Advances in Water Treatment and Enviromental Management

APPLYING TECHNOLOGY IN A PRIVATISED ENVIRONMENT 73clear water holding tank. The speed with which this advanced form of watertreatment plant can be installed enables a complete State or Region to becompletely serviced by piped, treated water within a period as short as 12months. The “advance” enables fabrication both overseas or in the recipientmarket dependent on the availability of local steel plate or off-shore funding.To date nearly 200 of these Towers have been installed in West Africa andthe Far East and are incorporated within projects totalling over $500 million.The smallest Tower, which can be erected in one day, can be suppliedcomplete for approximately $25,000.To over-simplify the benefits of the Tower, it can be said that it is aconventional reservoir with a water treatment plant supplied free ofadditional cost!Where 2/3rds of the world are still without piped, treated water, this advancein water treatment will make a substantial impact because of its simplicityof operation as the whole unit’s basic function is operated by one multiportvalve.The Tower is not an advance in water technology as conventionalsedimentation and filtration rates are used.The environmental impact of the conventional reinforced concreteconstruction is such that it is difficult to remove or enlarge when obsolete,whereas, of course, steel can have an after-life and is easily removable.The Biwater Tower is only one instance of dozens of new advances in bothwater and effluent treatment where engineering excellence has to be balancedwith financial engineering to enable both the developed and the Third Worldto make piped, treated water affordable.In conclusionProfit now ranks in priority with water and effluent standards. The aboveexamples of new technology are but a few of the hundreds of opportunitiesopen to the design engineer to make every penny spent, count.The true meaning of an ‘engineer’ is now back in fashion.