North America
A Reliable Water Supply and Addressing Contamination Are Top Priorities
Ensuring a reliable water supply and addressing drinking water contamination continue to rank among voters’ top priorities for the federal government, according to the 2022 Value of Water Campaign. As in past years, voters feel very positively about their local infrastructure, their drinking water safety, and the safety of their water pipes. However, as in the past, they are split on their view of the quality of national water infrastructure—and have grown less positive over time. Voters are broadly supportive of the federal investments in water infrastructure made by the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The Value of Water Campaign annually polls American voters to better understand their opinions on the state of the nation’s water infrastructure and what they view as priorities for action and potential solution.
Supercritical Water Oxidation Used to Destroy PFAS
It is estimated that more that 200 million Americans in all 50 states could have PFAS in their drinking water. PFAS have been virtually indestructible but new technology aims to change that. According to Amy Dindal, PFAS program manager for scientific nonprofit Battelle, a process called supercritical water oxidation will break down the chemical bonds in just seconds.
“‘Supercritical water’ means that you increase the temperature and increase the pressure and you get it into a special state, where the oxidation will occur more naturally. So in this special state, it breaks the [carbon–fluorine] bond,” Dindal said.
The Water Tower Celebrates Grand Opening on Earth Day
Earth Day, April 27, 2022, saw the grand opening of The Water Tower. The Water Tower is a water industry innovation center located in Gwinnett County, GA, that will serve as a hub for water utilities, researchers, companies, and ground-breaking advancements in solving critical water and environmental challenges.
The Water Tower initiative was launched in 2019 with the creation of two nonprofit organizations, The Water Tower at Gwinnett and The Water Tower Institute.
National Pool Partners Becomes Largest Pool Service Company in Arizona
National Pool Partners (NPP) has acquired X-Pools of Scottsdale, AZ, and Tropical Waters Pools of Gilbert, AZ, establishing them as the largest residential pool service company in the state. X-Pools and Tropical Water Pools will integrate into NPP’s established Aquaman Pools brand. NPP, with these acquisitions, now surpasses 5,500 pool stops in Arizona and continues its rapid and strategic growth across the nation’s largest residential pool markets.
Aqua-Leisure Recreation Acquires INYO Pool Products
Aqua-Leisure Recreation, LLC, a market leader in the aquatics consumer product industry, has announced its acquisition of INYO Pool Products, LLC. INYO Pool, based in Longwood, FL, is the leading direct-to-consumer brand of swimming pool supply, repair, and maintenance products.
EUROPE
Denmark and the US Join Forces in the Water Sector’s Race to Zero
In an effort to pave the way for Net Zero emissions and a resilient water sector, the US Water Alliance; the Embassy of Denmark in Washington, DC; and the Danish Water and Watershed Association signed a new Memorandum of Understanding on April 27, 2022. This new agreement supports transatlantic efforts to lower climate impacts in the water sector while underscoring the importance of international partnerships and knowledge-sharing to advance a climate secure future.
ASIA
New Joint IWA-SWA Singapore Young Water Professionals Chapter
The International Water Association (IWA) and the Singapore Water Association (SWA) have established a joint IWA-SWA Singapore Young Water Professionals Chapter. This chapter will offer opportunities for young water professionals based out of Singapore. Through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2022, the two organizations are looking to connect their respective networks and are eager to identify joint actions to enable water management.
MIDDLE EAST
Advanced Watertek installs RO plant in isolated village
Advanced Watertek, a membrane-based water treatment company, had to overcome logistical challenges to install a reverse osmosis plant in Kumzar, Oman, a village that is only accessible by boat. The village previously relied on desalination for their drinking water supply from a plant that is over a decade old.
Keeping size restrictions in mind for transportation, loading, and unloading without any lifting equipment, components were dismantled for easy handling and transportation and then re-assembled on-site. The dismantled parts were transported using locally available boats.
The capacity of the old RO plant was 100m³per day, while the new RO plant was designed with a system capacity of 300m³ per day. Advanced Watertek included an energy recovery device in the design in order to recover wasted high-pressure brine energy; this reduced the high-pressure pump and motor size and lowered energy consumption.