In less than 20 years, scientists predict fresh water supplies will dry up for more than a quarter of the world’s population as megadroughts and climate change alter the environment.
“Ensuring safe water for all who need it has to be global priority. It is imperative that governments and businesses collaborate to find solutions to global water scarcity,” said Mike Boyko, president and CEO of Tempe, Ariz.-based Dynamic Water Technologies. “We must find innovative approaches to minimize water usage worldwide.”
For many years, Sept. 18 has been recognized as World Water Monitoring Day and culminates a week of efforts to increase public awareness about water resources worldwide by the nonprofit organization, Earth Echo International.
Agriculture, energy production, and industrial processes use about 97 percent of the world’s fresh water supplies while typical households consume about 3 percent. The World Wildlife Fund predicts that in the next five years, more than two-thirds of the world’s population will face water shortages.
Cooling systems huge users of water
Founders of Dynamic Water Technologies know exactly where millions and millions of gallons of water can be saved during industrial processes, freeing the precious resource for others who need clean drinking water. For example, cooling tall buildings uses an enormous amount of water that is circulated throughout the cooling system. The water is used for several cycles but must be replenished or completely removed when hazardous contaminants and scale accumulate. Adding water to replace water lost to evaporation and the cooling process is called “make-up” water. The dirty, contaminated water that is removed is called “blowdown” water.
“It’s our corporate responsibility to find ways of reducing water usage in large industrial complexes and redirecting that savings to those who face water scarcity,” Boyko says. “The technology is available. We just have to persuade facilities and plant managers to make the transition for the greater good.”
To put it in perspective, a high-rise building or a shopping mall can consume anywhere from 5 million to 10 million gallons of water annually. While people are cognizant about saving water in their household, it is a literal drop of water in the bucket of water usage in modern society. Turning off the faucet during tooth brushing, or carefully metering lawn watering may save hundreds of gallons a year, but a broken valve or poorly run cooling tower could waste tens of thousands of gallons of water over the course of a week.
Leave the chemicals behind
What sets Dynamic Water apart from others is its focus on sustainability. While most water treatment is done using traditional dosing of chemicals, DWT treats water using electrochemical means, which makes obsolete the need to house and dose hazardous chemicals onsite. In addition, DWT monitors all site equipment to ensure that the process is as optimized as possible and uses as little water as possible.
“Our focus is on conservation and sustainability,” Boyko says. “It’s not about how many chemicals we can sell. Our process eliminates all need for added chemicals. Our process also significantly reduces scale, which makes the water much cleaner and improves the longevity of all site equipment.”
The increased performance of an optimized system paired with innovative boundary-pushing electrochemical water treatment allows for savings ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent depending on the client’s current water-usage and the efficiency of their current system.
Businesses in Southwest embrace DWT
DWT already is having an impact throughout the Southwest with installations at major hospitals, shopping centers, and business complexes in Arizona and California. Earlier this year, the city of Los Angeles won an Innovator of the Year Award for saving 2.45 million gallons of water in less than two years after installing DWT’s system. City leaders attributed the savings to DWT’s technology. This massive water savings is enough to fill nearly four Olympic-sized swimming pools. The city is installing DWT’s treatment system at several more city-owned facilities.
In the Phoenix area, Dynamic Water’s electrochemical process that eliminates harsh chemicals is being used at Banner Health Corporate Center in Mesa, Marina Heights Office Park in Tempe, and multiple large shopping centers. In California, where the government has mandated 25 percent savings in energy and water usage by 2025, multiple businesses have partnered with DWT including SoCalGas’ research center in Downey; Gilead Sciences in Oceanside, NASA at Edwards Air Force Base, Roche Molecular in Pleasanton, and Thrifty Ice Cream’s plant in El Monte. All report saving millions of gallons by using the treatment process.
