The water sector is at the stage where it is transiting to becoming renewable. Indeed, it is a dramatic shift for the water industry, which could have been seen as extractive. It is like having a gry hazardowe na pieniądze that was not years back.
The natural hydrologic cycle has been interrupted for too long as a community. We have also failed in incorporating renewable and sustainable practices into providing more water suppliers rather than minimizing demand and reusing what we have.
Understanding the Renewable Water Sector
The water industry has every opportunity to increase water resiliency, security, and equitable access to quality drinking water. However, the shift to actualize this has not been accelerated as it ought to because of climate change.
Therefore, for the water industry to transition from being an extractive to a renewable state, there is a need to adopt new strategies and technologies within the industry. Here are a few strategies that can make the water sector renewable.
Circular and Diversified
This would include increasing water reuse and recycling in homes, cities, and other sectors like manufacturing and agricultural sectors. For instance, in some European countries, we see an improved interest and implementation of water recycling as a response to the influence of climate change.
There is a need to spread water sources and tap local water treatment and supply systems. For instance, some countries can provide safe drinking water to several neighborhoods and homes using innovative technologies, including air moisture capture.
Digital
Nowadays, digital technologies play a critical role in shifting to a renewable water sector. These technologies include IoT devices, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, virtual reality/augmented reality, and edge computing for applications in public and industrial sectors.
These solutions will provide water quantification, real-time water quality, and asset performance to develop the sustainability of water resources and the resiliency of infrastructure. Furthermore, stakeholders will have real-time water quality data to become informed about any contaminant concentrations.
Democratized
There is also a need to have data readily available to customers, civil society, NGOs, and stakeholders to fast-track the implementation of renewable water technologies. Currently, it is hard to access water data and information from a public database and providing accessible data that is simple to understand for everyone can go a long way.
How to Fast Track the Water Resource to Become Renewable
To speed up things in the shift from water as an extractive industry into a sustainable industry, it must be deeply rooted in transparency, democratized access to information, and education. Therefore, to achieve this feat, there is a need to do the following things.
Acknowledge and Educate
Everyone within the water industry must come together and face reality. Water should not be seen as an unending resource that can be extracted from the environment. We will not move to the next phase if we do not come to this reality. Therefore, educating and engaging the public is critical to speeding up the process.
Learn from Other Sectors
We can learn from other sectors when it comes to transition. For instance, the transition of the energy sectors offered several lessons and can be a good roadmap for the water industry. Looking at the energy sector, the introduction and adoption of wind and solar technologies provide valuable insights for those in the water industry.
