Tackling global water scarcity in a time of climate change and population growth

July 2024 marked the 14^th consecutive month of record global heat, and Day Zero is no longer a realistic fear limited to South Africa. The water crisis in Mexico City and Johannesburg are worsening, and even water abundant nations like the United Kingdom and the United States are fighting water scarcity, moving towards recycling and desalination to cope.

All over the world we are facing water scarcity challenges in terms of quantity, quality, or both. The big challenge is figuring out how to sustainably manage our limited water resources that is severely under pressure due to climate changes and contamination but also in increasing demand due to population growth. Factors that vary throughout the year and from location to location, as do the solutions.

As water scarcity becomes an increasingly pressing issue for regions across the globe, it is essential to understand that water is not only valuable but vital for life, and its management calls for immediate and significant attention from all sectors of society. We need to, not only be intentional, but also expeditious with water stewardship.

“We have gotten to a point of immediacy in many geographies when working toward the quantity and quality of our water resources. Luckily, we also see efforts to improve and preserve water resources are making headway globally. In North America , two good examples are California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to protect the limited groundwater resources and the Great Lakes Compact between US states and Canadian provinces. Success of the Compact highlights ongoing US-Canadian cooperation to protect these vital freshwater sources,” says Karen Dettmer, Water Resources Director in Ramboll Americas.

While legislation and collaboration are important measures, there is still a big gap between that and an everyday water consumer in terms of knowledge and consciousness when it comes to water’s value.

“Addressing water scarcity and its many facets is highly urgent and cannot be solved without rewiring the way we think about and manage water. There is a big lag in people's consciousness regarding the use of precious water resources, which also suggests an immediate need for raising awareness and teaching responsible practices,” says Karen Dettmer.

The value of water is not just a question of not taking water for granted or preserving existing resources, but also realising the potential value in alternative water resources.

According to both Karen Dettmer and Jonathan Clement, Director of Global Advanced Water Treatment in Ramboll, an essential step is to start working with holistic, proactive, and long-term planning of our water management.

Throughout his extensive career, Clement has observed numerous occurrences of climate resilience projects closing down, due to a perceived lack of immediate necessity. A decision that often leads to significant consequences when crises occur unexpectedly. The irony of planning for cloudbursts during a drought is not lost on him; however, he asserts that preparing for a range of extreme water-related events is essential. Such strategic foresight is key to safeguarding against the unpredictable nature of climate change and securing water resources for the future.

“In climates like the Western US, we have seen a period of drought being followed by a period of extreme cloudbursts. If we start planning holistically instead of seeing extreme weather types as separate issues to address, we might be able to benefit from the flux between such weather events. Capturing and storing water during extreme cloudbursts and flooding would enable utilities to ensure water access during droughts and thus avoid overextraction and drying out water resources. It would also decrease the risk of water contamination, addressing both water quantify and quality,” says Clement.

Looking out in the world, the level of experience with water scarcity differs immensely. While traditionally dry areas have years of experience working with scarce water resources, water abundant regions are now or will be facing those same challenges and must look towards more experienced regions.

For instance, PUB in Singapore has been exploring and working with alternative drinking water resources since the 1970’s and has successfully developed and implemented a model that supports a stable water supply. With the 4 national taps programme, Singapore collects, treats, and manage rainwater, imported river water, NEWater (treated used water), and sea water according to the nation’s needs.

More recently, the largest utility in the Netherlands, Vitens, started a Drinking Water Living Lab to address the current and future challenges in providing sufficient drinking water. In an innovative, five-year programme, Vitens’ objective is to develop a blueprint for future large scale water production locations. Core elements of the blueprint are the use of multiple water sources, a modular, scalable, cost efficient and adaptive treatment concept with overall sustainability as the main focus. On top of that, the stakeholder process needs to be significantly accelerated.

Reference links:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/17/world/americas/mexico-city-sinking.html
2. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/24/climate/johannesburg-south-africa-water-shortage-intl/index.html
3. https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/21/meeting-our-water-needs-for-the-next-25-years/
4. https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management