Singapore’s The Straits Times daily newspaper today just happened to publish a very timely and good article on the thoughts of Professor Tommy Koh (among other duties, Chairman of the recent Water Leaders Summit during Singapore International Water Week) and water expert Leong Ching PhD as to why Singaporeans should not buy bottled water.
The main reasons cited [...]
July 2, 2009
Forget Bottled Water….
June 28, 2009
The Most Encouraging (and Challenging)Thing I Learned at SIWW
The opportunity for reducing the energy consumed in converting sea water to drinking water by 50% is high. Research work currently under way is demonstrating this. Applying the lessons from other industries appears to play a significant role in this. I was also initially surprised (but as soon as it was explained to me I understood [...]
June 25, 2009
A Fun Week at The Davos of Water….
What an SIWW this has been! …
Bigger and better than last year, SIWW has gained a reputation as a premium water conference and now attracts industry players and thought leaders from around the world . What has been most apparent to me (but not surprising) has been the recognition of and respect for the Black & Veatch brand. Particularly [...]
June 24, 2009
Ceramic Membranes
Black & Veatch is working with technology partners GKN (from Japan) and client PWN (from The Netherlands) in developing the first large application of ceramic membranes for water treatment and wastewater recycling. Ceramics offer several advantages over polymeric membranes and these include higher robustness which allows more aggressive chemical cleaning using chlorine based cleaning agents, higher tolerence to a [...]
June 23, 2009
Sewers Wanted….
A few years ago on my first business trip to Manila I noticed every few hundred yards signs saying Sewers Wanted. Given that there were so many of these, the altruistic side of me was outraged that poor people were not connected to public sewer and I was equally impressed about the public outcry.
Imagine my embarrassment when I realised after [...]
June 20, 2009
Water Theatre
I was watching Discovery Channel last night and this video about an experimental approach to desalinating sea water was on there. Its a great idea and I like it a lot.
Water Theatre
Posted by: Gerry O’Toole
June 20, 2009
Durian – King of Fruits!
In the Malay archipelego the durian is hailed as The King of Fruits. However, opinion is divided. Personally I have managed to live in SE Asia for 15 years without succumbing to tasting the durian. Why? – suffice it to say I came across more appealing odours when I was commissioning the Kranji sewage treatment works in Singapore. Foreigners tend to [...]
June 19, 2009
Welcome to Singapore Lah!
Those of us who have lived in Singapore for some time have got used to the colloquial English spoken here. However, first time visitors to SIWW may find that Singlish takes bit of getting used to.
One very useful term is ‘lah’ which has many meanings and applications. Here are a few examples by way of illustration:
”There’s something here [...]
June 18, 2009
Marina Barrage Makes The Singapore River Nicer To Be Around
I am fortunate to have a much coveted view in the Black & Veatch Office in Singapore. My corner office overlooks the Singapore River – it helps me while away the hours in contemplation and reverie while others are working.
Until the Marina Barrage was constructed downstream, my view was often blighted by the river changing colour [...]
June 12, 2009
Make Sure You Visit SingSpring Sea Water Desalination Plant
PUB is organising a technical visit to the SingSpring Sea Water Desalination Plantat Tuas during SIWW. We at Black & Veatch designed this plant for SingSpring (Hyflux) and were heavily involved in the project, including construction and start up from 2003 – 2005.
RO Feed Pumps and Membranes @ SingSpring
The SWRO process includes :
seawater intake screening and pumping;
flocculation;
clarification [...]
Gayle Leonard
Constance Ward
Gerry O'Toole
Jim Howlett
Cindy Wallis-Lage
Brandee Stephens
Jessica Lamb