WATER EFFICIENT & WATER TRANSITION
1.
AN INEVITABLE WATER TRANSITION
At the global level, the effects of the anthropization of the water cycle (impermeabilization, drying out of areas, wetlands, etc.), the degradation and overexploitation of water resources, aggravated by climate change, are causing an increasingly frequent and significant mismatch between desired uses and available resources (in quantity and quality).
The negative, and sometimes dramatic, consequences on all human activities (drinking water, industry, agriculture, etc.) and on the functioning of natural environments are already present and will increase further in the future, with much more intense and frequent climatic hazards (droughts and floods). Water use will be increasingly constrained and costly (direct and indirect costs).
This is causing a water transition at the global level, just as there is an energy transition.
ALL HUMAN ACTIVITIES WILL HAVE TO ADAPT = NEED FOR A WATER TRANSITION STRATEGY
Transition refers to “a process of transformation during which a system moves from one equilibrium regime to another”. Transition is therefore not a simple adjustment but a “fundamental reconfiguration of the functioning and organization of the system”. This structural transformation simultaneously affects the technological, economic, ecological, socio-cultural and institutional sectors and the developments in these sectors reinforce each other. (…).
WATER IS A NEW MAJOR LEVER OF PERFORMANCE = INTEREST IN A WATER TRANSITION STRATEGY
2.
WATER: UNDERESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACTS
The water transition is not only a reaction to a world that is subject to multiple constraints. It is also a way to improve the performance of economic actors.
Because the overall cost of water is in fact much higher than what is traditionally taken into account in economic assessments. In fact, to the direct costs that are easy to evaluate (water bills, royalties, etc.) must be added indirect costs, which are themselves underestimated, such as:
- Energy consumption and all actions associated with the operation of these facilities (e.g.: working time, chemical reagents, etc.).
- The productivity of water uses (business continuity, asset efficiency).
- The number or size of the facilities required for these water uses (e.g.: pumps, aerators, filters, heat transfers, sanitation, etc.): CAPEX and OPEX.
- ...
A non-responsible use of water can also have a cost on a collective scale, for other users of a resource.
Webinar on the total cost of water
2.
WATER: UNDERESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACTS
The water transition is not only a reaction to a world that is subject to multiple constraints. It is also a way to improve the performance of economic actors.
Because the overall cost of water is in fact much higher than what is traditionally taken into account in economic assessments. In fact, to the direct costs that are easy to evaluate (water bills, royalties, etc.) must be added indirect costs, which are themselves underestimated, such as:
- Energy consumption and all actions associated with the operation of these facilities (e.g.: working time, chemical reagents, etc.).
- The productivity of water uses (business continuity, asset efficiency).
- The number or size of the facilities required for these water uses (e.g.: pumps, aerators, filters, heat transfers, sanitation, etc.): CAPEX and OPEX.
- ...
A non-responsible use of water can also have a cost on a collective scale, for other users of a resource.
Webinar on the total cost of water
WATER IS A NEW MAJOR LEVER OF PERFORMANCE = INTEREST IN A WATER TRANSITION STRATEGY
3.
WATER: A LOCAL ISSUE SHARED BY ALL
Since water is a marker of humanity, those who waste and pollute it will be less and less tolerated. The negative impact of bad practices is not only felt outside (other users, customers, etc.) but also inside (employees, partners, etc.) the company or community.
As a result, water is also an excellent topic for initiating environmental dynamics within a company or community. It is concrete, it is vital, it is local. It facilitates the support of the greatest number and can then be applied to other topics (the methods are generally the same): waste, energy, transport, etc.
REDUCING THE WATER FOOTPRINT IS ALSO A SOCIETAL ISSUE, TO WHICH ALL PARTIES, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, ARE SENSITIVE
WATER EFFICIENCY
The current water management strategy is mainly based on water treatment: on the one hand the production of standardized water (drinking water, osmosis, demineralized, chilled water, etc.) from raw water and on the other hand the collection and treatment of wastewater.
In a situation where water becomes less available and more expensive, this strategy may prove to be inappropriate because it merely addresses needs, without considering the relevance and efficiency of water uses. In other words, it acts on the consequences, with very little regard for the causes.
The water efficiency strategy is a systemic approach, which aims to control, improve and if necessary transform all aspects of water management.
The priority is to act on the root causes, i.e. water usage, to reduce consumption and discharges (volume and pollutant load) and only have to produce or treat what could not be avoided. The next step is to try to reorganize flows (sorting, cascading uses, reUT, etc.) and diversify resources (rainwater, etc.).
IT IS AN ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE APPROACH WHICH AIMS ON THE ONE HAND TO REDUCE RISKS AND DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS (ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE) AND ON THE OTHER HAND TO REDUCE THE WATER FOOTPRINT (ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE).
La base de cette stratégie n’est donc plus le traitement de l’eau, mais l’information. Le premier objectif technique est de connaître et suivre précisément les consommations et rejets de chaque usage de l’eau. Ceci peut se faire, durant des campagnes ciblées ou de manière pérenne, par l’installation de points de mesure quantitative et qualitative. Cette cartographie permet d’identifier et de hiérarchiser les points d’amélioration et de risques, puis de préconiser des solutions organisationnelles et/ou techniques adaptées à chaque situation.
WATER TRANSITION TERRITORY
The water transition strategy is a global approach (from resources to discharges) which aims to transform the water system of a territory to improve its efficiency and bring uses into line with available resources (today and tomorrow).
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This involves, for example:
- gradually supporting all stakeholders towards a reduction in consumption (= hunting down waste and leaks, moderation, changing uses, etc.) but also in the pollution emitted, in quantity and quality (= clean processes, sorting of effluents, substitution or exclusion of substances, etc.)
- diversifying resources (rainwater, reUT, cascades of uses, etc.) addressing some of these uses
A water transition program therefore involves the creation of territorial dynamics on issues related to water.