s
       
       
   
 

 
OUTLOOK:
The Business of public water
Supplying public water has traditionally been a municipal responsibility. But today's efficiency-minded governments are increasingly getting out of the water business and handing the job over to the private sector, saving money in the process.
Private companies are being brought in for their capital, their technology and their know-how. A handful of global water companies - mainly from France and the United Kingdom - have become involved on a large scale, winning contracts that range from service to concession to full ownership.
    In the developing world, urban areas are the target. In Eastern Europe, public-private partnerships can provide the type of injection needed to upgrade water systems and improve environmental standards for countries wishing to join the European Union. The risk of such contracts is high, but with the right regulatory mechanism, the private sector has the potential for high, sustainable efficiency gains in waterworks operations and investment. This article also includes explanations of a few specific contract terms, including build-operate-transfer (BOT) and concession.
WATERTIGHT: The real price of pumping
The bottom line of a pumping system purchase isn't the price on the original invoice. It's the total of energy usage, operational costs, maintenance and other expenditures at the end of the system's useful life - - costs that can exceed 90 percent of the total lifecycle cost of the submersible pump. In this light, the N-pump comes up a winner.
Boom times at Duckett Creek
When a sleepy rural area of Missouri became the target for high-tech business expansion, the sewage facilities were quickly out-stripped. Plenty of forethought went into devising a system that would meet the area's needs for years to come - cleanly and efficiently.

PROFILE:
Takashi Asano A world leader in salvaging water
University of California professor Takashi Asano says he studies local conditions to provide optimal solutions to water problems. Asano has been awarded this year's Stockholm Water Prize.
     Takashi Asano, an adjunct professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California at Davis, has for the past 30 years helped governments around the world optimise water resources and reduce pollution.
     For his efforts, he has won the 11th Stockholm Water Prize, awarded annually by the Stockholm Water Foundation. The prize honours institutions, organisations and individuals for their outstanding contributions to water preservation and enhancement.
     Asano says he doesn't teach methods. Rather, he says, he studies local conditions - climate, culture, economics and limitations of resources - in consultation with local experts. Based on that information, he says, "I provide the best solutions available that I know of."
     In addition to consultation, teaching and research, Asano has written more than 50 articles and books, including Guidance Manual - Irrigation with Reclaimed Municipal Wastewater, a manual on irrigating with reclaimed wastewater that is used throughout the world.
     In 1999, Asano won the Water Environment Federation's
Jack Edward McKee Medal for a decade of research on microbial risks and groundwater recharge.
     Asano has contributed to health standards globally through his studies of microbiological contaminants and how to reduce their health risks so that water may be reclaimed. Asano says he plans to continue researching pathogens. He also wants to study trace organics or potentially toxic substances present in very small amounts in water.



Pumps for plastic
A German recycling company had developed a water-based system for separating and recycling plastics, but it could not find a pump system that could handle the job. STF Recycling GmbH needed 21 pumps at different capacities to process a mixture of solids and liquids. The recycled material, consisting of polystyrenes and polyethylenes used for packaging, had to be crushed, ground, cleansed and separated and dried. Snail pumps and centrifugal pumps failed frequently - even Flygt C-pumps could not handle the plastic particles and sand in the system.
     The Flygt N-pump came to the rescue. Its self-cleaning hydraulics solved the problem of melted plastics blocking the system. The pump casing is also equipped with a joint that can flush it with water after it has stopped, meaning simple start-up. In addition, a simple change in impeller diameter can adapt the pump discharge capacity, depending on the operating conditions.
     STF reports that even in the especially abrasive washing plant, the N-pump has worked economically after a year and a half of testing. The company has ordered 126 more N-pumps - of sizes 3085, 3102 and 3127 - for use in six more complete recycling plants.


Dry in the trenches
When Jaeger Construction Inc installed a sewer line for the city of Salinas, California, it skipped hiring a specialised dewatering contractor and tried to keep the work site dry on its own. The water-table level needed to be held below the working level of the open-trench excavation - which ranged from 12 to 30 feet (4 to 9 metres) deep - until each segment of the 12,000-foot (3,660-metre) sewer line was installed. The company drilled a series of 30-foot wells along the route, fitting each with plastic pipe and a Flygt Bibo BS 2052 submersible dewatering pump, which sent the water to a storm drainage system.
     Each 1.6 HP unit pumps up to 120 gallons/minute (455 litres/minute). Groups of pumps were run constantly for two to three weeks before excavation began, and continued pumping until work was complete in each area. Of the 100 pumps used for the project, at least 48 were running at any given time, while 24 were installed in front of the work area.
     "I'm happy with the pumps," says Mike Robertson, Jaeger's site superintendent. The money the company spent on dewatering was roughly the same amount it would have had to pay an independent contractor. The difference is that now Jaeger Construction owns the pumps and can use them at the next job site.

© ITT Flygt AB, Solna, Sweden, 2001. All rights reserved.