Emerging Contaminants and Cars-going-off-the-Cliff

"It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best." - W. Edwards Deming

The topic of Emerging Contaminants came up earlier this week while discussing future of wastewater treatment plants on the US. My opinion is that we are focusing on the wrong place with regulations and our hard earned money.

The metaphor I would like to cite here is often used but very apt and may help us understand what's happening with this issue. Consider a steady stream of cars driving towards a cliff and then plunging off into the abyss. The 'leaders' here look at this devastating situation, get all worked up and quickly decide to do something. Instead of going to the top of the cliff and diverting the traffic off the course of disaster, the 'leaders' decide to get a fleet of ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. That is exactly where the regulations related to Emerging Contaminants are headed, it is a waste of money and effort. This after-the-fact treatment rather than avoidance is really scary. Our 'leaders' have either given up rational thinking or do not think that they are leaders capable of affecting human thoughts and behavior.

The solution is - Think Differently!
How did Southwest Airlines make double digits profit when all the other US airlines were losing billions of dollars and shedding off thousands of jobs?
How did Zappos build a $1+billion company that sells shoes and also 'delivers happiness'?
How did Dr. Wiwat prevent 5 million people in Thailand from contracting HIV?

If the cause is right and the messaging is right, people will follow. We, folks in the water industry and beyond,  have to learn to engage with our customers in a whole different level. Let's start that now!

Shared Desitiny

I recently had lunch with an old friend who currently works for an OEM. We used to work together, in fact sit next to each other in adjacent cubicles almost a decade ago. It is always so fun to meet up with old buddies and catch-up. We talked about our respective careers, family, etc. and then the conversation turned to how the current economy and the state of the world is affecting our lives. I realized that over the last nine years, we have drifted apart in our world view. My friend was definitely not happy with globalization and the fact that the OEM's products, manufactured in the US, are having great difficulty competing against global onslaught of similar but low quality products at a cheaper price. The current procurement system in the Federal and Municipal market picks low price over quality. While there is a mandate to buy American-made products, it is not working. My friend is also not in favor of the environmental qualifications required in US as opposed to the other countries who do not have those restrictions. Very valid points.

And I agree with my friend. Our policies are broken! Where we differ is that my friend thinks that the government should not be putting these environmental mandates in place and should block our import of cheap, and often times low quality, foreign products; while I think we need to work on fixing our purchasing policies. The purchasing decision should be based on 'total' cost including the capital, environment, and operations/ maintenance footprint instead of just basing the decision strictly on capital costs.

Why? Everyone on this planet now share a common destiny. The time for insularity is gone and it will never be the same again. For the last century, US was the major political and financial power, now we are seeing a multipolar world with India, China, European Union, and Brazil sharing the stage. Technology has made it possible to communicate across continents faster than we can bat an eyelid. Disintermediation is rapidly changing the marketplace, e.g. the market for phones, books, newspapers, etc. The markets are no longer the way we knew them to be for the last 60 years. The Water, Energy, and Food industries as we know are going through a dramatic transformation; their interdependence is becoming more prominent on a global scale.

The sooner we start appreciating the changed climate, the better we will be to compete in this new marketplace. We have no choice! We can all sit and complain that 'the past was better' and resist the change as much as we can, but the reality is that we are already on this one-way highway, all together. So, what should we do? Here are my ideas:

• Update the purchasing policies to reflect the new reality of global marketplace and shared destiny. The criteria for purchasing should now be based on the life cycle costs as defines in ISO 14000. This implies that when purchasing a pump for example, the entire footprint is considered along the entire supply chain, that is mining the iron ore in Australia, building the impeller and pump house in China, assembly in Germany, installation and use in the US, followed by re-purposed in India. When all this is accounted for, the 'true cost' of the equipment / technology will create a level playing field for all. When I worked with Water Corporation (Perth, Australia), we had reviewed this method of sustainable selection.
• As a manufacturer / service provider, we need to start looking to gather and furnish data that will enable purchasers to make an educated decision. Set up a sustainability program in your business to facilitate this process and you will notice that it will have a high return on investment. Your sustainability program will be your differentiator, and will focus on making your business more attractive to both your clients and employees.

These are not my words, but are so very true: We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them. Sustainability is about enlightened self-interest.

Technology Spotlight: Energy from Stormwater

Over the years regulations have targeted point sources of pollution and treatment has been focused on discharges from such sources. Almost 40 years since the Clean Water Act, we have started looking at watershed approach to deal with non-point sources of pollution.  EPA now recognizes that stormwater management is of prime importance and regulatory interest is being focused at treating stormwater. This will eventually lead to cleaner water bodies - streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Dealing with these non-point sources is a daunting task, not only because of the size and scope of the issues involved, but also due to the wide variation of regulatory and permitting structures that have developed all over the country since the 70s. It will be interesting to see how this works out in the coming decade and a regional approach with national oversight will be very welcome.

SmartSponge by AbTech Industries

As a part of Proteus Consulting's Technology Exchange, we would like to highlight SmartSponge by AbTech Industries. This 'sponge' has tremendous porosity and soaks up hydrocarbons while allowing the flow of water. What we find interesting is that the collected hydrocarbons can be harvested for energy in waste-to-energy facilities, cement kilns, asphalt plants, etc. Of course, the 'sponge' also works at decreasing the suspended solids by limited pore size, and possibly also coliform bacteria by impregnating the 'sponge' with antibacterial agents. We are a bit skeptic about the antibacterial 'sponge' because bacteria will soon develop resistance to the agent - it is after all the law of evolution! However, we are quite impressed by the ability of this 'sponge' to absorb hydrocarbons and possibility of using it as a fuel.

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By Technology Exchange, Proteus Consulting brings forth new ideas and innovative products to our clients. These products have been researched and vetted for the water industry by us and have been recommended only after we have been convinced that they have a potential to help our clients achieve their goals to provide a clean sustainable world.

20 by 2020 Water Conservation Plan

This morning California released the final 20x2020 Water Conservation Plan.  In February 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger directed state agencies to develop a plan to reduce statewide per capita water use by twenty percent by 2020. This Plan is the culmination of two long years of negotiations and planning.

California's water is limited and putting politics aside, we desperately need to manage this finite resource. Aggressive conservation is one small step in that direction. This plan aims at reducing the per capita use from 192 gallons per capita per day to 154 gallons per capita per day, which in my opinion is a decent start, considering the state of water consumption in the US and the world.

Through Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County imports up to 90% of it's water from the Colorado River and Northern California (see figure below). The remaining 10% is pooled together from local water sources like groundwater, surface water, recycled water, seawater desalination and conservation.

 

Courtesy: Marsi Steirer, San Diego Public Utilities Department

While conservation is key to sustainable water management, it cannot be the ultimate answer. The key is having a varied portfolio of sustainable supply choices, including the use of greywater and recycled water.