47 participants just checked out from this year's summer school, fully updated on the latest water trends and technologies
On Sunday, the participants left Låsby with their diplomas in hand, eager to go out and influence the future water industry. Congratulations to them, and cheers to a future with better water management! 31-08-2023
The summer school is a two-week, intensive course named “Advanced Water Cycle Management”. It is hosted by Aarhus University and has been created in collaboration with Danish companies from the water sector, including AVK. This year, the participants joined from 13 different countries.
Why does the world need better knowledge about water management?
Clean water is already a scarce resource, and with rising populations and economies, the issue is only increasing. Worldwide, about 35-40% of our available clean drinking water is lost somewhere in distribution, before it reaches the end-consumer. Yes, a third! This happens due to poor network equipment, burst pipes and insufficient maintenance. Also, the energy used to pump, clean and transport this amount of water, is therefore wasted too. Learn more about water loss management here.
30-50% of a municipality’s energy consumption is used for water- and wastewater handling. On a global scale, this sector accounts for 8% of the total energy consumption. But what if wastewater is seen as a resource instead of a problem? What if we can turn wastewater into renewable energy, producing electricity, biogas, district heating or -cooling, and recover other valuable resources from the sludge, e.g. phosphorus? This is already possible, and many of Denmark’s wastewater utilities are net producers of green energy, producing more energy than they consume.
The course content is based on a holistic view on water infrastructure throughout society, also in terms of the energy circle and how to efficiently use our available resources; cleaned water should be put back into the ground by establishing constructed wetlands, and the necessary energy should be produced by the wastewater treatment plant itself.
Halfway through the course, the programme was divided into three thematic tracks of groundwater resource management, water distribution, and wastewater handling, where the participant could choose which one to follow based on their individual area of interest. For the final exam, they were divided in groups based on their chosen track, but even so the groups would have to work together to make sure that all chains in the water circle were considered.
Participants from Ukraine, and sponsored seats by DANIDA Fellowship Centre
This year, three of the participants were from Ukraine, a country that will be looking into years of reconstruction after the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Two of the three, MD student Oleksandra and utility director Viktor, shares how the course has been a great inspiration, and how they hope to be able to utilise their new knowledge:
“Firstly, the water systems in Ukraine are very old and outdated. And right now, of course some of them are not working properly. Ukraine’s water systems should be based on new technology and new processes. I joined the course to obtain new knowledge about how to efficiently manage water. I will have to do a master’s project about water distribution when I go back, and in the future I hope to use my new knowledge to help build sustainable infrastructure."
“Our water network is still running, but it is seriously damaged. We were cut from the water source in the beginning of the war, so we could not get our fresh water from the water intake in Kherson area. We then started to take water from the river Pivdenny Buh, where the salinity level is very high. Brackish (salty) water is, however, not good with the steel pipes, so corrosion is a big issue. Right now, 240 km of pipeline is just deteriorated, and will have to be renewed. We have a lot of leakages every day because of this."
Viktor continues: "I am hoping that we can start implementing some of these new technologies in Ukraine. We were already interested in it before the war, but now I have a clearer overview of how it actually works, DMA structuring, hydraulic modelling and so on. Also, it was impressive to experience that all these water experts you have here in Denmark, they also have time to teach at the university – this is just excellent, and the outcome is good.”
Oleksandra adds: "Today is Independence Day of Ukraine (August 24), and it just makes it even more important to focus on a good and sustainable reconstruction of our country.”
Michael Ramlau, Public Affairs at AVK, drove to the south of Ukraine in the beginning of August to pick up the participants. In the image below, you can see one of the water facilities he visited during his trip, which are clearly marked by bombing, and where flooding has destroyed all the important installations.
Photo: TV2 Østjylland, regional news broadcasting, Denmark.
Besides the participants from Ukraine, DANIDA Fellowship Centre had sponsored 27 seats at the school this year, which have been given to students or water professionals working at either water facilities or ministries in the project country. The course is a great opportunity for them to get updated on water technology, and their new knowledge can be a supportive element in the local development projects moving forward.
A good mix of classroom studying, company visits and networking
From AVK, we visited the participants during their exam work on August 24th, and even after so many days of studying, visits and networking, they were in good spirits and eager to share their experiences. One of these were Sasmitha Aulia from Indonesia, who is doing her PhD at Aarhus University, about wastewater sludge utilisation:
“I thought I would only be learning about the processes of wastewater management, but we have learned a lot about water supply and groundwater also. Also, there were many practical, real-life examples. Also, it is very interesting how Denmark uses their groundwater resources and how the whole water cycle is structured.
The course participants has been a good mix of students, professionals, and really experienced people, which has been super interesting. We can all learn and get inspired from each other. Also, it was great to go out and visit all the interesting partner companies; something that I don’t think I could ever have the opportunity to do, if not on this course.”
Valves are critical in sustainable water management
One of the key components in a sustainable water network are valves that are reliable, efficient and of high quality, to avoid the hassle of cutting off vital processes to switch out products or perform maintenance. As valve specialists, the participants should of course stop by our facilities and have a closer look at our product range.
In our showroom, they were sent on a “Valves for dummies: The valve park” scavenger hunt to search out details about some of our many products. They were given a short introduction beforehand, so they were tuned in on the valves’ technical specifications. Thanks to all the students for yet another great day of fun and learnings!
TV2 Østjylland, the area's regional TV station, visited our premises and had a talk with the participants, to do a feature about the summer school and its importance. Watch the television feature here (Danish).
Besides visiting us, the course visited the SkyTem facilities, Egaa wastewater treatment plant, Låsby Søpark, as well as the other partnering companies during the two weeks.
The course has been created together with like-minded institutions and businesses, including: Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology (WATEC), Grundfos, Kamstrup, DHI, Skanderborg Forsyningsvirksomhed A/S, NIRAS, Aarhus University School of Engineering, AquaGlobe, I-GIS, Water Valley Denmark and Aarhus Vand. All of these will take part in the intensive, two-week tuition, contributing with their particular area of expertise.
Would you also like to upgrade your water knowledge?
Stay tuned on our website for information about next year’s Advanced Water Cycle Management Course here.
