Sustainable water supply management

By Catherine Hurley and Dr. John Norton, MWH

While the “green” movement has become so integrated in society that it impacts consumer behavior, manufacturing practices and politics, many people have forgotten this concept is really rooted in sustainability.

A Second Edition of Oxford's English Dictionary explains that to sustain means "to keep in existence; keep up; maintain or prolong.¹" In the context of human impact on the planet and natural resources, sustainability usually refers to the "Brundtland definition" of "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."²

So what does this have to do with water supply? The answer is everything. The heart of every discussion about water conservation and efficiency focuses on the underlying fundamental need to provide a sustainable supply of water to meet our myriad needs for water. Water is fundamental to life, and for many uses it has no substitute. The most visible and publically scrutinized need is for clean and safe drinking water, provided to communities by both public and private water utilities across the country. However, of all the water used in the United States, public water supply only accounts for approximately 11% of annual use. Power generation and irrigation consume the largest amount of water - nearly 85% of the nation's annual use.³ Nevertheless, the high public exposure of municipal water utilities provides them a significant - if sometimes undesired - leadership role in creating, maintaining and ensuring a sustainable water future. The paradox for success is that, although the public water utility is the de-facto "leader" of our water future, the broad range of stakeholders and issues requires considerable collaboration to identify and implement sustainable urban water systems.

Ensuring sustainable water supply to meet current and future needs depends on finding solutions to numerous challenges. Fresh water supplies are not proportionally located near the areas with the greatest need or growth. While a renewable resource, certain stocks of water are consumed at a much faster rate than can be naturally replenished. This becomes increasingly evident in groundwater aquifers and surface water where withdrawal rates can exceed natural replenishment. The planet's available water supply is also finite, and many uses degrade water quality to such an extent that it becomes impractical for other uses. Improving the quality of this water for reuse requires the input of energy, technology, treatment or dilution with more water. Finally, water supplies are not isolated stocks, entirely contained within neat political boundaries. They span state and country lines, and the behaviors of people in far off areas can dramatically affect down-stream supplies. 

Looking at the United States specifically, water supply issues vary from region to region.  In arid states, water shortages have driven water efficiency and conservation into everyday habits. Many other regions rely on surface water, which is susceptible to seasonal water quality variation, or on groundwater, which can experience increased contamination and decreased water levels. In other regions of the country, the opposite conditions can appear to exist. For example, the Great Lakes contain roughly 18% of the world's supply of fresh water⁴, more than anywhere else in the world except the polar ice caps.

The solution to providing a sustainable water supply necessitates the incorporation of all water users and affected parties. This diverse group of stakeholders must collaborate across geographic, political and socioeconomic lines, and must balance the social, economic and environmental impacts on our water use. Simply stated, a framework of collaborative teaming will help shape sustainable cities of the future.

While the value of stakeholder involvement has long been established in business⁵, it is still a relatively new concept in sustainable water management. Yet due to the challenging nature of the problem, collaborative decision making that incorporates the stakeholders' diverse views is necessary to develop a successful plan for the future⁶. For instance, residential users may believe that water is infinitely available, and water utilities may have fee structures in place that promote the wholesale of large quantities of water. By bringing these two groups into the decision making process, residential customers can better understand the limits on water supply, and utilities can encourage conservation by creating a price structure that rewards more efficient water use.

A successful collaborative teaming approach includes the wide range of stakeholders involved with or affected by the project, uses the appropriate tools to help facilitate data collection and decision making, and employs a systematic process to guide the selection and implementation of the solution. This teaming approach was successfully implemented by the DuPage Water Commission (DWC) in its development of a Water Conservation and Protection Program (WCAPP). 

As the largest water customer of the City of Chicago, the DWC serves 28 member utilities with an end user base of over 750,000 people. Recognizing the region's need for a sustainable, long-term water supply, the DWC established a goal to reduce its current demand in gallons/person/day by 10 % in 10 years. With MWH's expertise, the DWC developed and is implementing its WCAPP, the first regional water conservation program for Lake Michigan water users in Illinois.

Due to the large number of stakeholders involved, the DWC realized that the program's success depended upon the member utilities' support. The DWC included the utilities in creating the WCAPP as well as in the development of educational plans and resources. The education programs focus on four initiatives - water pledges, leak detection, rain gauge and landscape irrigation, and rain water harvesting. Led by the DWC, the programs deliver a clear, consistent message about conservation, while allowing utilities to customize and adapt the resources to promote local conservation efforts. The combined efforts of the DWC and member utilities will significantly reduce water waste, while encouraging other Great Lakes water uses to work together for sustainable water management.

The sustainable management of water is an ongoing challenge. At MWH, this precious resource is at the core of everything we do. Guided by our purpose - Building a Better World - MWH is dedicated to the conservation of water - the world's irreplaceable resource.

Footnotes:

[1] Oxford's English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, The World Publishing Company, 1970, p. 1435

[2] 1987 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development

[3] Estimated Use of Water in the U.S. - 2000, U.S. Geological Survey, Dec. 20

[4] The Great Lakes: An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book

[5] Freeman, R. Edward (1984). Strategic Management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.

[6] Yolles, Maurice (2004). Identifying Those on Board 'the Moving Train': Towards a Stakeholder-Focused Methodology for Organisational Decision-Making. Systems Research and Behaviour Science, Vol. 22, pp. 41-53, 2004.