World News

Nov. 28, 2017
More than 44 million people in the US get their water from private domestic wells which are largely unregulated. A new report estimates that about two million people could be exposed to high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in their water, according to a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology.

1 US: WASHINGTON

More than 44 million people in the US get their water from private domestic wells which are largely unregulated. A new report estimates that about two million people could be exposed to high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in their water, according to a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology. Municipal water-treatment systems can filter arsenic out, but monitoring and mitigating contaminants in well water is up to private owners. The American Chemical Society reported the US Geological Survey and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to map well-water arsenic levels to determine the risk in the US.

2 US: VIRGINIA

WE&RF has awarded a contract to the Environmental Law Institute to begin Food Waste Co-Digestion at Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities: Business Case Analysis. The project goal is to develop alternative sustainable business cases for wastewater resource recovery facilities to co-digest food waste, including fats, oil, and grease, food manufacturing residuals, and source separated organics. The project is anticipated to be completed in 2018.

3 BRAZIL

Brazil’s flagship Aquapollo reuse project, which cleans up municipal wastewater and sends it to the Capuava Petrochemical Complex of Mauá, located in São Paulo’s ABC region, is only running at half capacity. Speaking at the IDA World Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sabesp president Jerson Kelman said the project is running at 500 litres/second, rather than the 1000 litres/second, as planned. He attributed this “challenge” to finding suitable clients for the treated effluent near to the plant.

4 OMAN

A practical guide to dealing with harmful algal blooms has been launched by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Middle East Desalination Research Centre. The guide draws on expertise from over 60 specialists and takes practical information from 12 case studies for plant designers and operators. Joint editor Mike Dixon told WWi magazine that ultrafiltration membranes were deemed the recommended technology to deal with strong algal blooms.

5 INDIA

The Indian government has pledged to connect 90 percent of Indian rural households to a piped water supply by 2022. The country’s president, Ram Nath Kovind, said that connecting at least 600,000 villages was not just a project proposal but “is a sacred commitment”.

Quoted by the Economic Times, Kovind said that new technologies are needed to reduce the toxic content of wastewater produced and to deploy it for agricultural purposes.

6 AUSTRALIA

The 1600 m3/day Marshall Islands desalination project has moved onto the operational phase following a successful commissioning and performance testing. Australian company Osmoflo will now provide operation & maintenance support remotely via its PlantConnect software over a two-year period to the asset owners, Kwajalein Atoll Joint Utilities Resources. Aid funding was provided from the Asian Development Bank, Australian and US governments.

7 CHINA

SGX Mainboard-listed SIIC Environment Holdings has been awarded two Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) wastewater projects in Jiangxi Province, China. Subsidiary company Ranhill Water (Hong Kong) Limited had been awarded the Yongfeng Industrial Park BOT Wastewater Project by the Jiangxi Yongfeng County People’s Government. Another subsidiary Ranhill (Wanzai) Water has been awarded the Wanzai Industrial Park BOT Wastewater Expansion Project.

8 ROMANIA

A SUEZ/FCC-Aqualia consortium has secured a project in the city of Bucharest to modernise the wastewater treatment plant and also build a sludge-to-energy plant in Glina. Worth €111 million, the 28-month construction project will be completed by the end of 2019. The wastewater treatment plant in Glina will be rehabilitated and extended by FCC – Aqualia. Meanwhile the sludge will be transported to the future treatment and sludge-to-energy plant built by SUEZ, with a treatment capacity of 173 tonnes of dry matter per day.

9 DENMARK

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency is poised to test a new technology being developed to detect microplastic contamination in drinking water sources. Researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark are working on a method, backed by the Ministry of Environment and Food, which is expected to be ready by the end of this year. Following this, a study will then start to address the wider issue of microplastics in water.

10 UK

Severn Trent is investing £35 million to install new phosphorus removal technology at its Finham Sewage Treatment Works near Coventry. In total £120 million is being invested into phosphorus removal technology up until 2020 to upgrade 100 sewage treatment works. This is as a result of the Water Framework Directive, which has reduced phosphorus limits to 0.22 mg/l for treated effluent returned to the environment. The latest system will use will use magnetite technology.

More Water & WasteWater International Current Issue Articles
More Water & WasteWater International Archives Issue Articles

Sponsored Recommendations

ArmorBlock 5000: Boost Automation Efficiency

April 25, 2024
Discover the transformative benefits of leveraging a scalable On-Machine I/O to improve flexibility, enhance reliability and streamline operations.

Rising Cyber Threats and the Impact on Risk and Resiliency Operations

April 25, 2024
The world of manufacturing is changing, and Generative AI is one of the many change agents. The 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing Report takes a deep dive into how Generative ...

State of Smart Manufacturing Report Series

April 25, 2024
The world of manufacturing is changing, and Generative AI is one of the many change agents. The 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing Report takes a deep dive into how Generative ...

SmartSights WIN-911 Alarm Notification Software Enables Faster Response

March 15, 2024
Alarm notification software enables faster response for customers, keeping production on track