It was a big week in US water regulations, with the US Coast Guard announcing a new rule regarding ballast water and the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission giving preliminary approval to controversial nutrient-limiting regulations.  Hopefully these new regulations don’t cause any grappling, as did the new California state requirement mandating most users exercising a water right to submit precise water measurements on a monthly basis.  Continue reading for details on these news stories and more.

M&A/ Partnerships

• Global healthcare company Merck formed a three-year, $1.5m partnership with Safe Water Network to improve water supply in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
  http://www.water-technology.net/news/newsmerck-and-safe-water-network-partner-to-improve-water-supply-in-india
• Imbrium International Ltd and Australia’s Humes Water Solutions have expanded their strategic business relationship, with Humes becoming a licencee of Imbrium’s Jellyfish filter for stormwater treatment.  The agreement grants Humes the exclusive right to manufacture, sell and distribute the Imbrium Jellyfish technology for stormwater treatment throughout Australia.
  http://www.filtsep.com/view/24649/humes-licences-imbrium-jellyfish-filter-technology/
• Oasys Water announced that Select Energy Services, LLC, (SES) a provider of engineered water to the oil and gas industry, will be the exclusive operator of Oasys’ technology in the Permian Basin for a 24-month period.  SES will use Oasys Water’s Membrane Brine Concentrator to treat high saline produced waters from hydraulic fracturing activities.
  http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2012/03/12/daily37-Oasys-Water-lands-first-oil-and-gas-partner.html
• The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) are teaming up to develop a new sustainability framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of water infrastructure projects.
  http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/article-display.articles.waterworld.drinking-water.infrastructure.2012.03.ISI-AWWA-partnership.QP129867.dcmp=rss.page=1.html

Projects

• The Western Virginia Water Authority (USA) has selected Honeywell to initiate a water metering and infrastructure renewal program to better manage its water supply.  The $32m project, which is expected to save $1m in annual electricity, aims to increase meter accuracy, improve leak detection, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions for the Authority.
  http://www.water-technology.net/news/newswestern-virginia-water-authority-selects-honeywell-for-water-metering-programme
• AECOM Technology’s joint venture company has secured a $62.3m contract to design and construct two water treatment plants in the city of Newport, Rhode Island, US.
  http://www.water-technology.net/news/newsaecom-jv-secures-design-build-contract-for-water-treatment-plants-in-us
• Consolidated Water Co is back on board with the Rosarito desalination project in Baja California, Mexico. The 100 MGD (375,000 m³/d) seawater plant is designed to supply drinking water demand on both sides of the US/Mexico border.
  http://www.desalination.biz/news/news_story.asp?id=6421&title=Consolidated+back+with+Rosarito+desalination+project
• BioShaft was awarded several strategic industrial and domestic contracts to install its wastewater treatment and recycling systems in the Middle East.
  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bioshaft-water-technology-wins-multiple-133000143.html

Innovation/ New Products

• Envirogen Technologies Inc has introduced a new small footprint fluidized bed reactor system designed to treat selenium-laden coal mining waters at flows that start at less than 100 gallons per minute to lower than 5 μg/L selenium at discharge, even with high levels of nitrate.
  http://www.filtsep.com/view/24645/envirogen-launches-small-scale-fbr-to-treat-coal-mining-waters/
• Results from an Australian trial to demonstrate the potential for a membrane distillation process to use waste heat from heavy industry to desalinate saline effluent have shown the system can produce high-quality water at temperatures as low as 30°C without an increase in greenhouse-gas emissions.
  http://www.desalination.biz/news/news_story.asp?id=6425&title=MD+desalination+pilot+successfully+used+with+waste+heat

Other

• China aims to produce 6.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas annually by 2015 and ramp up output to between 60 billion and 100 billion by the end of the decade, the National Development and Reform Commission said, citing a plan drafted by the National Energy Administration.
  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-16/china-plans-faster-land-approval-tax-free-import-to-boost-shale.html
• Per a new rule, oceangoing cargo ships will be required to treat ballast water with ultraviolet light, chemicals or other methods before dumping it in United States waters, the Coast Guard announced.
  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/us/new-rule-requires-ships-to-treat-ballast-dumped-in-us-waters.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
• China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the Mechanism of Ministerial Meeting at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseilles, France, to deepen the coordination of the three countries in managing water resources and dealing with water disasters.
  http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/2012-03/14/content_14832457.htm
• American businesses have vowed to cut back on water consumption in 2012.
  http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/03/15/cutting-back-on-water-use/
• The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission gave preliminary approval to controversial nutrient-limiting regulations that local water and wastewater officials say will cost them up to $2 billion in new equipment (a cost that will reportedly be borne by ratepayers).  The final regulations will be reviewed again in May, with the new regulations going into effect June 30.
  http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/wastewater-rules-will-cost-billions-opponents-argu
• Farmers and ranchers who take water directly from rivers and streams in California are grappling with a new state requirement this year requiring them to start submitting to the California Water Resources Control Board precise monthly records of water diverted from surface streams.  The law requires a landowner to use the best available technology he or she can afford.
  http://www.capitalpress.com/content/TH-water-measurement-w-photo-infobox-032312