Volume 7 Issue 5

May 2020

Micky Elisha: Building Jerusalem’s Fifth Pipeline ADVERTISEMENT

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Micky Elisha: Municipal Water Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for May/June and Building November/December by Jerusalem’s Fifth Pipeline an American company established in 2009. STAFF: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief Joshua Dill, Managing Editor Tyler Young, Writer Stephanie Biddle, Graphic Designer Eliza Moreno, Web Designer Abbey Lloyd, Media Intern Milo Schmitt, Media Intern

SUBMISSIONS: Municipal Water Leader welcomes manuscript, photography, and art submissions. However, the right to edit or deny publishing submissions is reserved. Submissions are returned only upon request. For more information, please contact our office at (202) 698-0690 or [email protected].

ADVERTISING: Municipal Water Leader accepts one-quarter, half-page, and full-page ads. For more Contents information on rates and placement, please May 2020 Volume 7, Issue 5 contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or [email protected].

CIRCULATION: 5 Impressive Israel 22 Kando: Improving Municipal Water Leader is distributed to By Kris Polly Wastewater Quality irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, U.S. Bureau Before It Reaches the of Reclamation officials, members of Congress 6 Building Jerusalem’s Treatment Plant and committee staff, and advertising sponsors. For address corrections or additions, please Fifth Pipeline contact our managing editor, Joshua Dill, at 26 Ayala’s Natural Wastewater [email protected]. 10 Israel Water Education Treatment Systems Copyright © 2019 Water Strategies LLC. Municipal and Trade Tour Preview Water Leader relies on the excellent contributions of a variety of natural resources professionals who 30 Mapal’s Floating Fine provide content for the magazine. However, the 14 The Central Role of the Bubble Aeration Technology views and opinions expressed by these contributors are solely those of the original contributor and do Israel Water Authority not necessarily represent or reflect the policies or 34 Aqwise’s Contributions positions of Municipal Water Leader magazine, its editors, or Water Strategies LLC. The acceptance and 18 How TAYA Empowers to MBBR Technology use of advertisements in Municipal Water Leader Small Communities to do not constitute a representation or warranty by Water Strategies LLC or Municipal Water Leader Recycle Their Wastewater magazine regarding the products, services, claims, or companies advertised.

Coming soon in Municipal Water Leader: MunicipalWaterLeader.com PHOTO COURTESY OF MEKOROT. June: Safety MuniWaterLeader Do you have a story idea for an upcoming issue? Contact our COVER PHOTO: editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, at [email protected]. Micky Elisha, Project Manager for the fifth pipeline to Jerusalem. Photo courtesy of Mekorot.

4 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT Impressive Israel By Kris Polly ive the plant everything it needs, but not one drop water and wastewater companies. Triple-T has created TAYA, more." This was said to me in a conversation with a reliable, mechanically simple earth-dug wastewater treatment Ga representative of an Israeli company that traced reactor that is ideal for decentralized treatment in suburban and its roots to the development of drip irrigation over 50 years exurban communities. Kando has created a software platform ago. That quote has stuck with me because of the practical that can identify and track pollution events within a wastewater mindset it represents: Use water, but no more than needed. collection system before they reach the treatment plant, helping Israel is one of the most impressive countries in the municipalities reduce the strain on their reactors. Ayala has world when it comes to water management. A semiarid and developed the Natural Biological System, an artificial wetland– arid country with limited freshwater supplies and regions type installation that can treat wastewater for major urban with brackish groundwater, it nevertheless exports water centers using only gravity and natural elements like aquatic to its neighbors. How is this possible? First, Israel recycles plants. Mapal has built floating fine bubble aerators that can and reuses over 80 percent of its wastewater for irrigation. easily be placed into—or removed from—wastewater treatment Second, it has established five large desalination plants on reactors and lagoons. And finally, Aqwise helps design and the Mediterranean coast since 2005 that will soon supply construct mobile bed bioreactors using its proprietary carriers. over 80 percent of its domestic and industrial use. Third, the Israel’s impressive achievements in water technology and country is traversed by immense and highly efficient water management are why we have chosen the country for our conveyance and delivery systems. next water education and trade tour, scheduled for summer In our cover story, we highlight one of Israel’s most 2021. A special tour preview section in this issue shows what impressive recent water supply projects: the fifth pipeline you have to look forward to. I guarantee that by the end of to Jerusalem. Micky Elisha, who manages the project for this issue, you will find Israel just as impressive as I do—and Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, tells us about how will be curious to see the country in person. M this 40-mile-long, pressurized, large-diameter pipeline was conceived of and constructed. Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine We also interview Giora Shaham, the director general and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government of the Israel Water Authority, the interagency body set up relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing in 2007 to coordinate Israel’s water policy, about the most and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings distinctive aspects of Israel’s plans for its future supply. with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government We also feature a number of impressive and innovative Israeli agencies. He may be contacted at [email protected].

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Excavations for the tunneled segment of the fifth pipeline to Jerusalem.

ue to population increase, the city of Jerusalem is Micky Elisha: I’m a civil engineer and have worked for reaching the limits of its current water supply. To Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, since 2000. I was Dresolve this issue, Israel’s national water company, always attracted to huge infrastructure project companies, so Mekorot, is building a 25-mile pipeline, between 80 and Mekorot was a natural choice. Working for Mekorot over 102 inches in diameter, to provide the city with water from the years has been fascinating. Israel has long suffered from a both underground sources and desalination plants on the lack of natural water sources and from drought. As Mekorot Mediterranean coast. As the water mostly comes from sea level is the company responsible for water supply throughout and Jerusalem lies half a mile above sea level, the entire pipeline the country, our main challenge was to face these problems system must be pressurized at 290 to 580 pounds per square on a national level, which we have been able to do thanks inch (psi) to deliver the water. This enormous project was first to our innovative and sophisticated solutions. I started off envisioned in the 1990s and is finally reaching completion, with at Mekorot as a maintenance engineer for pipelines and the first water deliveries expected in 2021. buildings, later moving on to the project development In this interview, Micky Elisha, the project manager for division. At first, I worked on smaller projects, for example,

Mekorot’s pipeline project, tells Municipal Water Leader about building small pipes to supply water to small towns for local PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEKOROT. the process of planning, designing, and constructing this vital municipal consumption. I was then lucky enough to be piece of national infrastructure. appointed to manage the fifth pipeline project, which began in May 2009. The project is interesting from an engineering Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and technical perspective—it’s a vast project that involves and how you came to be in your current position. transporting ground water and desalinated seawater to

6 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT Jerusalem and the nearby cities. Mekorot has around Micky Elisha: We finished the fourth pipeline to Jerusalem 25 people working on the project. and started operating it around 1984. Subsequently, in the early 1990s, there was a large wave of immigration of Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Mekorot. Jews from the former Soviet Union to Israel, accounting for a population increase of hundreds of thousands. It Micky Elisha: Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, was obvious to Mekorot that this significant increase in was established in 1937—before the birth of the State population meant that we needed to start planning a fifth of Israel. Today, Mekorot employs 2,200 people in a pipeline in order to meet the water demands of Jerusalem's variety of disciplines. Our revenue is US$1.6 billion per increasing population. annum, and we invest over US$400 million per year on water infrastructure. The company is responsible for more Municipal Water Leader: Would you tell us about the than 85 percent of the potable water supply in Israel, and planning process for the fifth pipeline? around 80 percent of our activities are focused on this. Throughout the years, Mekorot has built thousands of wells, Micky Elisha: The Israeli government announced the several desalination plants, numerous pipelines, and many project in 2006 and declared it a National Project—a legal other water sources. We also take care of water security, status that helped accelerate the statutory process. We were water quality, water resources management, hydrology, required to provide a master plan, which was facilitated and drillings. The other 20 percent of our activities relate by the support of the government. The governmental to wastewater treatment and reclamation—we recycle support was essential in light of the complex nature of the wastewater and provide it to the agricultural sector. project: The fifth pipeline project covers a span of about 40 kilometers (km), or about 25 miles, and crosses various Municipal Water Leader: When did it become clear that municipalities with different regulations. We began by Jerusalem needed a new water pipeline? preparing the master plan, and after its approval, we started

The tunnel boring machine breaks through at the end of the excavation.

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 7 ADVERTISEMENT

The city of Jerusalem. preparing a detailed design. This process took approximately Municipal Water Leader: What role does desalinated water 2 years, which is considered relatively quick. In many cases, play in this supply? it can take around 10 years for a project of such magnitude to be approved. Micky Elisha: Close to 80 percent of the drinking water in Israel is desalinated seawater—one of the highest levels of Municipal Water Leader: How is the project structured? any country in the world. Most of the time, this pipeline will indeed be delivering desalinated water. The remaining water Micky Elisha: The project has two main sections: west and will be sourced from groundwater. east. The western section was executed in the cut-and-cover method and started to operate in 2014. The eastern section, Municipal Water Leader: Is Jerusalem constructing new which is now under performance, includes reservoirs, a storage facilities to store this water? 13 km (8-mile) tunnel, and pump stations. As background on the hydraulic system, we have to Micky Elisha: Yes, the Jerusalem municipality is preparing remember that Jerusalem is about 860 meters (m) (2,821 feet) for the upcoming increase in water supply and will build a above sea level. The water that the pipeline will transport new reservoir at the city’s border to absorb it. In addition, includes desalinated seawater, which originates at sea level. To Jerusalem is also building a new pipeline to distribute pump the water uphill, there are pump stations in place every the water within the city. Finally, as part of this project, 200–250 m (656–820 feet) in elevation. The total quantity Mekorot is building several large reservoirs near the pump of water being pumped at the final stage will be 65,000 cubic stations. These reservoirs will boast a capacity of 30,000– meters (17.2 million gallons) per hour. We’ll be pumping for 50,000 cubic meters (24–40.5 acre-feet) of storage. These an operational average of 18 hours per day, meaning that the storage facilities also allow Mekorot to operate the system pipeline will be pumping an average of 1.17 million cubic more efficiently. Operating this pipeline consumes a lot of meters (309 million gallons) per day to Jerusalem and nearby energy, so doing so more efficiently can save a lot of money. towns and cities, including some in the Palestinian Authority. On the existing pipeline systems, for example, we pay more than 40 million shekels (around US$10 million) a year for Municipal Water Leader: How does that amount compare electricity costs alone. Saving just 1 percent of the energy to Jerusalem’s current water supply? used in the operation of the pipeline will therefore lead to significant savings. Micky Elisha: The current system in Jerusalem is reaching its full capacity of 420,000 cubic meters Municipal Water Leader: How much energy are you (around 111 million gallons) per day. The fifth pipeline expecting to use on the completed pipeline? is designed to supply water for the next 50 years, so it PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY. will not initially be working at full capacity. As things Micky Elisha: Each pump station has 6–8 pump units that stand, we’ll be starting off at around half capacity. consume 7–8 kilowatts (kW) each. We are building huge Every year, we will increase the supply according to power substations near each pump station that will supply consumption and demand. close to 65 kW each.

8 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT

The interior of the pipeline tunnel. Construction on the tunneled segment of the fifth pipeline to Jerusalem amid existing roads and infrastructure.

Municipal Water Leader: What material is the pressure pipeline made of?

Micky Elisha: The inner liner of the tunnel consists of a 102-inch steel pipe that can withstand 40 bars (580 psi) of pressure. We used steel pipe because of the level of pressure. First, we excavated a tunnel with a diameter of 4 m (157.5 inches). Then we started the installation of a 2.6 m (102-inch) pipe. Following this, we grouted the gap between the steel pipe and the face of the tunnel— approximately 1½ m (59 inches)—with concrete.

Municipal Water Leader: When will the tunnel be completed?

Micky Elisha: We have just reached the end of the tunnel, Mekorot employees celebrate the breakthrough of the tunnel boring machine. and we recently held our breakthrough ceremony. It’s exciting for me personally because it marks the end of 3 years of challenging and interesting work.

Municipal Water Leader: When will the first deliveries of water begin?

Micky Elisha: We expect to begin to operate the system in August 2021. We need to keep to this deadline because Jerusalem is nearing the limits of its current water supply and there is no other backup. M

Micky Elisha is the project manager of the fifth pipeline to Jerusalem. He can be contacted at [email protected].

An aerial view of one of the fifth pipeline construction sites. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEKOROT. COURTESY PHOTOS

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 9 ADVERTISEMENT 3 Israel Water Education and Trade Tour Preview, June 28–July 6, 2021

Please save the date for the following scheduled tour, 2 sponsored in part by Municipal Water Leader magazine and 4 Irrigation Leader magazine. 1 Projected Itinerary 1 Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport and dinner in Netanya, Israel. 9 2 The group will visit the Caesarea National Park and see the Roman aqueduct and water cistern, proceed to Kibbutz Maga and visit the Netafim irrigation factory, and then go to the Megiddo National Park to see the ancient water system there. 5 3 The group will drive north to see two of the main sources of the Jordan River, the Dan and Banias Rivers; go to the Golan Heights to see the Syrian border and Mt. Hermon; and proceed to the famous Golan Winery for a tour and wine tasting. The day will end at the Sapir site near the Sea of Galilee, where water is pumped for the National Water Carrier, the water supply system that 8 spans the length and breadth of Israel. 6 4 The group will depart Tiberias and drive to Mt. Arbel for an amazing panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee, drive to Mt. Gilboa and Kibbutz Maale Gilboa, and then proceed to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for an agriculture bio tour. 5 The group will visit the Mount of Olives for a beautiful panoramic view over the Old City of Jerusalem, then visit the City of David, including the Hezekiah Tunnel. Brave participants can walk through the wet tunnel. The other option is to walk along the dry tunnel to the Pool of Siloam, then drive to Armon Hanatziv to see the ancient tunnels that convey water from Solomon’s pool to the temple. The group will then enter the Old City to see the Western Wall tunnels, the Pool of Bethesda, and the Roman Cardo with its old wells. There will be an opportunity to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

7 10 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT 3 Israel Water Education and Trade Tour Preview, June 28–July 6, 2021

Please save the date for the following scheduled tour, 6 The group will depart Jerusalem and drive to the 8 The group will depart Eilat and drive via the 2 sponsored in part by Municipal Water Leader magazine and Einot Zukim Nature Reserve, where there are Ramon Crater to the Negev Desert Research 4 Irrigation Leader magazine. freshwater springs and typical oasis vegetation and and Development Center near Ashalim, which animal life. Next, in the desert next to the Dead Sea, specializes in using salty water for agriculture. 1 Projected Itinerary which has salty water and no life at all, the group The group will proceed to Kibbutz Hatzerim will proceed to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where near Beersheba, the southern branch of the 1 Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport and dinner in Netanya, kibbutz members pump water for their mineral Netafim irrigation factory, and continue to the Israel. water factory. The group will then visit the world desalination facility in Ashkelon or Ashdod on the 9 2 The group will visit the Caesarea National Park and heritage site of Masada, where participants can Mediterranean Sea. see the Roman aqueduct and water cistern, proceed to walk the snake trail by foot or ascend via cable car We will hold a farewell dinner in Jaffa and then drive Kibbutz Maga and visit the Netafim irrigation factory, to see King Herod’s fortress, an ancient synagogue, 9 to Ben Gurion Airport for a night flight back home. and then go to the Megiddo National Park to see the a Byzantine church, and the water cistern. ancient water system there. 5 7 The group will depart the Dead Sea and drive 3 The group will drive north to see two of the main via the Arava Desert Valley to the Yair Research Services Included sources of the Jordan River, the Dan and Banias Rivers; and Development Agriculture Center and tour • meeting and assistance at Ben Gurion Airport on arrival go to the Golan Heights to see the Syrian border and the Center for Modern Desert Farming, one • licensed English-speaking guide for all transfers and Mt. Hermon; and proceed to the famous Golan Winery of the world’s most advanced. There will be a sightseeing days for a tour and wine tasting. The day will end at the Sapir guided visit to the experimental greenhouses and • luxury air-conditioned coach site near the Sea of Galilee, where water is pumped for a presentation of agricultural inventions to deal • transfer to/from Ben Gurion airport the National Water Carrier, the water supply system that with the challenges of soil and desert climate. The • entrance fees for all visits and tours spans the length and breadth of Israel. 8 group will then continue to the ecological Kibbutz • eight nights of hotel accommodation 6 4 The group will depart Tiberias and drive to Lotan near Eilat and learn how it transformed • breakfasts and dinners at hotels and farewell dinner at Mt. Arbel for an amazing panoramic view of the Sea sandy desert soil into a green and flowering organic local restaurant of Galilee, drive to Mt. Gilboa and Kibbutz Maale garden. Participants will learn basic organic and Gilboa, and then proceed to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for an permaculture tips and practical solutions that the agriculture bio tour. Center for Creative Ecology has developed over the Information on pricing will be presented in updated years to treat waste, raise healthy food, save energy, advertisements and posted to our websites, 5 The group will visit the Mount of Olives for a beautiful panoramic view over the Old City of Jerusalem, then and build naturally. Proceeding to Eilat, the tour www.irrigationleadermagazine.com and visit the City of David, including the Hezekiah Tunnel. will aim to visit a desalination facility the draws www.municipalwaterleader.com, in the near future. Brave participants can walk through the wet tunnel. from the Red Sea. To receive more information about the tour and to The other option is to walk along the dry tunnel to the tentatively reserve a participation slot, please email Pool of Siloam, then drive to Armon Hanatziv to see the Tom Wacker at ancient tunnels that convey water from Solomon’s pool [email protected]. to the temple. The group will then enter the Old City to see the Western Wall tunnels, the Pool of Bethesda, and the Roman Cardo with its old wells. There will be an opportunity to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

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water from the northern streams and sources of the Jordan River, preventing pollution from reaching the Sea of Galilee. About 15 years ago, I was a consultant for what was then the Water Commission, today the Israel Water Authority. I dealt with the country’s major water systems and was one of the active members of the committee that formulated the reform of the current authority’s structure in the water sector. In addition to my work in Israel, I worked as a consultant performing system analysis in China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Serbia. In June 2017, I was nominated by the government to serve as director general of the Water Authority. It is a 5-year term position.

Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about the Israel Water Authority, its history, and its current responsibilities.

Giora Shaham: Until 2007, the Water National Water Carrier infrastructure near Kibbutz Hukok in northern Israel. Commission in Israel was under one ministry. It used to be under the Ministry of Agriculture, then srael is an arid nation whose population Giora Shaham: I’m a water engineer. it was transferred to the Ministry has quintupled over the last 60 years. I studied water engineering in the of National Infrastructures (today IThis has necessitated bold and creative Technion, the Israel Institute of called the Ministry of Energy). But water resources policies, including the Technology. My second degree was there were a lot of ministries in the aggressive use of water recycling and in water resources analysis, studying Israeli administration responsible for desalination. Because water policy touches multiobjective problems concerning some fragment of the water sector. all aspects of Israeli national life, the water issues and environmental issues. For example, water pollution was Israeli Parliament in 2007 established In my professional life, I started as a the responsibility of the Ministry of an independent governmental body, the water engineer with the Lake Kinneret Environment, water supply to the Israel Water Authority, that is designed to Authority and then became a private municipalities in the urban sector give a seat at the decisionmaking table to consultant specializing in water was the responsibility of the Ministry representatives from all relevant ministries. resources analysis, focusing on systemic of Interior, all the investments In this interview, the Israel Water problems rather than on detailed design. needed to improve the water system Authority’s director general and chairman I prepared a sustainability study for, were under the supervision of the of the council, Giora Shaham, tells and then managed the construction Ministry of Finance, and water Municipal Water Authority about the of, a big project in northern Israel supply for agriculture fell to the distinctive features of Israel’s water policy to resolve environmental problems Ministry of Agriculture. In 2006, a and the role the Water Authority plays in caused by the drying of the swampy major legislative reform established PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIEL PALMON. setting it. Hula Valley, which had occurred at the Water Authority, which is the beginning of the 1950s. At the a single professional organ that Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us beginning of the 1990s, about 40 years sets policy and bylaws, governed about your background and how you after the valley was dried, we planned by a council that includes high- came to be in your current position. and constructed a wetland to filter the ranking representatives from all

14 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT relevant ministries (Agriculture, property controlled by the state and are Energy, Environment, Finance, and designated for the needs of the residents Interior) together with two public and development of the country.” Water representatives. I am the director resources, for the purpose of this law, general of the Water Authority as well include springs, streams, rivers, lakes, as the chairman of the council. It is a reservoirs, either surface or groundwater, one-table, professional, independent natural or artificial. All the water decisionmaking body. belongs to the state, and the state is the The Israeli water sector is essentially regulator. Water that is pumped from a closed market, which means that the sea also belongs to the state. its water rates need to cover all the investment, maintenance costs, and Municipal Water Leader: In addition energy costs that are needed to supply to developing policy, does the water potable water, whether for domestic, authority operate infrastructure? industrial, or agricultural use. There is one rate for domestic use, one for Giora Shaham: The Water Authority industrial use, and one for agricultural is a regulator. Operations are done use, but added up, those rates need to by Mekorot, Israel’s national water cover the full cost of providing potable company, which is responsible for about water. The situation is different for 70 percent of domestic water supply. It recycled water, because we need to supplies water to municipalities. Inside clear the market and support farmers the municipalities, the responsibility in taking the effluent from the for water distribution, storage, and sewage treatment plants to use it to sewage collection and treatment falls irrigate. That means we support the to public water companies. Mekorot is infrastructure through governmental also responsible for about 50 percent budget subsidies and loans. of water supply for agricultural use; the The principle of covering all the costs rest falls to local water associations and A map of the National Water Carrier, Israel’s of infrastructure, real estate, and water water suppliers, which usually belong to largest water project. supply encourages water conservation. the farmers. In northern Israel, there is We manage the water under the no effluent to supply to agriculture, but are now connecting our desalination principle of firmness and uniformity in central Israel and the south, farmers facilities to this big pipe. We now have of service. As a rule, all water users in a use the effluent from sewage treatment five major desalination plants along given sector pay the same price regardless plants to irrigate. About 85–86 percent the shores of the Mediterranean in of location. However, in order to support of treated wastewater is used for northwestern Israel, producing about the basic needs of the domestic sector, we agriculture. 600 million cubic meters (486,428 acre- actually have a two-block tariff system. feet) of water a year. They are connected The rate for water up to 3.5 cubic Municipal Water Leader: What are to the National Carrier, which conveys meters (924 gallons) per person per some of the main elements of the the water to the rest of Israel. Two other month—which is the normal amount water policy that the Water Authority plants are in the tendering process. for domestic use—is about US$2.10 per has developed? Our other major responsibility is the cubic meter. Past 3.5 cubic meters per regulation of the water sector, including person per month, the rates rise to about Giora Shaham: We have two major economic regulation, standards of US$3.50 per cubic meter. Those two responsibilities: First, we work to supply service, licensing, and water allocation. rates cover all the costs for development, the long-term needs of all the regions maintenance, energy, etc. of Israel by planning and developing Municipal Water Leader: Please tell programs. There are a few regions us about the development of water Municipal Water Leader: Is the Water that are not connected to the national recycling in Israel. Authority in charge of coming up with system—the valley upstream of the a national water policy? Sea of Galilee and some small areas of Giora Shaham: About 60 years ago, eastern Israel—but about 80 percent of nobody paid attention to sewage and Giora Shaham: Yes. Water law in the country is connected to the National simply let it flow into the streams, Israel is quite distinctive. The first Water Carrier, a pipe that takes water the lakes, and the sea. Then, as sentence of Israel’s water law says, “The from the Sea of Galilee in northern the dimensions of the health and country’s water resources are public Israel to Beersheba in the south. We environmental problems this caused PHOTO COURTESY OF NIELSF. COURTESY PHOTO

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 15 became clear, the construction of sewage treatment plants was Now it is almost 10 million. In the West Bank, there were quickly initiated to protect the streams and aquifers. As the no more than 300,000–400,000 people; now there are about population and its water needs grew, however, we realized that 3.5 million. The country is densely populated, and all the if it were treated well, this water could be used for agricultural natural water bodies—including the coastal and mountain purposes. We started to construct a local reuse system and to aquifers—are affected by pollution from industry, sewage, store the purified water in our reservoirs so that it could be and so on. We’re making efforts to conserve the water in the used during the summer to irrigate olives, avocados, mangos, Sea of Galilee and in the aquifers. We strictly regulate the dates, and other trees. Nowadays, the Ministry of Health is quality of treated wastewater and require it to be nearly on involved in regulating and permitting and sets standards for the level of drinking water. We are trying to preserve areas using recycled effluent for irrigation. It is widely used to irrigate that are sensitive to pollution, not allowing buildings and vegetables. As I mentioned, we reuse 86 percent of wastewater industrial facilities in those places. We are trying to restore for irrigation, and we aim to reuse 100 percent. water flowing in small streams. We also invest a lot of money Quality|Reliability|Service in education on water conservation and sustainability. Finally, Municipal Water Leader: Would you also tell us about the we are trying to capture the rainwater that falls on buildings development of desalination and how government policy along the coastline and redirect it to restore the aquifers. supported it? A STATE WATER CONTRACTOR IN PALM SPRINGS, CA Municipal Water Leader: How have changes in the climate Giora Shaham: Around the beginning of the new millennium, affected Israel’s water resources, and what has the policy we realized that our natural water resources were not response to those changes been? sufficient to meet the water needs of our growing population. Natural water levels were declining, and the overdrafting Giora Shaham: We are seeing changes in the climate. Within of our aquifers threatened to destroy them. There was no about 30 years, our average precipitation is expected to decline alternative but large-scale seawater desalination. by about 20 percent. That projection is taken into consideration We started on our first desalination plant in 2005, and in our calculations of our water balance. Our desalination now, as I mentioned, produce around 600 million cubic development is based on the assumption that droughts will be meters (486,428 acre-feet) of desalinated water. All the more severe and more frequent. Just 2 years ago, we suffered plants are connected to the national water system and supply from 5 continuous years of drought that almost emptied all water mainly to the domestic sector. Now we are planning to our natural reserves. That was the reason that we immediately construct two more large desalination plants. In 3–4 years, we started to construct another desalination plant. We are should be producing 900 million cubic meters (729,643 acre- defending ourselves against climate change, taking all measures feet) of desalinated water per year, which should cover needed. We are quite worried about what will happen with our 80–90 percent of Israel’s total domestic and industrial use. neighbors, including Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. I should mention that we are also responsible for supplying water to the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Municipal Water Leader: What can Israel teach the world Strip. We supply the West Bank with about 150 million cubic about water policy? meters (121,607 acre-feet) per year and Gaza with about 20 million cubic meters (16,214 acre-feet) a year. Another Giora Shaham: It is more that we can share our experience consumer is the Kingdom of Jordan. As agreed in the peace than that we can teach. I think the fact that the water sector treaty signed by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and in Israel is managed as a closed market is the key to our ability the late King Hussein of Jordan in 1994, we supply Jordan to manage it in a sustainable way. This is not the case in with about 55 million cubic meters (44,589 acre-feet) a year. many places around the world. Especially in less-developed Jordan is suffering from a scarcity of water. Its water is not economies, where water is precious, politicians are afraid to balanced, and it has a deficit of about a billion cubic meters touch water costs. That reflects the severe problems caused by (810,714 acre-feet) a year. Because of the civil war in Syria water shortage and globally changing climates, which decrease and the war in Iraq, there are about 2 million refugees living the amount of water available for great parts of the human in Jordan. We are making many efforts to support Jordan’s population. However, it is also a challenge in the most advanced water supply, and we should be able to increase it next countries, and we have learned that the key to tackling natural PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ISRAEL WATER AUTHORITY.. year. Jordan has no direct connection to the sea and cannot water shortages is effective water management. M desalinate water, so we have to support it. Giora Shaham is the director general Municipal Water Leader: What water conservation of the Israel Water Authority. For more measures have you promoted or required in Israel? information about the Water Authority, visit www.water.gov.il. Giora Shaham: Water conservation is a big issue here. About 60 years ago, Israel had a population of about 2 million.

16 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER www.dwa.org ADVERTISEMENT

Quality|Reliability|Service

A STATE WATER CONTRACTOR IN PALM SPRINGS, CA

www.dwa.org ADVERTISEMENT How TAYA Empowers Small Communities to Recycle Their Wastewater

The TAYA pilot installation in Bennett, Colorado.

astewater reuse is an increasingly popular source of Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Triple-T. water for agricultural and domestic use throughout Wlarger municipalities. Yet few small communities Ben Perlman: Triple-T, one of the four business units that make can afford to implement and operate the complex treatment up WFI Group, specializes in sustainable wastewater reuse. The technology required for reuse. company was founded in 2007 with the mission of bringing An Israeli company, Triple-T, is seeking to change this affordable wastewater treatment to small communities and paradigm with its TAYA technology, a simple, sustainable, and businesses with limited resources. We empower municipalities, affordable alternative to conventional wastewater reuse that is decentralized communities, and agricultural customers to nearing regulatory approval in Colorado. Smart technologies transform water treatment from a burden into an asset by like TAYA are an integral part of resiliency planning in small minimizing operational expenses; maximizing tangible communities, reducing dependency on centralized utilities and resources; reducing their ecofootprints; and providing affordable promoting sustainable growth. clean water autonomy and, ultimately, peace of mind. In this interview, Smart Water Group President Ben Perlman tells Municipal Water Leader about how TAYA works and the Municipal Water Leader: Where around the world is advantages it holds for developers and small municipalities. Triple-T active?

Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your Ben Perlman: We’ve been active in Israel for over a decade, background and how you came to be in your current position. supplying municipal, industrial, and agricultural customers with sustainable wastewater solutions. We’ve engaged in a Ben Perlman: My journey into the water business began in number of smaller projects abroad, including in Chile, Italy, 2010, when I relocated from Boston to Tel Aviv to support South Africa, and the United States. We’re also seeing an our family office investment in the Israeli water space. increased demand for our technology in China. Over the next 3½ years, I worked hand-in-hand with the chief executive officer, building our business, Water From Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your TAYA PHOTO COURTESY OF TRIPLE-T. Innovation, also known as WFI Group. In 2014, I returned technology. to the United States and started Smart Water Group, an affiliated entity that helps our group in Israel commercialize Ben Perlman: TAYA is a hybrid biological wastewater treatment its water technologies in the United States. technology that combines the intensive treatment capabilities

18 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT of the leading technologies on the market (activated sludge, application for our technology and the primary focus of our moving bed reactor, etc.) with the operational simplicity of marketing efforts. more extensive approaches like constructed wetlands. The result is a state-of-the-art treatment plant that requires a fraction Municipal Water Leader: After the treatment process is of the labor, maintenance, and electricity of conventional over, are there biosolids or waste products that need to be wastewater treatment and empowers small communities to take disposed of? ownership of their water resources. TAYA systems are noiseless, odorless, and sustainably powered by solar power, making them Ben Perlman: Amazingly, no. We have a primary anaerobic an ideal fit for any green community. We are now showcasing treatment before the TAYA system, which is typical of this technology for the first time in Colorado. almost all treatment plans. However, the TAYA itself is operated in starvation mode, meaning we feed the bacteria Municipal Water Leader: How does TAYA technology work just enough for them to survive but not enough to produce and what would a TAYA installation look like? any secondary sludge. We have systems that have operated for over a decade without producing any secondary sludge, a Ben Perlman: A TAYA system is an earth-dug, fixed-film huge advantage over all other treatment technologies. aerobic anoxic reactor, comprising two basins filled with a crushed-gravel aggregate that is seeded with biofilm. A Municipal Water Leader: How does TAYA save money? specialized pumping arrangement moves water from one basin to the other in a fill-and-drain motion, supplying food Ben Perlman: The major cost drivers of most wastewater to the bacteria living on the aggregate. During each drain treatment plants are electricity, replacement parts, and cycle, atmospheric oxygen is pulled deep into the media, labor, all of which are a function of electromechanical supplying the bacteria with an unlimited supply of the oxygen complexity. TAYA is designed based on the principles needed to break down organic matter in the wastewater. This of electromechanical simplicity and process redundancy, fill-and-drain motion is continuous, supplying both food and making it one of the simplest system in the world to operate. oxygen to the bacteria with every reciprocating cycle. TAYA has two pumps and one control system. The pumps Every TAYA has three treatment zones: an aerobic are high-efficiency turbines with a lifespan of more than environment, an anoxic environment, and an anaerobic 10 years, consuming 80 percent less energy than conventional environment. This enables full nitrification and wastewater treatment—about 0.4 kilowatts per thousand denitrification in the same basin, in additional to gallons treated. The rest of the infrastructure is made up of 99 percent complete removal of biological oxygen earthworks, piping, gravel, and a bit of concrete—all of which demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and have no moving parts and a lifespan of more than 30 years. total suspended solids (TSS). TAYA is a full secondary TAYA is engineered with every robust process tolerance you treatment system that replaces both aerobic treatment and could imagine. It utilizes a complete mix feed system and secondary clarification, greatly simplifying the process. A operates with longer retention than most systems—typically typical TAYA plant would consist of basic headworks for 2–3 days for municipal wastewater—enabling the system to solids and grit removal, anaerobic settling, and the TAYA handle variable influent conditions with ease. TAYA works system itself. This simplification of the process delivers with hardy bacteria capable of withstanding large temperature 80 percent savings in energy and 60 percent in labor in swings and intermittent interruptions in food or oxygen. maintenance—huge numbers for small communities with We also save labor. None of our systems in Israel limited resources. require a full-time laborer because they don’t require daily maintenance or operational oversight. Our part-time Municipal Water Leader: What is the treatment capacity of operators show up to take a sample in accordance with the system? the requirements of the Israeli Ministry of Health and Environment, and that’s it. The system is designed to run Ben Perlman: We’ve installed TAYA systems on applications itself, and nothing breaks. ranging from 50,000 gallons a day to 1.5 million gallons a day. While this system scales like any other treatment Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your technology, the land requirements of the system make it most installation in Bennett, Colorado. suitable for rural communities. A TAYA capable of treating 300,000 gallons a day would require 1 acre of land—perhaps Ben Perlman: We’ve partnered with the Town of Bennett and 2–3 times the land required by conventional treatment, but a local developer to showcase TAYA to the Colorado market 10 times less than that required by a constructed wetland. and receive regulatory approval. Bennett lies on a high desert TAYA is ideal for small towns on the periphery of larger plain, 30 miles east of Denver, where the demand for housing metro areas, where land is cheaper and more available but is high but water is scarce. The town’s leadership is intelligent experienced labor is in limited supply. This is the ideal and proactive. They have recently upgraded their central

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 19 ADVERTISEMENT wastewater treatment plant, but they also recognize the tremendously valuable and constrained resource. They would benefits of a more flexible, resilient, and distributed approach. never consider discharging treated wastewater, as is commonly With a recent surge in developer demand, the town’s new done in the United States. That’s the philosophy our company wastewater plant will need to be expanded in short order was built with—given the opportunity to treat or to reuse, and modified to handle flows from miles away. In response, we always choose to reuse. It may come as no surprise that the town is thinking outside the box and looking at a today, Israel leads the world in water reuse, recycling almost distributed system. That means building treatment capacity 90 percent of its wastewater for agricultural purposes. on site, 2–3 miles away from core infrastructure, and reusing Any treatment technology developed in the Israeli water the water locally. There is no reason to build a long pipeline ecosystem must be capable of achieving consistent, ultra- and a lift station to move water to a centralized facility. high-quality water for reuse. That’s the standard we applied to Bennett is on Colorado’s Front Range, where water TAYA, and we’re seeing the results in Bennett. For this reason, rights are the most expensive in the country, between it’s easy to integrate TAYA into a tertiary treatment system, $30,000 and $45,000 an acre-foot. Due to severe water because by the time the water leaves the TAYA, it’s almost shortages, developers need to prove that they have a 100- standard-filter quality, which is an integral component of a year renewable water source. The Colorado Department tertiary filtration process. With a simple sand filter and some of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has been ultraviolet disinfection, you have perfect-quality wastewater proactive in advancing regulation and cutting red tape to that will hit any turbidity target imposed by a regulator in allow communities to recycle water more. It has recently the United States. That’s the type of water you need for toilet expanded what it calls Regulation 84 Category 3, which is flushing, public irrigation, public gardening, etc. its standard for the highest quality of reuse water. Municipal Water Leader: Do you have other U.S. clients Municipal Water Leader: Was it difficult to get permits for who are interested in implementing the technology? the Bennett installation? Ben Perlman: We’re engaging a number of residential Ben Perlman: No, it wasn’t. We had been working closely developers and small communities that are looking for smart with CDPHE before we engaged Bennett to make sure reuse solutions, and the interest is growing. While there we were operating within the state’s regulatory framework. are many reuse technologies out there, TAYA is uniquely CDPHE concluded early on that TAYA required alternative positioned to empower developers and small communities, testing and acceptance, meaning that we needed to invest in not only because the system saves money but because it a local pilot and collect a year’s worth of data to prove the enhances the overall appeal of the community. system’s efficacy. That’s the path we’ve been on since August Traditionally, wastewater treatment plants are located 2019, when we commissioned the system. on the periphery of a community—you don’t want to see or smell them. TAYA is the opposite. The system produces no Municipal Water Leader: What results have you seen? noise or odor and is built entirely underground, enabling the development of the land above. You can build a soccer Ben Perlman: Since the beginning of the pilot, the TAYA field on top of it, integrate it into a public park, or construct has delivered exceptional results. Treating the same a solar array in the middle of the system. Imagine a wastewater as Bennett’s primary wastewater treatment wastewater treatment plant that is actually a net producer of plant, our system has achieved an average removal rate energy—this is 100 percent achievable with TAYA. of 97 percent BOD, 96 percent TSS, and 98 percent We’re weeks away from regulatory approval, and we’re ammonium, far exceeding CDPHE’s secondary treatment optimistic that developers and small communities will continue requirements. Some technologies struggle in cold to embrace this solution. The merits of this technology are weather, but earth-dug systems like TAYA maintain their evident for anyone brave enough to explore a new approach to temperature much better than above-ground systems, an age-old problem, so we’re confident that TAYA will find its providing ideal conditions for bacteria to flourish in. We’ll niche in the United States. TAYA is part of a larger paradigm continue operating the pilot into the spring to make sure the shift toward sustainable reuse, and we’re excited to offer a technology performs well during spring snow melt, but we solution to the communities that need it the most. M expect approval in the next few months. Ben Perlman is the president of Smart Municipal Water Leader: How does TAYA fit into the Water Group. He can be contacted at PHOTO COURTESY OF TRIPLE-T. broader landscape of water policy in Israel? [email protected]. Ben Perlman: Israel has a history of water reuse and conservation that predates the founding of the State of Israel. Israelis have grown up in a society where water is a

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800-989-9631 www.nwpipe.com G Kando: ImprovingADVERTISEMENT Wastewater Quality Before It Reaches the Treatment Plant

astewater is not just waste—it is a product that great goals can only be reached through strong that will show up downstream, whether it is partnerships, and we have built a strong partnership with Wrecycled and immediately reused for irrigation or Kando. We have a common goal that is greater than all of consumption or it is discharged into a river or ocean, eventually us, and we will do whatever it takes, together, to reach it. ending up in our taps again. Treating wastewater and discharging it as high-quality, nonpolluted water is important, Ari Goldfarb: My background is environmental engineering, but it is also difficult. Kando is an Israeli company with an and I focus on technology and water. I’ve worked as a innovative approach to improving wastewater quality. Its process engineer in a treatment plant and as a consultant software creates a real-time model of the quality of wastewater and working engineer for almost 10 years. In 2012, I and within a utility’s collection system and can identify and trace one other partner founded Kando. Today, I am its CEO. pollution events back to their sources. By working to improve Our vision is to create a better and healthier environment. the quality of the wastewater they collect, utilities can ease It is a huge vision that one company cannot achieve alone. the burden on their wastewater treatment plants and produce Our partnership with ICI Fund has become a model that higher-quality purified wastewater. has been integrated into all aspects of our business: We In this interview, Gili Elkin, Kando’s chief growth officer, create partnerships with clients and other stakeholders in and Ari Goldfarb, its chief executive officer (CEO), tell order to reach our goals. Municipal Water Leader about how Kando’s product works and how it is helping cities around the world improve the quality Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Kando as a of their treatment processes. company.

Ari Goldfarb: The company was founded in 2012 to meet a gap in the market. There are a lot of technologies and solutions in the wastewater sector that focus on downstream water treatment plants—how to create better treatment methods, how to optimize the treatment, and how to improve the effluent. However, it was clear to me from my time in the wastewater sector, working with both industries and municipalities, that reducing a problem at its source is actually the best solution. It is natural for an urban utility to focus on improving how its wastewater treatment facility treats pollution, but if a utility can understand its wastewater collection system and control the upstream sources of pollution in real time, it can treat its wastewater even more successfully. Our idea was to create a technology that would allow users to see the quality of the wastewater in their collection systems in real time and The user interface of Kando’s solution. control the sources of that wastewater. In Israel, utilities are particularly open to new ideas, so we brought this idea to them and explained that we Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds could collect data from their collection systems and, for and how you came to be in your current positions. the first time, make those systems transparent to them. We approached utilities while our idea was still rather Gili Elkin: I’m the founder and general partner of the immature, and because they immediately saw the value of Israel-Colorado Innovation (ICI) Fund. ICI Fund invests our vision, they didn’t look at us solely as vendors, but as in promising Israeli companies in the water, wastewater, partners, and actually helped us build our solution. Once and agriculture industries, among others, and supports their we had built it, we found that there was a huge need for scale-up in the United States through one of its partners, it, and after 3–4 years, we were working with many of PHOTOS COURTESY OF KANDO. Innosphere Ventures. ICI Fund invested in Kando, and the cities in Israel. We then moved into the Australian, once it invests in a company it becomes a partner of that European, and U.S. markets. In Europe, we work in company. As such, I act as a member of Kando’s board of cities like Athens; Berlin; Paris; and a number of cities in directors as well as Kando’s chief growth officer. I believe northern Italy, including Bologna and Milan. We now have

22 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT

Kando identifies a pollution event. more than 40 employees around the world, including at an Gili Elkin: As already mentioned, ICI Fund and Kando have office in the United States. a strong partnership, and through the Israeli-U.S. Water Initiative, which is a platform that connects U.S. water Gili Elkin: Israeli innovation is particularly strong in the leaders with the Israeli ecosystem, we are introducing Israeli water and wastewater sectors. Sixty percent of Israel is solutions to the greatest water challenges in the United States. desert and the rest is semiarid, but we actually export water This initiative is supported by former Colorado Governor to our neighbors because of our innovation and technology. John Hickenlooper and Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, People often say things like “There’s no time,” but I say that who are interested in bringing more Israeli water technologies there are 24 hours in a day and it’s all a question of how into their respective states. We are also meeting with other state we manage that time. The same goes for water. We have a leaders. In January 2020, Ari and I met the governor of Texas, certain amount of water; the question is how to manage it. Greg Abbott, and in November 2019 we met the governor Israel’s strength lies in how it manages its water and of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. We are also meeting with wastewater. We value our wastewater, treat 95 percent of it, mayors and heads of utilities to learn about their challenges and reuse around 85 percent of the treated wastewater. We and to tell them more about the strengths of Israeli water treat the wastewater in the Shafdan, a wastewater treatment technologies. This is how we have been expanding Kando in plant located in central Israel, and use distribution pipelines the United States, and we’ve been growing quickly. We started to take it to the Negev Desert in the south. The cities reuse in California and work in several major cities there; we also wastewater to irrigate parks. They value wastewater and are work in Arizona, Oregon, and Texas. Now we are expanding constantly looking for technologies to improve its quality into Maryland and Michigan. We only started our expansion and to expand opportunities for reuse. into the United States 1 year ago. We are taking advantage Cities would also do anything to prevent pollution in of our invitations to speak at major water and wastewater wastewater, since sewage does occasionally overflow into conferences in the United States to increase awareness of streets and polluted wastewater contains viruses and poses Kando’s mission of improving wastewater quality, increasing the a risk to public health. Kando’s system has the potential to reuse of nonpolluted wastewater, and protecting public health help cities control the quality of their wastewater, and now around the world. more than ever, it is essential to protect public health. This is demonstrated by the increase in requests we are seeing from Municipal Water Leader: How does Kando’s product work? current and new clients. Ari Goldfarb: We look at wastewater not as waste, but as a Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your activities product that someone else will use downstream. The quality in the U.S. market. of that end product is extremely important. Even in places

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 23 biological treatment. Some cities have more industrial pollution sources; some have more natural sources of pollution, like seawater penetration. Each source of wastewater, down to hotel kitchens and commercial kitchens, influences wastewater quality, which in turn affects the treatment plant and the collection system. Over the 9 years that we’ve been active, we have learned how to record changes in wastewater quality and have built software that can trace those events, tell us where they are happening, what their sources are, and what effects they will have on the treatment plant.

Municipal Water Leader: What results are clients seeing in their operations and their expenses?

Ari Goldfarb: I’ll give you an example related to current events. During the coronavirus outbreak, utilities are concerned with operating their systems while much of the workforce is at home. That makes it even more important to get information about what is happening in your collection systems remotely. More generally, if you can control what happens upstream and you can see where pollution is coming from in real time, A Kando datalogger collects data from a wastewater collection system. you can communicate with those sources and work with them to reduce the polluted load coming into the treatment where that wastewater is not being reused for irrigation, plant. That helps reduce costs, operations and maintenance it will end up somewhere and people will encounter it needs, and construction costs. If treatment plants can reduce again, whether in the ocean, at the beach, in rivers, or in their incoming loads by controlling their sources, they the aquifer. The best way to improve the quality of that may not have to upgrade or expand. We replace a concrete wastewater is to control its sources and make sure that what solution with a digital solution. comes to the treatment plant is of a better quality. The way we do that is by enabling utilities to understand their cities’ Gili Elkin: We will always have wastewater, and we need complex collection networks and to see what is occurring to continue to operate treatment systems to protect public within them. If there is a change in the wastewater quality health, especially during these days when normal operations anywhere in the city, our technology allows them to see it. have been interrupted. We enable cities to control their Our product is based on data analytics. We collect the basic systems remotely so that they can continuously ensure that data that utilities have about their collection system. We also the quality of their wastewater is high and that they’re not install sensor units in the collection system. We bring all discharging polluted wastewater into the oceans and rivers. this data together, and based on the company’s experience We will do everything we can to improve public health and and the client’s understanding of what happens in their to help cities and governments deal with the current crisis wastewater collection systems as well as data that we have using our technology. M been collecting from all over the world for a decade now, we create a model of what happens in the collection system. Based on that, we translate the data into simple action items for the operator. That way, the operator doesn’t have to look Gili Elkin is Kando’s chief growth officer into raw data to see if there was a change somewhere in the and a member of its board. She can be city and figure out how to react to it by themselves. That is contacted at [email protected]. how we notify the operator about pollution events and trace their sources within the collection system.

Municipal Water Leader: Would you describe a pollution Ari Goldfarb is the chief executive officer event that the Kando system would be able to identify, and

of Kando. He can be contacted at PHOTOS COURTESY OF KANDO. how it would alert a wastewater provider? [email protected].

Ari Goldfarb: We have witnessed that wastewater utilities all over the world face similar challenges. Wastewater is collected from sources like food and chemical industries and undergoes

24 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT

Water Supply • Flood Protection • Water Quality • Recreation

Enriching communities. Improving the quality of life. Follow us: www.trwd.com ADVERTISEMENT Ayala’s Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems

An NBS system in a town near Tel Aviv, Israel, provides onsite sewage treatment and water recycling while doubling as an ornamental pond.

yala is an Israeli company that builds specialized research and development leader. At that time, I bought a installations similar to artificial wetlands that can treat farm in the Galilee region as a place to live, but when I got Awastewater to high standards of purity using nothing to the land, I realized, “This is my destiny—I want to be a more than gravity and natural processes. Using a carefully farmer.” I decided that I would slowly move into agriculture, selected combination of natural elements like aquatic plants, but it happened faster than I expected, and I quickly got into gravel, microorganisms, and special natural additives, these growing aquatic plants to sell to Japan and Europe. Natural Biological Systems (NBS) can be customized to remove Dealing with aquatic plants and water, I started facing a different contaminants from water and to purify it to any lot of issues. To grow these plants, you need water that meets standard desired. NBS installations can be integrated into urban specific quality standards, because they normally grow in clean park spaces, making them suitable for densely populated areas as streams in the Amazon, Southeast Asia, or Africa. Moreover, well as industrial and agricultural zones. I wanted to do it in the semiarid climate of Israel. I ended up In this interview, Ayala’s chief executive officer (CEO), learning all about water and how to keep the environment Eli Cohen, tells Municipal Water Leader about how the NBS adaptive. My education, together with intuitional learning works and how it saves money and energy. and long field experience, helped me with the tasks of treating water, managing the environment, and farming. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your Today, what’s written on my business card is Sustainability PHOTOS COURTESY OF AYALA. background and how you came to be in your current position. Expert. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can live by itself like any living creature. The aim of our company is to create Eli Cohen: I was born and raised in Israel and studied physics, sustainable systems that can run by themselves, and the only thermodynamics, and materials science engineering. About way to do that is to rely on nature. We’re working with nature 35 years ago, I was working for a high-tech company as its to help nature—and to help ourselves. This isn’t about hugging

26 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT trees, it’s about living our lives and doing our work, but with kind of contaminant a client wants to treat. Some create less energy, less chemicals, and less human dependence. more aerobic conditions; others more anaerobic conditions. The world today is facing two main development issues. Different types of gravel can also help treat different types of One is the lack of fresh water. There is a huge need in many contaminants. Limestone, for example, is good at absorbing parts of the world for good, fresh water; meanwhile, only phosphate from the water. We make the water flow through 1–2 percent of sewage water is being recycled. At the same gravel filters, creating a kind of natural chemical filtration. time, we need to reduce our carbon footprint, which results Most importantly, the plants you plant in the gravel perform primarily from burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels is a powerful biological filtration function. Their root zones only 15–30 percent efficient; the remaining heat and gases support huge communities of microorganisms, like fungus contribute to air pollution and the greenhouse effect. It’s and microbes, which use the contaminants as a source of food obvious that we need to use less energy. In fact, a big chunk and energy. All the contaminants break down to the mineral of our energy usage goes to water treatment and transport. level and accumulate in the gravel or in the plants themselves. If we can treat and recycle more water in a natural way that What results is clean drinking water of high quality in all does not require much energy, then we can change the entire parameters, not only organics and solids, but also heavy game without changing our way of life. metals, hormones, pathogenic elements, and biota.

Municipal Water Leader: When did you found Ayala?

Eli Cohen: Ayala as a company was established in 2002, but I’ve been working on the same things independently since 1989.

Municipal Water Leader: How many employees do you have today?

Eli Cohen: Today we have 12 employees, but I also work with freelancers and contractors, including architects and engineers.

Municipal Water Leader: Would you tell us about the NBS technology?

Eli Cohen: It is designed to mimic nature and uses natural elements, both biotic and abiotic. It behaves like a wetland. Wetland plants, like all plants, develop a root zone, a highly efficient net of roots that supports huge communities of microorganisms that live in perfect harmony and full symbiosis. The importance of aquatic plants lies in their This NBS installation at a golf course in Hyderabad, India, provides on- ability to transfer oxygen, which is absent in water, to the site treatment of water from a running sewage canal for irrigation use. root zone and to release gases through the stem. The plants’ roots and the microorganisms come into contact with The NBS requires zero energy: It all works by gravity. In the contaminants in the water and break them down and fact, with the plants, you’re actually sucking carbon from the remove them. However, natural wetlands cannot cope with atmosphere. We don’t use flocculants, so there is no sludge. the amount of contaminants that humans are discharging Big and heavy solids are separated by gravity, given adequate into the environment, and that is why they’re collapsing. retention time. Moreover, the systems are part of your The NBS is an artificial wetland designed to treat specific landscape. Imagine that the park near your house cleans the contaminants and a specific organic load. It is made far more sewage that comes from your home. You can jog or play with effective than a natural wetland by adjusting the hydrology, your children there and never know that sewage is being the carrying substrate, and the types of plants. We have also treated under your feet. We call it an active landscape. We developed different kinds of natural additives that stimulate convert city parks into active parks. That eliminates the need the work of the biological system. to build a long pipe or pumping station to send the sewage Physically, the NBS is a pond about 1 meter in depth far away to a treatment center. that has a special substrate and is planted with different The NBS does much more than just treat sewage. aquatic plants. Water flows through it in any of a number Because it’s part of your landscape and watershed, it of water regimes—upstream, downstream, horizontal, free can collect storm water and treat it as well. Rainwater, flow, etc. These parameters are chosen depending on the unfortunately, is often not especially pure, so you can treat

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 27 ADVERTISEMENT it and then use it to recharge the aquifer or discharge it sewage just runs freely into the Yamuna River. That’s why into a river. Holding and catching rainwater upstream they asked us to design a sustainable, nature-based solution. can also help prevent floods downstream. Today, we see We created a design called the Tree of Life, which will be more and more floods in cities around the world because like a park that actually joins the city and the river and also of urbanization. The land is all covered with asphalt and treats sewage by gravity. This active park will also harvest, cement, so water flows down the road and into drains treat, and recycle storm water, preventing floods downstream and ends up causing floods. Our system holds, treats, and and reducing the city’s carbon footprint. releases rainwater at a more moderate rate. Municipal Water Leader: Who are your other clients? Municipal Water Leader: How long does it take the water to go through the system? Eli Cohen: We do a lot of work with industrial clients. We’re working with a lot of food factories and we have also Eli Cohen: We call that retention time, and it can range from worked with cosmetic companies like L’Oréal and with half a day to 3 full days, depending on the quality of the pharmaceutical companies. We have done work for the City inlet and the quality you want in the outlet. of Nice, France, cleaning water from its entire watershed. We won an international competition to get that project. We Municipal Water Leader: When you build an NBS have many other clients besides. installation, how long does it take for the plants to grow and mature before they are ready to treat water? Municipal Water Leader: Have you worked at all in the United States? Eli Cohen: The system starts working from day 1, but the plants need some time to develop their root zones. After Eli Cohen: Yes and no. I was invited to give some talks in New 1 year, the system is mature; after 2 years, it’s even better. At York City in 2007 and met people from the city government 1 or 2 years, it produces water of a higher quality. We design and even got two jobs there. One had to do with a lake near NBS installations to treat the target amount of water almost LaGuardia Airport and another was at a complex in Long from day 1, so after 1–2 years it can actually treat more Island City. I was also in touch with a big manufacturing water than it was designed for. company in California regarding the design of one of their logistics centers and with a company from Texas about water Municipal Water Leader: Does the NBS need any sort of flowing out of a meat processing plant. Unfortunately, the maintenance once it’s been built? 2008 market crash killed all those projects. Last year, I was in Washington, DC, and met some utilities Eli Cohen: Because it doesn’t have any moving parts and doesn’t at a meeting with the World Bank. My impression is that use any chemicals, the maintenance is mostly gardening. the technology is interesting to them and has the potential to save them a lot of money. The Potomac River receives a lot of Municipal Water Leader: Does the water that your system unclean water from a local sewage treatment plant. If we can produces meet government-set water quality standards? create a buffer zone at the outlet, we can change the face of the river. A few weeks ago, I got a call from Colorado from a Eli Cohen: We can meet any standard. If you want to meet city that doesn’t want its water chlorinated. Our system can high standards, you might need to increase your retention dramatically reduce pathogenic elements without chlorine, time. We can also play with the hydrology of the system and instead using complex natural processes in the substrate media use our special natural additives to make it more efficient. aided by a natural additive in the last flow zone that has been proven to eliminate pathogens completely. Municipal Water Leader: Would you tell us about some of We believe that these are the solutions of the future. They your applications and clients? can enable us to improve the environment and our lives without changing our daily habits. Climate change’s effects Eli Cohen: Our largest system is in New Delhi, India. We are knocking on our door, and all we need is more attention finished the design for that about a year ago. It will serve and awareness and a willingness to change our mindset. M about 8 million people and will treat around 250,000 cubic meters (202 acre-feet) of water a day, which is a lot of water. New Delhi tried a number of other methods. It had Eli Cohen is the CEO of Ayala. He can be problems with its large sewage treatment plants because they contacted at [email protected]. PHOTO COURTESY OF AYALA. required a lot of energy. The bigger problem was conveying the sewage to the central treatment plant. Building pipes and pumps through the middle of the city would be expensive and logistically impossible. Today, most of the

28 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT

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Mapal’s FFBA at a facility owned by the Merom Galil Regional Council, Upper Galilee, Israel.

econdary wastewater treatment requires providing All my experience is in the infrastructure business, including oxygen to bacteria in wastewater so that they remove water, wastewater, and desalination projects. About 10 years Sthe dissolved contamination from it. Providing this ago, I identified an interesting technology which was still oxygen to the bacteria is called aeration. In general, there are at an early stage. Because of my experience, I realized two types of aeration: mechanical surface aeration, which uses its potential for the wastewater treatment process, and I a mechanical impeller to spray water into the air and tends decided to found Mapal, which I did with a partner who to be inefficient and to suffer from maintenance and health is no longer active in the company; to raise money; and to and safety issues, and fine bubble aeration, which involves slowly penetrate the global market. releasing tiny bubbles from diffusers fixed to the bottom of a reactor. The Israeli company Mapal Green Energy, based in Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Mapal as a Kibbutz Yagur, has come up with a new take on the latter company. method. Its floating fine bubble aeration (FFBA) system uses an easily removed floating device to inject wastewater with Zeev Fisher: We’re a small company with 10 employees, fine bubbles from above through diffusers that are suspended based in Kibbutz Yagur in northern Israel. We are not a big from the water surface. This system is significantly more engineering, procurement, and construction contractor that efficient than surface mechanical aeration and is easier to does everything; we are a niche company with a specialty in maintain than a floor-fixed system. aeration technology for municipal and industrial biological In this interview, Mapal’s cofounder and chief executive wastewater treatment. We have developed a technology that officer (CEO), Zeev Fisher, tells Municipal Water Leader we call FFBA. about the benefits of FFBA and Mapal’s work around the world. Municipal Water Leader: Is the company owned by the Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your kibbutz? PHOTO COURTESY OF MAPAL. background and how you came to be in your current position. Zeev Fisher: No; I founded the company and the raised Zeev Fisher: I’m a mechanical engineer. I grew up in Israel money from private investors in the United Kingdom, and graduated from Ben Gurion University in Beersheba. who now own the company. The kibbutz is just where our

30 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT office and manufacturing facility are located. Many water surface. As the air bubbles rise, the oxygen in them dissolves technology and irrigation companies have grown up in into the wastewater, supplying the bacteria with the right kibbutzim because they address the needs of these largely amount of oxygen needed for the process. The oxidation agricultural communities. efficiency of fine bubble aeration is about twice as high as that of mechanical surface aeration. There are no moving Municipal Water Leader: How does FFBA work? parts in the water, so maintenance is minimal. Moreover, there is no spray, so there is less odor. Zeev Fisher: Aeration is the core of biological, or secondary, Where does Mapal come in? There are many existing wastewater treatment, both municipal and industrial. lagoons and wastewater treatment plants that suffer from During biological treatment, we supply oxygen to the a lack of oxygen and in which the original equipment bacteria that naturally exist in wastewater, and the bacteria doesn’t work properly or needs to be upgraded to deal with multiply and eat the dissolved contamination. increased loads caused by population growth. For these Wastewater contains two types of contamination: solids, and many other reasons, there is demand for a device that or particles, and dissolved contamination. The solids and can increase the oxidation capacity of an existing treatment particles are removed during pretreatment, which is a simple site. However, upgrades to existing sites can be expensive. process that uses the physical parameters of the particle: If Our FFBA device can be installed in any existing reactor the particles are light, they float and can be skimmed off the or lagoon with minimal investment and bring it all the surface; if they are heavy, they sink and can be collected from advantages of fine bubble aeration. Today our technology is the bottom; if they’re in between, they are called suspended mature, and we have global experience. In addition to solids and can be filtered or screened away. Israel, we have worked in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Wastewater also contains dissolved contamination, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. including biological load, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia, etc. That is Municipal Water Leader: Is the FFBA device used removed by bacteria. This is a much more complicated primarily to upgrade installations that previously used process than the removal of solids, because the bacteria that mechanical surface aeration? are used are microorganisms—living creatures. You have to control the water for pH, temperature, retention time, Zeev Fisher: Our clients and potential clients fall into several oxygen, etc. There is a direct link between the amount of markets. One of those markets is upgrading existing sites and oxygen that the bacteria consume and their performance. To lagoons to use fine bubble aeration. Another market is plants remove 1 kilogram (kg) of BOD, you need 1.1 kg of oxygen. that are going to be upgraded but need a short- or medium- If you supply more than that, you waste energy; if you term solution until that upgrade occurs. A third market is supply less than that, you won’t meet the effluent consent set newly built plants for which the consultant and the client by the local regulator or government. engineer specify that they want fine bubble aeration, but don’t There are two types of technology that are used to want to have those plastic pipes and diffusers fixed to the floor. aerate wastewater. One is what we call mechanical surface If you do have a problem with a plant like that—if a pipe or aeration. This involves a mechanical device that floats or is membrane breaks—you need to drain the reactor to fix it. The fixed on a bridge or another structure. It has an electrical Mapal FFBA device, on the other hand, is designed to be a motor and a gearbox that drives an impeller that sprays completely retrievable system that can be lifted out of the water wastewater into the air. The oxygen in the air then dissolves with no need to stop the process or to drain the reactor. That into the wastewater. The main problem with this system is a major advantage of our system. We’ve done a project for is that it consumes a lot of energy or, in other words, TasWater in Blackmans Bay, Tasmania, Australia, for which has a low oxidation efficiency. The other problem is that that was the specification. The general contractor won the the electromechanical equipment is in the wastewater, design bid contract and chose our technology, and we designed so to maintain or repair it, you need to get in the water. a system that is completely retrievable with no winch or rails That creates maintenance issues and health and safety on the reactor walls whatsoever. The system is manufactured in issues. Finally, there are odor issues, since you’re spraying Israel and shipped like a kit, and after it is assembled, the client wastewater into the air. lifts the device with a crane and puts it in the water with no Recognizing these problems, about 15–20 years ago the need to stop the process. It is simple and easy. That allows the industry developed a new technology, fine bubble aeration. operator to increase oxidation immediately. Instead of bringing the water to the air, it brings air to the water. A blower sits outside the water, takes atmospheric air, Municipal Water Leader: Are all the units manufactured in and pushes it through piping that is fixed to the concrete Israel? floor of the reactor and through rubber diffusers, usually made of high-density polyethylene membrane, creating Zeev Fisher: At the moment, yes. We find it most cost hundreds of billions of fine bubbles that go up to the water effective to manufacture in Israel, but when foreign markets

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 31 ADVERTISEMENT grow, in Australia for example, we may begin to manufacture new technology, you have to meet a lot of consultants, and locally. Presently, everything is manufactured in Israel and you have to go to conferences. At the moment, Mapal is shipped inside a shipping container. concentrating on its existing territory, but when we have the funds and the right financial structure to support going into Municipal Water Leader: Can the operator of a reactor or the United States, we will be very happy to. a lagoon add more Mapal units to the reactor to make their process more efficient, or is there an optimal number of Municipal Water Leader: In what ways does Mapal’s units that should be used? solution save energy?

Zeev Fisher: The efficiency of secondary biological Zeev Fisher: As I said before, there are two types of aeration: treatment depends on several parameters, so it can’t mechanical surface aeration and fine bubble aeration. If we necessarily be improved just by adding more oxygen. Other dive a little bit into the numbers, under standard conditions, factors include retention time, the size of the lagoon or mechanical surface aeration supplies 0.9–2.1 kg of oxygen per reactor, and the flow and load that are coming in. We can kilowatt (kW) and fine bubble aeration supplies 3.6–4.8 kg design a system that can be integrated into an existing plant of oxygen per kW. This is what we call standard oxygen given its constraints. transfer efficiency. Just by looking at the numbers, you can You should understand that the wastewater treatment see that fine bubble aeration delivers 1.7 to 5.3 times more industry is driven primarily by regulation. If there were no oxygen per kW. There is a direct link between the oxygen regulation, nobody would do anything. Regulations also requirements of the bacteria and their performance: To need to be enforced and monitored to make sure that the remove 1 kg of BOD, you need 1.1 kg of oxygen; to remove effluent that is discharged to the environment meets the 1 kg of ammonia, you need 4.2 kg of oxygen. When a effluent consent parameters determined by local regulations process engineer receives the requirements for a plant, they and laws. When the final effluent does not meet the effluent calculate its actual oxygen requirements, and from that, they consent parameters and a local regulator fines a plant calculate the standard oxygen requirements. That states how manager or takes them to court, there is an immediate much oxygen needs to be supplied to the process to meet demand to solve the problem. In our experience, most of the the effluent consent requirements. Since the oxygen demand time the problem is a lack of oxygen, and that is something is fixed by the process requirements, using a more efficient we can help with. There are two kinds of solutions we can method of aeration saves energy. Based on our experience provide in that type of situation. One is capital expenditure and the case studies we’ve done, we save 40–50 percent of the on a project that exactly meet the client’s requirements for energy used by mechanical surface aeration. many years to come. The other is that we have rental units that can increase oxidation and increase the performance of Municipal Water Leader: What is your vision for Mapal? the bacteria quite dramatically. We’ve done it in both the municipal and industrial sectors. Zeev Fisher: The issue of lack of oxygen is present all For example, there is a semiconductor manufacturing around the globe—it’s an endless market. We haven’t facility in Israel that has been having an issue with its even touched China, India, or Latin America yet. There effluent ammonia value. The operators came to us and is demand in all those places for this sort of service said they urgently needed extra oxygen. We manufactured because lagoon treatment is common there. Any industry and supplied two units on a rental basis for 6 months, and that needs to treat contaminated water before discharging that gave the operators enough time to plan a permanent it is a potential client. We have experience in a wide solution. Right now, we’ve got rental units operating in range of industries: We’ve done oil refineries in Haifa, Australia, Israel, and the United Kingdom. Israel; pulp and paper in South Africa and Indonesia; food and beverage in Israel and the UK; chicken abattoirs Municipal Water Leader: Do you currently have any clients in South Africa; and pig-breeding plants in Israel. in the United States? Although we are a small company, our technology meets an important need that exists in municipal and industrial Zeev Fisher: Not currently, though we have received several plants all over the world. M inquiries. The investigations that we’ve made suggest that there is a lot of potential for our technology in the United States, mainly in the Midwest, where there are a lot of Zeev Fisher is the cofounder and CEO PHOTO COURTESY OF MAPAL. lagoons that use mechanical surface aeration technology. of Mapal. He can be contacted at Replacing the surface aeration with our FFBA system [email protected]. could reduce their energy and maintenance costs. However, penetrating into new territory takes time and a lot of money: You have to convince people of the usefulness of a

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Aqwise's proprietary carriers. Aqwise’s Contributions to MBBR Technology

qwise—Wise Water Technologies Ltd. is a global started as a small startup company in the field of wastewater company, based in Israel, that specializes in moving bed treatment, developing MBBR technology, a specific kind Abioreactor (MBBR) technology, a wastewater treatment of biological treatment technology for municipal and technology that holds strong advantages over competing industrial wastewater. Over the years, we’ve expanded from technologies in certain applications. In addition to creating its being a specialist in MBBR technology and all its diverse own carriers—small, ingeniously designed plastic cylinders with applications to developing and implementing anaerobic nooks and crannies that provide large amounts of surface area wastewater treatment solutions utilizing carriers. We’ve also for bacteria and biomass to attach to during the wastewater moved into the project-execution field. Today, Aqwise has treatment process—Aqwise has the expertise to help design and a full range of expertise both as a technology provider and operate plants that use these carriers in the best way possible. The as a turnkey contractor for executing wastewater projects. company has offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and has We have offices in Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the delivered projects in 55 countries worldwide. Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom and have In this interview, Marc Krieger, Aqwise’s vice president of partners spread around the world whom we support from sales, tells Municipal Water Leader about Aqwise’s technology afar. The company has about 80 employees worldwide. and the advantages it can bring to appropriate applications. Municipal Water Leader: How does Aqwise’s technology Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your differ from other wastewater technology that people may be background and how you came to be in your current position. familiar with?

Marc Krieger: I have a background in geology and earth Marc Krieger: Aqwise’s in-house technology is MBBR. The sciences and have a master’s degree in what today is called world of aerobic biological treatment is divided between environmental engineering, then called sanitary engineering, what are known as suspended growth technologies, the from the University of California, Berkeley. I’ve been in this most common types being activated sludge and sequence field for over 30 years. I’ve worked for private consultants batch reactors, and attached growth technologies, including and for an Israel-based company that specialized in trickling filters and MBBR. MBBR uses biomass carriers that membrane-technology water treatment systems, and I’ve are characterized by a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. They been with Aqwise now for 8½ years. While my background provide large surface areas on which bacteria and biomass can is in engineering, today I do sales. attach and grow in order to clean up the wastewater. MBBR technology has many advantages: It allows for smaller reactors PHOTOS COURTESY OF AQWISE. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Aqwise as a and a treatment plant with a smaller footprint; it is also more company. efficient, more robust processwise, and better at sustaining hydraulic and toxic shocks in the waste stream. If you are Marc Krieger: Aqwise is a global company with its treating wastewater that varies in its flow or quality, fixed- headquarters in Israel. We’ve been around for 20½ years. We film technologies, MBBR in particular, are more adaptable

34 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER ADVERTISEMENT and more suitable to treat it. MBBR also performs better for which the biomass can grow. That is more important than nitrification, especially in cold-weather conditions. This is their physical size. another common application in the municipal field. Because MBBR requires a smaller footprint, it is possible to upgrade Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your or retrofit existing reactors from activated sludge to MBBR downflow anaerobic carrier system (DACS). and achieve an increase in capacity within an existing volume without additional civil works. Marc Krieger: The DACS is an anaerobic wastewater treatment technology that uses carriers to create a blanket Municipal Water Leader: Is Aqwise’s innovation primarily of anaerobic sludge. Anaerobic treatment is used primarily in the design of the carriers? in high-strength industrial wastewater treatment; it is not prevalent in the municipal sector. For food industries, beer Marc Krieger: MBBR technology has been around for breweries, pulp and paper factories, and bottling plants with about 35 years and was initially developed in Scandinavia high loads of organic material and high levels of chemical because of its suitability for cold-weather conditions. oxygen demand, there is an advantage to using anaerobic Aqwise’s contribution has been to develop its own carrier technology because it can generate biogas which can then be with a characteristic geometry, size, and shape. Even more used to generate steam, hot water, or electricity. importantly, we have developed proprietary design tools that DACS technology has certain advantages over are suitable for our carriers. Designing an MBBR installation conventional anaerobic technologies on the market. Its is not just about putting plastic carriers into a tank. You most common competitors are the upflow anaerobic sludge have to know what size tank to use, how to stage it, and blanket (UASB) technology and the internal circulation what quantity of carriers is required to get the job done. reactor. Since in the DACS the biomass is attached to a Our expertise goes beyond developing our own carrier and blanket of carriers, there is no risk of losing your biomass involves building the design tools and the knowledge to use or having it washed out of the anaerobic reactor, as there these carriers in a way that will achieve the best results for our is with other technologies. DACS technology emerged clients. There are other companies that manufacture carriers from a joint venture between a Dutch group with previous but don’t have the design tools to support a client in designing experience in anaerobic technology and Aqwise, which a plant so that the MBBR process functions in an optimal eventually led to the creation of the Netherlands-based manner. This is our main advantage: We provide the complete company Aqana. Aqana is a subsidiary of Aqwise and design package to the client so that the plant will perform manages the anaerobic side of the business. We work properly. Over the 20 years that we’ve been in business, we’ve together in our sales efforts and project execution. provided our technology for close to 600 applications in over 55 countries worldwide. Our main strength lies in our Municipal Water Leader: What results have your clients experience and our knowledge of how best to use the carriers. seen from your technology?

Municipal Water Leader: How big are the individual carriers?

Marc Krieger: The main parameter of concern in designing an MBBR is what we call effective surface area: how much surface area is available for biomass to grow on within a certain volume of carriers. The numbers in the market range between 300 and 1200 square meters per cubic meter. Aqwise carriers range from 650 to 800, which is considered on the high side. That means that with a relatively small amount of carriers, you have a high surface area and can achieve high treatment efficiency. Physically, the carriers are small cylinders, about 13 millimeters (mm) long and 13 mm in diameter. They are quite small, but they have lots of internal areas on An MBBR reactor that uses carriers in its treatment process.

MUNICIPALWATERLEADER.COM | 35 ADVERTISEMENT Marc Krieger: The results are more or less dictated by what Municipal Water Leader: How expensive is it to retrofit an the client wants. Our clients will come to us and define existing plant? their needs: They’ll tell us their flow, their inlet quality, and what they want to achieve. One main advantage of MBBR Marc Krieger: A retrofit has many components: civil works, is that MBBR reactors are 30–40 percent smaller in volume piping works, and the purchase of the carriers. Costs will in comparison with activated sludge reactors designed for vary from site to site and from project to project, but the the same parameters. For clients that have space limitations advantage of retrofitting an existing plant over the alternative or that are dealing with high real estate values, saving land of building a new one is obvious: You minimize your need saves money. The other main advantage is the ability to for additional land and additional civil works. One of the retrofit existing plants from activated sludge to MBBR in challenges of retrofits is upgrading an existing plant while it’s still in operation. You can’t just close down a treatment plant in order to do an upgrade. It has to be done in such a way that the plant can continue to function during the retrofit.

Municipal Water Leader: How do you find new clients?

Marc Krieger: What’s important for us is to identify and find those specific applications and specific clients to whom MBBR technology would bring the most benefit. We’re not looking to introduce MBBR to every treatment plant out there, but just to find those for which MBBR has significant advantages over other technologies. One of our special focuses is industries that are looking to expand their wastewater treatment plants and can use MBBR to do so with minimal space requirements. Another focus is municipalities that are looking to expand their plants or upgrade them to achieve BNR. This is happening the United States, but also in India, the Philippines, and countries in Southeast Asia. These are major markets for us. There are also other niche markets in which MBBR is common. One of them is the aquaculture business. If you’re growing seafood or fish in ponds, MBBR is the technology of choice to achieve nitrification of the water so that it can be reused or recycled through fishponds. We also use MBBR for denitrification applications, for example, to denitrify groundwater in regions that suffer from high An MBBR treatment plant. nitrate levels in their groundwater, including parts of California, Israel, and Italy. order to increase capacity. This is a simple, low-cost way Our workload is divided equally between industrial and to expand the capacity of a treatment plant that does not municipal projects. Industrial projects tend to be smaller require additional land or civil works. Other advantages that in terms of capacity but are more challenging with regard our technology provides are the ability to convert treatment to quality issues. Municipal projects are larger in size but plants that have been designed for secondary treatment are quite standard in the water quality they aim to deliver. only—meaning achieving biochemical oxygen demand and While our work is split 50/50 between industrial and total suspended solids reduction—to also achieve biological municipal projects, our engineer-procure-construct work nutrient removal (BNR) and low levels of total nitrogen. focuses mostly on industrial projects. M That is important now because of the current focus on nitrogen levels in the environment. Plants can be converted from activated sludge to what we call integrated fixed-film Marc Krieger is the vice president of sales activated sludge, which is an integration of activated sludge at Aqwise. He can be contacted at PHOTOS COURTESY OF AQWISE. and carriers that delivers low nitrogen values in the effluent. [email protected]. For more information These are types of projects in which our technology can about Aqwise, visit www.aqwise.com. provide simple and relatively low-cost solutions to achieve what the client defines.

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