Water & Wastewater Asia January/February 2021

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 

www.waterwastewaterasia.com 

DIGITAL TWINS: Better-informed 

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Leaky pipes a thing of the past 

What’s next for cities after the 

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January / February 2021 • waterwastewaterasia.com 

THE NEWS 7

2 CONTENTS 

52 

29 

17 

CONTENTS 

04 Editor’s Note 

48 SWA Newsletter 

60 Recap 

63 What’s Next? 

64 Advertisers’ Index 

5 MINUTES WITH 

15 DIGITAL TWINS: Better-informed 


17 Har Ghar Jal: Water for all 

IN THE FIELD 

19 Mitigating capital upgrades using 

DNA sequencing 

22 Emergency flood control structures 

for improved health and safety of 

residents in Mandalay 

24 Oil & gas company reduces 

uncertainty and optimises chemical 

injection with Micro Motion ELITE 

flow meter 

January / February 2021 • waterwastewaterasia.com

CONTENTS 3 

37 45 

FOCUS 

25 Unlocking water data for all 

stakeholders 

27 Growing industrial businesses in 

South East Asia with smart water 

management 

29 Leaky pipes a thing of the past 

32 Remotely exploitable ICS 

vulnerabilities on rise in the age of 

COVID-19 

VIEWPOINT 

34 Near or far, forests can protect 

water for cities 

37 What’s next for cities after the 

pandemic? 

39 Increased vigilance in water quality 

HOTSEAT 

47 A matter of scale 

ON OUR RADAR 

52 A solution 100% suited to social 

distancing 

54 SOFREL NEO: The new smart and 

4G connected data logger for water 

networks 

56 CST’s simpler but smarter inline 

rotary fine screening responds 

efficiently to hugely diverse 

municipal needs 

58 MANN+HUMMEL membrane 

solutions earns largest order in 

BIO-CEL® MBR history 

59 Technical innovation in mixing and 

agitation processes 

43 Top five considerations for a 

brownfield facility upgrade 

45 Sustainability in the new year 


FROM THE EDITOR 

WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA: 

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY 

Happy new year, everybody! 

Au revoir 2020, 

bonjour 2021! 

PANG YANRONG 

Senior Editor 

As I sit down and write the first editor’s note of the year, I realise that 

we are still going to face the unknowns and possibilities of year 2021. 

Vaccination has started for some countries and we’re keeping our 

fingers crossed that this will help to kickstart a new normal, or at least 

ease the economic downturn. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, the water 

and wastewater industry has done so much in the past few months. 

For instance, we see KSB’s Amacan pumps used for flood control in 

Mandalay, Myanmar, to successfully resolve problems of a collapsed 

embankment (p.22). 

PABLO SINGAPORE 

Publisher 

Senior Editor 

Assistant Editor 

Business Development Manager 

Graphic Designer 

Circulation Manager 

PABLO BEIJING 

General Manager 

William Pang 

williampang@pabloasia.com 

Pang Yanrong 

yanrong@pabloasia.com 

Natalie Chew 

natalie@pabloasia.com 

YanJun Pang 

yanjun@pabloasia.com 

Goh Meng Yong 

mengyong@pabloasia.com 

Edwin De Souza 

edwin@pabloasia.com 

Shu Ai Ling 

circulation@pabloasia.com 

Ellen Gao 

pablobeijing@163.com 

Two Micro Motion ELITE CMFS010M Coriolis flow meters from Emerson 

were purchased by an oil and gas company in Thailand to provide 

accurate and repeatable measurement across its entire flow range 

(5lph – 90lph) (p.24). In fact, the operators were able to reduce or 

eliminate over-injection of biocide into the process lines. And once the 

initial test results proved to be satisfactory, they purchased 20 more 

units of the same flow meters with 2700 transmitters, and standardised 

the configuration for biocide flow measurement. 

Such is the strength of the industry. 

In addition, we have Evan Jayawiyanto from Ecolab, South East Asia 

& AVP and GM of Nalco Water Division sharing with us about what 

effective water management means in South East Asia and how we 

should develop water management solutions that focused on improving 

the quality of both raw water and wastewater discharge, especially in 

this pandemic which has shown how important it is (p.27). 

So stay connected with us – virtually, of course – as we bring you more 

exciting developments in the new year. I’m sure none of us missed 2020 

so let’s welcome 2021 with a fresh, clean slate! 

Cheers, 

LET'S CONNECT! 

@waterwastewaterasia 

 

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THE NEWS 5 

and increasing demand for water stability. It 

covers the addition of two more production 

lines to the Medan plant enabled by SUEZ’s 

innovative Degrémont Compact Units (UCDs). 

SUEZ has announced the official commissioning of 

the Medan water production plant extension project in North Sumatra, Indonesia 

SUEZ commissions Medan drinking water 

plant extension project in Indonesia 

SUEZ has announced the official 

commissioning of the Medan water 

production plant extension project in 

North Sumatra, Indonesia. The project has 

successfully ramped up the plant’s total 

water production to 77,760m 3 per day to 

serve the city of Medan, the third largest 

city in Indonesia with a population of 2.2 

million, with safe and reliable drinking 

water for a renewed duration of 25 years 

until 2045. The project contributes to 

the country’s National Medium Term 

Development Plan (RPJMN 2020-2024) that 

aims to boost water infrastructure. 

SUEZ has been operating the Medan plant 

through the joint venture PT. Tirta Lyonnaise 

Medan (TLM) with PDAM Tirtanadi, the water 

government enterprise of the Province of 

North Sumatera under a Build, Operate and 

Transfer (BOT) contract since 2001. The 

extension project, of which construction 

started in December 2017, is a response 

to the city’s rapidly growing population 

Indian solar desalination plant to 

provide water, jobs for local women 

A water desalination plant powered by solar 

energy in a small east Indian town, backed 

by beer maker Carlsberg Group, could be a 

sustainable option for other coastal areas 

where rising sea levels and more frequent 

storms are making groundwater saltier. 

The plant being built by Desolenator in the 

Sundarbans delta in West Bengal state will 

start operating next year. It will sell clean 

water at a subsidised rate and hire more 

than a dozen women in Pathar Pratima, a 

company official said. 

The social enterprise model, with all 

proceeds going towards the salaries and 

training of the women and maintenance of 

the water distribution centre, is essential for 

this poor community, said Louise Bleach at 

Maastricht-based Desolenator. 

“Water purification technologies can be 

expensive, and often people who are most 

deprived of clean water and in need of these 

systems cannot afford them,” said Bleach, 

development and impact lead at Desolenator, 

which is also building a plant in Dubai. 

“Solar-powered desalination technology is 

sustainable and suitable for communities 

experiencing brackish water or heavily 

contaminated water even in off-grid, remote 

and challenging environments,” she told the 

Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

The India project – the first for Desolenator 

– is part of Carlsberg’s plan to halve water 

usage at its breweries by 2030 and conserve 

shared water resources in high-risk areas. 

The Danish company has identified all seven 

of its Indian breweries as high-risk sites 

and is using different technologies and 

water-conservation measures to tackle the 

problem. 

The Sundarbans plant, which will produce 

about 20,000 litres of clean water per day 

Francois Fevrier, CEO of Water, SUEZ Asia, 

said, “SUEZ is committed to driving the 

long-term water stability and improving 

sanitation in South East Asia. Indonesia is a 

key market for growth for SUEZ in the region 

and the Group will continue to increase its 

investments, especially in water PPPs. We 

will also deliver the high-quality services 

that PDAM Tirtanadi entrusted us with, a 

partnership that started in 2000 between 

PDAM Tirtanadi and SUEZ, to help accelerate 

the infrastructural development for Indonesia 

as a whole.” 

Since entering Indonesia in 1953, SUEZ’s 

footprint has grown extensively, completing 

more than 190 water and wastewater 

treatment plants, and more than 300 

throughout South East Asia. 

for the town, can help set “the foundation 

for all other development goals – health, 

education, income generation and rural 

female empowerment,” Carlsberg said. 

Local people now buy packaged water or 

water sold by private companies in trucks, 

often at “extortionate prices,” said Anurag 

Gupta, a programme coordinator at the 

WaterAid charity which is also a partner in the 

project. 

The task of fetching drinking water often 

falls to women, who may have to travel long 

distances and also bear the brunt of illnesses 

from contaminated water, he noted. 

“The women suffer the most, so we are 

training them to work in the distribution 

centre, and to increase awareness of the need 

for clean water in the community,” he said. 

“The plant will not only solve the problem of 

contaminated water, but also provide jobs 

for women and increase the community’s 

resilience in an area that is facing major 

climate change impacts,” he added. 


6 THE NEWS 

AHKP proposes pandemic-curbing measures 

The Association of Hong Kong 

Professionals (AHKP) has put forward 

two recommendations on how the HKSAR 

government should introduce innovative 

measures to effectively handle current 

virus outbreak, so that Hong Kong can 

reach a target of zero community infection 

numbers as soon as possible. 

The first recommendation is a smart vent 

protector (SVP), which will aim to improve 

current ventilating pipe systems and 

achieve sustainable public health safety, 

setting new standards for building safety 

and alleviating concerns voiced by the 

public regarding exhaust pipes. 

The second recommendation is the 

establishment of a long-term wastewater 

monitoring system to detect community 

infections at the source, and effectively 

curb local outbreaks. 

According to the AHKP, it is necessary to 

prevent the spread of the coronavirus in 

buildings and communities in Hong Kong 

by stopping it at the source. Establishing 

a long-term wastewater monitoring 

system to detect any new coronavirus in 

housing estates, nursing homes, hotels 

and similar buildings in Hong Kong 

can further prevent any spread. With 

reference to research reports by teams 

from different countries in recent months, 

it is apparent that wastewater monitoring 

in communities is an effective tool for 

identifying transmission routes. Some 

cities have already set up dashboards to 

display the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 

in wastewater. 

Furthermore, AHKP recommends that 

government introduce policies that 

support, organise and train professionals 

in various related industries, including 

registered laboratories with qualifications 

to collect environmental samples of 

any coronavirus, property management 

officers, building services engineers, and 

building surveyors, etc., to assist in taking 

samples in a standardised manner from 

underground drain pipes and manholes 

related to a building’s underground 

drainage system. The samples collected 

then can be sent to a registered laboratory 

for analysis. 

By doing so, the Centre for Health 

Protection can immediately receive the 

relevant reports for systematic assessment 

and justify their decision for a regional 

compulsory testing plan with other 

pandemic prevention measures. This can be 

one of the effective monitoring measures 

to help stopping the spread of COVID-19 to 

achieve the goal of virus elimination as well 

as provide more job opportunities. 

Dr Pong Chiu Fai, executive vice chairman 

of AHKP, said, “Establishing a long-term 

wastewater monitoring system to detect 

any coronavirus not only can detect 

outbreaks, but also fight a pandemic 

effectively. Under a severe pandemic 

situation, the best way to cut off all invisible 

transmission chains is to implement drastic 

measures such mandatory testing and 

reducing the mobility of citizens. Their 

livelihood can only be restored if cases 

are eliminated as soon as possible, and 

this will lead Hong Kong out of the current 

situation.” 

Mr Samson Wong, chairman of AHKP, 

believes that the traditional contingency 

plans for dealing with infectious diseases 

does not seem to be applicable to the 

COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mainland could manage to have close 

monitoring the situation, and cities locked 

down under certain circumstances, so that 

a large number of tests for the virus can be 

organised to suppress the pandemic. 

However, Mr Wong also commented that 

although the SAR Government has not 

been able to follow the same approach in 

full due to differences in the social system, 

it should arrange adequate resources 

in a timely manner and choose strict 

principles of epidemic prevention and 

more surveillance methods to continuously 

innovate measures to deal with the 

pandemic. Everyone should carry on with 

the basic goal of eliminating all cases 

because, once measures are relaxed, the 

situation may rebound and become more 

severe again. Further resources will then 

have to be used to fight the disease and 

recovery will be delayed. 

The recommendations of AHKP include 

the use of the test results and scientific 

analysis of the virus in wastewater 

to assess infection trends in specific 

communities. This will help improve 

existing clinical and laboratory monitoring 

data, and concentrate resources for more 

effective usage; buildings and communities 

can also carry out better environmental 

management. 

The Association of Hong Kong Professionals proposes innovative measures to curb pandemic: 

(from left) Ir Fredrick Keung (Vice Chairman),Sr Edgar Li (Vice Chairman), 

Sr Samsong Wong (Chairman), Dr Jeffery Pong (General Vice Chairman), 

Ir Allen Law (Vice Chairman) 


New Alfa Laval CM wireless 

condition monitor boosts 

process uptime while 

protecting plant equipment 

Alfa Laval is introducing the Alfa Laval CM, a condition 

monitoring system for rotating equipment to its portfolio of 

sensing and control products. 

The Alfa Laval CM monitors the operating condition of 

rotating equipment, such as pumps, mixers and agitators, 

used in hygienic process environments. Compact, easy 

to use and easy to install, it tracks equipment vibration, 

temperature and total run-time – three of the most 

widely used parameters for detecting and diagnosing 

equipment faults. This enables manufacturers in the dairy, 

food, beverage, home-personal care and pharmaceutical 

industries to protect critical assets, ensure process uptime, 

improve worker safety, reduce maintenance costs and gain 

competitive advantage. 

“Digitalisation is advancing rapidly. To remain competitive, 

the hygienic process industries clearly must keep pace,” 

said John Walker, portfolio manager, Pumps, Alfa Laval. 

“With the CM, Alfa Laval is taking a decisive step towards 

Industry 4.0 and working closely with customers to develop 

relevant connectivity solutions going forward and further 

enhance the customer experience.” 

Powering the Alfa Laval CM are equipment sensors that 

transmit data to a connected compatible mobile device 

for predictive maintenance analysis, thereby supporting 

decision-making with advanced diagnostics such as trend 

monitoring. Maintenance staff can check equipment 

vibration and temperature – either by visible notification 

on an LED indicator on the monitor or through an intuitive 

mobile app on a connected iOS or Android device within a 

20-metre range during a periodic walk-around. 

Trend analysis and FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) vibration 

data assist in diagnosing faults. These also enable 

operators to use the CM to make informed decisions on 

scheduling maintenance and process shutdown based on 

actionable information in addition to actual run-time and 

time to next service. All in all, the CM helps protect assets, 

improve worker safety, minimise unplanned downtime, 

maximize plant efficiency, and lower total cost of ownership. 

Initially the CM has been optimised for use with Alfa Laval 

SX and SRU positive displacement pumps and, with product 

adaptation, can monitor other rotating equipment.

8 THE NEWS 

Indian beach awarded Blue 

Flag with Xylem’s water 

monitoring solution 

India’s Environmental 

Ministry recently set out to 

earn a Blue Flag accreditation 

for one beach in each of the 

country’s coastal states. To 

earn the Blue Flag, beaches 

must meet strict water 

quality and environmental 

standards. With Xylem’s 

water monitoring solution 

deployed at Shivrajpur Beach, 

India has now received the 

Blue Flag for this beach and 

seven others. 

On the edge of the Arabian 

Sea in the Indian state of 

Gujarat, Shivrajpur Beach 

is an arc of white sand and 

turquoise waters just north of 

the ancient Hindu pilgrimage 

sites of Dwarka. Unlike many 

beaches in India, Shivrajpur 

is far from industrial sites and 

megacities, which helps keep 

the local environment clean. 

The beach’s relatively rural 

location and excellent water 

quality has made Shivrajpur 

Beach a strong contender for 

the coveted title of Blue Flag 

Beach, a global eco-label 

that recognises top-quality 

beaches, marinas and 

boating tourism operations. 

INDIA’S PLAN TO 

APPLY FOR BLUE FLAG 

ACCREDITATION 

Since 1985, the Blue Flag 

programme recognises 

beaches that meet a long 

list of criteria, from water 

quality and sustainable 

environmental management 

to extensive safety measures. 

Administered by the 

Foundation for Environmental 

Education (FEE) in Denmark, 

the Blue Flag programme 

has recognised more than 

4,000 sites in nearly 50 

countries around the world. 

Communities prize the Blue 

Flag because it attracts 

tourists and reflects strong 

community support for the 

local maritime environment. 

When India’s Environmental 

Ministry set out to earn a Blue 

Flag accreditation for one 

beach in each of the country’s 

coastal states, Gujarat 

officials focused their efforts 

on Shivrajpur Beach. The 

Gujarat Ecology Commission 

(GEC) established a Beach 

Management Committee 

in Dwarka and began the 

process of applying for the 

award. 

WATER QUALITY 

MONITORING AT 

SHIVRAJPUR BEACH 

One of the key requirements 

for accreditation is to 

establish water quality 

monitoring. With funds from 

the Indian government’s 

Integrated Coastal Zone 

Management Programme, 

the commission worked 

with Xylem’s partner A&S 

Creations to select the 

best technologies for this 

application. 

“The GEC scientists 

selected Xylem’s YSI brand 

EMM68 buoy because they 

were impressed with its 

performance,” said Rajiv 

Bhatia, analytics manager of 

The eight beaches in India which were awarded the Blue Flag certification. 

Photo credit: Blue Flag 

Xylem. “It is also lightweight 

enough for two technicians 

in a small boat to deploy 

and retrieve without divers, 

reducing installation and 

maintenance costs.” 

Mounted to the buoy is a YSI 

EXO2 multiparameter water 

quality sonde. Through its 

six sensor ports, the EXO2 

continually measures every 

15 minutes: temperature, 

conductivity, salinity, turbidity 

and total dissolved solids, 

dissolved oxygen, pH, 

oxidative-reductive potential, 

chlorophyll, fluorescent 

dissolved organic matter and 

phycoerythrin – a pigment of 

blue-green algae. The sonde’s 

seventh port houses a central 

anti-fouling wiper, which 

helps ensure accuracy and 

lengthen the interval between 

maintenance visits. 

“The EMM68 coastal buoy 

and EXO2 sonde are ideal for 

a deployment like Shivrajpur 

Beach, where durability, 

reliability and versatility 

are so important,” said Dr 

Stephanie A. Smith, YSI’s 

Product Segment Manager 

for Outdoor Water Quality. 

“The Gujarat Environmental 

Commission now has a steady, 

massive flow of continuous 

water quality data that will 

not only provide the quality 

and level of detail required 

to participate in the Blue 

Flag programme, but that 

could also someday provide 

great insight into water 

quality in one of western 

India’s most beautiful coastal 

communities.” 

INDIA AWARDED 

BLUE FLAG FOR EIGHT 

BEACHES 

In October 2020, India’s plan 

to certify Blue Flag beaches 

was met with unprecedented 

success – eight of its beaches 

were awarded Blue Flag 

status, including Shivrajpur 

Beach. 

“Proud moment for India; all 

eight beaches recommended 

by government gets coveted 

International #Blueflag 

Certification,” wrote 

India’s Union Minister of 

Environment, Forest and 

Climate Change Shri Prakash 

Javadekar on Twitter. 

“The #Blueflag certification 

accorded to India’s eight 

beaches by an international 

jury,” he continued, “is also a 

global recognition of India’s 

conservation and sustainable 

development efforts.” 


THE NEWS 9 

Advanced water purification technologies promise to 

deliver clean, safe water to global population 

Frost & Sullivan’s recent 

analysis, Technological 

Advancements in Domestic 

Water Purification, has 

found that improving water 

utilities and enhancing water 

purification technologies are 

necessary because a large 

proportion of the global 

population lacks proper 

access to safe water services. 

This increases the demand 

for the most efficient water 

purification system because 

water quality characteristics 

change with the water 

source, and a “one-size-fitsall” 

solution for domestic 

water purification cannot be 

adopted worldwide. Therefore, 

an efficient domestic water 

purification system requires 

low-cost and energy-efficient 

technologies to supply fresh 

water and reduce waterborne 

diseases. 

“With membrane and UV 

radiation-based water 

purification systems holding a 

significant share of the global 

domestic water purification 

market—up to 90%— 

researchers and stakeholders 

believe that technological 

advancements facilitating 

membrane permeability and 

high conversion are required 

for greater adoption of these 

technologies, especially 

in remote locations,” said 

Weihao Hung, TechVision 

Research Analyst at Frost & 

Sullivan. 

“Further, innovations which 

facilitate the integration of 

artificial intelligence (AI), 

machine learning, and smart 

sensors are also necessary 

to increase performance 

efficiency and to enhance the 

market growth of domestic 

water purifiers.” 

Hung added, “The unique 

materials, advanced 

technologies, and their 

convergence with other 

purification technologies 

present great opportunities 

to revolutionise the water 

purification industry in the 

next three to five years. Going 

forward, companies will 

redefine industry boundaries 

by shifting the focus from 

individual technology to crossindustry 

technologies.” 

The increasing demand for 

fresh water and the negative 

impacts of waterborne 

diseases foster market 

growth and present lucrative 

prospects for market 

participants in the domestic 

water purification space. 

Participants should: 

• Offer better solutions to 

meet new environmental 

regulations, such as 

less waste production 

and better purification 

performance. 

• Deploy technologies with 

the potential to reshape 

the industry, such as smart 

sensors and AI, to enhance 

the market growth of 

domestic water purifiers. 

• Review market gaps 

and form research and 

development (R&D) 

partnerships to accelerate 

product development. 

Technological Advancements 

in Domestic Water Purification 

is the latest addition to Frost 

& Sullivan’s Technical Insights 

research and analyses available 

through the Frost & Sullivan 

Leadership Council, which 

helps organisations identify 

a continuous flow of growth 

opportunities to succeed in an 

unpredictable future. 


10 THE NEWS 

NX Filtration to supply 

hollow fiber nanofiltration 

membranes for drinking water 

plant in Dumai, Indonesia 

NX Filtration, specialist in innovative hollow fiber membrane 

solutions, was selected to supply its hollow fiber nanofiltration 

membranes for the optimisation of the Dumai City Water 

Treatment Plant in Indonesia. The project, for the Ministry 

of Public Works and Human Settlement of the Republic of 

Indonesia, the World Banks’s National Urban Water Supply 

Program (NUWSP) and the Local Government of Dumai City, 

contributes to the goal of providing access to improved water 

sources. 

NX Filtration, specialist in innovative hollow fiber membrane 

solutions, was selected to supply its hollow fiber nanofiltration 

membranes for the optimisation of the Dumai City Water Treatment 

Plant in Indonesia 

The nanofiltration system for the city of Dumai, an important 

trade hub in the province of Riau on the island of Sumatra, will 

have a capacity of 50 litres per second (180m 3 /h), consisting 

of 120 NX Filtration dNF80 membrane modules. With this 

system, the local Masjid river can be turned into a valuable source 

for the supply of drinking water to the city of Dumai. This river 

contains high amounts of colour and various pollutants, which are 

accumulated in the river during its flow through the rainforest. 

PUB awards S$237 million Industrial Liquids Modules 

contract for Tuas Water Reclamation Plant 

PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, has appointed China 

State Construction Engineering Corporation (Singapore Branch) 

to construct the Industrial Liquids Modules (ILMs) for the Tuas 

Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), which will treat industrial used 

water channelled to Tuas WRP via the deep sewer tunnels. The 

contract, which is valued at S$237.6 million, includes the civil, 

structural and architectural works for two ILMs, which will have a 

treatment capacity of 150,000m 3 per day of industrial used water, 

the equivalent of 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water. 

Tuas WRP, a key component of PUB’s DTSS Phase 2 project, will 

be equipped to receive both industrial and domestic used water 

streams from two separate deep tunnels for treatment. The ILMs 

adopt the Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system by combining 

the conventional Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process with 

membranes for solids separation. 

This integration of membranes enables used water to be treated 

using less space and fewer steps compared to conventional 

systems, in addition to producing a higher quality treated effluent. 

The treated effluent from the ILMs will be further purified to 

industrial water and sent back to the industries for reuse. When 

completed, this will be the first time that PUB is reclaiming 

industrial used water for reuse and is a significant step forward in 

boosting our capability to reclaim and recycle water. 

China State Construction Engineering’s bid for Tuas WRP’s ILMs 

was one of 11 offers from an open tender exercise in May 2020. 

The plant and process equipment (i.e. mechanical, electrical and 

instrumentation components) will be installed through separate 

contracts. Construction works on the ILMs will commence on 30 

December 2020 and the ILMs will be commissioned progressively 

by December 2025. 

This is the sixth major Tuas WRP construction contract awarded by 

PUB – the first was awarded to McConnell Dowell South East Asia 

Private Limited to carry out site development works in January 

2019; Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor (Pte.) 

Ltd. and China Harbour (Singapore) Engineering Company Pte. 

Ltd. Joint Venture (JV) were appointed in July 2019 to build the 

Tuas WRP’s Influent Pumping Stations; CES_SDC Pte. Ltd. (a 

member of Chip Eng Seng Group) clinched the third contract for 

the plant’s biosolids treatment facility in March 2020; Sinohydro 

Corporation Limited (Singapore Branch) was awarded the contract 

for the construction of the civil structures of the Domestic Liquids 

Modules in July 2020; and ABB Pte Ltd was appointed to construct 

Tuas WRP’s Monitoring and Control System in October 2020. 

Tuas WRP will have an initial treatment capacity of 800,000m 3 per 

day. The plant will be co-located with the National Environment 

Agency’s (NEA) Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) 

to collectively form Tuas Nexus, which integrates used water and 

solid waste treatment processes to harness various synergies that 

will improve overall plant performance and optimise land use. 


THE NEWS 11 

The local Masjid river that will be turned into a valuable 

source for the supply of drinking water for the city of Dumai 

The project was initiated by PT. Bayu Surya Bakti Konstruksi, 

an Indonesian specialist in constructing water and 

wastewater treatment plants, in collaboration with PT. Bumi 

Kirana Asri, Indonesia’s local distributor for NX Filtration’s 

products. Through a series of pilot tests, that were 

conducted over the past year, these parties demonstrated 

how the hollow fiber nanofiltration system could effectively 

remove colour and various pollutants from the peat water, 

and as such form the basis for municipal water supply. 

Robert Gerard, commercial director at NX Filtration, 

commented, “Our hollow fiber nanofiltration technology 

offers a unique one-step solution to produce drinking water 

by removing colour, viruses, bacteria and micropollutants 

from the Masjid river. We have already successfully 

demonstrated our technology at various similar locations 

throughout South East Asia, as well as at a wide range of 

municipal and industrial applications in Europe and North America. We 

are proud that our technology will now also contribute to a reliable, 

affordable and sustainable drinking water supply for the city of Dumai.” 

Nyoman Yasa, CEO at PT. Bayu Surya Bakti Konstruksi, added, “With NX 

Filtration’s technology we are able to turn a local river into a valuable 

source of drinking water for the city of Dumai. A series of pilot tests 

quickly showed us that NX Filtration’s nanofiltration technology would 

enable us to produce excellent water quality, which could not be 

achieved with conventional treatment methods. Important additional 

benefits are that this can be done in one single step, without pretreatment 

and avoiding the use of a significant amount of chemicals. 

We see great potential to introduce this technology at similar locations 

throughout the region.” 

The project is expected to be commissioned in April 2021 and is partly 

financed by the World Bank through its National Urban Water Supply 

Program (NUWSP), which seeks to provide access to improved water 

sources for the population and strengthen the operational performance 

of water service providers in selected urban areas. 

The DTSS Phase 2 is a S$6.5 billion infrastructure project 

that will enhance Singapore’s water sustainability by 

boosting PUB’s capability to reclaim and recycle water in 

an endless cycle. Upon completion in 2025, DTSS Phase 2 

will convey used water from the western part of Singapore 

to Tuas WRP for treatment. DTSS Phase 1, which covers 

eastern Singapore and channels used water to Changi WRP, 

was completed in 2008. 

LANXESS completes sale of 

membrane business to SUEZ 

business was acquired 

by French group SUEZ, 

a world leader in 

sustainable resource 

management. The 

parties have agreed not 

to disclose the purchase 

price. 

LANXESS Headquarters 

in Cologne, Germany 

LANXESS has completed the 

sale of its reverse osmosis 

membrane business. The 

Thus, as of January 1, 

2021, the production 

plant as well as the 

research facilities in 

Bitterfeld, Germany, 

including all employees 

were transferred to 

SUEZ. 


12 THE NEWS 

The Manila Water Story: 25 years in service 

THE MANILA WATER story has come a A socialised water tariff programme, 

long way, and the improvements made to TPSB is aimed at families who once 

the country’s water network have been depended on expensive vended water 

nothing short of commendable – with from unreliable sources. Through the 

Manila Water, non-revenue water (NRW) programme, the company enables 

in the Philippines has shifted from 63% communities in improving their quality 

to 10%, and is considered to be one of of life with the availability of clean water. 

the best in the region today. 

TPSB also supports communities to be 

more resilient through improved water 

Today, Manila Water Company, Inc. is infrastructure that mitigates risks in 

the exclusive provider of water and 

cases of extreme weather and flooding. 

used water services to over six million Manila Water brings this flagship 

people in the Manila Water Concession, program where the company further 

particularly the East Zone of Metro Manila expands and grows. 

and Rizal Province, consisting of 23 cities 

and municipalities. 

The TPSB model creates partnerships 

with local government units (LGUs) and 

Speaking at the SgWX Water Utilities community-based organisations (CBOs) to 

Series webinar held on 4 December, 

actively include communities themselves 

which was attended by close to 200 

in the design and implementation of water 

attendees, Manila Water Company’s 

supply systems. This establishes positive 

Chief Operating Officer Virgilio “Perry” C. incentives for all stakeholders and helps 

Rivera, Jr. shared more about how Manila ensure the success and sustainability of 

Water has grown since the Philippine the programme. 

government adopted Public-Private 

Partnership (PPP) in 1997, and dealt Still, Manila Water has a long way to go – 

with challenges in the Philippines’ water one of the challenges that Rivera discussed 

network. 

during the webinar was the importance 

of utilities being involved in the water 

Through the Tubig Para sa Barangay industry, and how work had to be done to 

(TPSB, or Water for Communities) 

sustain the growth of the industry. 

programme, Manila Water’s service has 

expanded, and now reaches 7.1 million Other challenges included the rush to 

customers – a sharp growth from where develop new talents and leaders in the 

it originally started, with 3.1 million 

water sector, the adoption of technology 

customers. 

for efficiency and resiliency, and the 

Cardona Water Treatment Plant 

Perry Rivera, Chief Operating Officer 

of Manila Water Company 

struggle to replicate the PPP model in other 

urbanised areas of the Philippines. 

Going forward, Rivera proposed solutions 

to existing issues, such as developing new 

water resources, expanding wastewater 

services and addressing the gaps in 

marginalised communities in a bid to 

meet the growing population and demand 

for clean water in increasingly urbanised 

areas. 

Other solutions included replicating the 

PPP model in other areas by aligning it 

with new regulatory requirements, and 

establishing consistent standards and 

guidelines in the water sector. 

In closing, Rivera said, it was important 

for the water industry to learn from 

crises, take an objective view operating 

constraints and environments, and adopt 

an integrated, circular, and long-term 

approach. 

The Singapore Water Exchange (SgWX), 

managed by PUB, Singapore’s National 

Water Agency, is a purpose-built 

infrastructure to provide an integrated 

and conducive environment for water 

companies to innovate and collaborate. 

The SgWX Water Utilities Series is 

co-organised by the Singapore Water 

Exchange and the Singapore Water 

Association. The webinar provides 

a platform for the water industry to 

interact with overseas utilities and 

regulators, understand their challenges, 

and identify business opportunities. 


THE NEWS 13 

The Floodgate can be installed at doorways and 

entrances to block floodwater 

PUB tests new portable flood 

barrier for use in monsoon season 

To prepare for heavy rainstorms 

during the monsoon 

season, National Water Agency 

PUB is adding a new flood protection 

device, Floodgate, to 

its suite of flood barriers that 

can be deployed quickly to 

protect homes and buildings in 

the event of a flash flood. 

The Floodgate is made from 

high strength steel frames 

wrapped in a waterproof rubber 

sleeve. It can be installed 

easily at the doorways or 

entrances of residential, 

commercial and industrial 

premises to prevent the ingress 

of floodwaters. The side 

panels of the Floodgate can 

be extended with a wrench 

to achieve a watertight seal 

against the doorway. It is 

available in different sizes to 

suit apertures with widths 

ranging from 770mm – 

1520mm wide, and weighs 

between 13kg – 21kg, depending 

on its size. 

Designed to hold back floodwaters 

as high as 680mm, each 

Floodgate can be deployed by 

one person within minutes and 

packed away easily. Floodgates 

can be used for wider openings 

such as the entrances of 

shopfronts, as each unit can be 

linked together to create longer 

sections. 

PUB has purchased 20 pieces 

of Floodgates from the U.K. 

for performance testing and 

validation in September this 

year, with 15 pieces currently 

on loan to residents at Upper 

Paya Lebar Road for the 

prevailing monsoon season. 

Last year, PUB introduced the 

use of portable flood protection 

devices – Dam Easy Flood Panels 

(DFPs), and Portable Flood 

Barriers (PFBs) to enhance our 

flood response capabilities, and 

also loaned them out to homes 

and shophouses in flood-prone 

and low-lying areas. To date, PUB 

has loaned out 65 pieces of DFPs 

and 155 pieces of PFBs – users 

generally found it easy to set up 

and it gave them a peace of mind 

during heavy downpours. 

24/7 FLOOD MONI- 

TORING AND STAKEHOLD- 

ER ENGAGEMENT FOR 

MONSOON SEASON 

Temporary flood barriers are just 

one of the measures to better 

protect residents and businesses. 

PUB also uses an array of digital 

technologies to carry out round 

the clock weather monitoring 

through an extensive network 

of CCTV cameras, online water 

level sensors in drains and radar 

system, so as to enable quicker 

response to flood risk areas. 

PUB’s Quick Response Team 

(QRT) are also on standby to be 

mobilised to areas where flash 

floods may potentially occur. 

In addition, PUB actively 

engages relevant stakeholders to 

adopt suitable flood protection 

measures and remind them of 

the need to keep our drainage 

system clean and free-flowing. 

For example, our officers go doorto-door 

to issue flood advisories 

to residents and educate them 

on what they can do to protect 

themselves and their homes when 

a flash flood occurs. PUB also 

works closely with public agencies 

and Town Councils to step up the 

maintenance and cleansing of 

public drains and vertical drain 

gratings, so that stormwater can 

be conveyed away quickly in case 

of heavy rainfall. 

Throughout the year, PUB officers 

also conduct routine inspections 

at construction sites with major 

drainage works at least twice 

a month, to ensure that proper 

earth control measures and 

drainage measures are carried 

out, and that the drains are 

free from obstruction. This 

year, PUB has inspected 27 

such construction sites. During 

monsoon season, PUB will also 

step up its checks at other 

construction sites around the 

island. PUB has completed 

checks for 77 such construction 

sites. PUB will not hesitate to 

take action against contractors 

that cause interference with the 

drainage systems in and around 

their construction sites. 

MICRODYN-NADIR announces new distributor in India 

MICRODYN-NADIR, the 

membrane solutions segment 

of MANN+HUMMEL, has a 

new distributor partnership in 

India for water and wastewater 

products. Chembond Clean 

Water Technologies Limited, 

based in Mumbai, is an 

authorised distribution partner 

for MICRODYN-NADIR products 

including BIO-CEL® MBR, 

AQUADYN® UF, PureULTRA UF, 

and MICRODYN RO & NF spirals. 

“Having Chembond Clean 

Water Technologies Limited 

as an authorised distributor is 

an exciting step as part of our 

commitment to India and growth 

in the region. We are confident 

that our partnership will provide 

customers with excellent 

service and increased access 

to our high-quality membrane 

products,” said Marco Nava, 

vice president of Membrane 

Solutions with MANN+HUMMEL. 

Chembond Clean Water 

Technologies Limited is a 

subsidiary of Chembond 

Chemicals Limited, an 

established specialty 

chemical manufacturing 

company with a 45-year 

history in India. 

“We are proud to offer 

MICRODYN-NADIR products 

to our customers in India. 

The products are a natural 

extension of our current 

offering to the market. 

Innovation is a top priority 

for us, and we believe that 

our partnership with an 

industry leader such as 

MANN+HUMMEL will only 

enhance that experience 

for our customers,” said 

Vinod Deshpande, director 

of Chembond Clean Water 

Technologies Limited. 


FOLLOW US 

@waterwastewaterasia

5 MINS WITH 15 

DIGITAL TWINS: Better-informed 


The Bentley Systems’ Year in Infrastructure Conference went digital for the first time ever in 2020. At this 

virtual platform, Water & Wastewater Asia spoke with Gregg Herrin, Vice President, Water Infrastructure 

(Bentley Systems) to find out how Digital Twins enable water utilities to visualise infrastructure assets 

across the entire asset lifecycle, track change, and perform analysis to optimise asset performance. 

Why is the Digital Twin important to water 

infrastructure projects? 

The whole concept of the digital twin is that it 

is an accurate representation of your system 

that you can use anytime and for any purpose. 

You can take combinations of information 

from technologies such as GIS, operational 

technologies like SCADA and engineering 

technologies like hydraulic models, and combine 

it to get more insights and understanding, and to 

make better decisions. 

The important thing isn’t about just having a 

Digital Twin for its own sake. It’s having a Digital 

Twin to make better operational decisions on 

how to handle an emergency when it comes up; 

better maintenance decisions about whether or 

not a pump needs to be serviced or replaced; or 

better planning decisions about how your system 

is going to handle population growth or climate 

change. These are decisions every utility needs 

to make and the Digital Twin can help with every 

area of your system and every area of the life 

cycle. 

So how do we build it? You can start with pretty 

much anything you have. Most utilities have some 

sort of GIS, SCADA system or billing system, 

hydraulic model or other sources of data that 

they currently use. You can start building from 

that. The process of the Digital Twin is really more 

of an ongoing thing. You can start with what you 

have and just start connecting it in ways that can 

help you get better information from it. 


16 5 MINS WITH 

So a water company does not need to 

be digitalised in order to have the Digital 

Twin? 

There are different levels of it that are 

available. If you look at Águas do Porto 

in Portugal, they have parts of their 

Digital Twin telling them things like their 

SCADA signals might be malfunctioning, 

information about what the water quality 

is like on their beaches and what’s 

happening in their sewer systems, and 

information about where their pipe bursts 

or leaks are. That same information is 

available to their field technicians so they 

are accessing the digital twin information 

from their mobile devices; as well as to 

their customer service representatives, 

so when somebody calls in and complains 

about something, the customer service 

person is able to look at the different 

aspects of the Digital Twin and understand 

if it’s an expected problem or something 

they need to investigate. 

Not every utility needs to be at that point 

in order to get benefits. Anything that 

someone can do to start connecting 

information between different pieces of 

technology is going to result in a better 

outcome than if they didn’t have it. So 

even like connecting a GIS to a hydraulic 

model, that’s going to have benefits just in 

terms of having more accurate simulations 

of what’s happening. 

investments in digital toolsets. Utilities 

that have been struggling because they 

do not have remote access or the ability 

to evaluate these things might see this as 

a wake-up call. 

What do you think water companies can 

do in order to remain resilient in this 

economic crisis? 

One of the biggest things that we see is 

a lot of utilities have more uncertainties 

about what their capital budgets are 

going to be for the next several years. 

As the pandemic hit, there’s a lot of 

impact on unemployment rates that has 

had an impact on people paying their 

water bills and so on. That means water 

utilities aren’t sure exactly how much 

money they’re going to be bringing in in 

the next year or how many of their bills 

from the last two quarters will actually 

be paid. 

And that goes back to the beginning of 

our conversation about decision-making 

tools - the ability to try different things 

digitally and find out what works and 

what doesn’t. What has the desired 

outcomes and what doesn’t and then use 

that to prioritise the needed works to be 

done. 

I believe we’ll actually see an increase in 

the amount of effort going into digital tools 

like hydraulic modelling and an increase 

in things that start to bring these systems 

together for larger decisions around capital 

spending and more. 

Anything to add for our readers? 

There are probably two things that I would 

love everybody in the water utility to think 

about and to know about. One is I hope it’s 

clear to everyone that a few years from now, 

a Digital Twin will just be part of the normal 

operating procedure, just like how everybody 

sees GIS as part of their toolset. It will be 

more common to have a Digital Twin than 

not have a Digital Twin. 

The second thing I want everybody to know 

is that it’s not a scary thing. You do not have 

to do it all at once. You can take the parts 

you have now and start connecting them in 

a way that you can use them better and then 

grow from there. 

You do not have to do this as one huge scary 

project. It is a process of going digital which 

will be constantly evolving and to solve 

problems better and better. So people can 

get started now, they don’t need to wait for 

some huge initiative to get going. 

Has the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated 

use of the Digital Twin? 

Around the world, people who have been 

adopting digital technologies are in a 

better place to handle situations that 

nobody expected such as a pandemic for 

a year. I think it’s only going to increase. 

Utilities that have had success because 

of this are going to accelerate their 

About Gregg Herrin, PE, VP, Water Infrastructure 

Gregg Herrin is vice president of Water Infrastructure, where he leads the team responsible 

for Bentley’s hydraulics and hydrology applications. He joined Bentley Systems in 2004 

when Bentley acquired Haestad Methods, a pioneer in the hydraulics and hydrology software 

industry. He has served in a variety of roles focused on the combination of engineering 

technologies and data systems. Herrin earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering 

from the University of Vermont, and he continues to maintain his professional engineering 

license. He is the co-inventor of five patented technologies and has been the editor or 

contributing author for numerous publications. 


5 MINS WITH 17 

Har Ghar Jal: 

Water for all 

India has largely improved access to water, but a large 

percentage of the population still lacks access to safe water 

Photo by Jess Aston on Unsplash 

Water is a precious resource – and in India, it’s a limited one. Part one of this two-part series delves into 

the challenges that Xylem’s Smart City and Smart Infrastructure business must overcome to bring its 

goal of a 24/7 water supply in India to life, as Water & Wastewater Asia speaks to Xylem’s Rajul Mehrotra. 

By Natalie Chew 

As a country, India is the seventhlargest 

according to land area, but as the 

leader of Xylem’s Smart City and Smart 

infrastructure business in India, Rajul 

Mehrotra is undaunted by its sheer size. In 

fact, his goals for the country are arguably 

much, much bigger: To solve water-related 

issues using advanced products and 

technologies, and enabling a 24/7 water 

supply for everyone. 

apply holistic innovative solutions. This 

supports India’s own bold ambitions and 

stated mission – for example, achieving 

universal and equitable access to safe and 

affordable drinking water for all, by 2030.” 

CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME 

With goals as bold as these, it’s no surprise 

that there are quite a few challenges 

to overcome. 

Mehrotra first joined Xylem in 2017, 

and today helms the Smart Cities and 

Infrastructure portfolio, which provides 

end-to-end answers for core foundational 

infrastructure, instrumentation and 

integrated smart solutions. 

“Here,” he said, “we are helping the Smart 

Cities and Smart Infrastructure vision of 

India by leveraging our company’s broad 

portfolio of technologies and solutions 

– the most powerful in the industry. The 

great thing with smart infrastructure is 

that instead of patching problems, you 

Explained Mehrotra, “India faces a variety 

of water challenges, with factors ranging 

from rapid population growth, to chemical 

contamination, to ground water depletion. 

India’s population is expected to reach 

somewhere near 1.6 to 1.8 billion by 

2050. It is predicted that by 2050, the per 

capita availability of water at the national 

level will drop by 40% - 50% due to rapid 

population growth and commercial use. 

There is also a high migratory pressure on 

Indian cities, mainly because of the better 

opportunities available there. By 2030, we 

Rajul Mehrotra, leader of Xylem’s Smart City 

and Smart Infrastructure business in India 

expect 50% of India’s population to be 

based in urban locations. This means that 

a greater pressure will be put on water 

and sanitation facilities in these new urban 

areas.” 


18 5 MINS WITH 

Xylem’s vision of Smart Cities and Smart Infrastructure for India includes solving water issues with advanced 

products and technologies, as well as a 24/7 water supply for everyone 

According to Mehrotra, agriculture alone 

accounts for a whopping 85% of India’s 

water consumption. The country’s current 

irrigation infrastructure may allow for selfsufficiency 

in food grain production, but a 

large percentage of farmers – and in turn, 

the Indian economy to a certain extent 

– are dependant on climatology. This 

dependency, he said, should be alleviated 

by new-age smart irrigation techniques. 

“Access to clean drinking water is another 

issue,” he continued. “Less than 50% 

of the population in India has access to 

safely-managed drinking water. Chemical 

contamination of water, mainly through 

fluoride and arsenic, is present in 1.96 

million dwellings. 

Moreover, two-thirds of India’s 718 

districts are affected by extreme water 

depletion, and the current lack of planning 

for water safety and security is a major 

concern. One of the major water challenges 

that we have is specifically the fast rate of 

groundwater depletion in India, which is 

known as the world’s highest user of this 

source due to the proliferation of drilling 

over the past few decades. 

India’s estimated per capita availability of 

water in 2025 will be 1,341 cubic metres. 

This may further fall to 1,140 cubic 

metres in 2050, bringing it closer to 

becoming water-scarce, according to 

a 2017 assessment by the Ministry of 

Water Resources.” 

LACK OF ACCESS TO SAFE 

WATER 

According to the International Monetary 

Fund (IMF), the Indian economy 

was nominally worth $2.9 trillion in 

2019. However, despite the country’s 

economic growth over recent decades, 

India continues to face socio-economic 

challenges, and a study conducted by 

the World Bank in 2011 found that 21% 

of the population lives below the World 

Bank’s international poverty line. 

Said Mehrotra, “Although India has 

improved its access to water far quicker 

than any other nation, there are still a lot 

of Indians without access to safe water. 

The primary issue facing communities 

is the outdated infrastructure. Many 

of these systems were designed and 

constructed by state engineering 

agencies with little participation from 

local communities. People lacked a sense 

of ownership, and maintenance was 

neglected. 

Consumers also viewed water as a 

right to be provided free-of-cost by the 

government, making systems financially 

unsustainable. Moreover, a growing 

population led to a mounting demand for 

access to water. This resulted in water 

tables falling and many water sources 

shrinking or drying up altogether. 

However, there is now renewed focus 

on rectifying these issues. In 2017, 

the Indian government met its interim 

goal of ensuring that 50% of all rural 

households had access to a piped water 

supply. We are also currently working 

with customers to help meet the 2022 

goal of ensuring that 90% of all rural 

households have access to a piped water 

supply.” 

Indeed, all is not lost. Mehrotra said, 

“While there are many water challenges 

facing India right now, we know that the 

steps being taken to invest in innovative 

digital solutions will ultimately help 

tackle many of these issues – making 

communities more resilient and water 

supply consistent and reliable.” 

Part two of Har Ghar Jal: Water for all 

will be continued in the Mar/Apr issue of 

Water & Wastewater Asia. 


IN THE FIELD 19 

Mitigating capital upgrades 

using DNA sequencing 

A municipal wastewater treatment 

plant (WWTP) in southern USA was 

having difficulties meeting their total 

BOD (carbonaceous + nitrogenous 

BOD) compliance limit. The plant, as 

depicted in Figure 1, consists of three 

ponds in series. The first and largest 

pond is aerated and baffled. The second 

pond is aerated but not baffled. The 

third pond is not aerated and functions 

as a settling pond. In response to 

compliance failures, an adjacent 

decommissioned activated sludge 

oxidation ditch was converted to a 2-cell 

sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and is 

used to pre-treat two influent streams 

that have higher ammonia and BOD 

content. The SBR effluent flows into the 

inlet of Pond 1. 

upgrades to the plant to add an 

additional pond. Due to the cost of the 

upgrade, Thornton, Musso & Bellemin 

Water Treatment Consultants was 

contracted to first assess the system 

and determine possible alternative 

solutions to improve treatment 

performance. 

PROCESS AUDIT 

An audit was done on the WWTP 

to determine how ammonia and 

BOD were degrading through the 

treatment process. The results were 

shown in Figure 2. The influent had 

low to moderate concentrations of 

ammonia and total BOD. The SBR 

To address compliance issues, the 

municipality was considering capital 

Figure 1: Site view of the WWTP 


20 IN THE FIELD 

80 

70 

Concentration ̶ mg/L 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Influent SBR Effluent Pond 2 Inlet Pond 3 Inlet Plant Effluent 

Ammonia 22.2 0.1 17.9 17.7 17.3 

Total BOD 74.0 8.9 18.6 20.3 22.0 

Figure 2: Ammonia and total BOD concentration throughout the WWTP 

provided good treatment performance, 

achieving low ammonia and total BOD 

concentrations. 

Pond 1 removed 75% of the total 

BOD while the remaining ponds had 

negligible total BOD removal. Ammonia 

concentrations decreased in Pond 1, 

but this was likely due to dilution from 

the SBR effluent which had a very low 

concentration of ammonia. 

DNA analysis (16S rRNA sequencing) 

using LuminUltra’s GeneCount 

Sample Preservation Kits. The analysis 

identifies all prokaryotes in the 

sample and determines their relative 

abundance in a percentage. 

Two nitrifying organisms were 

identified: Nitrospira (nitriteoxidising 

bacteria) and Nitrosomonas 

(ammonia-oxidising bacteria). The 

two organisms work synergistically to 

convert ammonia to nitrate, thereby 

The plant is fed by several long 

forcemains that tend to exhibit odour 

issues associated with hydrogen 

sulphide generation. Testing at five lift 

stations showed that all had reducing 

environments (average ORP = -305 

mV, average hydrogen sulphide = 

4.2mg/L) which may result in toxicity 

issues in the WWTP associated with 

hydrogen sulphide loading. 

DNA ANALYSIS 

In order to determine the impact that 

wastewater composition and treatment 

processes (pond vs SBR) had on 

the microbial community, samples 

were collected and preserved for 



1.2 

Organism Relative Abundance ̶ % 

1.0 

0.8 

0.6 

0.4 

0.2 

0.0 

SBR 1 SBR 2 Pond 1 Inlet Pond 2 Outlet WWTP Effluent 

Nitrospira 

Nitrosomonas 

Figure 3: Relative abundance of Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas throughout the treatment process 

reducing the nitrogenous BOD. The 

relative abundance of the organisms 

throughout the treatment process is 

shown in Figure 3. Both SBR cells had 

high relative abundances of Nitrospira 

and Nitrosomonas, which is consistent 

with the process data that showed 

near-complete ammonia removal. 

The inlet of Pond 1 had much lower 

relative abundance of both organisms. 

The sample from the Pond 1 inlet was 

taken just after the mixing point of the 

raw influent and the SBR influent. 

that adding an additional pond would 

not increase the capacity of the 

treatment system. No further BOD 

removal occurs after Pond 1 and 

nitrifiers are not present in the pond 

system. 

The lack of nitrifiers is likely due 

to influent toxicity caused by high 

hydrogen sulphide concentrations. Pond 

systems also do not have the benefit of 

recycling beneficial sludge to the front 

of the treatment process to overcome 

potential toxicity issues. The audit 

was able to mitigate capital spending 

on an upgrade that would not have 

helped the facility meet effluent quality 

requirements. 

It was determined that a new solution 

would be required to overcome the 

treatment challenges. A potential 

solution includes modifying the SBR to 

discharge further into the pond system 

once hydrogen sulphide has been air 

stripped from the system. 

Therefore, the SBR was likely the 

source of Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas 

at this location. No nitrifying organisms 

were detected in the rest of the pond 

system. This showed that components 

– likely hydrogen sulphide – in the 

incoming raw wastewater was likely 

toxic to nitrifying organisms. 

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 

The municipality had planned to add 

a fourth aerated pond to the system 

to increase treatment performance 

and ensure compliance is met. 

The expected capital cost of this 

upgrade would be in excess of one 

million dollars. By conducting an 

audit (estimated cost: $5000), the 

consultants were able to determine 

Problem: A municipal wastewater 

treatment plant (WWTP) was 

planning to carry out an expensive 

capital upgrade to improve treatment 

performance and bring the plant into 

compliance. A study was done to 

determine if alternative solutions to 

the upgrade could be found. 

Facility: 3-pond WWTP with SBR pretreatment 

for high-strength waste 

streams 

Investment: Six LuminUltra 

GeneCount NGS tests were done at 

different areas of the wastewater 

system. Process monitoring was 

also done throughout the system. 

The total estimated cost was 

$5000. 

Economic Analysis: The NGS 

results combined with the process 

data showed that the planned 

capital upgrades would not improve 

the treatment performance of the 

systems. The planned upgrades 

were estimated at an excess of one 

million dollars, which ultimately 

would not have solved the problem. 



Emergency flood control 

structures for improved health and 

safety of residents in Mandalay 

HST’s application knowhow and on-site innovation with KSB’s efficient Amacan pumps designed for 

flood control successfully resolved problems at the collapsed embankment 

By: Seon Kim, Regional Business Development Engineer, KSB 

The land on the easten bank of the 

Irrawaddy River (also known as the 

Ayeyarwady River) where the Mandalay 

City sits is low and prone to heavy flooding. 

Flooding gets much worse during the 

wet season running from May to October. 

Heavy rainfall causes rivers to rise resulting 

in further flooding. The area is in need 

of a proper flood control system and 

infrastructure. 

In 2019, several states and regions in 

Myanmar were hit by heavy monsoon 

rainfall and flooding from mid-July that 

started with Kachin and Rakhine states and 

Sagaing Region. The United Nations (UN) 

in a report stated that over 40,000 people 

were displaced by the monsoon flooding 

by the end of July and stayed in 186 

evacuation centres in Kachin, Rakhine, Chin, 

and Mon states, as well as Bago, Sagaing, 

Mandalay and Magway regions. By early 

August, more than 89,000 people across 

the nine states and regions were displaced 

by the monsoon flooding. The country is 

in need of a well-established drainage and 

flood control system. 

In July 2020, an embankment along the 

Irrawaddy River collapsed and flood control 

became an even greater concern for the 

Mandalay City Development Committee 

(MCDC). The water from the swelling river 

due to heavy rain leaked through the 

weak soil and the weakened embankment 

could not hold the pressure any longer. 

The collapse resulted in a flood that 

destroyed the roads near the embankment 

and affected the lowland areas. More 

Airview of the collapsed embankment 

than 12,000 residents had to leave their Engineering (HST) in its attempt to drain 

homes. The authority sought the technical out the water at the collapsed embankment 

and service support of Han Sein Thant while fixing the damages and taking care of 

the welfare of the residents who lost 

their homes. 

Due to the emergency and severity of the 

situation, the authority is unable to allow 

long period of time for the construction of 

typically concrete flood control structures to 

install the pumps. Mr James U Thant Zin, 

managing director of HST, planned the 

standing support design with mobile 

pipelines as an immediate innovative 

solution to curb the situation. Since the 

standing support design was mobile, the 

team of HST’s engineers kept the pipelines 

short with just 75m in length as the mobility 

made it possible to set up the structures 

easier and closer to the main source of 

Installation of KSB’s Amacan pumps electricity. 



Mr James U Thant Zin (fourth person from the left) and the team of engineers at HST’s Service Center in Mandalay 

KSB’s Amacan pumps in HST’s warehouse 

were used due to the high efficiency for 

applications with large flow range and lower 

power consumption. KSB’s Amacan pumps 

are designed with low-vibration hydraulic 

system with inlet ribs and optimised 

bellmouth for vortex-free inflow. KSB’s 

Amacan pumps ensure self-centring seating 

in discharge tubes due to their own weight 

and this makes installation and removal of 

the pumps easier. Hence, the execution of the 

emergency project was quick and smooth. 

HST’s application knowhow and on-site 

innovation with KSB’s efficient Amacan 

pumps designed for flood control assisted 

the authority to quickly cease the damages 

caused by the flood. Upon successful 

execution of the emergency project, the 

technical mechanism of the standing support 

design was verified. 

authority will be able to help the residents 

much more promptly at lower costs, 

especially during unforeseen emergencies. 

Effects on people exposed to flood water 

include acute outcomes of cardiovascular 

diseases such as heart attacks, drownings 

from walking or driving through flood water, 

injuries from contacts with debris and 

submerged objects in flood water, damages 

due to building collapses, diarrhoea, vectorand 

rodent-borne diseases, respiratory, skin 

and eye infections, and chemical poisoning 

such as carbon monoxide poisoning as well 

as mental stress. 

According to the World Health Organization 

(WHO), one third of the flood-related 

deaths globally are from physical trauma, 

heart attacks, electrocution, carbon 

monoxide poisoning or fire. Hence, 

provision of improved water supply 

and drainage system is one of the most 

significant goals of the authorities in order 

to improve the standard of healthily living 

for the residents in the city. 

HST strives to achieve enhanced wellbeing 

and safety of the people of Myanmar 

by working closely with KSB and the 

authorities. 

Due to high construction costs to build 

concrete structures for typical flood control 

systems, it has been challenging for the 

authority to execute various flood control 

projects. During emergencies, it has been 

even more challenging as the conventional 

flood control stations take about two to four 

years to build. Now with the proven design 

from HST that is mobile and standing, the 

Construction of pipelines 



Oil & gas company reduces uncertainty 

and optimises chemical injection with 

Micro Motion ELITE flow meter 

By Dhananjayan, Dinesh, Business Development Manager, Upstream oil and gas, Emerson 

An upstream oil & gas producer in Thailand 

was recently made aware of the fact that 

they needed to inject an optimum amount 

of different types of chemicals into their 

process lines to achieve different purposes. 

An over-injection of chemicals would result 

in financial loss, while under-injection would 

result in infrastructure failure. 

The producer normally used a biocide to 

combat growth of bacteria and production 

of hydrogen sulphide in the pipelines. 

This biocide injection was monitored and 

controlled at very low flow rates, sometimes 

as low as 5lph. They were using positive 

displacement meters for mass flow rate 

measurement of biocide. PD meters were 

used for chemical injection applications 

because the users were familiar with the 

technology. 

However, the minimum flow rate of biocide 

was not detected by positive displacement 

meters, which meant the oil and gas 

company was over injecting chemicals. The 

over-dosing of biocide not only resulted in 

financial loss, but also meant their chemical 

injection programme was not effective. 

To solve this problem, the oil & gas company 

decided to purchase two Micro Motion 

ELITE CMFS010M Coriolis flow meters from 

Emerson and test them over a period of 

three months. The test results showed that 

the CMFS010M model was able to provide 

accurate and repeatable measurement 

across the entire flow range (5lph – 90lph) 

and the operators were able to reduce/ 

eliminate over-injection of biocide into the 

process lines. 

Once the initial test results proved to be 

satisfactory, they purchased 20 more units 

of the ELITE CMFS010M Coriolis flow meters 

with 2700 transmitters and standardised the 

configuration for biocide flow measurement. 

The Micro Motion Coriolis flow meter solution 

also helped the oil and gas company save 

$92,000 annually in chemicals cost because 

the flow accuracy of Coriolis meters was 

±0.1% of the flow rate recorded when 

compared with the PD meters’ accuracy of 

±0.5% of flow rate. 

The Coriolis flow meter solution is easy to 

maintain, does not require frequent 

calibration and has a sustainable 

measurement performance - which made it 

all the more suited to the oil & gas 

company’s needs. 

The technological advances of Emerson’s 

Micro Motion Coriolis flow meter helped to 

eliminate the low flow cut off problem in biocide 

measurement and resulted in significant annual 

savings for the oil & gas company 

RESULTS 

• Annual savings of $92,000 in cost of chemicals due to increased measurement 

accuracy using Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flow meters 

• Excellent turndown of Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flow meter helped to minimise 

overdosing of chemicals and associated costs 


FOCUS 25 

Photo by J K on Unsplash 

Unlocking water data 

for all stakeholders 

By Tim Finegan, Director of Product Management for Aquatic Informatics 

Technological advances have created an 

explosion of data in all aspects of our lives. 

Water is no exception. Governments and 

utilities are in various stages of maturity in 

collecting and analysing water data from a 

variety of applications, such as: 

● Source Water - Using data from 

hydrological systems, organisations 

can properly account for and 

appropriately allocate water resources 

while minimising impact on the 

environment. 

● Stormwater - Using data collected 

from reservoir levels, stream-flows, 

combined sewers, storm sewers, 

and rainfall allows environmental 

organisations to take preventative 

action against flood and contamination 

dangers. 

● Drinking Water - By bringing together 

data from all water facilities, lab testing 

results, and compliance regulations, 

organisations can ensure safe drinking 

water for everyone. 

● Pretreatment - Industrial pretreatment 

compliance can be better managed with 

the right data analysis and governance 

in place. 

● Wastewater - Managing a highly 

regulated resource such as wastewater 

effectively requires accurate data, 

advanced record computation and 

sophisticated analysis. 

● Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) - Keeping 

track of activities and evaluating 

FOG programme compliance can 

provide data to help reduce the risk 

of blockages and spills, and work with 

industry to mitigate violations. 

The problem is much of the data gathered 

often lives in various silos in and across 

provincial and local government and 

industry organisations. So, despite 

the availability of potentially helpful 

technologies such as sensors and software 

tools, water utilities often lack the 

information they need to better conserve 

and adequately manage water. 

Others may have lots of data but lack the 

ability to glean insights from that data. It’s 

vital that organisations have the right tools 

for proper analysis, in order to complete 

critical tasks such as predicting issues, 

prioritising and repairing aging water 

infrastructure such as those causing nonrevenue 

water losses. 

Chris Misson, product manager for 

AQUARIUS, said, “Organisations need to 

find a way to break down silos, consolidate 

data, and make sense of that data to 

achieve better, more sustainable water 

management”. 

Water monitoring agencies use AQUARIUS 

analytics software to acquire, process, model 

and publish water information in real time. 

“Usually it’s a crisis that spurs action. The 

shock of running out of water or having 

a community’s water contaminated does 

make governments, industry and the public 

demand change — but it’s far less costly to 

address issues today so that you can plan 

for tomorrow,” said Misson. 


26 FOCUS 

To build a business case for tapping into all 

streams of water data, organisations need to 

bring together a cross-functional team with 

representation from people on the ground, 

strategic planners and business intelligence. 

Start by asking the right questions and go 

from there. Try to solve a small problem 

and use that as your leverage to get more 

funding to build the people, process, and 

technology that can help you make real 

strides towards reaching the four water data 

management milestones: 

1. Water data consolidation to break down 

data silos 

2. Water data analysis to turn raw data into 

actionable insights 

3. Internal knowledge sharing across , 

government departments, and 

international bodies 

4. External knowledge sharing with 

industry and the public to educate, 

inform, and encourage respect for one of 

our most important resource 

By connecting the dots between water data 

sets, we can proactively predict issues, and 

ultimately better protect our communities 

and ecosystems. 

John Yap, senior product manager for 

WaterTrax, said, “By sharing vital water 

data with the public, with regulators and 

with international bodies, we can raise 

awareness, better predict events and drive 

real sustainable change.” 

opportunities for water, similar to other 

government-owned utilities, whereby the 

resource is based on supply and demand. 

Attitudes towards sharing of water data are 

already changing. NASA shares water data to 

support water management efforts in the US 

and internationally. NASA’s Gravity Recovery 

and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites 

measure the environmental and human 

impacts on water across the planet. 

In the US, the agency’s Western Water 

Applications Office works with multiple 

entities to track how drought affects 

agriculture and water supplies. Globally, 

agricultural irrigation accounts for 70% of 

water usage. By contrast, municipal water 

represents a mere 8% of global use. 

Wasteful irrigation systems on farms 

consume over double the freshwater of any 

other industry. Inefficient irrigation practices 

in farming can hurt our water in other ways, 

such as washing pollutants into rivers, 

streams or other freshwater ecosystems. 

Monitoring river and groundwater quality is 

the first step to identifying contaminants of 

agricultural run-off. 

“If this information is available to all 

stakeholders in a timely fashion—as in near 

real-time—you have true transparency 

for immediate action,” said Misson. “The 

farmer can fix the irrigation inefficiency and 

steps can be taken to treat or discard the 

contaminated water and prevent a health 

advisory or ecological domino effect.” 

NASA also works with the U.S. Agency for 

International Development to provide satellite 

data, computing tools and training through 

the SERVIR program. The programme is 

intended to help African partners generate 

better flood forecasts. GRACE satellites 

also monitor water and ice inventory in 

the glacier-covered Himalayas to improve 

understanding of how the climate is changing 

snow packs. 

Consolidating NASA data with local 

water data could help move us towards 

sustainability of water sources worldwide. 

The data generated from all monitoring 

activities can allow water resource managers 

to identify where pollution problems exist, 

where to focus pollution control activity, and 

where progress has been made. 

Most municipalities are already using some 

degree of water data management tools to 

monitor and manage the entire health of 

the water cycle. Streamlining and unlocking 

that data within organisations and across 

community lines and around the world, 

is proving to be beneficial and achievable 

with cloud-based solutions. Friendly user 

interfaces are also improving public access 

to that data and providing sustainable 

communications to all stakeholders. 

WaterTrax is a software programme that 

helps agencies and utilities monitor and 

manage their water and wastewater system 

data to streamline regulatory compliance 

practices and improve data integrity. 

Perhaps because water is largely unpriced, 

global water infrastructure is drastically 

underfunded. Sharing data about water can 

change this. By sharing information with the 

public about water conservation efforts in 

their communities, governments can help 

change attitudes about the value of water. 

This can open up dialogue about new pricing 

WaterTrax is a software programme that helps agencies and utilities monitor 

and manage their water and wastewater system data 


FOCUS 27 

Growing industrial businesses 

in South East Asia with 

smart water management 

By Evan Jayawiyanto, Ecolab, South East Asia, AVP and GM, Nalco Water Division 

While we are dealing with the 

devastating effects of COVID-19, 

another equally impactful, longerterm 

crisis looms ahead: water 

scarcity. 

By the year 2040, it’s estimated that 

water use globally will exceed supply 

by as much as 40%. In Indonesia 

and Malaysia, palm oil milling 

consumes 3,500 to 7,500 litres of 

water per metric ton of oil produced, 

used in fruit processing, steam 

boilers and water-intensive cooling 

systems. That means by end of this 

year, with global production of palm 

oil of 72.27 million metric tons, palm 

oil processing absorbed an amount 

of water roughly equivalent to the 

water volume of Indonesia’s largest 

lake, Lake Toba. 

Palm oil is not the only thirsty 

industry. In South East Asia, the 

rapid rise of data centres, powering 

cloud computing across the region, 

is also impacting water supplies. 


28 FOCUS 

Similar to palm oil, heat-generating 

data centers use fresh water for 

cooling. The typical data centre, 

often located in densely populated 

areas where water is already scarce, 

consumes 30 million litres of water 

a year. Multiply that by 155, the 

number (and growing) of data 

centres in South East Asia today, and 

the race for water is on. 

WHAT DOES EFFECTIVE 

WATER MANAGEMENT MEAN 

IN SOUTH EAST ASIA 

For palm oil, data centre and other 

heat-generating industries, water 

management means maintaining 

healthy cooling systems. That is, 

proactively preventing the corrosion 

and scaling that lead to equipment 

failures and consequent overuse 

of water, and of course, increased 

costs. It also means incorporating 

environmentally sustainable nonphosphorus 

solutions into industrial 

operations. 

MOVING TOWARDS NON- 

PHOSPHORUS SUSTAINABLE 

SOLUTIONS 

Traditionally, phosphorus (P) has 

been used as a corrosion inhibitor in 

cooling systems. However, too much 

phosphorus in fresh water promotes 

hyper-growth of oxygen-eating algae. 

The water literally suffocates, along 

with its plant and fish life, becoming 

unusable. 

As phosphorous can cause scaling in 

cooling systems, a reliable and robust 

non-phosphorus programme that 

utilises an organic corrosion inhibitor 

to replace existing phosphorousbased 

chemistry, can improve the 

performance towards water quality 

fluctuation and significantly reduces 

the algae stress from both the 

cooling water system as well as the 

environment. This will also contribute 

to reducing the scaling risk, saving 

businesses water and cost. 

THE POWER OF DATA: YOU 

CAN’T REDUCE WHAT YOU 

CAN’T MEASURE 

An effective non-phosphorus 

solution requires system 

measurement and monitoring. 

An example is the Nalco Water 

3D TRASAR Cooling Water 

Technology that monitors system 

stress across diverse locations 

to prevent scale, corrosion and 

microbial fouling. The tool runs 

on mobile devices, allowing palm 

oil mill managers to monitor 

operations 24/7 and providing 

real-time information on 

automated changes in the system, 

corrective actions, and results. 

Data that would today be manually 

recorded is automatically saved 

to the cloud so that company 

managers elsewhere can see it too. 

This is especially relevant during 

COVID-19 when remote sites are 

less accessible. 

The same cooling solutions are 

similarly used to monitor and 

respond to water inefficiencies 

in data centers, sending realtime 

data and information to 

save power and ensure optimal 

performance. For example, Tier 

4 data centres require 99.995% 

uptime per year to ensure 

reliability. The bottom line: no one 

is happy if the Cloud goes down. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

Though COVID-19 has affected 

South East Asia’s growing 

economies this year, the industrial 

sector continues to use water 

in operations. This means that 

effective water management and 

sustainable operations must 

remain at the forefront of business 

strategy. 

As water supplies become 

increasingly vulnerable across 

the South East Asia region, it is 

imperative that we develop water 

management solutions focused 

on improving the quality of both 

our raw water and wastewater 

discharge. The time for sustainable 

operations is now. 

Photo by nazarizal mohammad on Unsplash 


FOCUS 29 

Leaky pipes a thing 

of the past 

From listening sticks and geophones in the ‘70s to inline pipe inspection 

tools today, Singapore’s PUB stays on top of the leak detection game. 

By Natalie Chew 

Photo by free-to-use-sound on Unsplash 

“At that time, labour was very 

intensive,” he shared. “We had to 

go to households to check for leaks 

during the night, and then we had to 

deliver supplies – there was a lot of 

manpower needed.” 

“TIMELESS TOOLS” 

In the ‘70s, mechanical tools such 

as listening sticks and geophones 

were used to listen for pipe leaks. 

However, these tools had limited 

accuracy, relying solely on the 

hearing and experience of the 

engineer using it. They were also at 

the mercy of environmental factors 

that were beyond the engineers’ 

control, according to Ong Guan. 

ago when I did [leak detection] in 

Orchard Road,” he said. “It took 

me two hours because it was quite 

noisy! There was heavy traffic, so we 

had to wait for a certain hour when 

there was not much traffic, and then 

we could get the exact leak sound 

we wanted to hear. Otherwise, there 

was a lot of disturbance, and what 

you hear goes haywire with regards 

to the leak spot.” 

Leak detection is a tale as old as 

time – well, almost! 

He said, “In those days, we would 

walk around with the listening stick 

to listen to all the connecting pipes, 

and narrow it down by searching 

for which spot has the leak. After 

narrowing it down, we used the 

geophone to confirm the leak spot. It 

was more trial and error back then. 

In the early days of leak detection, 

operators and engineers listened for 

noise generated by water escaping 

from buried pipes under pressure. As 

an engineer with the Water Supply 

(Network) Department, Ong Guan 

is an unassuming man – but he 

remembers how tedious the job used 

to be when he first joined national 

water agency PUB as a technician 

in 1976. 

It was all dependant on the area you 

were in. In a residential area with no 

disturbance and ambient noise, you 

can detect leaks with no issue and 

we could get more accurate; within 

15 minutes we can find the leak spot 

with the tool.” 

However, it was in noisier areas 

that the job became more difficult. 

“There was one time about 20 years 

Leak detection tools used in the ‘70s, like 

this listening stick, are today considered 

to be timeless tools 


100 200 400 700 1200 2000 

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 

30 FOCUS 

DETECTING LEAKS IN WATER PIPELINES 

5,700km of water pipes 

across the island, most of 

which are underground. 

PUB is deploying smart technologies 

to help listen for leaks in our water 

supply network. 

Fig. 3 – INLINE PIPE INSPECTION TOOLS 

Inline pipe inspection tools are inserted into large 

water mains to detect leaks via acoustic technology. 

Photo by PUB 

Fig. 1 – LEAK MONITORING SENSORS 

First trialled in 2017, these sensors monitor and 

analyse acoustic noises in pipes, and can locate a 

leak spot within 3m along the pipe. 

These tools can survey long 

stretches of water pipes in 

a single deployment, and 

pinpoint the leak location 

within 2m along the pipe. 

A notification alert 

is automatically sent 

to PUB whenever a 

leak is detected. 

The smartphone 

automatically 

digitalises and analyses 

the acoustic signal 

recorded in real-time 

for presence of leaks. 

17276 

Fig. 4 & 5 – TIMELESS TOOLS 

While several tools have been discontinued to make way for 

newer, smarter technologies, these trusty devices have stood the 

test of time, helping PUB detect leaks in the past few decades. 

Manhole 

Cover 

Transmitter 

Receiver 

Battery 

Sensor 

Fig. 4 – Noise Loggers 

& Correlators 

Valve 

1,200 leak 

monitoring sensors 

will be installed in 

large water mains 

by 2021. 

Two sensors can be deployed on 

separate hydrants concurrently to 

correlate and pinpoint the leak 

spot within 2m along the pipe. 

Underground 

pipe chamber 

Sensor 

Valve 

Since the 2000s, these 

tools have been manually 

deployed on pipe fittings 

on a daily basis, working 

hand in hand to listen for 

and pinpoint leaks. 

Underground 

pipe chamber 

Fig. 2 – SMARTPHONE SENSORS 

Fig. 5 – Listening Sticks 

Designed as an easy-to-use and portable survey tool, 

the acoustic sensor picks up sounds and vibrations on 

smaller pipes. 

Since the 1970s, this low-cost, 

manual and highly portable 

leak detection tool has 

been using mechanical 

amplification to detect 

and pinpoint leaks. 

In the 2000s, PUB started deploying 

noise loggers and correlators for 

more dynamic and accurate leak 

detection. Deployed during the 

night, the noise loggers would be 

used to inspect large areas of the 

pipe network and localise the leak 

to within a 100m stretch of pipe. 

Thereafter, the correlators were used 

to pinpoint the actual leak location 

on the pipe. 

Today, PUB uses a mix of old 

and new in a suite of tools used 

in effective leak monitoring and 

detection: Listening sticks are 

considered timeless tools, and 

are portable as well as useful in 

confirming the precise location of a 

leak on site prior to the excavation 

of the pipe. 

DIVING INTO THE FUTURE 

Today, Singapore has a water 

network spanning 5700km, with 

water pipelines that bring clean, 

potable water to 1.6 million 

customers islandwide. PUB has a 

comprehensive pipe maintenance 

and renewal programme in place 

to make sure pipes and fittings are 

in good working condition, and is 

always seeking to enhance its leak 

detection capabilities. 

This comes in the way of smart 

tools and new technologies, such as 

leak monitoring sensors, inline pipe 

inspection tools, and smartphone 

sensors. Through regular inspection 

and replacement of old and leakprone 

pipes, PUB now records five 

leaks per 100km of pipes per year, 

down from 10 leaks per 100km of 

pipes in 2014, and is amongst the 

lowest incidence in the world. 

TIMELESS PROBLEMS, 

MODERN SOLUTIONS 

Leak monitoring sensors were first 

trialled in 2017, with 120 sensors 

installed along approximately 

70km of large water mains for early 

detection of developing leaks. These 

sensors work by monitoring and 

analysing noise characteristics in 

pipes, for presence of leaks. The 

data is collated in a centralised 

server, and advanced analytics are 

used to monitor readings and alert 

PUB automatically when a leak is 

identified. The sensors are able to 

accurately identify and pinpoint 

the location of the leak within three 

metres along the pipe. 

Today, PUB 

uses a mix of 

timeless and new 

technologies for 

leak monitoring 

and detection 


FOCUS 31 

learning curve has shortened… 

Previously, you’d need a few months, 

maybe even years, depending on the 

person who is able to train them to 

use tools for leak detection. 

Smartphone sensors are used to monitor smaller water pipes 

and detect leaks within two metres of the pipe 

The trial was successful, with 

the sensors detecting 13 leaks 

over a three-year period. In one 

incident, the sensors alerted PUB 

to a potential leak on a 700mm 

diameter water pipe alongside a 

major expressway in 2018. Upon 

excavation, a 13mm corrosion hole 

was discovered at the bottom of the 

pipe, within 0.5m of the location 

reported by the sensors. This early 

detection allowed PUB to promptly 

repair the pipe and prevented further 

water loss. Following up from the 

trial, PUB plans to progressively 

scale up the number of sensors 

in the network and deploy 1,200 

sensors islandwide for leak 

monitoring by 2021. 

PUB is also exploring use of inline 

pipe inspection tools for leak 

detection in large water mains. The 

tool is inserted directly into the pipe, 

which allows for more targeted and 

precise inspection of the pipe wall, 

to detect any cracks or anomalies. 

Propelled by the flow of water in the 

pipe, these tools can easily survey 

long stretches of a pipe in a single 

deployment. One such tool is a ballshaped 

sensor that can pinpoint the 

leak location to an accuracy of two 

metres by picking up acoustic or 

noise signature related to leaks. 

PUB will be deploying these sensors 

to survey 500km of pipes over the 

next five years. 

For smaller water pipes, the 

PUB leak detection teams were 

recently equipped with smartphone 

sensors, a portable and easy-touse 

survey tool that has proven 

to be effective in locating leaks. 

The sensor, connected to a 

smartphone, is placed on pipe 

fittings such as hydrants and valves 

to pick up sounds from the pipe. 

The smartphone automatically 

digitalises and analyses the 

acoustic signal in real-time via a 

dedicated mobile application to 

check for leaks. Two sensors can be 

deployed on separate pipe fittings 

at once to correlate and pinpoint 

the leak location within two metres 

along the pipe. 

JUST KEEP LEARNING 

This new technology has also made 

it easier for younger engineers to 

learn on the job. Waseem Khan, 

senior engineer with the Water 

Supply (Network) Department, 

commented, “The training and 

When you’re using the listening 

stick, it’s actually very complicated 

because there are other ambient 

noises present – vehicular traffic, 

people using water, environmental 

noises that are present – and you 

have to do all that processing and 

filtering in your brain. That takes 

years and years of training, but if 

you’re using a smartphone sensor 

like we are right now, all that filtering 

and amplification is going on in the 

phone. All the user has to do is listen 

out for the leak noise.” 

That isn’t to say that older engineers 

like Ong Guan are left behind, 

however – the 66-year-old extolled 

the virtues of self-improvement 

and shared how his keenness to 

learn has brought him to places like 

Brunei and Mauritius to provide leak 

detection consultancy services. 

“In the many years I’ve spent doing 

leak detection management, I’ve 

been able to apply my previous 

experience… And with these 

new skills, I’m able to train new 

engineers,” he said. 

Photos by Natalie Chew 

With a willingness 

to keep learning, 

older engineers 

like Ong Guan 

are able to stay 

on top of new 

technology 

used for leak 

detection – and 

train younger 

engineers too! 


32 FOCUS 

Remotely exploitable ICS vulnerabilities 

on rise in the age of COVID-19 

New report from Claroty researchers finds latest ICS vulnerabilities most prevalent in energy, 

critical manufacturing, and water & wastewater sectors of critical infrastructure 

More than 70% of industrial control system 

(ICS) vulnerabilities disclosed in the first 

half (1H) of 2020 can be exploited remotely, 

highlighting the importance of protecting 

internet-facing ICS devices and remote 

access connections. This is according to the 

inaugural Biannual ICS Risk & Vulnerability 

Report, released by Claroty, the global 

leader in operational technology (OT) 

security. 

The report comprises The Claroty 

Research Team’s assessment of 365 ICS 

vulnerabilities published by the National 

Vulnerability Database (NVD) and 139 ICS 

advisories issued by the Industrial Control 

Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team 

(ICS-CERT) during 1H 2020, affecting 53 

vendors. The Claroty Research Team 

discovered 26 of the vulnerabilities included 

in this data set. 

Compared to 1H 2019, ICS vulnerabilities 

published by the NVD increased by 10.3% 

from 331, while ICS-CERT advisories 

increased by 32.4% from 105. More than 

75% of vulnerabilities were assigned high 

or critical Common Vulnerability Scoring 

System (CVSS) scores. 

important it is for organisations to protect 

remote access connections and internet-facing 

ICS devices, and to protect against phishing, 

spam, and ransomware, in order to minimise 

and mitigate the potential impacts of these 

threats.” 

PROMINENCE OF RCE 

VULNERABILITIES HIGHLIGHTS 

NEED TO PROTECT INTERNET- 

FACING ICS DEVICES 

According to the report, more than 70% of 

the vulnerabilities published by the NVD can 

be exploited remotely, reinforcing the fact 

that fully air-gapped ICS networks that are 

isolated from cyber threats have become vastly 

uncommon. Additionally, the most common 

potential impact was remote code execution 

(RCE), possible with 49% of vulnerabilities 

– reflecting its prominence as the leading 

area of focus within the OT security research 

community – followed by the ability to read 

application data (41%), cause denial of 

service (DoS) (39%), and bypass protection 

mechanisms (37%). 

The prominence of remote exploitation has 

been exacerbated by the rapid global shift to 

a remote workforce and the increased reliance 

on remote access to ICS networks in response 

to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

VULNERABILITIES IN ENERGY, 

CRITICAL MANUFACTURING, AND 

WATER & WASTEWATER SECTORS 

ON THE RISE 

The energy, critical manufacturing, and water 

& wastewater infrastructure sectors were 

by far the most impacted by vulnerabilities 

published in ICS-CERT advisories during 

1H 2020. Of the 385 unique Common 

Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) 

included in the advisories, energy had 236, 

critical manufacturing had 197, and water & 

“There is a heightened awareness of the 

risks posed by ICS vulnerabilities and a 

sharpened focus among researchers and 

vendors to identify and remediate these 

vulnerabilities as effectively and efficiently 

as possible,” said Amir Preminger, VP of 

Research at Claroty. 

“We recognised the critical need to 

understand, evaluate, and report on the 

comprehensive ICS risk and vulnerability 

landscape to benefit the entire OT security 

community. Our findings show how 

Breakdown of infrastructure sectors affected by vulnerabilities included in ICS-CERT advisories during 

1H 2020, of which 171 are from the water and wastewater industry 


FOCUS 33 

Most prevalent potential impacts of ICS vulnerabilities published by the NVD during 1H 2020 

wastewater had 171. Compared to 1H 2019, 

water & wastewater experienced the largest 

increase of CVEs (122.1%), while critical 

manufacturing increased by 87.3% and 

energy by 58.9%. 

ASSESSMENT OF ICS 

VULNERABILITIES 

DISCOVERED BY CLAROTY 

The Claroty Research Team discovered 26 

ICS vulnerabilities disclosed during 1H 2020, 

prioritising critical or high-risk vulnerabilities 

that could affect the availability, reliability, 

and safety of industrial operations. The team 

focused on ICS vendors and products with 

vast install bases, integral roles in industrial 

operations, and those that utilise protocols in 

which Claroty researchers have considerable 

expertise. These 26 vulnerabilities could have 

serious impacts on affected OT networks, 

because more than 60% enable some form 

of RCE. 

For many of the vendors affected by Claroty’s 

discoveries, this was their first reported 

vulnerability. As a result, they proceeded to 

create dedicated security teams and 

processes to address the rising vulnerability 

detections due to the convergence of IT 

and OT. 

The Claroty Research Team is an awardwinning 

group of OT security researchers 

known widely for its development of 

proprietary OT threat signatures, OT protocol 

analysis, and discovery and disclosure of 

ICS vulnerabilities. Fiercely committed to 

strengthening OT security and equipped with 

the industry’s most extensive ICS testing 

lab, the team works closely with leading 

industrial automation vendors to evaluate 

the security of their products. To date, the 

team has discovered and disclosed more 

than 40 ICS vulnerabilities, working closely 

with dozens of vendors to remediate all 

reported issues. 

Breakdown of Claroty-discovered vulnerabilities by affected product type 


34 VIEWPOINT 

Photo by Florian Wehde 

Near or far, forests — like this one at the edge of Hong Kong — affect the movement, quality and availability of water in cities 

Near or far, forests 

can protect water 

for cities 

By Edie Juno and John-Rob Pool 

Water is essential to human health and 

well-being. In cities, leaders strive to provide 

secure access to clean, safe and affordable 

water. In rural areas, farmers hope for 

adequate rain and healthy rivers to produce 

healthy crops. The coronavirus pandemic 

reminds us how critical clean water is to 

health and hygiene, as public health officials 

have urged frequent handwashing. And yet, 

the world is on the precipice of a historic 

global water crisis. 

Rising temperatures and extreme weather 

events associated with climate change 

continue to pressure water systems and 

strain urban water infrastructure. Some 

scenarios suggest that by 2025, as many as 

1.8 billion people will face water scarcity. 

The situation is dire, but one asset is 

already at our fingertips: forests. 

Within city limits, across local watersheds 

and even thousands of miles away, forests 

alter the movement, quality and availability 

of water. The world’s urban leaders 

need to account for the role of forests in 

securing clean water for residents and the 

agricultural lands that cities rely on. 

The connection between cities, water and 

forests works at three levels: inner forests, 

nearby forests and faraway forests. Here’s 

how each one protects water in cities, no 

matter how far away: 


VIEWPOINT 35 

URBAN FORESTS ASSIST 

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT 

Urban water woes are not limited to water 

scarcity. New research from Aqueduct Floods 

suggests that flooding has caused over 

$1 trillion in losses globally since 1980, and 

cities, often situated near coasts and along 

rivers, are among the most vulnerable. 

As a nature-based solution, urban forests 

— which include all the trees in an urban 

area, from street trees to patches of natural 

and planted forest, as well as the vegetation 

and soil beneath them — can facilitate 

improved urban stormwater management and 

reduce the hazards posed by flooding while 

simultaneously providing other environmental 

and cultural co-benefits. 

Trees intercept rainfall as water clings to 

leaves and branches, slowing its journey 

across the landscape. This reduces the overall 

volume of surface runoff, curtails soil erosion 

and increases groundwater recharge. As a 

result, urban forests mitigate the effects of 

storms and flooding events on traditional 

infrastructure like drains and dikes. 

This also reduces risks from combined 

sewage overflows, which threaten the health 

of communities and aquatic ecosystems. 

Given the benefits, U.S. cities like Philadelphia 

and New York City, as well as various “sponge 

cities” in China, are actively incorporating 

trees and other green infrastructure to 

manage stormwater and flooding risks and 

improve infiltration rates across their cities. 

NEARBY FORESTS PROTECT CITY 

WATER SUPPLIES AND ENHANCE 

RESILIENCE 

Of the world’s 105 largest cities, 33 rely 

heavily on nearby protected forest lands 

as a primary factor in drinking water 

availability and quality. Five major cities in 

the United States — New York; Boston; 

San Francisco; Seattle and Portland, 

Oregon — rely on nearby protected forests 

instead of traditional infrastructure to filter 

their water. 

Forested watersheds adjacent to cities 

affect water quality and availability by 

regulating precipitation, evaporation 

and flows. Trees and other vegetation 

can improve water quality by preventing 

erosion, breaking down pollutants and 

providing shade. Forests and their soils 

also act like sponges that absorb water 

when it is plentiful and release it when it is 

scarce. They do this partly by increasing 

water infiltration into the soil, helping to 

recharge vital groundwater supplies. 

Studies from WRI suggest that protecting 

these watershed ecosystems can pay 

off in countries like Brazil. By protecting 

water quality and preventing sediment 

from entering waterways, restoring forests 

around Rio de Janeiro could help the 

city avoid $79 million in costs for water 

treatment and reduce use of chemical 

products by as much as four million tons. 

However, not all forests provide the same 

benefits. Converting natural grasslands 

to forests and the use of non-native trees 

in plantations may reduce surface water 

yields for decades. In South Africa, for 

example, water-intensive Eucalyptus 

trees have stressed limited water 

resources. Conserving existing forests 

and considering local climate constraints 

may help to avoid negative unintended 

consequences. 

FARAWAY FORESTS DRIVE 

REGIONAL AND GLOBAL 

RAINFALL 

From hundreds of miles away, forests 

influence precipitation patterns for cities 

and key agricultural regions. A growing 

body of research acknowledges the role of 

tropical forests in creating “flying rivers”: 

Trees act as giant straws, pulling water 

from the soil and transpiring it into the 

air to produce the water vapor needed for 

rainfall, often in regions far downwind. 

The world’s great tropical forests in 

the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin 

and Southeast Asia play an especially 

Forests, near and far, help to manage water resources. Source: Cities4Forests 


36 VIEWPOINT 

http://bit.ly/ForestsForWater 

Three ways healthy forests support clean water 

important role in regulating rain. However, 

the ability of these forests to contribute 

rainfall is in jeopardy. 

The world lost 11.9 million hectares 

(29.4 million acres) of forest in 2019 — 

including 3.8 million hectares (9.4 million 

acres) of mature tropical rainforest. 

Cascading, deforestation-driven changes 

in rainfall could increase drought in urban 

regions and key farmlands, in the tropics 

and far beyond. 

Research suggests that large-scale 

deforestation of the Congo Basin would 

leave parts of Africa, like the populous Nile 

Basin and the Sahel, hotter and drier. In 

Latin America, degradation in the Amazon 

could lead cities in Brazil, Paraguay, 

Uruguay and Argentina to experience longer 

dry seasons and reduced agricultural 

productivity. 

IMPROVING WATER AND CITIES 

BY PROTECTING FORESTS 

With the majority of the planet’s population 

inhabiting cities, decisions made within 

urban boundaries affect these tropical 

forests. The production of commodities like 

beef, soy and palm oil drove nearly 30% 

of global tree cover loss in recent decades. 

Urban areas consume roughly 40 billion 

tons of materials annually — a number 

expected to more than double by 2050. 

As centres of commerce and culture, cities 

can stem these losses when municipal 

governments adopt deforestation-free 

procurement policies — as governments in 

Norway and California are exploring — and 

champion the value of forest conservation. 

At the same time, corporations can embrace 

forest-friendly supply chains, using opensource 

tools like Global Forest Watch Pro. 

Many cities, recognising the connection 

between forests and water, are acting to 

support and conserve forests. Members of 

the Cities4Forests network are working to 

plan and develop urban green infrastructure, 

invest in protecting watershed forests and 

source more forest-friendly commodities. 

As voters, consumers and ratepayers, city 

residents have a crucial role to play. 

Forests protect water for cities, and it is 

essential that cities step up to protect 

forests in return. 

This article was originally posted on Insights, 

the World Resources Institute blog. 


VIEWPOINT 37 

What’s next for cities 

after the pandemic? 

By Kenth Hvid Nielsen, General Manager of Grundfos Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wakeup 

call for us on all fronts. It has shaken 

our confidence in cities to be resilient and 

sustainable. Across the globe, COVID-19 

has threatened cities and communities, 

endangering not only public health, but also 

disrupting the economy 

and the fabric of society. 

The impact COVID-19 has on cities has 

highlighted the need for urban planners 

and municipalities to re-evaluate what 

a city needs to be resilient in the ‘new 

normal’ – whether it is reconsidering public 

infrastructure that would minimise contact, 

facilitating increased sanitation, coping with 

heightened demand for essentials, or even 

managing the effective delivery of municipal 

services in these circumstances. 

While it is still too early to draw 

conclusions around the pandemic, Swiss 

business school Institute of Management 

Development (IMD), who publishes the 

annual Smart City Index, found that smart 

cities, or cities that have successfully 

incorporated digitalisation into its urban 

planning, actually demonstrated greater 

effectiveness in handling the pandemic. 

Singapore is one such city and has topped 

the index for the second year running. 

When Singapore implemented its circuit 

breaker measures back in April, the citystate 

was able to cope with its effective use 

of technology. 

However, the rest of the world has 

some catching up to do. The world will 

only become increasingly urbanised. 

Since 2007, more than half the world’s 

population has been living in cities, and that 

share is projected to rise to 60% by 2030. 

With the world increasingly urbanised, it 

is critical to understand and tackle the 

systemic challenges cities face, which has 

been brought to light by the pandemic. 

It is time for us to reflect on how we can 

build more resilient, sustainable cities. 

However, over the last twelve months, 

much has happened that makes this year 

stand out. Our view of cities and of smart 

cities in particular, has been confronted 

with the reality of a life-changing crisis. 

But where do we even begin with the 

painstaking process of transforming cities? 

SMART WATER: A KEY 

BUILDING BLOCK 

Water management is one of the 

most pressing and urgent smart city 

conversations. Access to water is directly 

linked to our quality of life, but water as 

a resource has proven critical today, 

with the rampant use of water for 

hand-washing and cleaning of public 

spaces and homes in our fight against 

the coronavirus. 

Water demand has skyrocketed the past 

few months and has begged the question 

of how we can better manage this scarce 

resource and ensure there is enough 

for everyone. 


38 VIEWPOINT 

Secondly, we need to drive investment 

towards research and development, so 

that new knowledge and technologies 

are constantly tested and feeding into 

the upgrade of a city’s smart operations. 

Singapore as a leader in smart city solutions 

is at the forefront of leading research and 

innovation. Recently, the National University 

of Singapore (NUS) and ST Engineering are 

joining forces on a $9 million, multi-year 

digital technologies research programme to 

help build a ‘people-centric, smart future’ 

for Singapore. 

Kenth Hvid Neilsen is the General Manager of Grundfos Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam 

The key is smart water. ‘Smart water’ refers 

to water and wastewater infrastructure 

that effectively manages this precious 

resource – and the energy used to transport 

it. Digitalisation can make our water 

management more pre-emptive and predictive, 

ensuring we are constantly monitoring the 

conditions of our water systems and attending 

to each change in time, and addressing any 

issue before it happens. Water solutions 

providers like Grundfos have been increasingly 

integrating intelligence into its technology, 

and utilities around the world are increasingly 

leveraging real-time sensors and data 

analytics to support their daily operations. 

For example, water loss occurring along 

the water system due to leakage – or nonrevenue 

water (NRW) is a key issue for many 

cities’ water management. While Singapore is 

fortunate to have maintained a low NRW rate, 

utilities in Asia have every reason to worry 

about water losses – they lose up to 65% 

of their production daily, with most utilities 

averaging a 30% loss. 

A key factor contributing to wear and tear 

in water pipes is excessive pressure, which 

comes from a constantly high-water supply. 

With digitalisation, water utilities can use 

technologies that intelligently adjusts water 

flow according to demand through the use of 

remote sensors. This reduces any excess water 

pressure, which in turn limits water leakages 

and losses, minimising cost and energy. 

A smart city approach to water 

management also ensures one of a city’s 

most critical infrastructure operates more 

reliably and robustly than already ageing 

systems. Through the Internet of Things, 

advanced real-time data collection and 

sensors, water networks can access 

information that allows them to operate 

in a more predictive manner, reducing 

downtime and avoiding serious business 

and environmental consequences. 

Such predictive and intuitive models 

enable innovation at a large scale and hold 

the potential to revolutionise the way water 

is sold, distributed and consumed. And the 

same goes for wastewater in terms of how 

it is collected, treated, re-cycled or and 

discharged. 

AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE 

TO DIGITALISATION 

Technology is at our fingertips to 

empower our cities. However, we need 

to create a conducive environment for 

technology to thrive. The first step is 

to have an integrated approach to 

operations. For example, streamlining 

the city’s water operations and processes 

enables us to fully monitor and assess 

data collected from different touchpoints 

in the entire water system, providing us 

with a clearer picture of the state of the 

city’s water management for better 

analysis and prediction. 

Another key area is people – we need to 

prepare the next generation of smart city 

leaders. Smart cities will demand for a whole 

new set of skills to adequately manage the 

city’s infrastructure to ensure effective and 

efficient operations. We need to look to 

educational institutions to mould the next 

generation of urban planners, engineers, 

architects, and more. 

Lastly, collaboration between the public 

and private sector can accelerate the 

entire process of transforming smart cities. 

Governments have the access and power to 

effect change, while corporations are driven 

by a commitment to be part of the solution 

and offer first-hand knowledge of what is 

needed from governments to unlock privatesector 

investments. As a water solutions 

provider, Grundfos has actively worked with 

the public sector to ensure our solutions 

are playing an active role in bringing smart 

cities to life. 

CITIES TO REBOOT IN THE 

NEW NORMAL 

The pandemic has presented us a chance 

to focus our attention on what should 

be changed, re-evaluating the way cities 

are built, maintained, and lived in, and 

ensure that our already constrained public 

resources are going where it matters most. 

Notably, water plays an essential role in 

the everyday lives of people, communities, 

and business. Without investment in water 

infrastructure, smart cities have limited 

room for development. 

This will not be the last of such traumatic 

economic and social crises to come, and our 

cities are due to be transformed whether 

we like it or not. We should be ready for the 

next challenge. 


VIEWPOINT 39 

Increased 

vigilance in 

water quality 

By: Orest and Janina Protch 

VIEWPOINT 39 

think of anything else that they may 

buy for their household. The industry 

needs to have to confidence of the 

final consumer, the final judge of the 

VIEWPOINT 39 

worthiness of the product. If there is 

a quality and health issue, it needs to 

be resolved quickly. 

Water treatment is an industry where 

it is very easy to become complacent 

and to assume that every day is the 

same. It takes continuous planning 

just to maintain what is already there 

let alone any new projects. Even 

with what appears to be a simple 

upgrade project can have unforeseen 

consequences further down the 

system. Consider the customers to 

include downstream equipment and 

not just in normal terms of people as 

customers. 

Accurate 

and regular 

testing 

Certification 

of operators 

and the 

facility 

Regulatory 

standards for 

drinking 

water 

Legislated 

framework 

WATER 

QUALITY 

Continuous 

process 

upgrading 

No matter where in the world you 

produce water suitable for human 

consumption, the obstacles and 

challenges that you face to make 

clean, healthy and good tasting 

water are getting more and more 

difficult to overcome. To accomplish 

this somewhat lofty water quality 

goal takes a coordinated effort by all 

the stakeholders involved. 

The people (employees) of the water 

treatment facility need to work with 

the community which is the entire 

water management system to meet 

the demands of its customers. 

The community includes the other 

water treatment facilities, the 

distribution systems, the wastewater 

collection systems (sewers) and the 

wastewater treatment facilities. It 

even includes the chemical suppliers. 

What one does impacts the others. 

The customers are comprised of the 

citizens, the local industries that also 

use the water and the government 

departments that regulate the facility 

including local health authorities. 

The water industry is not a standalone 

enterprise. It is a partnership 

of industry, government, health 

experts, suppliers and the final 

consumers of the water product. It 

is important to think of water as a 

commercial product with the same 

warranties and guarantees of a great 

product the same way consumers 

Appropriate 

action when 

quality 

decreases 

The water 

industry is a 

partnership of 

a number of 

professional 

organisations that 

work together to 

ensure a good 

consumer product 

Continuous 

public input 

Not only can the incoming water 

quality change in terms of dissolved 

solids and chemical contaminants 

but even the chemicals used to treat 

the water can change from delivery 

to delivery. Chemical suppliers face 

the same quality issues in terms 

of raw chemicals as every other 

industry. I have even experienced 

problems with the chemicals used in 

testing the water. 


40 VIEWPOINT 

Lab supply companies, like everyone 

else, buy from the cheapest 

manufacturer and this can mean 

that your orders can be filled from 

different countries for the same test 

chemical if the test chemical supplier 

is a multinational. You may think 

when testing the water that you 

need to check your bulk chemical 

additions if the quality changes but 

in fact the water may be just fine but 

the chemicals used to test it may 

be faulty (Photos 1 and 2). Quality 

control systems need to be created 

for everything and documented. 

In one industry where I worked it 

was better for me to make up 

the test chemicals that the 

operators used to do the 

testing for their processes 

(Photos 3 and 4). Every 

step was documented, as 

well as each raw chemical 

used to mix together to 

make the final chemical 

solution. Even the quality of 

the water used to dilute the 

solution was documented. 

A potable water producer will face a 

variety of issues, but perhaps one of 

the most critical problems faced is 

Lack Of Funding. Managers are often 

asked to do more with less, less in 

terms of money. There are basically 

two types of water treatment 

facilities. Those owned by individual 

municipalities and those owned by 

international megaliths. 

Increasingly, water companies 

are becoming global corporate 

entities and they, by their very size, 

dictate to water treatment chemical 

suppliers the price of chemicals. 

They buy in large volumes so 

they expect to get the very lowest 

possible price for chemicals. The 

water treatment chemical companies 

need to maximise their profits for 

their own investors and so they 

tend to increase the price to smaller 

users such as municipalities to make 

up the lost profits. Smaller systems 

should consider joining others 

when purchasing to get better bulk 

purchasing prices. 

The part of the circle that is 

becoming increasingly important 

and critical is Cyber Security. If a 

water treatment plant is somehow 

connected to the internet then this 

opens the door for cyber criminals 

and hackers to cause major 

problems for a facility. If employees 

can bring their own data memory 

devises to use on facility computers 

then they can introduce computer 

viruses and malware with them by 

accident. Policing agencies such 

as Europe’s Interpol and in the US, 

their Homeland Security, both list 

water treatment plants second only 

to nuclear power plants as targets 

for terrorists and hackers to attack. 

The logistical constraints faced 

by water treatment plants can be 

quickly summarised: The total 

overhead and required minimum 

budget of a facility is directly 

proportional to the size of the 

entire facility and its accompanying 

2 

1 

Photos 1 and 2: 

While working 

as an operator 

in the past, the 

author found that 

sometimes the 

test chemicals 

themselves were 

faulty when the 

first inclination 

is to assume that 

the treatment 

process is out of 

control. The vials 

show the result 

of faulty test 

chemicals giving 

two different 

colour results 

infrastructure and the amount of 

safe, healthy and good tasting water 

that is needed every year to satisfy 

the demands of the population it 

serves. 

The overhead costs includes such 

things as : 

• Wages. Operators and 

management. 

• Maintenance costs. Regular and 

emergency repairs. 

• Chemical costs. Chemical costs 

and storage costs. 

• Electrical costs. 

• Upgrade costs. This includes 

costs to replace existing tanks 

and equipment. 

• Depreciation costs. Money 

needs to be set aside for future 

upgrades. 

The size of the system includes such 

things as : 

• Number of various stages used 

in the process. 

• Size of area that the treatment 

plant services. 

• Technology used in the 

treatment process. 

• Training and certification levels 

required to operate the system. 


VIEWPOINT 41 

The time corresponds to the amount 

of water that is needed every year to 

satisfy its customers’ requirements 

and is also directly related to the 

reliability of the entire process. 

The time of the process is related to : 

• Yearly production volumes 

needed. Not only do customers 

need drinking water but 

perhaps seasonal demand 

changes according to the type 

of industries also using the 

water. (farming, manufacturing, 

mining) 

• Daily production volumes 

needed. Do volumes needed 

decrease at night? 

• Normal planned maintenance 

outages. 

• Seasonal fluctuations in water 

coming to the treatment plant. 

• Breakages in the distribution 

system. 

Water treatment facilities need to 

budget and plan for the cost of 

operation now and in the future. A 

facility will need to meet government 

dictated requirements to get and 

maintain its operating license. This 

same license will determine not only 

the amount of operators needed but 

also the certification levels that they 

need to operate the water plant. If 

the future plans include upgrading 

even just parts of the system then 

this may change the certification 

levels of the operators. This means 

money may be needed for training 

the operators to meet the new 

certification levels. 

Producing clean, healthy and good 

tasting water is a juggling act. The 

facility management team needs to 

simultaneously balance three crucial 

items: These are Time, Cost and 

Quality. The first two, time and cost, 

directly influence the quality of the 

water being produced. 

If a water treatment plant could 

take all the time it needs to make 

a high quality product, then cost 

would be an issue. The cost to 

make a litre of potable water would 

rise proportionally. A typical water 

treatment plant needs to push 

through as much incoming raw water 

in as short a time as possible while 

ensuring the complete mixing of 

chemicals such as flocculants and 

polymers is adequate considering 

the constraints of hydraulics and 

load capacity of the system. 

If the time spent in the treatment 

plant is reduced then the cost to 

treat the water is also reduced but 

then this lowers the quality of the 

processed water. 

If the facility reduces costs by 

purchasing inferior chemicals then 

the resulting chemical reaction with 

the water is slower and would need 

a larger less hydraulically influenced 

system. 

However, it is very difficult to lower 

both the costs and the time the raw 

water spends in the facility while 

maintaining a high quality product. 

As mentioned, it is a balancing act 

that management needs to master 

in terms of having acceptable costs 

with a good flow through rate while 

maintaining the quality of the water 

that gets released to the distribution 

system. 

It would be nice if every day was the 

same for a water treatment plant. 

But such is not the case. Facilities 

have to face challenges such as 

seasonal affects, incoming raw water 

sediment changes due to upstream 

erosion cause by industry and the 

municipalities themselves and even 

changes in operator experience 

and certification levels if they seek 

employment elsewhere or retire. The 

new people may not be able to handle 

the existing technology or even new 

technology being brought in. 

An aspect that some municipalities 

may ignore to their detriment is 

emergency planning. Engineers or 

managers that have just graduated 

from school may have not faced any 

trials or tribulations or challenging 

experiences to give them the 

knowledge to deal with panic 

situations. As knowledgeable and 

experienced people retire then the 

new ones hired to replace them 

tend to want to make their presence 

known by starting costs cutting 

measures. They may have no concept 

that different water utilities are in 

it together and if one faces a crisis 

the others will help out. I have been 

in a situation where a chemical 

delivery truck broke down and so I 

VIEWPOINT 41 

Photos 3 and 4: 

While working 

for one industry 

in the past the 

author mixed 

the chemicals 

himself that the 

operators used 

for testing their 

various processes. 

He could then 

manage the 

quality control 

himself. 

3 4 


42 VIEWPOINT 

called another municipality to share 

treatment chemicals by sending 

another tanker truck to get some 

from them to get through the 

shortage short term. 

No industry wants to have 

unexpected shutdowns due to 

power outages. Water treatment 

plants need to ensure at least 

partial standby electricity capability 

that automatically starts up 

when the system loses outside 

electricity sources. This should be 

for a minimum 24 hour duration 

that allows for a controlled and 

systematic shutting down of pumps, 

chemical feeders and valves (Photo 

5). These are almost always diesel 

generators since the fuel can be 

stored for a very long time. The 

generators should automatically 

Photo 5: 

Emergency 

standby 

generators 

are a critical 

piece of water 

treatment plant 

infrastructure. 

Photo 6: One of 

three lines leaving 

a water treatment 

plant reservoir 

with an automatic 

fail-safe-closed 

valve that has the 

capability to be 

opened manually 

for emergency 

use by municipal 

firefighters 

5 

start and run once a week with the 

electricity going to ground to make 

sure they will run when needed. 

As part of the design of the facility 

some valves will be what is known 

as fail-safe-open or fail-safe-closed. 

Most industrial valves are controlled 

by air compressor systems and 

although they have compressed 

air storage tank systems they 

usually only last an extremely short 

time and only have enough stored 

compressed air when the power 

is lost to take care of a few critical 

systems. 

If there is a power outage then 

any valves that leave the facility 

reservoir should be of the fail-safeclosed 

variety. This will ensure that 

any water needed by emergency 

response teams such as fire fighting 

departments can still have access to 

reservoir water for at least a short 

time. The valves would just need to 

be manually opened (Photo 6). 

SUMMARY 

All populations in all countries 

should have access to clean, 

healthy and good tasting water at a 

reasonable cost. Trying to determine 

what a reasonable cost is can be 

quite challenging. And in some 

instances it can be difficult to explain 

6 

to a facility’s water customers why 

their potable water is very expensive 

compared to other areas of the same 

geographic region. 

They see large flowing rivers or deep 

lakes but have no understanding of 

how the water may be dangerous to 

their health without treatment due to 

pathogens, toxic chemicals or even 

tiny suspended particles that bacteria 

and viruses can hide beside to hide 

them from chemical additions such as 

chlorine used to disinfect the water. 

This is where good planning comes in. 

It should include public education and 

the surest and most cost effective way 

to get information out there is to give 

tours of the facilities to local schools 

and the general public. 

A new water treatment plant or even a 

large upgrade planning step checklist 

should be a tool in every manager’s 

tool kit. It can include such items as : 

• Review of customer water 

requirements. (public, industry, 

agriculture, firefighting) 

• Review of water health 

regulations. 

• Initial budget estimation. 

• Engineering plans. 

• Review of customer needs. 

• Review of budget estimation. 

• Review of engineering plans. 

• Customer feedback. 

• Finalisation of budget. 

• Construction or upgrades. 

• Constant ongoing construction 

budget review. 

• Constant review of health 

authority regulations. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Orest Protch retired in January 2020; 

Choosing to stay busy he started putting 

on week-long seminars in basic 

metallurgy. In March 2020, he went 

to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to put on 

a week-long metallurgy seminar for 

a special projects team of the DND, 

Canadian Department of National 

Defence. 

His daughter, Janina, is a chemist 

for a specialty analytical testing 

laboratory. 


VIEWPOINT 43 

Top five considerations for a 

brownfield facility upgrade 

By Alicia Chow, Veolia Water Technologies 

1 2 

3 

5 

4 

Managing a brownfield facility often 

comes with many challenges, including 

issues with ageing plant components 

and having to adapt to new regulatory 

requirements. How does one decide 

if a brownfield water or wastewater 

treatment plant is due for an upgrade? It 

is important to assess the plant’s current 

process performance against the desired 

outcomes or required standards before 

deciding if the business should modify, 

update, or upgrade existing treatment 

processes. 

Here are the top five considerations for 

managers evaluating an upgrade for their 

brownfield water or wastewater treatment 

plant: 

#1: Changes to business requirements 

In today’s competitive business environment, 

manufacturers often grapple to meet new 

requirements due to changing market 

demands or new corporate sustainability 

goals. Both scenarios can bring about 

changes to water quality specifications and 

treatment capacity, which makes alterations 

to existing treatment systems unavoidable. It 

is then imperative for businesses to carefully 

examine how their business goals can be 

met through the selection of a suitable water 

treatment system. 

Businesses that are looking to streamline 

production processes can consider modular 

water treatment systems, which allow 

additional treatment units to be added or 

removed from a system quickly and efficiently, 

depending on their requirements. This ability 

to scale a system up and down also offers 


44 VIEWPOINT 

greater flexibility and cost efficiency for 

upgrades. Some treatment systems can 

also support digital monitoring, where 

plants can be monitored and optimised 

remotely round-the-clock, and allow 

businesses to achieve operational 

efficiency and quality compliance 

seamlessly. 

#2: New regulatory requirements 

One of the areas that businesses have no 

control over is the regulations meted out 

by the authorities. When new regulations 

are introduced, manufacturers have 

no choice but to find ways to meet the 

requirements. In China, for example, the 

government implemented strict effluent 

discharge standards to meet its 2020 

targets for the prevention and control of 

water pollution. Manufacturers affected by 

this change must then look into upgrading 

their existing systems, which may not 

be able to comply with the demanding 

regulatory requirements. 

#3: Cost of maintenance or operating 

costs 

As opposed to regular planned upgrades 

or replacements, waiting to replace a piece 

of equipment only when it exhausts its life 

span tends to be costlier because of how 

maintenance and repairs increase towards 

the end. While some form of maintenance 

and repair is reasonably required to keep 

various systems in a treatment plant in 

working order, eventually the cost and 

effort of repairing the systems will exceed 

the cost of replacement — making the 

option to upgrade or replace the systems a 

more cost-effective one. 

#4: Compatibility of new system with 

existing infrastructure 

Another crucial consideration is to ensure 

that the new system fits the existing 

infrastructure (e.g. piping and wiring), and 

that there is sufficient space to house a 

new treatment system or to accommodate 

temporary upgrading works. Businesses 

can opt for different types of solutions 

to work around existing constraints. For 

instance, plants that are tight on space 

can consider compact, plug-and-play 

solutions, which will help maximise the 

small footprint available. 

#5: Availability of new technology 

The water treatment industry is always 

innovating to solve water challenges 

and to address issues that existing 

solutions cannot tackle. Such solutions 

offer businesses an avenue to modify 

or update current systems to meet 

their production needs more effectively 

and can lead to increased productivity 

or cost-savings in the long-term. 

With over 160 years of experience 

and a comprehensive range of service 

offerings, Veolia is a trusted partner 

for every water and wastewater 

need. Whether it’s designing a new 

facility or refurbishing, expanding or 

bringing a brownfield facility up to 

regulatory standards, Veolia works in 

tandem with our customers to develop 

comprehensive implementation plans 

based on their needs and desired 

outcomes. 

By tapping in to Veolia’s extensive 

experience, customers know they have 

a reliable partner to take care of the 

complexities and challenges that come 

with modifying or retrofitting an 

existing water or wastewater treatment 

plant. 


VIEWPOINT 45 

Sustainability 

in the new year 

As the world bids goodbye to 2020 and looks toward the new year, 

Prakash Govindan, Gradiant Co-Founder and COO, shares his thoughts 

and predictions for 2021. 

Photo by Evie Shaffer on Pexels 

VIEWPOINT 45 

As organisations and governments 

embark on economic recovery, 

sustainability is being brought back 

VIEWPOINT 45 

into the spotlight, being at the core 

of strategies aimed at boosting 

resilience and long-term growth. 

Sharing his thoughts on the 

expanded role that sustainable 

infrastructure and technologies 

are set to play in 2021, Gradiant 

co-founder and COO Prakash 

Govindan commented, “While most 

governments and organisations 

focused on survivability in the 

early days of the pandemic due to 

economic uncertainty, sustainability 

has today emerged at the core of 

economic recovery strategies. This 

has delivered a boost to sustainable 

processes and infrastructure as 

decision-makers leverage the 

disruption from COVID-19 as 

an opportunity to restructure 

economies for long term growth. 

Besides addressing the immediate 

challenge posed by COVID-19, 

Gradiant firmly believes that 

long-term growth also remains 

dependent on successfully 

mitigating the impact of climate 

change and the increasing strain 

on natural resources including 

water. This is an area where proper 

implementation of sustainable 

infrastructure can drive growth 

in a manner that fulfils economic, 

socioeconomic, and ecological 

obligations. 

2020 has been a rollercoaster of 

a year, with COVID-19 acting as a 

major disruption to normal life, and 

the economic repercussions of the 

pandemic have been felt all over the 

world. 

According to a report published by 

the World Bank, economic activity 

in East Asia and the Pacific is 

forecast to contract by 1.2% 

in 2020 before rebounding to 

5.4% in 2021. Among major 

economies of the region, Malaysia 

(-3.1%), the Philippines (-1.9%), 

and Thailand (-5%) are forecast 

to experience the biggest 

contractions this year. 

For instance, effective use 

of wastewater management 

technologies such as desalination 

and water filtration and treatment 

solutions can address the risk of 

water scarcity in Asia, accelerated 

by exponentially growing 

populations amid finite resources.” 

Despite the drive towards 

embracing the growing trend of 

sustainability, there has been some 


46 VIEWPOINT 

pushback – and utilities seeking to 

tread the path of sustainability face 

challenges that they will need to 

overcome. 

Govindan elaborated, “Prior to 

the pandemic, low awareness of 

the value provided by industrial 

wastewater management systems 

served as a major barrier to 

adoption. Organisations were 

often unwilling to invest heavily 

in sustainable initiatives as they 

perceived it as a cost centre. 

However, the recent spotlight on 

sustainability is likely to spearhead 

a favourable shift in perception 

and create more environmental 

regulation across the region, 

providing further impetus for 

the growth of complementary 

technology and infrastructure.” 

Going forward, this is one of the 

problems that Gradiant seeks 

to address – as shown in its 

acquisition of Sigma Water, an 

industrial water and wastewater 

treatment company based in 

Selangor, Malaysia. 

Through this acquisition, Gradiant 

aims to combine its technologies 

and financing capabilities with 

Sigma Water’s project delivery and 

O&M expertise, thus maximising the 

usage and potential of finite water 

resources. 

Govindan added, “We are 

anticipating demand for wastewater 

management solutions to grow, 

especially within the South East 

Asian region, which is home to 

some of the world’s fastest growing 

emerging economies as well as 

numerous industrial production 

chains. 

Reaffirming Asia’s sustained 

interest in such technologies, 

Gradiant has registered a robust 

We are anticipating demand for 

wastewater management solutions 

to grow especially within the 

South East Asian region, 

which is home to some 

of the world’s fastest 

growing emerging 

economies as well as 

numerous industrial 

production chains.” 

2020, securing 32 projects across 

the Asia Pacific that address complex 

water challenges in pharmaceuticals, 

infrastructure, power, FMCG, 

chemicals, textiles, latex, mining and 

water supply. 

As the economy stabilises, we 

anticipate the circular economy 

approach in particular to take 

centre stage in the post-COVID 

world. Such models will be vital in 

setting the foundation for scalable 

growth not reliant on exploitation 

of finite natural resources as well as 

accelerate the creation of zero-waste 

societies, enabling industrial growth 

to continue in harmony with nature. 

In the years ahead, technological 

advancements are likely to further 

boost the status of sustainable 

technologies as a resource rather 

than a cost centre, making it an 

increasingly viable option for 

businesses in the near term.” 

With COVID-19 vaccines becoming 

more available, the world will slowly 

adjust to what will hopefully be a 

post-COVID-19 reality – which will 

allow organisations to focus on how 

they can introduce and maintain 

sustainable infrastructure and 

technology. 

Said Govindan, “ The impact 

the pandemic has wrought 

on businesses across the 

region has pushed the need 

for autonomy and adaptability 

even further. Governments 

and businesses are favouring 

economic recovery plans 

that focus on local solutions 

and sustainability in order to 

combat further degradation of 

the environment and its people 

from the effects of maintaining 

the status quo and overglobalization. 

This has led to an 

uptick in customers for Gradiant 

across the Asia Pacific looking 

for local green solutions. 

Gradiant’s growth opportunities 

in 2021 will be driven in no small 

part by the rapid recognition 

of sustainable infrastructure as 

an integral enabler of growth 

in a post-pandemic reality. 

This will play an essential role 

in helping businesses strike 

a long-term balance between 

business growth and the 

environment, an approach that 

simultaneously equips economies 

with the resilience and scalability 

necessary to accommodate 

evolving demands of a growing 

population.” 


HOTSEAT 47 

VIEWPOINT 47 

A matter 

of scale 

With products available in over 

100 countries, Global Water 

Solutions offers innovative, highquality 

products for the water 

movement and water treatment 

industries. The company offers 

a range of maintenance-free 

pressure vessels for water wells, 

pressure boosting, heating, 

solar, hot water, reverse osmosis, 

and water hammer applications. 

Global Water Solutions also offers its OneStop Plus (OSP) Anti-Scale system, which is 

easy to install and requires no salt or electricity. With flow rates ranging from 3-284l/ 

min, the OSP range covers residential, commercial and industrial usage. Not only does it 

prevent scaling by converting limescale into harmless crystals, it also reduces existing 

limescale deposits. The OSP Anti-Scale system also reduces heavy metals in the water, 

including copper, lead, mercury, zinc and cadmium. 

How OneStop Plus works 

With new and innovative 

solutions, Global Water 

Solutions’ water treatment range 

is constantly evolving – and 

some of the company’s most 

interesting and popular series 

include: 

• Purefer filters and housings 

• G500 high-flow RO system 

• AquaWave RO systems 

• TankPAC RO storage tanks 

The OneStop Plus 

media attracts 

dissolved calcium 

carbonate (CaCO 3 

) 

scale molecules into 

“Templates” on the 

media 

The calcium carbonate 

(CaCO 3 

) scale 

molecules grow into 

microscopic crystals 

The crystals detach when they 

are too large to be held by the 

OneStop Plus media. These 

harmless crystals effectively 

isolate the calcium carbonate 

(CaCO 3 

) scale molecules from 

the water and anything the 

water comes in contact with. 


NEWSLETTER 

OF THE 

SINGAPORE 

WATER 

ASSOCIATION 

BRINGING 

A NEW VIBRANCY 

TO SINGAPORE’S 

GROWING 

WATER INDUSTRY 

SWA & SG MEM Joint Webinar: 

Water for All – Sustainable Resource 

Management 

3 rd November 2020, Complimentary, ZOOM 

Invited speakers from NEWRI Ecosystem, DuPont and 

Century Water dove into exclusive topics such as deployment 

and water treatment solutions in South East Asia, 

industry water solutions and innovations for water challenge 

and hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes and 

applications. 

Deck and recording can be downloaded from 

www.swa.org.sg/swatch/ 

SWA Webinar: 

In Conversation with Enterprise Singapore 

11 th November 2020, Complimentary, Cisco Webex 

Sharing of government support schemes and discussion of 

business challenges with SWA members 

As the Singapore economy eases into the new normal, 

the ever-evolving situation highlights the importance for 

local companies to be agile and adapt quickly to changes. 

Enterprise Singapore (ESG) will support Singapore SMEs in 

their business transformation and growth plans to embrace 

the new normal. 

22 local companies joined us (by invite) for a dialogue session 

on 11 th November 2020 as ESG shared about government 

support schemes, and welcomed water companies to voice 

their concerns and business challenges.

SWA/SgWX Water Utilities Series: 

The Manila Water Story - Emerging Challenges and Strategic Responses 

4th December 2020, Complimentary, Cisco Webex 

Globally, water utilities have to 

adapt to external changes, such 

as rapid urbanisation, impact of 

climate change and increasing 

customer demand. Manila Water 

is no exception. This webinar 

presented Manila Water’s specific 

challenges and the solutions 

it has implemented to ensure operational 

continuity. The webinar 

also discussed the company’s key 

programmes till 2037. More than 

180 attendees learned about Manila 

Water’s long-term plans and 

discovered new opportunities and 

latest development in the Philippine 

water market. 

SWA & ProMinent Joint Webinar: 

Increasing demands in treating wastewater management in our region 

8th December 2020, Complimentary, Cisco Webex 

With the immense opportunities to make an impact in improving 

wastewater management in our region and to share latest solutions 

and know-how, Singapore Water Association (SWA) and ProMinent 

Fluid Controls (F.E.) Pte Ltd co-organised a webinar, “Increasing demands 

in treating wastewater management in our region: Overcoming 

pain points and boosting efficiencies” on Tuesday, 8 th December 

from 4pm – 5pm, which was well attended by 72 participants. 

Deck and recording can be downloaded from 

www.swa.org.sg/swatch/

SWA Digitalisation Series: 

Emerging Stronger – Digitalise your Corporate and Admin Functions 

15th December 2020, Complimentary, HYBRID @ SgWX 

More than 70 signed up for the inaugural HYBRID 

event at Singapore Water Exchange. Attendees hear 

from IMDA, SSG and NTUC USME on the funding, 

training and consultancy support available to SMEs 

to help digitalise back-end business functions. We 

learned more about HSL and Crystal Clear’s digital 

transformation journey too. It was a great sharing 

session to enable local companies to stay afloat 

and emerge stronger from the pandemic and was 

presented with various government support packages 

to implement digital solutions. 

Presentation deck can be downloaded from 

www.swa.org.sg/swatch/ 

UPCOMING SWA ACTIVITIES 

ORIENTATION DAY 2021 

8th January 2021, Complimentary, HYBRID 

Media Partner: 

Supported by: 

Brought to you by: 

The pandemic has drained us out for 2020 and we are all eagerly 

hoping to return to the norm where we can network again. Come 

meet some of our new members who joined us in 2020 at our 

inaugural Orientation Day on 8 th January 2021, Friday, 3pm - 5pm at 

e2i West Hall 2 Lvl 1 with our Media Partner, Water & Wastewater 

Asia and SWA Council. This will be a hybrid event where a snap 

introduction will be presented onsite and together with our virtual 

attendees, the Q & A session can be intriguing and interactive. We 

will take this opportunity to introduce and give an update of SWA 

2021 Events and Activities.

SWA & Fluence Joint Webinar: 

Delivering Sustainable Water Solutions Through Decentralization 

12th January 2021, Complimentary, Cisco Webex 

Decentralised treatment is an important 

solution for global water 

scarcity and climate resilience challenges. 

Advances in technology 

have made decentralised wastewater 

treatment and water reuse viable 

even in areas off the grid. 

The Singapore Water Association 

(SWA) and Fluence Corporation 

are co-organising a webinar: Delivering 

Sustainable Water Solutions 

Through Decentralization 

(Tuesday, 12 th January 2021, 3pm 

– 4pm SGT) which helps to illustrate 

a simple yet cost efficient 

decentralised water and wastewater 

treatment strategy which 

will help to provide the sustainability 

and flexibility required to 

deal with global water challenges. 

SWA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS 

(joined from October to December 2020) 

ORDINARY MEMBERS 

• Beng Hock Mechanical 

Engineering Pte Ltd 

• Fluence Corporation 

• GHD Pte Ltd 

• Netatech Engineering 

Pte Ltd 

• Singapore Valve & 

Fittings Pte Ltd 

• VA TECH Wabag 

(Singapore) Pte Ltd 

ASSOCIATE MEMBER 

• FiberSense 

• Filtersafe Singapore - 

Water Solution Enterprise 

• Nanos Water System LLP 

• Ovivo Singapore Pte Ltd 

• Quasset Pte Ltd 

• SEPCOIII Electric Power 

Construction Co Ltd 

• Swisspro Pte Ltd (Katadyn 

Singapore) 

2021 EVENTS CALENDAR 

2021 will be bustlingly filled with water shows, 

networking events, knowledge sharing sessions 

and webinars. We have an exciting and interesting 

lined up of water series with PUB, Singapore’s 

National Water Agency. Download from https:// 

www.swa.org.sg/2021-events-calendar/ 

INTERESTED TO JOIN SWA? 

We welcome all organisations who are actively involved 

and interested in the water and wastewater industry 

to join Singapore Water Association as either Ordinary, 

Associate or Institutional members. 

Sign up at https://www.swa.org.sg/membership/signup-online

52 ON OUR RADAR 

A solution 100% suited 

to social distancing 

Photo by Kyle Glenn & Alex on Unsplash 

In today’s unprecedented times, 

utilities all need to rethink the way 

they interact with customers and the 

demands made of employees. 

For utilities, business depends on 

collecting water meter data from 

customers – traditionally, this 

involves entering peoples’ homes 

and taking manual readings, but 

social distancing today requires 

limited physical contact with 

customers. On top of that, the shift 

to remote working means employees 

are less available to carry out 

readings on the ground. 

How do utilities overcome these 

challenges, collect data without 

customer contact, and better 

protect employees and customers? 

The answer could well be Diehl 

Metering’s IZAR radio technology, 

a solution that enables Automatic 

Meter Reading (AMR) and Automatic 

Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to 

allow for remote data capturing. 

FULLY CONTACTLESS 

By digitising meter reading, IZAR 

enables utilities to adapt to the 

current climate. There is no longer 

any need to make customer 

appointments – which eliminates 

physical interaction and the need 

to touch any devices. The whole 

process is entirely contactless. 

What’s more, readings are 

automatic, avoiding the potential for 

human error. 

READ METERS AT A 

DISTANCE 

With Diehl Metering’s AMR 

solution, utilities can choose from 

four different methods to collect 

readings. With the IZAR Walk-By 

solution, a person equipped with 

a tablet simply walks in front of 

consumers’ homes to capture their 

usage data, automatically and 

wirelessly. Similarly, the Drive-By 

solution enables readings to be 

taken from vehicles travelling up to 

50km/h. 

What’s more, IZAR makes it easy 

to switch from Drive-By to a 

Passive Drive-By solution without 

any need for an upgrade – saving 

time and labour costs. Radio 


ON OUR RADAR 53 

with IZAR radio modules – or 

they come with integrated radio 

technology in meters such as 

HYDRUS for water or SHARKY for 

thermal energy – and readings 

are captured using a handheld 

device such as an IZAR@MOBILE 

2 TABLET or via a fixed receiver, 

depending on the chosen solution. 

IZAR Mobile solution 

The data is then synchronised 

with Diehl Metering’s powerful 

meter management software 

IZAR@NET installed on servers 

and PCs. Alternatively, users can 

opt for software as a service with 

the online platform IZAR PLUS 

PORTAL. 

receivers can easily be fitted to 

a vehicle that regularly passes in 

front of consumers’ homes, such 

as a refuse collection vehicle or a 

mail van. Unlike similar systems, 

IZAR does not require a special 

route to gather the data in a 

specific order. 

The vehicle can simply do its usual 

rounds, collecting meter readings 

as its drives from neighbourhood 

to neighbourhood. 

Finally, the system can easily 

be upgraded to a fixed network 

with AMI by installing IZAR RDC 

receivers. As well as allowing 

employees to remotely read 

meters, IZAR AMI allows them 

to manage all their operations 

at a distance – which makes it 

the ultimate solution in social 

distancing. 

IZAR Fixed-Network solution 

IZAR 

EFFICIENCY 

IZAR technology is 

at the heart of Diehl 

Metering’s smart metering 

solutions. This proven radio 

technology delivers flexibility and 

reliability, allowing data to be 

transmitted remotely and, with 

AMI, at any time and as often as 

you like. All meters can be fitted 

IZAR Radio 

Compact Inductive 

R4 is designed for 

mobile reading and 

long-range fixed 

network remote 

reading of Diehl 

Metering water 

meters 

IZAR@NET 2 is Diehl Metering’s software solution for collecting, 

managing and analysing multi energy meters data 

FASTER, SAFER, SURER 

The benefits? 100% of meters 

can be read accurately and at 

a safe distance. Customers are 

only billed for their actual 

consumption, keeping 

satisfaction high. And 

utilities are able to protect 

both employees and 

customers by eliminating 

the need for face-to-face 

interaction. Readings are also 

faster and more reliable. 

IZAR is highly flexible, allowing 

utilities to combine Walk-By, 

Drive-By, Passive Drive-By and 

AMI solutions. For example, an 

IZAR fixed network can be used 

to automatically gather data in a 

high-density area, while Drive-By 

is used to read meters in more 

remote locations. 

With IZAR, network processes 

are digitised and automated. 

That means utilities can consume 

resources more efficiently, protect 

their people, and adapt their 

business to the needs of the 

current climate. It’s a solution that 

is perfectly suited to these current 

times. 



SOFREL NEO: The new smart 

and 4G connected data logger 

for water networks 

LACROIX Sofrel, a company that 

specialises in water network 

telemetry with more than 40 years 

of experience, is expanding its 

range of data loggers dedicated to 

monitoring of water networks. 

SOFREL NEO represents LACROIX 

Sofrel’s know-how in water 

networks telemetry; its constant 

listening to the needs of water 

operators and integration of 

new technologies. Launched at 

ASIAWATER, this new data logger 

is part of the corporate strategy 

“Connected Technologies for a 

Smarter Environment” and is fully 

integrated into the concept of 

telemetry 4.0 for water networks. 

COMPATIBLE 

WITH 4G-M2M 

TELECOMMUNICATION 

NETWORKS 

Telecommunication offers evolve, 

and new offers are emerging 

while others are disappearing. Some 

examples are 2G, 3G, 4G, Lorawan, 

Sigfox… many of these technologies 

allow connected objects to 

communicate and transmit data from 

water networks and facilities. 

The applications, the installations and 

use constraints of telemetry products 

for water networks are some of the 

requirements needed in choosing 

a communication network that is 

efficient, adaptable and sustainable. 

With the SOFREL NEO, it is compatible 

with 4G M2M networks — NB-IoT and 

LTE-M. 

Low power area networks include 

LTE-M and NB-IoT which are 3GPP 

standardised cellular solutions, 

supported by an established 

ecosystem to ensure interoperability 

across different network providers. 

They are able to manage a large 

number of connected objects at the 

same time (called Massive IoT). This 

benefits from a quality of service to a 

network licensed and standardised by 

the 3GPP, that also offer a worldwide 

coverage with a single modem. 

By focusing on the requirements of 

the IoT objects for water, these 5G 



even in harsh conditions. Internal 

diagnosis and alarm allow users to 

monitor and anticipate maintenance. 

SOFREL NEO monitors water metering 

and flows in real time, registers data, 

calculate flow rates and transmit all 

these data periodically or on event 

detection. 

With a graphic and assisted 

configuration tools, SOFREL NEO is a 

“plug and forget” solution, waterproof 

and energy autonomous device 

specifically designed to make water 

networks more intelligent and able to 

communicate even in deep indoor. 

A RANGE OF DATA LOGGERS 

DESIGNED FOR WATER-AND- 

WASTEWATER USED CASES 

Ready technologies — LTE-M & 

NB-IoT — allow optimal use of the 

SOFREL NEO features. 

Finally, the M2M Sim Card secure the 

identity of machines communicating 

on cellular networks and provide 

secure authentication; a critical point 

when monitoring water networks and 

infrastructures. 

THE 4G NB-IOT DATA 

LOGGER DEDICATED 

TO WATER NETWORKS 

MONITORING 

Build to last and for long-term 

communication, SOFREL NEO 

benefits from SOFREL research 

and development’s know-how and 

more than 40 years of experience in 

telemetry for water networks. 

calculation of monitoring indicator 

(volume, overflows, …), records data 

by primary and secondary archiving 

of each Analog Input, and provide 

transmission with great reliability. 

Transmissions are scheduled or on 

event by comparing threshold in real 

time network monitoring. The efficient 

communication through 2G and 4G 

M2M modem offer a transmission to 

three recipients including two separate 

telecom access points. 

Locally or remotely, SOFREL 

NEO allows access to diagnosis 

information, critical for data 

qualification. An inter-site function 

between SOFREL NEO and SOFREL 

RTUs guarantee an efficient and 

straight way to manage a water 

network. 

SOFREL NEO, 

a smart data 

logger to improve 

performance and 

security of water 

networks 

The SOFREL NEO range is divided 

in two mains applications: drinking 

water and wastewater. In these two 

parts, thanks to a dedicated software, 

SOFREL NEO cover specific water-used 

cases such as: 

• District Metering Area 

• Large consumer remote metering 

• Leak detection 

• Pressure measurement and 

monitoring 

• Water quality monitoring. 

• Sewage overflow detection 

• Permanent diagnostic in 

wastewater 

SOFREL NEO helps water utilities 

and operators to meet everyday 

challenges. Waterproof (IP68), 

battery powered, robust and easy to 

install, this solution is designed for 

installation in underground water 

manholes subjected to immersion 

phenomena and aggressive 

environment. 

Processing embedded data loggers 

functions, SOFREL NEO makes pre- 

THE INNOVATIVE AND SMART 

DATA LOGGER 

Build on an optimised electronics 

and operating mode to save energy, 

SOFREL NEO provides benefits from 

the 4G M2M technologies for an 

improved autonomy to reduce battery 

replacement costs. 

In addition, it is built to last — 

components, hardware and software 

have been chosen for solid reliability, 



Advanced wastewater fine screening technology 

from CST Wastewater Solutions features 

headworks designed for easy installation, high 

screening efficiency and low-maintenance over 

diverse municipal and industrial wastewater 

treatment applications encountered throughout 

the Asia Pacific. 

The robustly engineered horizontal in-channel 

rotary drum screening technology has already 

been proven in some of the notoriously variable 

conditions of its native Australasia, where it 

has been installed to perform cost-efficiently 

while curtailing blockages, environmental spills, 

maintenance and associated OH&S issues in 

conditions that can quickly switch from 

drought to flood, from sandy and stony to 

muddy and lush. 

CST’s simpler but smarter inline 

rotary fine screening responds 

efficiently to hugely diverse 

municipal needs 

“Efficient headworks are vital to all the 

downstream purification and recycling process 

stages in a wastewater treatment plant, 

regardless of the location and input. Unless 

solids are efficiently separated out from 

wastewater at the start of the purification 

process, you are inviting trouble into the 

system – and this can cost operators dearly 

in terms of downtime, environmental risk and 

clean-up costs and OH&S hazards for the teams 

involved,” said CST Wastewater Solutions 

managing director Michael Bambridge. 

Bambridge – who has more than 30 years 

of wastewater installation and operational 

experience throughout the Asia-Pacific region 

– said the municipal and industrial applications 

and inputs for which CST’s rotary fine screen 

technology is engineered reflect the hugely 

diverse inputs and needs encountered by 

different municipalities throughout the region. 

“We are especially mindful of the fact that 

many lean and efficient municipalities can’t 

afford the luxury of technologies that need the 

engineering support that many local bodies 

don’t have on-staff these days. This is the same 

in Australasia, where CST has been operating 

for more than 

30 years.” 

“So we have designed and built our lowmaintenance, 

quality stainless steel technology 

to provide the simplest but most efficient 

technology available, proven on multiple MBR 

plants to perform outstandingly well in the 

diverse separation tasks of inlet headworks. 

The system is built to be versatile, flexible and 

robust, because these tasks vary not only from 

place to place, but day-to-day and week-toweek 

as loads on the system change. 

WWTPs have to respond continually to 

the separation of coarse solids (ranging 

from sand, rocks, wood, foliage, sanitary 

products, toilet paper, grease, mixed food 

products and commercial waste), to prevent 

blockages and obstructions in downstream 

biological and/or physical processes, while 

minimising the overall operating strain on 

the plant and staff.” 

CST wastewater solutions’ in-channel 

technology has lower fluid head loss at peak 

flows to increase solids removal efficiency 

compared with typical traditional screening 

at wastewater treatment plants, explained 

Bambridge. 

“Advantages of this technology when 

dealing with fine screening of larger flows 

(5mm or finer screening on flows up to 

2000 l/sec flow) include mechanical 

simplicity, self-cleaning and high efficiency 

screening for reduced maintenance and 

cheaper whole-of-life costs compared with 

other types of screens, such as band and 

inclined drum screen designs, for example,” 

said Bambridge. 

FUNCTIONALITY 

Key to this functionality is the configuration 

of the design, in which the screening drum 

is installed horizontally semi-submerged 

in line with the incoming wastewater. The 

plate at the back of the drum re-directs flow 

radially through the mesh to optimise solids 

separation and self-cleaning. 

The rotary drum is manufactured from 

either self-cleaning wedgewire for primary 

screening, or perforated plate for fine premembrane 

bioreactor (pre-MBR) screening. 

It is washed by a system of spray nozzles at 

a moderate pressure. 

CST’s screening technology – available in 

2mm and 3mm hole or 3mm wedgewire – 

provides for optimal adjustment of screen 

gap widths and sieve hole diameters for 

the most appropriate screening result 

when matched to individual installations 

characteristics such as the application flow 

and local site conditions. 

An internal hopper collects the screenings, 

which are flumed out to the integral lifting 

and dewatering screw, to efficiently dewater 

and reduce screenings volume. 



The lifting screw is shaftless to avoid any 

blockages, even in the presence of fibrous products, 

and includes screen and screening washing. Lifting 

and screenings handling can also be conducted 

outside the channel, which increases options for 

additional washing and dewatering, according to 

individual applications, said Bambridge. 

“Screening and the solids lifting and dewatering 

are separate operations, using high efficiency 

screening technology to convert the high-flow, 

low-solids wastewater to low-flow, high-solids 

dewatering. Separate screening and lifting 

equipment make access simpler for more costeffective 

housekeeping and maintenance for lower 

whole-of-life costs,” he shared. 

Functional layout of CST wastewater solutions’ 

In-Channel Rotary Drum technology 

ADVANTAGES OF HORIZONTAL DRUM 

DESIGN 

• Lowers operating depth and range to reduce 

average screen velocities for higher removal 

efficiencies, and easier cleaning than 

alternative screens. 

• Increases available open area for equivalent 

operating depth, which enhances functionality. 

• Robust construction tailored to local 

conditions. The one-piece, closed drum is 

fully assembled in a frame for installation 

into a channel. It incorporates a simple, 

long-life, robust inlet seal that can be 

replaced without removing all equipment 

from the channel. 

• All parts subject to routine maintenance 

are located above the sewage flow, again 

simplifying maintenance and reducing 

OH&S issues. 

• Screening and lifting screw equipment 

are proven, simple and robust technologies. 

No bearings or other high maintenance 

moving parts are located in the wastewater. 

Housekeeping and servicing are conducted 

from above the flow channel. No mechanical 

devices are used inside the screen drum. 

• Open entry for clean collection of solids 

– no rag wrapping, reducing maintenance 

and OH&S issues. The screen zone of the 

lifting screw incorporates a washing system 

to reduce the contents of faecal matter in 

the screenings. 

• Horizontal design also avoids issues that 

may arise with inclined drums, including: 

■ Higher maintenance costs and downtime 

with seal and brush replacements cycle times 

■ Screenings not removed positively, Inclined 

drums tend to have high recycle back to 

inlet, which is not ideal for MBR protection 

■ Combined screenings handling making 

for inflexible operation. Front bearing 

that collects screening and rags – 

these foul with the seal and cause 

early failure 

■ Operators cannot see inside the 

drum to check on the integral lifting 

screw operation and general 

housekeeping 

• Horizontal drum design also obviates any 

issues with band screens and bar 

screens with linked belt types subject 

to higher maintenance, or chain/link - 

driven and submerged parts of the drive. 

DETAIL MAKES A DIFFERENCE 

In addition to inherent advantages of 

horizontal drum concept, the CST design 

incorporates detail and operational features 

chosen on the basis of practical experience 

over many decades of work on municipal and 

industrial WWTPs. 

Such features – focused on ease of 

installation, longevity and serviceability – 

include: 

• Low-profile screens that are supplied 

fully assembled ready for simple and 

clean installation. Their flexible design 

and screen aperture options permit the 

system to be matched individually and 

flexibly to multiple applications 

• The design features independent screen 

and screening handling, which makes 

systems adaptable for a wide variety of 

conditions. The screen converts high 

flow/low solids to low flow/high solids, 

promoting efficiency and longevity 

• Screenings are flumed as low flow/ 

high solids out of the drum and can be 

drained in an integral lifting screw or 

flumed to outside handling system, 

offering further flexibility and simplicity 

• Solid drum design with closed-off end 

and only one inlet for reliability and simplicity 

of maintenance. The robust main bearing 

located downstream out of the main high 

solids flow and below design flow level. 

The water-flushed non-metallic bearing, 

designed to suit in-channel conditions, has 

an expected life of seven to 10 years. 

• Robust static inlet lip seal with stainless 

steel insert, which runs inside a machined 

recess engineered for long life and effective 

sealing with a life expectancy of five to 

10 years 

• Front support wheels are located above 

water level and remotely greased from the 

top of channel 

• Screenings lifting screw is shaftless screw 

and proven screening technology – brushes 

require replacement every two to four years 

• Easy access for servicing and housekeeping. 

Operation and maintenance are simplified by 

having one moving part for low maintenance 

and operational costs. 

“The benefits of an efficient engineering concept 

and thorough detail engineering have combined 

to produce very low whole-of-life costs when 

compared with most other screens, with 

servicing required only every four to six years,” 

said Bambridge. 

“These are very important considerations 

when dealing with local municipal authorities 

with budget constraints, as well as those with 

limited engineering resources, to whom ongoing 

reliability and minimal operation costs and 

risks are important,” said Bambridge, whose 

international and regional experience includes 

both municipal and industrial WWTP engineering 

and green energy initiatives in partnership with 

local suppliers. 



MANN+HUMMEL Membrane 

Solutions earns largest order in 

BIO-CEL ® MBR history 

Recently, MANN+HUMMEL’s Membrane Solutions 

business, under the Life Sciences & Environment (LS&E) 

umbrella, successfully signed an order in China to 

upgrade and expand capacity at a wastewater treatment 

plant in Fujian Province using 336 BIO-CEL ® L-2 MBR 

modules (160,000m² membrane area). This is the 

largest order in BIO-CEL MBR history for the company. 

The project plans to double the treatment capacity of 

the wastewater plant from the current 40,000m 3 /day 

to 80,000m 3 /day and is expected to be operational by 

the end of November 2020. Additionally, the effluent 

standard will be upgraded from first-class type A 

standard to Class IV surface water standard, which 

will greatly improve the wastewater filtration capacity 

of the central urban area. It is mainly returning to the 

upstream inland river to supplement the water source, 

form a living water cycle, and improve the ecological 

water environment. 

BIO-CEL ® MBR 

BIO-CEL MBR is a laminated composite flat sheet 

MBR, which combines the advantages of hollow fiber 

membrane modules and plate-and-frame flat sheet 

membrane modules. 

• The membrane uses ultrafiltration technology 

• The membrane and drainage layer are made 

of high hydrophilic materials, which have the 

advantages of high permeate flux, good 

effluent quality, strong fouling resistant 

performance, high filling density, and 

backwashing 

• It is especially suitable for municipal 

wastewater filtration with requirements for 

high effluent quality, smaller footprint, and 

reduced maintenance frequency 

• Its unique self-healing function ensures stable 

effluent quality and reduces maintenance and cost 



Technical innovation in mixing 

and agitation processes 

NORD MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units 

are an excellent choice for use in large 

mixers. With the SAFOMI adapter, NORD 

is presenting a technical innovation in 

this field of application: a flange with an 

integrated oil expansion tank, increasing 

operational reliability and requiring fewer 

wearing parts. 

MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units have 

been part of the NORD product range 

for more than ten years and have proven 

themselves in countless applications 

throughout the world. They offer high 

output torques from 15 to 250 kNm and 

ensure smooth operation even under 

demanding conditions. 

NORD MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units 

ensure reliable operation in industries 

using mixing and agitation processes 

even under extreme conditions. The FEMoptimised 

and compact design enables 

operation under ultimate external 

loads. The extensive MAXXDRIVE® 

modular system provides many options 

for tailored solutions. For agitator 

applications, the MAXXDRIVE® industrial 

gear units can be equipped with a 

SAFOMI IEC adapter. SAFOMI is the 

abbreviation for Sealless Adapter For 

Mixers. 

This special IEC adapter combines the 

functions of a standard IEC adapter 

and an oil expansion tank in a single 

component. SAFOMI is available for 

parallel gear units and in the sizes 7 to 

11, i.e. for maximum output torques from 

25 to 75 kNm. The compact combination 

of MAXXDRIVE® industrial gear units, 

SAFOMI IEC adapter and drive motor is 

the best choice for mixer and agitator 

applications to reduce wearing parts and 

attached components. 

LESS EFFORT, MORE 

OPERATIONAL RELIABILITY 

The SAFOMI IEC adapter has a compact 

and simple design, and is equipped with 

an integrated oil expansion volume. Oil 

tanks and hoses as well as the radial 

shaft seal subject to leakage and wear 

between gear unit and IEC cylinder 

are not required. As standard, the 

combination of parallel gear unit and 

SAFOMI-IEC adapter is only installed 

in installation position M5, i.e. with an 

output shaft pointing downwards. 

The change to an SAFOMI-IEC adapter 

instead of the standard IEC adapter on 

the agitator drive increases operational 

reliability and lowers maintenance costs. 

The oil level as well as the required oil 

volume is lower and thanks to missing 

attached components, the installation 

space is also reduced. 

NORD MAXXDRIVE Parallel Gear Units deliver high performance every day in heavy duty 

applications such as agitators, mixers, drums or crushers 


60 RECAP 

Singapore International Water Week 

Online concludes successfully 

The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) concluded SIWW Online, its first-ever virtual edition, 

with strong participation from 3,000 participants worldwide, spanning 90 countries/regions 

The Singapore International Water 

Week (SIWW) concluded SIWW Online, 

its first-ever virtual edition, with strong 

participation from 3,000 participants 

worldwide, spanning 90 countries/regions. 

The two-day event, held from 18 to 19 

November 2020, featured 10 webinars with 

over 70 renowned international and local 

speakers, including an Exhibitor Showcase 

which unveiled cutting-edge products 

and solutions launched in Asia Pacific for 

the first time, as well as a Virtual Expo 

showcasing the latest water technologies 

and products. 

DIGITAL INNOVATION AND 

CLIMATE CHANGE TAKE CENTRE- 

STAGE AT SIWW ONLINE 2020 

Digital transformation, innovation, and 

climate change adaptation and mitigation 

strategies were key themes for the webinar 

series, featuring participation from some 

of the leading water experts and industry 

leaders who shared insightful perspectives 

on topics from water and climate resilience, 

water financing, digital innovation to 

future trends in water treatment. Notable 

speakers included Albert Cho, VP and chief 

strategy and digital officer, Xylem, Jennifer 

Sara, global director for Water Global 

Practice, World Bank, Ng Joo Hee, chief 

executive of PUB, Singapore’s National 

Water Agency, Paul Bulcke, chairman of 

Nestlé, and Taqsem A. Khan, managing 

director and chief executive officer of 

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage 

Authority. 

BOOK LAUNCH ON PUB’S DIGITAL 

TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY 

The event also witnessed the launch of the 

first book under the Digital Water Book 

Series by International Water Association 

Publishing (IWA Publishing) – “Digitalising 

Water: Sharing Singapore’s Experience” – 

that features PUB’s digital transformation 

journey to become a smart utility. The 

Digital Water Book series aims to provide an 

overview of the digital trends driving utility 

transformation, as well as the impact of 

digitalisation on the water sector. PUB is the 

first utility to be featured for its continuous 

efforts to digitalise Singapore’s entire water 

system to improve operational efficiency 

and meet the nation’s future needs. 

Prof Vladan Babovic, editor-in-chief 

for the Digital Water Book Series by 

IWA Publishing, and professor at the 

National University of Singapore said, 

“Over the past decade, Singapore’s 

National Water Agency PUB 

demonstrated remarkable thought 

leadership, substantiated by tangible 

incorporation of various digital 

initiatives in its daily operations. It 

is most fitting that their endeavours 

are featured in the first of the 

International Water Association 

Publishing’s Digital Water Book 

Series. As digital transformation 

continues to reshape business 

domains, organisations will be under 

pressure to adapt to change to take 

full advantage of the opportunities 

ahead. By featuring efforts from 

various utilities around the world 

and effective digital strategies for 

water management, we hope this 

book series will provide a strategic 

direction for utilities to turn digital 

threats into opportunities and 

leverage digital technologies to 

enhance performance.” 


RECAP 61 

To support business exchange and 

collaboration, SIWW Online presented a 

specially curated Exhibitor Showcase and 

Virtual Expo to facilitate matchmaking 

and networking, where close to 100 

international exhibitors from 16 

countries/regions took up virtual booths 

for their product offerings. Several 

companies seized the opportunity to 

launch their latest products and solutions 

for the first time in the Asia Pacific, with 

innovations designed to improve urban 

planning analysis, seawater treatment 

and operational efficiency of cooling 

systems. Interesting technologies 

unveiled include: 

a) Draeger’s Polytron 6100 Toxic 

Wireless Gas Detector, a wireless 

transmitter for the continuous 

monitoring of toxic gases and oxygen 

to enhance workplace safety. The 

device features a completely wireless 

signal transmission and power 

supply, making it a cost-efficient 

solution for plant expansions, 

upgrades and new installations, 

without the need for cabling and 

installation. 

b) Nalco Water’s Non-Phosphorous 

Cooling Water Treatment Program, 

a new scale and corrosion control 

programme that improves the 

operational efficiency of cooling 

systems while reducing operational 

costs. Existing non-phosphorus 

programmes for cooling water 

treatment often result in mild steel 

corrosion, with a limited operational 

window and high treatment cost. 

The novel programme allows cooling 

systems to operate in higher cycles 

without compromising performance, 

resulting in water and energy savings 

and longer asset life. 

c) SUEZ’s Sewerball, a robust drift float 

with miniaturised quality sensors 

onboard to detect inflows and 

infiltrations in the sewer networks. 

The easy-to-deploy device is able 

to pinpoint the origin of problems 

Some of the webinar content that took place at the SIWW Online 

over large distances, thus reducing peer learning and business interaction 

the need for more costly or hazardous on significant water issues during this 

operations such as CCTVs or manned challenging time. 

entry inspections. 

We are therefore delighted and thankful 

d) Viscoy’s FLYABILITY ELIOS 2 is the for the strong show of support with 3,000 

world’s first collision-resilience 

participants from 90 countries/ regions 

drone, designed for GPS-denied 

joining us over the two days. We look 

environments, such as mines or 

forward to seeing everyone in Singapore at 

inside industrial boilers. To counter Singapore International Water Week 2021 

the navigation challenges and risk of next June,” said Mr Ryan Yuen, managing 

collision without positioning data, the director, SIWW. 

drone uses vision stability sensors 

to stabilise itself, while its powerful “The SIWW Online came at an opportune 

lighting and 4K resolution camera is time to connect the international water 

able to capture footages in the darkest community when the pace of digitalisation 

environments. 

across all sectors has been accelerated by 

COVID19. We are glad to participate in this 

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and two-day event, packed with thoughtfully 

international travel restrictions, Singapore curated webinars on the pertinent topics 

International Water Week remains a 

in the water industry and the latest 

leading global water platform that is innovations. We benefitted from the depth 

constantly innovating and thinking ahead of discussions and were glad for the 

to bring greater value to our stakeholders. virtual networking opportunities to expand 

With the strong continued support from our reach and generate new business 

all our partners, sponsors and exhibitors, opportunities,” said Kwak Soon Chul, 

we leveraged on digital capabilities and managing director, Toray Asia Pte Ltd. 

introduced the inaugural SIWW Online in The next edition, Singapore International 

recognition of the need to press ahead Water Week 2021, will be held from 20 to 

with knowledge exchange, peer-to- 

24 June 2021. 


62 RECAP 

Novel no more: Bentley’s 

digital twins webinar 

builds upon existing 

ecosystems 

The digital twin has come a long way since its 

concept and model were first introduced in 

2002: Then known as the conceptual model 

underlying product lifecycle management 

(PLM), the digital twin got its name in a 

2010 Roadmap Report published by the 

USA’s National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA), and in 2017 was 

named one of Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic 

Technology Trends. 

Co-organised by Bentley Systems and Water & 

Wastewater Asia magazine, the Water Digital 

Twins for Improved Decision-Making & 

Optimized Asset and Process Management 

webinar was held on 24 November. 

The webinar was aimed at showcasing some 

of the latest advancements in digital twins, 

and how water management can achieve new 

levels of digitalisation and intelligent 

automation with the usage of digital twins. 

Speakers at the webinar included: 

• Dr Richard Vestner, Senior Director Digital 

Solutions under the Digital Cities arm of 

Bentley Systems, 

• Wagner Oliveira de Carvalho, Senior 

Project Manager at AEGEA, Brazil, and 

• Miguel Soares, product consultant for 

Bentley’s water solutions, with a focus on 

the EMEA region. 

During the webinar, Vestner talked about 

how Information, Operational, and 

Engineering Technology (IT, OT and ET) 

could come together to curate a digital twin 

that could enable and drive real-time industry 

applications to assist in making better 

decisions, such as in mixed-reality applications, 

or for analysis and prediction purposes. 

He also stressed the importance of utilising an 

open and connected data environment, and 

touched on how the water industry could 

advance to the concept of Water 4.0 through 

usage of the data loop and Industry 4.0 

resources. In fact, he elaborated, it was of 

Webinar speaker Dr Richard Vestner highlighted the importance of utilising an open and connected data 

environment to further advance the concept of digital twins 

paramount importance to build upon the 

principles of connectedness and openness 

for digital twins. This applies to both 

applications and file systems used to sort 

data, as well as file formats and schemas 

utilised by plants and operators. Open 

source ecosystems, he concluded, are best 

for digital twins to allow for integration with 

other systems. 

Other key topics addressed by the webinar 

speakers included tips on how organisations 

could optimise plant and network 

operations. Soares shared how Bentley’s 

OpenFlows WaterSight allows for the 

computation of present, historic, and 

forecasted performance for every asset 

within a water supply 

system; and more 

importantly, how digital 

twins could be configured 

using existing utility 

features. 

By combining SCADA, GIS, 

hydraulic modelling, and 

customer information into 

a single, interoperable 

dashboard, OpenFlows 

WaterSight delivers 

utility-wide view into 

the detection of critical 

system and individual asset performance 

information, and enables more efficient 

operations and maintenance planning 

decisions. 

Previous case studies were cited as learning 

opportunities for webinar attendees, with 

Águas do Porto (AdP) used as an example 

of how utilities could work together 

43.8% of attendees 

polled said that their utilities 

were currently on the path 

towards embracing digital twins 

During the webinar, speaker Miguel Soares 

shared how digital twins could be configured 

using existing utility features 

with Bentley Systems to develop smart water 

platforms. Bentley’s OpenFlows applications 

were used as the basis of Águas do Porto’s 

H2PORTO smart water platform, which was 

then used to automatically model water levels 

and flow based on real-world conditions and 

weather forecasts to predict flooding, service 

interruptions, or water quality 

problems. 

The webinar concluded on 

a positive note, with a poll 

revealing that 43.8% of 

attendees were currently on 

the path towards integrating 

digital twins more in their 

utility’s operations. Attendees 

were also presented with a 

Certificate of Accomplishment 

upon completing the session. 

The webinar was moderated 

by Daniel Chua, Consultant to Water & 

Wastewater Asia, and Daniel Martens, Sales 

Consultant (South East Asia) for Bentley 

Systems Singapore. 

A recording for the Bentley Systems & WWA: 

Water Digital Twins for Improved Decision-Making 

& Optimized Asset and Process Management 

webinar can be viewed on-demand. 


EVENT CALENDAR 63 

EVENTS 

2021 

JANUARY 

WFES Water 2021 

18 to 21 Janaury 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

FEBRUARY 

World Water-Tech 

Innovation Summit 2021 

23 to 24 February 

London, United Kingdom 

MARCH 

Asia Smart Water 

Utilities 2021 

10 to 11 March 

Singapore 

APRIL 

IE expo China 

20 to 22 April 

Shanghai, China 

MAY 

Ozwater’21 

04 to 05 May 

Adelaide, Australia 

MAY 

Pumps & 

Valves Asia 2021 

12 to 14 May 

Bangkok, Thailand 

Global Water Summit 

16 to 18 May 

Madrid, Spain 

JUNE 

Aquatech China 

02 to 04 June 

Shanghai, China 

LAOWATER’21 

17 to 19 June 

Vientiane, Laos 

Singapore 

International 

Water Week 2021 

20 to 24 June 

Singapore 

JULY 

VietWater (Hanoi) 2021 

20 to 22 July 

Hanoi, Vietnam 

Indo Water Expo & 

Forum 2021 

21 to 23 July 

Jakarta, Indonesia 

WQA Convention & 

Exposition 

28 to 30 July 

Las Vegas, USA 

AUGUST 

LANKAWATER’21 

05 to 07 August 

Colombo, Sri Lanka 

OCTOBER 

Myanmar Water 


20 to 22 October 

Yangon, Myanmar 

OCTOBER 

WEFTEC 2021 

18 to 20 October 

Chicago, USA 

SEPTEMBER 

Enlit Asia 2021 

(formerly known as 

POWERGEN Asia & Asian 

Utility Week) 

28 to 30 September 

Jakarta, Indonesia 

NOVEMBER 

Vietwater (Ho Chi Minh) 


10 to 12 November 

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 

MyanWater 2021 

25 to 27 November 

Yangon, Myanmar 

DECEMBER 

Water Philippines 2021 

08 to 10 December 

Metro Manila, Philippines 


64 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 

ADVERTISERS 

PAGE 

CLA-VAL 9 

GUANGDONG LESSO TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD 

IBC 

HARBIN FIRSTLINE ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 63 

LACROIX SOFREL 7 

MESSE MUENCHEN ZHONGMAO CO., LTD. 11 

VAUGHAN COMPANY, INC. 

OBC 

WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA HOUSE ADS IFC, 1, 14, 64 

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to WWA e-Newsletter 

Pablo Publishing & Exhibition Pte Ltd | www.waterwastewaterasia.com | Tel: +65 6266 5512 | Email: info@pabloasia.com 

WWA-HPHorizontal-Missing-2020-V3.indd 1 

25/12/20 4:23 PM 


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Water & Wastewater Asia January/February 2021

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