Ask the Experts: Water Reuse Unlocked

As part of the GWP Online Afrika Day on December 4th, 2024, the 10th edition of “Ask the Experts” event series took place. The virtual expert exchange is an activity established between German Water Partnership (GWP) and the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA) as part of the chamber and association partnership GAPWAS. The jointly organised event on the topic of “Water Reuse Unlocked: Global Insights, Local Impact and innovations for water security” was very well attended with 78 participants from 19 countries.

Virtual exchange of experts

The aim of the format is to promote the exchange of expertise between German and African experts in the water and wastewater sector and at the same time to address specific challenges faced by members of both associations.

Virtual exchange of experts © GWP

The panel brought very different perspectives and experiences around the topic water reuse. Sebastian Guckelberger and Melliscent Mashinini from Siemens contributed a global perspective by looking at the circular idea in water management and emphasising the importance of a holistic approach to efficient and sustainable water reuse. Particular attention was paid to the digital twin. Amara Sanogo from the Office National de l’Assainissement et du Drainage (ONAD) from Côte d’Ivoire presented local challenges with regard to access to water and drinking water quality, and saw health and environmental aspects in particular as a challenge, as diseases caused by contaminated water often quickly lead to high death rates. The need to deal with this urgent problem is existential.

Dr. Manuel Krauss from the Research Institute for Water Management and Climate Future (FiW e. V.) at RWTH Aachen presented the ecReUSe pilot project, which focuses on water reuse and sustainable energy production for wastewater. The pilot project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) as part of the Export Initiative for Environmental Protection (ExI), has the overarching goals of transforming municipal wastewater into a resource, generating biogas and treating water for agriculture and industry using low energy consumption. The technology used for this is a new type of innovative membrane technology.

The discussion was moderated by Geraldine Mpouma Logmo, who, as a representative of CAMWATER, ensured a lively exchange.

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