Press Release

Xylem wins contract for pretreatment system to increase potable water supply in the United Arab Emirates

August 8, 2013

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2013-- Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company focused on addressing the world’s most challenging water issues, announced today that it has won a contract to provide a dissolved air flotation (DAF) pretreatment system to help ensure an uninterrupted potable water supply to Abu Dhabi Emirate and the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The source water in the Gulf of Oman is subject to harmful algal blooms (HABs) sometimes termed ‘red tides,’ which are aquatic blooms that contain large concentrations of potentially toxic microorganisms. Xylem’s Leopold® Clari-DAF® system is more than 95 percent effective in removing these microorganisms prior to desalination ensuring the production of clean, fresh drinking water.

Xylem will develop the new pretreatment DAF system for the Fujairah 1 Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP), which is owned by Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power Company (ESC), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), Sembcorp Industries and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA). The new system will have a capacity of 136,000 cubic meters per day (reverse osmosis output) to accommodate an anticipated 15 percent increase in the population by 2016. It will serve both the existing and new seawater reverse osmosis plants, which have a combined capacity of 306,760 cubic meters per day and will be one of the world’s largest operating desalination plants.

“We have almost 30 years of experience developing and supplying reverse osmosis pretreatment systems in the Middle East,” said Safwat Gergis, desalination pretreatment product manager for Xylem. “We are looking forward to working on this exciting project and helping to address the unique water challenges in this region of the Arabian Gulf.”

“Xylem’s pretreatment desalination expertise has been instrumental at the Shuwaikh Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Kuwait and their involvement was critical for us to win this Fujairah contract,” said Jesus Sancho, international engineering contractor responsible for the team of companies that won the contract. “Xylem’s experience with HAB-causing species gives us confidence that they are best positioned to provide the technology and expertise necessary to secure a clean water supply for this region of the UAE.”

Xylem’s Leopold Clari-DAF systems create millions of microbubbles that float the algae to the surface of the water where they are removed as floating sludge, usually by mechanical skimming. This technology is also extremely effective for the removal of free and emulsified oil which is very important for the protection of the downstream reverse osmosis system.

About Xylem

Xylem (NYSE: XYL) is a leading global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands, and its people bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on finding local solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. Xylem is headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., with 2012 annual revenues of $3.8 billion and approximately 12,900 employees worldwide. In 2012, Xylem was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for advancing sustainable business practices and solutions worldwide.

The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all -- that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit us at www.xyleminc.com.

Source: Xylem Inc.

Xylem Inc.
Jennifer Jacob, 914-323-5745
Jennifer.Jacob@xyleminc.com