Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/907858
BRAZIL UNREST AMID PETROBRAS FALLOUT • Population: 209.3 million • Year-on-year growth: 0.8 per cent • Largest city by population: São Paulo • City population: 12 million • Metro area full population: 21.1 million • Key organisations: • Ministry of the environment; secretariat of water resources and environmental quality (Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos e Qualidade Ambiental) • Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp), utility for São Paulo state • Companhia de Água e Esgoto do Ceará (Cagece), utility for Ceará state • Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (Abes) • Key people: • Jair Vieira Tannus Junior, secretary at the secretariat of water and environment • Renato Ferreira, director of the Secretariat • Benedito Braga, president of World Water Council, and water resources secretary for São Paulo state Business conditions Brazil is in the grip of a political corruption scandal, Lava Jato or 'car wash,' so called because millions of dollars embezzled from state-owned oil giant Petrobras were reportedly laundered through a network of small petrol stations. The upheaval has jolted political and economic stability in the country. One initiative of president Michel Temer during 2017 has been to auction rights for deepwater oil drilling off the coast of Rio de Janiero to international companies. The water crisis in São Paulo state in 2014 encouraged a focus on water issues, and opened the door to new technologies in the state and across the country. Water sector strategy The national ministry of the environment, through its department of water resources and environment, has a programme to promote access to potable water, including through reuse and desalination. "Water is defined as a public property in Brazil and should be managed as part of the environment, decentralised and participative. Desalination fits in as part of an overall sustainable development agenda," says Jair Vieira Tannus Junior, secretary of water and environment. Key projects Cagece, the water utility of Ceará state, has received two expressions of interest for a 86,400 m3/d capacity seawater desalination plant to serve the metro region of state capital Fortaleza. GS Inima Brasil, of South Korea, and Acciona Agua of Spain, indicated their interest in submitting studies for the project. Cagece will notify the engineers by December whether or not they can go ahead, and full proposals are expected by end of April 2018. ARGENTINA WANTS TO EXTEND THE REACH OF WATER SERVICES • Population: 44.3 million • Year-on-year growth: 1 per cent • Capital city: Buenos Aires • City population: 3.1 million • Metro area full population: 14.1 million • Key organisations: • Ministry of the interior, public works and housing • Ente Nacional de Obras Hídricas de Saneamiento (Enosha), national organisation for water works and sanitation • Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AySA) and Aguas Bonaerenses (ABSA), utilities for Buenos Aires, which is home to almost 40 per cent of the population • Key people: • Pablo Bereciatua, secretary for water resources • Daniel Leiva, head of studios and projects, Enohsa Business conditions Argentina passed a new law on public-private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure projects in 2016, providing a framework for PPP contracts entered into by the state, and aiming to regulate and stimulate private investment. "Argentina is changing at the moment. We are aligning to what development companies in Latin America are aiming to be. We want to fight poverty, this is our gaol," says Daniel Leiva, head of studios and projects, Enohsa. Water sector strategy Argentina has an ambitious, active National Water Plan, 18 In Site December 2017 Water. desalination + reuse Aquapolo Ambiental water reuse plant is run by a special purpose company, 51 per cent owned by Canadian firm Brookfields, and 49 per cent by São Paulo utility Sabesp. The plant cost $150 million and was constructed by Odebrecht beginning March 2009, and commissioned in April 2012. The produced water is supplied to industry. It has peak capacity of 86,000 m3/d, but runs at 45 per cent capacity. A contract to supply Petrobras, which would have increased output by 20 per cent, was expected to be signed but was put on hold owing to the unfolding corruption scandal. The plant uses Koch membranes, utilising MBRs and reverse osmosis. We are aligning to what developers in Latin America are aiming to be part of the wider agenda of president Mauricio Marcri to improve national infrastructure. The water strategy is predicated on four pillars for public and private investment, which are aligned with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals: water supply to 100 per cent of the population, and sewage and wastewater treatment to 75 per cent (up from the current levels of 83 per cent and 54 per cent respectively); adapting Argentina to climate change; multi-purpose dams for arid and semi-arid areas; and expansion of irrigated land for farming. The development approach is further designed to take account of existing and future technology, build capacity within public and private sector organisations, encourage stakeholder participation, and conserve natural resources, particularly water. Key projects In September, Argentina invited private companies to submit proposals for building and financing $9.5 billion of water infrastructure projects. The move followed receipt of a $350 million loan from the Inter-America Development Bank, the first stage of a promised $960 million, intended to improve sanitation and potable water availability for more than 11 million people living in the first, second and third zones of Buenos Aires.