Feature
The Future of Water
Positive Water Sector Disruptions by 2030 by Upmanu Lall
III.I Overview
W
ater security has emerged as a global concern over the last two decades. This creates the impetus for a broad range of innovations that should disrupt water and wastewater services. The most significant disruption I expect to see is that a much greater role will emerge for the private sector, which will in turn modify processes in use by this public sector dominated area. This will come through: the provision of water and wastewater services, from the bottom up – highly decentralized yet networked solutions;
1.
the use of financial instruments to securitize water, climate and environmental risks;
2.
management services that try to leverage the value of water for other sectors, such as mining, energy and agriculture; and
3.
pressure for reforms in regulatory processes that lead to adaptive environmental and resource management that is informed by data, active trend mapping and attribution.
4.
Increasing concern with climate variability and change, as climate extremes coupled with existing stresses lead to an increasing demand for adaptation and risk mitigation for supply chains, cities and populations.
82 | Solutions | Spring 2020 | www.thesolutionsjournal.com