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【JWF News Vol. 193】18 November 2020
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◇ Contents ◇
・Forward Water Reuse and Establishment of ISO Standards
・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
– The 4th APWF Webinar will be organized on 26th November
– 4℃ AQUA PROGRAM 2020 started!
– Darvish Yu Water Fund: the 14th Project is now underway!
– 9th World Water Forum Postponed to March 2022
– Kyoto World Water Grand Prize -Deadline Extended
・Report from the Japan Water Forum
– Summary of the 3rd APWF webinar
– JWF Fund 2019: Water System Renewal and Change of Attitude in Local Communities (Haiti)
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・Foreword Water Reuse and Establishment of ISO Standards
By Dr. Naoki Okuma, Advisory Council Member of the Japan Water Forum; Director General of the WATER REUSE PROMOTION CENTER
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Realizing the Priceless Value of Water
In February this year, before we ever imagined that the novel coronavirus would spread as it has now, I set foot in the Dubai Airport in the UAE after an interval of ten years on a three-day business trip. I was eager to visit a certain place before my main business. I drove in the direction of Ras Al Khaimah, where there is a sewage treatment plant built through the NEDO project in 2009. It is still involved in treating industrial wastewater and sewage, and selling the recycled water for industrial use. While driving along the road through the desert, I suddenly came upon a forest. That is where the sewage treatment plant is located. Over the past ten years, the trees around the plant have grown to more than ten meters high, making the area seem almost like a forest. (Photo 1) This was the moment I at last realized the great value of water.
Photo 1: Exterior view of the wastewater treatment plant in Ras Al Khaimah (taken by Dr. Okuma)
Market for Water Reuse and Strategies for International Standardization
Though we rarely notice water reuse around us in Japan, recycled wastewater is used for toilets in public facilities and large buildings located in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka. In contrast, in areas where water sources are scarce, such as the Middle East, recycled wastewater is regarded as an important water resource. Recycled wastewater is used for agriculture and industry. The World Water Development Report issued by the UN emphasizes the importance of water reuse.
In the recycled wastewater market, water quality appropriate to each use is required. However, users tend to give little consideration to the quality of recycled wastewater. They don’t mind whether it is high-quality or not. Japanese companies involved in wastewater treatment are highly skilled at producing high-quality recycled wastewater. They possess advanced treatment technologies for water reuse systems, such as membrane filtration, and provide a very reliable product. However, price is the first priority of overseas bidders. The supremacy of the advanced technologies of Japanese companies has been underappreciated and they have faced a hard time against competitors. As a measure to break through the current situation, we need international standardization.
Development of Standards on Water Reuse and Japan’s Active Involvement
In order to promote the successful overseas development of Japanese water treatment technologies, Japan played a leading role, along with Israel and China, in the June 2013 establishment of ISO Technical Committee (TC) TC282: Water Reuse. This was the first time Japan served as secretariat in a water-related area. As Japan’s main responsibility was to formulate standards on the reuse of recycled wastewater, the role of national coordinating body, which would work to form a consensus among Japanese experts, was assumed by the Director for Watershed Management at the Sewerage and Wastewater Management Department of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT). The inaugural meeting was held in Tokyo, with the attendance of 48 countries, in January, 2014. Since then, standards on water reuse have been developed through bi-annual international meetings. Since June of this year, however, all meetings related to ISO have been held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TC282: Water Use consists of four sub-committees (SC): Israel is responsible for the development of standards on water reuse for SC 1, on treated wastewater reuse for irrigation, China for SC 2, on water reuse in urban areas, and both Israel and China for SC 4, on industrial water reuse. Japan is responsible for the development of standards for SC 3, on risk and performance evaluation of water reuse systems, which includes risk assessment of water reuse, water quality grade classification and the method for evaluating the performance of treatment technologies. (Figure 1)
TC282 published 22 standards as a whole and Japan published 5 standards, with another 5 currently being formulated.
Figure 1: Structure of ISO/TC282 on Water Reuse
Responses from Other Countries to the Development of International Standards
Other than TC282, TC/SC13/WG3 is working for the formulation of standards on seawater desalination and TC224/WG12 on water efficiency management. (WG stands for working group.)
The type of participants sent to the international meetings on formulating standards vary from country to country. In China, universities and national institutions are actively involved in the development of standards, with strong financial support. As seen in formulating standards on seawater desalination, China regards international standardization as one of its national policies. In Israel, corporate executives attend international meetings as part of their business activities, with strong state support, and push for the technical specifications of their own products to be adopted as international standards.
In Japan, with regard to TC282, the Water Reuse Promotion Center serves as a coordinator and receives some financial support for covering the costs of attending international conferences as part of a project of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). In addition, NPOs and industrial organizations, including general incorporated associations, are working together to develop standards based the agreement of relevant departments of government agencies and companies. It cannot be said that this hard work is part of their business activities, as most of those in charge of the standards in each company work voluntarily in industrial organizations.
In order for international standards on water reuse to be adopted for business activities in the future, and if we are to launch a new initiative by combining technologies for life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis and energy-saving, further cooperation between a variety of parties is becoming more essential than ever.
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・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
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– The 4th APWF Webinar will be organized on 26th November
The 4th APWF Webinar will be organized on 26th November 2020, 16:30 to 17:30 (JST).
The Speaker: Dr. Torkil Jønch Clausen, International Water Advisor, Chair of the Action Platform for Source to Sea Management
Topic: “Integrated Water Resources Management from Source to Sea – linking the water SDG 6 and ocean SDG 14”
▼Please visit the APWF website for more detail▼
http://apwf.org/4th-apwf-webinar-integrated-water-resources-management-from-source-to-sea-linking-the-water-sdg-6-and-ocean-sdg-14/
▼The Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SmthRmAuQvO0lVE1baP1Tw
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– 4℃ AQUA PROGRAM 2020 started!
AQUA PROGRAM is a joint project with a jewelry brand “4℃” and Japan Water Forum.
It aims to bring “beauty” and “inspire” the women in developing countries who face serious water and hygiene problems by addressing water issues.
Since it’s establishment in 2008, projects have been carried out in the Republic of Kiribati, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/grass_roots_projects/yondoshi/2020/1118/?p=16026?tag=en,rep_en
(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director and Miyo Tabata, Assistant manager)
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– Darvish Yu Water Fund: the 14th Project is now underway!
Darvish Yu, a member of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball established the “Darvish Yu Water Fund” in collaboration with the Japan Water Forum in March 2007 to supply safe water to people who face lack and contamination of water in developing countries. He has contributed to the Fund by donating JPY 100,000 at every one of his winning games during the regular season since then.
The Fund subsidized 13 projects in 11 countries so far. The 14th project is now underway in Pakistan.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/grass_roots_projects/darvish/2020/1111/?p=15831?tag=en,rep_en
(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director and Miyo Tabata, Assistant manager)
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– 9th World Water Forum Postponed to March 2022
Senegal and the World Water Council have decided to postpone the 9th World Water Forum, originally scheduled to be held in March 2021, to March 2022 considering the evolution of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
▼Official website of the 9th World Water Forum▼
https://www.worldwaterforum.org/en/home
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– Kyoto World Water Grand Prize 2022 -Deadline Extended
In response to postpone of the 9th World Water Forum, co-organizers of the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize (Kyoto Prize), Kyoto City, Japan, the World Water Council and the Japan Water Forum extend the deadline of applications for the Kyoto Prize until 30 April 2021, 11:59pm (Japan local time) / 2:59pm UTC.
The Kyoto Prize will be awarded at the 9th World Water Forum, Dakar, Senegal. The winner of the Kyoto Prize will receive 2,000,000 JPY (Approximately 18,000 USD, depending on fluctuating exchange rates).
We look forward to receiving your applications!
▼Find more information on the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize 2022▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/grass_roots_projects/kyoto-prize/2020/0904/?p=15125?tag=en,rep_en
▼Online application form▼
https://form.jotform.com/Japan_Water_Forum/Kyoto_Prize
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・Report from the Japan Water Forum
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– Summary of the 3rd APWF webinar
The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) has organized the APWF webinar series as a part of the important preparation process for the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS). The objective of the APWF webinar series is to widen and deep-dive into the knowledge of government officials from 49 countries in Asia and the Pacific, including those working in embassies in Japan, and to hold discussions on the latest water and water-related issues from different perspectives.
The third APWF webinar was organized on 10th November 2020. Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director, UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia, and the Pacific., talked about Re-Charting Water Pathways for Greener Recovery Options.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/policy_recommendations/apws/2020/1118/?p=16296?tag=en,rep_en
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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– JWF Fund 2019: Water System Renewal and Change of Attitude in Local Communities (Haiti)
Under the JWF Fund 2019, seven projects in six countries were selected and funded out of 302 applications submitted from 36 countries.
The completed project reports are posted monthly.
▼Project in Haiti▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/grass_roots_projects/jwf/2020/1117/?p=16107?tag=en,rep_en
(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director and Miyo Tabata, Assistant Manager)
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https://www.waterforum.jp/all/newsletter?tag=en,rep_en
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JWF News Vol. 193 / 18 November 2020
Japan Water Forum
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