North America
Team Horner, SGM pool renovation completed
At the request of Team Horner’s Bill Kent, Philip Greggs of Southern Grouts and Mortars organized the gift of a brand-new Diamond Brite pool finish for special-needs children and adults at the Marian Center located in Miami Gardens, FL. The pool finish had been in a state of serious disrepair for several years. Greggs organized several volunteer contractors to work with him to accomplish this major renovation. The Marian Center has been a daytime home for about 125 children and adults for the past 50 years, many of whom are afflicted with Down Syndrome. The newly renovated pool is now being used daily for exercise, swimming and fun activities by adults with intellectual disabilities. The center is operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph B. Cottolengo, an Italy-based order with a mission of helping people in need.
Water treatment market being transformed
Increased importance of health and wellness highlight water safety issues and support strong growth in the global residential and light-commercial water treatment equipment (WTE) market. Strict enforcement of water quality standards and regulations supporting upcoming innovative water treatment procedures also drive the market. Currently, North America holds the largest market share. While Europe presents the most environmentally-conscious and minimally cost-conscious market for WTE solutions, Asia-Pacific offers higher scope due to escalating demand from the region’s burgeoning population and public health concerns. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Global Residential and Light Commercial Water Treatment Equipment Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $11.03 billion (USD) in 2013 and estimates this to reach $18.8 billion in 2020. The residential sector is expected to account for 67.4 percent of the total market, fueled by stringent regulations for household water treatment in some environment-conscious countries, such as the US, Singapore, the UK, Germany, India and China. Nevertheless, light-commercial WTE is catching up and is forecast to witness a compound annual growth rate of 8.9 percent.
Aquatic health code released by CDC
On August 29, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) released the first edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC).This landmark effort will have positive impact on our industry for many years to come. MAHC is the nation’s first voluntary guideline based on scientific research and best practices to improve health and safety at aquatic facilities. It can be used by state and local governments to create a pool code that will help reduce risk for outbreaks, drownings and injuries. The MAHC was created in a collaborative effort by volunteers from public health, academia and industry and is an exciting step forward for the aquatics industry. Fact sheets about the code may be downloaded from the CDC website, www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/ pools/mahc/fact-sheets.html?utm_sourc e=MAHC+Release+First+Edition&utm_campaign=Eblasts&utm_medium=email.
NM reclamation project recognized
The Augustin Plains Ranch (APR) proposed water project in western New Mexico has made the CG-LA Infrastructure’s Strategic Top 100 list for North American Infrastructure in 2014. APR recently applied for a permit to pump, reclaim and then transport 54,000-acrefeet of water per year from its location near Datil to those Rio Grande River communities that are most in need. According to the report, the “Strategic Top 100 North America lays out a roadmap of strategic infrastructure projects with specific, immediate business opportunities that point toward an entirely new level of vitality for North American competitiveness.” Projects were selected through a six-month process and a preliminary list of more than 400 projects, each of which offered business opportunities in the next three to 18 months. The 100 top projects selected represent more than $369 billion in Canada, the US and Mexico.
IAPMO, QWEL partner for certification opportunities
The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) are uniting to make it easier for water agencies to become local certifying organizations for plumbing and landscaping water-use efficiency training. IAPMO’s Green Plumber program has trained more than 9,000 plumbers in more than 300 classes in the US and Canada, and has been a WaterSense promotional partner since 2008. Meanwhile, QWEL has trained more than 700 landscaping professional in just a few short years and now has 11 sub-certifying organizations in five states. Visit Booth 214 in the WSI 2014 Expo Hall to learn more about these programs, or check out www.gpqwel.org for more information.
Innovative process licenses acquired by CNP
CNP-Technology Water and Biosolids Corporation (CNP), a newly formed wastewater treatment technologies provider, has acquired the exclusive worldwide patent licensing for AirPrex® from P.C.S. GmbH (Hamburg, Germany). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. CNP North America will operate out of its headquarters in Kenosha, WI, with additional facilities in Hamburg and Chengdu, China. The company’s flagship technology, AirPrex, is a sludge optimization process that recovers the high-phosphate mineral struvite after anaerobic digestion but before the dewatering process, thereby saving significant operating and maintenance costs, while adding a revenue source for municipal utilities and treatment plants.
NSF in the news
NSF International has acquired the laboratory portion of Jana Laboratories Inc., an engineering consulting and laboratory testing firm serving the global water and plastic pipe industries. The 14-person laboratory staff and 20,000-square-foot laboratory in Aurora, Ontario will be renamed NSF Janalab and become part of NSF’s global network of ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. NSF Janalab includes the 4,000-square-foot Advanced Pipe Test Facility II, which has the largest oxidative-resistance, stress-testing capacity in the world, as well as significant hydrostatic performance stress-testing capacity. Jana will retain the consulting and training portion of its business under the name Jana.
NSF International has developed the first American National Standard that validates the effectiveness of water treatment devices that are designed to reduce trace levels of emerging contaminants in drinking water. NSF/ANSI 401: Drinking Water Treatment Units–Emerging Compounds/Incidental Contaminants addresses the ability of a water treatment device to remove up to 15 contaminants from drinking water. Types of contaminants include some pharmaceuticals, OTC medications, herbicides, pesticides and chemicals used in manufacturing, such as bisphenol A (BPA). NSF has certified 56 products to the new standard at varying levels, providing home water treatment options to consumers concerned about these contaminants. The first manufacturers to achieve this certification for one or more of their water treatment devices include 3M Purification Inc., Access Business Group LLC, Amway China Co., Aquasana Inc., Electrolux Home Products, Everpure LLC, General Electric Company, Kaz USA Inc., Kemflo/ Filbur and Whirlpool Corporation.
Latin America
Bluewater partnership in Mexico announced
Swedish water purification technology company Bluewater announced a new partnership with Pure Water Technology, a leading supplier to the Mexican catering industry. Pure Water Technology is the first official distributor of Bluewater’s innovative, second generation RO water purifiers. In addition, Bluewater announced it has taken over full worldwide distribution of spare parts from September 1 onwards for its residential and light-commercial water purifiers. In late 2012, Blueblue AB acquired and integrated two water purification product lines: consumer brand Cleone and the Direct Flow water purifiers from Dometic AB. Bluewater’s second-generation SuperiorOsmosis™ water purifiers have now been successfully launched in Europe, North America and China.
Europe
Water cooler market growing in Europe
West Europe’s water cooler market continued to grow by one percent in 2013, according to a new report from the sector’s leading specialist consultancy, Zenith International, with mains water coolers coming closer to overtaking bottled coolers. The number of POU mains water units grew by four percent last year, while there was a one-percent decline for bottled water cooler numbers. Bottled water coolers claimed a 57-percent share of the 2.8 million total, down from 58 percent in 2012. POU gained further popularity and appears to be heading towards a share ultimately beyond 50 percent. The UK retains the lead for water cooler installations, with 24 percent of the total, higher than in 2012. Italy and France also saw slight gains, at 17-percent and 15-percent shares respectively. Many other countries managed increases in the bottled cooler segment, but Portugal experienced a drop of seven percent.
Asia
New UV application center
UV treatment specialist Hanovia and the Industrial Division of US sister company Aquionics have launched a new UV Application Center in Shanghai, China. Serving as an R&D center of excellence for research into the science of UV for new and emerging applications worldwide, the center will directly support existing and future requirements in Aquionics’ traditional markets for food and beverage, pharmaceutical and high purity water. Working in collaboration with leading universities from around the world, such as Imperial College in the UK and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, as well as some leading global brands in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries, the center is already enhancing understanding of UV efficiency in the control and destruction of inorganic compounds.
