In Bushehr, Iran, along the Persian Gulf, officials are building nuclear power plants that will be paired with two desalination facilities.^[1]  Each facility will have the capacity to produce 200,000 cubic metres of water per day. 

In early December, the country’s central bank will release the first payment for the two plants, which cost a combined total of USD $9.4 million.^[2]

The city council of San Diego will soon introduce a water reuse scheme known as Pure Water.^[3]  By 2021, the $3 billion (USD) scheme will recycle and process 113,600 cubic metres of wastewater per day.  

Currently, the city council is awaiting the state’s approval for the scheme—which includes a plan to store recycled water above ground, rather than underground; and a plan for expansion that will increase the scheme’s capacity to 314,000 cubic metres of water per day.  The proposed expansion, if implemented, would enable San Diego residents to receive one-third of their water supply through water reuse.^[4]

^{La Jolla’s children’s pool (top) and Windan Sea Beach (bottom) Credit: Frank McKenna/ frankiefoto.com}

Along Egypt’s Nile River, Lanxess—a specialty chemicals company—will provide a reverse osmosis plant for fertiliser manufacturer Alexfert.^[5]  The plant will process water from the Nile through two trains, each of which has a feed stream of 120 cubic metres per hour and a recover rate of 74 percent.

In Durban, South Africa, Hitachi will “run a demonstration project” for its environmentally-friendly integrated seawater desalination and water reuse system.  The system, entitled RemixWater, will produce 6,250 cubic metres of water daily, for four years, until November 2020.^[6]