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Sustainable | Water | Management

Quarterly Notes 01/2011

KeyNote (page 3)

Research (page 5)

Politics/Society (page 6)

Sustainable Water Management - Quarterly Notes 01/2011, 2011, Wolfram Scharnhorst, Basel, Switzerland

Basel (Switzerland). Thursday, 31 March 2011

Founder's Note Once more the world was shocked by what we humans call a dreadful natural disaster the earthquake in Japan 2011-03-11. This incident was and still is characterised by a particular detrimental chain reaction demonstrating exemplary the vulnerability of our modern society: following the earth quake one of strongest in history a huge tsunami flooded the largely destroyed landscape. In addition to these natural events the nuclear power plant at Fukushima was severely damaged and since the region lives in a constant danger in view of a potential large radioactive fall out. Throughout all of the news around this catastrophe water was and is a permanent issue. Be it the question of endangered supply of drinking water to the population living in and nearby the area hit by the quake and the tsunami. Be it the supply of water to cool the reactor infrastructure (initially sea water was used, nowadays drinking water is applied). More and more the environmental (and economic) consequences of the disastrous earth quake become tangible. Comestibles from some regions are forbidden to be eaten, milk is forbidden to be drunk, even drinking water in the region of Tokyo shows effects of radioactive contamination. What imply the Japanese situation to other regions? Is it possible to continue with business as usual? Is it sufficient to just start (demonstrative?) discussions about an immediate nuclear power phase-out? Perhaps it would be useful to substantially and objectively reflect about the todays situation. This may not imply the reinvention of the wheel but the careful consideration of the environmental, economic and social situation as it was and as it is with the aim to in the long-term indeed establish a sustainable society being aware of its limited and sensible resources. For example, already in the 1990ies an evaluation of Stockholms drinking water supply system indicated that the city was unable to manage a knock-out of the drinking water supply system. Clearly, this would imply that a European capital with more than one million inhabitants would eventually run out of the most essential comestible. This technological aspect is one facet of the complex and challenging issue of sustainable water supply. Another more serious issue is the regional availability of (drinking) water. Accordingly, water availability gets a serious geo-political dimension including matters like: safe water access, safe water supply, safe treatment, etc. In this context for example Brazil, nowadays the 7th largest economy in the world, appears on the scene. Representing not only the worlds lung by the large rain forest, Brazil (5th largest water reservoir) is also prominently recognised as one of the important stakeholders with regard to the availability of drinking water. As in the previous releases, the Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management are intended to provide concerned stakeholders with up-to-date information about ongoing developments related to water and its management, also addressing closely related issues like climate change. The present release of the Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management comes with contributions from various key stakeholders being pioneers in sustainability. Economic issues are addressed as well as issues like a unique water data base project, water metering and the mutual effects of climate change and water treatment. I wish you a good reading and welcome your contribution to the Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management Q02/20111.

Wolfram Scharnhorst, Ph.D., M.Sc. Founder Sustainable | Water | Management | Group

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Please forward your contribution to: mailto:swm.group@gmx.net not later then 15 June 2011.

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Platform News 01/2011 Sustainable | Water | Management | Group ranked #9 out of 207 water management related interest groups and #67 out of 2496 water related interest groups (READ MORE). Get BLOG news directly to your mail account (READ MORE).

upgrade aging water mains and sewer systems in particular. Higher standards for water quality. One major priority is to ensure that people living in developing and newly industrialized countries have access to clean drinking water. In addition, solutions need to be found to meet the fresh challenges arising from new micropollutants that are becoming a problem in industrialized countries, in particular. Climate change will cause significant variations in the hydrological regime in many regions, culminating in a water crisis in some areas. These megatrends will intensify the pressure to manage existing water resources far more efficiently in the years ahead. The associated investments will inevitably have an impact on the markets in question. This situation opens up attractive opportunities to all businesses offering products and services for the treatment, supply or use of water. Those companies that are capable of offering sustainable solutions stand to benefit the most. Based on an analysis of the current situation and an assessment of future market demand, SAM has identified four investment clusters that promise attractive upside potential: Distribution and management: Companies active in this cluster offer solutions for upgrading water mains and sewer infrastructure, develop systems for supplying freshwater and removing wastewater, act as utilities, or are involved in the management of water resources. Advanced water treatment: This cluster includes companies that play a key role in the disinfection of drinking water, the treatment of wastewater or the desalination of seawater, or which provide the necessary control systems and analytical instruments. Demand-side efficiency: This cluster includes companies offering products and services that boost the efficiency of water use in households or industry. Water and food: Companies in this group develop products that improve water efficiency and reduce pollution in crop irrigation and food production. As the overall social, economic and environmental climate changes, corporate sustainability has become an increasingly crucial success factor. This study lays the foundation for an attractive and allinclusive investment strategy that is geared toward the sustainable development of the water industry (Wild, et al., 2010). Mr. Daniel Wild (Head of Research, SAM) will address in detail the above topics at an invited speech at ETH Zurich, 03 April 2011 (visit: http://www.sciencecity.ethz.ch/index_EN).

KeyNote: Water: a market of the future SAM Study 20102 By Daniel Wild, Marc-Olivier Buffle, Junwei HafnerCai (all SAM). Supplying water of adequate quality and in sufficient quantities is one of the major challenges facing modern society. In many countries the available water reserves are now being overexploited to such an extent that the negative consequences can no longer be ignored. Countries located in arid regions are finding it particularly difficult to irrigate the crops they need to feed their population. At the same time many people still do not have access to safe drinking water, because water resources are limited or polluted by domestic and industrial wastewater. The situation will become even more critical in the years ahead. Four megatrends are shaping the development of the water market: Global population growth. Demand for water is soaring, and not just to cater for the personal needs of individuals. In the coming years even more water will be needed to produce food for the worlds burgeoning population. In many countries the infrastructure for supplying the population with drinking water and wastewater treatment is badly run down. Major investments will therefore be required in the short term to
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The full report is available in English (http://www.samgroup.com/htmle/publications/studies/documents/2010_Water _study_e_FINAL.PDF) and German (http://www.samgroup.com/htmld/publications/studies/documents/2010_Water _study_d_FINAL.PDF)

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Technology Smart Metering and Water End-Use Data: Conservation Benefits and Privacy Risks Smart metering technology for residential buildings is being trialed and rolled out by water utilities to assist with improved urban water management in a future affected by climate change. The technology can provide near real-time monitoring of where water is used in the home, disaggregated by end-use (shower, toilet, clothes washing, garden irrigation, etc.). This paper explores questions regarding the degree of information detail required to assist utilities in targeting demand management programs and informing customers of their usage patterns, whilst ensuring privacy concerns of residents are upheld (Giurco, et al., 2010). Managing Transboundary Aquifers for Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities Managing transboundary aquifers for climate change provides significant challenges and opportunities. The first aspect is understanding the impacts of climate change on transboundary aquifers. The second aspect is managing aquifers to minimize adverse climate impacts, and to take advantage of positive opportunities. A third aspect is exploring opportunities for states to use aquifer management to adapt to and mitigate climate change. Transboundary aquifers have increased dramatically in importance in recent years. Aquifers are essential to human life and agriculture, providing vital sources of water for drinking and agriculture. Some transboundary aquifers, such as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, contain non-renewable fossil. Aquifers sustain streams, wetlands, and ecosystems; and resist land subsidence and salt water intrusion. Climate change may increase aquifer uses and rates of depletion, thus increasing complexity and challenges of aquifer management (Muir, 2010).

rising water demand implies increasing urban and industrial water recycling. However, recycling more than 50% of treated municipal sewage and industrial effluent, faces many challenges such as fouling and degradation of membrane filtration systems, handling of reject concentrates and the accumulation of recalcitrant compounds constraining both the recovery efficiency and the quality of the recycled water. Some key industries are successfully coping with these challenges by implementing innovative water management strategies based on highly sustainable treatment technologies. By doing so, these industries are leading the way towards very cost-effective industrial and urban water reuse with minimal environmental footprint. These challenging goals can only be achieved by advanced biological treatment technologies tailored to each specific industrial effluent and municipal sewage treatment and corresponding water reuse application. The effluent and sewage characteristics are fully exploited via model based design and selected biological treatment synergies as to recover a maximum amount of renewable energy and clean water for reuse with minimal energy and chemicals consumption. This guarantees a high return on investment. Recent and new cases in Europe and Asia - including India - illustrate the latest state-ofthe-art strategies and technologies in sustainable high rate water reuse (Peeters, 2011). Water Safety: Locating Origin of Contaminants Contamination origin technology is used to pinpoint the original sources of water pollution. The applied system generates a propagation signature of the contaminant and rapidly runs analysis to map the signature to its originating source. The basic concepts were outlined in the 2003 paper Water Algebra, witpress, 8, p. 255-264, 2003. In addition to the original approach a layer of complex logic has been added to create an intelligent detection system. Detecting contaminants is no longer a problem. Identifying the actual source of those contaminants remains, in many cases, a costly endeavour. Sewage leaks, septic tanks overflows, broken pipes and many other sources can introduce pollution for long periods of time before being discovered and can result in significant damage. According to John Braden, Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Illinois, "the cost of cleanup at the U.S. sites alone could exceed $4 billion for hazardous waste Buffalo river contamination. Residents of the affected area would be willing to pay approximately $250 million overall for real estate in the area if the contamination was eliminated. Setting up monitors and sensors along the entire water way can be cost prohibitive. Just one sensor, placed downstream, connected to the contamination detection system is

Sustainable high rate water reuse Preserving dwindling fresh water resources from depletion by

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all that is required to get a enough accuracy to take action. Current monitoring stations can be enhanced to no longer just diagnose the problem, but find the source and cure it. The detection system enables organizations and government entities to better secure water sources in an affordable manor. The technology can be extended to resolve many water management problems. Identifying illegal discharges in sewage systems, rapidly locating the sources of failure at water treatment facilities, and tracing the sources of cross contamination are few examples of the possible implementations. The presented contaminant detection technology enables a complete water security system by integrating a monitoring system with an intelligent analytics platform. Currently, the US EPA does not have any regulations for tracking the source of the contamination, but the presented approach is a viable option for those who are interested in damage prevention (Dantsker, 2011). Research Quantis Water DataBase Project A unique database to manage your water footprint In a new and concerted effort, a worlds comprehensive database of water footprints across various business sectors of manufacturing will be created. To bring this project to fruition, Lausanne-based company Quantis is working in partnership with Ecoinvent, the leading supplier of life cycle assessment (LCA) data. In addition, several partner companies support this project. Among these companies are food and beverage corporations Danone (France) and Kraft Foods (USA), Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd, cosmetics manufacturer Natura (Brazil), consumer products group Unilever PLC (UK), environmental services group Veolia Environnement (France) and office furniture manufacturer and space planner Steelcase (USA). Thanks to its experience in LCA and water footprint, Quantis is acting as coordinator of this Water DataBase Project. By calculating the water footprint of their business activities or products, companies can become part of the solution while properly managing their own strategic risks relating to water shortages. Against the backdrop of climate change, availability of water has become a matter of serious concern for society at large with several conferences held on this theme (World Water Week, London Business Conference, Ethical Corporation, etc) meeting with a great deal of success. In addition, new standards on water management are being developed by different initiatives while reporting organisations (Global Reporting Initiative and Carbon Disclosure Project) now include a water dimension in their reports. Once finally compiled, the Water DataBase aims to provide a complete life-cycle view of a company's or

product's water footprint so that impacts associated with water can be determined and reduced. Life cycles span the entire supply chain, encompassing logistics and utilisation. The Water DataBase Project is covering several thousands of processes and is adaptable to different regions so that local conditions can be taken into account (Vionnet, et al., 2011).

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Design Space Characterization for Meeting Cost and Carbon Reduction Goals - Smart Irrigation Controllers in the Southwestern United States Smart irrigation controllers (SICs) can save water by adapting watering schedules to climate and soil conditions. The potential benefit of SICs is particularly high in southwestern U.S. states, where the arid climate makes water scarcer and increases watering needs of landscapes. A number of studies have tested the ability of SICs to save water in residential and small commercial settings. Results generally show overall savings, but there is substantial variability, including cases of increased water use. Though there are many controllers on the market, we argue there is a further need for optimization of design and field performance. To inform the technology development process, we develop a design for environment method, which overlays economic and environmental performance parameters under different operating conditions. This method is applied to characterize design goals for controller price and water savings that SICs must meet to yield life cycle carbon dioxide reductions and economic savings in southwestern U.S. states, accounting for regional variability in electricity and water prices and carbon overhead. Results from applying the model to SICs in the Southwest suggest that some areas are significantly easier to design for. One concept to realize improved design in practice is to build out the controller market in a staged set of niches, starting from a more favourable area then moving toward more challenging conditions (Mutchek and Williams, 2010).

Wolfram Scharnhorst, 2011

Life Cycle Assessment of Water Supply Plans in Mediterranean Spain Continuous population growth is causing increased water contamination. Uneven distribution of water resources and periodic droughts have forced governments to seek new water sources: reclaimed and desalinated water. Wastewater recovery is a tool for better management of the water resources that are diverted from the natural water cycle to the anthropic one. The main objective of this work is to assess the stages of operation of a Spanish Mediterranean wastewater treatment plant to identify the stages with the highest environmental impact, to establish the environmental loads associated with wastewater reuse, and to evaluate alternative final destinations for wastewater. Tertiary treatment does not represent a significant increment in the impact of the total treatment at the plant. The impact of reclaiming 1 cubic meter (m3) of wastewater represents 0.16 kilograms of carbon dioxide per cubic meter (kg CO2/m3), compared to 0.83 kg CO2/m3 associated with basic wastewater treatment (primary, secondary, and sludge treatment). From a comparison of the alternatives for wastewater final destination, we observe that replacing potable water means a freshwater savings of 1.1 m3, whereas replacing desalinated water means important energy savings, reflected in all of the indicators. To ensure the availability of potable water to all of the populationespecially in areas where water is scarcegovernments should promote reusing wastewater under safe conditions as much as possible (Pasqualino, et al., 2010). Politics & Society Water Infrastructure Monitoring: A New Approach to Managing and Sustaining Water Distribution Infrastructure Today's water infrastructure networks are aging, with over 50% of mains in the western hemisphere aged 80 or more. Utilities face huge requirements for replacement and maintenance, stressing their resources and affecting sustainability. As controlling the water distribution infrastructure becomes more challenging, water loss and un-accounted for water increase, as do damages from bursts, leaks and emergency repair work. Water Infrastructure Monitoring helps utilities ensure that water flows continuously, smoothly and efficiently to consumers. Timely warning and analysis of network anomalies means that the utility's operational staff can react before a visible and costly failure develops, energy is wasted or quality degrades. It cuts the guesswork out of utility personnel's jobs and gives them a simple procedure to follow. Water infrastructure monitoring is not only about reducing water loss; it also promotes sustainability by saving energy and other inputs

wasted through production and pumping of water that is then lost to network inefficiencies. Sustainability is also promoted by the ability to prevent "Network Events, e.g. when energy is wasted without water loss in pressure zone boundary breaches. Ultimately, water loss is the cheapest way to make more water available to consumers, reducing the need to seek new water sources, as current water sources are more effectively utilized (Scolnicov and Horowitz, 2010).

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References Dantsker (2011): Water Safety: Locating Origin of Contaminants SniffPoint LLC. Bothell. Giurco, et al. (2010): Smart Metering and Water End-Use Data: Conservation Benefits and Privacy Risks. Water 2. p: 461467. site visited. doi:10.3390/w2030461. Muir (2010): Managing Transboundary Aquifers for Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities. UNESCO-IAH-UNEP Conference, Paris, 6-8 December 2010 UNESCO-IAH-UNEP. Paris. Mutchek, Williams (2010): Design Space Characterization for Meeting Cost and Carbon Reduction Goals. Smart Irrigation Controllers in the Southwestern United States. Journal of Industrial Ecology 14. p: 727739. site visited. doi: 10.1111/j.15309290.2010.00282.x. Pasqualino, et al. (2010): Life Cycle Assessment of Urban Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse

Alternatives. Journal of Industrial Ecology 15. p: 4963. site visited. doi: 10.1111/j.15309290.2010.00293.x. Peeters (2011): Sustainable high rate water reuse. Abstract for Aquatech India Conference 2-4 March 2011 Model Engineering. Mumbai. Scolnicov, Horowitz (2010): Water Infrastructure Monitoring: A New Approach to Managing and Sustaining Water Distribution Infrastructure. A White Paper Takadu. Yehud. Vionnet, et al. (2011): Quantis Water DataBase Project A unique database to manage your water footprint Quantis International. Lausanne. site visited. http://www.quantisintl.com. Wild, et al. (2010): Water: a market of the future SAM Study 2010 SAM. Zurich. site visited. http://www.samgroup.com/htmle/publications/studies/docume nts/2010_Water_study_e_FINAL.PDF.

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Conference Announcement, Event Calendar & Group Statistics (2011-03-31)3 by Guy Horowitz (TaKaDu) Smart Water Networks 2011 brings together for the first time leaders and innovators from around the globe to discuss the opportunities, challenges and next steps in promoting the adoption of Smart Water Networks. Speakers and participants include industry experts and senior executives from leading water utilities, technology vendors and technology investors. Keynote speakers include: Prof. Joachim Bitterlich, EVP International of Veolia Environment Paris and Chairman of Veolia Environment Germany; Mr. Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice President Strategy & Innovation, Schneider Electric Mr. Mark Penny, Director of Customer Service and Networks, Yorkshire Water Mr. Walter Kling, Deputy Managing Director, Vienna Water Works and Vice President of the IWA For more information you may visit: http://www.swan-forum.com/events.html
When 2011-0320/201104-17 2011-0509/10 2011-0517/18 What Treffpunkt Science City Industrial Wastewater Seminar 2011 SWAN 2011 The Annual Smart Water Network Conference ISIE 2011 th Conference, 6 International Conference on Industrial Ecology Watertech Expo 2011 Where Zurich, CH Who Researchers, Engineers, Consultants Industry representatives, engineers, etc. Industry representatives, engineers, Consultants, etc. Scientists, Engineers, etc. Link http://www.ethz.ch/news/treffpunkt/index_EN

New Jersey, USA Paris, France

http://www.wef.org/industrial/

http://www.swan-forum.com/events.html

2011-067/10

Berkeley, California, USA

http://isie2011.berkeley.edu/abstract_submission.html

2011-0928/30

Ahmedabad, India

Scientists, Engineers, Consultants, etc.

http://www.watertechindia.com/

of the SWM-GROUP As of 31 March 2011 the SWM-Group comprises more than 790 registered members (this corresponds to an increase in the number of members by more than three times). Please find below some more interesting additional information about the composition of members. Accordingly, the group is dominated by representatives from the consulting sector, scientists as well as of representatives of the water industry and further engineers.

Source: http://www.linkedin.com/manageGroupMembers?searchMembers=&gid=2760912&searchType=members&trk=anet_ug_mng

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Members by Sector

Members: Higher Management/Research/Engineering

13% 6%

18%

7%

1% 6% 2%

0%

29%

11% 15% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2%
Advisory Engineering Law

4% 0% 1% 6%
8%
Automotive Food Metal Industry Chemical Government NPO Construction Health Publishing Consulting Investment Science Energy Industry IT Water Industry

19%

44%

CXO-Level

VP-Level

Director-Level

Prof (sci)

Engineers (CE/PE)

300
280

900

800

781 @2011-03-25

250
700

200
Registered Members [-]
66 57 67 39 19 18 1 5 9 13 18 9 1 24 16 12 6 3 2 3 7 13 4 2 2 2 2 3 7 2 5 3 5 9 2 19 1 3 4 3 12 3

600

Members [-]

500

150

400

100

300

200

50

100

0
AEG ARG AU BE BR CH CHN CN CYP DE DK ESP F FI G HU ID IN IR JO IT KE LU MAL MX NL NO PAK PE PL PT RO SA SAM SE SI SY TAI TU UK USA VAE ZA

0 Feb10

Mrz- Apr-10 Mai-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug10 10

Sep- Okt-10 Nov10 10

Dez- Jan-11 Feb10 11

Mrz- Apr-11 11

Countries [-]

Time [Months 2010/11]

Since the last statistics the group has experienced a distinct growth in terms of group members but also in terms of content. Today high-ranking representatives from industry and science at chief officer and vice president level (CXO, VP), as well as at professor and engineer level are involved and the platform sees a continuous and daily stream of discussions, visit: http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2760912&csrfToken=ajax%3A2553408537723710048. Geographically, the group is dominated by members from the US followed by members from the UK, the India, Australia and the Netherlands. Since its establishment the group has been subject to a rather rapid growth and involves currently more than 780 members in total.

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Wolfram Scharnhorst, 2011

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Contributors and Supporters Arctic Institute of North America (University of Calgary), http://www.arctic.ucalgary.ca/, Research Associate & Coastal and Marine Union (EUCC) Netherlands, http://www.eucc.net, Advisory Board Member: Magdalena Ariadne Kim Muir, LL.B., LL.M. Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, http://isf.uts.edu.au, Research Director: Damien Giurco Journal of Industrial Ecology, http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1088-1980&site=1, Editor: Reid Lifset Quantis International, http://www.quantis-intl.com/, Project Manager: Samuel Vionet, M.Sc. SniffPoint LLC, http://sourcemarq.weebly.com/index.html, Vice President of Research and Development: Arakdiy Dantsker SAM, http://www.sam-group.com, Head of Research/Member of the Executive Committee: Daniel Wild, Ph.D. TaKaDu, http://www.takadu.com/, Vice President Marketing: Guy Horowitz, MBA, BA Sustainable | Water | Management | Group, http://swm-group.blogspot.com, Founder: Wolfram Scharnhorst, Ph.D., M.Sc.

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Contact

Wolfram Scharnhorst, Ph.D., M.Sc. Founder Sustainable | Water | Management | Group

Sustainable | Water | Management | Group Basel Switzerland +41 (0)76 336 12 55 | @ swm.group@gmx.net | www: http://swm-group.blogspot.com

Disclaimer: 1. Content: The publisher reserves the right not to be responsible for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected. 2. Referrals and links: The publisher is not responsible for any contents linked or referred to from this document. If any damage occurs by the use of information presented there, only the author and/or publisher of the respective content might be liable, not the one who has linked to this information. 3. Copyright: The publisher intended not to use any copyrighted material for the publication or, if not possible, to indicate the copyright of the respective object. The copyright for any material created by the publisher himself remains reserved. Any duplication or use of objects such as images, diagrams, sounds or texts in other electronic or printed publications is not permitted without the publisher's agreement. 4. Privacy policy: If the opportunity for the input of personal or business data (email addresses, name, and addresses) is given, the input of these data takes place voluntarily. The use and payment of all offered services are permitted - if and so far technically possible and reasonable - without specification of any personal data or under specification of anonymised data or an alias. The use of published postal addresses, telephone or fax numbers and email addresses for marketing purposes is prohibited; offenders sending unwanted spam messages will be punished. 5. Legal validity of this disclaimer: This disclaimer is to be regarded as part of any publication which you were referred from. If sections or individual terms of this statement are not legal or correct, the content or validity of the other parts remain uninfluenced by this fact.

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