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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Solar irrigation to improve food security in Africa?

Solar-powered irrigation that deliv- ers water directly to plant roots could help ensure food security in Africa, say researchers at Stanford University in California. Drip irriga- tion delivers water directly to the roots of plants, which increases soil moisture and photovoltaic (or solar) powered drip irrigation (PVDI) com- bines the efficiency of drip irrigation with the reliability of water pumps powered by the sun. The system uses no batteries and is self-regulating, since the sun

drives both the pump speed and evaporation from plants, the volume of water pumped increases on clear hot days when plants need more water. Their study in Benin, West Africa, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, compared two villages that had installed PVDI systems with two similar villages that watered their plots by hand. The results indicated that the PVDI systems supplied, on average, 1.9 tonnes of produce per month.

Agbar’s

headquarters in Barcelona

Local technicians clean solar panels in Benin, West Africa

Villages without PVDI appeared

to produce much less, even during the rainy season. Access to food

from both home production and purchasing increased dramatically for families of farmers using PVDI. PVDI has a higher up-front cost than irrigation systems using liquid fuel pumps, but the researchers believe that an increased demand and improved supply would drive costs down. Due to their emission- free status, the research calculated that a garden using PVDI would save 0.86 tonnes of carbon emis- sions per year compared with a liquid-fuel alternative.

Multinational companies set to disclose their water use

The world’s largest companies are to report on water use for the first time. Financial institutions are backing CDP Water Disclosure’s request for data from more than 300 companies on water use and other water-related issues. The aim is to increase the availability of high quality business information and raise awareness of water-related risk. CDP, an independent not-for-profit

EC agrees to Agbar acquisition

The European Commission has given the go-ahead to Suez Environnement’s acquisition of Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar), concluding that the proposed merger would not impede competition in the European Economic Area.

EU raids on French water companies

Raids have taken place at the offices of a number of French water compa- nies suspected of breaching EU competition rules. A spokesman for the EU Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, made the revela- tions on 16 April, but refused to name the companies involved. He said that the surprise inspec- tions took place on 13 April, but that

organisation, has already taken the role of gathering information on corporate carbon emissions from around the world so that it can be incorporated into business and policy decision mak- ing. With the launch of CDP Water Disclosure, the organisation is using the same system to tackle water scarcity. The questionnaire results will be made available to investors that have

In brief

they did not mean the companies involved were necessarily guilty of wrongdoing. According to the web- site Pro-environnement.com, the headquarters of Suez Environnement and Lyonnaise des Eaux, subsidiaries of the GDF Suez group, were among those inspected, while similar opera- tions took place at the Paris head- quarters of Veolia Environnement.

Bluewater Bio moves into South Africa

Wastewater treatment specialist Bluewater Bio has secured the first sales of its hybrid bacillus activated sludge (HYBACS) process in South Africa. The project is for the first phase extension to the Botleng Sewage Treatment Plant in Delmas, 60km east of Johannesburg. Two of its shaft-mounted advanced reactor technology (SMART) units will also be installed.

Schneider goes for telemetry market with acquisition

Schneider Electric is expanding its telemetry business with the acquisition of SCADAgroup, an Australian based provider that operates in the water and wastewater sector, for £122M. SCADAgroup has operations throughout North America, the UK and Australia and employs more than 500 staff.

May 2010 Water & Wastewater Treatment 13

requested disclosure and sum- marised in an annual report, the first of which will be produced at the end of 2010. One of the reporting compa- nies, and lead sponsor of the project, is global brewer Molson Coors. Bart Alexander, vice president glob- al corporate responsibility for Molson Coors, said: “We know that corpora- tions play a critical role in leading the transition to a new era in which water quality is respected and water man- agement practices improve.” Paul Simpson, chief operating offi-

cer at CDP said: “Much of the impact of climate change will be felt through water and as we face increasingly scarce water resources, we can now provide the same system to highlight companies’ ability to operate in a water-constrained world.” Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64