Here are the top 5 most read blogs of 2017. If you want to submit a blog for consideration in 2018, contact us.

1. Desalination – Past, Present and Future

In response to increasing water scarcity, over the last 30 years desalination has evolved into a viable alternative water supply. It allows us to tap non-traditional water resources with great potential to provide a sustainable, drought-proof water supply. Desalination provides only around 1 percent of the world’s drinking water, but this percentage is growing year-on-year. An expected US$10 billion investment in the next five years would add 5.7 million cubic meters per day of new production capacity. This capacity is expected to double by 2030. Read more…

2. There has never been a better time to be a water professional

Never before has water been so high on the global political agenda; never before has water expertise been in such high demand. This presents a golden opportunity for water professionals and the sector as a whole, to not only connect to wider global agendas, but to be a driving force within them. Read more

3. Reduction of Non-Revenue Water Around the World

Non-revenue water is one of the lowest hanging fruits in order to improve the efficiency of water utilities around the world. Especially the water losses in the distribution systems are obvious when analysing data from water utilities. It is more than a decade since IWA presented the ‘best practice’ standard water balance but many water utilities have still no overview of the situation. Around the world we still see that non-revenue water accounts for 25 to 50 per cent of the total water supply and in emerging markets we have experienced even up to 75 per cent non-revenue water. Read more…

4. Microalgae as a sustainable alternative for wastewater treatment

Wastewater is increasingly seen as one of the solutions to many of the big sustainability and climate change issues we are facing. Researchers around the world are developing technologies that make products recovered from wastewater both socially acceptable and economically viable. The mundane world of wastewater treatment has suddenly become the glamorous world of the cyclical, green economy.

One of the stars of this new paradigm is microalgal, attracting considerable attention because of its positive characteristics for biotechnology systems, such as wastewater treatment and biofuel production. Why are microalgae-based technologies so attractive? Read more…

5. Can rainwater harvesting transform cities into water-wise cities?

Rainwater harvesting and management is nothing new. In fact, this technique has been used for thousands of years in many parts of the globe to capture and store rainwater in the pores of soil or for human use. Growing water scarcity, climate change, rapid urbanisation, and increased demand for water, are once again making this ancient technology a viable option for cities. Read more…