Securing Our Future: Harnessing Demand Management and Nature-Based Solutions for Global Water Security

Water security is crucial for several reasons. It ensures everyone can access safe and adequate drinking water, which is vital for human health and well-being. It also protects livelihoods, human rights, and cultural and recreational values. Furthermore, it helps preserve ecosystems and maintain their essential services.

By Robert C. Brears

Climate Change and Water Security

Climate change and extreme weather events threaten water security by reducing availability and quality. Increased temperatures, heavy rainfall, and droughts disrupting water and wastewater treatment facilities contribute to this issue. Conventional treatment processes are proving inadequate in these circumstances.

Socio-Economic Risks of Climate-Related Extremes

Climate-related extremes significantly impact water quantity and quality, posing socio-economic risks globally. Immediate effects of floods and droughts damage infrastructure and economies, while indirect effects deter investment in at-risk areas. Poor water quality hinders economic growth, exacerbating poverty and creating new poverty traps, especially in countries with increasing economic inequality.

Health Risks Posed by Climate Change

Climate change poses significant risks to human health, primarily by exacerbating existing health issues. For instance, more intense heat waves can lead to increased injury, disease, and death. Food production, particularly in poorer regions, can be diminished, leading to undernutrition. Additionally, the risk of waterborne diseases is heightened.

Demand Management for Water Security

Demand management has a crucial role to play in addressing these risks and achieving water security for all. Demand management prioritizes the efficient use of existing water supplies before increasing them. It encourages water conservation by changing practices and attitudes, aiming to minimize water loss, optimize use, and save financially by reducing the need for new supplies.

Examples of Demand Management

Demand management tools include water pricing, smart metering, and alternative water sources:

• The City of Vancouver has a seasonal water rate, which increases during the warmer months to reflect the added cost of supplying water to the city.
• Singapore’s Public Utilities Board is rolling out 300,000 smart water meters island-wide, with consumption data sent back to customers as hourly breakdowns the following day.
• Austin Water’s Onsite Water Reuse System Pilot Incentive Program incentivizes the development of systems that collect, treat, and reuse rainwater, stormwater, and greywater for non-potable uses onsite.

Nature-Based Solutions for Water Security

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are crucial for water security. They use natural systems to manage water resources and risks. NBS are diverse and mitigate the impacts of floods and droughts. Their multifunctionality exploits the interplay between vegetation and the water cycle, enhancing sustainable development and ecosystem services.

Examples of NBS

NBS include green roofs, stormwater harvesting, and watershed forest protection:

• The Hague, for instance, has launched a subsidy for constructing green roofs throughout the city.
• In Melbourne, Greater Western Water’s Stormwater Harvesting Partnering Fund helps communities reduce demand for potable water, including projects that irrigate sports grounds and public open spaces.
• New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection’s Watershed Forest Management Plan protects the city’s unfiltered water supply, the largest in the United States. The plan ensures the diversity of forest species while protecting them from development.

Conclusion

Across the globe, extreme weather events are on the rise. Yet, we are not left high and dry in the face of water (in)security. Through demand management and NBS, it is not too late to achieve water security for all while helping protect and restore the natural environment.

Robert C. Brears is the founder of Our Future Water, which has knowledge partnerships with various organizations, including the OECD/World Bank/UNEP’s Green Growth Knowledge Platform and the World Bank’s Connect4Climate initiative. Robert is the Editor in Chief of Mark and Focus. He is the author of 14 books, including Financing Water Security and Green Growth (Oxford University Press) and Nature-Based Solutions to 21st Century Challenges (Routledge), and the Editor in Chief of The Palgrave Handbook of Climate Resilient Societies. Robert is on the roster of experts (water) for the UN’s Green Climate Fund.