The Future of the Water industry

Taxonomy

• Startups
• Utility Provider
• Supplier
• Public Private Partnerships in Water
• Waste Water Technology
• Water Management & Security
• Agriculture
• Public Health
• Treatment
• Purification
• Policy
• Technology
• Environment
• Energy
• Desalination
• Human Rights
• Water Supply
• Infrastructure
• Finance and Markets
• Hydrology
• Development
• Chemical Research
• Construction Chemicals
• Environment
• Utility Chemicals
• Building Construction
• Environmental Consulting
• Project Management
• Business Consulting
• Water
• Nuclear Energy
• Conservation
• Food and Agriculture
• Health and Welfare
• Infrastructure
• E-Government
• Water Government Officials
• External Affairs
• Renewable Energy
• Research
• Recycling
• Water
• Waste Management
• Conservation
• Green Building
• Consumer Products
• Policy
• Technologies
• Materials
• Modeling & Software
• Nanotextiles
• Healthcare
• Energy
• Agriculture & Food
• Safety & Regulations
• Laboratory Equipment
• Nanotech Other

5 Answers

1. Water re-use technology is mainstream, we have been developing on-site and community re-use systems utilizing MBR technology for almost 30 years.  The only barriers to re-use are institutional and a lack of commitment on the side of the industry and the general public on the cost and viability of the process.

    

2. The history of water industry teaches us that always professionals and industrialists try to manage the difference between the supply and demand of water resource. The technology is one of the means that help to increase the efficiency of supply and optimize the demand. The challenge we have in next 20 years is how to manage the water resources to ensure the adequate supply for the demand apart from recycling and efficent technology applications. The water resources are deteriorating day by day due to climate change, natural disasters, human activities, industrialization etc.. Therefore, professionals and industrialists should more focus on technology applications and the changing of human attitudes/ behavior in effective manner to monitor, protect and develop the natural water resources.

   1 Comment

   1. Yes I agree. the future of water industry lies in the proper management of water resources and environment related issues.  

3. Bill Hoffman, a 50-year veteran of water engineering shares a perspective on the last 50 years and the next 50 years in this WaterSmart Innovations overview, which has links below to the PDF: http://bit.ly/HoffmanH2O 

   The bad news is that there is a significant gap ahead that will drive innovation.  The good news:  we can tap reuse and rainwater capture to make up the difference in existing resources, which may be a more cost effective in some climates make up a significant gap in available resources.  
   
   Efficient technologies will enable this. 
   
   The Emerging Water Technology Symposium by IAPMO, the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Plumbing Manufacturers International and ASPE, just covered the in-building water industry, and I'm including links to the presentations shared there - spanning reuse to quality management:  http://bit.ly/EWTS18 

4. There will be a trend toward convergence of utility sector silos due to the obvious replication of process similarities and value propositions associated with integrated planning and operations presented by the shift toward connectivity in the internet of things.  There are numerous entities around the globe espousing the "Utility of the Future" and the resource reclamation as a primary focus of what was the wastewater industry.  The greatest challenge will be in breaking down the institutional barriers to the logical progression to a more resilient, sustainable platform for future communities.  This is also an essential transition to bring forth infrastructure for the Smart Building, Smart Growth, Smart Development, Smart Community paradigm.  

5. The Future of the water industry depends on how efficiently the available water resources are used and exploring the ways to minimize the wastage and conserve water. Most of the wastage occurs in the supply network due to pipe burst and leakages. Another contributor to the wastage is at the end user point. People just don't care to repair the leaking/dripping faucets due to which thousands of gallons of water is wasted every day. 

   Technology is available for detecting and repairing pipe bursts and leakages in time. End user needs to be educated to conserve water by shutting off faucets while brushing teeth and repair leaking pipes/faucets as soon as possible. Although automatic irrigation technology is available, people still use garden hose to irrigate plants in their backyard. Xerigation techniques should be employed while designing the landscaping to mitigate the use of irrigation water. 

   In my opinion the future of water industry is not as bad as you might think if the water conservation techniques are employed in its usage.