Pnina Vortman is responsible for water research at the IBM R&D center in Haifa. She says that the link between IBM and water solutions derives from the ability to use technology to produce and monitor large quantities of information for the better use of water.
"When we analyzed the water industry in a brainstorming session, we realized that we had a real opportunity for bringing together the traditional and digital worlds and for the transition of water from low tech to high tech," says Vortman. "Water is becoming part of the IT world."
While the idea sounds logical, at first sight computers and water still seem worlds apart. "Today, everyone talks about the ability to monitor water use in real time, which utterly changes the perception of the world of water. At the Watec 2009 International Water Conference in Tel Aviv, there were some pure IT companies with a water focus," said Vortman.
"Globes": What is the connection to IBM's R&D center in Haifa?
"We have strong capabilities in information infrastructure, as well as in analysis, algorithms, and simulation. We saw that there could be great benefit in applying this information and technologies in the water industry."
Vortman said that there were a number of water topics that the company's researchers were examining. "The first topic is water sources. The traditional sources are aquifers, wells, rivers, lakes, and rainwater. To these are added alternative sources, such as seawater and treated wastewater. The use of alternative sources creates a need for real-time monitoring, in order to check the effect of recycled water on the environment," she says.
Vortman cites the examples of desalination, where is it necessary to ensure that the brine byproduct does not harm the environment. In the case of treated wastewater, water quality variables must be monitored . "In both these cases, real-time monitoring is essential to prevent harm," she says.
IT is used in these cases to gather information from sensors in the water environment, analyze the data, and present in clear visual form values that deviate from normal levels.
Vortman stresses that water recycling, an area in which Israel is especially advanced, becomes necessary not just because of the need to use water sources better, but because water purification during the treatment process prevents environmental pollution. "Countries around the world haven’t yet realized the point that recycling has value beyond the better exploitation of water," she says. "If in the US, for example, a city along the Mississippi River pollutes the river water for cities downstream, it also contaminates the ground. Therefore, in order to prevent such situations, it's necessary to invest much larger resources in water recycling and purification."
Another topic under investigate by IBM at Haifa is water system planning and transportation at both the national and municipal level. Vortman says that technology can help test water quality and monitor water pressure and availability to improve the system's efficiency.
IBM is also examining remote monitoring technologies. Vortman says, "This is very important. Today, people are warned about leaks. The possibility of remote monitoring and immediate repair of leaks greatly improves both the level of service and protection against contamination. It is possible to simply close the problem sectors until they are fixed, all this immediately and remotely."
The IBM R&D center in Haifa has a key role in IBM's global water activity, and is charged with developing solutions for a wide range of water problems in different countries around the world. "There are two main water problems that are worrying the world: water quality, and efficient water use, in other words to prevent water loss," says Vortman.
"In many parts of the world, such as London and Taiwan, water loss can exceed 60%. There is a need to improve the water systems and prevent water loss from old pipes, unreliable water meters, water theft, and so forth." Israel is a global leader in this area, with a low water loss rate of 12%.
"One of the absurdities in the water loss problem is that the pumping and transportation of water requires a lot of energy, and if much of the water is lost, then the energy is consumed in vain. In other words, the loss is two-fold. Therefore, this issue is also important for water-rich countries," says Vortman.
"At the IBM R&D center in Haifa, we're working on the water loss problem and other issues," she says. "We use analytic methods to detect water loss and patterns of water consumption, on the basis of which we change the pressure in the pipelines in a dynamic way, while recognizing that it is not always possible to fix every leak. Reducing the water pressure is an important way to reduce leaks."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 25, 2010
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