Global Water Demands of the 21st Century and Lifestyle Changes

In order to deal with the changing global water demands of the 21^st century, we must confront this need with an effective sustainable supply. Utilizing Green Infrastructure and properly managing our resources with real time data will change the way we look and use water. As nations begin to develop and change the way they allocate water resources from heavy agricultural application to industrial, it is essential to highlight the importance of resource management.

To address recent management concerns in United States city officials are taking more sustainable approaches and utilizing cloud computing systems to manage water infrastructure and use.  According to a report filed by IBM and published in Scientific American in September of 2012, in the next 25 years the number of people living in areas where water demands exceed available supplies will rise from 2.8 billion to 3.4 billion. That’s an increase of about 40%! In order to combat this increase and the changing lifestyles of developing nations, controls must be set in place. An example of these controls is in full affect in Dubuque, Iowa, where city officials successfully implemented a computing system that monitors water consumption every 15 minutes. Visually mapping out where infrastructure issues appear and bench marking current conservation performance from previous years are key aspects of initiating a sustainable management practices. These practices must be displayed and shared with other municipalities in the surrounding areas, in order to change the overall culture in the region.

However, although technology is one way to address the problem it is not the only solution. Green infrastructure plays a key role in the aide of water treatment and management. For instance in Oregon, local officials cooled down water from waste water plants by planting trees near riverbanks rather than using cooling equipment. Using other facets of the environment such as marshes and tree lines to absorb runoff is vital in conserving water resources. The real change must start at the community level. Challenging community members to implement conservation approaches in their own households is where real change can take place. As developing countries begin to take on the climate challenges of the 21^st century, this mentality must be reiterated again and again.

Globally we need to understand, particularly in the developed nations with high economic prosperity that water is a finite resource. The best way to ensure developing countries grab on to this mentality is through education and providing assistance in the way of technology and knowledge of processes. Creating a network of sustainable resource procedures and engineering techniques will be vital for the success of these programs. The needs of human beings will always increase. As more and more people cross socioeconomic barriers and work to obtain a status of living we have a privilege of having here in the US, water use will continue to rise at a substantial rate. We all deserve a comfortable lifestyle of our choosing, but it in order to sustain that lifestyle changes must be made. It’s a collective effort that all humanity must take part in in order to preserve of existence. 

Links:
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml​
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-water-become-the-chief-commodity-of-the-21st-century/