Tech solves water scarcity

But this note is not about doom and gloom. It is about choices we have to make together. Choices that move us from competition for water to collaboration on solutions to the challenges posed to us. Our hope is for cities, industry, agriculture and power to learn to work together in developing a sustainable and efficient way to manage water use. Through creativity, cooperation and better communication, we can find innovative and sustainable solutions to tackle water scarcity. With shared visions and clear priorities, maintaining a healthy standard of living will be obtainable for every population around the world. We need citizens and businesses to understand where the water comes from, what it costs to produce, and what the different choices of how we use and treat water mean in terms of costs and shortages. In cities and in industry, we need to find ways to better capture, store, treat and re-use water to improve our supply. We need to close the water cycle so “waste water” is useful water. We need to understand how improving irrigation efficiency in agriculture makes more water available with lower costs for all. In any county, or state or watershed we need to understand what water is available, how it is used, and how it could be used. Looking at our collective options together may save us money in the long run, help create jobs, and avoid water wars.

Governments and other organizations need to facilitate awareness as to our local and national water choices, and help establish plans and goals for how we can bring industry and other stakeholders together to meet the challenge. Proposals on how to incentivize conservation, allow water trading, develop new water system designs, green infrastructure, and ensure the high quality and quantity of supply at the lowest cost need to be developed together. Laws and regulations need to be re-examined to help us transition to a 21st century water economy.

Working together across industries on the world’s most complex water-related challenges, like water scarcity and the need for water reuse, is the only way to solve problems with such magnitude. If we can increase awareness and understand each other’s water needs and interdependences, we can continue to develop technologies to improve our water reuse and sustainable manufacturing practices. Americans working together can provide the technical, legal and business innovations to set a direction that ensures a bright future for all parts of the world.