How Should Water BeManaged in Response to Growth:An International Perspective
PURC and Askew Program31 March, 2005
Paul ReiterExecutive Director, IWA
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“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
Loren Eisely, The Immense Journey – 1957
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Reasons for Pessimism… Reasons for Optimism
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IWA - The Premier Global Network for Water Professionalsl 7,000+ members in over 120 countries
l Professions: Science & research, utilities, consultants, regulators, manufacturers
l Scope –> All aspects of water management -> water and wastewater
l “Leading Edge” of science and practice
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BC200 AD
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(m illion)
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97.5%Salt
water
2.5%
69%
0.3%
0.9%
30%
Glaciers/permanent snow coverOther (incl soil moisture, swamp water etc)Fresh groundwater (10.5m ck)Freshwater lakes and river flows ((93k ck)
This is the proportion of the world’s fresh water
that is renewable
Total water
Global “Bluewater” ResourcesDistribution of Global Fresh Water Only
(2.5% of Global Water)Distribution of Global
Fresh Water & Salt Water
2.5%Fresh water
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Dimensions to a Global Challenge
l Coping With Growing Water Demands
l Addressing Widespread Water Pollution – Both Seen and Unseen
l Closing the Gap on Access to Water and Sanitation
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Worldwide Water Use by Sector
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Irrigated Land Worldwide
l 1900 – 1950 – doubledl 1950 – 1980 – doubled againl 1980 – present – growing proportionally
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Water Availability Per Capita 1950
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Water Availability Per Capita 1970
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Water Availability Per Capita 1990
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Water Availability Per Capita 2010
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Water Availability Per Capita 2025
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Water Availability Per Capita 1950
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Water Availability Per Capita 1970
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Water Availability Per Capita 1990
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Water Availability Per Capita 2010
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Water Availability Per Capita 2025
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The projected change is compared to the present day with a ~1% increase per year in equivalent CO2
Source: The Met Office. Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research
Projected Changes in Annual Temperatures for the 2050s
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At the Same Time …Additional and Significant Water Quality Challenges
l Pollution and water quality degradationl Nitrate and phosphate accumulationl Growth in salinityl Habitat loss
l Extinctions and reductions in biodiversity
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NRC 2000:
Nitrogen is now the largest pollution problem in the coastal waters of the United States.
Two thirds of coastal rivers and bays are moderately to severely degraded from nitrogen pollution.
Industrially fixed(mainly fertilizer)
Total reactive N
N-fixing crops
Fossil fuel combustion
Period of explosive increase of coastal eutrophication
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50
100
150
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1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Tera
gram
s of
nitr
ogen
(Boesch 2002)
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Kg N km-2 year-1 (Howarth et al. 1996)
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Closing the Gap on Access
Access to Safe Water
l 1.1 Billion Lacking
l Goal: 50% Reduction in 15 Years
l 101,000 People Connected per Day!
Access to Sanitation
l 2.4 Billion Lacking
l Goal: 50% Reduction in 15 Years
l 220,000 People with Sanitation Added per Day!
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Access to Drinking Water
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Consequences of Poor Access
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Urban Portion of World’s Population
0%
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60%
1950 1990 2030
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Challenges Scorecard
ü Have already stressed resources to support growth in irrigation and food production
l Have 2 billion more to feed in next 20 years
l Need to provide unserved population (1-2 billion) with water and sanitation services
l Context – rapidly urbanizing population (40->60%)
l Global warming à reduction in supply
l Growing recognition: ecological needs must be elevated relative to human needs
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Our Shared ChallengeAcross the Income Divide
Rich country or poor country alike
The key question is:
How do we do more with less?
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Dual Imperatives
Use Less Water
Underlying Growth P+I
Pollute Less Water
EnvironmentalAwareness
Resources Constraints
Wealth Cost Avoidance
+ New Technologies
+
= Emergent Paradigm Shift
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The Emerging Paradigm ShiftOld Paradigml Subdivide Water Management (Ag, Urban, Indus)l Use Water Oncel Use It Inefficientlyl Pollute Large Quantities of Waterl Treat the environment as an unequal partnerNew Paradigml Integrate Planning and Management of Waterl Use Water Efficiently and Multiple Timesl Match Needs with Water Sourcesl Minimize Pollution at the Sourcel Treat the environment as an equal partner
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Productivity Gainsin Forest Products
1900 ~40% ? à 2000 >95%
Sawmill Papermill Cogen Plant
Papermill
“First-Use” Resource Utilization
“Multiple-Use” Resource Recovery1950 ~10% ?1990 ~35% 2000 ~45%
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Cascading Uses
Wood Fiber Water Use
# 1
# 2
# 3
# 4
Writing Paper, Graphics
High Strength Boxes
Packaging Mtls
TP
Drinking, Hygiene, Hi-Tech
Industry
Irrigation
Toilets, Fire Flow
High Quality Low High Quality Low
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Innovation Required !
l To meet emergent challenges
l To meet traditional challenges
l To operate in a truly sustainable manner
l Need to develop the knowledge-base in specific areas to do this – our purpose for being here today
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Dimensions of Innovation
l The management and policy framework
l Planning and regulation components
l Technical components
l Social and educational change components
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Lessons From Around the World
l Europel Australial US
l Israell Tenerife
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Notable National Approaches in Europe
l France
l Netherlands
l UK
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Notable National Approaches in Europe
l France
l Netherlands
l UK
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EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE: What is It?
l European Union l Frameworkl Directivel Water Resources
l Framework for Integrated Water and Environmental Management for the EU States
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EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE: Broad Objectives
l Prevent further deterioration and protect and enhance status of aquatic ecosystems and associated wetlands
l Promote sustainable water consumption
l Contribute to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts
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EU WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE: Key Elements
l Focus water policy on water as it flows through river basins to the sea
l Applies to all waters; inland surface waters, groundwaters, transitional waters and coastal waters
l Integrates water quality and quantity issues for surface and groundwaters
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EU FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE: Overarching Objective (1)
l Achieving highest quality status in the rated condition of most EU waters by 2017
l In all areas by 2027
l Commitment:All waters in a healthy state (biological,chemical, hydrological) within 25 years
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Identify river basins Appoint competent body
Establish river basins
Develop objectives Survey river basins
-Physical characters
-Human influences
-Economics
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Inputs to objectivesIdentify water bodies
Survey results
Eco-region type
Protected areas
Parametric values
Inputs to action programmesBasis measures
Supplementary measures
Inputs to River Basin PlansSurvey results
Economic assessment
Objectives
Action programmes
International collaboration
Inputs to River Basin PlansPublic consultation
Prepare objectives
Prepare action programmes
Prepare draft river basin plan
Final river basin plan
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River Basin Management Cycle
Evaluate stateof environment
Assesspressures& impacts
Determineobjectives
ProposeActions
Finalise Programmeof Measures
Enact measures
MonitorImplementation
Asses risks,costs & benefits
2007
2008
2009
2010
2010-13
2013-162005
Continual
Three Six Year Cycles
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Murray-Darling Basin, Australia
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Year
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ual D
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sion
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NSW
Victoria
S.A. Queensland
Full development of existing entitlements
'88'94
Average Natural Flow to Sea
Flow to SeaNet of Withdrawals
Withdrawals
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Murray-Darling Process Outcomes
l Rollback on consumptive water uses
l Program for buying back water rights
l Agricultural efficiency measures
l Introduced market mechanisms for agricultural water use and pricing
l Water trading scheme between agriculture and urban uses
l Stringent conservation programs for urban water utilities
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Common Elements
l Political recognition of the problems
l National and multinational framework for basin authorities, water quality standards and required actions
l Basin level approach to managementl True integration of managementl Ability to collect and the ability to spendl Effective partnerships with local governments
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Different Circumstances Mean Different Approaches
Top Down
Bottom Up
Requires Shared Values and Commitments
Requires Shared Respect for Authorities
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Dimensions of Innovation
l The management and policy framework
l Planning and regulation components
l Technical components
l Social and educational change components
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Innovation in Water Production and Use: Doing More with Less
Efficiencies in Supply and DemandConjunctive Use of Water
Water ReuseDesalinisation
Cascading Use
More water for people and the environment
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The Distant Future?The Distant Future?
SEWERSEWERSEWER
DRINKING WATERSUPPLYDRINKING WATERSUPPLY
REUSED WATER SUPPLYREUSED WATER SUPPLY
ENVIRONMENTAL LAKEENVIRONMENTAL LAKEQuality & quantity bufferQuality & quantity buffer
Water quality monitoringWater quality monitoring
Sewage treatment plantSewage treatment plant
with advanced processeswith advanced processesCITY AREACITY AREA
Nat
ural
Riv
erN
atur
al R
iver
Emergency replenishment line
Drinking water purification P.Drinking water purification P.
UF+NF
Coagulation + SedimentationCoagulation + Sedimentation
(Coagulation)+UF(Coagulation)+UFReclamation plantReclamation plant
DrainDrain
RORO(( desaltingdesalting))
Biological P.Biological P.++ CoagulationCoagulation++ UF+XUF+X
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WATER DISTRICTS & FARMLANDWATER DISTRICTS & FARMLAND
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FARMLANDFARMLANDFARMLANDFARMLAND
SEASEA
CITYCITY
CITYCITY
Drain
Environmental LakeEnvironmental Lake
Environmental LakeEnvironmental Lake
ReuseReuse
ReuseReuse
Supply
PONDPOND
Natural RiverNatural River
ReuseReuse
ReuseReuse
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Macro-Forces to Think About
l Value of water (and nutrients) is rising– Desalination, reuse much more likely– Large scale nutrient recovery – when and how?
l Membranes are coming– Better, cheaper, gaining experience– Permit (drive ?) smaller scale solutions – Offer new possibilities for reuse
l In-situ solutions increasingly viable– Technology is getting there– Lower up-front costs => attractive to many– Host of maintenance issues to tackle
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Centralised treatment costsTransport costs
Small scale treatment costsNew total costs
Reduced total costs
Existing total costs
Existing total costs
$/Ho
use
Number of Connections
Changing System Economics
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Centralized vs. Nodal System
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Tucson, Arizona: “Water Factory”
AquiferC River water
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Recycling
Diversity of Sources
DemandManaged
Localtreatment& reuse
Stormwaterreuse
Detention
Land or water disposal
Water and nutrient flow
System That Are Much More Diverse in Their Design
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Israel: Progressive à Radical
Current Future
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Tenerife: Successive Innovation
Stage One Stage Two Stage Three
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Dimensions of Innovation
l The management and policy framework
l Planning and regulation components
l Technical components
l Social and educational components
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Setting the Stage
l Significant growth
l Deteriorating water quality
l Looming water shortages
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Chinook salmon facing extinction
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Implicated through the ESA
l Anyone affecting the water resources that affect salmon
lWater and wastewater utilitiesl Others withdrawing or discharginglMunicipal stormwaterl River, seaside land use
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Ecological-Political Overlay
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Advent of a New Paradigm
l Change in Perspectivel Change in Approach l Change in Scope
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Changing Perspective
From:– Meeting regulations
-- point of diversion, point of discharge -- minimum instream flows, wq permit
compliance
To:– Obligations to deliver environmental
outcomes-- water quality and quantity for fish -- environment / fish as another customer
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Changing Approach
l From:– Divided and singular approached to the
development and management of water resources
l To:– A more integrated approach to the
development and management of water resources
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The Big Challenge
l Subdivided Political Landscape– 3 counties, Seattle + 2 smaller cities
– 50+ smaller political jurisdictions
l Highly Fragmented Authorities– Water supply (big cities)
– Wastewater (various)
– Stormwater (about 50 local authorities)
l Fragmented Regulatory Environment
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Resulting Actions
l Utilityl CitylWatershedl Regional l Stakeholder
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Utility Actionsl ESA / environmental issues top priority
l Increase environmental flows on source rivers è more conservation investments
l Rethought entire water quality and stormwater program (regulatory implications)
l Removal of barrier to upstream passage
l Acceleration of “natural systems”
l Changed utility practices– Flushing
– Pesticides
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City Actions
l Hightened engagement with other jurisdictions on water-environment issues
l Rethink on land uses and regulations
l Non-point sources elevated in importance and action
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Watershed Actions
l Watershed forums developed
l Recovery plans developed
l Watershed compacts created
l Interlocal agreements between communities for financing actions
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Regional Actions
“Salmon swim through 27 jurisdictions to spawn. In our need to solve this problem, the salmon will save us from ourselves”
l Formed Regional Water Suppliers Forum –“Water for fish and people”
l Developed state legislative package
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Key Issues
l Balancing Prioritiesl Uncertain Sciencel Politics of the Environmentl Physical vs Jurisdictional Boundariesl Decentralized Political Structures
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Thank You!