Water. desalination + reuse

www.desalination.biz Water. desalination + reuse Who's Who 2017 EPCs landscape 7 lination project in southern California, further along the coast from Carlsbad in Huntington Beach, Orange County. Political research consultancy Tulchin Research, based in San Francisco, in May 2017 published the results of a survey into California voters' attitudes towards desali - nation. The result showing that 31 per cent are "much more likely" to vote for a candi- date for elected office if they support desali- nation, and 46 per cent are "somewhat more likely," may have influenced those senior state politicians who subsequently called on the California Coastal Commis - sion to approve the new facility, includ- ing California Assembly speaker Anthony Rendon, and State Senate president, Tem Kevin de León. Proposals for project governance A new project culture that emphasises community communication and influenc- ing, and consensus-building, is articulated in the March 2017 report, 'A new model for water access — a global blueprint for innovation', published by the Global Water Leaders Group, the successor to the UN Global Agenda Council of Water 2014-2016, whose work forms the basis of the paper. The report, which puts a focus particu- larly on projects outside of the high income economies of Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific, argues for a new model for water infrastructure projects: "It begins with a social contract. The first step is to bring together the stakeholders to identify the benefits they will receive as a result of improved access, and to commit to the actions required to deliver the results." The other four steps in the new model comprise local design; decentralising with facilities like water kiosks and micro-utilities to cut up-front capital costs; use of micro-credit and short billing cycles to support low income households unable to save up larger capital sums; and cost-saving innovations. The report goes further, proposing a new model for project governance that would include a project board comprising the community, central and local government, businesses, utilities, non- governmental organisations, and other solutions providers. These state-of-the-nation reports on water infrastructure both discuss the chal - lenges of investment, and the related requirement for cost-saving innovations. MWH Global quotes estimates of funding requirements for water infrastructure up to $90 trillion to 2030. "Over the last decade, investment in utilities and infrastructure business has shi¢ed and is now highly glo - balised, as sovereign funds and long-term wealth managers in particular have sought out steady income in the face of fragile, low return markets. For its part, the Global Water Leaders Group report warns of a potential with - drawal of economic and political support for water infrastructure investment by the middle classes; as well as demonstrating how utilities' failure to upgrade and renew assets is leading to degradation of services over time. The report states that outside Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, $217 billion a year is spent on water and wastewater utilities, but that the additional costs of inadequate access to water — including ill health and loss of time through fetching supplies — amount to $323 billion. "Borrowing from the future health of the network is a false economy because a well maintained system is also the cheapest sys - tem to operate," it argues, adding "ideally, utility spending should be fixed." All this results in a spotlight on design, delivery and technology solutions that respond to customers' concerns and put cost efficiency front and centre. As they shape up to service the water sector of the 2020s and beyond, to support healthy com- munities and economies, the leading EPCs are looking to collaboration, new design paradigms, and the capability to offer and integrate a range of innovative technology solutions. Osmoflo CEO and managing director, Emmanuel Gayan "With Hitz's support for our R&D, and business network, we can truly become a global business." Culture of EPCs in 2020s • Collaborators: Work in partnership with clients, stakeholders and third party commercial partners • Innovators: New infrastructure design paradigms will optimise interrelations between agriculture, energy and water • Integrators: Bring forward a broad range of technologies and solutions to meet client needs

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