The  Future  of  Water      Insights  from  Discussions  Building  on  an  Ini4al  Perspec4ve  by:    Daniel  Lambert  |  Michael  O'Neill  |  Arup  |  Australia  

Context  The  ini4al  perspec4ve  on  the  Future  of  Water  kicked  off  the    

Future  Agenda  2.0  global  discussions  taking  place  through  2015.    This  summary  builds  on  the  ini4al  view  and  is  updated  as  we  progress.  

Ini4al  Perspec4ves  Q4  2014  

Global  Discussions  Q1/2  2015  

Insight  Synthesis  Q3  2015  

Sharing    Output  Q4  2015  

Readiness  for  Water  Scarcity    Currently  half  of  the  world’s  ci4es  with  more  than  100,000  in  habitants    

are  situated  in  areas  experiencing  water  scarcity.  To  date  neither    governments  nor  businesses  have  done  enough  to  prepare  for  this.  

The  Supply  /  Demand  Challenge    Will  it  be  possible  to  provide  equitable  access  to  water  and  sanita4on    

services  when  by  2030  the  world  will  face  a  40%  global  shorZall    between  forecast  demand  and  available  supply?  

Desalina=on  Essen=al    About  96%  of  the  earth’s  total  water  supply  is  found  in  oceans  and    there  is  broad  agreement  that  extensive  use  of  desalina4on  will  be    

required  to  meet  the  needs  of  growing  world  popula4on.  

Data  Analy=cs    Data  analy4cs  can  help  build  understanding  on  how  to  use  the  water  cycle    

to  respond  to  the  challenges  of  climate  change.  It  can  also  lead  to    increased  scru4ny  of  water  u4li4es  and  a  be^er  understanding  of  cost.  

Real  Cost  of  Water    Users  are  likely  to  have  to  pay  for  the  real  cost  of  infrastructure.  One  short-­‐term  op4on  is  the  financial  recycling  of  assets  and  capital.  However,  in  the  

longer-­‐term  we  will  have  to  pay  the  true  value  for  key  resources.  

Moving  Water    Water  sources  will  con4nue  to  suffer  from  over-­‐extrac4on:  Mining  and  other  ac4vi4es  will  move  into  our  water  supply  catchments.  This  means  we  will  need  to  move  water  long  distances  in  4mes  of  drought  to  services  exis4ng  ci4es.  

Doing  More  with  Less    The  focus  should  extend  to  solu4ons  that  do  more  with  less:  irriga4on  

efficiency,  automated  farming  techniques  and  demand  management  in  our  ci4es.  Smart  infrastructure  will  help  to  improve  performance.  

The  Funding  Challenge  Water  treatment  can  come  at  a  high  price.  Around  USD50  trillion  will  be  needed  worldwide  in  the  period  to  2030  to  sa4sfy  the  global  demand  for  infrastructure.  However,  accessing  funding  is  an  ever-­‐present  challenge.  

Taking  Hard  Decisions    We  know  that  there  is  a  growing  urban  popula4on;  climate  change  is  taking  effect  and  that  the  vola4lity  in  water  supply  can  only  be  par4ally  mi4gated  by  improved  efficiency.  We  have  yet  to  decide  how  to  address  the  problem.    

Star=ng  the  Conversa=on    Water  is  inter-­‐twined  with  everything  we  do;  energy,  food,  health  and  

wellbeing,  manufacturing  are  all  dependent  on  its  availability.  At  the  very    least  we  need  to  start  a  public  conversa4on  about  its  real  role  in  our  lives.  

The  Long  Water  Wealthy  na4ons  with  water  security  challenges  lead  in  the  development    

of  collabora4ve,  long-­‐term  governance  models  that  move  away  from  supply-­‐oriented  governance  to  demand  management  and  polluter  responsibility.  

Water  Resistance  Technological  and  process  developments  make  the  produc4on  of  high    quality  water  from  storm-­‐water  and  wastewater  feasible  and  prac4cal;    driving  public,  poli4cal  and  commercial  acceptance  of  recycled  water.    

Valuing  Eco-­‐system  Services  Growing  recogni4on  of  the  economic  value  of  ecosystem  services  leads  to  core  business  considera4ons  which  recognise  their  explicit  value.  Natural  capital/assets  will  become  more  commonplace  in  accoun4ng  systems.  

Flexi-­‐water  Con4nuing  uncertainty  around  water  supply  will  require  smart,  flexible  water  management  systems  to  cope  with  drought  and  flood,  the  effects  of  climate  

change  and  the  demands  of  new  industries  and  shifing  popula4ons.  

Water,  Water  Everywhere…  New  water  technologies  will  deliver  water  more  efficiently  to  the  haves,  

easing  shortages,  but  will  remain  unavailable  to  the  have-­‐nots  -­‐  so  driving  visible  new  inequali4es  based  explicitly  on  access  to  water.  

Water  Wars  Access  to  water  supplies  will  play  an  increasingly  important  role  

 in  violent  regional  conflict,  with  water  assets  becoming  prime  targets,    prized  spoils  and  even  weapons  in  their  own  right.  

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