Program and papers

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Program and papers

Edited by

Raphael Semiat, Michelle Chapman, Kevin Price and David Hasson

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Introductory Notes

By Koussai Quteishat, Center Director

Middle East Desalination Research Center

Conferences on desalination normally, and rightly so, address a full spectrum of topics. It is a MEDRC strategy to select a topic area or a specific problem considered to be highly relevant to desalination, and to make this topic the single subject matter of a workshop or a conference. MEDRC hopes that meaningful products, of value to the desalination community, will emanate from such a specialist forum. This is because, in addition to its core activities of facilitating research, training courses, and educational programs, MEDRC has sought acknowledgement for competence and excellence supported by the large number of experts who are involved in the various MEDRC councils and committees.

The Research Advisory Council of MEDRC has recommended that a workshop is organized on the “determination of the cost of water from desalination”. This was driven by the fact that systematic data and material on the desalinated water cost, or on generally accepted methods for determining the cost, are not available. There are, of course, figures for individual contracts or locations, and estimation methods which would be valid for a particular country and a limited set of variables but procedures for determining representative cost figures have been contentious and the topic itself has been controversial from the onset of modern desalination.

The workshop was seen as a step toward formulating generally accepted procedures for costing and, in the end, a standard procedure would possibly be developed that would be globally acknowledged. The workshop was also expected to produce and agree on the tasks required to reach the goal of a generally accepted methodology. This is driven by the fact that reliable data are needed by policy makers and planners, and that MEDRC has always felt that Desalination deserves to present itself with continuously updated realistic figures, particularly in cost aspects.

This Conference is what the dream workshop has grown to become. The Organizing Committee was mandated to gather treatises from those that have worked on costing procedures in desalination in the past as well as from other desalination experts. The idea was to approach the issue, not only through the basic parameters, which themselves are numerous and controversial but also to include an assessment with sensitivity analyses, a very clear definition of the boundary conditions and further measures needed to produce valid and comparative information, as well as to reach a generally accepted methodology.

I was forewarned, however, by our Research Director at the time, Dr. Klaus Genthner, that the “effort to organize a meaningful workshop and to end with a respectable product should not be underestimated”. True, indeed. The task borne by the Organizing Committee was tremendous achievable only through hard work, and perseverance.

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of the Committee, namely Richard Morris, Khairy Al Jamal, Mahmoud Abdel-Jawad, and Nicos Tsiourtis whose assistance has been invaluable.

Special thanks are due to the Government of the Netherlands and the Government of the United States as well as to the United States Office of Naval Research, Expeditionary Unit for Water Purification Program, and the Canon Foundation for Scientific Research for their financial support and sponsorship of the Conference. Literally, without this support, the workshop would not have materialized.

Many thanks are also due to all the contributors to the conference, to the writers and presenters, to the moderators, and to all those who were present at the conference for their contributions to the discussions.

By Kevin Price

Chairman of the Organizing Committee Bureau of Reclamation, United States

This conference is the beginning of series of subject matter conferences or workshops sponsored by MEDRC that draw upon desalination experts from around the world. It is fitting that the subject of the first conference be about desalination costing, since it generates spirited discussion and disagreement. Yet, every study, design and ultimately every project is judged by its cost in relation to other choices. Planners and decision makers are reliant upon subject matter experts to provide a costing framework that allows a true comparison of the alternatives. Our goals for this conference are lofty:

Promote a process for normalizing desalination costs that will allow decision-makers, planners, and the industry to reliably compare desalination costs from around the world.

Produce a book following the conference that will be useful to decision makers, planners, and the industry, and will assist in fund raising to finance surveys and investigations required to complete the picture.

Ultimately to develop a dynamic standard that is globally accepted.

While all the goals many not be accomplished through this conference alone, MEDRC is well on its way in assisting the desalination community to provide realistic costs to anyone that needs them.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, it is my honor to welcome the participants, invited speakers and guests to the MEDRC International Conference on Desalination Costing. I extend the appreciation of the Organizing Committee to our Center Director, Koussai Quteishat, for his support and patience in developing and carrying out this Conference. And, I extend the thanks of the Organizing Committee to all the sponsors and people who provided assistance both large and small.

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IV CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

Increasingly, policy makers and planners need reliable cost data to develop appropriate water resources. Desalination deserves to be represented with realistic figures. To meet this crucial need, the MEDRC Research Advisory Council specifically discussed the costing needs of decision makers, planners, and designers and recommended organization of comprehensive international workshop aiming to develop a process for normalizing desalination costs that will allow decision-makers, planners, and the industry to reliably compare desalination costs from around the world.

Constituency of the Organizing Committee

Kevin Price – Chair; Country Technical Representative; Bureau of Reclamation, United States

David Hasson – Co-chairman; Research Advisory Council Member, Technion, Israel

Rafi Semiat – Proceedings Editor; Country Technical Representative; Technion, Israel

Michelle Chapman – Research Coordinator for Desalination and Advanced Water Treatment, Bureau of Reclamation, United States

Shannon McCarthy – MEDRC Associate Director of Development, Oman

Richard Morris – Desalination consultant for the European Commission and World Bank; Richard Morris Consultants; Scotland

Khairy Hilmy Al-Jamal – Director of the World Bank and European Investment Bank Projects for the Palestinian Water Authority, PNA

Mahmoud Abdel Jawad – Senior Research Scientist, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait

Nicos X Tsiourtis – Water and Desalination Consultant, NT WATERPROS LTD, Cyprus

GENERAL PROGRAM

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MEDRC Desalination Costing Conference

Monday, December 6, 2004

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Program and papers