World Water Crisis? Can Water Efficiency Offer a Solution?
If you live it Atlanta, your water crisis is a searing drought that is gripping the Southeast, where a number of cities are near the end of their water reserves and facing severe restrictions on water use. The State of Georgia is considering a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers to compel them to reduce environmental flows to Florida. If you live in Southern Africa, your water crisis might require you to walk long distances for polluted water that will make you sick, even while it is your only option.
Clearly, the world water crisis has many facets, and there is no shortage of proclamations about the crisis and how to mitigate its effects. Whether it is a United Nations panel declaring the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade or a group of scientists ratifying a scary report on climate change, a lot of handwringing is involved. While this goes on, the real question goes to the heart of the matter: What really can be done about the world water crisis?
To answer this question, we have to realize that “one size fits all” will not work. Nor will new slogans like “sustainability” and “integrated water resources management” go far toward solving the nitty-gritty issues involved. Please don’t misunderstand. I think these slogans contain important guidance and I support them, but we must realize that the real solutions lie deeper.
At the root of the issue is the reality that local water problems must be solved at the grass roots by people who are empowered individually, in their organizations, and with the tools, resources, and procedures that cut through drought, pollution, flood, and other water problems.
One of the key tools is water efficiency. Some people think it means water conservation, and it does—but it includes much more. Water efficiency is really a pseudonym for a group of concepts that aim at using the resource better, in all ways. They include the usual meaning of efficiency—to do more with less—but they extend to the full range of water uses. It is only when you look at this full range that you begin to see the big picture of water efficiency.
This big picture requires total water management, which means stewardship and management of water on a sustainable use basis. The way to think of total water management is as a way to pursue triple-bottom-line objectives that recognize the full value of water for its economic, social, and environmental purposes. Only then does water efficiency make sense in a holistic way.
Yes, water efficiency does make water go further, and this will enable us to increase the triple-bottom-line and provide more water for alternative uses according to their value, whether economic, social, or environmental. However, its benefits reach further.
In addition to being a good idea and providing more water, water efficiency creates jobs and business opportunities. Based on association and government statistics, I estimate that the whole water industry spends at least $100 billion per year and accounts for around one million jobs in the US. Those estimates are based on numbers that show water supply at about $40 billion, with wastewater about the same and at least $20 billion for stormwater, flood control, irrigation, and the rest. To reach one million jobs, you must add those in the consulting sector, suppliers, and other components of the support sector of the water industry. This sector does not increase the revenues of the industry, because its payrolls come from the water supply, wastewater, and other water management agencies.
So, water efficiency is a win-win proposition, but many people don’t understand it very well. In a recent talk I emphasized how water efficiency is driving down per capita use of water. After the talk one participant chided me because I had talked about water issues and did not mention conservation even once. I think I need to add to the talk an explanation of how water conservation is part of water efficiency, but not all of it. Water efficiency means much more than conservation. These complexities and fine points block good communication about water issues.
One reason that conservation was resisted by utilities before it became popular was the notion of forcing people to save water. Water officials might say, “Why do we need conservation when we have plenty of water? Besides, water conservation hurts our revenue base.” This one-sided view has been shaped by the institutional forces of water supply that existed in the past. Triple-bottom-line objectives were not evident in arguments like this.
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If water officials see the big picture, water efficiency can be advanced on a win-win basis, but seeing the big picture means you have to look at the common good, not narrow stovepipe objectives. The same is true of water customers. They have to see the full merits of water efficiency.
So the world water crisis has a lot of facets, but water efficiency is the key to solving many of them. The challenge brings up two old bugaboos. The first one is how to get people to understand the interconnectedness of water issues and the interdependence of people with them. The second one is how to get them to care.
January-February 2008
World Water Crisis? Can Water Efficiency Offer a Solution?
If you live it Atlanta, your water crisis is a searing drought that is gripping the Southeast, where a number of cities are near the end of their water reserves and facing severe restrictions on water use. The State of Georgia is considering a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers to compel them to reduce environmental flows to Florida. If you live in Southern Africa, your water crisis might require you to walk long distances for polluted water that will make you sick, even while it is your only option.
Clearly, the world water crisis has many facets, and there is no shortage of proclamations about the crisis and how to mitigate its effects. Whether it is a United Nations panel declaring the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade or a group of scientists ratifying a scary report on climate change, a lot of handwringing is involved. While this goes on, the real question goes to the heart of the matter: What really can be done about the world water crisis?
To answer this question, we have to realize that “one size fits all” will not work. Nor will new slogans like “sustainability” and “integrated water resources management” go far toward solving the nitty-gritty issues involved. Please don’t misunderstand. I think these slogans contain important guidance and I support them, but we must realize that the real solutions lie deeper.
At the root of the issue is the reality that local water problems must be solved at the grass roots by people who are empowered individually, in their organizations, and with the tools, resources, and procedures that cut through drought, pollution, flood, and other water problems.
One of the key tools is water efficiency. Some people think it means water conservation, and it does—but it includes much more. Water efficiency is really a pseudonym for a group of concepts that aim at using the resource better, in all ways. They include the usual meaning of efficiency—to do more with less—but they extend to the full range of water uses. It is only when you look at this full range that you begin to see the big picture of water efficiency.
This big picture requires total water management, which means stewardship and management of water on a sustainable use basis. The way to think of total water management is as a way to pursue triple-bottom-line objectives that recognize the full value of water for its economic, social, and environmental purposes. Only then does water efficiency make sense in a holistic way.
Yes, water efficiency does make water go further, and this will enable us to increase the triple-bottom-line and provide more water for alternative uses according to their value, whether economic, social, or environmental. However, its benefits reach further.
In addition to being a good idea and providing more water, water efficiency creates jobs and business opportunities. Based on association and government statistics, I estimate that the whole water industry spends at least $100 billion per year and accounts for around one million jobs in the US. Those estimates are based on numbers that show water supply at about $40 billion, with wastewater about the same and at least $20 billion for stormwater, flood control, irrigation, and the rest. To reach one million jobs, you must add those in the consulting sector, suppliers, and other components of the support sector of the water industry. This sector does not increase the revenues of the industry, because its payrolls come from the water supply, wastewater, and other water management agencies.
So, water efficiency is a win-win proposition, but many people don’t understand it very well. In a recent talk I emphasized how water efficiency is driving down per capita use of water. After the talk one participant chided me because I had talked about water issues and did not mention conservation even once. I think I need to add to the talk an explanation of how water conservation is part of water efficiency, but not all of it. Water efficiency means much more than conservation. These complexities and fine points block good communication about water issues.
One reason that conservation was resisted by utilities before it became popular was the notion of forcing people to save water. Water officials might say, “Why do we need conservation when we have plenty of water? Besides, water conservation hurts our revenue base.” This one-sided view has been shaped by the institutional forces of water supply that existed in the past. Triple-bottom-line objectives were not evident in arguments like this.
If water officials see the big picture, water efficiency can be advanced on a win-win basis, but seeing the big picture means you have to look at the common good, not narrow stovepipe objectives. The same is true of water customers. They have to see the full merits of water efficiency.
So the world water crisis has a lot of facets, but water efficiency is the key to solving many of them. The challenge brings up two old bugaboos. The first one is how to get people to understand the interconnectedness of water issues and the interdependence of people with them. The second one is how to get them to care.