VALENCIA, SPAIN, JUNE 27, 2018 -- The International Desalination Association has conferred its 2018 IDA Water Reuse and Conservation Awards to three outstanding individuals and organizations who have demonstrated exceptional performance and contributions to this field. The awards were presented today during the Technical Program at the 2018 IDA International Water Reuse and Recycling Conference: Making Every Drop Count, which is being held this week in Valencia, Spain.
"IDA is pleased to present these prestigious awards to people and organizations that are making a difference not only within our industry but also for the world at large. Their work has led to advancements in conserving our planet's most precious resource, water, for today and for generations to come. On behalf of IDA, I want to thank all of the nominees for incredible work, and also the co-chairs for the 2018 Awards Selection Committee, Mr. Borja Blanco, Dr. Mike Dixon and Dr. Domingo Zarzo, for their oversight in selecting this year's winners from so many deserving nominees," said Shannon McCarthy, Secretary General of the International Desalination Association.
Winners of the 2018 IDA Water Reuse and Conservation Awards are:
Outstanding Professional in Water Reuse and Conservation, presented in recognition of demonstrated exceptional individual contributions to the development and implementation of landmark water reuse projects; and advancement of technology and applied science in the field of water reuse and conservation.
Winner: Dr. Val S. Frenkel, PhD, P.E., D.WRE (USA)
Vice President of Process Engineering / Managing Director Pacific Coast, Greeley and Hansen, Dr. Frenkel is an eminent figure in the water industry with expertise in water and wastewater treatment, water reuse, and membrane technologies, including desalination. Equally instrumental was Dr. Frenkel's role in the development of low pressure membrane technologies and applications. Developing, leading and delivering near 300 projects globally, Dr. Frenkel's works go far beyond his job scope as they are published extensively both in the US and abroad, authoring several patents in the process. A prolific author, Dr. Frenkel has received numerous accolades from such organizations as the International Desalination Association and American Academy of Environmental Engineering. He is also a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE) of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE), which is part of the Academy of the Civil Engineering Certification, Inc. (CEC). Dr. Frenkel has been elected a Fellow of IWA and of ASCE/EWRI.
Exceptional Utility Leader in Water Reuse and Conservation, in recognition of outstanding performance of public and private utilities that have implemented successful leading-edge water reuse and conservation programs and projects.
Winner: Aqualia (Spain)
Aqualia is a full cycle water management company with a customer base of 22.5 million users (GWI). Operating in 1,100 municipalities and across 22 countries in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Aqualia is a leading water management company with a proven track record of applying research and innovation. Since 2009, in collaboration with over 40 international research centers, more than 30 R&D projects have been implemented, generating 11 patents, most of them in the field of the circular economy and the water and energy reuse. Aqualia has been awarded over 20 million euros in co-funding, competing for prestigious European programs such as Life, FP7 and H2020. Water reuse in one of the pillars of Aqualia's circular economy commitment, but not exclusively. Through projects such as All-gas, SmartGreenGas or Methamorphosis, Aqualia is now enabling communities to use 100% local biofuel obtained from wastewater, and energy for desalination has been cut by a factor of 10. These initiatives mark a bold step forward for the water sector and for citizens.
Industry Technology and Innovation Leader in Water Reuse and Conservation, to recognize the outstanding performance of private consulting firms, and technology and equipment providers that have achieved disruptive advances in water reuse and conservation technology that have allowed significant reduction in energy use, carbon footprint and costs of alternative water supplies.
Winner: Dow Water Solutions (Switzerland)
Dow Water Solutions, a business unit of Dow, is a global leader in sustainable water separation and purification technologies and is the home of FILMTEC™ reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. To help communities and businesses make better progress in moving from a linear economy model (with a "take, make and dispose" approach to raw materials, including water), to a circular economy where resources are "reduced, reused and reclaimed," Dow Water Solutions (DWS), introduced a wastewater management approach called minimal liquid discharge (MLD) in 2015. Developed based on Dow's experience with proven water treatment technologies, MLD is a more cost-effective and sustainable way for companies to improve their water footprint, enabling recovery of up to 95 percent of liquid discharges at a fraction of the costs of solutions aiming for zero liquid discharge (ZLD). With MLD, Dow has changed the conversation about water management and showed that businesses can do what is right for the bottom line, community and the environment.
