Washington D.C.—On February 17, 2009, the World Bank presented Water Week 2009, an annual event featuring three days of panel discussions and lectures from various sectors. The discussions covered a variety of issues, from the impact of the financial crisis on water development to the affects of the food price crisis in low income countries. The event was a collaborative effort between the Water Anchor and the Water Sector Board. This year’s Water Week events enabled participants to exchange experiences and knowledge in helping the World Bank achieve solutions to clients most affected by the water crisis.
On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, the first of a two-part seminar, “Improving Operational Efficiency of WSS Utilities: Sharing some Experiences from the Field” took place at the World Bank. The seminar was designed to delve into the operational aspects of water management all across the world, from improving energy efficiency to examining the role of the private sector in helping to improve actions, solutions and goals of populations most in need. The seminar was chaired by Paul Reiter, Executive Director of the International Water Association (IWA), who presented a review of IWA working groups on operational efficiency and effectiveness.
The first presentation was given by Roland Liemberger, Regional Director of the Miya Group, who discussed his report, “Performance Based Service Contracts for Reducing Non-Revenue Water.” Beginning his presentation, Liemberger offered a shocking statistic that indicates a $15 USD billion loss of water per year, of which 70% comes from low to middle-income counties. The report goes on to review accountability, performance indicators and measurements, procurement process and sustainability of featured water projects. Following Liemberger, Mark Husmann, President of Poyry Environment GmbH discussed his presentation, “Improving Energy Efficiency in Waste Water Treatment: What Emerging Countries Can Learn from Experiences in the Developed World.” The presentation focused on the issue of waste water, using the case of Germany as a comparative example for developing countries. Husmann remarked that operation options where high investments are made can save the most cost in resources.
Following Liemberger and Husmann, featured panelist Philippe Marin, Sr.Water and Sanitation Specialist of the World Bank’s Water Anchor remarked on the need to apply the solutions found by experts. From an energy perspective, Bill Kingdom, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist of the World Bank’s South Asia Region (SAR) added that non-revenue water (NRW) costs are a core business or water utilities and are given the least attention in the water community. He explained that reducing energy costs through NRW and reducing the consumption per cubic meter of water provided could impact the huge operating deficit that exists in countries such as India. World Bank Sector Leader for the Latin America Region Gustavo Saltiel discussed the experience of Latin America, and Michael Webster, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist of the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region commented on efficiency and operation patterns in their respective regions. The commentary were briefly followed by a question and answer session by the audience.
Presenting the case of Algiers the discussion “Moving from Acute Rationing to 24/7 Service in Just Three Years” was Jean Marc Jahn, General Manager of SEAAL Suez. The project serves to bring water and water technology to more than 4 million inhabitants and is marked by its speed and efficiency. Vasile Ciomos, Executive Director of the Romanian Water Association discussed his company’s start-up conditions and plans, show-casing intermediate results and offered an overview of the company’s objectives. Concluding part 1 of this session was Oscar Alvarado, South Asia Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist of the World Bank. Alvarado spoke of the evolution of water utility and supply in the state of Karnataka in India.
Home
> Learning
& Knowledge > BSPAN
> Presentation
High Speed
Low Speed
