The Future of Urban Water:

What would the state of urban water be in the next couple of years?

Well, the report The Future of Urban Water: Scenarios for Urban Water Utilities in 2040 by ARUP explores trends and future scenarios for the future of urban water utilities in 2040. It is the result of a jointly funded collaboration between Arup and Sydney Water.

“The programme has helped us gain a better understanding of possible pathways into the future, including implications for future infrastructure, governance and customer experiences.”

It depicts four plausible scenarios for the future of urban water utilities in 2040, using Sydney as a reference city. The report explores how a wide range of social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends could shape the urban water future.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2014 report said water crises is one of the top five global risks posing the highest concern. “Despite this, water issues are often overlooked or misunderstood, and there is a need for better awareness of their social, economic and environmental impacts.”

The Arup report said aside from the increasing water scarcity and pollution, rapid population growth and urbanisation are “major factors posing fundamental challenges to the global water cycle, with a particular pressure on the urban water supply”.

Australia utilises over 50 percent of its water consumption for agricultural purposes. The rest is for household, industrial and commercial use. But in urban areas, “the main driver for demand remains the population, and thus population growth”.

One of the key drivers for water conservation is smart infrastructure. It responds intelligently to changes in its environment to improve performance. “It is estimated that the market size for smart grid technologies will almost triple by 2030. Smart water networks could save the industry US$12.5 billion a year.”

Another is the change to a more digital lifestyle where people will be able to monitor the consumption and cost of water in real time. “More awareness of the issues could lead to increased scrutiny of water utilities and pricing of services. The availability of data provides an opportunity to educate customers about consumption and managing resource use.”

The report also mentioned new solutions for water supply such as the extensive use of desalination. About 96 percent of the earth’s total water supply is found in oceans. “Worldwide, desalination plants are producing over 32 million cubic metres of fresh water per day. However, energy costs are currently the principal barrier to its greater use.”

Finally, the report also said green infrastructure is part of the plan. “Benefits of increased green infrastructure include the reduction of flood risk, improved health and wellbeing as well as providing a habitat for wildlife. Extensive green networks can be formed over time to create an encompassing city ecosystem that can support the sustainable movement of people, rebuild biodiversity and provide substantial climate change adaptation.”

For more of the report, you can check this out.

The Economic Benefits of Green Buildings:

The World Green Building Council has released a report reviewing the costs and benefits for developers, investors and occupants for turning buildings green.

The report called “The Business Case for Green Building” provides insight into different case studies of green buildings around the world. It said that there is an increasingly compelling business case for green buildings.

“The evidence presented highlights that sustainable buildings make clear business sense – it’s not just about saving the planet. These benefits range from risk mitigation across a building portfolio and a citywide economic benefits, to the improved health and well-being of individual building occupants,” the report said.

Also, green buildings nowadays can now be delivered at a price that’s comparable to those for conventional buildings. “These costs can be recouped through operational costs savings and, with the right design features, through a more productive workplace. Design decisions made at the start of a project will impact the long-term value of the building and its return on investment.”

Aside from that, studies around the world show that green buildings attract tenants more easily and command higher sale and rent prices.

“In markets where green has become more mainstream, there are indications of emerging ‘brown discounts’ where buildings that are not green may rent or sell for less.”

However, the report said that in order to effectively transform the global marketplace, there is a need for more data and for even more case studies from all over the world.

Businesses can partner with each other or with academia and government to better understand the financial implications of a green building.

“What is clear is that there is a mounting evidence that in many markets across the world, part of being a better quality building means being a green building. In premium markets in particular, green is increasingly expected by tenants and owners – it is just part of what good ‘quality’ means,” the report said.

Rick Fedrizzi, Chairman of World GBC, said that the report “confirms yet again that when environmental strategies – along with program management – are integrated into the development process from the beginning of a building’s life cycle, green buildings save energy, save water, save precious resources and most importantly save money”.

The report highlights the best business case evidence available today for green buildings. It also shows how governments can leverage green building policies to support local economies and meet their long-term goals.

“With this foundation, we call on the private and public sectors to use their collective knowledge and strength to move the green building agenda forward, knowing that it benefits people and the environment – and their bottom lines.”