Water. desalination + reuse

| 26 | Desalination & Water Reuse | August-September 2012 Arizona wants immediate DPR and seawater desalination planning An immediate start on work to prepare for direct potable water reuse and seawater desalination is proposed by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) in a report recently published by the US state's government. The report, Going Forward: A Strategic Vision For Water Supply Sustainability, says that Arizona could be facing a water supply imbalance between projected demands and water supply availability in the next 25-50 years of approximately 900,000 acre- feet (AF; 1,110 million m³). This would increase to 2.3 million AF (2,840 million m³) by 2110, says the ADWR. Emphasizing that no single strategy will work right across the arid state, it nonetheless points out that Arizona is a leader in the reuse of reclaimed water, but has only taken advantage of "a fraction" of its reuse opportunities. Underground storage of unused reclaimed water during times of excess supplies and recovery of those supplies during higher demand seasons is a way to meet demands, says the report. The first desalination source for the land-locked state could be potential partnerships with other higher priority Colorado River users in Arizona, California and Nevada in exchange for water from Lake Mead. But, as Arizona's border is only 50-60 miles (80-95 km) from the Mexican coastline, another route is being looked at. "Additionally, advancing Governor Brewer's initiative to work cooperatively with Mexico through the Arizona Mexico Commission, developing much need water supplies for both Arizona and Mexico through desalination on the Sea of Cortez could prove most effective," the report suggests. California board offers low-interest water-reuse finance regions ASIA & PACIFIC NORTH AMERICA California's Water Resources Control Board (WRCB) has approved new low-interest financing terms for water-recycling projects that can be completed within three years of governor Jerry Brown's drought declaration on 17 January 2014. The low-interest loans are intended to help California produce an additional 150,000 acre-feet (185 million m 3 ) of recycled water annually, one of several actions Brown called for in his Drought State of Emergency. The WRCB's Division of Financial Assistance is offering US$ 800 million in 1% loans – approximately half the current interest rate – for water recycling projects. Applications for funding must be submitted by 2 December 2015. Florida legislates in favor of reuse of wastewater The state legislature of Florida, USA, on 2 May 2014 passed a bill (SB 536), which directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in coordination with stakeholders, to conduct a comprehensive study and to submit a report on the expansion of the beneficial use of reclaimed water, stormwater and excess surface water in Florida. The bill states that the report must identify factors that prohibit or complicate these waters and how those factors can be eliminated. The DEP must also identify measures that would lead to the efficient use of reclaimed water. Environmental, engineering, public health, public perception and fiscal constraints against the envisaged reuse expansion must also be pinpointed and incentives should be examined for agencies substituting reused water for traditional water sources. The bill now goes to governor Rick Perry for his signature and, if approved, requires a report from the DEP by 1 December 2015. Asian association shifts location The secretariat of the Asia & Pacific Desalination Association (APDA) has moved its location to the Institute of Seawater Desalination & Multipurpose Utilization, State Oceanic Administration of China, which is located in Tianjin, China. The new address of APDA is: 1st Keyandong Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300192, China; tel: +86 22 87898181; fax: +86 22 87892732. Asian agricultural reuse risk 'exceeds WHO limits' Australian researchers have found that wastewater used to irrigate vegetable plots in Asian countries poses health risks that may exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Food systems researchers Hoi-Fei Mok and Andrew J Hamilton of The University of Melbourne made the claim in Exposure factors for wastewater-irrigated Asian vegetables and a probabilistic rotavirus disease burden model for their consumption, which recently appeared in the electronic version of the journal Risk Analysis, published by the Society for Risk Analysis. They recommend that stricter wastewater regulation may be needed to protect the health of farmers and consumers worldwide. Asia accounts for the majority of the world's reuse of wastewater in irrigation. EUROPE MIDDLE EAST August-September 2012 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 27 | REGIONS WE UNDERSTAND DESALINATION & REUSE TECHNOLOGIES At Severn Trent Services we offer innovative treatment solutions to meet a variety of desalination and water reuse needs. – TETRA ® DeepBed™ tertiary filters are an economical solution for the removal of TSS <2 NTU or <5 mg/l TSS and < 0.2 mg/L phosphorus. TETRA Filters account for >10% of the world's water reuse capacity. – TETRA ® LP Block™ lateral underdrains are ideal for pretreatment filtration at desalination plants. The GroutGrip™ and the new Anchor-Rite ® designs offer low installation costs and even air/water distribution, delivering reduced operating costs over other underdrains. – UAT™ desalination systems are suitable for treating a wide range of salinity application up to 10+ MGD (1,500+ m 3 /hr). UAT EDI systems are offered to polish RO permeate. For more information on desalination and water reuse solutions e-mail stwpi@emirates.net.ae or visit www.severntrentservices.com A new early-warning system in the Gulf for harmful algal blooms (HABs), also known as red tides, using satellite imagery, remote sensing, and modeling could be one result of a conference on HABs held on 16-17 April 2014 by the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC). The project, which MEDRC says will be funded "soon" by the US Agency for International Development, will involve US scientists as well as others from Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will use several desalination plants in Oman and one in Fujairah, UAE, to demonstrate the feasibility and value of the technology, which is based on HAB detection and forecasting techniques now used operationally in the US. Algal blooms are accumulations of microscopic plants that live in the ocean or fresh waters. While they are mostly harmless, some species can cause harm in a variety of ways, ranging from the production of potent toxins that poison humans and marine animals, to large biomass accumulations that can alter ecosystems or even disrupt desalination plant operations. Twenty-two partner organizations supported last week's international conference on The Impact of Red Tides & HABs on Desalination Plants, which had 130 participants from 18 countries. Major co-sponsors were Oman's Public Authority of Electricity & Water, and UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission through its Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Booms. At the meeting, case-studies were presented by a range of desalination facilities describing the struggles they had with different HAB events over the past few years. These experiences demonstrated the serious impacts that occurred, including the shutdown of numerous plants, some for months at a time during prolonged HABs. MEDRC says that one clear message from the meeting was the urgent need for early warning and forecasting systems that can help desalination plants, as well as fish farms, tourist centers and other sensitive resources anticipate HABs. Another outcome of the meeting was the recognition that HAB problems are more than just concerns about toxins and high biomass accumulation of cells. Red-tide early- warning system funding "soon" Ex-USSR water minister promotes desalination for Crimea Desalination of water from the Azov Sea could be one of the best sources for a water supply to Crimea, recently annexed by the Russian Federation, according to Polad Polad-zade, former USSR minister of water resources and deputy president of the Union of Watermen & Irrigators. Speaking to the Caucasus news website Vestnik Kavkaza on 18 April 2014, Polad-zade said that joining the Russian Federation brought onto Crimea's agenda questions of maintaining infrastructure, including water supply and waste removal. "Desalination is not the most expensive option," he is quoted as saying.

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