Water Management

Overview

Water management is about reducing consumption and optimizing use of water to ensure continued availability. It involves getting the right amount of water, with the right quality, at the right time, to the right place, with the best disposal path.

The primary objectives of water management are:

security of water resources
water conservation
quality suited to use
efficient facilities
cost stabilization and savings
pollution avoidance and reduction

Resources

Business risks

Water risk poses a number of physical, operational, regulatory, and reputational risks for companies. From a sustainability perspective, it is important that companies understand their water risks so that they can minimize water use and sources of pollution. Doing this can save your company money and enhance your reputation as environmentally responsible.

Water-related challenges can undermine business viability and success in numerous ways. Having too little water, or water that is unfit for use, directly impacts the ability of a company to remain prosperous over the long term. Many organizations and investors assume that water will remain cheap and readily available in years to come. But, based on global water projections, this assumption is short sighted. Improper management and poor planning for water resources can negatively impact the bottom line. It can also create negative stakeholder perceptions of a company’s commitment to water stewardship and its ability to anticipate and adjust to water conditions.

Basic water conservation measures in an office environment are relatively inexpensive and easy to achieve. But for businesses that consume a lot of water, identifying water risks and prioritizing areas for action are critical to business viability. Mitigating those risks can be complex and challenging. And failing to mitigate and innovate to deal with water scarcity issues will be costly.

The appropriate mitigation response depends on whether water scarcity originates inside or outside a company. Water risk for businesses originates from two primary sources:

Risks due to company operations, products, and services. These risks originate directly from company and supplier operations, and how products and services affect local communities and ecosystems. Improved management within the facility and with suppliers (e.g., by switching to less water-intensive materials and processes) can help to mitigate these risks.
Risk due to basin conditions. In contrast to direct operational risks, water basin risks are outside the direct control of a company. They cannot be addressed through changes in company or supplier operations. These risks require engagement outside the company via collective action, advocacy, and/or engagement at a policy level.

There are many competing interests among stakeholders when it comes to water access and availability. The risk of water-related disruptions in supply chains may be even higher than at the company level, especially if owned operations are less water-intensive or face fewer water-related business risks. Companies can address these issues by working with suppliers and external stakeholders to raise awareness and build capacity for water management.

Water use is visible. Whether you use a little or a lot of water, being a water waster can hurt your reputation and brand your company as uncaring, selfish, and needlessly wasteful.

Getting started

To be successful, water management strategies start with acquiring accurate knowledge of available water resources and demand for those resources. This helps ensure your company will have continual access to water for business purposes. In an increasingly water stressed environment, managing water risks will become a top business concern.

For example, if your company is planning to move into a region like Arizona or California, areas with a high degree of water risk, consider the following questions:

How much water is currently available? What are the current and expected growth rates of withdrawal? How many water users are there in the area and what are growth expectations? How will water restrictions during times of scarcity affect my company’s operations and ability to do business based on our type(s) of water use?

Be sure to evaluate all sources of water based on your use types. For example, there may be additional sources of supply if some of your needs do not require potable water. Understanding water availability and demand can inform better decision-making about where to locate your business.

Below is an illustration of how the concepts of water scarcity, water stress, and business risks are interrelated:

As you can see, water scarcity, water stress, and water risk are related, but there are also important differences. For example, water stress is a broader concept than water scarcity. Water stress considers water quality and accessibility in addition to water availability. Water stress can be subjective and may have different thresholds for what constitutes potable water depending on societal values and regulations.

There are non-water-stress factors that also contribute to water risk for business. These include:

Flooding
Drought
Climate change
Infrastructure decay

These water factors can cause business interruptions and have impacts on operations unrelated to water stress. Sometimes they can contribute to water stress as well, but they can pose independent business risks even in circumstances where water remains available, of high quality, and readily accessible.

Institutional structures, policies, and systems govern how a society manages water resources and adapts to changing conditions. Poor governance limits a community’s ability to prepare for and react to both non-stress and stress related water conditions. As a result, governance can also have a significant impact on water risk for businesses.

A better understanding of water stress, governance issues, and other non-water-related-stress factors can help companies gain robust insights into their level of water risk.

Making a plan

Once you’re able to quantify your company’s water needs in the context of available supply, you can strategically manage your use.

Below are the main components of a comprehensive water management plan. These activities reduce the burden on the municipal water supply (where the water comes from) and wastewater treatment systems (where the water ends up).

Compliance

Ensure compliance with legal requirements and water quality standards
Establish clear and proper disposal practices for any hazardous materials (e.g., cleaning products, paint and adhesives, medicines, stormwater)

Strategy

Develop an overarching policy and goals for managing water conservation, use, and disposal
- Consider the availability of water resources and local demand, and prospects for water stress situations
- Consider using a “true value” of water under all influencing circumstances as part of your cost/benefit analysis for water management activities
Reduce the amount of water your business consumes wherever feasible, including switching to less water-intensive materials and processes
Match the supply quality to your needs and reuse water on-site whenever possible
Increase the efficiency of how you deliver and consume water
Seize opportunities to limit or eliminate sources of pollution
Examine water use and needs in your supply chain and work with suppliers to raise awareness and build capacity for water management

Inventory and audit

Identify all water-using processes and equipment
Assess current water uses and costs
Install leak monitoring and detection systems to determine water losses in the system
Identify key areas for conservation
Identify key areas for reuse (e.g., cooling and heating systems, process and equipment use, domestic water use)

Measure and monitor

Identify metrics and set specific water goals and targets
Track water use and disposal to measure performance and monitor progress
Keep accurate records and regularly collect data

Accountability and improvement

Clearly define roles and responsibilities to ensure water managers are held accountable for performance
Provide regular reports on progress and the effectiveness of your water management plan
Continually seek opportunities to improve water efficiency and discharge quality

For many businesses, responsible water use is an important way to show commitment to sustainability. Balancing current water use with a broader and longer-term view of water resources and needs is how you can help make sure this precious resource is there for future generations. One thing is for sure. Water supply and treatment costs are more likely to go up than down! Over time, managing to need and use less water, and to dispose of it responsibly, will save you money and improve your image as a good corporate citizen.

Domestic water

Domestic water is closely linked to energy consumption (for heating) and raises concern over the rate of consumption, because through the water cycle, water is a renewable natural resource, but limited in terms of quality, accessibility, and availability.

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Process water

Process water that is critical for business operations raises issues of availability (both in terms of quantity and quality) and the rate of consumption, because through the water cycle, water is a renewable natural resource, but limited in terms of quality, accessibility, and availability.

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Wastewater

Wastewater requires treatment, which can be costly depending on the contaminants, to maintain the supply of water as a renewable natural resource and enable the water’s return to the water cycle for reuse. Treatment issues can be approached by reducing or eliminating contaminants, as well as through innovation for more effective or efficient treatment options.

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Stormwater

Stormwater becomes an issue when it collects debris and pollutants, or flows too quickly, as it makes its way to waterways. These damaging conditions most often exist because of human activities that fail to properly manage stormwater problems using well-established best practices, such as increasing pervious surfaces and retaining or detaining stormwater in man-made basins or cisterns.

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Water basics

Water is essential for all life on earth. Of all available water resources, only about three percent is freshwater. Two-thirds of that is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. This means we can use only a small amount (about 0.5%) of the Earth’s water supply for drinking, sanitation, cooking, hygiene, industry, agriculture, and recreation, among other uses.

Sources of the water we use

Our water delivery systems obtain freshwater from two sources: groundwater and surface water. The graphic below shows the source and use of freshwater in the United States in 2010.

As you can see, surface water is used in greater quantities than groundwater. This underscores the importance of protecting the quality of surface water by minimizing pollution to rivers, streams, and lakes.

About 97% of all water on the planet is saltwater in our oceans. Oceans are integral to all life and have a significant effect on the biosphere.

Though not drinkable, saltwater provides many benefits to humans. In addition to being an integral part of our planetary climate system, oceans benefit economic and social systems by serving as the source of seafood products and recreational activities.

In the U.S., about 15% of all the water we use is saltwater. Most of this use is by the thermoelectric-power industry for cooling electricity-generating equipment. The rest of our saltwater consumption is for mining and industrial purposes.

The water cycle

Water is always on the move! The water or hydrologic cycle describes this continuous movement of water as it goes through various liquid, solid and gaseous phases on, above and below the earth’s surface.

As you can see, the water cycle is a closed-loop system. Water supply will always remain constant; however, water is not always returned to the same place, in the same quality and quantity.

Why is the water cycle so important?

How and where water moves can have a dramatic effect on our access to the quantity and quality of water we need for all the ways we use it. Here are some examples.

Changes in weather patterns can impact water supply. Most people in the U.S. don’t worry about water supply. But in certain parts of the country, this is changing. California and neighboring states are in a multi-year drought, the most severe on record.

At many points along its natural movement pathways, water can come in contact with and absorb pollutants from human activities. These can be chemical fertilizers used in agriculture, snow and ice removal salts used on streets and sidewalks, dust and chemical particulates blown into the air from industrial processes, or medicines that leach into waterways when improperly disposed of. Pollution in lakes, rivers, streams and oceans can compromise the use of water for drinking, cleaning, recreation, and commerce. When freshwater is too polluted for animal or plant use, we shift the ledger and add it to the larger pool of water that is here, but not usable.

To be sure, scarcity and pollution are water problems wherever they occur. But what if these are not your local problems? Why should you care? Because water is a precious resource. It is central to human survival. When it’s needed for human survival, people fight and die over it. It’s also very expensive to move water to where it’s needed for humanitarian purposes.

Society (that’s us!) pays, one way or another for water problems. We can lessen that burden by using water responsibly. That’s why, as a general matter, protecting and conserving water resources is central to environmental sustainability.

The water system

There are a number of important considerations related to the sourcing, delivery, disposal, and treatment of water resources. At every point along the way there is a need to manage and understand the system.

Sourcing. Where does water come from? Water sources can include a variety of surface water and groundwater supplies such as reservoirs, aquifers, wells, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. The water source depends on how the water is going to be used. Potable water must be pre-treated to meet quality standards before it is distributed for consumption.

Delivery and distribution. How does water get from source to end-user? Water travels through a system of valves, pipes, and pumps. Water must get to end-users when it is needed, in the amount that is needed, and with no degradation in quality. There are also potable water storage systems (water towers and tanks) to supply stored water when demand exceeds the ability of a water plant to deliver treated water (e.g., during a natural disaster).

Disposal and pollution prevention. What happens to pollutants we flush or wash down the drain or put in rainwater’s pathway? Water that has been used and stormwater runoff carry pollutants (e.g., bacteria, pathogens, particulates, toxic chemicals) that must be treated or removed before we can use it again. Some pollutants, though at “acceptable” levels, cannot be completely removed by our treatment systems.

Wastewater treatment. How is wastewater treated after use? Wastewater can be treated in a variety of ways such as chemicals, filtration, UV light, and microbes. Treatment can occur on-site, but is more often done off-site at a centralized wastewater treatment facility that services many sites and types of water use.

Stormwater management. How is stormwater managed to regulate its flows into our primary sources and treat it before consumption? Stormwater is naturally filtered and cleaned as it is absorbed and percolates through the ground as part of the water cycle. As we develop more areas with hard, impervious surfaces, we have greater runoff from stormwater. Green roofs are used to increase pervious surface for absorption of stormwater. Stormwater runoff is also detained in man-made basins, ponds, cisterns, or rain gardens to give remaining pervious ground time to filter the volume of stormwater. Alternatively, stormwater can be harvested for intermediary uses like flushing toilets (then treated as wastewater) or landscape irrigation (then naturally filtered). Stormwater runoff that is not captured and naturally filtered or reused will be diluted as it mixes with freshwater supplies. It is then part of the water treated to potable standards before being resupplied for our use.

In the U.S., local, state, and federal agencies are responsible for managing and protecting water to make sure supply meets demand and that water is safe enough for its intended use. When it comes to managing surface water and groundwater, government entities establish water quality standards. They regulate and oversee stormwater and wastewater management so that we can use our freshwater supply again and again. Water coming out of the tap needs to be drinkable, and lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans should be “fishable and swimmable” and safe for recreational use.

Water risk

Water is not always available when and where it is needed. Globally, water risk and the depletion of available water resources are influenced by the following factors:

Increasing population
Growing middle class
Rapid urbanization
Climate change
Pollution
Poor governance
Inadequate infrastructure

In many areas, water is being used at a faster rate than it can be replenished, or water is not evenly distributed based on need. This poses challenges for local communities, particularly in densely populated urban areas and poorer regions of the world. Water management based on equitable distribution of resources is expensive. How and at what cost to move water to where it is needed is a growing concern.

Feeding current world populations requires up to 70% of freshwater use for agriculture. The location of arable land and water resources do not always overlap as needed. The consumption demands of a growing middle class also means expanding industries to meet those demands and the increased use of process water for manufacturing.

Since water underpins all aspects of human development, water risk has the potential to seriously disrupt social and economic stability. In 2015, the World Economic Forum ranked water crises the top global risk in terms of impact, and among the top four overall risks, on a list of planetary threats of greatest concern.

US water risks

Managing water is a growing concern in the U.S. Many communities are facing daunting challenges related to water availability and aging water infrastructure (storage, treatment, and delivery systems).

According to the EPA, pressure on local water supply coupled with aging water treatment systems can lead to a variety of consequences for communities:

Higher water prices to ensure continued access to a reliable and safe supply
Increased water restrictions to manage shortages
Seasonal loss of recreational areas like lakes and rivers when the human demand for water consumption conflicts with non-essential uses
Expensive water treatment projects to transport and store freshwater when demand overcomes current local supplies

Anti-pollution regulations and enforcement in a water scarcity environment will expand. More chemicals will be regulated, what you are allowed to put down the drain will be more restrictive, and policing back to discharge sources will be prioritized and more sophisticated.

Water conservation is not new but will expand. We already see goals (or requirements) in a water scarcity environment that are based on contextualized metrics. Water allocations are determined based on how much water is available and the use type. For example, in drought conditions, using water for washing cars or for keeping decorative landscapes healthy is time limited or precluded altogether. Water meters are shut off when use exceeds an allocation.

Meeting demand in the years to come will require consumers to change their behaviors in all respects, from demand to use to disposal. Forward-thinking water management policies will emerge from both the public and private sectors. What will your business do to be a part of these essential changes?

Water Management