While the water challenges do not really change much year on year, it is important to take note of which levers affecting water management and use are shifting. The most current global trend is towards waste discharge and pollution.

Water scarcity is also a global worry, given the global disproportionate distribution of the population and water resources. A lot of the water required for industrial use is therefore unfortunately often drawn from regions where water resources are under pressure.

Sourcing water and the proper planning for discharges are the main concerns, which is what is driving innovative water reuse and recycling. These can be some of the most difficult water treatment processes to design and implement though and therefore often require a combination of mechanical as well as chemical solutions to be successful.

A factor which is often overlooked when designing water recycle/reuse systems is the variability in flow rates and water quality, both due to operational schedules and seasonality. Other factors that need to be taken in to consideration include capital and operating budgets, available personnel and training, operating conditions, plant design, and environmental restrictions.

Environmental protection is vital and a big challenge; this is made more so due to the fact that the wider global society is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of their surroundings and the human impact on the environment. This means that both water customers and the wider population in general are putting more pressure on industry to take care of our natural resources.

All of these challenges are being encountered across the globe; they just vary in order and magnitude by region. The only way to meet these challenges head-on and ensure that costs and footprint are reduced is for the plant managers to ask themselves what they can do more efficiently while still protecting the environment. This means that comprehensive solutions and new technology which improves operation costs, simplifies existing processes and/or reduces required maintenance will become more critical in 2017.

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