Water & Wastewater Asia September/October 2021
Water & Wastewater Asia is an expert source of industry information, cementing its position as an indispensable tool for trade professionals in the water and wastewater industry. As the most reliable publication in the region, industry experts turn this premium journal for credible journalism and exclusive insight provided by fellow industry professionals. Water & Wastewater Asia incorporates the official newsletter of the Singapore Water Association (SWA).
Water & Wastewater Asia is an expert source of industry information, cementing its position as an indispensable tool for trade professionals in the water and wastewater industry. As the most reliable publication in the region, industry experts turn this premium journal for credible journalism and exclusive insight provided by fellow industry professionals. Water & Wastewater Asia incorporates the official newsletter of the Singapore Water Association (SWA).
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WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER <strong>2021</strong><br />
the need for digital water solutions.<br />
It was also interesting to see several<br />
industry players exploring augmented<br />
capabilities for smart water<br />
technologies.<br />
We also noticed that the industry<br />
is moving towards greater water<br />
sustainability through innovations that<br />
extend the membrane lifecycle while<br />
optimising energy efficiency. Last but<br />
not least, there were some noteworthy<br />
presentations on sustainable<br />
groundwater management and<br />
stormwater management, which<br />
I thought were very relevant to<br />
recent cases of flooding and land<br />
subsidence in Jakarta and Bangkok.<br />
What are the challenges water<br />
utilities face when embracing<br />
digital technologies in water, and<br />
how is Veolia <strong>Water</strong> Technologies<br />
helping to address them?<br />
Debruyne: Many utilities in the region<br />
are identifying the components of<br />
digital transformation to address their<br />
social and economic development<br />
requirements. Some are designing<br />
strategies to meet their water<br />
resilience and sustainability goals.<br />
Almost all utilities have vast amounts<br />
of data, but struggle to turn this<br />
into actionable information. Some<br />
challenges include data silos and<br />
collection, as well as the integration<br />
With Hubgrade, Veolia addresses<br />
the water optimisation needs of<br />
both municipalities and industries<br />
of different systems and datasets<br />
in a bid to improve their operations.<br />
Traditional procurement frameworks<br />
can also present challenges because<br />
of a lack of directly comparable<br />
technologies, making it harder<br />
to demonstrate competitiveness<br />
and transparency in the tendering<br />
process. To address this, utilities can<br />
co-develop solutions with a vendor<br />
through proof-of-concept schemes.<br />
One such company that has<br />
successfully done that with us is<br />
BlueKolding. As mentioned earlier,<br />
Veolia <strong>Water</strong> Technologies and<br />
BlueKolding have collaborated since<br />
2011 on the development of various<br />
solutions for the intelligent use of<br />
large amounts of data obtained from<br />
the entire sewerage system.<br />
Our latest innovation projects<br />
with them in 2014 and 2017,<br />
for SMARTGrid and BlueGrid<br />
respectively, focus on energy<br />
balance optimisation through the<br />
utilisation of basin volume in the<br />
catchment area as part of the active<br />
control strategy at the wastewater<br />
treatment plants. All these years,<br />
BlueKolding has confidently<br />
managed compliant operations<br />
through the use of active online<br />
controls, requiring far less manpower<br />
than before when visits to satellite<br />
plants were necessary.<br />
URBANISATION AND WATER<br />
TRENDS<br />
In your opinion, how will urban<br />
growth impact water sources? And<br />
in the face of climate change and<br />
an increasing focus on sustainable<br />
development, what strategies would<br />
you suggest for water utilities to<br />
have in place to ensure access to<br />
clean and safe drinking water for the<br />
wider community?<br />
Debruyne: Many countries and<br />
cities in the region are experiencing<br />
increasing levels of urban growth,<br />
with both population and economies<br />
growing rapidly in many places,<br />
resulting in increasing demand for<br />
water for municipal and industrial<br />
applications. For some of these<br />
territories, government agencies are<br />
also in the early stages of developing<br />
infrastructure, such as drainage systems<br />
and wastewater treatment plants,<br />
to improve and meet the increased<br />
demand for sanitation and water supply<br />
systems.<br />
The shortage of freshwater resources<br />
for drinking water is another factor,<br />
affected by capacity limitations or<br />
quality issues. Climate change has<br />
undoubtedly impacted weather<br />
patterns. Storms, floods, and droughts<br />
can affect the quantity and quality<br />
of raw water, and cause significant<br />
variations even within a short timeframe.<br />
This can pose a considerable challenge<br />
for water utility agencies.<br />
Much effort has been made to reduce<br />
water stress in the <strong>Asia</strong>-Pacific region.<br />
Besides extensive wastewater treatment<br />
build-outs which are urgently required<br />
across South East <strong>Asia</strong>, wastewater<br />
reuse is yet another area that many<br />
countries are actively promoting. This<br />
offers opportunities for advanced water<br />
management, especially in the area<br />
of big data analysis software and leak<br />
detection technologies.<br />
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