Applications of Emerging Technologies in the Drinking Water Sector - Waterborne Pathogens: Detection Methods and Applications - page 361

pumping methods. 54 The fact that it has considerably lower energy usage
than many other treatment methods could mean it is an important method
to harness in the future under stricter technology regulations.
CIWEM highlights the fact that both the regulators and the industry
within the water sector need to work together for sustainability and begin
to move away from the industry's reliance on traditional, and often carbon-
intensive, technological fixes. 54 It is evident that public health and health-
based standards need to take a fundamental role in the regulation of potable
water quality in the future. There needs to be collaboration between those
developing treatment methods within the water industry and the policy-
makers for health. 18 Developing a reliable and high-quality knowledge base
of environmental waterborne pathogens should be a first crucial step, fol-
lowed by strategic investment and funding to help apply the knowledge to
formulate the best new methods for water treatment. 18
The UK currently holds a vision for the future and for “taking respon-
sibility for water”. The vision aims to ensure that, by 2030, the UK is a key
contributor to global water security and is using sustainable, integrated solu-
tions that can be applied to the global water market. 61 A “UK Water research
and innovation partnership” was established in mid-2011 with an aim to cap-
ture, share and enhance the capacity and the skills across all different groups
concerned with the water industry, from the private sector to academia and
the NGO community. They want to then harness these skills within the UK
to help deal with the international issues of water quality and water security. 61
11.8. CONCLUSIONS
The water sector is viewed by many technology and equipment sup-
pliers as a stable and profitable market. Emerging methods for pathogen
detection and treatment are being developed and generally welcomed by
the industry. The large number of pathogens that can contaminate drink-
ing water supplies provides challenges for water companies, particularly in
terms of reliable treatment processes. However, the market is reasonably
mature and a number of reliable, repeatable and reasonably cost-effective
procedures are currently available, and widely used, to ensure the safe treat-
ment of potable water.
Opportunities do exist for new detection and treatment methods.
However, there can be significant barriers to entry. For developers of new
approaches, it is essential to conduct experiments simulating real conditions,
i.e. to show that new methods are able to deal with large volumes of tap