As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the global demand for life-sustaining water across all continents. But due to ongoing, historic Megadrought conditions, water resources are fast dwindling and becoming extremely scarce. Summers are blazing hotter and longer, and rainfall is less frequent. Snowpacks that are depended upon to fill reservoirs are scanty and diminishing– and those reservoirs that supply drinking water are dropping to alarmingly low levels.
The dire fact is, we are now using more water than we are collecting. If global demand for water continues to increase at this pace, it is projected that within the next 40 years, there won’t be enough water to meet people’s needs. Unless we meet increasing water demand now by implementing water efficiency in all sectors of life, from commercial industry to municipal to residential to agricultural.
Water Neutrality
A highly effective new strategy to cut water usage and take increasing stress off dwindling water resources is to achieve “water neutrality.” It is a concept much like carbon neutrality, which is achieved by balancing any CO2 released into the atmosphere by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.
In effect, “water neutrality” is reduction of water usage, combined with methods that create new supplies of water that will offset that water usage to reduce the water footprint.
One example would be making use of rainfall by installing a rooftop water collection system to be used as gray water for washing the car, watering the garden and plants. Garden butts and rain barrels can also be used to collect rain from rooftop gutter drain pipes to be used as gray water (not drinking water) to greatly reduce water usage.
Ways Businesses Can Achieve Water Neutrality
- Reduce operational water usage by using only the best technology available.
- Influence and encourage suppliers to reduce their own operational consumption.
- Consider switching water supplier to a supplier who has a smaller water footprint.
- Design and manufacture focus on products that use less water over lifecycle of a product, and/or less water is polluted.
- Prioritize residual water footprint—the amount of water remaining after reducing operational water footprint.
Some major, global businesses that have pledged to be “water positive” by 2030 are:
- Google: has set a water stewardship target to replenish 120% of the water it uses across its offices and data centers.
- Microsoft: will restore more water than it consumes globally by reducing its water usage intensity and replenishing water in water-stressed regions it operates in.
- Facebook: investing in water restoration projects in high water stress watersheds where it operates, and is modernizing irrigation systems.
- BP: becoming more water efficient in its operational freshwater use and effluent management, and is working with others to replenish resources in stressed and scarce catchment areas.
Ways to Achieve Water Neutrality in the Home
- Check for and repair any water leaks to reduce amount of water used.
- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth and shaving.
- Run dishwasher and washing machine only when full.
- Install water saving showerheads to save 30 percent of water per shower.
- Fit tap aerators on faucets to produce mixture of air and water when tap is turned on to reduce water usage about 60 percent without losing water pressure.
Ways to Achieve Water Neutrality Outdoors
- Install WaterSense labeled, weather-based Irrigation Controllers based on real-time weather data and site-specific conditions to achieve water-efficient irrigation, and significantly reduce water usage and wasteful runoff.
- Bury Soil Moisture Sensors in the root zones of plants to reduce water usage up to 62 per cent or more over traditional irrigation methods. These ultra-sensitive sensors can measure volumetric soil moisture changes of less than 0.1 percent, and electronically transmit that measurement to the smart controller for the best possible irrigation decision.
Replacing a traditional, clock-based irrigation controller with a WaterSense labeled weather-based irrigation controller would save the average home nearly 7,600 gallons of water a year. If WaterSense labeled weather-based irrigation controllers were installed in every home across the country, we could save $2.5 billion in water costs and 220 billion gallons of water in the US annually as a result of not overwatering landscapes.
Benefits of Water Neutrality
Adopting water neutrality methods benefits the environment by decreasing the amount of water needed to be pumped from already diminished river, reservoir and groundwater sources. Water neutrality also benefits our future by reducing additional water stress on dwindling water resources.
Going water neutral means reducing the water footprint of any and all activities as much as possible, with the negative externalities of the remainder then offset with practices such as water recycling, or fully compensating remaining impacts by investing in sustainable water usage.
By implementing water efficiency now in all sectors, we could meet the increase in water demand by a rapidly growing world population, and avoid a potential global crisis. This could be achieved by aiming for water neutrality.