If different sectors of society work in unison to manage our collective water resources, we will find more sustainable solutions to growing water scarcity, writes Dr Sally Watson, Mott MacDonald’s global practice lead for water resources management.
We can all think of various ways to save water. How many would suggest talking?
By this I mean water companies talking – about conservation and supply management – with each other, with stakeholders in other sectors such as energy and agriculture, with organisations charged with safeguarding the environment, and with industrial as well as domestic users.
The recent water crises in Cape Town, Sao Paulo and other cities around the world illustrate the impact that water scarcity can have, not just increasing the risk that the taps in people’s homes could run dry – even here in the UK, as the National Infrastructure Commission has starkly warned – but also jeopardising supplies of water for energy generation and food production. The social and economic implications of droughts are enormous.
An inward-looking mindset is untenable at a time of increasing water stresses exacerbated by rising demand, population growth, urbanisation and climate change. No single part of society is going to find sustainable answers to water scarcity on its own. The problems behind it are so complex and intertwined – and the potential consequences will affect so many different areas – that collaboration has to be the way forward.
In practical terms, this means developing more holistic solutions through integrated catchment management.
Greater collaboration
In the UK, both Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA), recognising that the amount of water being taken out of the environment is unsustainable, are calling for water companies to work more collaboratively with other sectors.
It’s already starting to happen.
Anglian Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water are among nearly 100 organisations (including Mott MacDonald) who have signed up to the Catchment Management Declaration. This initiative will see business, civil society bodies and the public sector join forces to tackle the collective challenge of water stresses through a multi-sector approach to catchment management as called for in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
Greater collaboration and transparency also lies at the heart of the pioneering Water Resources East (WRE) project, which will be central to delivering a reliable, sustainable and affordable system of water supply in the East of England to 2045 and beyond.
This is the first large-scale regional assessment of water resources in the UK that has taken the multi-sector approach on board and engaged with it comprehensively.
The WRE’s overarching strategy and supporting action plan will be inclusive of the water needs of all stakeholders across the region, not just those of the water company. It is proving how beneficial it is to understand the challenges facing other sectors, giving insights that you don’t see if planning in isolation.
Hydrosocial modelling
Collaboration, however, involves more than getting people from different organisations together in the same room.
It requires a structured format and framework through which all parties can engage with each other, along with shared vision planning and a robust decision-making model.
WRE uses a ground-breaking simulator which models the hydrosocial cycle which, unlike the hydrological cycle, looks at water within its social context.
Both hard infrastructure – water supply network, reservoirs, etc – and the dynamics of the natural environment – river flows, rainfall, groundwater levels, etc – are analysed together.
The simulator models different scenarios – droughts of varying severity or future growth predictions, for example – and then identifies optimal solutions to balance supply and demand across the region, and meet the aspirations of different stakeholders.
The results could require a radical shift in operational practices and thinking, altering long-established ways that water resources are allocated. It could mean building new reservoirs and desalination plants while groundwater extraction is reallocated from public supplies and made available for agricultural use.