Contributor Heiner Markhoff is President and CEO — Water & Process Technologies for GE Power & Water.
While World Water Day only comes one day a year, each and everyday one billion people still don’t have access to sanitary water and those numbers are growing. This number serves as an alarm to us all that we must address the global threat. Fortunately, the technologies exist today that can help reduce freshwater consumption, improve water reuse and impact change. Just as we recycle newspapers and plastic bottles, technology can help us overcome our water challenges if we have the collective will to employ these tools.
Bucket loads of benefits: Tempe Arizona, a city in the heart of the southwest region that is constantly battling drought and water shortages, has expanded its water reclamation program resulting in the reuse of an additional 2.5 billion gallons of water a year. Its Kyrene Water Reclamation Facility has employed the latest technology to turn wastewater into a commodity that is marketable and usable. Part of the plant’s water reclamation is pictured above.
To immediately and effectively begin to reverse clean water scarcity, we need widespread adoption of water reuse practices. Water touches every industry and every sector. It impacts lives, livelihoods, global industries and local economies. That is why the private sector, government and policymakers, industry leaders and educators worldwide must work together and tackle the policies, technologies and fiscal issues needed to foster greater adoption of water reuse technology to help ensure an adequate supply of clean water for the future.
Taking care of business: The Kyrene Municipal Wast Water Plant in Tempe uses GE’s ecomagination ZeeWeed membranes. The additional water that it reclaims is applied to long-term storage credits for times of drought — and it supplies water for cooling systems at the city’s power generation plant. In addition, this reused water is helping to refill the town lake and is used for irrigation at city recreational centers. The ability to reuse water makes the city more attractive to businesses, allowing the city to expand its economic base and strengthen the local economy.
The benefits of reuse are real and in the United States federal government policies are currently under consideration that have great potential to advance the cause. Creative tax policies for the financing of water, wastewater and reuse infrastructure projects can help drive change. Other policies have been proposed that are designed to help the industrial sector adopt energy-efficient technologies and processes in water reuse, advanced motors and chilling equipment. With the right policy environment, U.S. industry can reduce fuel dependency, cut costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, add jobs and enhance global competitiveness. Similar measures across the globe could help put the world on a path to water security
* Watch a video about the successes achieved at the Tempe facility
Solving the world’s water challenges will take a team effort and broad collaboration to define how we value, use and reuse our water. The same water technology serving the city of Tempe has been installed in more than 500 drinking and wastewater facilities worldwide. The technology exists — we just need the will to realize its transforming potential.
Learn more in these GE Reports water stories:
* “Water summit opens the floodgates on reuse ideas”
* “Diving into access & scarcity at World Water Week”
* “Making a splash with water wins”
* “Citizen GE: With water, the glass is still half full”
* “Tech’s on tap with new GE-Singapore water center”
* “GE’s “sustainable cities” road show tours Europe”
* Learn more about GE’s water technologies in action around the world
* Try out GE’s interactive WaterExplorer
* Learn more about GE’s water technologies