Can we accelerate sustainable development with today’s technologies and solutions?

Water plays a key role in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its close links with energy use and climate change.

Enhancing water quality supports SDG 14, which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, and marine resources. It also aligns with SDG 12, which promotes the sustainable management of natural resources, responsible handling of chemicals and waste, and the reduction of waste through prevention, recycling, and reuse.

BW Water’s technologies and solutions are most closely linked with SDG 6, which is the goal to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

According to the latest UN progress report in 2024, minimal advancement was made for SDG 14, with most targets either regressing or stagnating. While SDG 12 has seen some progress, over half of its targets are also experiencing regression or stagnation. None of the targets for SDG 6 are on track to be achieved.

What can we do to fast-track progress for these goals?

Transformative changes and a shift toward sustainable economic growth are important and they require coordinated efforts across various sectors and levels.

While numerous strategies can drive progress toward these goals, here are three ways BW Water is making an impact.

Pretreatment

Water pretreatment is the process of removing contaminants from water before it is treated by a more complex system. Investing in pretreatment will become increasingly crucial as climate change intensifies, exposing vulnerable populations to drought, flooding, and rising sea levels, which affect the quality of water sources due to increasing pollutants, salts and debris.

Regions who are experiencing declining water quality can rely on pretreatment solutions to reduce their reliance on scarce freshwater resources. Pretreatment also prolongs the lifespan of water treatment systems, reduces the cost of maintenance, and reduces the amount of poorly treated water entering the environment, hence protecting water quality and ecosystems.

BW Water provides a total pretreatment solution which considers the water source characteristics and site conditions, to design a system to meet each project’s unique requirements. The system is supported by BW Water’s proprietary Hydro-PAQ?? compact integrated clarification system. When used in combination with a membrane technology such as microfiltration or ultrafiltration, it can achieve a pretreatment process featuring low power consumption, high hydraulic load, and long lifespans.

Water reuse

Water reuse, or the recycling of wastewater, promotes water circularity. Treatment processes bring water to a high enough quality to be reused repeatedly for purposes such as irrigation, cooling, industrial process water, aquaculture, or even purified to drinking water.

With water reuse, the dependence on existing surface and ground water resources is reduced, promoting water security for the community and addressing water scarcity in water-stressed regions.

BW Water’s design optimisation and modular construction across different projects enables us to deliver engineering excellence, reduce construction risk, and provide cost benefits for the project owner.

Cost-efficiency and financing

Financing options and cost-efficient technologies enable the scaling up of water treatment solutions across regions, making it easier to meet sustainability goals while sensibly allocating financial resources.

BW Water’s cost-efficient solutions are supported by our proprietary Hydro-PAQ?? and Hydro-FIL?? technologies. Experienced engineering and design teams based in the U.S. and the Philippines customise solutions, ensuring plants are right sized for operational efficiency. Fabrication of equipment is supported by sites in Malaysia and Germany, ensuring value for our customers.

In addition, BW Water offers solutions such as Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM), Design-Build-Operate (DBO), and Water-as-a-Service (WaaS). These solutions generate a win-win relationship for public entities and private companies, allowing customers to focus on their core business.

With today’s technologies and solutions, we can conserve natural resources, ensure water security and accessibility, while ensuring cost-efficiency.

BW Water is committed to navigate complex water challenges with our customers, as we focus on driving our mission of improving water quality to support human development and the environment.