In November, Purestream signed a commercial contract with Whiting Petroleum to recycle water from its Bakken operations in North Dakota.

 

Oil and Gas producers, government officials and the media will tour the Purestream pilot facility inStrathmore to learn about the technology's ability to effectively treat and recycle produced and flowback water from hydraulic fracturing operations.

 

Late last year, Purestream performed a successful pilot project near Edson, Alberta that demonstrated the AVARA's ability to treat produced and flowback water from several Canadian oil and gas production facilities. The AVARA System can treat water with a broad range of characteristics and allow for beneficial reuse.

 

Purestream's AVARA System was developed in partnership with Utah State University's Energy and Space Dynamics Labs. It cleans and recycles wastewater using an accelerated vapor recompression process which removes harmful contaminants and renders it cleaner than drinking water.

 

 

 

The line of credit from the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will benefit an estimated 7,000 small-scale farming households in Kilinochchi district in Northern province by improving downstream irrigation infrastructure from the Iranamadu reservoir.

The reservoir, which has not been maintained adequately for many years, will be rehabilitated to increase its water-holding capacity.

 

The loan agreement was signed on 30^th January 2012 at the IFAD headquarters in Rome by Kanayo F. Nwanze, the IFAD President, and Ambassador Asitha Perera of Sri Lanka.

 

The funding will also be used to train farmers on water saving management methods, including climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, such as rainwater harvesting. Women's groups will also be formed and trained on growing vegetable crops.

 

The latest financing brings to 16 programmes and projects funded by IFAD in Sri Lanka since 1978 at a total investment of about USD400 million, benefiting more than 500,000 households.

 

 

As a result of these pressures, water utilities are now in need of information from their networks that go beyond meter reading, but deliver intelligence which helps reduce costs and helps transform their daily operations from a reactive to proactive nature.

 

At the launch in London of the iPERL endpoint, Sensus outlined its vision of how this can be realised.

 

Water utilities are inter-dependent within the energy business, with typically up to 20 percent of operating costs directly related to the cost of buying electricity to pump water. Often the water utility is one of the biggest consumers of electricity in the local area. With rising prices making electricity an increasingly expensive factor in the cost of supply, Sensus identifies smart metering and smart water network management as the answer as it will enable time-of-day tariffs and sub-metering.

 

Smart water grid technology enables better management of the water network, meaning leakages, supply interruptions and uncontrolled discharges are fewer, helping combat any potential water shortage and protecting the environment. Through the creation of a Smart Water Network or smart grid, water companies can monitor and control pressure, flow rates, levels, water quality, detect and locate leakages, and reduce instances of bursts on the network. This will help them meet the increasing economic and environmental demands being placed on them.

 

 

 

CIWEM welcomes the report of the Public Accounts Committee, which identifies significant underinvestment in flood risk management infrastructure. The burden borne by householders and businesses exposed to flood risk can be devastating.  The risk and uncertainty generated in the minds of those who live and work in areas identified as being at risk of flooding reduces their feeling of well being and restricts their potential for growth.

 

The expectation that funding for flood risk management schemes should come from a range of public and private stakeholders is appropriate but there are no single beneficiaries from such schemes and the concept of "the beneficiary pays" is not valid when, as is usual, schemes benefit the wider community. Funding generated from stakeholders should be used to increase the available budget rather than replace reduced funding provided by the Treasury. The suggestion that the funding mechanism recently introduced is "fairer" cannot be sustained when two equally valid schemes are prioritised only on their ability to generate third party income, according to CIWEM.

 

The concerns about ongoing flood risk at unacceptable levels are shared by the ABI and their report suggests that the areas identified at greatest risk by the Environment Agency are likely to find the level of premiums to insure against flood risk will become unaffordable, even if cover is available which will not be guaranteed beyond 2013. Where uninsured communities are affected it is often the local authorities who provide the response to flooding and subsequently reclaim their expenditure from the Treasury.

 

The opportunity to significantly enhance the environment adjacent to our rivers, lakes and coastline is there with clear legislative drivers, the Water Framework Directive, together with specific funding. Flood risk management schemes provide a vehicle to deliver those enhancements but can only be successful with the appropriate level of government funding. The Public Accounts Committee report indicates how the current levels are insufficient.   

 

The website, called BEACON, has the capability to update as frequently as every two hours based on new data provided by states, territories and tribes. Users will have access to mapped location data for beaches and water monitoring stations, monitoring results for various pollutants such as bacteria and algae, and data on public notification of beach water quality advisories and closures. For the first time, users can also access reports that combine notifications and water quality monitoring data. The enhanced system also uses enhanced map navigation and report display tools.

 

The majority of beach advisories and closures in the United States are due to water test results indicating bacterial contamination, which can make people sick. Bacterial contamination comes from a variety of sources. Some examples are sewer overflows, untreated stormwater runoff, boating wastes, wildlife and pet waste, and malfunctioning septic systems.

 

During each swimming season, state and local health and environmental protection agencies monitor the quality of water at the nation's beaches. When bacteria levels in the water are too high, these agencies notify the public by posting beach warnings or closing the beach.

 

The grants will help local authorities monitor beach water quality and notify the public of conditions that may be unsafe for swimming.

 

This is the 12th year that EPA is providing beach grant funds, bringing the total amount EPA has made available to nearly USD111 million. As a result, the number of monitored beaches has more than tripled to more than 3,600 in 2010. Grant applications must be received within 60 days of publication of EPA's notice in the Federal Register. EPA expects to award the grants later this year.

 

 

 

In Governor Jerry Brown's 2012 State of the State address, he called for "...a goal of 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020." In President Barack Obama's 2012 State of the Union address, he set a goal of having 80 percent of all Americans' electricity provided through clean energy by 2035. California's clean water agencies are listening and responding to the demand for clean energy.

 

Many of California's publicly owned clean water agencies and wastewater treatment plants are successfully generating clean energy to offset their individual agency needs. Wastewater plants are identified as resource recovery agencies producing energy in the form of biogas, biosolids, and methane.  They are also able to produce energy when processing foods, fats, oil and grease provided by restaurants and residents.

 

CASA's initiative is not only aimed at educating about the value of clean energy, but it will identify opportunities in public forums to advocate for investing in its members' clean energy production, as well as removing any obstacles for funding and production.

 

 

In-Pipe's patented technology includes regularly adding a high concentration formulation of facultative, naturally-occurring, non-pathogenic bacteria to strategic locations throughout the sewer system in accordance with an engineered plan. This entails zero capital cost and no additional energy requirement. Performance in the collection system provides increased capacity within the plant, forestalls costly upgrades, and extends the life of the existing infrastructure.

 

 

The iPERL endpoint is constructed with recyclable materials including a composite, no lead body and is available in various diameters and lengths for use in residential and commercial applications. It includes an integrated communications capability that is configurable to meet the requirements of unique global markets. The new iPERL enables water utilities to collect and share data to improve supply-demand management, monitor the system to reduce leaks and non-accounted water and create operational efficiencies and reduce costs.

 

The storm, which hit on 16th December 2011 and destroyed more than 14,000 homes, also disrupted water supply in the city of Cagayan de Oro. Repairs to the water supply system are underway, but families in the western part of the city will not have access to piped water until at least the end of January.

 

Thanks to a USD31,500 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, LWR is delivering water to 230 families in an impoverished area in western Cagayan de Oro through the end of January. Each family will receive 15 litres per person per day for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, in accordance with Sphere standards, the generally accepted best practices in humanitarian response. Families will also receive jerry cans for water storage, and training on how to properly clean and care for the cans.

In addition to emergency water delivery, LWR is reaching out to flood-affected communities with emergency cash assistance to buy food, medicine and other necessities. LWR is also distributing Quilts, Personal Care Kits, and School Kits from its warehouse in Mindanao, as well distributing other critically needed items to flood-affected families.

 

LWR is also planning a longer-term response that will include cash-for-work programs, provision of clean water, building shelter and rehabilitating homes for more than 900 families.

 

 

The ‘Drop by Drop' campaign is part of a larger effort at sensitizing the public to environmental issues ahead of Rio+20, the UN conference on sustainable development, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012.

 

Noting that people with easy access to water "tend to waste it," UNRIC director Ms. Bassir-Pour said that the campaign encouraged Europeans to design a newspaper ad for the UN emphasising the importance of water as "the most precious of resources."

 

Lorenzo Ravina, head of the Italian delegation, also embraced the newfound cooperation between the Italian team and the UN.

 

Mr. Ravina said he was confident that through the Italian delegation's "humble contribution," the UN was "set to win its challenge" of spreading awareness about the value and importance of water throughout the world.

 

The OGC WaterML 2.0 candidate standard supports encoding of hydrological and hydrogeological observation data in exchange scenarios such as: exchange of data for operational monitoring and forecasting programs; supporting operation of infrastructure (e.g. dams, supply systems); exchange of observational and forecast data for surface water and groundwater; release of data for public dissemination; enhancing disaster management through data exchange; and exchange in support of national reporting.

 

WaterML 2.0 is the result of an international cooperative effort of the   OGC Hydrology Domain Working Group, involving hydrological and government agencies, software providers, universities and research organisations from Australia, the USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries.

 

The candidate OGC WaterML Version 2.0 standard documents are available for public review and comment. Comments are due by 17 February 2012.

 

 

 

Because the Yukon Flats is near the boundary between continuous permafrost to the north and discontinuous permafrost to the south, it is an important place to study permafrost dynamics. Dr. Burke Minsley, geophysicist in the USGS' Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver and lead author of the study in Geophysical Research Letters, and his team surveyed more than 116 square miles centered 140 miles northeast of Fairbanks. Their data not only capture in detail the distribution of permafrost and its relation to surface- and groundwater features, but also the legacy of the Yukon River lateral migration over a period of roughly 1,000 years as manifested as a thawed region of permafrost.

Knowledge of the current permafrost distribution is critical for analyses designed to evaluate hydrologic and ecologic consequences of climate warming. It also provides a baseline for future investigation of the dynamic evolution of permafrost systems.

Liquid water conducts electricity better than ice, is the explanation of USGS director Marcia McNutt. "We can detect from the air the weak magnetic fields generated by those electric currents, thus distinguishing quickly and easily melted from frozen ground. This new technology, and the maps of changing permafrost, will be valuable for both climate change research and engineering in the challenging Alaskan environment."

In addition, the study is important because it presents a methodology for assessing permafrost not only in Alaska but throughout sub-Arctic and Arctic regions. The airborne approach allows periodic monitoring of perennially frozen ground over broad areas as climatic warming decreases the extent of permafrost and accelerates the emission of greenhouse gases.

The study is expected to have significant implications for hydrologists, ecologists, climate scientists, and land managers in the Yukon Flats and elsewhere in the Arctic.

 

 

Available for InfoSurge and InfoWorks TS, the module is suited for assessing the strength and effectiveness of water supply and distribution systems under a wide range of hydraulic transient conditions, from routine operation to emergency states. Users can determine the best combination of surge protection devices to minimise the impact of objectionable pressure transients.

 

Anticipating and controlling transient response is critical to ensuring the protection, integrity, and effective/efficient operation of water distribution systems. Transient responses can introduce pressures of sufficient magnitude (upsurge) to burst pipes and damage equipment. The resulting repercussions can range from extended service outages to loss of property and life. Transient responses can also produce sub-atmospheric pressures (downsurge) that can force contaminated groundwater into the distribution system at a leaky joint, crack or break, leading to grave health consequences when carried out downstream in the pipe system. Sustained sub-atmospheric pressures may also lead to cavitation and water column separation, resulting in severe "water hammer" effects as the vapor cavity collapses.

 

The Innovyze transient flow simulation technology suite addresses every facet of pressure surge analysis and its role in utility infrastructure management and protection, delivering the highest rate of return in the industry. It provides the engineer-friendly simulation framework water utilities need to identify characteristics that can make their water supply and distribution systems more susceptible to transient pressure events. Users can quickly and efficiently assess the effects of power outages, pump shutdowns and startups, valve closures, rapid demand and pump speed changes, as well as the efficacy of any combination of surge protection devices. The product suite also accurately simulates cavitation and water column separation and evaluates their intensity. Its simulation speed makes transient analysis an easier and more enjoyable task.

 

The new SurgeAnimate module enables users to create live animations of pipe profiles simply by specifying the first and last nodes; the rest is done automatically. Tank and reservoir levels, pump speeds, water flow or velocity rates are all animated. Many surge devices (such as air valves and bladder tanks) are also animated in detail. Animation speed can be set and stopped or restarted interactively at any simulation time period, allowing the user to thoroughly view and analyse the model's transient activities (including cavitation pressure). Animations can be saved as AVI files.

 

Armed with these mission-critical network modelling capabilities, water utilities can more accurately assess their susceptibility to low or negative pressures caused by transient surges, identify vulnerable areas and risks, evaluate and design sound control and mitigation measures, and determine improved operational plans and security upgrades.

 

The SurgeAnimate module for InfoSurge and InfoWorks TS is available worldwide by subscription.

 

 

All SCALGO software modules can now be run from within ArcGIS, and can be combined with existing ArcGIS tools into complicated and scalable production pipelines using ArcGIS ModelBuilder. SCALGO Model can be used to construct raster and TIN terrain models from massive terrain points (such as Lidar), as well as to simplify massive raster terrain models in a fully-specified and user-controlled way. SCALGO Hydrology can be used to perform basic hydrological modeling on massive raster terrain models, including computing flow accumulation, watersheds, bluespots (maximal depressions) and flood maps from rising sea-levels. SCALGO Simplify adds the raster simplification functionality of SCALGO Model to the SCALGO Hydrology package.

 

SCALGO has also launched the SCALGO Flash Flood Mapping product, which estimates the risk of flooding during extreme rain events on a regional or even national scale. The mapping shows how much rain has to fall before any given cell of a detailed raster terrain is below water, and thus it also shows what part of the terrain is below water after a given amount of rain. The SCALGO Flash Flood Mapping product is being offered as a computation service. Based on the service and its national Lidar-based terrain model, the major Danish engineering, environmental science and economics consulting company COWI has already successfully launched a new flash flood map product in Denmark, which is being used by several local governments as well as one of the five regional governments in Denmark (covering approximately 13.000 km²).

 

SCALGO staff are also available to answer questions at booth 108 during the 2012 International LIDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF).

 

 

SuperGIS Spatial Analyst 3.0 supports import of point, line, polygon, and raster data for specific functions and carries out hydrologic analysis. Hydrologic analysis contains basin, fill, flow accumulation, flow direction, flow length, sink, snap pour point, stream link, stream order and watershed, which allows users to perform the data in various formats and perform comprehensive spatial analyses.

 

Integrating Spatial Analyst 3.0 with SuperGIS Desktop 3.1 is required to achieve varied requirements of spatial modelling and analysis. These SuperGIS desktop series products are scheduled to be launched officially by the end of January.

 

 

The event, organised by the UN World Health Organization's (WHO) regional arm, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), urged governments and international organisations to boost investment in the infrastructure and institutional capacity required to provide water and sanitation in areas affected by the disease.

 

While cholera no longer poses a threat to countries with high standards of hygiene, it remains a challenge in countries with limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

 

PAHO Director Mirta Roses discussed the misconceptions surrounding the provision of water and sanitation, mainly that it is seen as expensive, and emphasised that the costs of not investing in these services is much higher as evidenced by the thousands of people who have died in Haiti since the cholera outbreak in October 2010, ten months after it was hit by a devastating earthquake.

 

Ms. Roses stressed that the right to water and sanitation is an essential human right, making it crucial for governments to strive to provide these services in every sector of society.

 

Ms. Roses also underscored the importance of water and sanitation as a pre-requisite for sustainable development and economic growth in any country, and warned that ignoring this would leave countries "extremely vulnerable."

 

Kevin De Cock, Director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Center for Global Health, echoed Ms. Roses remarks, stressing the role of the infrastructure in preventing the spread of cholera.

 

Mr. De Cock said that for Haiti to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global development targets with a 2015 deadline, some 250,000 households will need improved water sources, and another 938,000 will require access to improved sanitation.

 

The Chief of Water Sanitation for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Sanjay Wijesekera, argued that in addition to investing in infrastructure, an effective strategy that takes into account the various forms of transmissions is needed, as well as education to encourage behavioural change in communities.

 

Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly joined the event via video link and reiterated his Government's commitment to tackle the disease. "On the eve of the second anniversary of the terrible earthquake that devastated our country, marked progress has been made toward reconstruction, but much remains to be done," he said.

 

The President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández stressed his Government's willingness to collaborate with Haiti through vaccination programmes and control strategies.

 

 

 

Each video focuses on a specific Tsurumi product or feature. The current video selection includes a cutter pump, a submersible aerator, a scum skimmer, a decanter pump, an unique oil lifter and maintenance.

 

Tsurumi will regularly update the channel with new videos.

 

 

 

Galaxy will invest approximately six billion yen for the two operational assets, and together with the existing assets held by Galaxy, the total investment is planned to be thirty-five billion yen. The total designed capacity upon commencement of operation of all assets by Galaxy will be over 1 million cubic meters/day. Galaxy has been improving local operation and management, and will operate these two operational assets along with the twenty-two water treatment plant operational assets, which Galaxy is currently operating in China.

 

Traditionally polymer or ceramic tubular membranes are used to clean and conserve water in industrial wastewater applications. However, polymer systems need replacing regularly, especially if not tailored to the application, and ceramic tubular membranes need high water flow rates to operate effectively.

 

The new porous ceramic disc membranes have many benefits compared to polymer substrates. The ceramic is robust and gives high performance where high temperatures and aggressive cleaning chemicals are prevalent. They can withstand the harsh environments found in wastewater treatments and as a result, they are long-lasting and do not need replacing as often as plastic alternatives.

 

Also, the new ceramic disc membranes do not need a high water flow rate that is required for current ceramic tubular membranes. Therefore businesses can save energy and costs associated with pumping water at lower flow rates.

 

Morgan Technical Ceramics has the ability to manufacture components to highly complex geometries and to tight tolerances and its ceramic membranes are just 20 microns in thickness (around 1/5th of the diameter of a human hair). The porous ceramic membrane systems are ideal for use in ultrafiltration applications that collect bacteria and purify industrial wastewater allowing it to be reused in the plant or safely discharged into the environment.

 

The SMART Logs are being installed by Vernon Morris & Co. Ltd. along with its Incertameter ‘bolt-on' in-line flow meter, enabling Yorkshire Water to split 250 of its existing District Metered Areas (DMAs) in half for more efficient water management without the need for constructing any new, expensive metered bypasses. The initial phase includes 350 installations, with more planned to follow as the project rolls out across the network.

 

Dividing a water mains network into DMAs is current water loss prevention best practice. It allows water companies to examine their network in small pieces, narrowing down areas where water is being lost so that leakage teams can then pinpoint the location within that DMA. Obviously, smaller DMAs result in more detailed initial information, and proportionally less time taken to identify the exact position of the leak; in these cases time equals not only money but also water, personnel and the chances of a service disruption.

 

SMART Log and Incertameter allow for the easy and very cost-effective creation of more and smaller DMAs, and very rapid collection of data from them. SMART Log's wireless technology means that data collection teams no longer need access to the meter itself, but instead can download the data via a secure wireless link from up to 100 metres away - even from a moving vehicle. This drastically reduces the time taken for data gathering, which, in addition to the use of smaller DMAs, results in savings.

 

In a series of blind pilot trials conducted last year to compare the before and after effects of the project, results indicated an average saving per leak of roughly 60 hours of detection time and over GBP1500, even without factoring in the initial saving of GBP5000+ per sub-metering point created. Leakage inspectors can expect to cover a DMA approximately five times faster than before, and prioritise their leak repair activities much more effectively according to the severity of a leak and its impact on the water supply.

 

Advanced technology not only enables this level of functional efficiency, but has resulted in an impressive battery life for the systems. Batteries last for 5 years with a 5 minute sample rate, meaning that the time and cost savings first made at the installation continue on for half a decade. The SMART Log technology has already seen extended use in Scotland and England over the last few years, both in conjunction with the Incertameter and as a standalone AMR or commercial datalogger, and has consistently proved itself a valuable tool in improving a project's operational functionality and underlying efficiency.

 

 

The latest groundwater map, released at the end of November 2011, shows large patches of maroon over eastern Texas, indicating severely depressed groundwater levels. The maps, publicly available on the Drought Center's website are generated weekly by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., using Grace gravity field data calculated at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the University of Texas Center for Space Research, Austin.

 

Matt Rodell, a hydrologist based at Goddard, expects that Texas groundwater will take months or longer to recharge. Most of the water runs off, he reckons. It takes a longer period of sustained greater-than-average precipitation to recharge aquifers significantly.

 

The twin Grace satellites, which JPL developed and manages for NASA, detect small changes in Earth's gravity field caused primarily by the redistribution of water on and beneath the land surface. The paired satellites travel about 137 miles (220 kilometres) apart and record small changes in the distance separating them as they encounter variations in Earth's gravitational field.

 

To make the maps, scientists use a computer model that combines measurements of water storage from Grace with a long-term meteorological dataset to generate a continuous record of soil moisture and groundwater that stretches back to 1948. Grace data go back to 2002. The meteorological data include precipitation, temperature, solar radiation and other ground- and space-based measurements.

 

The colour-coded maps show how much water is stored now as a probability of occurrence in the 63-year record. The maroon shading over eastern Texas, for example, shows that the level of dryness over the last week occurred less than two percent of the time between 1948 and the present.

 

The Drought Center also distributes soil moisture maps that show moisture changes in the root zone down to about 3 feet (1 metre) below the surface, as well as surface soil moisture maps that show changes within the top inch (2 centimetres) of the land.

 

Drought Center's Brian Wardlow says that all of these maps offer policymakers new information into subsurface water fluctuations at regional to national scales that has not been available in the past. The maps provide finer resolution or are more consistently available than other similar sources of information, and having the maps for the three different levels should help decision makers distinguish between short-term and long-term droughts.

 

The maps also offer farmers, ranchers, water resource managers and even individual homeowners a new tool to monitor the health of critical groundwater resources. People rely on groundwater for irrigation, for domestic water supply, and for industrial uses, but there's little information available on regional to national scales on groundwater storage variability and how that has responded to a drought. Over a long-term dry period, there will be an effect on groundwater storage and groundwater levels. It's going to drop quite a bit, people's wells could dry out, and it takes time to recover.

 

The maps are the result of a NASA-funded project at the Drought Center and NASA Goddard to make it easier for the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor to incorporate data from the Grace satellites. The groundwater and soil moisture maps are updated each Tuesday.

 

Ciguatera affects tens of thousands of people annually, but the occurrence has been impossible to predict and manage. The research project could lead to better predictions of ciguatera outbreaks.

Joining Parsons will be Don Anderson and Mindy Richlen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Deana Erdner, University of Texas Marine Science Institute; Ron Kiene, University of South Alabama; Yuri Okolodkov, University of Veracruz, Mexico; Alison Robertson, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory; and Tyler Smith, University of the Virgin Islands.

 

The study was funded through a national competition of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program run by NOAA's National Ocean Service/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. The first year award will be USD554,159; the entire five year grant could total USD4,015,370.

 

 IE expo, coming from a heritage of IFAT China, EPTEE and CWS 2011, is to become an environmental technology exhibition with largest scale and highest degree in internationalisation in China. IE expo 2012 will be upgraded fully in the aspect of brand, scale, mode and exhibits layout. The exhibition will be laid out according to product category, which encompasses water and sewage, refuse disposal and resource recycling, air pollution control, energy conservation technology, other pollution control, environment measurement, control and laboratory technology, environment management.and education and research. The exhibition not only attracts famous enterprises within the industry to register, but also international exhibitors and national pavilions from Germany, USA, Japan, Italian, Singapore, Korea, Canada, Taiwan and China.

 

IFAT CHINA + EPTEE + CWS 2011, which took place in May 2011 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, filled every corner of the 35,000 square metres of exhibition space. In addition to that, the event featured 752 exhibitors from 25 countries and more than 22,000 visitors from 75 countries.

With these figures, the International Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Refuse, Recycling and Natural Energy Conservation has strengthened its prevailing position as the largest and most important environmental trade show in China. 60 percent of the exhibitors came from China. The top ten visitor countries and regions were China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and India. 82 percent of visitors "definitely/probably" will recommend visiting the trade show to business partners and business friends.

 

Researchers from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) and NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) in Boulder, Colo., along with university colleagues, focused on ozone and particulate matter, two pollutants with human health effects.

 

About eight percent, or about one of every 13 barrels of the Deepwater Horizon-spilled oil that reached the ocean surface, eventually made its way into airborne organic particles small enough to be inhaled into human lungs, and some of those particles likely reached the Gulf coast when the winds were blowing toward the shore, according to the study.

 

According to the study, over the course of the spill, the total mass of organic particles formed from evaporating surface oil was about ten times bigger than the mass of soot from all the controlled burns. Controlled burns are used to reduce the size of surface oil slicks and minimise impacts of oil on sensitive shoreline ecosystems and marine life.

 

The organic particles formed in the atmosphere from hydrocarbons that were released as surface oil evaporated, and they got bigger as they traveled in the plume.  The atmospheric plume was about 30 kilometres wide when it reached the coast.

 

Some of the hydrocarbons from the evaporating oil reacted with nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere to create ozone pollution, but this other atmospheric plume was only 3 to 4 kilometres (2 to 3 miles) wide at the coast.

 

Daniel M. Murphy, NOAA scientist at ESRL/CSD and a co-author of the study said that the levels of ozone were similar to what occurs in large urban areas. During the oil spill, it was like having a large city's worth of pollution appear out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The relatively small amounts of nitrogen oxides in the vicinity of the oil spill (which included nitrogen oxides emitted by the spill cleanup and recovery efforts) limited the amount of polluting ozone that was formed offshore.  When the excess hydrocarbons reached the coast, they could have reacted with on-shore sources of nitrogen oxides, such as cars and power plants, to form additional ozone.

 

The researchers gathered data in June 2010 on two flights of NOAA's WP-3D research aircraft that was outfitted to be a ‘flying chemical laboratory'. They also analysed data gathered on ships in the vicinity and at two monitoring sites in Mississippi downwind of the oil spill.

 

They used a regional air quality model to project the path of the particle pollution, and found that time periods when the pollution plume was predicted to have reached the coast matched up well with a few short periods of high readings at the monitoring sites.

 

In addition to the organic particles that formed from the evaporating oil, soot particles were lofted into the atmosphere from the oil that was burned on the surface.

 

The authors note that their findings could help air quality managers anticipate the effects of future oil spills. The depth of the Deepwater Horizon spill, about a mile beneath the surface, limited the effects on air quality because some hydrocarbons, such as benzene, largely dissolved in the water.

 

The new paper, Air Quality Implications of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, has 25 co-authors from NOAA ESRL and CIRES. For more information, visit the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences website.

 

 

 

The market is highly fragmented with over 200 companies participating in the market in 2010.  The larger water companies, including Veolia, GE Water and Best Water Group, have formed partnerships, adding further competitiveness to the marketplace.

 

IVRCL Limited, Ramki Enviro Engineers, Ion Exchange India and Degremont are some of the key participants in the market.

 

A report by Verify Markets captures the growth opportunities in the Indian water and wastewater treatment equipment market from 2010 to 2017, with 2010 as the base year. It captures key drivers, challenges and revenue forecasts for the municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment equipment market in India. Additionally, the report captures market share analysis, percentage split by treatment type, key market trends, end-user trends, key competitive trends and quotes from key industry participants.

 

With tens of thousands of people in the developing world dying each day because of a lack of clean drinking water, Drematic and Y?Arcka started their initiative to educate the community on the issue, and to raise funds to provide practical solutions for the problem.

 

In addition to the Cups for A Cause campaign, the hip hop duo is donating 100 percent of the funds from their new record, Water, toward achieving this goal. Water is readily available for download at waterishumanity.bandcamp.com. Individuals can make donations at waterishumanity.com.

 

The album  includes 12 tracks all thematically related to the concept of water and the importance of clean water availability worldwide.

 

The album is broken into two categories: the first six tracks serve as the "unfiltered" portion, with the remaining songs representing "purified" water. The "unfiltered" category represents the more raw side of the project, with songs that will resonate deeply with hip hop fans. The "purified" tracks are more refined and free from profanity, serving both substantive and harmonious tracks with equally impressive production and breadth of scope.

 

In sum, recording artist Drematic and producer Y?Arcka strive to present listeners with an essential piece of music that both educates and provides listening pleasure by exposing music fans to some of the issues surrounding access to and the availability of clean water worldwide. Just like the substance that inspired the project; the purpose, functionality and presentation of Water is rife with all of the complexities that are synonymous with being a citizen of the world. Indeed, "water is humanity." It is our collective life blood. With this in mind, Drematic and Y?Arcka hope that the sounds, words, thoughts and interpretations leave the listeners intrigued, engaged, and ultimately, refreshed. Drink up.

 

The eight orders that Sorubin have received for floating baffles lately are mainly from Nordic waterworks. The largest was for 320 metres of Optusflow floating baffles for Borås Energi & Miljö. Other clients include Uppvidinge municipality and SRV Återvinning's waste disposal facility in Stockholm.

 

Optusflow has been designed according to a new concept which entails better use of materials, better adherence to walls and coarse bottom material, as well as an innovative use of sinkers. The end result is an enhanced flow-through with optimised retention time. Optusflow can also be used to force water past treatment points or checkpoints. By optimising flow-through, the reduction factor can be greatly reduced, meaning that a good installation of Optusflow can enhance the effect of aeration and other treatment methods by up to 50 percent.

 

When combining Sorubin's aeration technology Microluft with a flow of water through installations of Optusflow, it is possible to double the effect of aeration.

 

Floating baffles are usually put under extreme pressure and wear and tear. Optusflow has been designed to be durable, to withstand mechanical pressure and adverse weather conditions and UV radiation. There has so far been no break-downs or any problems at all from any of the installations.

 

 

The list is in alphabetical order and contains Heather's rationale why it is worthwhile to watch each company.

 

1. APTWater (Long Beach, Calif.): Treats wastewater with an eye toward enabling reuse. The company merged with Europe's Rochem in November 2011 and boasts several municipal deals on its Web site.

2. aquaMost (Madison, Wis.): Uses ultraviolet light and patented catalysts to purify water. In late November 2011, the company snagged USD3 million in a second round of venture capital; it was also awarded a USD1 million phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant by the National Institutes of Health.

3. Aqwise (Israel): Develops biofilm technologies to remove nutrients, carbon and other substances. Has municipal pilot history in the United States and Spain.

4. Arbsource (Tempe, Ariz.): Makes a reactor system designed to be used by food and manufacturing companies.

5. Emefcy (Israel): Creates energy-efficient water treatment technology by using sewage-eating bacteria. In August 2011, the company snagged about USD10 million in venture funding from GE, NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips.

6. Fogbusters (Oakland, Calif.): Takes the FOG (fats, oil, grease) out of wastewater. Customers included Cadbury and United Biscuits.

7. Magpie Polymers (France): The spinoff from Ecole Polytechnique focuses on treating heavily contaminated industrial wasterwater.

8. Nexus eWater (Australia): Bills itself as maker of technology that can recycle graywater to a near potable condition, while also offering an alternative for reducing hot water energy costs. The company snagged two Australian grants in August 2011.

9. Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies (Vancouver): Removes nutrients from wastewater and converts that into fertilizer than can be used by a revenue source. The venture capital-backed company has three recovery facilities in the United States and recently authorized one for Saskatoon, Canada.

10. Pasteurization Technology Group (San Leandro, Calif.): Develops a wastewater disinfection system that creates renewable energy as its works. The company says it is poised to commence commercial shipments of its flagship product during 2012.

11. Puralytics (Beaverton, Ore.): Uses nanotechnology, optics and light to purifying water.

12. Vorsana (Portland, Ore.): Employs the concept of "radial counterflow" to create more efficients systems for water treatment, as well as separating flue gasses.

 

The scale of the potential impact of climate change for the UK has already been felt with droughts in June 2010 leading to hose pipe bans affecting 6.5 million customers in the North-East of England. Birmingham receives all its potable water needs from the Elan Valley reservoirs. A recent study published in the Water and Environment Journal demonstrated that the number of very dry years is expected to increase by around 7%.

 

Climate change will increase frequency of droughts, lower reservoir levels and reduce the reliability of public water supply, unless supplies are increased and/or demand reduced. Increasing the Elan reservoir storage capacity would counteract the anticipated increased hydrological variability, but would be costly, involve long lead times and potentially be constrained by the limits of the aqueduct that transports the water supplies from the Elan valley to Birmingham.

 

The twin track approach of increasing supply and reducing demand appears to be the best way to maintain supplies while improving resilience because of the anticipated increased demands and limited capacity of current infrastructure.

 

 

The show will feature over 225 market leaders in the international world of water use, desalination and water management exhibiting across 15,000 square metres. They will show their latest products and services in the field of water technology, with a focus on water treatment, water reuse, transport and storage, process control/ automation and point of use. The show will focus specifically on water use in the power & renewable energy industry sector, agriculture,  automotive, metal & steel, and the pharmaceutical industry.

 

Special support for Aquatech India comes from the Ministry of Urban Development of India. Global support comes from the International Water Association (IWA), the US Commercial Service and the Water Quality Association (WQA). The Indian Water Works Association (IWWA) supports the trade show as well.

 

In addition to the exhibition, Aquatech India will include the "Technical Conference on Future Challenges in Integrated Water Resources Management", which is organised in conjunction with the Indian Water Works Association (IWWA) and the International Water Association IWA). Mister Dayanand Panse, former Secretary General of IWWA, is the new Chairman of the Council for the conference.

 

By creating platforms for knowledge transfer, Aquatech helps disseminate expertise and enhance education. Aquatech India will offer local water professionals the chance to learn more about reducing water consumption, treating industrial effluent and preventing contamination.

 

Aquatech India 2012 will be a unique gathering of decision makers, professionals, advisors, technical experts, engineering organisations, consultants and engineers.

 

 

Reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 is one of the global targets under the internationally-agreed poverty and social development vision known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have a 2015 achievement deadline.

 

The new study by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN World Health Organization (WHO), entitled Drinking Water Equity, Safety and Sustainability, shows that between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of the world's population with access to improved drinking water sources increased from 77% to 87%.

The report stresses, even though significant progress has been made, at the current rate, 672 million people will still not be using improved drinking water sources in 2015. There are still many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia, Eastern Asia and South-East Asia that are not on track to meet the target, according to the report.

 

In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, total access has significantly increased since 1990, jumping from 49% to 60%, and reaching an additional 126 million people in urban and 111 million in rural areas. However, population growth has outstripped the progress to the extent that the actual number of people without access was greater in 2008 than it was in 1990, according to the report.

 

The study also found that the richest 20% in sub-Saharan African countries are more than twice as likely to use an improved drinking water source as the poorest 20%. In addition, poor people in rural areas have the lowest access to safe drinking water, with the greatest burden in collecting water falling to women and girls.

 

Globally, more than eight in 10 people without improved drinking water sources live in rural areas. However, the proportion of the rural population in developing regions using piped drinking water on premises was still only 31% in 2008, up from 21% in 1990. In urban areas it went from 71% to 73% during the same period.

 

Investment in water and sanitation is not being optimised, with almost two thirds of total official development assistance for drinking water and sanitation going to the development of large urban systems, the report points out.

 

Water quality surveys showed that many improved drinking water sources such as piped supplies, boreholes and protected wells, do not conform to WHO guidelines. On average, half of all protected dug wells may be contaminated, along with a third of protected springs and boreholes.

 

 

These findings, published in Nature Climate Change, are contrary to results of some earlier work on this subject. The new study uses statistical methods designed explicitly for modelling extreme values and associated uncertainties.

 

It makes sense to look at local and regional drivers such as urbanization and deforestation in addition to global scale issues. Although this study focused on rainfall variability in India, the same methodology can be applied to any region of the world, according to Mr Ganguly.

 

Auroop Ganguly and co-authors Subimal Ghosh (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Debasish Das (Temple University) and Shih-Chieh Kao (ORNL) used their statistical methodologies to analyse data from 1,803 stations from 1951 to 2003. This information was provided in 1-by-1-degree spatial grids by the India Meteorological Department.

 

The research team noted that statistical observations offer complementary insights compared to the current generation of physics-based computational models. This is especially the case if the goal is to understand climate and rainfall variability at local to regional scales.

 

Understanding climate model-simulated trends of precipitation extremes and developing metrics relevant for water resources decisions were the focus of a paper published earlier this year in the Journal of Geophysical Research. In that paper, Ganguly and co-author Kao showed that while models provide relatively credible predictive insights of precipitation extremes at aggregate spatial scales, the uncertainty begins to increase significantly at localized spatial scales - especially over the tropical regions.

 

Ganguly noted that the Nature Climate Change paper, titled Lack of uniform trends but increasing spatial variability in observed Indian rainfall extremes, is the result of a team effort with researchers from diverse disciplines. Ghosh, the first author, is a hydro-climate scientist and civil engineer; Das is a graduate student in computer science and data mining; Kao is a statistical who specialises in water availability and flood frequency analysis; and Ganguly, a civil engineer, specialises in climate extremes and water sustainability as well as data sciences for complex systems.

 

This research concept was initiated when all the authors were working with Ganguly at ORNL and was funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. The National Science Foundation's Expeditions in Computing program and the Department of Science and Technology of India also provided funding.

 

The Water Innovations Foundation has undertaken research on the topic over the past several months to better understand its impact on utilities and communities. Some of the initial key findings include that it will take 15 to 20 years of significant investment to stabilize and modernise the U.S. water infrastructure and the predicted costs to repair U.S. water infrastructure system are USD365 billion.

 

Approximately 15 percent of municipal water is lost to leaks and public water systems that serve more than one million people in the United States average a loss of 17 percent through leakage. 45 percent of the country's pipes will be rated poor, very poor or beyond repair by 2020. Leaking pipes lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water a day and a water information technology system will lower annual operating costs on average of 33 percent, providing more impact on larger systems.

 

The foundation also notes that aside from aging infrastructure, the United States has entered an era of severe fiscal restrictions faced by federal, state, and local governments.  Therefore, investment must be adequately prioritised and well-directed and innovative technologies for sensing and monitoring, information exchange, and data analytics can improve efficiency of water use and distribution.

 

 

Bentley's Be Inspired Awards competition acknowledges outstanding achievement and innovation in infrastructure design, construction, and operations. The winners are selected by independent panels of expert jurors representing a broad range of infrastructure disciplines.

 

Also highlighted in the yearbook are the four projects that won the 2011 Be Inspired Special Recognition Awards. Candidates for these awards are placed into nomination by the independent panels of jurors for their uniquely innovative and visionary achievements embracing multiple Be Inspired Awards categories. The winners are then selected by a panel of Bentley executives.

 

The digital edition of The Year in Infrastructure 2011 additionally provides links to this year's Be Inspired Awards finalist project presentations posted on Bentley's Be Connected online video library. The presentations offer insights into the design and business innovations and best practices employed to achieve the outstanding project results that placed these nominations among the jurors' top choices.

 

To view the digital version of The Year in Infrastructure 2011, along with all previous editions of this publication, visit www.bentley.com/YearInInfrastructure. To request a print copy of The Year in Infrastructure 2011, visit www.bentley.com/2011yearbook.

 

 

China's PV Solar system manufacturers face an increasingly tight set of environmental regulations that create outstanding opportunities for ThermoEnergy wastewater recovery solutions. A major portion of China's rivers have been deemed unsafe for human contact and China is investing approximately USD475 billion in pollution prevention and treatment under a five-year plan that runs to the year 2015.

 

The wastewater produced by PV manufacturing contains many hazardous chemicals, including heavy metals, halogenated compounds, ac­ids and organic contaminants. Currently, most manufacturers cope with the large amounts of con­taminated wastewater by treatment and disposal.  ThermoEnergy's solution offers a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system that is based on vacuum evaporation and flash distillation, and offers the potential to recover and reuse or recycle valuable process chemistry. The system has proven itself in comparable applications in the United States, so the extension to China, which dominates solar manufacturing, is a logical one for the high tech company.

 

Interested speakers have the option of submitting their lectures with a lecture title, information about the author and an abstract of two printed sides at the most including 10 keywords by 16th March 2012 to the Call For Papers Centre on the website. The lectures should be submitted in English, the convention language will also be English. Fifteen minutes are planned with a follow-up discussion of five minutes for all lectures. The contributions selected by the committee will be presented during the convention and displayed as a poster. The contributions selected will be published in a quotable form in the convention volume.

 

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is appearing this year for the first time as a co-organiser.

 

The dimensionality of water resources management in particular has increased. The reasons for this include the increasing conflicts between water users, the more and more important regulatory requirements for the implementation of sustainable water management and the growing energy demand for the supply of water resources to meet user needs. This development is mirrored in the IWRM Karlsruhe 2012 programme.

 

In the accompanying specialist exhibition, IWRM Karlsrule gives visitors the chance to discuss new models and solutions from practice with suppliers and service providers. Exhibitors cover the whole range of IWRM, from water collection and distribution, water and wastewater preparation or treatment, analysis technology, environmental technology, science and research and technology transfer. Consulting companies and engineers and planners are also represented as are ICT, hardware and software suppliers for data transfer and management as well as for simulation. Other exhibition topics are services in the water, wastewater and geographic information system (GIS) sectors; associations, institutes, and specialist publishers also have a platform for their new topics and activities. In the industrial forum, companies and institutes present their new developments, methods and tools for implementing sustainable IWRM.

 

 

 

The new technology enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of wastewater treatment and requires a far smaller footprint. Nereda technology is based on special bacteria that grow in concentrated and fast settling granules. Conventional methods of treating wastewater use bacteria in fluffy flakes, which take much more time to separate from the treated water.

 

The water board attaches importance to corporate social responsibility, efficiency (particularly energy efficiency), sustainability and cooperation. There is close collaboration between the water board and Aalten municipality to create an attractive area in tandem with construction of the new treatment plant. The Nereda-treated wastewater is going to flow into attractive parcels of water and reeds through a public water garden.

 

Through the National Nereda Research Program (NNOP) Dutch water boards are closely involved in the ongoing development of this invention by the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). NNOP is a joint venture of STOWA (the joint water boards' Foundation for Applied Water Research), TU Delft, DHV and five more water boards. Its development is being supported financially by various national and European subsidy schemes including the water technology program of NL Agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. DHV is pleased that Dutch water boards are opting for this home-grown innovation.

 

 

 

Many urban waterways have been polluted for years by sewage, runoff from city streets and contamination from abandoned industrial facilities. Healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, recreational, employment and social opportunities in nearby communities. By promoting public access to urban waterways, EPA will help communities become active participants in restoration and protection.

 

The goal of EPA's urban waters small grants is to fund projects, training and research that will advance restoration of urban waters by improving water quality and community access. These activities will also support community revitalisation and improving public health, social and economic opportunities, general livability and environmental justice for residents. Examples of projects eligible for funding may include:

- Education and training for water quality improvement or green infrastructure jobs
- Public education about ways to reduce water pollution
- Local water quality monitoring programs
- Engaging diverse stakeholders to develop local watershed plans
- Innovative projects that promote local water quality and community revitalisation goals

 

Funding proposals must be received by EPA by 23^rd January 2012. EPA will hold two web-based seminars on this funding opportunity on 14^th December 2011 and 5^th January 2012. EPA expects to award the grants in summer 2012.

 

EPA's Urban Waters program supports the goals and principles of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a partnership of 11 federal agencies working to reconnect urban communities with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies and collaborating with community-led revitalisation efforts to improve the nation's water systems and promote their economic, environmental and social benefits.

 

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership closely aligns with and advances the work of the White House's place]based efforts, including the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to revitalise communities, create jobs and improve the quality of life in cities and towns across the nation. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership also advances the work of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative.

 

 

 

In FY 2011, EPA enforcement resulted in commitments to:

• Install pollution controls for a cleaner tomorrow: USD19 billion invested to improve environmental performance and compliance efforts, a record year, including USD3 billion dollars to clean up hazardous waste in communities

• Protect people's health from dangerous pollution: 1.8 billion pounds of harmful air, water, and chemical pollution reduced and 3.6 billion pounds of hazardous waste reduced, properly disposed of or treated

• Deter illegal pollution through civil penalties: USD168 million in civil penalties assessed (USD152 million in federal penalties and USD16 million in actions taken jointly by EPA and state and local governments)

• Fight environmental crime: USD35 million in fines and restitution, USD2 million in court ordered environmental projects and 89.5 years of incarceration to deter future violations and hold violators accountable

• Invest additional resources in affected communities: USD25 million committed by companies through enforcement settlements to conduct supplemental environmental projects in communities

Cases under EPA's national enforcement initiatives, which focus enforcement and compliance resources and expertise on serious pollution problems affecting communities, produced the majority of commitments to install pollution controls and led to settling important cases, including the settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will lead to up to USD27 billion in annual health benefits and provide USD350 million for environmental projects to benefit communities.