Updated July 2, 1999

July 2, 1999:Professors Nabil El-Ramly and Richard Einer Peterson have established four new links on the Desalination Online homepage (http://www2.hawaii.edu/~nabil):

Membrane Desalting Plants on the Web
Membrane Desalting Plants and Water Reuse in Florida
Desalination Research at Universities
Membrane Desalting Plants Inventory: A Demonstration Project

Aqua-Chem Wins Army Contract, February 3, 1999

Aqua-Chem, Inc. and SFA Win Bid for Army's Tactical Water Purification System (TWPS) $2 Million Development Contract; Production to Follow

Milwaukee, WI –

Aqua-Chem, Inc. Water Technologies Division and SFA, Inc., Frederick Manufacturing Division, of Frederick, Maryland, business partner and general contractor, are the successful bidders on a $2 million development contract for a Tactical Water Purification System (TWPS) for the United States Army and Marines, according to Jeffrey A. Miller, Aqua-Chem Chairman, President and CEO.

The development contract provides for SFA/Aqua-Chem's completion of the TWPS prototype units in nine months. Daniel J. Johnson, President Water Technologies Division, reports that following successful delivery and testing of the prototype, SFA/Aqua-Chem will enter into a negotiated production contract for an estimated 335 units over five years. Production will be accomplished under a Small Business Set-aside contract. Total value of production over the five-year life of the contract approximates $83 million.

Prototype development, assembly and delivery responsibilities will be shared by Aqua-Chem Water Technologies' Knoxville, Tennessee manufacturing facility and SFA's Frederick, Maryland manufacturing facility. Testing by the U.S. Army's Tank—Automotive and Armament Command (TACOM), Warren, Michigan will be conducted following prototype delivery. The production contract is expected to commence in June, 2000. Partnering meetings between TACOM, SFA and Aqua-Chem are scheduled to begin in early February 1999. For the past decade, the concept of partnering between branches of the Armed Services and its general contractors and subcontractors has been accepted practice. The goal is to incorporate best technology and practices while achieving lowest life cycle cost.

TWPS is a compact, highly mobile water purification unit using state-of-the-art filtration and reverse osmosis technology to produce up to 1,500 gallons per hour (gph) of potable water. It will replace a 20-year-old 600 gph unit now in use by all armed services branches. It is anticipated that TWPS will be used well into the next century. TWPS is completely self-contained, including power, water intake, potable water storage and distribution, and all other items needed for five days field operation without resupply. It can be easily deployed and moved. TWPS can make drinkable water from almost any source — fresh water, saltwater, brackish water, and fresh water sources purposely contaminated with nuclear, biological or chemical warfare agents.

It will supply potable water to U.S. Ground, amphibious, airmobile and airborne troops throughout the spectrum of conflict in peace and war, and will provide quality water support to civilian agencies, the National Guard, or host nations for emergencies, disaster relief, humanitarian endeavors or peacekeeping efforts. Highly reliable, TWPS is designed for ease of operation and maintenance. It is meant to operate under the full spectrum of weather conditions ranging from desert heat to arctic cold.

This new water purification unit complements the 3,000 gph rear area water purification units designed by Aqua-Chem for the military ten years ago and proven during Desert Storm. Aqua-Chem Water Technologies began its long history of supplying America's fighting forces with water treatment and purification equipment for potable water in 1942.

Aqua-Chem currently is also supplying the U.S. Navy with onboard water purification systems for its fleet. Known as a worldwide leader in the design and production of water purification and treatment systems, the Water Technologies division serves selected commercial, government, military, and industrial applications.

Aqua-Chem, Inc. headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada and Mexico, is a world leader in engineered energy and environmental products and services. Aqua-Chem's Cleaver-Brooks division is recognized as the world's largest manufacturer of commercial and industrial boilers. Its National Dynamics division in Lincoln, Nebraska manufactures and markets industrial watertube boilers and waste heat recovery systems through its Energy Recovery International operations. For more information contact:

Margie Griffiths
Marketing/Communications
Aqua-Chem, Inc.
mgriffiths@aqua-chem.com
sales@aqua-chem.com

Business WireOsmonics Names Dr. William G. Light General Manager Of Vista Operations , November 24, 1998

MINNETONKA, Minn. (BUSINESS WIRE) - Osmonics Inc. (NYSE/OSM) announced today that Dr. William G. Light has been appointed General Manager of the Company's Vista, California Operations. Dr. Light is the former president of Fluid Systems Corporation, San Diego, California, a manufacturer of reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane products with many regional offices around the world.

"We're very pleased to add a leader of Bill's caliber to our executive team," said Dean Spatz, Osmonics Chairman and CEO. "Bill has more than two decades of experience in membrane separation products and process industries--as well as proven performance in general management, R&D and operations."

"Under Bill's leadership, Fluid Systems targeted customers with high-performing products, increased manufacturing yields and reduced fixed costs. And while leading change efforts, he kept morale strong by setting realistic goals. We expect him to bring similar strategic vision to Vista Operations," said Kenton Toomey, Osmonics Executive Vice President Operations.

As General Manager, Dr. Light will oversee all aspects of product engineering, production planning, manufacturing, purchasing and materials. Osmonics' Vista Operations manufactures spiral-wound membrane elements used for reverse osmosis, ¶ nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and microfiltration, plus thin-film composite membrane elements for home reverse osmosis.

http://nt.excite.com:80/news/bw/981124/osmonics

Business WireSiemens Books US$ 840 Million for Power Plants and Equipment , November 24, 1998

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Siemens/KWU has received an order valued at approximately US$ 340 million to supply a power plant and a seawater desalination plant from the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and the U.S. CMS Energy Corp., a private investor in the power plant sector. Siemens and consortium partner the Korean industrial corporation Hanjung will build the power and desalination plants on a turnkey basis. The 710-megawatt Al Taweelah 2 combined cycle plant will be powered by three V94.3A combustion turbines with an output of 185 megawatt under site conditions and two 110 megawatt steam turbine-generators. Siemens also will supply power plant components and instrumentation and control equipment for the power and seawater desalination plant. The seawater desalination plant will have a daily production capacity of 50 million gallons (12 million cubic meters) of desalinated water. The first gas turbine is scheduled to start commercial operation in May, 2000, the others following a month later, respectively. The plant as a whole will start commercial operation in September 2001. Al Taweelah 2 is the first independent power project in the Gulf region.

Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation is a Siemens Company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Within Siemens’ global Fossil Power Generation business, Siemens Westinghouse is the regional business division for the Americas and operates engineering and manufacturing centers in North America. In the U.S. and Canada, the company is also responsible for the Industrial Turbines, Instrumentation & Control, and Hydroelectric businesses. The Siemens Power Generation Group (KWU) is one of the world's leading manufacturers in conventional and nuclear power generation with sales totaling DM10.6 billion (US$6.5 billion) in the past fiscal year 1997/98 and a workforce of 27,500 including Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation. KWU offers a uniquely broad-based range of products and services as well as the entire range of conceivable services for all aspects of a power plant project from grid studies and financing packages via turnkey erection to operation and maintenance.

http://nt.excite.com:80/news/bw/981124/siemens-westinghse-pwr

Israel's Business Area GlobesSharon Initiates Setting Up Water Desalination Facility at Rafah Gateway Operated by Nuclear Energy By Ora Koren , November 24, 1998

Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Infrastructures Ariel Sharon is initiating the setting up of a regional facility for water desalination at Rafah Gateway, to be operated by nuclear energy. The US has expressed willingness, in principle, to participate in financing the project. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started negotiations to persuade Japan to participate in the financing as well. The initiative will be presented at a donor countries’ conference in Washington at the end of the month. Sharon bases his initiative on understandings accompanying the Camp David accords. Among other things, agreement was reached on the setting up of a desalination facility at the triangular border between the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt. These understandings were never exercised. In preliminary meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participants estimated that the cost of establishing the facility is likely to total several billion dollars. It will take five to ten years to set up, and the facility will supply the anticipated shortage of water in the region, including in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, northern Sinai and Jordan.

http://www.globes.co.il:80/cgi-bin/Serve_Archive_Arena/pages/English/1.2.1.5/19981123/1

Livermore Water Reclamation Center, California, September 4, 1998

(LWRC) processes over five million gallons of wastewater each day from throughout the Livermore area. In addition to primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes common to most modern wastewater treatment facilities, LWRC features state-of-the-art microfiltration and reverse osmosis processes capable of filtering out impurities as minute as bacteria, viruses and dissolved chemicals. To monitor the treatment process and ensure safe standards of operation, wastewater is automatically sampled around the clock at numerous strategic locations throughout the plant. Over 5000 laboratory tests are performed annually to monitor for impurities in an on-site, state certified laboratory.

Sunday Times, South Africa, “Robben Island nights: Tourist accommodation and conference centre planned” by JANET HEARD, October 25, 1998

FROM next summer up to 100 tourists per day will be able to book a room on Robben Island and spend the night.

New developments for the coming peak season include: cycle routes and walks along the coast, an additional ferry, nine new tour buses, new photo and audio-visual exhibitions, ex-prisoners interacting with visitors, and the opening of the historic kramat (Muslim shrine). Roads will be upgraded next year, and from next week the island will have its own water supply from a newly installed desalination plant. In the past, water has been transported from the mainland

United States Filter Corporation to Install One of the Largest Mobile Wastewater Reuse Systems in Existence, PR Newswire, August 3, 1998

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- PEMEX, the state-owned Mexican oil company, has awarded USFilter a contract to provide one of the largest mobile wastewater reuse systems in the world, USFilter announced today.

USFilter's Mexico office will install 18 mobile trailer units in a PEMEX refinery located in Salamanca, Mexico, during the next two weeks. The system consists of multimedia filters, activated carbon filters, two-pass reverse osmosis, and chemical injection (polymer, anti scalant, acid and chlorine feed systems). The total flow rate of the mobile system comes to 1,200 gallons per minute.

The two pass, reverse osmosis system will treat refinery wastewater with a 70 percent recovery rate, substantially reducing PEMEX's current operating costs. Additionally, wastewater from other processes in the refinery will be recycled, treated and reused.

"We will be turning what are now useless waste streams into a valuable source of process water in an area of Mexico where water is a scarce resource," said G.G. Pique, USFilter's vice president for Latin America.

Los Angeles Times Towers Are Tapped Out by Updated Technology Water-Treatment Plants, Left in Dust, Will Be Demolished By SHELBY GRAD, Times Staff Writer, July 15, 1998

Two mammoth water-treatment plants that have towered over the Santa Ana River for nearly three decades will be demolished this fall, made relics by advancing technology and the area's rapidly disappearing farms. The six-story structures--the tallest buildings in Fountain Valley--contain a maze-like network of pipes and fans that daily removed ammonia from 10 million gallons of water bound for the county's ground water basin. But the plants have remained idle for a decade. The complicated process of removing ammonia by letting the water cascade 60 feet like a waterfall is now considered obsolete. "It reminds me of a decommissioned ship. It's kind of eerie being inside there," said Ron Wildermuth, spokesman for the Orange County Water District. "It's like being in an empty hotel. You know there was once tremendous activity in there. But now, there's nothing." The water district now uses a reverse osmosis filter system that accomplishes the job much more efficiently and takes up a tiny fraction of the space.

http://www.latimes.com:80/CNS_DAYS/980715/t000064938.html

Israel's Business Arena-GlobesCenter for Mideast Peace, Economic Cooperation Establishes 2 Desalination Facilities in Hadera, Gaza By Itamar Levin , June 24, 1998

The Center for Peace and Economic Cooperation in the Middle East announced today that it is acting to establish plants for the desalination of sea water in Israel, at an overall investment of $450 million. The Center’s plan outlines two facilities, one in Hadera and the second in Gaza.

Wayne Evans, the Center's President, also said that experience accumulated in 120 countries, where water desalination facilities are operated, shows that desalinated drinking water is of better quality, better tasting and similar in price water from other sources. Until now it was determined that the desalination of sea water is not viable, since its price is much higher than other sources of water. Today, only water in Eilat is desalinated.

Referring to the planned facility near Hadera, Evans said that the factory is designed to supply an annual 100 million cubic meters of water, comprising 20% of Israel’s water needs. Evans also said he is "undergoing serious negotiations with private and Israeli investors, who are interested in investing in the project immediately." He did not disclose the state’s stance on this matter.

http://www.globes.co.il:80/cgi-bin/Serve_Archive_Arena/pages/English/1.2.1.9/19980623/1

St. Petersburg Times Desal saga takes on a storybook quality By HOWARD TROXLER, June 15, 1998

The stakes are large. We're talking about a desalination plant that will cost anywhere from $70- to $100-million, maybe some of it your money. Progress Energy wants to build its plant just above the Pasco County line, at the site of its Anclote power plant. The salty discharge would be safely diluted in the power plant's cooling canal, and sent back into the gulf. (The company originally wanted to build near Oldsmar, dumping its byproduct into the top of Tampa Bay, but just about nobody else liked that idea.) A second competitor, named the Florida Seawater Desalination Co. -- backed by Du Pont -- also wants to build in the Anclote area. A third group, led by the engineering firm of Stone & Webster, wants to build on the southeast coast of Tampa Bay, known as the Big Bend, near Tampa Electric Co.'s power plant. That's the same place proposed by the fourth group, which is called Florida Water Partners. Both of these groups say the bay gets flushed enough by tides to make their location safe. Which plan is best?

The government board that supplies water to Tampa Bay -- it is about to get a new name, "Tampa Bay Water" -- is meeting today, and might winnow down the list of finalists. The board could keep talks going with two, three or even all four. In theory, it could even choose just one. Lots of fingers are crossed.

http://www.sptimes.com:80/State/61598/Desal_saga_takes_on_a.html

St. Petersburg Times Water authority grades proposals for desalination By JEAN HELLER, June 5, 1988

CLEARWATER -- Like schoolchildren about to embark on summer vacation, the four partnerships vying to build a saltwater desalination plant for the region have received their final grades. While the grades, given by staff members and consultants for the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority, are not definitive in identifying winners and losers, they appear to favor a proposal by the partnership of Progress Energy and Ionics Inc. at an Anclote River site adjacent to a Florida Power plant in southern Pasco County. Progress Energy and Florida Power Corp. are sister companies, both subsidiaries of Florida Progress of St. Petersburg. Ironically, the worst grade went to proposals from the same Progress Energy partnership at the Higgins power plant site on northern Tampa Bay near Oldsmar.

The reason no hard conclusions can be drawn is that each proposal was graded in five categories -- plant location, potential environmental impacts, ability to pass state permitting requirements, product water quality and delivery, and financial factors. A final ranking must wait until the West Coast board decides at its June 15 meeting how much weight to give to each category.

http://www.sptimes.com:80/TampaBay/60598/Water_authority_grade.html

Middle East Desalination Research Center "Research Funds Available for Eight (8) Desalination Research Projects " Muscat-Oman, April 3, 1998

For Release on April 3, 1998 at 12:00 noon Contact Person: Ms. Shannon McCarthy E-mail: smcarthy@mail.medrc.org.om The Middle East Desalination Research Center P.O.Box 21, Al Khuwair P.C. 133, Sultanate of Oman Tel: 968-695-351 Fax: 968-697-107 "Research Funds Available for Eight (8) Desalination Research Projects " Muscat-Oman, April 3, 1998 Muscat: Today, April 3, 1998, Mr. Eric Jankel, Director of The Middle East Desalination Research Center located in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, has announced in Muscat, the availability of tender package, series 97-B, which included eight (8) specific research projects in the field of desalination and related fields. Mr. Jankel said, "I am pleased to announce this second tender as it demonstrates that the Center has fully implemented its technical program". The research projects will be awarded to responsive bidders of which partnership with a MENA regional entity is mandatory. All proposals require a 50% cost share. Proposals will be due on Tuesday, July 7, 1998. The Research Project Descriptions:

• Investigation of Small Home-Use RO
• Novel Scale Prevention Techniques for Thermal Desalination
• Improved Design of Reverse Osmosis Systems
• Improved Membranes and Modules
• Development of Standardized Form & Content for O&M Manuals
• Beach Well Intakes for Small SWRO Plants
• Material Testing and Certification Program
• Innovative Small Desalination Systems

In addition, this tender package includes a call for unsolicited proposals. These proposals will be reviewed and considered for funding. Effective today, interested persons, firms and institutions can download the tender package over the internet at http:/www.medrc.org.om, email at info@mail.medrc.org.om or may contact the Center via fax at (968) 697-107.

http://www.medrc.org.om/index.html

The Jerusalem Post EDITORIAL: Water Challenges, June 3, 1998

Aquifers are a cheap source of water, but if they are overdrawn they can be destroyed and will no longer naturally replenish themselves. Overuse of cheap water now, therefore, means being forced to use more expensive sources down the road. The coastal aquifer, as a renewable resource, is in jeopardy. The Gaza coastal aquifer is already in such a polluted state that most Palestinian households do not have potable water. If both Israel and the Palestinians do not make the right choices now, the mountain aquifer will be the next to important water source to be threatened. At a meeting of the multilateral negotiating group on water in Oslo last month; Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians agreed that in the longer run - say 25 years - desalinization will be the key to fulfilling the region's growing water needs. As technology improves, the cost of desalinization is going down, but it is still too high for most agricultural uses to make economic sense. In fact, agricultural water is already heavily subsidized, so that the average family pays over three times as much as farmers do for a cubic meter of water. As a result, Israel - and the Palestinians - continue to grow crops, such as citrus and wheat, that would not make economic sense at the unsubsidized price of water.

It is misleading to speak of a water shortage in a situation in which the country is still essentially paying farmers to use water. By exporting the products of water-intensive agriculture, Israel is also exporting water - not a normal thing to do in the case of a commodity that is ostensibly in shortage.

http://www.jpost.com:80/com/Archive/03.Jun.1998/Opinion/Article-0.html

Miami Herald Putting a price on water: Does California have the answers? By MICHAEL BROWNING Herald Staff Writer, May 27, 1998

http://www.herald.com:80/florida/digdocs/034649.htm

After 19 years with the South Florida Water Management District, John Wodraska had little trouble acclimating himself to California and its water problems. ``Easy. Just add three zeros to everything,'' Wodraska joked. ``Instead of millions, it's billions.'' Wodraska left a medium frying pan for a large, hot fire. He now heads the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 16 million customers -- nearly two million more than the entire population of Florida. His annual budget, just approved, is $1.52 billion, about 2 1/2 times what all five water districts in Florida will spend this year. California withdraws 48.6 billion gallons of ground water a day, more than double Florida's 18.1 billion gallons daily. ``In all of Florida there is only one water treatment plant that handles over 100 million gallons a day. It's in Dade County. Here we've got five bigger than that and one that handles a billion gallons a day,'' Wodraska boasted.

``Eighty percent of our water is in Northern California. Eighty percent of our people live in Southern California,'' said Wodraska, who left his position as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District in 1991.

Miami Herald As supplies dwindle and populations grow, cities look to the sea By MICHAEL BROWNING Herald Staff Writer , May 27, 1998

http://www.herald.com:80/florida/digdocs/060142.htm

Take Cape Coral on the Gulf Coast, where population has risen from 12,000 to 85,000 in 25 years. Cape Coral is almost entirely dependent on desalinated water for drinking and washing and has one of the biggest desal plants in the state.

So St. Petersburg now relies on wells in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. But even that is not enough. Move toward desalination Now it is eyeing the Gulf of Mexico, and more and more coastal cities in Florida may soon have to do the same. Already there are 120 desalination plants in Florida, more than any other state. A proposed desalination plant to be built in St. Petersburg at a cost of $20 million would supply the city with 10 million gallons of drinkable water a day. The leftover brine would be injected deep underground. This water won't be cheap. Estimates for desalinated water run from an optimistic $1.50 per 1,000 gallons up to several times that amount.

Desalination has been a last, desperate resort in most parts of the world. As of 1995, there were 10,300 desalination plants on the globe, putting out 5.07 billion gallons of water a day, according to the American Desalination Association. Four-fifths of these plants process brackish water, not sea water.

St. Petersburg Times Desalination wave of our future for water needs By GILLIAM CLARKE, May 25, 1998

http://www.sptimes.com:80/Pasco/52598/Desalination_wave_of_.html

Ocean and gulf desalination are the obvious answers to state and regional problems. They are environmentally friendly, don't destroy the resource and are not dependent on rainfall. But so many myths have been created about desal by the naysayers that few people are now certain of the facts. Here's what we know. The Environmental Protection Agency, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Progress Energy did a series of studies on the most sensitive marine organisms and found that desalination is feasible and easy on the environment. Reverse osmosis simply removes the salt from water. At the Pasco Anclote site, the brine would be mixed with the cooling water used by the electric plant. Water put back into the estuary would be within the same salinity range found in the estuary. There wouldn't be any more foam, no change in temperature and no toxicity, so desal will be kind to anglers, too.

Los Angeles Times Wednesday, May 20, 1998 271% Hike in Water Rates on Tap Utilities: If approved, big boost will be accompanied by better quality in Port Hueneme. By NICK GREEN, Special to The Times, May 20, 1988

ORT HUENEME--Come June 1, this bedroom community's notoriously lousy water will be a thing of the past--and so will its historically low water rates. The City Council tonight is expected to approve a long-anticipated rate hike of 271% to pay for the city's new $15.5-million desalination plant and delivery line from Calleguas Municipal Water District, equipment that will give the city a second--and better-quality--water source. The increase means that households should see water bills leap to $29.85 from $11 a month, now the lowest rate in the county. "This is the one and only big one," water Supt. Jim Passanisi said of the rate increase. "We're solving all of our water-supply and quality problems at one time." Still, the jump is almost $4 a month more than city officials had estimated before the project was built. But Mayor Jon Sharkey said the price is low compared to other cities in the county--the average monthly water bill in Ventura County is $37, according to a city survey--and he has encountered few complaints from local residents.

Los Angeles Times QUENCHING THE THIRST OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS , May 7, 1998

Lifestream Watersystems Inc., a Huntington Beach manufacturer of reverse osmosis desalination systems, has just completed installation of a 31,680 gallons-per-day seawater desalination plant as part of a federal effort to assist the Marshall Islands, hit hard by a seven-month drought caused by El Niño conditions. Within days, the systems were delivering much-needed water to the community of 13,000 people. The emergency relief is being managed by Brown and Root, a Houston-based company with worldwide experience in supplying emergency water and other relief in places such as Rwanda and Algiers.

Ausin 360 Water filter systems: reverse osmosis and softeners By John Morell, Health & Fitness News Service, May 5, 1998

Though carbon filters produce better-tasting water and may remove some contaminants, they won't filter out everything. If you're concerned about getting the purest water you can find, you may want to consider a reverse-osmosis system. Using water pressure, reverse-osmosis systems push the water molecules through a membrane that screens out minerals, iron, lead and other contaminants. The cleaned water is then held in a tank under the sink and flows through an auxiliary faucet. Depending on the model and your home's water pressure, this system can produce three to five gallons per day, which is enough for most families.

"A good reverse-osmosis system is very thorough at producing very clean water," said John Pantermuehl, who works at a water-treatment company in North Hollywood, Calif. "You're going to pay more for one of these than for a carbon filter system, but if your concern is to get the cleanest water possible, you'll want to use reverse-osmosis."

St. Petersburg Times Pasco seals landmark water deal By BETH GLENN, May 1, 1998

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ed Collins compared the regional water accord he and fellow commissioners ratified Thursday to the peace agreement in Northern Ireland.

Longtime activist Silbourne Clarke urged the member governments to establish a charter for the new utility and set up regular audits to make sure governments comply with the pact. Clarke and his wife, Gilliam, said the agreement commits Pasco to move forward quickly with desalination efforts in order to keep pumping at a minimum. Without new water from desalination, they said, the whole agreement is moot. Overall, the Clarkes and others in attendance agreed with commissioners that the deal was the best Pasco could do. "God bless everyone who worked on this deal," Gilliam Clarke said. "You done a good job."

THE HINDU ONLINE Underground sewers for 12 big towns, April 27, 1998

A massive programme costing Rs. 1,000 crores to provide underground sewer network in 12 growing municipalities and district headquarters in the State, is to be taken up with financial assistance from the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund.

Feasibility studies would be taken up to provide integrated water supply schemes in the drought-prone areas of Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Pudukottai and Tiruchirapalli districts. Work on the Rs. 40.82- crore Naripaiyur desalination plant would be completed in 1998-99 to benefit over 80,000 persons living in 296 habitations in 77 panchayats in Ramanathapuram district. Though, the scheme was a pioneering attempt to enhance water resources, it would help in reaching a per capita supply of 20 lpd. Studies would be launched to enhance this by a bigger integrated water supply scheme, he announced.

http://www.webpage.com:80/hindu/daily/980428/04/0428223f.htm

Desalination in Aruba

Subject: Re: parasite in aruba
From: Joe Niemczura Date: 1998/04/21
Message-ID: <353C6A51.18F8@acadia.net
Newsgroups: rec.travel.caribbean
Lazy Acres Farm wrote:
Has anyone ever heard of anyone else getting this ill while in Aruba?

sorry to hear about your friend's health problems. That Island has one of the world's largest desalination plants ( when iwas there I was interested in getting a tour!) and all the water is distilled, so on Aruba if you drink the water out of the tap its safe i believe.... more so than most of the world. We actually thought it tasted better than the local water here in our town in Maine. As far as foodborne dsease goes, most of those restaurants use food which is brought in off the island - so I suppose its possible that the meat was not USFDA inspected....... but since they try very hard to cater to American tourists I have te impression that they try to work to american standards.

Joe Niemczura
Ellsworth Maine
(207) 667 0260
josephn@acadia.net

St. Petersburg Times, "First test could be tough for regional water plan" By JEAN HELLER, April 22, 1998

AMPA -- Call it the "Big If." The pieces are in place for a sea change in the way the region provides itself with water. The future holds the promise of environmentally friendly, litigation-free, drought-proof supplies for residents, businesses and growth. The "Big If" is the approval of all six member governments in the reorganization and redirection of the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority, the area's largest water distributor. The six are Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties and the cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and New Port Richey. The voting begins today with Hillsborough County. In addition, the reorganization must be approved by Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission -- whose executive director, Roger Stewart, strongly opposes the agreement. His opposition is worrying those who support it. All it takes is a single no vote from any one of the seven government entities to kill the plan that has been nearly two years in the making.

FEMA NewsRecovery Operations Begin on Drought-stricken Marshall Islands, March 26, 1998

Meteorologists were correct in forecasting severe drought conditions for the western Pacific Ocean due to the El Niño phenomenon. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has been severely impacted with little or no rain since October 1997 and the seasonal average is expected to remain at only 10 percent until June. Majuro and Ebeye Islands have been hardest hit of the island chain. On Majuro Island (pop. 27,034), the Japanese Government has supplied three 2,000-gallon Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPUs), making the total water supply at four gallons per day (GPD) per person. However, the need is for five GPD per person. The situation is worse on Ebeye Island. The approximate 13,000 residents have only enough water for one GPD per person. The drought condition is impacting nearly two thirds of the total population, which reside on these two islands.

Reuters Desalinated Water Made Cheaper by Singapore Firm, April 17, 1998

A Singapore-based company has developed a cheaper, portable water desalination plant that could be assembled anywhere quickly, its chief executive officer said on Friday. AquaGen International chief Gavin Liau said the modular system of its plant makes installation and it produces 100 cubic metres (25,000 gallons) of water per day at a cost of less than US$300,000. "The small portable type is incredible. You can use it anywhere. There is so much water shortage all over the world, there's so plenty of growth areas," he said. Liau said AquaGen sells two types of desalination plant. Both, he said, were up to three times more energy efficient than those now in use.

San Francisco Chronicle, OPEN FORUM/Turning on the Tap May be Risky," by Nancy Evans and Marguerite Young, April 14, 1998

THE CALIFORNIA Department of Health Services says in a new report that chlorinated drinking water may increase the risk of miscarriages and increase cancer rates. In response to the growing body of evidence against trihalomethanes, or THMs, concentrated in chlorinated drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed reducing as much as half the allowable levels over the next decade, even though the EPA's own goal for these harmful chemicals is zero. Fortunately, alternatives to chlorination are available and affordable. Yet, seven out of 10 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, continue to chlorinate for disinfection against waterborne disease, even in the face of compelling evidence that doing so is likely increasing our risk for a host of serious health effects.

St. Petersburg Times,"Oldsmar rejects desalination plant" by DEBORAH O'NEIL, April 9, 1998

OLDSMAR -- For the first time, city officials have voiced their opposition to a proposed desalination plant on the Mobbly Bay peninsula. But unlike Tarpon Springs' leaders who voted unanimously against a similar plan to put a desalination plant near their city, Oldsmar City Council members are split on the issue. Tuesday night, the Oldsmar City Council voted 3-2 to draft a resolution opposing the proposal by Florida Progress to build the facility next to Higgins Power Plant.

Ionics Announces Municipal Desalination Contract for Anguilla, Newswire, April 7, 1998

WATERTOWN, Mass., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionics, Incorporated (NYSE:ION) announced today the receipt of a contract to supply fresh municipal drinking water to the Caribbean island of Anguilla in the British West Indies. Under a five-year contract, Ionics will build, own and operate a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination facility to produce 600,000 gallons per day of fresh water from seawater. This represents Ionics' 36th seawater desalination installation in the Caribbean, and follows upon Ionics' recent announcement (February 13, 1998) of a quarter- million gallon per day RO facility for the island of Bonaire in the Netherland Antilles.

Jordan's water minister: No plan to use Kinneret as Jordanian reservoir, by ORA KOREN and DAVID HARRIS, Jerusalem Post, April 6, 1998

JERUSALEM (April 6) -- "The Kinneret is an Israeli lake only," Jordanian Water and Irrigation Minister Munther Haddadin said yesterday. He was rejecting a suggestion in Ha'aretz that there is agreement to replace the agreed upon storage reservoirs in the Jordan Valley with the Kinneret. "There was no such agreement and nor will there be," he said. However, he added that Jordan will hold Israel to its commitments as they appear in the 1994 agreement.

The 1994 agreement set out that Israel would yield an annual 40 million cu.m. of Yarmuk River water plus a further 10 million cu.m. from desalination of brackish water sources near the Kinneret. No water would be taken from the Kinneret itself, as Israel feared this would be a bad precedent in future talks with Syria.

"New FILMTEC Low Energy RO Elements Conserve Electrical Energy Costs by Operating Effectively at Reduced Pressure"Business Wire, March 20, 1998

A new series of FILMTEC(R) TW30 low energy (LE) reverse osmosis (RO) elements designed to operate in the pressure range of 75 psi to 125 psi in commercial water purification applications can save as much as 40% in electrical pumping energy costs compared with conventional elements designed to operate at pressures up to 225 psi. According to The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), which unveiled the LE Series elements at the annual Water Quality Assn. Convention, these new mid-size RO elements are rated to provide a flow of 2,000 gallons per day, with 99% salt rejection, at 25 degrees C and less than 125 psi operating pressure when total dissolved solids (TDS) are 2,000 ppm sodium chloride.

"Business opportunities in desalination" by M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan , December 31, 1996

http://www.arab.net/saudi100/features/desalination.html

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia has targeted a massive expansion of its desalination capacity during the current Sixth Five Year Plan period, offering billions of riyals worth of business opportunities to local and foreign companies in the Kingdom. The move is intended to boost the production of desalinated water in the Kingdom.

The SWCC Governor Farad Balghunaim has identified 29 new desalination and water distribution projects, which will shortly be announced. These 29 projects, to be located in various parts of the Kingdom, constitute 15 desalination projects and 14 water distribution system projects. Also, there are two distribution system projects currently under bidding formalities.

Full Text of "Safe Water Drinking Act Amendments of 1996"

P.L. 104-182 One Hundred Fourth Congress of the United States of America AT THE SECOND SESSION Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six An Act To reauthorize and amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (commonly known as the 'Safe Drinking Water Act'), and for other purposes.

U.S. Filter to buy Culligan in $1.5 billion deal February 9, 1998

PALM DESERT, Calif., and NORTHBROOK, Ill. -- United States Filter Corporation (NYSE:USF) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Culligan Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:CUL) for approximately $1.5 billion in U.S. Filter common stock accounted for as a pooling of interests. Under the terms of the transaction, which further consolidates U.S. Filter's position as the world's largest global water treatment company, Culligan shareholders will get 1.714 shares of U.S. Filter common stock for each Culligan share they own. Subject to certain adjustments, this equates to $60.00 per share in U.S. Filter stock.

Combined, the two companies will have more than $4.5 billion in revenues, 2,000 locations and more than 20,000 employees in 90 countries throughout the world. Culligan has annualized revenues of approximately $760 million, with about 4,000 employees worldwide and a three year compounded growth rate of 22%

Miscarriages linked to tainted water

ATLANTA (AP) -July 7, 1996 The government says people who use private wells should periodically check the quality of their water after a report linked the miscarriages of three Indiana women to tainted well water. High nitrate levels also have been linked to methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby syndrome," Lynberg said. Symptoms include a blue tinge on the nose and ear tips, diarrhea, lethargy and coma. About 13 million U.S. households get their drinking water from private wells, which are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Lynberg said.

Health: Study Links Tap Water Chemical To Miscarriages

Wednesday, February 11, 1998, Washington (Reuters) -- Women who drink five or more glasses a day of ordinary tap water have a higher rate of miscarriage, and a byproduct of the chlorine used to purify water supplies may be to blame, researchers say. The researchers said trihalomethanes, contaminants sometimes produced when chlorine is used to kill germs in water, seemed to be responsible. Women who had a high exposure to trihalomethanes had a miscarriage rate of 15.7 percent compared to 9.5 percent among women with a low exposure to the chemicals.

Water Quality: Bottled Water

Water is one of our most abundant chemical compounds. It also is one of the most debated substances as far as safety is concerned. Many people buy water as a primary source of drinking water, because their water is unsafe (whether perceived or from test results) or has an "off" taste or odor. Bottled water is best used only as a temporary measure in small quantities, since the cost averages about 5 cents per gallon. Is bottled water, in fact, better than tap water? It depends on the source and the treatment for the water. Tap water and bottled water are subject to regulations. Disinfection of water is completed with ozone or chlorine. How long chlorine and ozone remain active in the water depends on many factors, including temperature. Chlorine residual usually provides disinfections throughout the public-water distribution system. Ozone, a high-strength oxygen that reverts to normal oxygen, also can provide a residual disinfection for a limited time. Last modified: Mon Jul 7 15:54:21 CDT 1997

The value of water

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Researchers at Resources for the Future (RFF), an independent, nonprofit organization, have released a report that urges policymakers to recognize the key role water plays in the U.S. economy, identify disparities in its value across the country and encourage more efficient use of this vital resource.
The report, Economic Values of Freshwater in the United States, includes nearly 500 water value estimates in the continental U.S. from 41 published and unpublished studies performed under a wide range of economic conditions over the last several decades.
Converting all estimates to 1994 dollars per acre-foot, researchers found the value of water nationally to be highest in the drier, more water-scarce Rio Grande ($191/AF) and lower Colorado ($122/AF) regions; and lowest in the Great Lakes ($7/AF) and New England ($4/AF) regions. By use, water's value is highest for industrial processing ($282/AF) and domestic uses ($194/AF) and lowest for recreation and fish and wildlife habitat ($5/AF) and waste disposal ($3/AF).

Israel Chemicals subsudiary win $60m. desalination deal (Dec. 15, 1997)

ADA Desalting Fact Sheet

The Politics of Water in Egypt

Newsgroups Postings on Desalination April, 1998

Link to Search Button at ArabNet

Netanyahu, King Hussein meet secretly on water dispute (May 9, 1997)

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