Alliance54.com » Water

Could Alternative Sanitation help SA’s Water Security?

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 07:49:14 +0000

As the 30th driest country in the world, South Africa is facing greater water security challenges with increasing periods of drought and unpredictable rainfall patterns.

According to a case study on alternative sanitation for water security done by Tomorrow Matters Now, 19.5% of South Africans are still without an improved sanitation service and 4.9% of South Africans have no access to sanitation.

For 60% of water management systems, water demand is overtaken by supply, while 98% of our available water resources are already being used. At the same time, South Africa’s water and sanitation infrastructure is crumbling because of a chronic lack of investment.

Local municipalities are faced with these challenges and its effects on a daily basis.

Some of these include the age old problems of institutional or financial shortcomings and capacity constraints, a delay in sanitation services linked to a delay in housing, and the continued maintenance and improvement of basic sanitation.

Waste management has also become an increasing problem with water treatment plants having released raw sewage into rivers in the past due to poor management and maintenance backlogs.

The case study found the need for alternative means of sanitation.

Providing universal access to conventional waterborne sanitation is one of government’s biggest challenges, and the critical aspects of hygiene and dignity, as well as a healthy and resilient environment need to be addressed.

The study said that ‘flushing’ cannot be the solution as we cannot continue to use clean, portable water to flush waste. “We need game-changing new technologies which require little or no water,” the findings suggested.

Technology

The study suggested that alternative means of sanitation require low-water and no-water systems, low-energy wastewater treatment, sustainable operations and maintenance, and be an adaptable, integrated system that can ‘click into place’.

The Arumloo micro-flush toilet was cited as an example as it only uses 1 litre of water.

Biokube, a Danish company, was said to be a reputable in building decentralised waste-water treatment plants which have been implemented in more than 43 countries. Its “strength lies in scalability from household level, to resorts, to small cities,” the report said.

Partnerships

The development of a viable partnership model involving the combined efforts of governments, communities, citizens, civil society and the private sector is critical for success, the study added.

It also noted the following factors as crucial for success:

Community involvement/mobilisation
Stakeholder feedback loop: representation of the community’s needs, and education around/exposure to project developments
Citizens themselves as early adopters
Move forward together on an equalised journey towards improved sanitation

Johannesburg eliminating backlogs

In response to ageing water systems in South Africa, the City of Johannesburg has commenced with an Infrastructure Renewal Plan costing R1 billion a year to increase the renewal rate from 1% to 3.5% to eliminate backlogs.

Similar plans are in place for water-and sewer infrastructure throughout the country.

Industry experts have asked whether it will be possible to maintain demanding and costly water technologies, as perhaps alternative sanitation systems could provide an answer to these issues, offering low-water flush solutions or alternative sanitation technologies that use no water at all.

There are a wide range of improved technologies available in the industry that provide safe, hygienic, and sustainable sanitation at various costs and levels of complexity, the report pointed out.

It concluded by saying that these types of alternative sanitation technologies promote water security through the recovery of potential resources, unlock business potential for entrepreneurs and create incentives for future job creation.

By Riante Naidoo

Investing in Water, Investing in Earth, Investing in Ourselves

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 08:03:15 +0000

Water is the basic building block of our humanity—without it, human, animal, and plant life could not survive. Without it, our global goals of ensuring sustainable development, peace, and security are unachievable. Water washes over more than 70 percent of the surface of our blue planet, yet as of this Earth Day some 1.5 to 2 billion people have no reliable source of clean drinking water. Another 2.5 billion do not have access to basic sanitation facilities. How can one-third of the planet’s population drink, bathe themselves and their children, fight disease, produce food, and live with dignity when they don’t have safe water or adequate sanitation?

The United States is working to create a more water secure world by increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation, improving water resources management, and promoting cooperation over shared waters. These are just some ways that State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance dollars support our environment and our shared Earth. To do this, the State Department and USAID invest in capacity building, infrastructure, technology, private sector partnerships, and innovative financial instruments that mobilize local capital. Between 2007 and 2016, the United States has allocated in excess of $6.0 billion in water and sanitation activities in more than 50 countries worldwide. This support will help us empower our partner countries to meet the needs of their citizens, improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene; enhancing water resources management; and mitigating tensions associated with shared waters.

These activities have made real and lasting impact for people across the globe. As a result of these activities, more than 50 million people have received access to improved drinking water and/or sanitation services. We have also developed several innovative partnerships that have helped mobilize support from across the United States. The US Water Partnership (USWP) is a prime example of this. In 2012, the State Department helped launch this new public-private partnership in order to unite and mobilize American knowledge, expertise, and resources to address water challenges around the world, especially in developing countries where needs are greatest. To date in 2016, the USWP has aggregated commitments worth over $1.3 billion dollars from 112 members, and has impacted the lives of people in over 100 countries.

In 2013, USAID launched its first ever Water and Development Strategy, setting new WASH and agricultural water management targets to be met by 2018. Since then, more than 7.6 million people gained access to improved drinking water and nearly 4.3 million people gained access to improved sanitation facilities. At this current rate, USAID will reach its goal of improving water access for 10 million people and improved sanitation access for 6 million by 2018.

We must build on these successes to be able to continue to meet human, livelihood, and ecosystem needs. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will help us remain focused on achieving water security for all. In 2015, The United States and 192 other nations formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in New York. Goal Six of the 2030 Agenda, “Clean Water and Sanitation,” lays out a number of targets including universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. To achieve this and other SDGs, we will need strong support for foreign assistance resources in FY 2017 and beyond. We will also need to work with the private sector, civil society, academic institutions, donor countries, and developing countries themselves to mobilize resources and form collaborative partnerships with a diverse array of stakeholders.

In line with the SDGs, and as a part of this year’s Earth Day celebrations, the State Department will host the annual 6k Walk for Water on April 28, 2016. This walk acknowledges the millions of people in the developing world, most often women and girls, who walk an average of six kilometers a day to collect water for their families. The task of collecting water keeps children out of school and prevents women from engaging in more productive economic activities and often puts both women and children at risk of physical assault.

The United States drives solutions to the global challenges we face today, our foreign assistance the fuel and our foreign policy the lanes in the road guiding our way. From fiscal commitments that support the SDGs to awareness raising activities like the Walk for Water, the United States is proud to join the international community in addressing the global fresh water crisis. Recognizing that water permeates everything, we commemorate Earth Day by reminding ourselves that an investment in our global community is not only the right thing to do, but it is ultimately an investment in our collective future on this blue planet.

By Hari Sastri, Director, Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources, U.S. Department of State

Investment Opportunities Flow from Water Initiatives

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 00:01:34 +0000

Large parts of the world are running short on water — even experiencing “desertification” — at an alarming rate. Innovative solutions being implemented by the public and the private sectors may offer interesting opportunities for investors.

Several factors are driving water shortages. Climate change could have the greatest global impact. Some projections have temperatures around the globe warming by three to four degrees (Fahrenheit) over the next century, which would affect water in many ways. Some areas would stay the same, but many others would be either flooded or stricken with drought.

Population growth is also putting pressure on clean surface freshwater resources in lakes and rivers. Brackish water must be treated before it is used for human consumption, and groundwater is harder to use because it must be pumped.

According to Julie Gorte, senior vice president for sustainable investing at PAX World Management, 96.5% of all the water on Earth is brackish and 1% is saline. Only the remaining 2.5% is fresh, and of that, 1.2% (0.03% of all water) is surface fresh water. Of the surface fresh water, 30% is groundwater, and 69% is currently locked up in glaciers and icecaps.

The more fresh surface water is used, the more it becomes contaminated. Industrial use is a major issue. For example, hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” takes about 5 million gallons of water to frack a well once. The water becomes highly contaminated, and treating it is extremely expensive.

Some countries with large populations are experiencing drought conditions, yet much of their water is contaminated. About 60% of China’s groundwater — which makes up about one-third of the country’s water resources — was rated unfit for human consumption by China’s Ministry of Land and Resources. In India, 80% of sewage flows into rivers without being treated, according to a 2013 study by the Centre for Science and Environment.

Accessing water in underground aquifers is also a challenge. Boreholes can be neglected for years or can be vandalized (sometimes as a result of war). In such cases, wells need to be rehabilitated. In other cases, springs are unprotected, which allows the water to become contaminated. Many communities lack the financial resources to hire engineers and well drillers with the expertise to access and protect the water. Where water is accessible, commercial applications, such as farming, often deplete the supply.

Finally, the availability of ongoing service and support for communities that have previously benefited from safe-water projects is an important consideration.

“For every community that receives first-time access, another community somewhere else is losing the access they once had because of lack of maintenance or continued investment in their water system,” says Stan Patyrak, vice president of strategy and development at The Water Project.

Innovative Solutions

In developing countries, not-for-profit organizations, such as The Water Project, collaborate with local organizations to help improve their capacity to provide sustainable water and sanitation projects. The Water Project’s programs in sub-Saharan Africa focus on water delivery and service, community engagement, hygiene, sanitation training, and ongoing monitoring. Programs sometimes use outside (private sector) hydrogeologists, engineers, and consultants. Moreover, local businesses supply spare parts and provide ongoing maintenance.

Drilling and repairing wells, building dams, protecting springs, and harvesting rain are often the easy part. The main challenge is keeping water flowing. People from the community, local and national governments, and the private sector all have a role to play.

In developed countries, public authorities are addressing the problem through cultural change and technological innovation. Consider the example of Las Vegas. Of 280 major US cities, Las Vegas ranks at the bottom of the list in terms of rainfall, which may explain why it is one of the most water-efficient cities on Earth. Its public authority has taken steps to protect the availability of fresh water by regulating where grass can be put on golf courses, for instance, and what kind of water can be used in fountains.

In the US, California is a case study for drought. In some municipalities, especially near coastlines, salt water is intruding into the groundwater. If too much fresh water is being taken out of the groundwater, sea water will seep in and make the groundwater brackish or saline. It then cannot be used for agriculture, drinking, or hygiene without treatment.

One potential solution frequently used in the Middle East is desalination; the problem with this process, however, is that it is not environmentally friendly. Desalination plants suck water from the ocean, put the contents through a reverse osmosis process, and then dump the briny waste back into the ocean.

Desalination is also energy intensive and reliant on fossil fuels, although companies are starting to use solar energy and wind to power the plants. In California, WaterFX will soon open the first commercial solar-powered desalination plant. The modular technology is located right where it is needed, in this case in the Central Valley — the heart of the state’s agriculture. Rather than processing ocean water and then transporting it inland, the company recycles unusable, salty drainage water from irrigation into potable water for use by local water districts.

“Amazingly, this process changes farmers from being huge water consumers into water producers. They can actually get paid for their water,” says Rona Fried, CEO of SustainableBusiness.com. “And the resulting clean water costs about the same as what farmers pay today, much less than water desalinated from the ocean.”

Other methods are being used to minimize the amount of water used in agriculture. Drip irrigation alone can reduce water usage by 20%. Software and sensors allow farmers to track moisture levels in the soil (minimizing irrigation), and drones are beginning to be used to monitor soil conditions from above. Farmers will likely switch to crops that match their local water conditions.

California is turning to other innovative solutions as well. Orange County is implementing artificial groundwater recharge systems, which route surface water back into the groundwater, as well as using treated wastewater for such purposes as drinking and agriculture. Los Angeles recently dropped 96 million “shade balls,” which float on water and block sunlight, into a reservoir holding 3.3 billion gallons of water, thereby reducing evaporation and making the water less susceptible to algae, bacterial growth, and chemical reactions.

Investment Opportunities

As US water and sewer systems deteriorate, an estimated $1 trillion in new investments will be needed to rehabilitate water infrastructure over the next 25 years, according to the American Water Works Association. Further, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the cumulative capital investment gap for US water infrastructure will rise from $100 billion in 2015 to nearly $200 billion in 2040.

“The massive amount of investment required provides an opportunity to invest in municipal securities over the next 20 to 30 years,” says Zareh Baghdassarian, municipal and corporate credit analyst at NewOak Capital. “Four of the top five issuers — California, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania — offer domestic investors a double tax-exempt status on returns, and the issuers have high credit ratings.”

For example, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s municipal bonds (5s in 2044) yield around 3.5%, which equates to almost 8% when the double tax exemption is counted.

Municipalities have contracts with regulated utilities that provide water to residents and treat the water. Water utilities are public companies, so investors may trade in their stocks and bonds. In addition, they can invest in public companies — which supply the industry with pumps, pipes, filtration and treatment systems, and other technology — as well as water-related technology companies, such as biotech firms. It is also possible to make private equity investments in small companies that are innovating in this space. Of course, because smaller companies have different financial characteristics than larger public ones, returns may be more volatile.

Another recent development comes for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector. The PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio ETF is based on the NASDAQ OMX US Water Index. The constituents of the index are selected by Rona Fried (CEO of SustainableBusiness.com). She first looks at how much of the company’s revenue is driven by water solutions, shooting for a minimum of 50%. Companies that are considered leaders in the industry may also be included, even if water is not their dominant product. She then looks at how a company runs its water business from a sustainability perspective. For example, do wastewater treatment companies use chemicals to treat water, or are they using advanced technologies that treat water biologically? Are they improving the energy efficiency of their plants and incorporating water recycling and/or bio-gas?

As Gorte points out, investors hoping to earn a return need to keep in mind that any company, security, or idea is capable of underperforming depending on economic factors and the financial/business cycle. Some industries are more cyclical than others. Utilities tend to have less cyclical volatility, and technology companies may be more volatile. Ultimately, Gorte believes investors should look for well-managed companies.

“There’s a lot of innovation in how to move water around and treat it and make it available more efficiently with less loss,” she concludes. “That’s a nice, long-term secular growth prospect.”

By Sherree DeCovny, a freelance journalist specializing in finance and technology.