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EEA report warns of water overuse in Europe
NEWS
EEA report warns of water overuse in Europe
A
new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) confirms that in many parts of Europe water use is unsustainable and provides recommendations for a new approach to managing water resources. The EEA report, entitled ‘Water Resources Across Europe – Confronting Water Scarcity and Drought’ highlights that while southern Europe continues to experience the greatest water scarcity problems, water stress is growing in parts of the north too. Moreover, climate change will cause the severity and frequency of droughts to increase in the future, exacerbating water stress, especially during the summer months. Excluding illegal water use, Europe abstracts around 285 km3 of freshwater annually, representing on average 5300 m3 per capita, which is roughly equivalent to the volume of two Olympic-size swimming pools. ‘We are living beyond our means when it comes to water. The short-term solution to water scarcity has been to extract ever greater amounts of water from our surface and groundwater assets. Over-exploitation is not sustainable. It has a heavy impact on the quality and quantity of the remaining water as well as the ecosystems which depend on it. We have to cut demand, minimise the amount of water that we are extracting and increase the efficiency of its use,’ warned Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of EEA. Shifting the management focus from increasing supply to minimising demand needs to involve various different policies and practices. For example, authorities should create incentives for greater use of alternative water supplies, such as treated wastewater, greywater, and ‘harvested’ rainwater, to help reduce water stress. Governments should implement drought management plans more extensively and focus on risk rather than crisis management. In all sectors, including agriculture, water should be priced according to the volume used. Leakage in public water supply systems also must be addressed. In parts of Europe, water loss via leakage can exceed 40% of total supplies. Measures to raise public awareness, such as eco-labelling, eco-certification, education programmes in schools, are also essential to realise sustainable water use. 4
Membrane Technology
In Europe as a whole, 44% of abstraction is used for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 21% for public water supply and 11% for industry, says the EEA. However, these figures mask significant differences in sectoral water use across the continent. In southern Europe, for example, agriculture accounts for 60% of the total water abstracted and reaches as much as 80% in certain areas. Across Europe, surface water, such as lakes and rivers, provides 81% of the total freshwater abstracted and is the predominant water source for industry, energy and agriculture. By contrast, public water supply relies mostly on groundwater because its quality is generally higher. Almost all water used in energy production is returned to a water body, whereas most of the water abstracted for agriculture is not. Desalination has become a fast growing alternative to conventional sources of water, particularly in water-stressed regions of Europe. Its high energy needs and the resulting brine must be taken into account, however, when assessing desalination’s overall impact on the environment. The EEA, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, helps achieve a significant and measurable improvement in Europe’s environment by providing timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-makers and the public. Contact: European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Tel: +45 33 36 71 00, http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/waterresources-across-europe
ERI improves energy efficiency of mobile desalination plants
E
nergy Recovery Inc (ERI) of San Leandro, California, USA, reports that its Pressure Exchanger (PX) energy recovery technology is now being applied to mobile desalination plants to improve their energy efficiency. As water supplies from rivers, aquifers and lakes dwindle to critical levels, water scarcity is a serious concern. In areas where drought effects have been intensifying, water supply equipment manufacturers have found a quick solution to the problem – the use of mobile water units. Equipped with high-pressure pumps, seawater membranes and energy recovery devices these transportable plants offer a way of tempo-
rarily dealing with potentially big water shortages, using small-scale desalination. When the need for water is urgent, a fully-equipped desalination container has many advantages over traditional, land-based plants which require capital-intensive investments. Furthermore, mobile plants are portable which is important should an emergency arise or changes occur in the weather or politics. ERI says that its PX technology is ideal for mobile emergency water trailers in that it offers flexibility, provides energy savings and has a small footprint. Within the past six months it has shipped over 170 PX units for mobile water trailers with production capacities ranging in size from 1450 m3 (380 000 gallons) per day to 6000 m3 (1.6 million gallons) per day in some instances. These mobile plants offer temporary aid to thirsty populations in emergency situations. They are being shipped to farming communities, military operations, and hotels and resorts in regions that include the Far East, Middle East, Australia and the Caribbean. GG Pique, ERI President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: ‘When you run into a water shortage situation and need water in a hurry, solving the problem with multiple, small portable emergency units in trailers gets you to a solution a lot quicker than building a big plant from scratch.’ ERI energy recovery devices are designed to make desalination affordable by significantly reducing energy consumption. Its PX device is a rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the high-pressure reject stream of sea-water reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems at up to 98% efficiency, with no down time or scheduled maintenance. Contact: Energy Recovery Inc, 1908 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577, USA. Tel: +1 510 483 7370, www.energyrecovery.com
Pall Life Sciences displays its wares at INTERPHEX 2009
P
all Life Sciences, a business unit of filtration, separation and purification company Pall Corp, introduced and exhibited a range of products and technologies at INTERPHEX 2009, which was held recently in New York, USA. The company unveiled its Stax filter system for demanding pre-filtration and clarification processes in bio-pharmaceutical applications.
May 2009
EEA report warns of water overuse in Europe
A
new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) confirms that in many parts of Europe water use is unsustainable and provides recommendations for a new approach to managing water resources. The EEA report, entitled ‘Water Resources Across Europe – Confronting Water Scarcity and Drought’ highlights that while southern Europe continues to experience the greatest water scarcity problems, water stress is growing in parts of the north too. Moreover, climate change will cause the severity and frequency of droughts to increase in the future, exacerbating water stress, especially during the summer months. Excluding illegal water use, Europe abstracts around 285 km3 of freshwater annually, representing on average 5300 m3 per capita, which is roughly equivalent to the volume of two Olympic-size swimming pools. ‘We are living beyond our means when it comes to water. The short-term solution to water scarcity has been to extract ever greater amounts of water from our surface and groundwater assets. Over-exploitation is not sustainable. It has a heavy impact on the quality and quantity of the remaining water as well as the ecosystems which depend on it. We have to cut demand, minimise the amount of water that we are extracting and increase the efficiency of its use,’ warned Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of EEA. Shifting the management focus from increasing supply to minimising demand needs to involve various different policies and practices. For example, authorities should create incentives for greater use of alternative water supplies, such as treated wastewater, greywater, and ‘harvested’ rainwater, to help reduce water stress. Governments should implement drought management plans more extensively and focus on risk rather than crisis management. In all sectors, including agriculture, water should be priced according to the volume used. Leakage in public water supply systems also must be addressed. In parts of Europe, water loss via leakage can exceed 40% of total supplies. Measures to raise public awareness, such as eco-labelling, eco-certification, education programmes in schools, are also essential to realise sustainable water use. 4
Membrane Technology
In Europe as a whole, 44% of abstraction is used for energy production, 24% for agriculture, 21% for public water supply and 11% for industry, says the EEA. However, these figures mask significant differences in sectoral water use across the continent. In southern Europe, for example, agriculture accounts for 60% of the total water abstracted and reaches as much as 80% in certain areas. Across Europe, surface water, such as lakes and rivers, provides 81% of the total freshwater abstracted and is the predominant water source for industry, energy and agriculture. By contrast, public water supply relies mostly on groundwater because its quality is generally higher. Almost all water used in energy production is returned to a water body, whereas most of the water abstracted for agriculture is not. Desalination has become a fast growing alternative to conventional sources of water, particularly in water-stressed regions of Europe. Its high energy needs and the resulting brine must be taken into account, however, when assessing desalination’s overall impact on the environment. The EEA, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, helps achieve a significant and measurable improvement in Europe’s environment by providing timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-makers and the public. Contact: European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Tel: +45 33 36 71 00, http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/waterresources-across-europe
ERI improves energy efficiency of mobile desalination plants
E
nergy Recovery Inc (ERI) of San Leandro, California, USA, reports that its Pressure Exchanger (PX) energy recovery technology is now being applied to mobile desalination plants to improve their energy efficiency. As water supplies from rivers, aquifers and lakes dwindle to critical levels, water scarcity is a serious concern. In areas where drought effects have been intensifying, water supply equipment manufacturers have found a quick solution to the problem – the use of mobile water units. Equipped with high-pressure pumps, seawater membranes and energy recovery devices these transportable plants offer a way of tempo-
rarily dealing with potentially big water shortages, using small-scale desalination. When the need for water is urgent, a fully-equipped desalination container has many advantages over traditional, land-based plants which require capital-intensive investments. Furthermore, mobile plants are portable which is important should an emergency arise or changes occur in the weather or politics. ERI says that its PX technology is ideal for mobile emergency water trailers in that it offers flexibility, provides energy savings and has a small footprint. Within the past six months it has shipped over 170 PX units for mobile water trailers with production capacities ranging in size from 1450 m3 (380 000 gallons) per day to 6000 m3 (1.6 million gallons) per day in some instances. These mobile plants offer temporary aid to thirsty populations in emergency situations. They are being shipped to farming communities, military operations, and hotels and resorts in regions that include the Far East, Middle East, Australia and the Caribbean. GG Pique, ERI President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: ‘When you run into a water shortage situation and need water in a hurry, solving the problem with multiple, small portable emergency units in trailers gets you to a solution a lot quicker than building a big plant from scratch.’ ERI energy recovery devices are designed to make desalination affordable by significantly reducing energy consumption. Its PX device is a rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the high-pressure reject stream of sea-water reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems at up to 98% efficiency, with no down time or scheduled maintenance. Contact: Energy Recovery Inc, 1908 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577, USA. Tel: +1 510 483 7370, www.energyrecovery.com
Pall Life Sciences displays its wares at INTERPHEX 2009
P
all Life Sciences, a business unit of filtration, separation and purification company Pall Corp, introduced and exhibited a range of products and technologies at INTERPHEX 2009, which was held recently in New York, USA. The company unveiled its Stax filter system for demanding pre-filtration and clarification processes in bio-pharmaceutical applications.
May 2009