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]]>Safe drinking water is essential for human welfare and progress. This is well understood by government officials in lower-income countries and their development partners. Yet, waterborne diseases remain a leading cause of disease and death, particularly among children, in these settings. Why is progress towards better water safety slow? Experts in water safety management will probably point to the following reasons:
- Water supply managers have limited water quality data.
- Water quality laboratories and trained personnel are expensive.
- Supply chains for water quality diagnostics and reagents are limited.
- Water testing regulations are poorly enforced.
- Water supply managers do not always understand treatment methods.
Are there new ways of approaching water safety management that can address these concerns and accelerate progress towards safe water for all? One strategy is to identify and mitigate risks to water safety before problems arise. Optimally, these proactive risk management approaches, which comprise sanitary surveys and Water Safety Plans, include attention to appropriate treatment methods and verification through regular water quality monitoring. (To learn more about water supply risk management in low-resource settings, please see the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality: Small Water Supplies.)
Developing a financial innovation for water safety
A more recent innovation for water safety management is the Water Quality Assurance Fund. This was developed by The Aquaya Institute (Aquaya) as a financial tool to support the outsourcing of water quality testing by small suppliers that struggle to maintain on-site testing facilities. At its most basic, the Assurance Fund reduces the risks of non-payment that limit the willingness of professional laboratories to provide testing services to rural water systems. Where the professional laboratory is affiliated with a large urban water supplier, the Assurance Fund can promote greater collaboration between the urban and rural water sectors to understand and manage water safety risks. Finally, it provides a mechanism for channelling subsidies that can defray water testing costs for suppliers coping with revenue shortfalls.
“The Assurance Fund is capitalised with sufficient funds to cover the testing costs of enrolled water systems”
The Assurance Fund is capitalised with sufficient funds to cover the testing costs of enrolled water systems for a predetermined period. Participation terms are negotiated through agreements between the Assurance Fund host organisation (currently Aquaya), regulatory authorities, water suppliers, and testing laboratories. These terms follow the following framework, which is depicted in Figure 1:
- A testing fee is determined between the laboratory and participating water suppliers based on testing schedules, parameters of interest, and water sampling costs.
- If water suppliers fail to pay for testing services within a pre-specified time, the laboratory can file a reimbursement claim for the unpaid testing bill with the Assurance Fund.
- The delinquent water suppliers are then required to reimburse the Assurance Fund for the testing fees, plus a penalty charge.
- In instances of multiple non-payments, the host organisation can withdraw the delinquent water systems from the testing programme.
- In cases where a water system does not have sufficient revenues to support testing costs, and based upon agreed terms, the Assurance Fund can also provide direct payments to the laboratory as a mechanism for subsidising the water system costs.
- The programme should also include technical support for water system operators to interpret water quality test results, develop appropriate treatment responses, and communicate water safety improvements to customers.
For further guidance, please review the Implementation Manual: Water Quality Assurance Fund.
Piloting the Assurance Fund in rural Ghana
With support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Aquaya first tested the Assurance Fund model in Ghana’s Asutifi North district, which is located in the Ahafo region in the centre-west area of the country. Professional laboratory services were provided by a regional laboratory belonging to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWL), the national urban water supplier. The Assurance Fund agreement also included the district government, which owns and oversees local water supply infrastructure, and nine water systems (four piped networks, four handpumps, and one system with two mechanised boreholes that supplied standpipes) that, together, served approximately 30,000 individuals or 60% of the district’s population. The selected water quality parameters included the faecal contamination indicator Escherichia coli (E. coli), and physical parameters, including chlorine, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, colour, and temperature.
The testing protocol for piped systems corresponded with the sampling frequencies specified by Ghana Standards Authority (GSA): one sample per month for every 5000 individuals served. The monthly sampling frequency exceeded the GSA requirements for handpumps and mechanised boreholes, which only specify biannual sampling of non-piped supplies. However, all parties agreed to the monthly frequency to better monitor faecal contamination of these supplies. To address the higher financial burden that more frequent testing placed upon non-piped systems, the testing costs charged to handpumps and mechanised borehole operators were reduced to the amounts that corresponded with biannual testing. The Assurance Fund directly reimbursed laboratories for the balance.
Between March 2020 and January 2021, the GWL laboratory collected and tested monthly water samples from the nine systems. The results of this exercise included the following findings, which are further discussed in the study brief:
- More than half of the water samples tested positive for E. coli. This evidence of faecal contamination motivated suppliers to improve their chlorination procedures.
- In two-thirds of cases, water systems paid GWL within one-month of receiving test results. In managing delinquencies, GWL preferred to negotiate late payments with suppliers before lodging claims with the Assurance Fund.
- Regular meetings between Aquaya staff and operators from participating water systems promoted better understanding of test results and treatment options.
- Outsourcing testing activities was a cost-effective alternative to establishing and maintaining on-site testing facilities for each water system.
Evaluating the Assurance Fund in Ghana and Kenya
Based on the encouraging pilot results in Asutifi North, larger-scale Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) of the Assurance Fund are now under way in Ghana and Kenya. In Ghana, the RCT is taking place with water systems distributed across 11 districts in the adjacent Ahafo and Bono regions. Testing services are provided by the regional GWL laboratory that participated in the Assurance Fund pilot. In Kenya, the participating water systems are located in Kericho, Nakuru, and Uasin Gishu counties. In each county, testing services are provided by an urban water supplier.
“Evidence of faecal contamination motivated suppliers to improve their chlorination procedures”
These trials are supported by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL-Water) programme, with co-funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. REAL-Water is being implemented through a five-year (2021-2026) Cooperative Agreement between USAID and Aquaya.
The Assurance Fund trials are designed to evaluate the programme’s impacts on drinking water quality, commitment to water treatment among system operators, and consumer awareness of water quality issues. The analysis will include calculations of programme implementation costs. The data collection also includes monitoring of payment levels by water systems to ensure good understanding of the prevalence and frequency of subsidy demands in the study regions and the corresponding financial inputs needed to maintain the Assurance Fund.
In both countries, the trials are following a ‘stepped-wedge’ design that proceeds along the following phases: 1) approximately 30 water systems are randomly placed into three different groups; 2) after baseline data collection that covers pre-specified programme indicators, communities in one of the groups receive the Assurance Fund intervention and communities in the remaining two groups serve as controls; 3) every six months mid-line data collection takes place in the intervention and control communities and, subsequently, a control group transitions into an intervention group; 4) after two six-month cycles, all groups will receive the Assurance Fund intervention. Comparisons of indicator measurements between intervention and control communities will provide estimates of the programme impacts.
Though the RCTs are still under way, midline data collection indicates encouraging results. Water operators from systems that are in the Assurance Fund intervention groups report that they are improving water treatment protocols, particularly chlorination, in response to regular receipt of water quality information from the laboratories. Increased engagement between operators and community members is promoting greater public awareness of safe water management. This awareness seems to be increasing demand for water from the participating systems, which may lead to stronger financial positions. In addition, local stakeholders report that, because of concerns over losing customers to systems enrolled in the Assurance Fund, informal water suppliers are registering with local authorities in the hope of becoming eligible for future iterations of the programme.
A call for feedback
As we wait for the final evaluation results, we are gathering ideas and suggestions that will help shape the future of the Assurance Fund, including options for expanding the programme in Ghana and Kenya, and for introducing similar risk-mitigation products that support the outsourcing of water quality testing by small water suppliers in other countries. Even with positive trial outcomes, it is clear that, to scale across additional countries, the Assurance Fund model will have to adapt to relevant institutional frameworks and local economies. Perspectives on the current model, the evaluation, and broader considerations would be greatly appreciated. •
More information
- Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality: Small Water Supplies, WHO. www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240088740
- Implementation Manual: Water Quality Assurance Fund. www.globalwaters.org/resources/assets/implementation-manual-water-quality-assurance-fund
- Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. www.hiltonfoundation.org/
- Asutifi North pilot study brief.
- aquaya.org/wp-content/uploads/2021_Water-Quality-Assurance-Fund-Lessons-Learned-_ResearchBrief.pdf
- REAL-Water programme. www.globalwaters.org/real-water
- The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. helmsleytrust.org/
- Ghana and Kenya project update video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4uR7l3ESYU
The authors: Ranjiv Khush (ranjiv@aquaya.org) is co-founder and Caroline Delaire (caroline@aquaya.org) is director of research and programs at The Aquaya Institute. If you are interested in progress with the Assurance Fund and in opportunities to test the approach in other regions, please reach out
Figure 1: A schematic illustration of the Water Quality Assurance Fund.
The Assurance Fund enables small water suppliers that cannot maintain on-site testing facilities to outsource water quality testing to professional laboratories. By guaranteeing that laboratories will be reimbursed in the case of non-payment, the Assurance Fund reduces the risk that laboratories face when providing services to small and rural systems. The programme agreements include requirements for the delinquent water systems to repay the Assurance Fund with penalty fees. The agreements also include the provision of technical support to water system operators to ensure proper interpretations of water quality test results.
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]]>The post How IoT and Data Are Helping Utilities appeared first on The Source.
]]>“Smart utilities” manage their assets using automated devices that enable the collection and analysis of data on usage, flow rates, water quality, pressure, leakage and more. This enables them to take intelligent action that can reduce costs and deliver the best service to their customers.
Here are some of the latest smart water technologies in automatic meter infrastructure (AMI), remote shutoff, leak detection and automated flushing from Mueller Water Products.
Mi.Net® System Helps Utilities Become Smarter
The Mi.Net system links service connections, distribution sensors and control devices, in a technology ecosystem for real-time access and control. Designed to LoRa open architecture standards that enables data to travel faster and further, the Mi.Net platform gathers hourly usage data from every meter in the network. The unique differentiator of Mi.Net is its ability to enable smart city infrastructure which allows utilities to install any IoT device regardless of manufacturer or equipment type.
Data from equipment installed throughout the distribution system communicates across Mi.Net to alert utilities of leaks, bursts or other emergent conditions, allowing them to efficiently allocate resources.
Remote Meter Connect/Disconnect Technology Delivers Operational Savings
The 420 RDM contains a remote disconnect valve, which is integral to the 5/8-inch residential meter. Utilities can use this feature to directly manage their water services from the utility office. The unique quality of the 420 RDM is the integral valve that allows the utility to upgrade to remote disconnect by simply installing the meter into the existing standard 7.5-inch service. The RDM works seamlessly with Mi.Net and receives prompts from the Mi.Net user interface when action is needed.
When the utility identifies a condition requiring valve activation, the system works as easily as clicking a mouse to disconnect or reconnect the water service as needed. When reports come in via Mi.Net that indicate unexpected excess flows, service representatives can respond quickly and shut off valves remotely saving water loss and property damage, without dispatching a maintenance crew.
EchoShore®-DX Technology Automates Leak Detection for Smart Utilities
The EchoShore-DX leak detection platform provides daily monitoring of a water distribution system. It looks for existing or emerging leaks using acoustical sensor nodes fitted within a standard fire hydrant pumper nozzle cap. The nodes are intelligent with the ability to detect the presence of small leaks in their zones of deployment. They can also communicate with each other and the central collection hub. Each node establishes an accurate acoustical baseline for its respective monitoring zone, ensuring detection of leaks that may develop in the future. Data is collected via radio frequency or cellular networks, allowing for near real-time data analysis. The user interface is highly intuitive, providing reports at the start of each day.
The EcoShore-DX system is scalable and migratable. Targeted deployments can be done with cellular networks, so smaller utilities without full AMI capabilities can still experience the data benefits. If the utility adds more sensors, it can seamlessly transition to the Lora network.
Automated Flushing Systems Provide Higher Water Quality Consistency
For smart cities, automatic flushing systems enable utilities to program their water distribution flushing schedules, lowering labor and operational costs as well as improving consistency of water quality. Hydro-Guard® products flush distribution systems when water demands are low, or when residual levels are below pre-determined levels. Several water quality conditions can be monitored, including chlorine, pH, temperature, turbidity and flow rate. Monitoring dead ends in the water distribution system allow utilities to be proactive rather than rely on customer complaints regarding water quality.
The Hydro-Guard system is also available with pressure sensors, giving water utilities a real-time pressure monitoring solution throughout their distribution systems. Using local cellular networks, sensors continually report data and alert the utility when high or low-pressure thresholds are exceeded.
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]]>The post Mussels could be the answer to better urban water appeared first on The Source.
]]>Ribbed mussels can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from an urban estuary and could help improve water quality in other urban and coastal locations, according to a study for New York City’s Bronx River. The findings, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of long-term efforts to improve water quality in the Bronx River Estuary.
Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Milford Laboratory in Milford, Connecticut began the two-year pilot project in June 2011. They used a 6 x 6-metre raft with mussel growing lines hanging below as their field location in an industrial area in the South Bronx, not far from a sewage treatment plant. The waters were closed to shellfish harvesting because of bacterial contamination.
“Ribbed mussels live in estuarine habitats and can filter bacteria, microalgae, nutrients and contaminants from the water,” said Julie Rose, a research ecologist at the Milford Laboratory, part of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and co-author of the study. “They are native to the [US] East Coast so there are no concerns about invasive species disturbing the ecosystem, and they are efficient at filtering a variety of particles from the water. Ribbed mussels are not sold commercially, so whatever they eat will not be eaten by humans.”
Researchers found that the Bronx River mussels were generally healthy, and their tissues had high amounts of a local nitrogen isotope, indicating that they removed nitrogen from local waters. They also had lower amounts of trace metals and organic contaminants than blue mussels collected from the seafloor nearby.
The researchers estimate that a fully populated mussel raft similar to the one used in the study would clean an average of 11 million litres of water and remove about 63 kilogrammes of particulate matter, like dust and soot, daily. When harvested, the mussels could be used for fertiliser or as feed for some animals, recycling nutrients back into the land.
Gary Wikfors, Milford Laboratory Director and co-author of the study said: “Nutrient bioextraction using shellfish is becoming more common, and this study demonstrated that it could be an additional tool for nitrogen management in the coastal environment.”
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]]>The post H&M and WWF to work on water challenges in Turkey appeared first on The Source.
]]>Clothing group H&M and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have announced a new initiative to help Turkey tackle its water challenges, particularly pollution.
The project will focus on improving water management methods and policies in the Büyük Menderes River basin, which is home to large-scale agriculture and industry, including textile operations.
Like many other river basins, Büyük Menderes suffers from declining water quality and could face increased water stress in future due to climate change and development.
“Turkey’s textile industry is booming but it faces serious risks from pollution, poor water management and weak regulations: collective action is needed now to mitigate these risks,” said Daniel Robertsson, Head of Corporate Engagement at WWF Sweden and responsible for the H&M WWF partnership. “WWF and H&M group have already helped to strengthen water management in China and Bangladesh and we believe our partnership will contribute to similar improvements in Turkey.”
As part of the initiative, policy makers and other companies in Turkey will collaborate to promote clean production technologies in the textile sector as well as demonstrate the value of water stewardship. H&M will influence its suppliers to invest in clean production and better water management.
“Being one of Turkey’s largest textile buyers, H&M group has a strong incentive to influence the development of more sustainable water use in the country’s textile industry,” said Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability at H&M group. “In addition to the work we do on a regular basis to improve water management practices in all of our facilities, we will engage our suppliers in cleaner production programmes in the basin and try to inspire others by sharing best practices.”
WWF and H&M group first began working together in 2011, focusing on water stewardship. Since then the partnership has helped transform H&M group’s internal water management as well as engaging suppliers, policy makers, NGOs, communities and other companies to collectively advocate for more sustainable water use in specific river basins in Asia.
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]]>The post Why cities need to utilise their surrounding landscapes appeared first on The Source.
]]>By Kristina Hill*
Suppose you woke up to discover a deep disturbance to the space/time continuum. Authorities have given 20 to 30 years before relocating you, and billions more, to a very different planet. The new habitat is hostile to how contemporary cities function, but you have no choice. Everyone must go.
Science fiction? Dream on. Scientists have demonstrated that humanity is living its last stable decades of an 8,000-10,000-year climatic era, after which global water distribution will slip, seasonally and geographically, into radical disequilibrium.
This calls for a new thinking, and action. Waterworks have been described as arteries and veins, a kind of urban metabolism. But looking ahead, we’re not talking about tweaking blood pressure here, avoiding clots there, or even performing an intricate high-level bypass surgery. We’re talking about amputating entire chunks of our circulatory systems, grafting on new organs, re-organising the internal connectivity of vessels along with where and how those systems pulse. Change must happen without anesthesia, on the cheap, while systems live, breathe and function.
No city is immune. High above, melting glaciers and diminished snowpack will reduce mountain runoff.
Down below, sewage treatment plants will increasingly confront fresh- and saltwater flooding. Formerly reliable wells will dry up or grow saline. Rising sea levels will all too often overwhelm flood control channels. Tidal gates– which proliferate to protect coastal cities–will exacerbate water quality and flooding problems as even tributaries can’t release currents into the sea.
Initially, water systems may cope. Cities can recover from stressful setbacks, the water system equivalent of a 24-hour fever or flu. But at some point the condition turns chronic.
Entire sections of cities are likely to suffer from frequent–eventually, permanent–inundation.
Much as emergency room visits overwhelm healthcare budgets, urban water professionals–faced with extreme spikes in drought and deluge–are engaging in broad new conversations, asking hard questions about limited funding sources and structural reforms. In the best cases, fresh answers will emerge, as people imagine truly innovative design and management strategies.
To shape this process of radical change, urban water system planners and engineers can start by looking hard not just at our urban waterworks, but also the surrounding natural infrastructure of which cities are part: our landscapes.
Exciting new programmes for dealing with extreme flooding use landscapes to hold water back, before and during all stages of water conveyance. In the Pacific Northwest of the 1990s and 2000s, Seattle and Portland led a movement to develop landscapes that improve functionality and capacity of urban water systems. Others soon followed, in contexts ranging from a watershed on the University of Virginia campus, to water-plazas in an urban district in Rotterdam.
The triad of stormwater, water quality and fish habitat produced novel approaches that have been embraced from Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) in Berlin, to wetland parks in China, and from Stockholm urban stormwater architecture in the Hammarby-Sjöstad district, to new studies of green infrastructure in Johannesburg. Such innovations showed us how to design and manage the capillaries and veins of our urban systems for multiple gains in health, stormwater capacity, and the urban metabolism.
Yet the climate keeps changing, putting unimaginable stresses on water systems, on inflow supplies, and on outflow sewage conveyance and treatment. We know we will have a lot less water to start with. But volatile precipitation also means we can store even less of that rain in our current reservoir strategies. Some cities face a choice: surround big sewage plants with medieval walls, or abandon them in favour of smaller, distributed facilities within developed districts.
Outside of Washington DC, no leaders ask whether extreme shocks will come–as sea levels rise at least 10 feet, and temperatures go up a degree or more–but where, when and how severely they will impact existing water systems.
Again, understanding landscapes is the “first principle,” the starting point for innovations. Where will the new shorelines be? How much wave energy will we face? How often will storm surges come? What rock and soil substrates will groundwater have to move through?
Such questions may at first feel odd, hard, extreme. But only by asking can we can find innovative answers. Only then can we think of water systems as buffers, or “micro-polders” that help us adapt to coastal and inland surges, while using supplies with more care and value. Only then can we experiment with new approaches that link cities with their landscapes.
Progressive cities line sewage and storm drains with new pipes. California vineyards help recharge groundwater in wet years. Hampton Roads, Virginia, is studying injection of treated sewage effluent into deep aquifers to repel saltwater intrusion. Phoenix, Arizona’s water storage and recycling systems provide a dryland case study in regional innovation. Hamburg’s Hafencity district on the Elbe River pioneers “floodable development,” complete with waterproofed first floors. New Orleans’ 2013 Water Management Strategy and Rotterdam’s Water Plan 2.0 demonstrate integrated strategies for cities where rivers meet the sea.
These examples arose not when people denied the near end of a 10,000- year era of stability but because they awoke. They decided to think and act. They chose to invest in experiments and creative designs. They tapped human ingenuity, integrating urban metabolism into living landscapes in ways that might, just might, help us adapt and inhabit that radically new planet.
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]]>The post Rethinking investment in urban resilience appeared first on The Source.
]]>Cities today face many competing demands. They must ensure enough food and water to sustain growing populations, plan to adapt and mitigate impacts of climate change, and build attractive urban centres. Financing projects in cities to develop their resilience is no easy task. Many banks, financiers and private companies have trouble investing in supportive measures due to the lack of information and potential associated risks. Now, more than ever, we need to rethink the way we invest in urban resilience.
Innovative financing models, like those outlined in IWA’s Principles for Water-Wise Cities, allow cities to remain flexible when changes or disasters occur–fostering more efficient solutions with smaller and more frequent investments. Cities need to consider the importance of integrated services that meet multiple demands with targeted investments in order toprovide options that overcome their lack of financial capacity and bring about new funding opportunities.
Pathways to investing in water quality
Many cities are implementing innovative financing mechanisms. Examples include Philadelphia’s stormwater billing, DC Water and the nation’s first Environmental Impact Bond (EIB), and other cities who have implemented The Nature Conservancy’s water funds.
Water funds are unique in that they enable cities and investors to move away from traditional funding and consider the co-benefits of looking at a wider scale: the basin. We all know water for our cities is supplied from sources further away, and it is critical that we bridge the gaps between upstream and downstream users to create funding mechanisms that consider the quality of the water supply at its source.
Water funds work as an institutional platform developed by cities and conservation practitioners that can bridge governance issues as well as science, jurisdictional, financial and implementation gaps. Resources, both funding and capacity, are then dedicated to taking action towards a common goal to improve water quality.
Realising basin-scale outcomes
Cities depend upon their basin, which supplies them with water, food and energy. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has found that four out of five cities can reduce sediment and nutrient pollution by a meaningful amount through investing in and implementing forest protection, pastureland reforestation and improved agricultural practices in the basin.
By taking part in basin management through water funds, cities can simultaneously secure resources; reduce flood risks; and enhance economic health. Water-wise communities also enable the implementation of resilience frameworks by connecting people to integrated solutions, highlighting the value of co-benefits, and unlocking flexible and fit-for-purpose investments. Likewise, through water-wise communities we can bring people together from across the basin to realise the role they can play in managing water supply across scales.
Implementing city resilience frameworks will help break down the initial barriers to water funds, which include a lack of common objectives, lack of data and information to support science-based decision-making, and lack of a credible track record to support public and private investments. Urban and basin stakeholders need to identify common objectives for a shared vision, and align water-wise communities for sound decision-making.
Sharing the value of healthy watersheds
TNC has already helped implement 29 successful water funds across the globe, and have witnessed the benefits to local communities and urban areas in sharing the value of healthy watersheds as a result. In Hangzhou, China, the Longwu Water Fund is working with local farmers to identify and apply best management practices in the catchment area that supports a thriving agriculture community in the Zheijang province.
While, in Brazil, the Brazilian National Water Agency and the Guandu Watershed Committee were supported to create a water fund to compensate local landowners for conserving and restoring forests in the headwater catchment of the Guandu River–an important source of water for Rio de Janeiro’s nearly 10 million urban residents.
In Kenya, the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund–the first water fund in Africa–provides Nairobi water users with the opportunity to mitigate water threats. Investing in upstream watershed conservation efforts benefits farmers, businesses and millions of Kenyans who depend on the Tana River for their fresh water.
These examples highlight how critical it is to work across scales and sectors to implement innovative financing mechanisms to improve water quality for all. The work TNC does with partners around the world, and tools such as the IWA Principles for Water-Wise Cities, provide a means to do this.
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]]>The post Water quality from space: ‘A giant leap’ for public and environmental health appeared first on The Source.
]]>Satellites have a long history, with the American writer, Edward Everett Hale, writing speculative fiction containing the first known depiction of an artificial satellite to measure longitude in The Brick Moon, back in 1869. During the intensity of World War II, the first space-based picture of Earth was taken, demonstrating the potential for space-based cameras to help us monitor our changing world. Soon after, space became the battlefield where the US and the Soviet Union tested their supremacy during the Cold War, giving way to, amongst others, the first commercial communications satellite. Today, from atmospheric satellites that can predict weather conditions to remote sensing satellites that monitor our environment’s resources from afar, there’s little on Earth’s surface that escapes from satellites’ sight. How can we apply satellite information to improve the quality of our waters and optimise decision making in water supply services?
Our freshwater resources are severely affected by climate change, urbanisation, population growth, and competing demands from other uses, such as ecosystem protection, agriculture, energy production and recreation. Water utilities’ treatment operations, costs, and the resulting services to consumers are heavily determined by both the quantity and quality of water upstream in the catchments and reservoirs.
Changes in climate are resulting in increased frequency and intensity of precipitation, topping up reservoirs, which can result in excess water runoff. This may lead to flooding and even destruction of the water stored, compromising water supplies.
Increased urbanisation also aggravates the quality of water bodies. The expansion of paved areas and increased urban runoff are major sources of water pollution in urban areas. Another big threat to water quality comes from diffuse pollution caused by intensive farming and its associated use of pesticides and fertilisers to feed an increasing population worldwide.
The combination of increased nutrient loading in water bodies and changes in temperature can result in algal blooms which can impact the storage load of reservoirs. Recurrent bloom episodes have significant socio-economic and environmental impacts. Algal blooms are a problem because they can produce toxins which can contaminate sources waters (e.g. cyanobacteria produces a group of harmful algal toxins known as microcystins), as well as the drinking water treatment facilities that the source waters supply. In the European Union, for example, fish mortality or diseases provoked by the consumption of such toxins are but a few of the economic impacts. Water treatment plants face a difficult task of not only removing the toxins, but doing so in a safe and cost-effective way.
Satellite remote sensing techniques to assess changes in water quality
These increasing pressures pose additional challenges to water utilities, many of which already struggle to secure a reliable supply of safe and clean water. Having access to real-time and forecasted information about the conditions of water quality and quantity is essential to proactively manage upstream risks, improve responses to water incidents, or improve their operational efficiency and quality of their services.
SPACE-O integrates Earth Observations and in-situ monitoring with advanced hydrological, water quality models and ICT tools, into a powerful decision support system that will generate up-to-the-minute data, as well as forecasting of water flows and water quality data in reservoirs. This knowledge about the conditions in the ground, now and in the near future, will help optimise water treatment plant operations, and increase the responsiveness of water managers against incidences, such as algal blooms, droughts and floods.
“High resolution pictures from earth observation could assist our water company in knowing when it’s the best time to take water from the river when the water stored during winter isn’t enough to supply for the summer months, highly reducing our maintenance costs,” said Ingrid Keupers, Technical Director of De Watergroep, during one of the first project consultation meetings with water utility operators.
Ensuring uptake of the resulting products is indeed crucial to the philosophy of SPACE-O. The products are centered around a decision support system (DSS) which aims to make use of satellite date and other technical tools to help water operators make informed decisions around issues such as water quality in reservoirs. From the start, a series of consultations with utility operators has been undertaken to cater the products to users’ needs. This creates ownership and interest in application of the relevant tools to their operations. Utilities that are interested to learn more can contact info@space-o.eu, and follow all the latest developments on the project’s website and social media channels.
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