepa-
rate the water out of it and
then you concentrate the con-
taminants and come into a
zero liquid discharge kind of
environment. That’s how it
started off. And what it has
evolved into today, I think of
water. So, you are extracting
all of the liquid to use back as
a source of water and you end
up into what we continue to
call as zero liquid discharge. It
may have started from pollu-
tion and from environment
but today, I don’t think its only
environment driven anymore.
In most of the markets we are
working with now, people are
realizing that we are driven by
water demand and not driven
by the fact that this is a non-
biodegradable stream which
otherwise we cannot let out to
nature and hence we need to
make it into zero liquid dis-
charge scenario.
We are also seeing a huge
change in the fact that India
has a big leadership position
in ZLD and if you look at it in
the global context, we are eas-
ily hundred times ahead in
terms of ZLD installations
than anywhere else in the
world. It’s a great opportunity
for Indian technology
providers, companies such as
ourselves and others to be
able to bring this expertise
and solutions to other places
in the world which are only
now starting to realize that
their Eco-system is also not
able to absorb the impact of
the industrialization of the
domestic sewage or industrial
waste water.
So, right from North
America to Europe to South
America or even Africa, we
are starting to see that there
is a huge growth in the waste

28 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 MARKET
water reuse, whether you call
it Zero liquid discharge or
minimum liquid discharge.
Is there any difference in
reaching to that level of
zero liquid discharge when
we talk specifically about
your technology in terms
of cost saving?
Prayas: Specifically in the
Indian context, our continued
lack of the correct pricing for
water is an issue. We do have
the situation where the indus-
try looks at it as a non-produc-
tive expense to invest in zero
liquid discharge because our
water is not priced properly.
The moment we start pricing
our water properly, the sce-
nario will change. But having
said that and looking at what
we need to do for the situation
which is prevailing today, our
focus is to look at the second
biggest component of zero liq-
uid discharge-OPEX - which is
energy. Between 60-80 per-
cent of the cost of zero liquid
discharge is energy and our
focus has been to bring ener-
gy-efficient technologies to
zero liquid discharge to be
able to bring down the overall
cost or increasing your com-
petitiveness of zero liquid dis-
charge. Thus, we have a lot of
technologies like high pres-
sure RO, waste-heat evapora-
tion, combining thermo evap-
oration with other sources of
waste heat and also combin-
ing waste gasification to use
organic industrial residues as
a source of energy to be able
to create heat to provide zero
liquid discharge energy. We
focus on bringing out a com-
plete solution because you do
have a lot of stand-alone solu-
tions which are not well inte-
grated. Specially in terms of
energy, the integration is very
poor. You have multistage
pressure driven processes or
multistage steam driven
processes which are not inte-
grated well. Sometimes sim-
ply by integrating them well,
for example, if it is done by a
single company instead of by
5-6 service providers along
the chain, you can bring in the
efficiency and of course new
technologies and products to
EXPRESS WATER
be able to reduce the base line
to as close to the theoretical
values for energy consump-
tion as we can.
I was a having discussion
with your team about a
Steel Project in Tarapur.
Please tell us a bit about it.
Prayas: It is a very inter-
esting project. Because it’s an
isolated industry which need-
ed to show independence as
far as not relying on external
discharge. They needed to
show the reliability in saying
that their operations are not
dependent on what happens
to the common effluent treat-
ment plant which they are
sending their waste water to,
or their operations are not
reliant on their source of
water which could be MIDC
or anything else. They needed
to show the reliability of oper-
ations to their customers who
are following just-in-time pro-
duction techniques. The crux
of the matter was that if their
customers are going to rely on
them for just-in-time delivery
then it was needed to ensure
that the business and the
operation of the company are
not at risk with any external
condition with regard to water
supply or waste water supply
or power, etc.
They had already realized
that they needed to be inde-
pendent in regard to water.
They needed to be independ-
ent in regard to waste water.
And then of course, as I said,
when zero liquid discharge
comes to mind, because it’s
your source of water, you can
reuse it and you are not
reliant on them. They had a
unique set of challenges. They
are not a process industry in
the sense that they don’t have
a boiler, so you couldn’t go
with the conventional steam-
based or steam-driven evapo-
ration systems. We were able
to come up with a very simple
and energy-efficient system to
achieve zero liquid discharge
without using any live steam
whatsoever as they did not
want to install a boiler just to
meet this requirement. So, we
did a 3-stage membrane sys-
tem followed by a waste-heat
evaporator, followed by a
dryer, and we were able to
convert all the recycled water
that their production unit pro-
duces and end up with a dry
powder as solid residue, which
they send to a secured landfill.
It is now in its second year,
running very successfully and
we are hopeful about repeat
expansion of capacity as well.
Define ‘difficult waste wa-
ter’ for our readers. What is
the right way to treat it?
Prayas: For us, difficult
waste water is the waste
water which is non-biodegrad-
able. The other thought from
our company’s and our prod-
ucts’ perspective is that diffi-
cult waste water is the waste
water which is not easy to
treat with membrane.
Membranes have convention-
ally been used quite success-
fully for water applications,
desalination, drinking water,
boiler water, DM water, but in
difficult waste water, conven-
tional membranes have not
had a very good rate of suc-
cess. Because of these chal-
lenges, of organic loads, COD,
Suspended Matter, TSS in
these kind of waste waters. So
difficult waste waters, I would
categorize also, as something
which conventional mem-
branes are not able to recycle
very efficiently.
So, what kind of technolo-
gies are needed for this
difficult waste water?
Prayas: One thing you
need is open channel mem-
branes which are able to sus-
tain the load of organics, the
load of suspended matter
directly. You need to have the
right understanding of not
only the chemistry, but the
source and organics as well.
Because the waste water
stems from the production
and the linkage of the produc-
tion and source of waste water
to the quality of waste water
and its impact on the treat-
ment is very important.
Therefore, knowing the indus-
try and its background is very
important for solution
providers.
Also the energy footprint
of the solution that you pro-
vide - it’s all in the OPEX. For
equipment such as multiple
effect evaporators, we see the
annual energy OPEX is as
high as (in some cases) 80 per-
cent of the CAPEX. Which
means you are going to spend
80 percent of your CAPEX
every year in just energy
OPEX. So you have got to
make the right decision in
terms of what kind of product
or what kind of solution you
are looking at.
Please tell us about any re-
cent project you have done
in the desalination & reuse
segments.
Prayas: We have a very
interesting project with a
company which is into salt
and bromine production in the
Kutch region of Gujarat. It is a
challenging project, given the
high saline and variable quali-
ty of feed water based on the
tides. This is a project to take
high saline seawater in that
region, bring it to boiler grade
water for boiler use and the
RO concentrate - the brine
from the RO system will be
used as a source of salt for
their salt recovery and
bromine recovery in the
process. It should be commis-
sioned by the month of May
2018.
There is a project, based in
central India, where we are
going to the source of waste
water within the process,
apply recycling within the
industrial process to be able
to reuse water and also recov-
er the resource which was
otherwise ending down the
pipe into the waste water
plant and then eventually into
the environment.
In terms of Government
policies, anything you
would like to comment on?
Prayas: The one thing that
I believe needs to come to our
part of the world is to arrive at
the right pricing for water. It
is still being used a bit of tool,
as an incentive- water and
waste water is being used as
an industrial incentive. For
example, it is said, come to
this part of the country or this
state you can discharge waste
water or we will give you
water, etc. We need to realize
that the cost of this water is
not what we are paying today.
In some areas, the industries
are paying even 28-35 rupees
a cubic meter - still a fraction
of what it is costing the gov-
ernment to deliver that water.
We foresee a day where we are
able to go to a client and say,
hey, you should reuse your
water and do zero liquid dis-
charge not only because it is
good for the environment but
because it’s also good for your
balance sheet. If it’s economic
we don’t need to drive any-
thing, people will do it because
they will save money.
What are your plans for the
next 3-5 years?
Prayas: We are mainly
focusing on integrated solu-
tions. We see our footprint in
ZLD, especially in end-to-end
ZLD growing. ROSERVE,
which is another big initiative
of ours, is also a focus. As
explained, most companies
look at this as a non-produc-
tive expense. We want to take
that off their balance sheet.
Again, keeping a solutions-
based approach, getting com-
panies to take this asset off
their balance sheet. It is not a
priority for most, especially
considering the slow CAPEX
cycle the industry is in cur-
rently. We have therefore been
able to come up with some
partners and solutions where
we can provide this on a lease
- be it an operating lease or a
short/long term rental con-
tract. The customer does not
need to invest the CAPEX. We
come in with our equipment
and we get paid per cubic
meter of water that we recov-
er for them.
We have several
ROSERVE contracts which
we are running today with
large customers in
Textiles,Pharmaceuticals &
Automobiles sectors and
short-term contracts with few
Municipalities.It’s only about
a year and half old concept,
but it’s doing quite well and we
are marketing it in India, and
overseas as well.
April, 2018 29
 MARKET

A Breakthrough Technology for Toughest

Wastewater Problems
Dr. Raghu Pillai is the Managing Director of Bengaluru based REWS (India) Pvt Ltd which
provides total turnkey solutions for wastewater treatment including the feasibility study,
sizing, the supply of equipment, installation, testing, training, and operation & maintenance.
REWS India is managed by a group of leading professionals, technocrats and engineers and
has developed in-house capabilities towards project execution, including project
management service. The company specializes in solving the toughest industrial wastewater
problems. Mayur Sharma talked to him about the much talked about Boomtube Resonator
technology and the upcoming inauguration of their ZLD Leachate Management and Water
Recovery Plant in Bengaluru, India.

Please tell our readers process or a combination of specialized Plate settlers,

about your new product -
Aquatron FPSTAR Boom-
tube Resonator and the
technology behind it.
Dr. Pillai: Aquatron
FPSTAR Boomtube technol-
ogy can treat and recover
clean water from any indus-
trial wastewater and landfill
leachate. This innovation is
based on the most modern
understanding of molecular
Physics.
This patented break-
through technology is invent-
ed by the Bengaluru based
Scientist Dr. Rajah Vijay
Kumar, Chairman of
Organization de Scalene, who
has about 32 original inven-
tions to his credit and is a
well-known pioneering
researcher in the field of
Biophysics, Radiobiology,
Nanotechnology, Sustainable
Energy, Modern
Telecommunications and
Water Resources
Management and Recovery.
The Aquatron Boomtube is
manufactured in Bengaluru
by Scalene Energy Water
Corporation Limited
(SEWCL).
The conventional waste-
water treatment technolo-
gies are either based on
Chemical or Biological
both. RO (Reverse Osmosis)
is currently the only process
that could remove Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS) to the
level that is suitable for
reuse, especially in tough to
treat effluents.
The FPSTAR Boomtube
technology uses shortwave
frequencies to convert TDS
to TSS without chemicals
and biological process.
Any wastewater contains
many elements. Each ele-
ment has its unique Specific
Frequency of Disassociation
(SFoD). As the effluent pass-
es through the Boomtube
Resonator, the dissolved pol-
lutants and other elements in
the water (except Hydrogen
and Oxygen) will start disas-
sociating from its compound-
ed form to their equilibrium
elemental state. These ele-
ments agglomerate due to
inter-particle attraction and
electron reorganization that
takes place under a weight-
less condition created by con-
tinuous free fall in the
Boomtube Resonator. The
agglomerated pollutants
become permanently
hydrophobic. The agglomer-
ated water which comes out
from the Boomtube
Resonator is separated using
Venturi, Media Filters and
Ultrafiltration systems. The
treated water confirms to
IS:10500 standards and all
CPCB norms. The treated
water is suitable for 100%
reuse.
You had said in our earlier
interaction that this new
technology is especially
suitable for the ‘tough-to-
treat effluent’. Can you ex-
plain that?
Dr. Pillai: The FPSTAR
Boomtube technology can
treat any kind of effluents
including sewage. Our focus
is on tough-to-treat effluents
because the Capex and Opex
of conventional ZLD systems
are high when compared to
FPSTAR Boomtube technol-
ogy.
The FPSTAR Boomtube
technology can treat and
recover clean water from
some of the toughest sources
like Landfill Leachate, Textile
Effluent, Pharma Effluent,
Food Industry Effluent,
Tannery Effluent, etc. Hence,
this technology is ideal for
Common Effluent Treatment
Plants (CETPs) in the indus-
trial areas. A large amount of
polluted water can be
reclaimed as fresh water for

30 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 MARKET
The FPSTAR
Boomtube
technology can
treat and recover
clean water from
some of the
toughest sources
like Landfill
Leachate,Textile
Effluent, Pharma
Effluent, Food
Industry Effluent,
Tannery Effluent,
etc. Hence, this
technology is ideal
for Common
Effluent Treatment
Plants (CETPs) in
the industrial areas.
the industrial use.
Industrial effluents which
are not biologically degrad-
able in nature are normally
treated using large quantities
of chemicals. Such methods
involve very high operational
cost. Some of these effluents
cannot be treated to the
required standards even with
the chemicals and advanced
filtration solutions as post-
treatment method, thereby
making reuse of such effluents
in the process not possible,
and sometimes even their safe
disposal is not possible. The
FPSTAR Boomtube
Technology addresses such
issues effectively.
This technology is effec-
tive in the removal of
Arsenic, Nitrates, Ammonia,
Fluoride, Heavy Metals,
Soaps & Detergents, and Oil
& Grease.
The MOC of Boomtube
Resonator antennas is made
of complex alloys.
Presently, it is common to
use techniques like precipita-
EXPRESS WATER
tion, flocculation, coagula-
tion, or electro-coagulation,
in the treatment of water.
However, there are some
materials; for example,
Sodium, Potassium etc, that
do not precipitate, thus can-
not be removed by simple fil-
tration. Some of the organic
compounds like Benzene, and
Toluene behave the same
even to flocculation, and they
still cannot be removed by fil-
tration. The FPSTAR
process can handle complex
Phenols, Aldehydes, and
Ketones also found in some of
the organic wastewater or
unprocessed water streams
that are difficult to process
by conventional wastewater
treatment techniques. In this
invention, the millimeter
wave is used to break down
long chain Lignin like struc-
tures to smaller and simpler
molecules that can be easily
converted by the FPSTAR
process and then can be fil-
tered out.
The entire process is very
fast and ranging from 30
minutes to 2 hours depending
on the feed effluent. This
process is called priming
time. Once primed, the treat-
ment is continuous. The
treatment can be stopped
and started anytime.
The FPSTAR reactor is
used to decontaminate the
wastewater streams to
recover for reuse in the
industry and other purposes
and reduces the cost of water
treatment.
When the water that is not
potable (including sea water)
is subjected to the FPSTAR
process, all fine particles,
even at nano-scale, would
agglomerate and form
micron size or even millime-
ter size particles.
When this water is filtered
using specialized filtering
techniques, one would recov-
er the water that is clean as
per the standards and can be
reused by the industries.
This will lead to less depend-
ency on other sources for
clean water, and more recov-
ered water will act as a cata-
lyst for industries and their
operations.
Why do you call it world’s
most advanced ZLD tech-
nology?
Dr. Pillai: The FPSTAR
Boomtube technology is a
Zero Chemical, Zero
Biological process. There are
no RO rejects and no thermal
evaporator is required. No
equalization tanks are
required either as the
Boomtube processes waste-
water online and water is
available for reuse immedi-
ately after filtration. The
FPSTAR Boomtube works
over a wide pH range and
requires very small space to
set-up the plant - when com-
pared to the current ZLD
systems. The sludge generat-
ed is around 5% and is con-
verted to electricity. In fact,
FPSTAR Boomtube technol-
ogy can be considered as
ZWD (Zero Waste
Discharge) technology.
The FPSTAR Boomtube
WWTP is completely auto-
matic, computer-controlled,
and multistage system that is
fully plug-and-play. SCADA
system is highly advanced
and powered by Artificial
Intelligence (AI) & IoT based
and the plant can be remote-
ly monitored. One time set-
ting of all process parame-
ters will ensure trouble-free
operation even if the input
wastewater parameter
varies. Therefore, only 2 or 3
people are required to run a
complete 150 KLD plant.
What is the capacity of
this treatment plant? Can
it be custom-built as well?
Dr. Pillai: The FPSTAR
Boomtube treatment plant
can be built to treat and
recover 10,000 liters of
wastewater per day (10 KLD)
to 1 million liters of waste-
water per day (1 MLD) at
present. The technology is
modular and can be expand-
ed as required.
Tell us about your ongoing
and upcoming projects
where this product is be-
ing used?
Dr. Pillai: A 120 KLD ZLD
Leachate Treatment Plant,
first of its kind in the world, is
• A 120 KLD ZLD Leachate Treatment Plant, first of its
kind in the world, is installed and being commissioned for
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at
Bellahalli Landfill on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
• A 240 KLD plant at Erode (Tamil Nadu) is being commis-
sioned by SEWCL for mixed effluent for the State
Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Oman Munitions Production Company (OMPC) is
installing the Aquatron Boomtube FPSTAR wastewater
recovery plant at its Small Arms & Ammunitions Factory
(SAAF) in Samayil, Oman.
installed and being commis- being filled by FPSTAR. The
sioned for The Bruhat project is executed by
Bengaluru Mahanagara SEWCL and Global
Palike (BBMP) at Bellahalli Engineering Solutions,
Landfill situated on the out- Oman.
skirts of Bengaluru. This The Aquatron Boomtube
project is executed by REWS FPSTAR technology is also
(India). Landfill leachate is being exported to Australia
one of the most difficult efflu- and Netherlands.
ents to treat as it is charac- REWS (India) is in talks
terized by very high values of with many state governments
COD, BOD, Ammonia, heavy to solve the pressing issue of
metals, variations in pH as Leachate Management in the
well as strong color, and landfills. Leachate generation
extremely bad odor. The TDS is a major problem for
of the leachate varies Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
between 16,000 ppm to landfills and causes signifi-
60,000 ppm. The character- cant threat to surface water
istics vary depending on the and groundwater.
weather, temperature and
biodegradable matter pres- Are you looking for both,
ent in the leachate against government projects as
time. All these factors make well as the private-sector
leachate treatment difficult projects?
and complicated around the Dr. Pillai: Yes, for
world and till today there is Leachate treatment and
no dependable and affordable CETP we are keen to work on
technology to treat leachate government projects. We are
for water recovery and reuse. in touch with many munici-
A 240 KLD plant at Erode palities and MSW officers
(Tamil Nadu) is being com- highlighting the technology
missioned by SEWCL for benefits.
mixed effluent for the State In the private space, our
Government of Tamil Nadu. focus is on Pharmaceutical
Oman Munitions effluents, Textile, Tanneries,
Production Company Food Industry, and other
(OMPC) has taken the lead in tough-to-treat wastewater.
installing Aquatron
Boomtube FPSTAR waste- Finally, are you looking for
water recovery plant at its any business collabora-
Small Arms & Ammunitions tions in other regions of
Factory (SAAF) in Samayil India?
(first such plant ever Dr. Pillai: Yes, REWS
installed in the Middle East) (India) is looking for business
and is now being commis- collaborations in other
sioned. In most parts of the regions of India. Our focus
world, the effluents generat- for 2018-19 would be to reach
ed from such ammunition out to MSW consultants and
factories are not treated to governments across the
recyclable standards due to world to treat and recover
lack of proper treatment clean water from landfill
solutions. This gap is now leachate.
April, 2018 31
 MARKET

Accelerating Innovation in Urban Water

Management - Insights into the Future
Robert Mankowski, Vice President - Product Development - Bentley Systems, leads the
development team responsible for Bentley’s AssetWise capabilities and services. He has over
20 years’ experience in software development and is a co-inventor of seven patented
technologies. He joined Bentley Systems in 2004 as part of Bentley’s acquisition of Haestad
Methods, a pioneer in object-oriented hydraulic analysis software, where he served as Chief
Technology Officer. He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from
Drexel University and is a licensed professional engineer in California. Mayur Sharma
recently interacted with him about Smart Water Networks, GIS, WaterCAD, WaterGEMS, IoT,
Big Data, and other recent trends which are significant for the water & wastewater utilities.

Robert Mankowski, Vice President
- Product Development, Bentley
Systems
Being mostly buried, wa-
ter/wastewater network
assets are subject to being
out-of-sight and therefore
out-of-mind, making it dif-
ficult to know what you
own, where it is located,
what condition it is in, and
how well it is performing.
GIS has become essential
in managing utility net-
work data. What is coming
to make it easier for utili-
ties to ensure a safe and
reliable operation?
Robert: In recent years
there have been significant
strides in GIS-based office
to/from the field workflows.
The industry is doing a much
better job of accurately cap-
turing as-builts and keeping
the GIS up to date with what
is in the field. There is also
some compelling research and
innovations driven by the aca-
demic world through projects
such as Mapping the
Underworld that focus on
understanding where our
underground assets are.
Applications like Bentley’s
Subsurface Utility
Engineering help mitigate the
risk of building in a utility-
congested underground envi-
ronment. It provides users the
capability to generate, visual-
ize, and analyze 3D models
from survey information, CAD
artifacts, GIS, Excel spread-
sheets, databases, and more.
The application follows stan-
dards such as ASCE 38-02 in
the US and the UK’s PAS128,
which provide a means to cap-
ture the quality level or accu-
racy of the source information
used to create the models.
However, water and waste-
water networks remain par-
ticularly challenging because
they are typically buried
underground assets that
impact many people when
they fail. It is essential to bet-
ter understand the condition
of the assets, the probability
of failure, and the conse-
quences of such failures.
We also need to under-
stand the provenance and his-
tory of what’s happened with
networks. This is important
for capital improvement pro-
grams and capital investment
planning - to decide how to
invest to have safest and most
reliable operation. Utilities
need a lot of information to
determine which pipes are
more likely to fail, what hap-
pens when such a failure
occurs, and capabilities to effi-
ciently manage and analyze it
to support decisions.
Utilities need to manage
and maintain a geospatial
asset register of all water and
wastewater network assets to
which they may associate a
wide variety of inspections
and surveys. This provides a
detailed and data-rich view of
the “as-maintained/as-operat-
ed” condition status of the
network, as well as preserving
historic records of condition
assessment that can con-
tribute to a better under-
standing of asset failure
modes and causes.
Asset inspections and sur-
veys provide dual roles - asset
discovery and asset condition
assessment. Inspections and
surveys can be used to update
the asset’s physical, location,
and condition information
held in the asset register, as
well as create new assets that
were previously unknown. All
associated inspection meta
data, data files, databases,
photographs, time series (e.g.
flow or pressure monitors),
and video (such as CCTV)
should be managed and asso-
ciated with the relevant asset.
This provides an “asset-cen-
tric” view of the inspection
and survey data collected for
asset update or asset discov-
ery. Capabilities, such as those
available with Bentley’s
AssetWise, can work in con-
cert with a geospatial infor-
mation system to provide
these capabilities and allow
utilities to plan and imple-
ment proactive asset perform-
ance and reliability strategies.
Hydraulic modeling appli-
cations, such as Bentley’s
WaterGEMS, also play a role
in ensuring safe and reliable
operations by forecasting sys-
tem conditions and perform-
ance, managing pumps and
storage, planning for sched-
uled maintenance, and help-
ing operators react to
unplanned outages and emer-
gencies. Advanced analytics
can help you fill in the gaps
between locations and times
that SCADA systems and
other data collectors use to
gather information. This
allows operators to detect and
troubleshoot problems as
soon as they arise, leveraging
knowledge in control room to
help guide field crews to right
areas to investigate and act.
What benefits does a digi-
tal strategy provide water
and wastewater utilities?
Robert: Going digital is a
strategy that we at Bentley
believe will transform the
delivery of capital projects as
well as the performance of
assets in operations and main-
tenance. By digitizing assets
and processes, a digital strate-
gy will realize not only per-
formance improvements for
assets but also see the adop-
tion of new technologies that
can enable going digital. This
strategy might suggest adopt-
ing a cloud services platform
as an example of going digital
to increase collaboration,
security, and scalability by
staying connected. For water
and wastewater utilities, it
means they have an opportu-
nity to improve their business
processes. For example, an
owner-operator might want
all stakeholders to have visi-
bility for distributed teams
working on a single project or
multiple projects. A going dig-
ital strategy connects and
converges to ensure informa-
tion is managed effectively to

32 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 MARKET
Going digital will
transform the
delivery of capital
projects as well as
the performance of
assets in O&M.
reduce errors, inaccuracy, and
improve performance.
This of course is a high-
level approach, but nonethe-
less highlights the potential as
we see it. Bentley is also com-
mitted to enabling our users
to implement a BIM method-
ology as a strategy for better
collaborative design, and as an
enabler of ongoing mainte-
nance and operations. The
work done by engineers in the
early phase of a project is crit-
ical for all phases of the lifecy-
cle, and the digital engineer-
ing models produced in design
can serve as the fulcrum for
performance improvements.
The goal for most utilities
is indeed reducing TOTEX
(total expenditure inclusive of
CAPEX and OPEX), and tech-
nology is the enabler. As head
of development for our asset
performance team, I am in a
nice position to see the bene-
fits realized by our users. We
live vicariously through our
users who continue to amaze
us with innovation and expert-
ise in utilizing our software.
But it is our job to continue
providing the right technology
and platforms so that the
going digital strategy can
deliver the right results.
You wrote some of the
code for the very first iter-
ation of WaterCAD in the
90s. What sorts of changes
have you seen in the indus-
try - and in user experience
- in the years since?
Robert: That’s a multi-
faceted question because so
many changes have occurred
in the 20+ years since we
released WaterCAD v1.0.
Let’s start with the user
experience changes. Before
EXPRESS WATER
WaterCAD, the most widely
used hydraulic modeling soft-
ware ran on DOS. WaterCAD
was the first mainstream
Windows stand-alone
hydraulic modeling package.
That was a huge and very wel-
come change for users. At that
time, hydraulic modeling was
not as widely used as it is
today, and it was mainly used
for system master planning.
Now, it’s a very mature prac-
tice in water utilities and is
used for everything from mas-
ter planning, to water quality
studies, to energy studies and
optimization, to real-time
operational decision support.
The computing power
available at the time was
mainly based on 486s, with
maybe a few users of the earli-
est Pentium chips, and system
memory, RAM, was expensive
and therefore limited. This
constrained the size of the
models that could be ana-
lyzed. Now, of course, we have
high-powered, multi-core
CPUs and GPUs with giga-
bytes of memory in our lap-
tops and workstations so
we’re at a point where it’s not
only feasible but in some ways
easier, to model every pipe
and appurtenance in the sys-
tem. The algorithms can take
advantage of the multiple
cores - for example in a fire
flow analysis - to run simula-
tions in parallel and greatly
reduce the time it takes to
analyze large systems. And,
the graphics power of the
GPUs makes it easy to create
great visualizations of the
data so engineers don’t have
to pore over tables of data, but
can see it in graphs and maps
and in some cases in 3D.
And, I’d say it’s easier in
some ways because imple-
mentation of GIS has really
come a long way in 20 years,
so we can build hydraulic
models from that geospatial
source data. In the 90s it was
common to digitize hydraulic
models from scratch, and this
was a time consuming and
error prone process. I remem-
ber it was 1998 when I wrote
first shapefile import routine
for WaterCAD, and it really
changed the way hydraulic
models were created and
maintained. Today, not only do
we intra-operate with GIS,
WaterGEMS users can actual-
ly work in GIS environment.
How does Bentley software
align with good engineer-
ing practices in water and
wastewater systems?
Robert: Bentley Systems
has been supporting infra-
structure engineering best
practices for 30+ years.
MicroStation is our flagship
modeling application and is
used around the globe for
modeling, documentation and
visualizing projects of all sizes
and complexities. So, engi-
neering is in our DNA and this
permeates through develop-
ment teams and applications
to maintain the standards set
by such applications. For
water and wastewater, the
principles are no different. By
advancing the entire network
lifecycle - from treatment
plant design, to planning,
design and operations and
maintenance of networks - our
software is reflective of engi-
neering precision and accura-
cy.
Bentley’s Haestad applica-
tions are engineering-ready
decision support software for
water professionals who
design, plan, and operate
water distribution systems, or
for urban sewer planners who
also want to analyze and
design sanitary or combined
conveyance sewer systems.
These applications can oper-
ate in stand-alone mode, with
MicroStation, AutoCAD, or
ArcGIS and incorporate vari-
ous other file formats. We’ve
been supporting engineering
best practices for many years
and we intend to continue to
advance our software and
services to meet this demand.
Information systems in a
water/wastewater utility
can be highly distributed
(or siloed). How can utility
stakeholders address this
problem to improve deci-
sion making?
Robert: Information can
be very siloed, and it takes a
significant change in an
organization to adopt new
processes. It is, however, a
simple equation. Why would-
n’t any organization want
engineering information that
is relevant, accurate and
accessible to all project partic-
ipants? The question has
always been put to us; how
can we improve decision mak-
ing based on available data?
The answer is quite simple.
Having a common modeling
environment helps speed
design and improves collabo-
ration. Having a common data
environment helps streamline
design and management of
critical information, but the
key is now a connected data
environment that helps facili-
tate the interoperation of mul-
tiple data sources, providing a
common view of data that
delivers accurate and reliable
information, when it is need-
ed, to operations, mainte-
nance, and engineering.
What does the future hold
for the water industry in
terms of how IoT, Big Data
and other trends will im-
pact the sector?
Robert: Sensors will play
an even larger role in network
modeling and operations. By
providing real-time informa-
tion that can be supplemented
with hydraulic models, the
operator can have true insight
into the behavior and condi-
tion of a network. This pro-
vides more options for the
hydraulic modeler in the cali-
bration and modeling process-
es when different scenarios
provide different results and
benefits. It provides the oper-
ator with a more comprehen-
sive operating picture of the
network than SCADA data
alone, even forecasting how
the system will behave in the
immediate future.
Big Data also provides big
challenges but at the same
time, provides significant
opportunities. As OT lever-
ages the Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT) with operating
systems and sensors to pro-
duce huge quantities of data,
the need to make this data
usable and secure is fast
becoming mainstream in its
outreach and adoption. So far,
OT data has initiated a con-
vergence with IT systems,
which has yet to yield signifi-
cant gains. At Bentley, we see
the critical importance of also
leveraging the engineering
technology (ET) data to real-
ize those gains.
Asset information manage-
ment systems that enable the
convergence of IT, OT, and ET
data will make infrastructure
assets more powerful, effi-
cient, and reliable by exploit-
ing the Big Data potential.
Using cloud services plat-
forms, digital engineering
capabilities will go beyond
observing and monitoring the
asset’s performance to model-
ling its desired behavior to
produce better outcomes.
Water and wastewater util-
ities have been a step ahead of
other industries in exploiting
the potential for ET and OT
data to be better utilized. IIoT
and Supervisory Control And
Data Acquisition (SCADA)
systems have had a harmonic
convergence of their own in
enriching the oversight value
of data analytics for treat-
ment, distribution, and collec-
tion facilities. Engineering
departments and the opera-
tional control rooms have
more reason to interact than
ever before, as the common
goal of ensuring reliable serv-
ice, reducing cost and optimiz-
ing their networks can be real-
ized - in real time. Hydraulic
modeling generally has been
used for long-term planning,
while data from the SCADA
systems are used heavily in
daily operational decisions.
Linking these two technolo-
gies has ensured barriers are
removed, collaboration
improved, and data shared for
mutually beneficial reasons.
What is Bentley focused on
from an R&D perspective?
Robert: While we under-
take R&D across a broad
range of technologies. perhaps
the best answer here is simply
the overarching principle.
Bentley is focused on our
making our users productive
and successful while advanc-
ing infrastructure.
April, 2018 33
 MARKET

LANXESS Posts Record Earnings for 2017

Company’s sales were up 25.5% to EUR 9.66 billion in the fiscal year 2017, with a strong
volume increase in all segments, as per company statement.

Asia. North America EBITDA pre exceptionals accounting change at

Infographic Source: LANXESS
THE SPECIALTY CHEMI-
CALS company LANXESS
has ended fiscal year 2017
with record earnings.
LANXESS has also made a
good start to the new year
according to its latest official
statement.
nesses and consolidation of
production networks and
value chains as well as a one-
time charge arising from the
U.S. tax reform. Adjusted for
these exceptional items as
well as amortization of intan-
gible assets, net income was
increased its share of global
sales from 17% to 19%, while
that of Asia-Pacific rose from
26% to 28%. This means that
the group now generates
almost half its sales in these
two market regions.
Sales and Earnings Up in
Performance Chemicals
LANXESS' Liquid
Purification Technologies
business unit belongs to the
Performance Chemicals seg-
ment. Sales in this segment
rose by 10.5% from EUR 1.30
billion to EUR 1.44 billion.
amounted to EUR 252 million,
up 13.0% on the prior-year
level of EUR 223 million. The
improvement in earnings was
mainly attributable to the
strong volume growth. The
Clean and Disinfect business
that LANXESS acquired from
Chemours in 2016 also made a
substantial contribution to
earnings. Accordingly, the
EBITDA margin pre excep-
tionals rose to 17.5% from 17.1%
in the previous year.
Outlook for 2018
For 2018, there will be an
LANXESS: The rubber joint
venture ARLANXEO will be
reported as a discontinued
operation from the second
quarter of 2018. In the other
four segments combined
under the name “New
LANXESS” - Advanced
Intermediates, Specialty
Additives, Performance
Chemicals and Engineering
Materials - the group is
expecting a slight overall rise
in EBITDA pre exceptionals.
Excluding ARLANXEO, this
key ratio was EUR 925 million
in 2017.

EBITDA pre exceptionals
rose by 29.6% in fiscal year
2017 to EUR 1.29 billion, the
highest result in the compa-
ny’s history. In the previous
year, EBITDA pre exception-
als amounted to EUR 995 mil-
lion. The operating result was
therefore at the top end of the
forecast range of EUR 1.25 bil-
lion to EUR 1.3 billion.
The main drivers of strong
rise in earnings were higher
volumes in all segments as
well as strong contribution of
the Chemtura businesses
acquired in the previous year.
The EBITDA margin pre
exceptionals increased from
12.9% to 13.3%, moving anoth-
er step closer to the mid-term
margin target. From 2021, the
average margin is expected to
be between 14% and 18%.
Group revenue also rose sub-
stantially by 25.5% to EUR
9.66 billion in the last fiscal
year compared with EUR 7.7
billion the year before.
Net income totaled EUR 87
million, after EUR 192 million
in the previous year. This
decline was due to significant
one-time exceptional expens-
es, particularly for the inte-
gration of the Chemtura busi-
“
up by 53.9% from EUR 246
million to EUR 379 million.
The reported key financial
ratios are in line with current
market expectations.
Higher Dividend Proposed
for 2017
The strong business per-
formance in 2017 should be
reflected in a further
increased dividend. The
Board of Management and
Supervisory Board will there-
fore propose a 14% higher div-
idend of EUR 0.80 per share
to the Annual Stockholders’
Meeting on May 15, 2018. This
would correspond to a total
dividend payout of around
EUR 73.2 million.
German Sites Strength-
ened, Growth Regions Ex-
panded
Along with its acquisitions, “We achieved a lot strategically and operationally in the last fiscal
LANXESS also accelerated its year, laying firm foundations for the future.With Chemtura, we
organic growth in 2017. The
group invested around EUR successfully completed our biggest acquisition to date, and also
550 million in its global plant significantly improved the quality of our portfolio even more. In this
network, including around set-up, we achieved the best earnings in LANXESS’s history so far
EUR 235 million in the
German sites. LANXESS con- while further enhancing the Group’s profitability.”
tinued to expand its presence
and its sales in the growth
Matthias Zachert
Chairman, LANXESS Board of Management
regions of North America and

34 April, 2018 EXPRESS WATER

 MARKET
WATER MARKETREPORTS
The Global Water & Waste-
water Treatment Market
to Reach USD 674.72 Bil-
lion by 2025
According to a new report
by Reportbuyer, the global
water & wastewater treat-
ment market is expected to
reach USD 674.72 billion by
2025, driven by the rising
demand for freshwater for
drinking, industrialization,
and agriculture.
Water & wastewater
treatment processes such as
softening, deodorization and
purification make the water
more useful and potable. Asia
Pacific was the largest mar-
ket accounting for 43.9% of
the revenue share in 2016. It
is anticipated to gain momen-
tum over the forecast period
on account of the growing
demand for filtered water for
various applications.
Water treatment systems
are either installed at the
point of use or the point of
entry. However, as drinking
water is a vital priority for
the population, the residen-
tial sector contributes signifi-
cantly towards the develop-
ment of water treatment
market as compared to the
industrial and commercial
sector.
Central & South America
water & wastewater industry
is capable, but the absence of
significant venture in infra-
structure is unfavorable for
its economic performance.
Asia Pacific municipal water
& wastewater market is likely
to grow at a CAGR of 5.3%
over the forecast period. This
market has been rapidly
growing owing to the pres-
ence of developing economies
and a large concentration of
population in the region. Asia
Pacific's vast and rising pop-
ulation, coupled with increas-
ing middle class and rising
incomes, will continue to
drive demand agricultural
resources and commodities.
The global equipment &
36 April, 2018
services market accounted
for USD 117.85 billion in 2016.
The growth of equipment &
services market is likely to
gain momentum in the recent
future, as it utilizes environ-
ment-friendly and economi-
cally feasible instruments
and technologies.
Zero Liquid Discharge
Market Expected to Rep-
resent USD 109.8 Million
Between 2017 & 2025
Enforcement of stringent
laws on wastewater manage-
ment is expected to further
drive the adoption of ZLD
technology in the near future.
As per the latest Persistence
Market Research (PMR)
report, sales revenue from
ZLD projects worldwide is
expected to reach USD 513.9
Million by 2017-end.
PMR projects that the
ZLD market in APAC will
maintain its top position
throughout the assessment
period. Towards the closing
end of the forecast period,
the region's ZLD market esti-
mate to reach a valuation of
USD 434.4 Million, expand-
ing at 10.8% CAGR.
Meanwhile, adoption of ZLD
in Latin America will remain
robust, despite having a sig-
nificantly smaller market size
as compared to other key
regions.
In North America, power
generation plants are major
implementers of ZLD, sup-
porting the growth of the
ZLD market in the region
over the recent past. The
North America ZLD market
is estimated to reach USD
243.9 Million by the end of
the forecast period, creating
an incremental opportunity
of USD 109.8 Million between
2017 & 2025.
The new water manage-
ment laws introduced in
India, China and Mexico are
further expanding applica-
tions of ZLD technologies in
these countries. Nonetheless,
the high cost of setup and
maintenance continue to be a
major drawback of the tech-
nologies. Moreover, the
arrival of alternative water
treatment techniques is likely
to hamper the growth of the
market. Which is why manu-
facturers are actively focus-
ing on further innovations in
ZLD to reduce technological
complications while its imple-
mentation.
On the basis of system
type, demand for hybrid ZLD
technology will continue to
gain traction is the forthcom-
ing years. By 2017-end,
hybrid ZLD technology is
expected to account for a
value share of 64.0%.
UV Disinfection Equip-
ment Market Size Worth
USD 6.42 Billion by 2022
The global UV disinfec-
tion equipment market is
expected to reach USD 6.42
billion by 2022, according to a
new report by Grand View
Research, Inc. Growing con-
sumer awareness regarding
the technology coupled with
high investments by govern-
ments across the globe to
employ advanced water
treatment technologies to
ensure safe drinking water
supply is expected to drive
demand.
Water treatment was the
largest application segment
for UV disinfection equip-
ment and valued at USD
924.7 million in 2016, owing to
high investments by local
government authorities for
safe water supply in devel-
oped and emerging
economies across the globe.
Residential water treat-
ment is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 18.5% over the fore-
cast period owing to rising
consumer focus to replace
traditional water purification
systems with effective and
environment-friendly tech-
niques.
Commercial water treat-
ment stood for USD 84.9 mil-
lion in 2016 and is expected to
grow at 21.6%, owing to initia-
tives taken by the manufac-
turers to comply with regula-
tions given by the govern-
ment and environmental pro-
tection bodies for proper
water disposal.
Water Filtration Products
in Municipal Markets to
Grow 5.8% Annually
Worldwide
Globally, demand for
water filtration products in
the municipal market is
expected to rise 5.8% per
year to USD 27.2 billion in
2021 according to a new
study by The Freedonia
Group. In developing regions,
expanding infrastructure,
increasing access to treated
water supplies and waste-
water treatment, and stricter
standards for drinking quali-
ty will support rigorous
gains. More mature markets
will exhibit slower growth
going forward, with increases
promoted by improvements
to existing, aging water man-
agement systems.
Over the past decade,
membrane systems have
been increasingly used in
municipal water filtration
activities to meet stricter
water treatment standards,
which include limits on con-
taminants in water and
reduced dependence on
potentially harmful water
treatment chemicals. By
2016, membrane systems sur-
passed conventional filtration
in the municipal market in
dollar terms.
Smart Water Grid Market
Size Worth USD 10.27 Bil-
lion By 2025
The global smart water
grid market is expected to
reach USD 10.27 billion by
2025, driven by a growing
emphasis towards a reduc-
tion in non-revenue water,
the necessity for accurate
billing, restructuring of old
infrastructure, instantaneous
monitoring of the grid, effi-
cient fixing of leaks, and
improved client engagement.
Furthermore, the need to
conform to government regu-
lations, expectations for
increased safety and reliabili-
ty with reduced cost and
development of smart cities
have been the driving forces
for the smart water grid mar-
ket, as per the latest report
by Hexa Research.
North America dominated
the market in 2016 due to the
advancement of the IT sector,
which plays an integral part
of these networks.
Advancement in technology
has helped various factors
such as water safety, manag-
ing severe weather condi-
tions and valuation of con-
sumption. Europe followed
suit, with an expected contri-
bution of USD 2.96 billion by
2025 due to the increase in
adoption of smart water
meter compliances for better
management.
The Asia Pacific is antici-
pated to witness the fastest
growth over the forecast
period on account of increase
in production and sales of
advanced metering infra-
structure. Metering infra-
structure is getting a boost
from the increasing demand
for meters transmitting
information through an
accessible network.
The smart water grid
industry is expected to grow
on account of increasing
demand for information
about the usage that allows
preservation of resources
and saves money.
Smart Infrastructure held
the largest market share
accounting for 41.5% in 2016
and is expected to witness
steady growth on account of
increasing number of smart
water grids, particularly in
emerging economies of the
world.
EXPRESS WATER
 COLUMN
Women Involvement in Water Utilities & Upper
Leadership Roles Across the Globe
Globally, women only make up 17% of the paid workforce in the water sector. Despite their
vast experience with water management, women have been consistently excluded from
professionally entering this sector.
By Karen Delfau, IWC for the Australian Water Partnership (AWP)
IN HER RECENT Kini
Interview, Pritha Hariram
(Programme Manager,
WASH, International Water
Association) and I discussed
the increasing prevalence of
women in leadership roles in
the water sector, and in par-
ticular as utilities’ CEOs. I
was surprised to learn that
there are more and more
women in leadership posi-
tions, and Pritha shared with
me what she saw in her role
working across the globe with
utilities.
Pritha is an experienced
water supply, sanitation and
hygiene (WASH) specialist
having worked on humanitari-
an relief and development
projects in the Asia Pacific
region. She has technical
experience in the planning,
design, implementation, moni-
toring, and evaluation of com-
munity WASH projects.
Pritha is experienced in
source water monitoring,
treatment works design and
management, distribution
system operation and mainte-
nance and consumer use. She
has worked for public, private,
governmental and donor
agencies in Australia,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, East
Timor, India, Indonesia,
Nepal, Maldives, Philippines,
Sri Lanka and the Solomon
Islands. Presently, She is the
IWA's Program Manager for
the Water and Sanitation
Services program. The pro-
gram aims to afford a range of
target audiences with best
practices in achieving univer-
38 April, 2018
sal access and improved serv-
ice delivery of water supply
and sanitation.
The column this month
explores more closely the
increasing representation of
women in water sector leader-
ship roles, including utilities.
Women in Water: An
Overview
According to the Women
for Water Partnership’s 2016
report, “Globally, women only
make up 17% of the paid work-
force in the water sector.
Despite their vast experience
with water management,
women have been consistently
excluded from professionally
entering this sector. Social
and cultural barriers, and, at a
more basic level, a lack of
appropriate sanitation and
hygiene facilities in the work-
place are factors preventing
women from having careers
or becoming influential in the
water sector.”
There is a good reason to
work towards higher numbers
of women working in the
water sector: when women
are involved in water utilities
and upper leadership roles,
projects are more successful.
In a Deloitte University
Press article, authors Kate
Thompson, Kathleen O’Dell,
Sameera Syed, Hannah Kemp
write: “For more than two
decades, the role of women
within the water sector has
been examined in studies that
have found that more substan-
tial improvements in the gov-
ernance, transparency, and
sustainability of water sup-
plies are achieved when men
and women are involved in
equal measure than when
women are involved only mar-
ginally or not at all. A World
Bank evaluation of 122 proj-
ects found that water projects
that included women were six
to seven times more effective
than those that did not. Yet
women make up less than 17
percent of the water, sanita-
tion, and hygiene labor force
and a fraction of the policy-
makers, regulators, manage-
ment, and technical experts.”
There are three main entry
points for women interested
in the water sector:
• Design, operation, and
maintenance of water sys-
tems,
• Water distribution, both
networked and non-net-
worked, and policymaking
and regulation.
• Closing the gender gap in
the water sector
Some progressive organi-
zations and utilities are mov-
ing in this direction, with suc-
cess.
Pritha Hariram says there
is a healthy balance of the
sexes present and that the
IWA encourages gender inclu-
sion.
She sees the gender gap
closing in the water sector
throughout the Asia Pacific.
“In fact, at the last Utility
Leaders Forum in Brisbane at
the World Water Congress,
my first panel was all female
CEOs or board members,” she
adds. “I think a water profes-
KNOWING OUR WATERS
sional’s career path depends
on the person. A water profes-
sional today is not just an
engineer. Today, water profes-
sionals come from all kinds of
areas of work, such as law,
institutional reform, organiza-
tional development, social sci-
ence and pure sciences, as
well as engineering. They may
become a water professional
as a result of helping in some
way in a water company or
community group that man-
ages water systems. The won-
derful thing about IWA is that
a huge number of our active
members are young water
professionals. For example,
IWA’s Strategic Council
signed a resolution on
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) last year, and it
is the young professionals who
have formed the task force to
work on actions for the SDGs
as part of the resolution. Both
young professionals and mid-
dle professionals are promi-
nent in our specialist groups
and in giving keynote address-
es at some of our events. The
young water professional
group in IWA is really alive
and thriving globally: in some
of our national chapters, it is
the young water professionals
that are the strongest and
most active. At Utility
Leaders Forums we encour-
age the CEOs to bring their
emerging leaders, and many
of these are middle profes-
sionals or senior manage-
ment. There is also a healthy
balance of the sexes, which is
something that we encourage.
In Australia, quite a few
water-utility CEOs are female.
In the Asia-Pacific, the promi-
nence of women depends on
the country. In South-East
Asia, there is a nice mix of
women and men in senior
positions. In South Asia, I’ve
seen more women in senior
roles in Sri Lanka and the
southern part of India. In the
Pacific, again a good mix of
female and male, but more
male there because they see
water as part of traditional
engineering. Australia has a
good mix, as has Europe.
Quite a few of the utility CEOs
are female, and/or the utility
association heads and presi-
dents are females. The IWA
has a female president: Diane
d’Arras.”
Achieving Sustainable
Development Goals requires
addressing all 17 SDGs in a
holistic manner, as they over-
lap and are interconnected.
This will require the develop-
ment of partnerships across
disciplines. With more women
involved in the water sector,
SDG 5: Achieve gender equal-
ity and empower all women
and girls, and SDG 6: Ensure
availability and sustainable
management of water and
sanitation for all, are more
likely to be achieved.
The Australian Water
Partnership (AWP) is an
Australian Government devel-
opment initiative enhancing the
sustainable management of
water across the Indo-Pacific.
@WaterPartnersAU
EXPRESS WATER
 COLUMN
Global Water and Wastewater Disinfection Market
Advanced disinfection technology, UV-LED is gradually replacing chlorination as a reliable
and sustainable disinfectant.
By Frost & Sullivan
DISINFECTION IS A crucial
step to ensure safe potable
water or reclamation/dis-
charge of wastewater.
Disinfection process kills
harmful microorganisms that
could cause diseases in human
beings.
Chlorine and Chloramines
are the most commonly used
chemicals for water and
wastewater disinfection. The
use of chlorine or chloramine
produces harmful halogenat-
ed by-products that are com-
monly called disinfection by-
products (DBP). DBP’s are
potentially carcinogenic to
humans and increased expo-
sure could adversely impact
human health. This has widely
nudged regulators, utilities
and treatment plant operators
across the globe to adopt and
explore the disinfection solu-
tions alternate to chlorine and
chloramines. On the other
hand, common physical disin-
fection methods include UV
and Ozone. Utilities and
industries are gradually shift-
ing towards UV and Ozone
due to their advantages like
superior disinfection capabili-
ties and no DBP’s. However,
price sensitivity among cos-
tumers plays a vital role in the
adoption of such alternate dis-
infection technologies.
Currently, other eco-
friendly alternate disinfection
technologies such as
Electrochlorination systems,
Peroxy disinfection and
advanced disinfection technol-
ogy such as UV-LED have
penetrated the disinfection
market eventually trying to
replace incumbent conven-
tional technologies. These sys-
tems are expected gain
increasing attention in the
EXPRESS WATER
forthcoming years.
UV-LED
UV LEDs are the biggest
advancement in the UV disin-
fection field. The system oper-
ates in the range of germicidal
wavelength, having the power
to destroy virus, bacteria, and
mold in the water safely and
effectively. The UV-C LED
functions in the C- UV spec-
trum range, within a wave-
length ranging from 100 to
280 nanometers. Within this
range, UV light exhibits ger-
micidal properties, making it
perfect for water and waste-
water disinfection. Unlike
mercury UV lamps, UV-C
LEDs provides numerous
advantages, including low
power requirements, making
them safer to use. Another
important benefit is that UV-
LEDs can be manufactured in
very small sizes, this enables
the making of portable disin-
fection systems compact
enough to fit inside a water
pipe, rendering these fixtures
self-disinfecting.
Nikkiso, a leading UV-LED
company based in Japan, is
pioneering in research and
development of UV-LED dis-
infection in large-scale water
and wastewater treatment
plants.
Peroxy Disinfection
As regulations and laws on
chlorinated disinfection
byproducts and presence of
total residual chlorine have
become very stringent, per-
acetic acid (PAA) is gaining
increasing attention as a
“green” water recovery disin-
fectant. Peracetic acid (PAA)
has the capability to eradicate
disinfection byproducts
(DBPs), sodium, and dissolved
salts present in wastewater.
Furthermore, it is currently
being considered as the
“Greener alternative” that is
expected to gradually replace
chlorine and other chemical-
based disinfectants. Peracetic
acid is a stronger oxidant
when compared to chlorine
dioxide or hypochlorite and its
treatment effectiveness com-
pletely depends on the con-
centration of PAA, the charac-
teristics of the water and
wastewater and the amount of
time the microorganisms are
exposed to the PAA. Peracetic
Acid and PerFormic Acid are
the two emerging and effec-
tive alternative disinfection
method. These products are
increasingly becoming popu-
lar especially in Americas and
Europe, for its ability to elimi-
nate DBPs. Leading compa-
nies like PeroxyChem have
developed a range of PAA
products for water and waste-
water disinfection.
Frost and Sullivan esti-
mates that in 2017,the global
water and wastewater disin-
fection systems market was
worth $2.70 billion recording a
compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 8.7% from 2017 to
2024. APAC is expected to
lead the global disinfection
market due to expansion of
water and wastewater cover-
age, favourable policies and
rapid industrialization.
According to Frost and
Sullivan, Chlorine-related
technologies are still expected
to dominate the market with
revenue of $946.8 million in
2017. This is primarily because
of the increasing demand for
chlorine dioxide generators,
specifically from APAC coun-
MARKET INSIGHTS
tries such as India and China. favouring the reduction of
UV and Advanced chemical usage in the overall
Oxidation Process (AOP) dis- treatment process to be envi-
infection will gain widespread ronmentally sustainable. UV-
attention due to flexibility in LED and PAA are well posi-
operation, small footprint, and tioned to gradually disrupt the
extreme versatility. It is fore- disinfection market.
cast to constitute 34% of the Combining Peracetic acid
total disinfection market (PAA) and UV-LED disinfec-
share by 2024. tion provides the opportunity
Peracetic acid (PAA) disin- to leverage the treatment
fection is expected to record capability of each technology.
significant growth in the The key benefits of using
forthcoming years due to its Peracetic acid in combination
high oxidation potential that with the UV-LED are the low
could dethrone conventional power requirement, no harm-
chlorine disinfectants. The ful DBP’s and low CAPEX.
global water and wastewater
Peracetic acid disinfection
market was approximately
$203.1 million in 2017, which
was about 40–45% of the glob-
al peracetic acid market.
In the past few years EU
countries like Germany,
Netherland, Belgium France,
Austria, UK, and Scandinavia
have gradually shifted
towards using Ozone and UV
as primary disinfectants espe-
cially for treatment of ground-
water. USA and Canada have
largely reduced the use chlo-
rine gas and some utilities are
exploring the use UV as a pri-
mary disinfectant. But chlo- About the Author
rine is still predominant Akshaya Ramachandran is a
because it is cheap and easily research analyst at Frost and
available. Sullivan.
In recent times, Utilities
and Industries are largely @FrostSullivanEE
April, 2018 39
 COLUMN
Towards an Alternative Vision of Water and So
Much More...Through the Eyes of Anupam Mishra
By Avinash Kumar
MY LAST COLUMN
recounted recent stories of
how communities have moved
to renew their relationship
with water, where water is not
merely a product to be con-
sumed or utilized but also
appears as an organic part of
people’s day to day life. There
is now a sizeable body of work
across the country, which has
shown collective ownership
driven from the bottom rather
than a state-centric model
pushed from the top. All of
this is encouraging. Words like
village water security plans,
water budgeting, rainwater
harvesting, groundwater
recharge are increasingly
being used by voluntary
groups including WaterAid
and state planners. In a way,
life has come full circle from a
state when it was primarily
the communities, which man-
aged water resources around
them, albeit without any of
these modern day jargons.
This shows the extent to
which our own traditional
knowledge systems around
water have been cannibalized
through an alien developmen-
tal language. It is fostered by a
discourse, which still sees
water primarily as a con-
sumer commodity and labels
the older knowledge systems
as the product of the dated
worldview. This discourse
draws a sharp line between
water usage for ‘larger pur-
poses’ and for the ‘local com-
munities’. Underpinning both
is an extractive mindset
where for large purposes,
infrastructures like canals
were built and rivers were
diverted while for communi-
40 April, 2018
ties, small and medium farm-
ers, tube wells and hand
pumps were dug. It is in this
backdrop that one needs to
remind oneself of the tradi-
tional knowledge systems,
which apart from being local,
were organized, community-
based and yet planned in such
detail that any dismissal of
such practicing thought-
process cannot be dismissed
as folk romanticism.
While there have been
many who critiqued the rapa-
cious nature of modern indus-
trial civilization and the
notion of progress or develop-
ment underpinning the same,
there are few like Anupam
Mishra who meticulously doc-
umented an alternative world.
A noted environmentalist,
Mishra showed us how the
traditional knowledge sys-
tems were not only designed
for an archaic past but still
lived embodied by local tradi-
tions e.g. bavdis and tankas all
over India. Mishra called it a
by-product of Vikas or ‘devel-
opment’, which, according to
him is a very recent addition
to our vocabulary. While rais-
ing questions about the state-
driven and state-defined
model of ‘development’, he
attributed terminologies like
‘water management’ and
‘social forestry’ to a tacit
agreement between state
planners and the development
thinkers who privileged state
and western models of devel-
opment paradigm which
always sought a distinction
between humans and nature.
Mishra wrote classics like
‘Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein’
and ‘Aaj Bhi Khare Hain
Talab’ highlighting how from
centuries communities with
their immense wisdom man-
aged water through tradition-
al rainwater harvesting sys-
tems, pond creation, commu-
nity forestry etc. For him, the
new development paradigm in
its arrogance to privileged
technology and a top-down
welfare model not just set
aside all of this immense
treasure but also made these
very communities dependent
and poor in the process. It is
this consumerist attitude
which has overseen literal
killing of innumerable water
bodies by converting them
into real estate property only
to lead us into immense fury
of nature as one witnessed a
couple of years ago in Chennai
or in Mumbai before that. It is
the same mindset that takes a
patronizing view of the com-
munities, first pauperizing
them and then commissioning
‘watershed’ work for them
terming them as hitgrahis or
‘beneficiaries’.
Here lies the irony. Self-
dependent communities who
not just conserved water
because they needed it, but
also gave back to nature
because future generations
needed it, because entire live-
stock needed it and because
entire ecology needed it as
well. Just to cite an example,
Mishra illustrates the meticu-
lous knowledge of communi-
ties by detailing the vocabu-
lary of desert people around
‘clouds’ in this beautifully
poetic language, “clouds visit
these parts rarely but don’t be
surprised if there are maxi-
mum names for the clouds….
In local dialects, it rains the
name of clouds: Bharan nad,
Payod, Dhar mandal, Dadar,
Dambar, Dalvadal, Ghan,
Ghanmand, Jaljaal, Kali kand-
hal, Kala Han, Karayan, Kand,
Habra, Mainmat, Mehajal,
Meghan, etc. There are so
many names that even clouds
will fall short’’. Mishra goes on
to further delineate the specif-
ic meanings attached to these
names.
It is against this backdrop
that Mishra refers to the
recent work of local leaders
and organizations like Tarun
Bharat Sangh in villages like
Lapodia of Rajasthan. He
shows how going against the
grain, the villagers not only
managed to revive dead water
bodies but also forests around
them and grazing lands for
the cattle leading to them
being self-sufficient in times of
consecutive droughts. It is not
that he only refers to those
lands and works, which see
less rainfall. In an essay titled,
Tairne Wala Samaj Doob
Raha Hai, he did a detailed
post-mortem of the reasons
behind Bihar falling into a
flood trap. According to him,
floods just like droughts were
a natural part of specific geog-
raphies and societies always
knew how to handle them.
Once again documenting vari-
ous folklore around small and
large rivers of the state, how
they appear in local memo-
ries, he shows that before the
new developmental models
started cutting the natural
flows of rivers, the people of
Bihar had perfected floodwa-
ter harvesting. In the process,
the people not only channel-
WATER WISE
ized excessive water into
ponds but also into harvesting
forests and grazing lands. It is
only the recent developmental
definition, which began to see
floods as a curse and tried to
tame them leading to floods
actually becoming a curse.
Going back to the origins of
word ‘vikas’, he attributes the
same to the English word
development. Arguing that
development as a standalone
concept, which puts things in
silos and boxes thanks to its
top-down view, will always try
to homogenize our worldview.
It is due to this definition that,
“there is so much arrogance
inherent in vikas that, every-
where we have to sow,
peanuts, wheat, oil of Dhara
(brand). And we have to sow
paddy in Punjab (which
requires so much water)”.
Economists on the rising tide
of farmer suicides are regurgi-
tating most of these critiques,
which were developed by
Mishra long ago.
Anupam Mishra was not a
prophet. He simply went
down to the ground to learn
from people’s everyday lives,
their language, their
immensely rich folklore, their
architectural designs and aes-
thetics, their love for changing
the weather and their sur-
roundings. The new develop-
mental modernity sees all of
them as merely an experimen-
tal lab. Sooner we discard
that, better we will stand a
chance to survive.
Avinash Kumar is Director -
Programme, and Policy at
WaterAid India.
@Avinashkoomar
EXPRESS WATER
 COLUMN
Protecting the Source
To avoid having to develop new water supplies due to contamination a number of jurisdictions
are turning to water source protection methods which involve the protection of surface water
sources and the protection of groundwater sources from contamination of any kind.
By Robert C Brears
Robert C Brears
IN MANY LOCATIONS
around the world, ensuring
access to good quality water
can be a challenge due to eco-
nomic as well as domestic
activities impacting the quali-
ty of surface and groundwater
supplies.
To avoid having to develop
new water supplies due to
contamination a number of
jurisdictions are turning to
water source protection meth-
ods which involve the protec-
tion of surface water sources
and the protection of ground-
water sources from contami-
nation of any kind.
Korea’s Precautionary Ap-
proach
Korea’s Ministry of
Environment (MOE) has
established water manage-
ment measures for four major
rivers in the country. Through
special measures and laws,
MOE has introduced strong
precautionary policies that
focus on total pollution load
management, water charges
for downstream uses, designa-
tion of riparian buffer zones,
and land purchase of water
EXPRESS WATER
source areas. Specifically:
MOE allows local administra-
tors to determine appropriate
total pollution load manage-
ment systems; water use
charges for downstream users
are used to make up for losses
incurred by upstream resi-
dents due to land use regula-
tions as well as to facilitate the
construction of basic environ-
mental facilities; riparian
buffer zones are used to
restrict the construction of
restaurants, lodging facilities,
bathhouses, factories, and
livestock sheds; and under the
land purchase system, if a per-
son wishes to sell land and
buildings in water source pro-
tection areas, riparian buffer
zones, or areas vulnerable to
water quality deterioration,
the buyer is required to con-
sult in advance with the
Watershed Management
Committee before purchase to
reduce potential for future
tensions over permitted activ-
ities.
Vienna Constitutionally
Protecting its Water
Vienna is the first city in
the world to constitutionally
protect its drinking water.
The Vienna Water Charter
ensures the city does not
expose water to hazards that
impact water quality. Vienna’s
drinking water comes from
water springs in the Rax,
Schneeberg and Schneealpe
mountains and from the
Hochschwab mountain mas-
sif. To protect the springs the
Forestry Office of the City of
Vienna maintains source pro-
tection forests to ensure the
soil remains healthy and able
to filter and store rainwater
efficiently. In addition, the city
works with farmers in the
source areas to avoid negative
influences on the water
sources.
Massachusetts’ Source
Protection Grant
In Massachusetts, the
state offers a Drinking Water
Supply Protection (DWSP)
Grant to public water systems
and municipal water depart-
ments for the purchase of land
or interests in land for the
protection of existing public
drinking water supplies; pro-
tection of planned future pub-
lic drinking water supplies;
and groundwater recharge.
Under the DWSP Grant appli-
cants can receive up to
$350,000 in funding to imple-
ment plans to protect existing
or new wells, as well as sur-
face drinking water supply
systems including reservoirs.
The funds can even be used to
purchase watershed land
located in Department of
Environmental Protection-
approved drinking water sup-
ply land to ensure the health
and well-being of
Massachusetts’ residents.
New York City Working in
Partnership
New York City Department
of Environmental Protection
(DEP) is responsible for oper-
ating, maintaining, and pro-
tecting the city’s water supply
and distribution system. To
protect the source of drinking
water for nine million water
consumers, DEP funds and
implements a comprehensive
Long-Term Watershed
Protection Program. A key
aspect of the programme is
that it includes working in
partnership with many
diverse stakeholder groups
and local organizations. Since
1992, the Watershed
Agricultural Program has
promoted a non-regulatory,
voluntary, incentive-based
and farmer-led approach to
controlling agricultural
sources of pollution while sup-
porting the economic viability
of the watershed’s agricultural
economy. Working through
the Watershed Agricultural
Council, the city funds devel-
opment of farm pollution pre-
vention plans and implemen-
tation of structural and non-
structural best management
practices. To date, nearly 200
large farm operations have
signed up with the pro-
gramme and over 7,000 best
management practices have
been implemented. In addi-
tion, the Conservation
Reserve Enhancement
Program pays farmers to take
sensitive riparian buffer lands
out of active farm use and re-
establish vegetative buffers.
This has led to the develop-
ment of nearly 2,000 acres of
riparian buffers and around
9,000 head of livestock being
excluded from streams.
Philadelphia’s Watershed
Approach
Philadelphia Water
Department’s (PWD) Source
Water Protection Program
takes a watershed-wide
approach to protecting the
quality of the city’s drinking
water sources with PWD
working with upstream com-
munities and organisations on
a variety of initiatives includ-
ing: working with regional
URBAN WATER
land trusts and conservancies
to ensure forested lands are
permanently protected for
drinking water supply protec-
tion; lobbying for policies that
preserve forests and empha-
sise water resource protec-
tion; collaborating with the
State of Pennsylvania to
ensure regulations are
enforced for wastewater
treatment plants that dis-
charge upstream of
Philadelphia; and working
with State and local stake-
holders to rehabilitate the
Fairmount Dam Fishway
Facility, which is the largest
fish passage structure in the
Schuylkill River watershed
and is critical to ensuring the
healthy fish passage on the
Schuylkill River and its tribu-
taries.
Overall, water source pro-
tection actions can involve a
variety of policy regulations
and economic incentives to
protect water resources from
non-point source pollution
including the restriction of
certain activities near water
sources, grants to local author-
ities to purchase land in and
around existing or new wells,
and funding of best manage-
ment practices on farmlands.
Water source protection can
also involve non-regulatory
activities such as stakeholder
engagement initiatives that
bring together communities
and organizations across
entire watersheds to jointly
develop solutions.
Robert Brears is the author
of Urban Water Security,
Founder of Mitidaption, and
Our Future Water."
@Mitidaption
April, 2018 41
 APPLICATION
Efficiencyor Reliability- Their
Influences on Pump Selection
and System Operation
This article looks at the challenges faced by Emschergenossenschaft, the organization
responsible for the Emscher River Basin, and in particular the aspects of the project that
influenced selection and specification of pumps needed for such a highly ambitious
undertaking.
By Bryan Orchard
View of the 40m Deep Construction Pit of the Pumping Station in
Gelsenkirchen
RESTORING THE HIGHLY
polluted Emscher River
between Dortmund and
Dinslaken in Germany is
Europe’s largest wastewater
clean-up project costing an
estimated Euros 4.5 billion.
More of an open sewer than a
river, the 80-km of waterway
passes through abandoned
coal-mines, industrial waste-
lands and urban areas. Due
for completion in 2020, the
regeneration project has faced
many major challenges, rang-
ing from collapsed coal mining
tunnels, unexploded bombs,
archaeological sites and the
logistics of getting the slurry
to flow down the newly con-
structed main sewage tunnel.
42 April, 2018
This latter challenge could
only be made possible by the
construction of three colossal
underground pumping sta-
tions to lift the toxic slurry.
The Emscher Conversion
Project
In order to fully appreciate
the project’s pumping require-
ments, it is necessary to have
a full picture of just how large
and complicated has been the
Emscher Conversion project.
Far from being a river clean-
up, the project has had to
address the crumbling infra-
structure through which the
highly toxic water flows and to
construct a high-tech sewage
system to treat the effluent. In
addition, this has been the Conversion project in simple to natural water-courses.
problem of flooding which terms, this is a massive 51km
poses a major threat to com- underground wastewater tun- Dealing with Water Flow
munities along the river. The nel connected to a network of The main artery of the
ultimate goal has been to underground conduits and three-meter diameter
return the Emscher and its pumping stations that will drainage tunnel starts at the
tributaries to a pristine state, move all the wastewater cur- Dortmund-Deusen sewage
thereby enhancing the envi- rently flowing into and along treatment plant and follows
ronment for the benefit of the the open drain. With the dem- the course of the River
2.6 million inhabitants and olition of the open sewer sys- Emscher due west to the
wildlife of the region. tems, the Emscher River and Emschermündung sewage
Industrialization of the its tributaries will revert back treatment plant near
Ruhr Area, through which the
Emscher flows, commenced in
the 19th century and by the
end of the century the com-
mercial and household waste-
water fed directly into the
river had resulted in wide-
spread contamination and
appalling hygienic conditions.
With the formation of
Emschergenossenschaft in
1899 steps were taken to alle-
viate the problem. However,
due to subsidence preventing
the construction of a closed
pipeline to carry the waste-
water, the river was trans-
formed into an open drain
enclosed by concrete embank-
ments. For the next 90 years,
nothing really changed until
the ambitious plan created by
Emschergenossenschaft and
19 local municipalities during
the 1990’s was finally pub-
lished as the Emscher Future
master plan in 2006. KSB Sewatec Pumps Being Installed at the Gelsenkirchen Pumping
To sum up the Emscher Station
EXPRESS WATER
 APPLICATION
Dinslaken. At first sight, this
appears to be quite straight-
forward, but that is not the
case. Along with all the other
challenges faced by the proj-
ect engineers, there was the
matter of wastewater flow. In
order to keep the wastewater
flowing along the entire 51km,
the tunnel has to have a down-
ward slope of 1.5m per 1km.
This might not seem to be of
great significance, but with
such an incline the tunnel
would be 75m below ground
level when it reaches
Dinslaken on the River Rhine.
After due consideration,
the solution to this problem
was to build three large pump-
ing stations at Gelsenkirchen,
Bottrop, and Oberhausen in
order to raise the water from
a depth of around 40m to 8m
below ground level. This pro-
vides sufficient slope for the
wastewater to flow off again
down the tunnel. These pump-
ing stations are essential to
the successful operation of the
entire system, which is why
such exacting specifications
were set out at the start. To
KSB’s satisfaction no less than
21 of its Sewatec pumps were
ordered.
Manfred Greisch, KSB
project manager sums it up
very simply: “The Sewatec
pump is designed to meet the
challenging requirements of
the nature of the water in the
Emscher system. It is resist-
ant to chemical attack and
abrasives. But most signifi-
cantly KSB pumps have par-
ticularly efficient hydraulics
compared to their competi-
tors. And it almost goes with-
out saying that KSB has the
infrastructure and resources
to support these pumps
throughout their working
lives.”
Planning for 100 Years
As is to be expected for a
project of this size and com-
p l e x i t y ,
E m s c h e r ge n o s s e n s c h a f t
required a long-term engi-
neering solution that was
robust, reliable, efficient,
future-proof and capable of
meeting all current demands
and future expansion. Nothing
short of a 100-year working
EXPRESS WATER
life was the brief given to all
contractors on the project. At
no time during this period
would there be any halt in the
water flow, so all fluid han-
dling equipment had to be
fully functional at all times.
Any equipment failures
could result in damage to the
entire system, including efflu-
ent treatment plants, and of
course, flooding would be cat-
astrophic. The pressures,
therefore, were on the equip-
ment manufacturers to have
complete faith in their tech-
nologies and prove this to the
customer. However, even this
is not enough.
E m s c h e r ge n o s s e n s c h a f t
wanted pumps that would
deliver reliability over the
long term and economical
operation that would deliver
energy efficiency. Given that
the complete system has a
designed lifespan of 100 years,
it is impossible to predict with
total accuracy the many fac-
tors that will affect the per-
formance of the pumping sys-
tem so far ahead. Reviewing
the long-term performance of
similar pumps in similar
applications does provide a
good guide to their suitability.
The Winning Proposal
KSB’s principal areas of
involvement were the provi-
sion of pumps for the Bottrop
and Gelsenkirchen pumping
stations. Both pumping sta-
tions lift the wastewater from
the valley to the sewer sec-
tions at a higher level. The
biggest pump sets each have a
drive rating of 470 kW and
handle up to 6,480 cubic
meters of wastewater per
hour.
To win the much-prized
contract, KSB was successful
in convincing
Emschergenossenschaft of
the significant benefits of
using its Sewatec pumps.
These highly versatile pumps
were selected because they
are in use in many parts of the
world, delivering the type of
performance and efficiency
levels that the Emscher
Conversion project required.
These dry-installed pumps
are fitted with variable-speed
drives, IE4 motors and come
with a variety impeller
options. The optimized
hydraulic system yields high
efficiency, thereby helping to
reduce energy consumption
and minimize operating costs.
This combination of excel-
lent hydraulics and energy
efficiency could not be
matched by any of the other
pump companies tendering
for the contract.
Several modifications were
made to the pumps to meet
the project’s special require-
ments. A special technical fea-
ture of the pumps is their cas-
ing design. Unlike Sewatec’s
standard casing, the casings
for this variant were designed
with tangential discharge noz-
zles by KSB engineers to
achieve even better efficien-
cies. The impellers were also
optimized to ensure excellent
efficiencies without compro-
mising on the high level of
operating reliability. In addi-
tion, the oil reservoir of the
shaft seals and its monitoring
device, plus the backstop on
the pumps, was adapted to the
customer’s requirements.
KSB’s factory in
Halle/Saale produced all of
the pump sets for this major
project, including two huge
pumps in close-coupled
design specially manufac-
tured for the Gelsenkirchen
pumping station. It was here
that the efficiencies the
pumps achieved on the test
bed exceeded the values
established through the CFD
(computational fluid dynam-
ics) simulation.
Each pump was tested
individually prior to despatch
and showed that the commit-
ments made for efficiencies
could be exceeded by three
percent.
The requirement for the
Bottrop pumping station was
10 pumps with discharge noz-
zles between 500mm and
700mm and impellers up to
900mm in diameter with uni-
versal-joint shafts. Nine
pumps of the same design
were commissioned for the
Gelsenkirchen pumping sta-
tion. In addition, two Sewatec
pumps were supplied in the
same size in close-coupled
design.
Life-Cycle Costs
For a project of this magni-
tude, it was important for
Emschergenossenschaft to
have a good idea of the Life-
Cycle Costs for the pumping
stations and thus, the Total
Cost of Ownership. Knowing
the LCC enables the customer
to have a good idea when the
total investment will be paid
back. Of the many require-
ments for this project attain-
ing high levels of pump effi-
ciency and reliability came
high on the wish list.
Pump efficiency and pump
reliability should not be seen
as competing objectives. In
fact, they complement each
other. To achieve both objec-
tives requires all parties
involved in the design and
operation of the pumping sys-
tem to combine their
resources and technical
expertise to identify the fac-
tors that contribute to deter-
mining the Best Efficiency
Point (BEP). Pumps running
at their BEP at all times
achieve efficiency and reliabil-
ity. This saves on energy
costs, wear on components
and delivers smooth running,
all of which contribute to
lower levels of maintenance,
this always being an expensive
and time-consuming under-
taking.
Having taken extensive
briefings from Schachtbau
Nordhausen GmbH, construc-
tors of the pumping stations,
KSB’s project team were able
to deliver a proposal that
would deliver outstanding
efficiency at an excellent
price/performance ratio.
What’s more, they could
demonstrate this in exacting
witness-testing trials.
No Compromise
The Emscher Conversion
project is a highly innovative
and complex project that has
been many years in the plan-
ning. Now closing in on its full
commissioning date, this
closed wastewater discharge
system is a state-of-the-art
design that harnesses the
highest levels of water trans-
portation technologies that
are available from world-lead-
ing equipment and materials
manufacturers. Its owner and
o p e r a t o r ,
Emschergenossenschaft, has
the ability to monitor continu-
ously its performance and
react accordingly when events
occur. To this end, it has the
total cost of ownership for the
entire designed working life.
Summary
The Emscher Conversion
project has provided KSB the
opportunity to demonstrate
its engineering resources and
all-round capabilities in
designing and delivering an
energy efficient and reliable
pumping solution that can be
seen as a benchmark for the
wastewater handling industry.
The bigger the project, the
bigger the efficiencies pay-off
for the end-user over the long
term.
By showing flexibility in
design, flexibility in thinking
and the capabilities to tailor
its products to the customer’s
requirements KSB has made a
major contribution to the
Emscher Conversion project.
Delivery, installation, and
commissioning of the 21
Sewatec pump-sets are not
the end of the road for KSB. It
will retain a close working
relationship with its customer
for many years through the
provision of technical support
services, ensuring that its
pumps meet the ever-chang-
ing demands of Europe’s
largest wastewater project.
About the Author
Bryan Orchard is an interna-
tional freelance journalist who
specializes in water and envi-
ronmental engineering.
All Photos Courtesy of KSB SE
& Co. KGaA.
April, 2018 43
 CASE STUDY
Continuous Data Keeps Brazilian Ports’
Business Flowing
Xylem analytics instruments play a vital role in Rio de Janeiro harbor monitoring.
By SonTek
PILOTING A 256-METER
(839-foot) cargo vessel into
port is always a delicate oper-
ation, and it doesn’t get any
easier with swift currents and
stiff winds cutting across the
narrow channel. Or fog. Or
driving rain.
But that’s just another day
at work for Brazilian pilots in
the state of Rio de Janeiro,
where freighters meet a fork
in the channel on their way up
tiny Sepetiba Bay toward a
pair of terminals. Each year,
the ships they guide carry
away 48 million metric tons of
iron ore and 39 million metric
tons of containers and iron
and steel products, threading
their 43-meter-wide bulks
down a dredged channel just
200 meters wide. The wind
44 April, 2018
any condition. Harbormasters
use the same data to fine-tune
the loading of each vessel,
optimizing the load for the
available draft.
“They can load to the max-
imum and get out quickly and
not have any problem,” notes
Gabriel Aloi Paschoal, com-
mercial director for
HidroMares, the Brazilian
Xylem representative compa-
ny and systems integrator
that developed SISMO.
Significant Revenues
In Rio de Janeiro state, the
owner of one of the ports has
used SISMO to cut an hour off
each vessel’s approach time to
the pier, using historical data
to optimize the maneuvering
patterns in its turning basin.
SISMO has also opened the
port to night operations, notes
howls up the coast and rico- speed/direction and visibility With that detailed dash- Paschoal.
chets off the 800-meter-high data directly to their smart- board, pilots can maneuver “The terminal doubled the
mountain range that rings the phones. and dock precisely in nearly operational time and efficien-
bay. During foul weather, the
mountains trap fog and rain-
clouds, reducing visibility to
near-zero.
It’s little surprise, then,
that the Rio de Janeiro pilots’
association, whose members
are responsible for guiding
any non-Brazilian ship into
those ports, requested that
the port owners install the
innovative SISMO® - in
Portuguese, an acronym for
Real-Time Meteocean
Monitoring System - in the
bay. Their colleagues in Sao
Paulo state have used a
SISMO system since 2013,
which transmits current,
level, tide, temperature, wind
EXPRESS WATER
 CASE STUDY
cy after navigation was
authorized at night as a result
of the SISMO implementa-
tion,” he reports.
The extensive data from
the four SISMO installations
in the Rio de Janeiro facility
also improve safe navigation,
especially where the channel
forks in a shallow area where
the rock had to be blasted out
before dredging, Paschoal
adds.
“Every turn for a vessel is
really problematic,” says
Paschoal, whose degree is in
oceanography. “Pilots and
naval engineers always say a
vessel is only built to navigate
straight, not to turn.”
The HidroMares Team Deploys SonTek Argonaut-XR ADCPs - Three in Total - to Continuously Monitor Currents
in a Forked, Narrow Channel in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro State. The Pyramidal Housing Protects the Current
Profilers from Damage in the Busy Port.
EXPRESS WATER
Continuous Monitoring
HidroMares has installed
its SISMO systems at seven
port complexes around Brazil,
from ocean terminals in the
south to an inland river port in
the Amazon basin.
At the heart of each system
is a SonTek acoustic Doppler
current profiler (ADCP),
which provides current veloci-
ty and direction data through-
out the water column, as well
as water level. That allows
SISMO units to provide cur-
rent data to pilots at six
depths - from the surface to 12
meters, in two-meter incre-
ments - as well as highly accu-
One of Two Tideland Buoys in the Rio de Janeiro SISMO System, with its Hatch Open to Allow Maintenance
Crews Access to Datalogging and Telemetry Equipment.
rate depth measurements
from a vertical acoustic beam
and a pressure sensor, all
refreshed every five minutes.
In Rio de Janeiro’s
Sepetiba Bay, HidroMares
positioned three bottom-
mounted SonTek Agronaut-
XR systems in the channel,
leading their cables up to sur-
face buoys outfitted with data
transmission equipment.
HidroMares also positioned
an Argonaut-SL side-looking
ADCP at the end of the pier to
deliver a current profile
extending 120 meters from the
dock.
The pier installation also
includes a Mira visibility sen-
sor, a wind sensor and a
SmartGuard datalogger from
SonTek’s sister company,
Aanderaa, which is also part
of Xylem Analytics. On the
shore, another wind sensor
provides additional insight on
air currents.
The buoys - two of which
are Tideland SB 138P polyeth-
ylene models from Xylem -
contain redundant GPRS
transmitters to ensure that
measurements are relayed
reliably to HidroMares’ com-
puters, which process them
through Aanderaa Geoview
software to create a visual dis-
play.
Paschoal says data
retrieval has exceeded 99 per-
cent since SISMO was
installed in Rio de Janeiro in
late 2015.
HidroMares created a
smartphone app to deliver the
Geoview data graphics to
pilots and port personnel.
Processing the Argonaut data
takes less than a minute, so
the display on pilots’ cell
phones is never more than a
few minutes old.
“The data the pilot or oper-
ator sees is from 10 seconds
ago to five minutes ago,”
Paschoal says. “Practically
instantly they have the visual-
ization of data.” SISMO also
sends alarms to pilots and
port staff when currents,
waves or winds become haz-
ardous.
Further Uses
SISMO data can be applied
even after vessels have cycled
through the port. HidroMares
posts each port’s data online
through Geoview, and exports
it to other programs as need-
ed.
“Integration of this data
with other products is very
easy in real time,” Paschoal
notes. “In other ports, we have
sent our data to improve the
weather reports. In some
cases, they use this data for
environmental monitoring,
too.”
HidroMares sends month-
ly data reports to its clients.
The Rio de Janeiro ports pass
along that historical data to
the naval engineering school
at the University of Sao Paulo
for analysis, part of the ongo-
ing effort to fine-tune opera-
tions.
Even before installing
SISMO for the Rio de Janeiro
ports, HidroMares had gath-
ered four years’ worth of con-
tinuous current, wave, level
and bottom temperature data
in Sepetiba Bay at the request
of the Brazilian Navy, which
had used the site as a subma-
April, 2018 45
 CASE STUDY
A HidroMares Technician Prepares
a YSI Nile 502 Radar Water Level
Sensor, Part of Company’s
Innovative SISMO® Harbor
Monitoring System.
rine building facility. That
detailed information helped
port owners develop the sub-
marine base into a commer-
cial iron ore loading facility,
laying out the channels, sizing
the turning basins, and plan-
ning logistics.
46 April, 2018
Easy Maintenance
A team of divers from
HidroMares makes a mainte-
nance visit to each Rio de
Janeiro SISMO installation
every 45 days. Paschoal says
the Argonauts and other
instruments are highly reli-
able and easy to maintain.
Most of the work is ensuring
that sediments have not
buried the ADCPs, cleaning
up summertime biofouling,
and ensuring that cables are
intact. The telemetry system
is packed in a portable case
that can be transferred from
the buoy to the boat for more
convenient, safer mainte-
nance before being plugged
back into the instruments and
transmission antenna.
CTD Data
Paschoal notes that each
maintenance visit provides
the opportunity for the
HidroMares crew to gather
Conductivity, Temperature
and Depth (CTD) measure- HidroMares Used an Image of its Aanderaa Wind and Visibility Instruments as a Lead Image to Promote its
ments with a SonTek SISMO® Monitoring System.
CastAway-CTD at every
SISMO site. The CastAway can impact buoyancy of ships CastAway CTDs - reflects the (Photo Source: HidroMares
measurements reveal season- in the port and, along with deep knowledge they have of and SonTek)
al changes in salinity, which temperature, impacts the the products they represent,”
speed of the ADCPs’ acoustic Jones notes. “But what’s even
signals. deeper is their understanding
“We collect it into the data- of what their customers - the
base and use it to correct the pilots, ship captains and har-
data from the ADCP as well,” bourmasters - need in order to
he says. operate safely and efficiently.
Paschoal is an admirer of SISMO is an outstanding
the rugged, baseball-sized example of applying great
CastAway CTD. technology to not just gener-
“The CastAway was ate data, but to deliver it in an
thought up by a person who elegant, customer-focused
goes into the field,” he says. way.”
“You have common AA batter- SonTek (Xylem Inc) manu-
ies, integrated GPS - every- factures acoustic Doppler
thing you need - and you don’t instrumentation for water
need a computer to operate velocity measurement in
it.” oceans, rivers, lakes, canals,
harbors, estuaries, and labo-
Integrated Solutions ratories.
Isaac Jones, the Product These instruments use
Manager at SonTek’s head- sound waves to tell you how
quarters in San Diego, fast water is moving, where it
California, says SISMO is an is moving, and even if it is not
elegant integration of the moving at all. Scientists, engi-
broad range of Xylem brands. neers, hydrologists, research
“The way HidroMares has associates, water resource Durable Equipment Designed for
linked Argonaut ADCPs and planners and anyone that Long Deployments Such as This
the Mira visibility sensor on needs to collect velocity Argonaut-SL500 Allows
Tideland buoys with Geoview (speed) data in every kind of HidroMares Teams to Extend the
software - then supports the body of water imaginable, use Maintenance Interval for Each
data with measurements from these instruments. SISMO Installation to 45 Days.
EXPRESS WATER
 CASE STUDY
Endurance Test at the Pflegelberg
Central Sewage Plant
Real-time comparison of press belt mesh efficiency in sludge dewatering.
By GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG
The Loading of Slurry onto the New Filter Belt Type Speed-Drain by GKD.
OVER A TEN-WEEK period
at the Pflegelberg Central
Sewage Treatment Plant, the
leading specialist for filtration
and process belt meshes GKD
- GEBR. KUFFERATH AG
GKD's New Belt Mesh of the Type Speed-Drain in Feed and Pre-
Dewatering Zone, where Chicanes Ensure Good Drainage.
48 April, 2018
(GKD) and the company
Sülzle Klein GmbH tested the
new press belt mesh type
Speed-Drain, which combines
high dewatering rates with
reliable particle retention.
The two companies compared
the efficiency of the new mesh
with that of the GKD mesh
type 1003 previously used
there, under real operating
conditions on two structurally
identical belt presses. Plant
manager Michael Sturm
expected the test to demon-
strate enough of an improve-
ment of dewatering results to
reduce the run duration of the
sewage sludge drying stage.
From the very start, the new
belt fulfilled all expectations.
Thanks to its significantly bet-
ter dewatering performance,
compared to the 1003 mesh
type, the dry matter content
(DM) increased by 0.8% –
enough to reduce dryer uti-
lization in Pflegelberg by
about nine days a year (3%).
Founded in 1978, the
Pflegelberg Central Sewage
Treatment Plant near
Wangen in Germany's Allgäu
region maintains 57 outside
facilities: 31 pumping stations,
11 rain overflow basins and 15
compressed air flushing sta-
tions. Operated by the Rural
District of Ravensburg, the
sewage treatment plant has
the city of Wangen connected
to it, along with the participat-
ing communities Neukirch
and Amtzell and the munici-
pality of Hergensweiler. One
peculiarity of the plant is its
location across the district
boundary in the Rural District
of Lake Constance, at the con-
fluence of the Upper and
Lower River Argen. As Lake
Constance is the drinking-
water reservoir for the whole
region, the sewage treatment
plant must comply with very
stringent limits on what it dis-
With Warp Wires of Various Special Plastic Materials, the Speed-Drain
Filter Belt Provides Through Considerably More but Smaller Mesh
Openings a Better Dewatering.
charges into the lake, particu-
larly in terms of phosphorus.
Over the last 15 years, the
Pflegelberg plant has treated
an average of 7 million cubic
meters of wastewater a year.
The lowest volume of waste-
water processed so far was 5.5
million cubic meters in the dry
year 2003; the highest volume
recorded so far was 8.5 million
cubic meters in the high-rain-
fall year 2001. These values
reflect a minimum throughput
of 7,000 cubic meters and a
maximum throughput of
62,000 cubic meters of waste-
water a day, i.e. 720 liters a
second. After the various
treatment stages, between
850 and 900 tons of dried
sewage sludge needs to be dis-
posed of annually. The
Pflegelberg Central Sewage
Treatment Plant is designed
for a population equivalent
(PE) of 80,000 inhabitants,
although the current waste-
EXPRESS WATER
 CASE STUDY
Under a Belt Tension of upto 14 bar, the Sludge Makes its Way Between
the Two Belts of Belt Filter Press.
water volumes only equate to
60,000 PE. The serviced area
actually only has 33,000 real
inhabitants, with almost half
of the treated volume coming
from industrial and commer-
cial dischargers, for example,
several dairies, metal-pro-
cessing businesses and the
Hospital in Wangen.
Originally, the plant was con-
figured to cater for a large tex-
tile industry company and the
typical challenges of its waste-
water, and it was not until 2011
that it was also equipped with
digestion facilities. The slow,
drawn-out decline of the com-
pany until its final closure in
2015 had consequences for
wastewater volumes and
treatment at the Pflegelberg
Central Sewage Treatment
Plant. The textile company's
wastewater was not always
easy to treat. So, it remains to
be seen in the current year
whether and to what extent
the circa 5% lower load on the
treatment plant resulting
Thanks to Their Decreasing Diameters, the 14 Rollers in Compression
Zone Successively Increase the Pressure Exerted on Sludge.
EXPRESS WATER
from the closure will have a
noticeable effect.
Eight employees are
responsible for the smooth,
365-days-a-year operation of
the treatment plant. On the
plant's spacious grounds,
which border on woodland, a
new wastewater filtration
plant was put into operation in
2000, and since then the
whole treatment plant has
been successively updated
and renewed. In 2005, for
example, the chamber filter
presses were replaced by two
SMP 2500-14 type belt filter
presses made by the company
Sülzle Klein. 2007 marked the
start of sewage sludge drying
on a Pro 2/3 type low-pressure
belt dryer (LTD) from Sülzle-
Klein with waste-heat utiliza-
tion from a nearby private bio-
gas plant. In 2011, sludge
digestion went into operation
with the utilization of the
digester gas in the sewage
plant's own cogeneration unit
(CHP). The digestion tower is
also heated with the waste
heat from the nearby biogas
plant. Even the building is
heated by means of this ener-
gy. Today, the sewage treat-
ment plant complies with the
strict standards of the
European Union (EU) and, in
the annual ratings of the
German Association for
Water, Wastewater and Waste
(DWA), regularly attains the
quality assessment very good.
Three Treatment Stages
In the first mechanical
treatment stage, bar screens
with steel bars at 3-centime-
ter intervals remove large
objects like paper and hygiene
articles from the influent. The
washed and dewatered
screenings are then disposed
of in containers. For large vol-
umes of influent, two rain
overflow basins serve as inter-
mediate storage reservoirs,
each with a capacity of 1,178
cubic meters. A wastewater
lifting plant with spiral-feed
pumps regulates the flow of
the wastewater into the fine
screen system. Here, remain-
ing solids down to a size of six
millimeters are filtered out.
The sand and grease trap
pumps away the sand con-
tained in the water after it has
settled and washes it out. At
the same time, floating fat is
removed from the system and
disposed of. Because the
treatment plant was initially
designed as an aerobic stabi-
lization facility to cater for the
local textile industry at that
time, i.e. operating without
digesters, there was no need
for a primary sedimentation
tank. This means that the
belated integration of such a
primary clarifier in the con-
text of the installation of a
digestion system would have
been extremely costly.
Instead, the treatment plant
at Wangen adapted its
processes and, to this day, still
manages to do without pri-
mary clarification.
Active Microorganisms
In the biological treatment
stage, microorganisms break
down the pollutants contained
in the wastewater. The oxygen
required for this process is
introduced through surface
aeration in the two aeration
basins. Agitators in these
basins, each one with a capac-
ity of 9,000 cubic meters,
ensure the required homoge-
nization of the water-sludge
mixture. In the three second-
ary clarification basins, each
with a capacity of von 4,500
cubic meters, the activated
sludge clots settle and are
then removed as return
sludge. These basins were
renovated in 2014/2015 and
converted from underwater
scrapers to scraper bridges
with toothed track technology.
In Michael Sturm's opinion,
the new bridges have the
advantage of not requiring
any track heating, a relevant Thanks to its Significantly Better
factor in such a snowy region. Dewatering Performance, the Dry
This not only makes mainte- Matter Content (DM) Increased by
nance easier but also con- 0.8%.
tributes to the reduction of
energy costs and an increase tated in the sand filter
in operational reliability. through the repeated addition
of the iron (III)-chloride solu-
Phosphate Precipitation tion. The sand filter consists
The location of the treat- of twelve filter chambers, with
ment plant in the Lake a total filter area of 200
Constance catchment area square meters of pumice sand
means that the statutory limit and silica sand, which reliably
value of 0.3 milligrams a liter filter out the phosphate com-
for total phosphate must not pounds. Thanks to this triple
be exceeded. For this reason, precipitation policy, the
precipitants containing alu- Pflegelberg treatment plant
minium are already added in maintains an annual average
the aeration basin parallel to of 0.12 milligrams a liter of
the bio-degradation process. total phosphates, well under
The precipitation process is the statutory threshold value
continued in the settling basin of 0.3 milligrams.
through the addition of an iron
(III)-chloride solution. What Dewatering to the Max
still remains in terms of phos- The sludge dewatering
phate content is then precipi- facility needs to remove 78%
Bar Screens with Steel Bars at 3-Centimeter Intervals Remove Large
Objects Like Paper and Hygiene Articles from Influent.
April, 2018 49
 CASE STUDY
Founded in 1978, the Pflegelberg
Central Sewage Treatment Plant
Near Wangen in Germany's Allgäu
Region Maintains 31 Pumping
Stations, 11 Rain Overflow Basins
and 15 Compressed Air Flushing
Stations.
of the water content from
about 18,000 cubic meters of
sewage sludge a year. To
achieve this, the overflow
sludge from the biological
stage is first concentrated in a
static thickener to between 2.5
and 3% dry matter content
(DM). Then, a mechanical
pre-dewatering belt increases
the dry matter content to
between 6 and 7%. After that,
A Wastewater Lifting Plant with
Spiral-Feed Pumps Regulates the
Flow of Wastewater into Fine
Screen System.
50 April, 2018
the sludge is left to ferment
for up to 30 days in a 1,100-
cubic-metre-capacity diges-
tion tower, where it is con-
stantly circulated by two
pumps. To maximize the ener-
gy gain from this fermentation
process, the treatment plant
adds the co-substrates.
Fermentation at 41°C reduces
the sludge volume by about
20%. At the same time, about
900 cubic meters of digester
gas are produced every day,
the gas flowing into the adja-
cent co-generation plant. The
power yield from this system
covers 21% of the plant's own
energy requirements.
Subsequently, the digested
sludge is dewatered on two
belt filter presses to a dry
matter content level of 22%.
Each of the belt filter presses
in Pflegelberg dewater about
9,000 cubic metrers of sewage
sludge a year. At four working
days a week, that works out at
about 42 cubic meters of
sludge a day. The output from
the belt filter presses is trans-
ported – by means of a thick-
ened sludge pump working
with short blasts of com-
pressed air – to the sludge
bunker 90 metres away next
to the sludge dryer.
Depending on the time of year,
sewage sludges in the
Pflegelberg Central Sewage
Treatment Plant have varying
consistencies. In winter, high-
er content levels of organic
substances result in lower
dewatering rates, meaning
more time and expense for the
drying stage. While the dry
matter content in the winter
months is only around 20%, it
climbs a few percents higher
in summer, resulting in an
annual average DM of 22%.
High and Dry
A belt dryer using waste-
heat from the biogas plant
removes the residual moisture
from the dewatered sludge.
The resulting dry granulate is
incinerated in a cement
works. It takes about three
hours for sewage sludge with
an initial dry matter content
of 22% to be dried to a DM of
91% in the low-temperature
dryer. Every hour, a new 600
kilogram charge of sludge is
loaded with a so-called dif-
fuser onto the dryer belts,
which also come from GKD,
evenly distributed and dried
with a through-flow of air at
80°C. On average, the treat-
ment plant produces 850 to
900 tons of dried sludge a year
in this way. This works out to
a weight reduction of 3,150
tons or 79%. But for that, the
dryer has to run around the
clock for five-and-a-half days a
week, which adds up to 6,800
operating hours a year. In win-
ter, due to the higher volumes
of sludge, the equipment is at In the Fine Screen System Remaining Solids Down to a Size of Six
the limits of its capacity. So Millimeters are Filtered Out.
every single percent more DM
in the dewatered sludge helps a minute. Spray jets posi- belt tension of up to 14 bar, the
to reduce the total operating tioned under the belt flush the sludge makes its way between
hours of the dryer. The dried belts after the press cake is the two 2.5-metre-wide and
granulate is kept in a 16- released to re-open any mesh 16.9- respectively 18.5-metre-
meter-high storage silo for pores that might have become long belts of the belt filter
about a week until there is clogged. With the comparison press. Thanks to their
enough to fill a silo truck. In test under real conditions, decreasing diameters, the 14
the course of a year, around 40 Michael Sturm wanted to use rollers in the compression
silo trucks full of sludge are the opportunity to find a more zone successively increase the
produced and transported to efficient dewatering option for pressure exerted on the
the cement works for inciner- his sludge, in the hope of sludge. The different radial
ation. reducing the load on the distances of the two belts to
downstream process stage of the roller, and therefore the
Central Process drying the sewage sludge on difference in their lengths,
In 2005, the sewage plant the dryer. Before it is loaded creates a shear effect on the
at Wangen decided to replace onto the belt filter presses, the sludge which intensifies the
the old chamber filter presses fermented sludge from the dewatering effect. But for
with belt filter presses. The digestion tower has to have uninterrupted operation of
reason for this move was not polymer added to it. A pump the belt filter press, it is
just the benefits of a better then transports the sludge absolutely essential that no
rate of dewatering but also – continuously onto the feed sludge is pressed through the
compared to a centrifuge – the zone, where chicanes ensure belts or squeezed out at the
considerably lower consump- good drainage. Through a sides. And, in addition to this
tion of polymers and power. curved compression zone, the requirement for reliable parti-
Another argument for the sludge is transported between cle retention, the belts must
replacement of the chamber an upper and lower belt over a also durably withstand the
filter presses was the low pro- filter drum and into the roller enormous forces working on
curement cost and easy main- compression zone. Under a them while at the same time
tenance of the belt filter
presses. And their smaller
footprint meant that there
was more than enough avail-
able space in the plant to
accommodate them. Since
their commissioning in 2005,
the belt filter presses have
been operating with GKD
Type 1003 filter belts. Each of
the belt filter presses in the
Pflegelberg Central Sewage
Treatment Plant dewaters
between 6 and 12 cubic meters
of slurry an hour. To achieve
the highest possible dewater-
ing performance, the presses
run extra slowly at 0.9 meters The Washed and Dewatered Screenings are Disposed of in Containers.
EXPRESS WATER
 CASE STUDY
The Sand and Grease Trap Pumps Away the Sand Contained in Water
After it has Settled and Washes It Out. At the Same Time, Floating Fat is
Removed.
ensuring a high rate of dewa-
tering.
Michael Sturm's good
experiences with the GKD
Type 1003 mesh belts used so
far on the presses was a major
factor in his decision to make
the dewatering stage at the
Pflegelberg plant available for
a test with the innovative new
filter belt. "How well our
sludge responds to dewater-
ing varies according to sea-
sonal factors and other exter-
nal influences. And there's a
corresponding fluctuation in
our polymer consumption.
With the 1003 mesh, so far
Plant Manager Michael Sturm Shows the Sampler at the End of the
Sand Trap.
EXPRESS WATER
we've had a really good belt
that really meets the demands
of our particular sludge pro-
file." And he also thinks the
flat (PAD) seam "… is really
good. It only protrudes a little,
so it doesn't put undue stress
on the components." His
requirements regarding the
new belt type were therefore
very high. What he wanted to
see was clear proof of
increased dewatering efficien-
cy without any of the mesh's
optimal qualities of durability,
retention, and cross-stability
being forfeited. What he
hoped for was to be able to
raise the dry matter content
by 1 or 2% with the new belts,
because an improved DM of
the sludge would increase the
throughput rate in the low-
temperature dryer and create
additional reserve capacity. In
terms of other evaluation
parameters, filtrate clarity
and polymer consumption
were both decisive criteria for
Michael Sturm.
Turbo for Belt Filter
Presses
The new Speed-Drain belt
mesh installed by GKD for the
comparison test proved its
high level of dewatering per-
formance impressively, both
in the gravity section and in
the roller compression section
of the press. Its warp wires of
various special plastic materi-
als – only half as thick com-
pared to the polyester
monofilaments of the belt
mesh previously used – give it
considerably more but small-
er mesh openings. In this way,
two properties that should
actually be mutually exclusive
– high dewatering perform-
ance and reliable particle
retention even under pressure
– are ingeniously combined in
a single product.
The first round of talks
between the parties involved
in the comparison test – the
Pflegelberg Central Sewage
Treatment Plant, GKD and
Sülzle Klein – were conducted
in December. A good eight
weeks later, after the neces-
sary personnel planning had
been made in Pflegelberg, the
test commenced. On the day
before, Michael Sturm had the
sludge dewatering equipment
powered down and the
cleaned. It took GKD and
Sülzle Klein one day to refit
the two presses – one with a
belt of the previously used
Type 1003 mesh, the other, a
structurally identical second
belt filter press, with the new
belt type Speed-Drain – and
put them back into operation.
On the next day, the two
presses were running simulta-
neously again in normal oper-
ation mode – and under exact-
ly identical conditions regard-
ing flocculants, sludge and
In the Two Aeration Basins, Each One with a Capacity of 9,000 Cubic
Meters, Agitators Ensure the Required Homogenization of Water-Sludge
Mixture.
time. After ten weeks of test-
ing, regularly taken samples
from both presses allowed
valid conclusions about the
new filter belt mesh to be
drawn.
Clearly Superior
From the very start, it was
obvious that the new filter belt
was doing more than just
meeting expectations. With a
constant circa 0.8% higher dry
matter content at a through-
put rate of 6.5 cubic meters an
hour, it gave a convincing
demonstration of its excellent
dewatering capabilities. For
Volker Meuser, Senior Sales &
Application Manager at GKD,
this was a further confirma-
tion of the experience with
Speed-Drain already gathered
from other sewage treatment
plants. "Now, we can also give
our customers hard compara-
tive data on the two belts
under exactly identical
process conditions, and show
them in detail what the added
value of our new belt type
really is." And the new filter
belt type even promises excel-
lent dewatering efficiency for
thinner slurries than the ones
processed in Pflegelberg. In
the opinion of Henning
Schneider, Head of Design
and Manufacture at Sülzle
Klein, there are also positive
prospects for future equip-
ment sizes: "The high rate of
dewatering in the straining
zone makes the idea of
machines with shorter strain-
ing sections feasible. For the
customer, this would mean
not only smaller space
requirements but also lower
procurement costs." Plant
manager Michael Sturm is
more than satisfied with the
test results. "Speed-Drain's
good particle retention made
sure that, even in continuous
operation, the sludge didn't
penetrate the mesh and the
belts didn't stick together."
But the main reason for his
overall positive conclusion
about GKD's new belt mesh
Speed-Drain was the signifi-
cant increase in dewatering
performance: "The test under
real conditions with our
sludge has now given me a
solid basis for deciding how
we can optimize our sludge
dewatering. The detailed long-
term evaluations show that a
changeover to the new belt
type will definitely pay off, and
will enable me to reduce the
load on our sewage sludge
drying stage by about 200
hours a year." For this reason,
the mechanical pre-dewater-
ing belt was also fitted with
the new belt. And here, too, it
fulfilled expectations: the dry
matter content of the sludge
on the belt thickener has
already gone up by 0.3% - a
result that even further
reduces the load on the drying
stage.
GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG is
the world market leader in
metal, synthetic and spiral mesh
solutions.
April, 2018 51
 CASE STUDY
Controlling Water Flowin Salalah,Oman
Singer Valve works with Larson Toubro to install 12 Altitude Valves to control water flow from
pipelines to large reservoirs.
By Singer Valve
SALALAH IS A coastal city
in Oman, about 1,500 km
South of Dubai. Although they
have an average population of
200,000, tourists flock to this
beautiful city for the temper-
ate summer climate. The city
gets its water from a desalina-
tion plant that has the capaci-
ty to process 30 million gal-
Using Sensing Line to Set Level Point Completing Installation Work
52 April, 2018
lons a day. This water then
goes through a 105 km trans-
mission line with DN 1200, DN
700 and DN 600 mm DI pipes
into respective reservoirs that
supply water to the residents
as needed.
As the city and neighbor-
hoods are expanding addition-
al transmission pipelines and
booster station was needed to
be able to efficiently fill reser-
voirs for a combined holding
of 180,000 cum. Initially, they
were looking at installing float
control valves on the reser-
voirs to control the water
level, but the application was
more suited for Altitude
Valves. Float valves in these
EXPRESS WATER
 CASE STUDY

ferential and filling of the All of the valves have a 316

reservoir is immediate as the
water drop is sensed.
Taraknath Haldar Project
Planning Manager with
Larsen & Toubro, the engi-
neering contractors for the
project said, “It was invalu-
able having the Singer team
on site, to make instant
changes”.
stainless steel seat, which is
superior on the wetted sur-
face and 18/8 stainless steel
fasteners that won’t rust.
Resilient Heat Fusion
Epoxy Coatings are used
internally as well as externally
and are NSF approved to be
safe for use with potable
water.

Adjusting Valve Setting

large sizes would have been
too slow and had a sluggish
response.
Rajive Khosla, the Singer
Agent with Al Mutawaa
Trading, recommended 12
Singer Altitude Valves. These
valves were to be installed on
the inlet line to the reservoirs
in chambers that would make
for a better installation and
easily serviceable at ground
level. These altitude valves,
ranging in size from DN 300
to DN 800 mm would have an
immediate response to flow
levels with positive shut-off
and no overflows.
Singer’s 206-A Altitude
Control Valves are ideal for
maintaining a preset maxi-
mum water level, which is
what this reservoir required.
The valve functions as a two-
position control valve, either
fully open or fully closed. It
allows normal forward flow to
fill the reservoir to the maxi-
mum level and then closes
drip-tight at the set-point. It
opens to refill the tank once
the level drops to a fixed dis-
tance below the high water
level. This draw down level is
adjustable should the city
choose to change the refill lev-
els. Another advantage to the
206-A Altitude Valve is the
large sensing diaphragm that
ensures high accuracy for
level control while the inner
rolling diaphragm provides
superior flow stability.
The installation was car-
ried out by Larsen Toubro and
Singer Valve provided techni-
cians on site for the commis-
sioning which took place over
two days. At the time of com-
missioning the water pressure
was not readily available and
the tanks were so large that
Singer Valve’s Factory
Representative, Ramzi
Soujah, had to get creative to
set the levels of the valve.
They connected a rubber hose
to the Altitude Pilot’s sensing
line, and used it as if it was the
tank level. With the hose in
hand, they got a person to
stand on the scaffolding, and
make a mark on the reservoir
outside wall, where they need-
ed the valve to close. Then the
rubber hose was filled with
water and as it was raised and
lowered, the Altitude pilot was
able to sense the static level
“h” and they were able to set it
in that manner. “We set 4
valves this way and the beauty
of these Singer Valves, is that
they are repetitive, meaning
once you set it, it maintains
the setting and opens and
closes at the same point each
time,” said Mr. Soujah.
Another unanticipated
change on site was the conver-
sion of the Valve from 206-A-
Type IV to 206-A-Type II
which involved disabling the
Pilot. This way there is no dif- Dn 800 mm Valves in the Chamber

EXPRESS WATER April, 2018 53

 PRODUCTS
Amiad Water Systems
Amiad has launched the new generation of 10, 20, 30,
and 40 micron screen elements, enabling higher per-
formance for all the Amiad screen products.
Significant features of these screen elements are
their high dirt holding capacity with long filtration
cycles, high filtration velocity, excellent cleanability,
precise filtration degree, reliability, and durability.
Amiad’s efficient screen cleanability enables the filter
to maintain initial dP value, effectively preventing
clogging and accumulation of dirt on the screen.
Emerson
Emerson has introduced SIL Certified Vortex Flow
Meters to enhance plant safety and reliability. The
non-clog Rosemount 8800 Vortex portfolio offers
safety and reliability features such as online remov-
able sensors to reduce process downtime and a criti-
cal process valve for aggressive applications which
increases person-
nel safety by pre-
venting exposure to
hazardous fluids. A
variety of configu-
rations are avail-
able to suit a vari-
ety of require-
ments, including
flanged, wafer,
reducer, dual, and
quad meter body
styles, supporting
installations up to
12-inch (300 mm)
line sizes. Per an accredited 3rd party assessment, a
single Rosemount 8800 Vortex meter may be used up
to SIL 2. The Dual Vortex meter is capable of up to
SIL 3 and offers a simple drop-in solution to reduce
installation costs. This configuration includes a single
or dual shedder bar(s), dual sensing elements, and
dual transmitters for redundancy and 1oo2 voting to
reduce unexpected shutdowns.
Innovyze
Innovyze has released XPSWMM and XPSTORM
version 2018.1. Innovyze offers state of the art
improvements to hydrodynamic software solutions
for simulating sanitary sewer systems, stormwater
systems, rivers, and urban flooding. XPSWMM and
XPSTORM are used daily around the world for mas-
ter planning, floodplain mapping, flood hazard miti-
gation and sustainable stormwater control. This new
release represents the leading edge of modeling tech-
EXPRESS WATER
In-Situ
500, a cost-effective multiprobe device when using the instrument
ideal for both spot checks and long- as a handheld. For long-term mon-
term monitoring. This wireless- itoring, HydroVu platform pro-
enabled instrument streamlines vides 24/7 online data access. The
data collection, saving hours in the Aqua TROLL 500 works in a wide
field while delivering more reliable range of applications such as sur-
data. Auto-configuration and fast face water spot sampling and pro-
sensor response speed up sam- filing, remote monitoring via
pling, while automated data collec- telemetry, long-term drinking
tion eliminates the need to record water, wastewater or stormwater
data in field logs. The VuSitu monitoring, aquaculture and for
Mobile App records data directly wired or wireless water quality
In-site has launched Aqua TROLL® from the probe to your mobile networks.
nology by providing the ability to simulate hundreds heavy metal, pesticides, drugs, radionuclide, and
of ensemble storms and locating the simulation’s crit- endocrine disruptor. The company is looking for a
ical storm impact on the model. major player in the Indian water sector to buy the
manufacturing and distribution license.
KSB SE & Co. KGaA
The pump manufacturer has developed an extra 15
sizes to add to its Sewatec pump series. The maxi- Oatey Co.
mum flow rate of the largest version will be up to Oatey Co. has launched Quiet Pipes® Water Hammer
33,000 m³/h with a drive rating exceeding one Arrestors, servicing a full range of commercial and
megawatt. The Sewatec type series comprises hori- residential applications. Quiet Pipes is designed to
zontally or verti- help solve current and
cally installed, sin- potential water hammer
gle-stage volute problems by absorbing
casing pumps in the water shock in a
back pull-out plumbing system when
design. Depending a valve is closed abrupt-
on the fluid han- ly. Oatey’s Quiet Pipes
dled they can be includes a polypropy-
fitted with a vari- lene piston design with
ety of impeller two NBR O-rings within
types, such as the chamber to help
multi-channel impellers and free-flow impellers or absorb the water shock
single-vane impellers. The casings come with a in the system. With Quiet Pipes when a valve on a
replaceable casing wear ring. Depending on their water line is closed abruptly, the water moves into
size, they are designed with or without an inspection the pressurized chamber and the shock is absorbed.
hole. The suction nozzles are always arranged axially. Once the water flow comes out of the chamber, it is
For the discharge nozzles, customers can choose dissipated to the rest of the water line preventing
between a radial and a tangential arrangement. clanking or banging.
Grease-packed rolling element bearings, sealed for
life, absorb the bearing forces. A range of shaft seals
is available for selection, including various bi-direc- Val-Matic
tional mechanical seals and a number of different Val-Matic’s array of
gland packings. Quarter-Turn Valves are
highly engineered prod-
ucts available in a wide
Leautus range of sizes and pres-
Leautus is a water filtration sure classes. The Cam-
micro plant. It gets 2000 liters Centric® Plug Valves,
of safe water. QTI (Quantum American-BFV® Butterfly Valves, Ener•G® AWWA
Technology Inside) is new Resilient Seated Ball Valves and QuadroSphere®
quantum water filtration tech- Trunnion Mounted Ball Valves are designed to pro-
nology used in this product. vide both on-off and process control functions in
Prominent features of this municipal and industrial systems. The plug, butterfly
micro plant are no water waste, and ball valves are built using advanced manufactur-
no plastic waste, no added ing technologies and certified to rigorous AWWA,
chemicals while keeping the mineral salt. It removes ASME, and API industry standards to assure reliable
ion and atom from any pollutant such as bacteria, performance in numerous applicationsand media.
April, 2018 55
 PROJECT TRACKER
SUEZExpands Activityin India with New
Contract to Improve Drinking Water
Services in the Cityof Davanagere
Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of
SUEZ with Manjunath Ballari,
Commissioner, Davanagere
Corporation Signing the
Davanagere 24/7 Water Supply
Contract in New Delhi
ON THE OCCASION of the
official visit to India by the
French President Emmanuel
Macron, this month, in Delhi,
Manjunath Ballari, the
Commissioner of Davanagere
City Corporation, and Jean-
Louis Chaussade, CEO of
SUEZ, signed the contract for
the rehabilitation and opera-
tion of the drinking water sys-
tem in the city of Davanagere,
Karnataka. The 12-year €70
million project will ensure a
constant 24/7 supply of drink-
ing water to Davanagere's
5,00,000 inhabitants.
Davanagere City, one of the
largest hubs for textile and
agricultural products in
Karnataka State, is among the
10 municipalities chosen for
the “Smart Cities” program
launched by the Indian gov-
ernment. The contract award-
ed to SUEZ includes rehabili-
tation, and operation & main-
tenance of the three drinking
water production plants with
a capacity of 1,20,000 m3/day,
EXPRESS WATER
the distribution system
(reservoirs, house connec-
tions, water meters, valves,
etc.) and the construction of a
new distribution network to
replace the current network,
which is now obsolete.
The works, which will last
four years, cover a 75 km2
area, including 92,000 build-
ings (80,000 residential and
12,000 commercial or indus-
trial buildings) and a water
distribution network of
1,200km. This works phase
will be followed by an eight-
year period of operation and
maintenance of the water pro-
duction plants and the drink-
ing water system to ensure
constant access to drinking
water for a population which
is currently only supplied
once every three to four days.
The contract also sets
objectives for improving the
network's performance, water
quality, and customer service
by setting up a call center and
customer agencies to provide
a personal service and effi-
cient resolution of requests
and complaints.
“SUEZ has been support-
ing large municipalities since
2012, including Delhi,
Bangalore and, more recently,
Kolkata and Coimbatore, to
improve drinking water serv-
ices for a rapidly-growing pop-
ulation. We are proud of this
new contract, which illus-
trates the Group's commit-
ment to providing local
authorities with reliable and
tailored solutions to respond
to the growing challenge of
drinking water access”, says
Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO
of the SUEZ Group.
Shyam J Bhan
Express Water Exclusive
Mayur Sharma dis-
cussed the Davangere proj-
ect with Shyam Bhan, CEO,
SUEZ India Business Area.
How will you ensure 24x7
availability of water for
supplying to the city of
Davanagere? Are there
enough water resources
in the region?
Mr. Bhan: It is a common
perception that more water
is required to pump in 24/7
supply to the consumers. On
the contrary, a utility saves
20-30% of water when it
switches from intermittent
to continuous supply. This
has been observed globally
and also in India where we
have implemented similar
projects. In the initial phase
of the transition to continu-
ous water supply, the water
requirement goes up for a
brief period. However, over a
period of time, with the stabi-
lization of supply, the water
requirement subsequently
reduces significantly. Having
said that, availability of a cer-
tain quantity of water is a
pre-requisite for ensuring
the continuous supply. Such
quantities are typically spec-
ified in the contract between
the client and the service
provider. The source of water
for Davanagere is River
Tungabhadra which is a
perennial river. We do not
anticipate shortage of water
in normal circumstances.
Please mention some of
the new technologies
which will be used in this
12 year long project.
Mr. Bhan: At Davangere,
like other projects in India,
we would be deploying inter-
national SUEZ technology
but fully indigenized for
Indian condition. For
instance, Helium gas based
invisible leak detection,
Ground Penetrating Radar
(GPR) for mapping under-
ground pipes, etc.
We are also keen to
deploy a series of innovative
software related to network
management, GIS, optimiza-
tion of CAPEX, Asset man-
agement, etc. This SMART
Management for water utili-
ties uses a scientific
approach to manage water
distribution system using
GIS technology on a real-
time basis and enhances
overall delivery efficiency of
distribution system, saves a
lot of energy and improves
customer satisfaction. The
system involves a simple
integration of all input, deliv-
ery data and consumer data
on a GIS platform. The same
is integrated with the utility
SCADA system for managing
day-to-day operations.
Along with the new tech-
nologies, we will be introduc-
ing best-in-class implemen-
tation processes. This would
ensure superior workman-
ship during construction
activities such as jointing of
pipes, installation of meters,
providing House Service
Connections, etc.
Davanagere is among the
10 selected municipali-
ties chosen for 'Smart
Cities' program. Do you
think such projects can
be cost-effective for
those municipalities as
well which are not in
smart cities program yet?
Mr. Bhan: In case of
Davanagere, most of the
project fund is coming from
ADB and AMRUT. However,
regardless of the source of
fund, adoption of such proj-
ects are the reflection of
changing mindsets of munic-
ipal corporations which are
keen to bring transformation
in their water distribution
and inclined to give better
services to their customers.
To make it cost-effective for
Indian context is SUEZ
advantage. We understand
local market needs and have
the operational experience to
support the customers with
best in class services.
April, 2018 57
 PROJECT TRACKER
IDE Wastewater Reuse Demo
Facilities in California
Wastewater Reuse Demo Facility in California, USA
IDE TECHNOLOGIES HAS
announced that its technology
will be used in two new waste-
water reuse demo facilities in
California: The Central Coast
Blue Advanced Water
Purification Demo Facility, in
partnership with the City of
Pismo Beach, and the
Regional Recycled Water
Advanced Purification Center
Demo Facility, in partnership
with the Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California
and the Sanitation Districts of
Los Angeles County. As
California has been severely
impacted by drought and the
state continues to face a short-
age of groundwater, advanced
water reuse is proving to be a
sustainable alternative for a
clean, efficient and safe water
source for groundwater
replenishment in the state.
For the Central Coast Blue
Advanced Water Purification
Demo Facility located in the
58 April, 2018
City of Pismo Beach, IDE will
demonstrate an energy-effi-
cient solution with reduced
chemical consumption to pro-
duce purified water. The facili-
ty will have a capacity of
58,000 gallons of water per
day. It will allow IDE to
demonstrate and test its pro-
prietary recycled water
process, Ecological Reuse
(Eco-Reuse).
The company will demon-
strate its reverse osmosis
(RO) process for wastewater
reuse in the Regional
Recycled Water Advanced
Purification Center Demo
Facility located in Carson.
Once wastewater is dis-
charged from homes, busi-
nesses, and industries, it will
be cleaned and treated then
sent to the advanced water
treatment plant for further
purification. The facility will
have a capacity of 500,000 gal-
lons of water per day.
Gilad Cohen, CEO, IDE Americas
Express Water Exclusive
Mayur Sharma discussed the concept
and technologies behind the wastewater
reuse demo facilities with Gilad Cohen, CEO
of IDE Americas. Excerpts...
What is the idea behind setting up the
demo facilities?
Gilad Cohen: IDE Technologies has devel-
oped new processes s to treat wastewater
into potable water quality for direct/indirect
use. The offered processes are more environ-
mentally-friendly and efficient compared to
the existing market standard. The demo facil-
ities will assist IDE to validate these process-
es in local California facilities and it will also
enable access to the regulators, the public,
clients and consultants to have a firsthand
evaluation of the technologies. The demo
facilities also support the overall efforts of the
local communities of Pismo Beach and
Carson to identify the ideal treatment
approaches to create a reliable, sustainable
and affordable water supply for municipal use
with IDE’s advanced technologies. The demo
facilities will optimize performance and are a
crucial step in California realizing the
immense benefits of potable wastewater
reuse.
Looking at the current drought-like situ-
ation in California and many world cities,
how can such facilities reinvigorate the
groundwater supplies?
Gilad Cohen: By reusing wastewater,
water is being recycled, as opposed to tap-
ping into natural water sources. After waste-
water is cleaned and treated through multiple
processes, it flows to the Regional Recycled
Water Advanced Purification Center Demo
Facility for further treatment and purifica-
tion. The end result is high quality, purified
water that could eventually help replenish
groundwater. With the large-scale implemen-
tation of recycled water facilities, the need to
utilize already depleting water supplies is
lowered. California and other cities around
the world can benefit from a safe, reliable and
affordable source of clean, drinkable water in
the face of drought-like conditions.
Tell us more about Eco-Reuse.
Gilad Cohen: The standard water reuse
process, known as Fully Advanced
Treatments (FAT), includes a dosage of chlo-
ramine. Chloramine is a precursor of N-
Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation -
an organic contaminant suspected as carcino-
genic. Ecological Reuse (Eco-Reuse) operates
without the use of chloramine dosage.
Instead, it uses Direct Osmosis High Salinity
(DOHS) and conservation which helps to con-
trol biofouling. These mechanisms ensure
that Cleaning in Place (CIP) is a longer
process, which lowers energy consumption
and reduces overall associated environmental
impacts. This process is safer than the indus-
try standard as there is no chloramine usage
and more economical as the overall energy
usage in the process is lower.
Do you think that a large-scale imple-
mentation of these technologies will be
possible soon?
Gilad Cohen: Within three months, and as
soon as there is enough data collected to
demonstrate the reliability of the process, our
wastewater reuse technologies can be used
for large-scale implementation.
EXPRESS WATER
REGD.NO.MCS/219/2018-20, PUBLISHED ON 5TH OF EVERY MONTH & POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL
SORTING OFFICE, DUE DATE 07, 08 & 09 OF EVERY MONTH, REGD. WITH RNI UNDER NO. MAHENG/2017/74894