Thoughts and ideas – Day 2, IDA conference, Portofino

1. Charging for water is important – even if the charge is small. It gives the user a sense of value of water and encourages wise use.

2. At face value there is huge opportunity for renewable energy RO in the developing world: the coincidence of water stressed regions with sunshine hours and wind. Wind power is a proven example in the case of Perth. The need for an electricity grid is essential in this case and so there is close association and dependence between energy provider and water provider. Is this association necessary? I like the idea of the sub-grid, particularly if the ‘buffer’ can be over-production at times of lots of wind to provide for lesser production under low-wind cases. So far, no papers or examples of combined wind/solar PV facilities.

3. I have reservations about desalination of groundwater because desalting groundwater may lead to further depletion of the groundwater water resource. My fear is that desalination wont necessarily deal with the fundamental imbalance between the water withdrawal and water use, but it does have role to play concerning contaminated in-flow.

4. Sustainable energy provision is already a huge issue in the developing world and a reliable and consistent supply of electricity may not be possible. If desalination is reliant on grid electricity then the uncertainty of electrical production may lead to an uncertainty of water production. If there are electrical load guarantees to desalination facilities, could this mean that electricity is diverted from other areas of need?

5. The big-small debate…

...is small scale is the most practical desalination solution I the developing world?

My understanding of the presentations is that small-scale production is advantageous because it puts water production in the hands of local communities and may foster greater stakeholder control over the water resource. Small community projects a can be a source of income generation and micro-finance opportunities for entrepreneurs.

What are the sustainable development implication scenarios? My thoughts:

If there is local accountability and understanding then there may be a better understanding and acceptance of the costs charged for water (e.g. through water kiosks run by local people). The systems must be robust and maintenance light. They may be modular and so can be easily scaled-up/down as the need requires. Charging for the water encourages a sense of value and efficient use.

A local community-based project is likely to be in sync with local understanding of the water environment.

‘Simple’ systems I describe as ‘slow’ desal systems (e.g. low pressure UF) and may not require pre-treatment. There will still be a waste product (if only the spent UF cartridge) and the discharge of this product into the environment cannot be ignored.

Small local facilities require less movement of the product water and the costs of water transfers are minimised. At the ‘water kiosk’ level the burden of transfer of water falls to the water user.

Large scale projects are increasingly centralised and regulated. This may bring greater opportunity for price control and subsidy – charging users who can afford to pay more to provide for those who cannot afford so much, for example a stepped/incremental tariff system.

Is water quality regulation more rigorous at the large scale?