Young Water Professionals‘ Programme 2013

22.-26. April 2013

Berlin

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Content

SPONSORS 5

PARTICIPANTS: 6

REPORT OF GROUP 1: VISIT TO THE BERLIN WATER WORKS 8

1. INTRODUCTION 9

2. WATER FOR BERLIN 9

3. THE TEGEL WATERWORK 10

3.1 PROTECTION ZONE OF THE TEGEL WATERWORK 10

3.2 HOW TEGEL WATERWORK WORKS? 12

3.3 QUALITY CONTROL 20

REFERENCES: 22

REPORT OF GROUP 2: WATER MARKET IN MOROCCO* 23

EVALUATION OF THE WATER MARKET IN MOROCCO 25

NON-WATER SANITATION 27

DAREWADI – GARADE PROJECT 28

SEVADHAM TRUST – ADHIVASI ASHRAMSHALA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL 29

REPORT OF GROUP 3: YOUNG WATER PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE 30

1ST PRESENTATION: A GLANCE ON WATER CRISIS AND HWTS INDIA 32

2ND PRESENTATION: THE WATER-BACKPACK PAUL IN COLOMBIA 34

3RD PRESENTATION: PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF USING NON-CONVENTIONAL WATER FOR LANDSCAPE 35

4TH PRESENTATION PROPOSED TECHNOLOGIES FOR ON LOT SYSTEMS IN ALBANIA 37

5TH PRESENTATION: SYSTEM – (DEWATARS) MODEL IN RURAL AREAS IN EGYPT 39

6TH PRESENTATION: DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN RURAL AREAS IN MOROCCO 40

CONCLUSION 42

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REPORT OF GROUP 4 - “SPREE 2011” EXCURSION REPORT 43

RUDOLFSTRAßE PUMPING STATION 44

FRIEDRICHSTRAßE PUMPING STATION 46

SPREE 2011 PILOT PLANT 48

THE PILOT PROJECT 49

WHY FIBERGLASS PIPING IN THE SPREE RIVER? 51

REPORT OF GROUP 5 - “SCHAUSTELLE WASSER BERLIN INTERNATIONAL” EXCURSION 53

INTRODUCTION 54

WATER LINE AT WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT OF RUHLEBEN 55

SLUDGE LINE AT RUHLEBEN WWTP 57

PILOT SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT FOR PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL IN OWA - TEGEL 59

THE CONTROL AND INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WASTE WATER (LISA) 60

SUMMARY 62

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Sponsors:

Thank you for sponsoring the Young Water Professionals’ Programme and Lounge

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Participants:

1. Albulescu, Mirela Rumänien

2. Aleksieva, Ivayla Bulgarien

3. Anchidin, Alin Rumänien

4. Asenova, Venera Bulgarien

5. Bahja, Frida Albanien

6. Bogdanova, Mariya Bulgarien

7. Bueno Alves, Renata Brasilien

8. Cisarova, Lucia Slowakei

9. Dascalu, Oana Denisa Rumänien

10. Dohi Trepszker, Georgo Geza Rumänien

11. Dreghiciu, Vasile Ioan Rumänien

12. Dumitru, Marcela Gabriela Rumänien

13. Fontenla Razzetto, Gabriela Peru

14. Georgieva, Maya Bulgarien

15. Goshwami, Probir Kumar Bangladesch

16. Groza, Stephana-Madalina Rumänien

17. Guevara, Carlos Honduras

18. Gutauskas, Paulius Litauen

19. Hadzhiev, Kristian Bulgarien

20. Hategan, Mihai Rumänien

21. Hernandez Parrodi, Juan Carlos Mexico

22. Hortopan, Oana-Liana Rumänien

23. Husti, Mircea Stefan Rumänien

24. Katser , Maria Russland

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25. Lechwacki, Michal Polen

26. Marcu, Claudiu-Razvan Rumänien

27. Marossy, Zsolt Rumänien

28. Mitenkova, Liubov Russland

29. Moreno Del Aguila, Pedro Erdulfo Peru

30. Mowla Chowdhury, Rumman Bangladesch

31. Muntean, Mihai Rumänien

32. Ordonez, Jose Abdon Kolumbien

33. Ormandzhieva, Zlatina Bulgarien

34. Perez Sierra, Johanny Dominikanische Republik

35. Radomyski, Artur Polen

36. Rangelova-Stoycheva, Iskra Bulgarien

37. Rivera Villarreyes, Carlos Andres Peru

38. Sacaciu, Horia-Mircea Rumänien

39. Spasov, Spas Bulgarien

40. Spirovska, Sanja Mazedonien

41. Stoychev, Svetlin Bulgarien

42. Suvedi, Sukriti Nepal

43. Toth, Eszter Ungarn

44. Trendafilov, Deyan Bulgarien

45. Valenas, Darian Alexandru Rumänien

46. Vegh, Lea Ungarn

47. Villachica Llamosas, Eileen Marlene Peru

48. Villaverde Hernandez, Diego Peru

49. Zambo, Gabriel Rumänien

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Report of Group 1: Visit to the Berlin Water Works

Guide: Asenova, Venera Bulgaria

Anchidin, Alin Romania

Cisarova, Lucia Solvakei

Dohi Trepszker, Georgo Geza Romania

Georgieva, Maya Bulgaria

Guevara, Carlos Honduras

Marossy, Zsolt Romania

Suvedi, Sucriti Nepal

Trendafilov, Deyan Bulgaria

Vegh Lea Hungary

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1. Introduction

The Tegel water works was the one chosen by the YWP for the technical visit. It is

one of nine waterworks in Berlin for the water supply of the Berlin area. The visit

started with presentation and explanation of the processes involved in the

improvement of the raw and drinking water quality. After that we walk-around of the

facility, to better understand the working of the system.

2. Water for Berlin

The Berlin water works are divided into nine stations that are monitored and

controlled from a central control room in the Friedrichshagen waterworks. This control

station coordinate the work of the stations, therefore their safe operation is very

important. In order to decrease the chance of harmful attacks, the operating systems

of these centres are not connected to the internet.

The Berliner water work stations are responsible for the supply of around 3,7 million people

in and around Berlin. An average of 585,000m3 of drinking water per day is produced for

domestic households, industry and trade. A maximum of 1.14 million cubic metres per day

are possible. The waterworks operate in a grid. This is why the drinking water in the network

almost comes from several waterworks simultaneously. Even if a waterworks fails, this does

not result in a localised collapse of the water supply.

The pipeline network has a length of 7,891 kilometres and with 280,000 house

connections, 62,000 hydrants and 90,000 slide valves. Around 6300 km are water

mains with small diameter of 5 to 30cm. A length of 1,500 km of such pipes have a

diameter of up 1.40m.. Sixty-four present of the pipes are made of grey cast iron,

10% form steel , 12% from reinforced concrete, 13% form ductile cast-iron and 1%

are plastic and concrete pipes used for house connections.

The average age of piping in Berlin is 52 years. The oldest pipes are around 120 years. All of

them must have all the time a pressure between 6 – 7 bars. The average supply pressure in

the pipe grid lies between 4.5 and 5.5 bar. Buildings where a higher pressure is required

have their own pressure booster stations. Water towers with elevated tanks are no longer

operated in Berlin. The minimum pressure in every apartment is 2 bar.

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The pipe network is monitored and in case of a pressure drawdown due to leakages it can be

detected and repaired. The system is fully automated and monitored 24 hours a day all around

the year. Thanks to regular maintenance and scheduled replacement, this is

achieved with minimum losses.

3. The Tegel Waterwork

3.1 Protection zone of The Tegel Waterwork

Depending on the distance from the well, any use of the water or activities in or on

the water in the water protection areas are either completely prohibited or are

permitted only with special authorisation. The areas consist of three protection zones,

a wider protection zone (Zone III), a closer protection zone (Zone II) and the “well

head protection area” (Zone I)

Fig. 1 Protection zones

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Zone I: The well head protection area

This is an area with a width of 10 metres to both sides of a row of wells.

Forbidden:

Any form of use and any intervention in the upper soil

stratum, in particular any contamination in the immediate

vicinity of a groundwater extraction installation.

The only exceptions are maintenance work on wells or replacements of wells by Berliner

Wasserbetriebe.

Zone II: The closer protection zone

This zone covers a diameter of at least 100m around the wells. It serves to protect

the hygiene of the groundwater, and in particular as protection against pathogens,

i.e. contamination that could cause illness.

Forbidden:

Any form of use requiring the permanent presence of persons

and animals or that removes or destroys the upper soil stratum

This includes:

Construction or enlargement of buildings

Excavation work

Transport and storage of water contaminating fluids and of building rubble and refuse

Commercial animal husbandry

The use of natural fertilisers, as well as weed killers, pest control agents and

crop protection agents, and

The construction of camp sites, car parks and boat piers.

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Zone III: The wider protection zone

This zone protects the area within a radius of 2.5 km from the wells.

Forbidden:

Anything that could lead to the contamination or taste

impairment of the groundwater. This includes in particular

the discharge of wastewater, coolants and condensates

and also rainwater (except rainwater from roofs) into the

subsoil.

3.2 How Tegel Waterwork works?

The waterworks were put into the operation in 1877 when 23 wells were able to pump

43.000 m3 groundwater/day to the Berlin area. At this time, the pipeline was wooden,

made from tree trunk. Also nowadays these pipelines are found during the

reconstruction works.

Fig. 2 Tree trunk

Fig. 3 Scheme of Waterworks- from the well to the customers

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1) Deep wells

The raw and drinking water quality in the Beliner district is improved by the bank

filtration process. The bank filtration process is a natural cleaning process of the soil

that has as an aim the improvement of the untreated water without the use of

chemicals and energy. Berlin is in a very unique situation, as its geographical

characteristics are perfect to filter out contamination from the water on its way to the

groundwater reservoirs. The soil under Berlin is rich in clay and silt, which are

excellent purifying layers. In order to use the bank filtration the groundwater wells

must be established directly by the water body (e.g. in this case the Tegel lake) used

for the supply of drinking water. Approx. 800 deep wells are in operation for nine

waterworks. They are between 30m and 170m deep. These are mainly vertical and

they supply between 40m3 and 400m3 of raw water per hour. Two horizontal filter

wells can supply up to 1600m3 of raw water, per well, per hour. The water is pumped

and therefore the groundwater level has a drawdown resulting in a hydraulic gradient

that provokes a water flow from the river bed into the well as seen in Figure 4. As the

water moves through the soil the dirt and contaminants are filtered out and degraded

by means of natural physical, chemical and biological processes. It is important to

mention that the time this process lasts depends on the geological conditions of the

site and the distance from the wells to the river/lake bed (in Tegel it takes 50 days

since the water from lake reach the well). In the Tegel water work the groundwater

level is at approximately 70 meters below the surface therefore a relatively high water

table. The water flows from the Tegel Lake first through a 20 centimetre biologically

activate layer with is the responsible for the degradation of pathogen bacteria and

viruses, organic trace elements, algae toxins and pharmaceuticals (not fully degraded

by the water treatment plants). The bacteria in this biological layer have been tested

under laboratory conditions and the results show that there are able to degrade the

previously named agents.

Artificial bank filtration is also used in the Berlin water works. This basically consists

of extracting the water from the water body, giving some kind of pre-treatment and

then into artificial lakes for infiltration. This can be seen in also in Figure 4.

In the case of the Tegel water works this is done with the water pumped from Tegel

Lake (the bank filtration), than the water is pre-treated on micro sieves and then

pumped into three artificial ponds situated close to the Tegel Lake. The reason this is

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done in such a way is to sustain the ground wet so, that the water level in the well will

not decrease and to have a better cleaning process.

Fig. 4 Schematic diagram of the bank filtration (2)

The pumping wells in the Tegel water works present a clogging of the wells screens

due to the content of iron in the water. (Fig. 5)

Fig. 5 Well

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The screens are buried in the soil therefore it is expensive to dig them out in order to

clean them. The process developed by the Berliner water works to solve this problem

was to induce a so to say turbulent flow (meaning in this case a water flow faster the

usual one caused by the hydraulic gradient between the lake bed and the wells) in

order to clean the filter screen. This is induced by an explosion caused in the Tegel

Lake. The process has result satisfactory and after several adjustments it does not

cause and damages to the screens as well as for the pumping equipment. In order to

measure the hydraulic conductivity inside and outside of the screen sensors are

located in both sides of it. This allows a detailed control of the screen in order to

prevent clogging. If the hydraulic conductivity inside is much less than the one

outside the screen is clogged (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6 Clogged well

With the time, incrustation is formed and solids are accumulated in the well. It cause,

that the water can hardly flow through aquifer, filter gravel and filter pipes. The pore

spaces are clogged, therefore the water level in well and the well yield decrease. The

cleaning process was developed by Berliner water works to solve this problem. The

object of the invention is a method which, by the introduction of explosive charges as

well as regeneration and treatment liquids, allows the effective regeneration and

prevention of horizontal and vertical wells. The detonation cause shock wave, which

provides elastic impulse on aquifer, filter gravel and filter pipes. Different elastic properties of

well parts, local geological structure and sediments lead to high contrast between the materials

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and cause a relative movement. The shock wave passes within microseconds the area of well,

loses the energy by reflexion and absorption and ends out of the well. The movement release

partially the deposits, but the chemicals are used to support the cleaning. The regeneration and

treatment liquids are dosed either before or during the explosion. As regeneration and

treatment liquids primarily organic and inorganic acids and their mixtures, mineral salts and

phosphate solutions are used.

The dissolved incrustations together with regeneration and treatment fluids are then removed

from the well until the purity of water is reached. The chemicals act during the whole way to the

surface and help to clean all the pipelines.

The amount of explosives and regeneration and treatment liquids needed vary from filter

diameter, conditions of filter lines and the age of well. The number of explosion cycles and

doses of cleaning liquids is dependent on characteristic of the well. (source 4, google patents)

2) Aeration system

The next step of the process is the aeration of the water which is and oxidation

process. This is a standard process in the drinking water supply process in which the

water is exposed to oxygen for iron and manganese removal. Raw water does not

contain any free oxygen, therefore it is sprayed through nozzles in aeration chambers

or passed over overfalls so that it can absorb oxygen in the air and replenish itself.

(Fig. 7)

Fig.7 Aeration

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Fig.8 Aeration

3) Reaction tanks

Once it undergoes this process it goes into sedimentation basins that allow the iron

floccules to sediment. Raw water contains dissolved iron and manganese. These

elements chemically react with oxygen in the water and form flocs, which then settle

to the bottom of the reaction thanks. It takes 15 to 60 minutes for water to undergo

this settling process. The area for flocculation is 87 square meter and 0.8-2.2 mm

particle size are removed in the tank. It takes 2-3 months to build up an appropriate

iron-oxidizing bacteria layer in the filtering sand, only after this period can it be used

for filtrations. During usage the sand is cleaned every 10 days to optimize efficiency.

4) Rapid filter system

The remaining iron flocs and manganese are removed from the water in the rapid

filter system. This takes places in filter tanks that have 2 metre thick sand filter (Fig.8)

. If the sand gets clogged it can be flushed clean with air and water.

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Fig. 9. Filter Tanks

5) Clean Water Tanks

Raw water is now clean water and is stored in clean water tank. Relatively consistent

quantities of water are extracted from the wells. Drinking water consumption

fluctuates depending on the time of a day and day of the week. The clean water

thank is therefore only a storage facility but also serves to meet fluctuating supply

needs and balance demand.

One very interested way of controlling the presence of and toxic substances in the

Berlin water works is via a toxic measuring device in fish tank. This is a real-time

toxicity sensor system, based on the fact that fishes are more sensitive to

contamination that human, therefore harmful substances can be detected already at

very low concentrations. The way it works is that a certain number of fish swim in a

fish tank filled with the water that is going to be sent into the pipe network. If the

fishes detect a harmful substance they normally swim faster. The fish movement is

detected by using infrared detectors that measure in units of fish/impulse/minute and

when a certain threshold is exceeded a signal indicated a possible contamination of

the water.

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At our visits the average movement of the fishes were 13-18 imp/fish/min, the alarm

limit is 40imp/fish/min. The fishes are changed in every 6 months to ensure similar

age and stress levels. Since the use if these system, only once has the alarm raised:

the feeding system of the fishes broke down, which resulted in their change of usual

behaviour . In case of alarm, the water pumps are stopped at once, and water

samples are analyzed, until the reason is detected. As there are nine stations

altogether, it causes no problem, if one of them does not operate for 2-3 days, until

the analysis is done.(Fig. 10)

Fig 10. Fishes and Control Display

After this the water is sent to the pipe system through pumping station.

6) Pumping stations

Pumping station contains clean water pumps which are driven by electric or diesel

motors. 10% of the energy required by the pumps are generated by photovoltaic cells

in the case of Tegel water works. This guarantees a steady supply of water, even in

case of blackout. Eight pumps driven by electric motors with delivery rates between

1,250 and 4,000 m3 per hour and a pressure of 5.8 to 6.2 bar. Two emergency

power generators ensure the operation of the waterworks in the event of failure of the

public supply grid.

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Fig 11. Pumps

3.3 Quality control

The water is permanently monitored at every point in the drinking water cycle – in the

soil, in the wells, in the waterworks and in the transport pipelines.

The water is inspected even before it reaches the wells in the depths of the ancient river valley

sand. Further samples are taken directly at the individual wells. As soon as the groundwater

reaches the surface, these samples are taken. This is important in order to ensure that no

chemical and biological impairments necessitate any quality assurance interventions. In the

transport lines to each waterworks, several samples are also taken per week as a routine

measure.

Disinfection using chlorine, ozone or UV light is therefore superfluous. The Tegel

Waterworks use only disinfection by chlorine.(Fig.11)

In order to ensure that this high quality is not impaired en route to the consumer, for

example as a result of construction work or leaks in the pipe grid, monthly samples taken

from 180 points on customers’ premises are examined routinely. In addition, every newly

laid or modernised pipeline is only connected to the grid when the analysis results from the

laboratory confirm that the water is bacteriologically safe.

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Fig 12. Disinfection by chlorine

The quality of the water is checked via 15,000 samples per month in various parts of

Berlin. According to the measurements, the quality of the water in Berlin is very good,

its Nitrate, lead, Sodium, Sulphate, Chloride content is well below the limit values of

the European Union and Germany (table of the limits, Berlin water amounts). Thanks

to the bank filtration process, the water is usually not disinfected by chloride, its

usage is limited after maintenance works or pipe breaks.

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Fig13.Quality of drinking water from Tegel waterworks, annual average values for 2012. (source 5)

4. Conclusion

The visit to The Tegel Waterworks was so exciting and we learn a lot of thing about

purification of groundwater.

References:

1.http://www.bwb.de/content/language2/html/1107.php

2. http://ressourcewasser.fona.de/reports/bmbf/annual/2010/nb/English/404010/2 4 01-

3 Berliner Wasserbetriebe n.d. Water for Berlin clear water-clear information. Leaflet

to visitors.

4 http://www.google.com/patents/EP1143076B1?cl=de&hl=sk

5 http://www.bwb.de/content/language1/downloads/WW Analysedaten 2012.pdf

http://www.bwb.de/content/language2/html/1107.phphttp://ressourcewasser.fona.de/reports/bmbf/annual/2010/nb/English/404010/2http://www.google.com/patents/EP1143076B1?cl=de&hl=skhttp://www.bwb.de/content/language1/downloads/WW

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Report of Group 2: Water Market in Morocco*

Guide: Gutauskas, Paulius Litauen

Albulescu, Mirela Romania

Dreghiciu, Vasile Ioan Romania

Katser, Maria Russia

Lechwacki, Michal Poland

Muntean, Mihai Romania

Ordonez, Jose Abdon Colombia

Perez Sierra, Johanny Dominican Republic

Rangelova-Stoycheva, Iskra Bulgaria

Villachica Llamosas, Eileen Marlene Peru

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This presentation was done by Dipl.-Ing. Marcel Salazar, Senior Vice President of

Lahmeyer GKW Consult. This is an international consulting company with more than

50 years of experience on waste water collection and treatment and also, in solid

waste treatment. As the speaker indicated this company is member of the German

Water Partnership.

The experience of this company in Morocco includes the design and implementation

of sanitation services for 12 medium and small towns. Also, the company has be

related in the improvement of water supply and telemetry systems.

In Morocco the Water situation is like this: 72% of the population is connected to

sewer systems but only 20% to Waste Water Treatment Plants. 96% of the

population is connected to public water network, while only 43% of the rural

inhabitants are connected to the public water network.

The problem this company found during the execution of projects in Morocco is that, it

cannot deal with rural small projects since they are not profitable. The major issues of

the water market in Morocco indicate that there is an increase on water demand due

to increase in urbanization, industrial activities and irrigation in agriculture; also, the

water resources are scarce and not equally distributed. Finally, there is also a

problem with appropriate infrastructure

Natural conditions and impact on water resources

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Some strategic choices identified by Lahmeyer GKW are: 1. Use of non- conventional

resources, like desalination and waste water reuse, 2. save water through demand

management, 3. Management of hydraulic infrastructure, and 4. Water resources

protection. The main market drivers found were, among others: 1. there are water

stressed regions, which are also vulnerable to climate change, 2. Increase of prices

for oil and food, 3. Closeness to Europe, 4. Combination of Know-how with the local

and consulting company

Worldwide project experience

It was a very interesting presentation. Participants were in contact with experts in the

field and learnt from the experiences of the speakers in Morocco and throughout the

world.

Evaluation of the water market in Morocco

This presentation, shown on 23 April 2013 within the scope of conference The Key

Market Aspects Of Water Management in Arab Countries – Water Market Morocco,

was made by Mr Wiedemann from the AHK Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer

in Morocco.As an introduction, listeners could get to know basic information about

this company. In Morocco, the AHK is since 1997 in Casablanca with about 370 co-

workers. In last years, the biggest impact on situation in this country had the Arabic

Spring. As a results of these actions, there are good conditions for human rights, it is

impossible to take control by other people (solid politic situation), but there are also

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many problems. There have been put into practice many national programmes to

modernize water market, however there is a lot of to do. In Morocco there is not

many opportunities to trade and many big challenges are in front of this country now

and in the future e.g., reform of subsidity, tasks for household and even discussion

about petrol price growth.

In Morocco there is about 11 bn m3 of surface water and 2,7 bn m3 of ground water

which are used in 20% to household and industrial purposes and 80% is for green

watering. This amount of water is counted as a renewable resource. It is projected

that in 2020 year, water demand for watering aim would grow from 11,5 bn m3 to

about 13,0 bn m3 (area of watering about 1,26 bn ha). What is more, water is a

source of energy – capacity of energy is on level 1 700 MW, this is almost 10% of

national energy demand. Morocco is characterized by many factors which make

much more troublesome management of resources. Changes of climate, people

migration and its growth (till 2025 from 7 to 10% will live in cities), development of

industry and services, especially tourist e.g., swimming pools, golf fields. What is

more, there is a problem with ground erosion, conditions of forests (faster and faster

deforestation), depletion of ground water resources etc. There is also a problem with

people awareness how to conserve water.

Water sector in Morocco has many units e.g., companies, offices which help to

improve this part of national economy what has an impact on water system. This one

is divided – there are four parts: licences (37% of population), urban offices (32%),

national office of water issues (28%) and 3% are for other groups. However,

everybody has not an access to water from systems. Quality of wastewater is worse

and worse. There is a lack of effective methods of wastewater treatment. In Morocco

it is an idea to create a sewage removal system for 80% of population till 2020 year

(90% till 2030 year) – one hundred of wastewater plants are built at the moment, but

only 20% of wastewater are collected. Actually, from this volume, there is only 20% of

wastewater recycled and reuse.

There is any effective tariff in Morocco which would help to gather money and make a

balance between costs, income and expenditure. Money are gained from subsidies

and international help.

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Morocco has many problems which will growth in the future. Uncontrolled

development of agglomerations, high level of water losses and lack of technical,

economic and social knowledge of water supply and sewage removal systems’

management. People should know how to conserve water, treat wastewater and start

to use much more reliable techniques which would be friendlier for themselves and

environment.

Non-water sanitation

As nowadays there are 2.5 billion people who do not have access to sanitation, the

goal of the Organisation Non-Water Sanitation is to raise people’s awareness on

problems related to this field and to find and implement more sustainable and

efficient solutions for the sanitation problems, with a particular interest for India where

this issue adversely affects the life and well-being of the inhabitants (809 million

people live without sanitation).

What best describes their work is “the process of managing information and

knowledge strategically to change and/or influence policies and practices that affect

the lives of people – particularly the disadvantaged”.

The proposed alternative is the concept of ecological sanitation (ecosan) which could

prove more appropriate for some areas, if the resources contained in excreta and

wastewater were recovered and used (i.e., as fertilizers for the agriculture) rather

than discharged into the water bodies and the surrounding environment. This type of

sanitation eliminates the need of water, ensuring at the same time a high level of

sanitation and the proposed technology in the urine diverting dry toilet (UDDT) which

prevents urine, faeces and water from mixing together, protecting thus water from

pollution.

In order to prove the feasibility and

sustainability of this idea, some pilot

projects were implemented in India,

namely the project in Darewadi and

the project for Adhivasi Ashramshala

Residential School, located 70 km

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Northwest of Pune and run by Sevadham Trust.

Garade is a rural settlement located 26 km South of Pune, divided into four hamlets,

one of them being Darewadi accommodating 75 families, out o which only 26 have

toilet system. The remaining 49 families still do open defecation as they do not have

enough water to flush the faeces and do not dispose of the technologies and money

to establish toilet systems.

One of their demarches in achieving their purpose is volunteer bike riding organised

with under the flag of Guts for Change team, who travelled from Berlin to India to

raise attention to and donations for their dry toilet project in Garade. At the same

time, the organisation cooperates with different types of stakeholders, including

governmental agencies and international partners, that help solving the sanitation

problems from a multifold perspective, including training, design and implementation

of sanitation systems, demonstration, networking, promotion and awareness raising

activities

Darewadi – Garade project

To date, through the Ecosan

Services Foundation 18 more

contracts were signed for the

UDDT with the families in the

region and 10 contracts will be

signed in the near future.

The Organisation Non-Water

Sanitation stick to their purpose

trying to equip the whole village

with sanitation, inform people about hygiene, impart the knowledge about the using of

sludge and urine as a fertilizer for the agriculture, increase the income of the

inhabitants by keeping them safe from water caused illnesses.

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Sevadham Trust – Adhivasi Ashramshala Residential School

Apart from the problems related to the sanitation installations, the school faced

another stringent problem, as it had not enough drinking water

The purpose of the project is to supply dry toilets to the Adhivasi Ashramshala

Residential School till June 2013, building 16 UDDTs in order to implement a

complete sustainable sanitation project based of the cooperation of multidisciplinary

experts

(experience of German and India engineers and architects).

The first step is to plan a toilet

house for 500 children, so there will be one single construction with eight toilets for

girls, six for boys and two for their teachers, all with ventilation pipes, hand wash

basins, mirrors, lockable doors, urinals with screens, a stable roof construction, toilets

for disabled persons and enough capacity of soaps, bins and other hygiene stuff.

The second step consists of education on hygiene and sanitation topics, by means of

participatory programs like My School Loo, Fit for School, Chast (Children’s hygiene

and sanitation training) and also through surveys, hand wash programs and

menstrual hygiene management.

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Report of Group 3: Young Water Professional Conference

Guide: Bahja, Frida Albania

Bueno Alves, Renata Brazil

Dascalu, Oana Denisa Romania

Goshwami, Probir Kumar Bangladesh

Hadzhiev, Kristian Bulgaria

Hategan, Mihai Romania

Mitenkova, Liubov Russia

Radomyski, Artur Poland

Sacaciu, Horia-Mircea Romania

Villaverde Hernandez, Diego Peru

31

Young Water Professional Conference was held on 26 April 2013, during Trade Fair

Wasser Berlin International, and it had as main topic "Household Water Treatment

and Safe Storage".

This is a big challenge in nowadays in many countries all over the world, especially in

developing countries, that are in lack of investments for drinking water and

wastewater treatment plants. The slogan of this Conference was inspired by the

statistics of World Health Organization as follows: " Every year there are 2 million

diarrheal deaths related to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene — the vast majority

among children under 5. More than one billion people lack access to an improved

water source."

Water is a basis of all life. Water is an invaluable product which can't be replaced

with something other. Without water we can live not more than five days! And it's a

known fact that the quantity of water on a planet Earth is constant. The problem is

that on a planet stocks of pure drinking water are constantly reduced. It happens with

a growth of population and respectively increasing of volume of water consumption.

About 80% of all diseases in countries are connected with contamination of drinking

water.

What can we do?

How can we solve it in certain conditions?

We believe that we have a change, as long as there are people in the world,

including here the Young Water Professionals, that are thinking about the global

importance of water issues and that are willing to give their contribution on solving

this problems.

The conference is addressed at this countries trying to bring as a solution the

household water treatment, to improve the drinking water quality and to treat the

wastewater. The main topic of the discussions was the problem of polluted water.

32

Many people in developing countries get their drinking water from polluted rivers or

lakes. For these people household water treatment can improve the drinking water

quality and reduce the number of diarrheal diseases.

the right to access drinking water and that is a an important challenge especially in

developing countries.

The Conference started at 9:30 with a presentation of Almas Haider, from Berlin,

Germany. It continued with the presentations of Jose Abdon Ordonez from Kassel,

Germany, Hana Baddad from Amman, Jordan, Frida Bahja from Tirana, Albania and

Sherif Mohamed Ismail Roshdy from Cairo, Egypt. After each presentation, questions

were addressed to each presenter. Below we a short description is given for each

presentation.

1st Presentation: A glance on water

crisis and HWTS India – A study on

Delhi by Almas Haider, Berlin, Germany

India is fast becoming urbanized and Delhi

city, with approx. 17 million people is the

second most populous city in the country. The growing population is adversely

affecting natural resources and environment.

Water resources in India are extensively

exploited, which has become a big social and

environmental issue. India is also facing the challenge of climate change and global

warming which are pressurizing the issue of water.

Delhi’s urban slums are served with water through common facilities, unsafe

extractions and temporary arrangements e.g. tankers. The municipal authorities

provide poor slum settlements with the most basic of sanitation services including

community toilets, open and shallow street-side drains for household wastewater

disposal and a limited solid waste collection service, resulting in polluted surface

waters and contaminated or depleted groundwater. Presented data show highly

Fig. 1. Percentage of cases of particular waterborne diseases.

33

uneven distribution of water among Delhi’s

districts. No-water-supplied areas are

predominantly JJ slums, urbanized villages and

unauthorized colonies like Mehrauli Area where

average water availability equals 29 lpcd. This

contradicts significantly with other Delhi’s areas

like Delhi Contonment with average water

availability of 509 lpcd. Unhygienic

environmental conditions in these settlements

together with Ill-balanced water supply structure

create numerous negative outcomes. Roughly 70 % of all health issues are

waterborne diseases with the prevailing percentage of diarrhea and skin/eyes

infections (Fig.1.). Decrease

in education level and earnings are another aspects attributable to poor water

condition.

Bacteriological test conducted by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 2012

showed that almost 70 % of lifted tap water samples have failed to meet

requirements for drinking water. These results highlight the need for actions to

improve water quality in Delhi. Application at households level of simple, cost

effective solutions like boiling water, chlorination, solar water disinfection (performed

by exposing containers with water to sunlight while storing), water purifiers or use of

bottled water can be given as an example of such measures.

As concluding remarks regarding handling with water crisis in Delhi the

following is pointed out: bridging the gap between actual needs and current status of

water sanitation in Delhi. There is a chance to achieve this by providing cost effective

solutions but in order to address the most urgent needs in Delhi the cooperation from

government, industry, NGOs and Academia is required.

34

2nd Presentation: The water-backpack PAUL in Colombia: Comparison

with other technologies and challenges for its application as a small-

scale water supply system for remote rural communities by Jose A.

Ordóñez, Kassel, Germany.

Colombia, in between other countries, has a lack of

improved water sources in urban and rural

disparities. Its average ranges from 50-75% of

drinking water coverage in the rural areas (that

represents 25% of the country population). The

true values can be even smaller, being masked by

the government.

Some unimproved water supply is made by cart

with small tank/drum, tanker-truck or directly

surface water extraction. While improved solutions

used include POU and POE technologies.

Challenges in the treatment now include protozoa and bacteria, virus, NOM, nitrate,

etc. As already known, ultra and micro membrane (UF and MF) filtration could be

used to eliminate some of these in the filtrate.

A portable ultra-low pressure MF (ULP-MF) and a ULP-UF are proposed as solution

in such applications as POU, POE, and/or emergency. It is named Portable Aqua

Unit for Lifesaving (PAUL). The current model of PAUL has the possibility of treating

1200 l/day of water, enough to supply 400 people in emergency situations. With ideal

usage it eliminates 99.999% of the bacteria and 99.9% of the viruses from the raw

water.

PAUL weights 20kg, making it easy to transport to remote villages and the operation

is simple. It works with gravity, without any use of other energy/force.

PAUL was tested in different scenarios in Colombia such as: different rural

communities; different operating and maintenance conditions; following up

operational parameters under realistic usage (flux, water quality, and membrane

cleaning). Samples were collected almost every 2 months (total of 4 samples) and

35

maintenance was made once or twice per month by back-flushing, and by chemical

cleaning after 8 months.

Raw water from wells (high conductivity, hardness, and alkalinity levels), Jagüeyes

(high turbidity, color, NOM, and cyanobacteria), and from tanker-truck were used.

Results showed for turbidity and color, decays to 1% and 12% from the raw water to

the filtrate, respectively. Nitrate itself had a decrease to 27% from the total measured

amount in raw water. And bacteria were completely eliminated during the filtration.

There was reducing from 3,000 l/day to 201 ± 9 l/day (before maintenance) in the end

of the experimental period of 8 months.

A clay filter in the same situation reduces the turbidity to 1.4% from the initial value

and eliminated the bacteria with circa 99.9%. But it also has 20% of the useful life

than PAUL (10 years) and the filtration rate is 10 times smaller.

In summary, PAUL has been used not only as a fast response solution during

disasters or emergencies, but also as a household water treatment for remote rural

areas worldwide; this ULP-UF module can potentially be part of a water treatment

train for small and remote villages worldwide. Further improvements could be made

with pre and post treatment processes.

3rd Presentation: Public Acceptance of Using Non-Conventional Water for

Landscape: The case of Amman, Jordan by Hana Baddad, Amman,

Jordan.

Jordan is an Arab kingdom located in

The Middle East, north west of Saudi

Arabia and south of Syria. The western

part of the country receives greater

precipitation during the winter season

from November to March and snowfall

in Amman. In general, the farther inland from the Mediterranean a given part of the

country lies, the greater are the seasonal contrasts in temperature and the less

rainfall.

36

Jordan is ranked among the ten poorest countries in the world in terms of water

resources, and its water scarcity is increasing, especially in Amman, which has the

highest population density of 2,385,594 people living in 1680 km2 as it is the

concentration of development in the country. Water demand for the population is

continually increasing mainly because the population is increasing very rapidly due to

birth rates, increasing life expectancy and large scale immigration from neighboring

countries due to the political situation of the region.

Urban expansion in Amman has occurred in relatively short time, and this has

affected the quality of life and water resources for people living in the city. Therefore,

Jordan urgently seeks sustainable management practices to conserve water, one of

these methods is to use non-conventional water source on household level. This

could be done by implementing efficient systems for rain water harvesting or grey

water. This study examines acceptance of Amman’s people regarding implementing

rain water harvesting system or grey water system; its barriers and opportunities, the

role of main stakeholders, landscapers, and experts. This was achieved by two

different interviews with gardens owners and experts. Results showed that around

31% of gardens owners accept and have the potential to implement rainwater

harvesting systems while only 15% are interested of using grey water system.

Grey water, or sullage, is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as

laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as

landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Grey water differs from water from the

toilets which is designated sewage or black water to indicate it contains human

waste. Therefore one of the essential toward achieving sustainable water use is to

reduce the unrestricted water use for landscape in Amman. Results also showed that

landscape experts has implemented within last three years twenty projects of

gardens which use the non-conventional water sources for irrigation : twelve of them

depended totally on rainwater harvesting system and the other eight depended totally

on grey water system for irrigation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastewaterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructed_wetlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_(waste)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_wastehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_waste

37

In 2002 MWI (Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation) established the Water

Demand Management Unit to be responsible for promoting water conservation and

raising public and private sector awareness regarding water use efficiency, proposing

measures such as : promoting the use of non-conventional water sources such as

grey water and rain water harvesting, developing and implementing regulations to

ensure the adoption of water-wise landscaping principles for efficient landscape

water use in all gardens and a continuous educational and public awareness

campaign. It was found that the idea of using non-conventional water is socially

accepted. However, lack of awareness and knowledge regarding it were determined,

therefore cooperation between all ministries, associations and engineers should be

enacted to achieve the best awareness practice that people can interact with.

4th Presentation Proposed Technologies for On Lot Systems in Albania

by Frida Bahja, Tirana, Albania. Co-author: Enkelejda Gjinali, Tirana,

Albania.

Albania has a population of 3 million inhabitants

and more than the half of the population lives in

the villages and in the rural areas. Nearly 1.7

million people do not connect to the sewage

collection network and 0.7 million of them live in

municipalities outside the service area of water

supplies. Even the population that is inside the

service area of water supplies, is not totally

connected to the sewerage network.

Therefore, as solution in this rural areas would be

the treatment with Small Scale WWTP depending

on the size of the agglomeration, or with on lot systems. Today, Albania has a

national plan to implement sixteen (14) centralized WWTP that will serve the most

urbanized areas of the country (approximately 2.4 million inhabitants).

38

Donors along with MPWT have been a driving force in stressing the need to make

wastewater treatment a high priority, particularly along the more densely populated

coastal areas of the country, that are a key economic driver of Albania’s tourist

industry.

However, Albania has also worked to emphasize the need to address wastewater

treatment in less populated areas with communities of 500 to 10.000 inhabitants,

which have not been included in the mid-term national plan for the implementation of

wastewater treatment due to high investment costs for centralized systems, high

operating costs, and low local capacities to operate and maintain the treatment

technologies. According to the four administrative levels in Albania, the respective

number of administrative units is indicated for each of them as follows:

(12) Qark or Prefecture (highest level),

(36) District,

(308) Communes and (65) Municipalities,

(2.980) Villages and (72) Towns.

In the countrywide there are 3.052 settlements (72 towns plus 2.980 villages). The

villages with < 200 inhabitants are the highest percentage of the villages which

speaks of a considerable number of abandoned housed by population because of the

emigration/immigration for a better life conditions . Giving a special importance to this

issue, the government of Albania despite the treatment in agglomerations >10.000. is

working on the solution for sanitation even at small scale. A draft of the guideline for

on lot systems is being prepared by the specialist of the field, will be part of the

National Technical Standards. In the guideline are proposed 6 low-cost technologies

as the most adequate technologies for the conditions of Albania. In addition, for each

of them are given specifics related with the technical design, implementation,

operation and maintenance. Albania will be the first country in Balkans Region to

have such technologies available on the National Technical Standards represented

as a low.

39

5th Presentation: System – (DeWaTARS) Model in Rural areas in Egypt by

Sherif Mohamed Ismail Roshdy, Cairo, Egypt.

The provision of sanitation services for rural areas in

adequate conditions of quality and coverage is a

challenge for many countries because they must

overcome economic, social, environmental, legal and

technical obstacles. Egypt is not an exception.

In order to solve the sanitation problem in rural areas in

Egypt, Sherif Roshdy (El Cairo, Egypt) proposes the

development and implementation of a micro

decentralized model applying the Decentralized

Wastewater Treatment and Recycling Systems

(DeWaTARS) approach. It differs in three ways from

other international approaches: (i) It adopts the idea of wastewater treatment and

recycling without favoring one method over the other; (ii) It tailors the process

according to the need; and, (iii) It incorporates the model of centralized management

in decentralized wastewater systems.

The Egyptian experience in the micro decentralization seems to be quite limited up

until today due to some difficulties of constructing decentralized sanitation system

such as financing, land availability, attitude of villagers regarding sharing

responsibilities and government employees were against changes (Eisels T., 2011).

This motivated the search for a new model and DeWaTARS might be the best option

because it has the ability to adapt to the rural housing environment in Egypt and

overcome the management problem through identifying a proper management entity.

However, the author suggests that is important to consider the following aspects to

implement the DeWaTARS in the best way:

40

a) The management entity must be characterized by the following standards: steady

legal status, independence, affiliations, ability and integration.

b) The Rural Sanitation Unit (RSU) will be the core of DeWaTARS model. The main

reason to choose RSU is that being part of the Holding Company for Water and

Wastewater in Egypt will help to overcome the legal aspects and add the power of

law to the management process.

c) Develop a management program that considers planning, financing, installation,

operation and maintenance, and awareness. The target goal of the program is to

highlight rural community efforts to deal with public health and water recourses

d) Integration between social, cultural, environmental and economic conditions in the

target area is required in order to build a solid management strategy.

e) A new policy and framework are needed to justify strategies and identify

responsibilities.

f) Executive tools are needed by micro decentralization.

Finally, it should be noted that national and local government could support this

process by promoting wastewater reuse and providing information on best

management practices of wastewater.

6th Presentation: Decentralized Wastewater Treatment in Rural Areas in

Morocco – Catalog of Good Practices by Magdalena Feil, Cologne,

Germany.

Worldwide, an estimated of 2.6 billion people lack access

to sanitation. From these, Sub-Saharian, southern Asia

and Oceania regions have the lowest coverage. Here,

open defecation (e.g. rivers) increase the risk of

transmitting diseases like diarrhea and cholera. This also

41

increases environmental and water pollution and has economic and social

consequences.

Morocco, situated in northern Africa has 32 million inhabitants, with 42% living in rural

areas, 27% of these being considered poor. In these rural areas, only half of the

population has access to improved sanitation facilities, because of limited technical

and financial resources (e.g. no qualified personnel).

The goal is for the protection of water resources from pollution and to facilitate social

and economic development in Morocco’s rural areas. This can be done through a

decentralized wastewater management.

Because no appraisal of already existing decentralized solutions in Morocco, and no

catalog of suitable solutions in Morocco exist, the approach for achieving this goal

starts with reviewing existing catalogs on decentralized wastewater solutions. Also an

analysis of traditional wastewater treatment solutions and techniques implemented by

organizations or the government had to be done. This includes evaluation of 7

integrated decentralized treatment solutions, according to its affordability and

appropriateness. After this had been, an establishment of a decision guide was

made.

This compendium of decentralized treatment solutions for Morocco’s rural areas is as

following:

Pour Flush Toilet with subsequent Septic Tank and Cesspit

Composting Toilets

Waste Stabilization Ponds

Pour Flush Slab Latrines

Bathroom with UDDT, shower and Horizontal Subsurface Flow Constructed

Wetland

Agricultural Biogas Reactor

42

Anaerobic Biogas Reactor with subsequent Horizontal Subsurface Flow

Constructed Wetland

In elaborating a decision guide, two factors must be taken into consideration before

choosing a technology : affordability (Economical and financial issues) and

appropriateness (Health issues, impact to environment, technical characteristics,

social, cultural and gender). Therefore, all solutions must be assessed according to

these factors.

Conclusion

As safe water supply and sanitation is a issue and big challenge now a day in all over

the world, more economic and ecologic and reach to the door step technologies

needed for ensuring safe life of Human being. In the conference all the five

presenters come up with the concept of new technologies providing safe water and

sanitation in urban remote area. Ideas, descried din the presentation were more

connecting with the mutual participation of the audience by details discussion

session. It is quite obvious; the conference session will help the Young Water

Professions to enhance their knowledge in the water supply and sanitation filed.

Again, Prevailing situation in context of other parts of the world will help the

participant to adapt global ideas on their knowledge. At the same time the conference

was the platform to bring the professionals from different regions and culture and to

share their knowledge and ideas.

As a conclusion we want to thank the organizers for the high quality of the event and

for their hospitality that made our staying in Berlin very enjoyable. It was a great

experience to meet with people from different countries that share the same interest

about water issues. The Conference achieved its aim, since it created debate,

discussions and network between the participants.

43

Report of Group 4 - “Spree 2011” Excursion Report

Guide: Toth, Eszter Hungary

Bogdanova, Mariya Bulgaria

Fontenla Razzetto, Gabriela Peru

Groza, Stephana-Madalina Romania

Hernandez Parrodi, Juan Carlos Mexico

Marcu, Claudiu-Razvan Romania

Moreno Del Aguila, Pedro Erdulfo Peru

Spirovska, Sanja Macedonia

Stoychev, Svetlin Bulgaria

Zambo, Gabriel Romania

44

Rudolfstraße Pumping Station

At first we visited the pumping station located on Rudolfstraße, which was built in

1889 and was commissioned on July 3rd 1893, with two piston pumps powered by

steam with a pumping capacity of 160 l/second.

The pumping station was constituted of the machine house, the boiler house, the

official´s house and a shed. The wastewater was pumped to sewage farms at

Falkenberg and Hellersdorf.

In 1914 a Smithy and a Workshop where added to the boiler house.

Around 1928 the shed on the eastern side was rebuilt into an operations building.

Images 1 and 2. Pumping Station Rudolfstraße, Boiler- and Machine house around 1930.

Around 1933 the pumps where upgraded to function on electricity and diesel, and

there where added two new double piston pumps. In 1945 the pumping station

suffered war damage.

45

Image 3. Pumping Station Rudolfstraße, war damage 1945.

One year later, in 1946 the pumping station received two new centrifugal pumps an

two step horizontal one and a vertical one. In 1969 the pumping station was renewed

and it was switch to full electrical operation. In the same year another vertical

centrifugal pump was added.

In 1980 and 1992 two more centrifugal pumps where added, also in 1992 the

electrical system was renewed. The double piston pumps were undergoing a general

repair around the years 1995 and 1996.

Today there are still two piston pumps used in the Rudolfstraße pumping plant to

send the wastewater to multiple treatment plants of Berlin. There are still powered by

electrical motors and have been kept in a very good shape.

The electrical motors power a transmission belt which moves the piston shaft. The

pumps where modernized a bit, for example a temperature gauge was added to

determine the right amount of oil to lubricate the piston shaft. In the past the

temperature of the piston shaft was checked manually by putting the hand on the

shaft which was a dangerous thing to do. When the piston is drown back it aspirates

the wastewater into the pump, and when the piston is pushed forward it compresses

the water and sends it through pipes to a wastewater treatment plant of choice.

46

Image 4. Pumps.

The old workshop of the pumping station is still functional today and it is used to

repair old parts of the pumps when they break. The workshop has a lathe, an old

fashioned drilling machine, all powered by an electrical motor and the separate tools

are connected to this motor by transmission belts.

This old pumping station will go offline in this year, and will be turned in to a museum.

The reason of this decision is not because the pumping station is not energy efficient,

but because of it can’t be automated.

Friedrichstraße Pumping Station

They started 1893 on the historical important area a few hundred meters nearly the

first waterworks in Berlin built in 1892. It didn’t belong to a German company, but to

an English one. This station is for taking wastewater from the all the district of

Friedrichstrasse. We could appreciate very antique functioning pumps built during

1930´s. They now are able to work with a hard 150 l.

They really needed too much money to work during this period but the people just got

sick there, were a lot of epidemic and other diseases were common. This was due to

47

the fact that the wastewater was running in open channels straight to the streets. And

for a long time they didn’t know from where the epidemics came and in London they

found out to take out the water with pumps. Also, they figured out to take out their

drinking water just few meters next to the river bank. Another reason, is that Berlin

between 1960 -70 was the most stinky city in Europe. The problem was similar in

London, so they decide to close the channels.

The pump station VII at Lützowstraße is an example for a key wastewater pumping

plant dating back to the times of the construction of the first comprehensive sewage

system of Berlin. It was at the core of "Radial System VII", a system of canalization

which covered an area which stretched beyond the city limits of late 19th century in

Berlin, including adjacent suburban areas such as the northern part of what is now

the district of Schöneberg up to Grunewaldstraße, and the East of the Charlottenburg

district to "Bahnhof Zoo" railway station.

Pump station VII was built from 1881 to 1883. It consists of a boiler and engine

house, a residential building to house communal workers and two workshops, which

are still standing today.

The three pumps operated in the main building, a large hall that today houses the

restaurant. Until the 1930s, the complete plant was powered by steam engines.

Later, two of the three pumps were refitted to be electrically powered. The third

pump, which remained and is now at displayed in the restaurant, was equipped with

a large six-cylinder ship's diesel engine of 300 hp, build by MWM. Above this

machinery a hydraulic lifting platform was installed, capable of lifting up to 10 tons.

The diesel engine drove the gigantic flywheel. Connecting rods then drove the double

piston pump. In this way it became possible to pump wastewater over a considerable

distance uphill from the urban canalization system to the sewage farms of the remote

Ruhleben district.

Pump station VII was taken out of service in the 1970s. All pumps were dismantled

except for one, which was meticulously restored and listed as a historical monument.

They have the same system In London, Tokyo, Moscow.

48

Spree 2011 Pilot Plant

The second part of the excursion included a visit to the Pilot Plant Spree2011. The

project seeks to improve the water quality of the Spree river and to turn it into a river

with clean water and to enhance the return of flora and fauna, where people can

swim safely again. For achieving this goal, LURI watersystems GmbH, the

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) and Berlin Wasserbetriebe

have joined efforts to develop a system for storing the wastewater coming from the

canalization in Berlin during heavy rainfall events.

The problem

Although wastewater management has improved considerably in recent years and

many sources of pollution have been eliminated, there is still a persistent problem:

during heavy rainfall events the canalization system collapses, and therefore, a

mixture of polluted rainwater and wastewater flows into the Spree river. This happens

between 20 to 30 times per year, with consequences for human and ecosystems’

health. Until the 1970s, the wastewater was flowing directly into the river.

Conventional solutions for this problem were the construction of underground storm

water basins (made of concrete).

However, the main disadvantages of this system include:

Long planning time.

High costs.

Corrosion of materials.

It is under this scenario that the pilot project SPREE2011 arose as an alternative

solution.

49

The pilot project

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the

Foundation Zukunft Berlin. LURI water systems GmbH is in charge of the overall

project management and TU Berlin and Berlin Wasserbetriebe are project partners.

The total cost was of 1.5 million Euros. The model consists of a module of

interconnected tanks system which is installed directly in the waters off the point of

discharge of the sewage system. The facility is located below the water surface and

is anchored to the river bottom. If there is an overflow during a heavy rain event, the

system picks up the waste and saves it. After the rain, when the sewage system is

free again, the water stored in the tanks is pumped back.

The systems include: a pipe of fiberglass 12.19m long, with a diameter of 2.00 m and

a capacity of 38.82 cubic meters. The pipes can be filled with wastewater in only 10

minutes and be stored in the system for around 6 hours. After that time, the

wastewater is pumped back to the wastewater treatment plant in a process that lasts

5 hours. After the pipes are emptied, the system is cleaned automatically. However, it

is also possible to carry out the treatment process of the wastewater inside of the

system itself, and then discharge directly into the river. An air system prevents the

bad odors and it works very well under different conditions: waves, fast flowing water,

etc.

Advantages of this system are:

It can be self-financed.

Short planning time (approx. 1 year).

Short building time (approx. 6 months).

Cheaper than conventional methods (approx. 20% less).

The project will be on trial run for the first two years, after which it will be property of

Wasser Berlinbetriebe. It is estimated that 14 of these modules are needed in the

Spree to make it a suitable river for bathing and recreation activities inside of the

water.

50

Image 5. A usable space platform which can be used for installing gardens, camping sites or

bathing places.

Image 6. One of the 10 fiberglass columns installed 23 m deep into the Spree.

51

Why fiberglass piping in the Spree river?

Image 7. Installing process of fiberglass piping.

Dissolved organic carbon, sulphate, phosphate, ammonia and nitrate are the

principal parameters of the river Spree. Because of how aggressive can be the Spree

river´s water planners and project designers selected the fiberglass pipes as

appropriate technological alternative for this unique project.

For 30 years, some studies showed that conventional materials piping, may fail in a

matter of months, but a material that has demonstrated good fidelity and resistance in

this aggressive environment are fiberglass pipe.

Piping systems in industries subject to extreme corrosion, abrasion and heat.

Advantages of fiber pipes :

Excellent resistance to corrosion

Abrasion resistant

They have resistance to combustion gas mixtures

Uses of fiberglass pipe

Wastewater, drinking water, deionized water, boiler.

Water for firefighting.

Wastewater, demineralized water and deionized water.

52

Piping systems fiberglass are manufactured and tested under standards and norms

as:

1. ASTM D2996.

2. ASTM D2997.

3. AWWA M45.

4. Factory Mutual.

5. ASME / ANSI B31.1 "Power Piping".

Therefore, these systems have gained international recognition by ISO 9001:2000

53

Report of Group 5 - “Schaustelle Wasser Berlin International”

Excursion

Guide: Hortopan, Oana-Liana Romania

Aleksieva, Ivayla Bulgaria

Dumitru , Marcela Gabriela Romania

Husti, Mircea Stefan Romania

Mowla Chowdhury, Rumman Bangladesh

Ormandzhieva, Zlatina Bulgaria

Rivera Villarreyes, Carlos Andres Peru

Spasov, Spas Bulgaria

Valenas, Darian Alexandru Romania

54

Introduction

Young Water Professionals (YWP) is a Programme created by the International

Water Association (IWA) and takes place all over the world. IWA created the YWP

Programme to provide mechanisms to ensure that knowledge is not lost upon the

retirement of personnel.

The IWA YWP Programme provides a range of activities, services and initiative to

young professionals and students in the water and wastewater sector under the age

of 30. As well as engaging with YWPs, the YWP Programme also connects with

employers, academic institutions and other professional associations to ensure that

the future needs of the sector are understood and addressed and intergenerational

dialogue is created to form links between senior professionals of the sector and

professionals.

In Germany, the Young Water Professionals (YWP) Programme takes place once a

year – since 2001 – with around 50 young national and international engineers and

economists. It includes excursions, workshops, symposiums, seminars and

presentations by companies and different organizations. This year the 12th YWP

Programme was organised by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and

Waste (DWA) from 22th to 26th April 2013 in Berlin on the occasion of WASSER

BERLIN INTERNATIONAL.

Figure 1. Messe Berlin

Our group’s (Nr 5.) exercise was to write a report about the “Schaustelle Wasser

Berlin International” excursion. At the Ruhleben WWTP, the first place we visited, we

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noticed the steps that took place in the wastewater treatment process, such as the

mechanical and biological sewage treatment, biological phosphate elimination in

combination with nitrification and denitrification. After these processes the sewage

sludge is dewatered and burned in fluidised bed furnaces with down line waste heat

recovery and flue gas scrubbing. After visiting this water treatment plant we went to

the Reuter West power station where we were shown the treatment process of the

industrial water, through filtration and ultra filtration. The second treatment plant we

went to was the Schönerlinde wastewater treatment plant where we saw the four

steps of reducing the phosphorus compounds and sediments down to 0.01g/ m³.

Finally we’ve completed the tour by going to a main pumping station for waste water.

Water line at Waste Water Treatment Plant of Ruhleben

The technological scheme of WWTP of Ruhlenben includes mechanical treatment in

the inlet of the raw water, primary sedimentation and biological treatment with

removal of nitrogen and phosphorus.

For primary treatment, waste water which is pumped by the pumping stations

through pressure pipes to the waste water treatment plant, passes through the

mechanical treatment stage. Coarse solid materials such as paper, textiles, wood

and plastic are removed in the screening plants. Automatic rakes remove any waste

stuck on the screen. Then it is collected, dewatered in containers, and disposed of.

The waste water then flows through the gift chamber. It consists of long channels in

which coarse mineral solids such as sand, gravel and stones settle on the bottom of

the channels. These solid materials, which now are called grit, are pushed by

scrapers into hoppers and pumped into grid washing tanks. There, the grit is freed of

organic substances, dewatered and later disposed of.

In the primary sedimentation tanks the flow of the water is lower so that lighter,

undissolved substances can settle out at the bottom of the tanks. The floatable

particles are collected on the surface of the water. The primary sludge is pushed by

scrapers into sludge hoppers from where the sludge is pumped to the sludge

treatment plant. Floating materials on the water surface which mainly consist grease

and oil is removed by scrapers.

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Figure 2. Airial view of Ruhleben WWTP, Berlin, Germany

After that the mechanically treated water goes to the aeration tanks which are the

first stage of the biological treatment. In these tanks dissolved organic substances as

well as phosphorus and nitrogen compounds are degraded. The degradation is

carried out by bacteria and other microorganisms which form the aerated sludge.

The first part of the aeration tanks is free of oxygen (DE nitrification zone). This

stimulates bacteria to consume phosphorus compounds in the waste water in the

subsequent oxygen-rich zone of the aeration tanks (nitrification zone). The nitrogen

compounds are reduced by other bacteria, which are also exposed to changing

oxygen concentrations. In addition to biological phosphorus removal, simultaneous

chemical precipitation can be used if needed. In this case, the precipitant iron (II)

sulphate is added to the aeration tanks in a dissolved form. Iron (III) phosphate is

produced which then mixes with the biological sludge.

The wastewater then flows through the secondary sedimentation tanks (clarifiers).

Here the activated sludge has several hours to settle out. Afterwards, it is pushed

into hoppers and then mostly pumped back into the aeration tanks in order to

maintain a constant level of micro-organisms for biological treatment. Finally, any

excess sludge is passed on to the sludge treatment plant for further processing. The

clarified water goes from the tanks to the point of discharge.

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Sludge line at Ruhleben WWTP

Berliner Wasserbetriebe have continuously enhanced the treatment performance of

their wastewater treatment plants and hold a leading position worldwide in the use of

suitable technologies – all of which are developed in Berlin.

Figure 3. Ruhleben WWTP, Berlin, Germany

The Berlin’s Waste Water Treatment Plant at Ruhleben was established in 1963. At

1983 was the commission of the second stage of its extension. At the middle of the

80’s of the past century was committed the sludge dewatering and combustion step.

In the end of 1993 was committed and the last – the third extension. The latest

modernization of the plan was made in the end

of 1996 and the beginning of 1997.

At the largest of the Berlin’s six WWTPs –

Ruhleben waste water treatment plant, about

54 % of the total annual amount of waste

water sludge produced in the plant is used for

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generating electricity. This actually is happening since 2005 until now. The sludge is

first dried mechanically and then burned in fluidized-bed furnaces. The resulting heat

is used to generate steam in a boiler and this steam powers the condensing turbines

which drive the generators.

The sludge line in the treatment process of the

purified water consists of six centrifuges and

three fluidized bed furnaces.

The waste water sludge is dewatered with the

centrifuges and burned in the fluidized bed

furnaces with a temperature of 750° C and a

minimum combustion temperature of 850° C.

The thermal energy contained in the flue gas is used mostly for steam generation

and for preheating of the combustion air and the boiler feed water. The heat

contained in the flue gas from sludge incineration

is used to generate steam and to compress air

with steam turbine compressors, and to aerate

the activated sludge basins. Excess steam is

converted into electricity in a steam turbine

generator. At the end of the sludge treatment line

there is filter systems and a so-called "flue gas

scrubbing" plant that ensure no pollutants

emitted into the atmosphere by this process.

Figure 4. Ruhleben WWTP

visit – sludge burning

Electricity and heat from sewage sludge as an alternative source of energy makes

the future safer and helps for protection of the environment.

This unpleasant, smelly residue of waste-water treatment sludge is now becoming

increasingly important because biogas and energy can be obtained from sewage

sludge. The generation of energy from sludge method is really good implemented in

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the Berlin’s waste water treatment plants and gives quite good results. The Berliner

plant of Ruhleben is a real example how such water works should run to prevent the

environment and to be useful for the population from one side and on the other to

increase the efficiency by decreasing the operational costs of the plant itself.

Pilot Surface Water Treatment Plant for Phosphorus removal in OWA -

Tegel

OWA (Oberfläsche Wasseraufberetungsanlage) Tegel is treating the water of

Tegeler See. The plant is in operation since 1985.

A part of an interesting project is being realised at the moment - a pilot plant, that

has to find the most efficient treatment method for anthropogenic impurities removal

(phosphorus removal).

The plant is built in an old chlorination plant at OWA Tegel, that is no longer in

operation.

The method is illustrated on the photo below:

Figure 5. Pilot Surface Water Treatment Plant scheme

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In the main stream can be dosed Powdered Activated Carbon suspension or/and a

Precipitant, which are being mixed in a Static Mixer. Then the water is being taken to

a three stage Mixing Cascade in whose last chamber can also be dosed a

Flocculant. The surplus sludge from the chemicals is being removed by a Pump.

From there the water is being taken to a Settling Cyclone. By a Recirculation Pump

part of the settled sludge can be pumped back to the Cascade`s inlet. The final stage

of treatment is the double layer Rapid Sand Filters. The two layers could be

Anthracite- Sand, Pumice - Sand, also it is possible to be used Granular Activated

Carbon.

This way by combining different treatments and control of the system the most

efficient method will be chosen.

Figure 6. Rapid Sand Filters

The Control and Information System for Waste Water (LISA)

The sewer network in the city centre of Berlin is a mixed system as it collects both

rain water and waste water, but outside the capital it is a separated system. The

sewer network transports all the waste water to the pumping stations and therefore

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everything is pumped to the waste water treatment plants because there is no

channelling system that leads water directly to these plants. The length of Berlin’s

sewer network is of about 1.100 km.

The project of the Control and Information System for the Waste Water started in

2001 and in 2008 all the pumping stations began working.

All the pumping stations are equipped with a control informatical system which helps

connect them to the WWTPs and it gives the possibility to control the amount and

the direction of waste water towards the plants. There are 13 main pumping stations

connected to 13 servers through a telephone line.

There are 360 pumping stations in Berlin and a few special ones for rain water when

there is an excess of rain water that direct it to special rain water tanks. The sewer

network and the pumping stations are managed by the operator Berliner

Wasserbetriebe.

The control centre is able to collect all the data from all the pumping stations and to

have an overview of the entire network. One of the main advantages of this centre is

that in case of heavy rain fall the operators can see clearly where the free capacities

are and restore the water level into the sewer network.

Over the years they increased the rotation speed of the pumps which gives the

possibility to transfer the waste water the same way they take it from customers. This

is why the pollution in the sewer system has decreased and even the smell of the

waste water has been reduced. Also, they optimized the monitoring system for

failure and breakdowns.

During the implementation process of this project, the company has encountered a

few problems and challenges. In the beginning, they had to change one machine at

a time while the others were running. Also, many of the machines were old and there

were huge differences between the documentation and the reality. Then, the most

difficult point was the software because they had to buy a new software system from

another company and in the beginning it didn’t work at all. After the company

managed to solve these problems they had another one with the machines as they

began to clog. The problem was solved only by dissembling the machines

completely. In this context, the company started a joined project with the Technical

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University of Berlin and the producer of these pumps through which they tried to find

a solution to overcome the problem. They had different approaches: one idea was to

change the production design of the rotating part; other idea was to adjust the

speeds of pumping the water.

At present, 300 employees are working at the Control Centre to ensure the

monitoring process and the maintenance and cleaning services.

Summary

The DWA is a really well working association, with over 14.000 members from 55

countries. The great number of its members and the special expertise and

competence makes the DWA an important partner for transferring the efficiency and

high standards in water treatment and management to any region in the world that

needs help solving the present and future water problems, including those caused or

aggravated by climate change, population growth and desertification.

The example of the DWA shows us how important it is to make networks in our

home country and all around the world. It is important between companies,

manufacturers, universities, governments and in our personal level as well. The days

we spent in Berlin for the Young Water Professionals programme have been a

perfect opportunity to make friendships, to base and increase future business

contacts and to come to know a lot of new German and foreign companies working

on the water and waste water sector.

At last, we would like to thank the DWA and the sponsor companies for the invitation

and the organisation of the programme; it was indeed a unique opportunity to meet

other young professionals and achieve a lot of experience.