Would you drink water you once pooped in? After it's been cleaned, I mean. It might not be such an easy question to answer. But it's happening, and for good reasons.
Allowing wastewater that has been purified back into, and out the taps and showers of our homes is becoming evermore normal, as legislations that had previously banned it are being overturned in order to deliver more water sustainably. This motion is founded on the One Water approach to water management, which considers that all water has tremendous value.
Changes in the way we value different water sources are motivated by the challenges around water availability: ongoing droughts, changing weather patterns, high levels of water pollution, tightening regulation, costly and aging infrastructure, less funding, and the demands of contemporary societies and related economies. Valuing all water, no matter its trajectory or previous use, enables a broader and deeper reservoir from which we can recycle and reuse water.
One Water is a "holistic approach" to water management called, backed by the United Nations and UNESCO, and propagated by non-profits, foundations, and the private sector. One Water is rooted in the concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which is defined by the Global Water Partnership as “a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.”
One Water solutions aim to reuse, recycle, and sustainably harvest water in order to provide quality water to every one in a way that's sustainable. Inspired water managers look for new collaborative planning to streamline costs and and improve the delivery of water services into the future.
One Water Management Approach
Traditionally, the water industry handled different water sources separately. Wastewater, storm water, run off water, fresh waster and groundwater had their own water systems and processes for cleansing and distribution.
One Water management projects collect different waters and treat them as equally valuable, integrate their supply channels, and connect them to an integrated infrastructure. This gesture mitigates common waste and misuse of water. Amidst challenges with respect to the world's water supply and the costs involved in delivering to the people, truly all water is valuable.
Learn some water taxonomy:
Recycling water is an instrumental part of sustainable water management for suppliers and municipalities. Efforts to recycle water might even be older than we imagine, however. California, for example, has been doing it for over 100 years, though this state might be the exception more than the rule.
Though recycling water is an excellent way to take care of water supply and withdrawal, a central concern with respect to wastewater treatment is that the processes are extremely costly. Purifying wastewater that has been mixed in with pollutants such as chemicals, fertilizers, bacteria and parasites is, in a sense, a true luxury, which we must pay for.
Perhaps this price increase will help to stir more awareness regarding the tremendous value of water, and inspire people to use it more efficiently and sparingly whenever possible. New water prices are on the horizon and they will inevitably transform the way we use and think of water as a daily resource.
Here's an excerpt from California's Urban Water Management Plan Guidebook Checkoff list to give your an idea how important recycling urban water is:
One Water also considers the context and ecosystem of sources, not only the withdrawal and provisioning of water to a given community. One Water urban management plans consider sustainable construction materials as alternatives to traditional cement, concrete and traditional steel, for example. New aesthetics and methods are being applied to water harvesting and management systems in order to treat sites more carefully.
Furthermore, integrated water management plans provide analysis and data that gauge more deeply how and to what extent water is intertwined in economic, sanitation, medical, energy, and other sectors of everyday life. UN-Water, for example, studies and takes into consideration the ways in which water availability or scarcity affects human life sectors.
Water: A basis for Peace and Prosperity
Just a few weeks ago, on March 19, 2024, the United Nations World Water Development published an in depth report on the circumstances around water related to the economy, sanitation, energy, and lifestyle of peoples.
Titled "Water for Prosperity and Peace," the report draws attention to the ways in which water is a basis for peace and basic prosperity and harmony in a community. The scarcity of water, in contrast, generates turmoil, civil unrest, fights between communities, and territorial disputes, alienating humans from a sense of peace and its pursuit.
The same report informs that roughly half of the world population suffers from severe (my own emphasis) scarcity. One quarter of the population faces 'extremely high' water stress, using more than 80% of their yearly renewable freshwater supply. Using 80% of one's water supply is preoccupying, since any given year can become the advent of severe droughts.
In terms of energy, the figures published state that a 15% percent of water withdrawal is destined to generating electricity. And informs: the most water-efficient forms of energy are solar-photovoltaic and wind. We might consider wind power of solar panels more often.
One-Water Awareness: Household Harvesting of Rainwater
In this scenario, turning towards what the way we handle water at home seems important.
One way is to use it more carefully, and beyond this, harvesting water is a viable method for us to incorporate in our household management.
Harvesting rainwater and reusing it for our bathroom needs, kitchen dishes, water toilet and gardens is a brilliant way of participating in the reuse and recycling of water promulgated by One Water.
Overall, the household management of water takes on central role in contemporary sustainable living.
Let's see what a rain harvesting system looks like:
The Truth: All Water Isn't the Same
Water quality and purity affects the way water affects us, our species, and the vast ecosystem around us, so no, not all water is the same. For example, the effect between rainwater and tap water on a garden is evident. Rainwater is much more nutritious than tap water for plants.
Pure, virgin water in the Amazon, in the Mexican rainforest, or in remote parts of Vietnam, for example, is medicinal and is not the same in quality or capacity as recycled blackwater. Virgin waters relieve stress, purify the material and subtle body, relieve bodies from stress and toxins. Real, living water allows our spirit to revive and thrive in a way that is exceptionally precious.
For municipal purposes, the One Water holistic approach to mitigating challenging effects on water supply is useful; but we must recognize that pure, crystal virgin water should be protected from entering into the circular water economy as a commodity, because it's an every increasingly rare and precious resource.
All water is tremendously valuable, but not all water is the same.
Sources:
Kennedy Jenks: Water Management
2. "Water for Peace and Prosperity"; Word Water Report published March 2024; United Nations Water Organization
3. California State Water Management; water.ca.gov
4. "One Water Approach for Improvement in Water Resource Management; Environmental Finance Network; efcnetwork.org
5. "Rainwater Harvesting: Advantages and Disadvatanges"; collegedunia.com
7. "Storm Water Management"; linkedin.com
8. "Aguas Termales en Mexico"; mexicodesconocido.com
9. "What Does One Water Mean and How is it Being Promoted?"' autodesk.com
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