The Singapore Water Expo

The Singapore Water Expo is part of Singapore International Water Week. At the Expo, 650 companies displayed their technologies for improving water cleanliness, dealing with wastewater, and protecting the environment. There were some very big players represented, in addition to the hundreds of smaller ones:

Singapore is a meaningful venue for a water conference. Here's what I learned from my cabbie: "When we achieved independence, we had only three reservoirs. Now we have ten. One bay has been dammed off and converted from salt to fresh water. We buy water from Malaysia but soon we should become water independent. We collect rainwater runoff and purify it. There are severe fines for washing your car and letting the runoff go into the drains." The Singapore water agency PUB is applying state-of-the-art technologies, with a patented variable salinity processes and research into membranes containing water-transporting aquaporin proteins:

A  feature of the Expo that struck me was its focus on URBAN water systems. I came naively looking for solutions for the developing nations and isolated locations. Urban systems are of course critical, as the world moves toward 70% urban. Livable cities was a key topic at Rio+20, and of course water access is a primary issue in that regard. I wonder what fraction of the 1.2 billion people said to lack access to clean water are in cities, and what fraction in rural areas.

Product categories at the Expo were roughly grouped into:

• membranes and filtration
• piping, pipe inspection and repair (including an emphasis on "trenchless" or in-place repair)
• instrumentation and control
• pumps
• solid waste systems, such as dryers, strainers, etc.
• engineering services

The atmosphere was one of great technological advances in water systems. Some of the exciting ideas:

• GE's membrane system integrated with wind power, which used the turbine to create water pressure directly rather than first creating electricity and then using that to power an electric pump
• A wide variety of robots for remote piping inspection and repair
• Numerous new membrane technologies

An exception to the large urban emphasis was this small, self-contained purification system for remote areas:

The technical progress in water systems is very encouraging. But as the UN's World Water Development Report-3 emphasizes, investment in water systems will be necessary to ward off catastrophe. None of the technologies on display at the Expo looked inexpensive!