WaterWeekly No.3

Welcome to our third edition of #WaterWeekly, your go-to weekly newsletter on all things Water!?

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Let’s dive in to this week’s stories!?

Making a Splash – Top Story of the Week?

?There have been a number of stories in the past 7 days regarding desalination, with news coming from the Middle East and California.?

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced three projects that will receive support from the DWR's Water Desalination Grant Programme and an additional six projects that will receive funding through a partnership with the National Alliance for Water Innovation to advance desalination implementation and research as California adjusts to intense shifts between extreme wet and dry weather. Desalination is a key part of the Governer of California’s water supply strategy and these projects directly support the State’s investment in desalination technology to help diversify local water supplies. ?

Some key initiatives to highlight include:?

- A self-cleaning auto-strainer will be installed as part of a project in the City of Torrance that will build a conveyance pipeline to join an existing well to the current Goldsworthy Desalter system.?

- Desalination of brackish groundwater from the westside upper aquifer in Fresno County will take place as part of another project, and salt-tolerant plants will be used to filter salts from the brine.?

-The establishment of a cutting-edge, wave-powered saltwater desalination iceberg buoy close to the City of Fort Bragg to supply inhabitants with drinkable water.?

Across the Atlantic, in Oman, the Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company (Nama) has built the country's first ever floating desalination plant. In the Musandam Governorate, the business has set up mobile and floating water desalination facilities that conduct desalination, distribution, and transportation operations. Seventy marine villages will benefit from the drinkable water produced by the floating plants, which employ international reverse osmosis technology. Nama's utilisation of mobile and floating water desalination plants will significantly alter the region's water supply and distribution system, addressing water scarcity and enhancing the local economy. ?

Desalination is actually the only means of reliable water supply in many Gulf states. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain are just a few of the nations that rely on desalination plants to provide the 20 million cubic metres of freshwater per day that are needed for daily consumption. As of right now, facilities around the Arabian/Persian Gulf's coastline provide about half of the world's freshwater through desalination. The amount of water treated is astounding and by 2030, that amount will have doubled. Rising brine outputs from desalination plants have sparked worries that the entire Gulf could become more salinized due to this heavy reliance on the technology, but Associate Professor of Mathematics at 美国纽约大学 Abu Dhabi's Arabian Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences, Francesco Paparella, and his team have found that there is actually no cause for concern.?

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In other news:?

?? French water and waste giant Veolia intends to sell Sade, which specialises in installing water pipes. According to people familiar with the company's plans, Veolia will concentrate more on waste processing, plastic recycling and energy-saving services after selling its water-pipe unit.?

??The launch of a brand-new, cutting-edge waste treatment laboratory in Houston, Texas, has been announced by Valicor Environmental Services, a major provider of Centralised Wastewater Treatment (CWT) services in North America. The new laboratory will enable Valicor to develop, pilot, and evaluate new applications supported by its experience in wastewater recycling and other waste stream treatment and by-product recovery in addition to supporting existing operations.?

?? In an experiment to better understand influences on the river and ultimately assist enhance bathing water quality in the attractive town of Ilkley, UK, Yorkshire Water is placing 21 water quality monitors along sections of the River Wharfe. At locations along the river, twelve months of testing will be conducted on monitors from six different providers. The study will show whether the water quality sensors are capable of providing reliable data in a demanding outdoor setting.?

?? SWAN Analytical USA , the?Swiss instrument maker, has introduced a new, more portable version of their AMI LineTOC monitor for use in pure and ultrapure water applications.?

?? The Colorado River's decreasing water levels, which have been made worse by overuse and more than two decades of drought that have been exacerbated by climate change, have been the subject of months-long negotiations between the western states of the United States.?

?? Stantec announced that JXN Water LLC had chosen them to take the lead on the research and design of improvements to the water distribution system serving Jackson, Mississippi. ?

??And in appointments, Swirltex Inc. announced the addition of Dominik Elsaesser to their Board of Directors, congratulations, Dominik!?

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And whilst we are talking about Swirltex, I am pleased to feature their President Peter Christou this week’s Water Weekly! Peter has been in the water industry for over 15 years, and founded Swirltex in 2015.?

Swirltex’s vision is to be the future of filtration and be the chosen brand to unlock wastewater reuse across all industries with a goal of net zero wasted water. As a highly innovative cleantech company, Swirltex solves complex wastewater problems with a proprietary membrane solution for a wide variety of applications. Their decentralized modular units serve customers when and where they need it, at a fraction of the cost of capital upgrade to their wastewater infrastructure.?

Swirltex’s unique membrane system separates solids and liquids based on buoyancy, allowing for higher production rates and higher quality effluent. The ability to manipulate the buoyancy of contaminants within the liquid stream allows Swirltex to treat a wide range of wastewater types that would otherwise not be reusable. Additionally, the system consumes a fraction of the energy compared to conventional water treatment methods. ?

What or who do you think is the greatest threat to water resources???

“Lack of reuse. Water is a commodity that doesn't have its value appreciated. Nearly all the communities I work in have recycling for their waste but not for their water! This needs to change!”?

What is the greatest change you want to see in the water industry over the next 5 years???

“The adoption of direct cross flow filtration.? Within the next 10 – 15 it will take over the industry.??

Why do you choose to be in the water industry? What advice do you have for others looking to join???

“When I joined the military, I thought I would be a helicopter pilot, and instead I became a water engineer. This happened by accident but one of the best decisions I ever made!”?

“So far as advice, I really believe getting as much variety as you can early in your career is really important. Get as much field time as you can so you see how everything works and what are the little things that add up to a big impact in the end.??This will help you succeed in the industry in the future!”?

I hope you are enjoying this newsletter as much as me and Max are enjoying putting it together. We are always keen to hear feedback, or perhaps there is someone you would like me to feature, so let me know in the comments! If you want to chat to me about water, or perhaps you have a hiring need, please do not hesitate to reach out or email me at [email protected]

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