Blue gold

It is probably unlikely that you’ll ever find yourself lost in the desert but if you are, one thing worth remembering is the “rule of threes”, which states that you can live three weeks without food but only three days without water. Hence, the top priority in a desert survival situation is not to go an energy-sapping hunt for food but to search for a source of clean water. Literally, you won’t last long if you can’t find any.

While that may be a rather extreme dramatization of the importance of what many, in a homage to oil, are calling “blue gold”, already there are 1.1 billion people around the world without access to safe drinking water, and by 2030, the OECD forecasts increasing urbanization and climate change will result in half the world’s population inhabiting areas with severely compromised water resources.

Meanwhile, at the other end, so to speak, inadequate infrastructure for the disposal of used
water in many parts of the developing world is a leading cause of cross-contamination of the
drinking water that is available. The result is disease and deaths (3900 children a day, according to the UN) from people using contaminated water supplies.

Given this backdrop, it is not surprising that the water-wastewater industry is witnessing increased activity as authorities around the world move to assure future supplies and to safeguard public health through adequate sanitation systems.

For example, Singapore has famously invested in advanced technology and facilities for NEWater, which is used water processed through treatment to produce pure water that can be used for both potable and non-potable purposes. As a result, by 2011, Singapore expects to be 80 percent self sufficient in its water supply.

The country has also been upgrading its wastewater infrastructure through the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) mega-project, which includes the Changi Water Reclamation Plant (CWRP) as one of its key nodes. This has been a boon for the region’s automation suppliers; for example, at 8,000 nodes, it is the largest Profibus installation yet in Southeast Asia.

Interviewed in this issue, Dave Gorman of Veoila Water Solutions and Technologies emphasizes the need for other Southeast Asian countries to implement water management strategies and reuse and recycling. Meanwhile, Gian Imperiali of ABB’s Water Industry Global Initiative points to Asia as being one of the most important sectors for the ABB group, which is gearing up to tap the potential for many years to come. And no doubt many other automation suppliers will be looking to quench their thirst from the gushing blue gold.