Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
39.5 Role of Regulatory and Policy
Amidst the growing water scarcity and concern about the future availability and quality of
water, Americans strongly support reusing water to help the United States drive economic
competitiveness and protect the environment. The recent GE survey noted earlier also
revealed Americans' overwhelming (>80%) belief that industry and government should
play a stronger role in making water reuse a priority. However, there are major stumbling
blocks to making this reality. Cost-effective technologies already exist to solve virtually
all water challenges, providing more access to clean water, and enabling industries and
municipalities to recycle resources. However, the focus needs to be placed on the human
side of the equation. We have seen individual companies, associations, and municipalities
step up; take the crisis into their own hands; and enforce high standards for water safety.
However, we can no longer be independent water users.
Rather, we must continue to change today's approach to water management through
collective action from organizations, governments, and individuals, in order to ensure
a more prosperous and water-illed future. To shepherd in this new era of steward-
ship, industry and government must work closely together. Industrial and commercial
manufacturers are the largest users of water worldwide. Obvious factors such as popu-
lation growth, increasing regulation/industrialization, and weather patterns are cited
as increasing concerns negatively affecting proitability and economic growth. These
unpredictable variables make it dificult to accurately calculate and plan for proitable
water risk management.
Companies are turning to inventive ideas and tools to help them assess and respond to
increasing water risk globally. Programs such as the Aqueduct Alliance, a consortium of
private and public sectors, nonproits, and academia, bring inluential entities together to
provide “unprecedented levels of water risk information for business and government.”
The alliance evaluates social issues, including willingness and ability of governments to
address water scarcity, leveraging new points of data for risk management.
This online tool allows companies, investors, inancial intermediaries, and public sector
decision makers measure, map, and respond to geographically explicit water risks and
opportunities. It works by quantifying multiple drivers of water risk that can be easily
and transparently aggregated and disaggregated. A stand-alone tool, Aqueduct, identiies
hotspots of water risk that can constrain a company's access to water, increase its costs, and
disrupt its operations. When overlaid with the locations of production facilities and/or key
suppliers, these maps highlight the water risks a company is exposed to, while pinpoint-
ing where solutions are required.
Beyond Aqueduct, initiatives like WaterMatch—an innovative new, free online website
dedicated to promoting beneicial reuse of municipal efluent for global industrial use—
are a step forward in responsible water management, and in partnerships between indus-
tries and municipalities. In addition to putting fundamental environmental best practices
into place, industrial companies can take advantage of such programs. For instance, as
part of its water sustainability program, Coca Cola has developed a forum for government
plants to evaluate water risk, providing reports on individual risk and educating compa-
nies on water consumption.
Governments must also take strong action to promote more water reuse and recycling.
There are four well-documented, major types of policies currently in play worldwide to
increase this initiative:
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