Well-run water-system infrastructure is critical to supplying water to communities. However, sustainable provision of water is increasingly jeopardized by aging pipelines as well as excessive consumption, the effects of climate change and a growing and shifting global population.
Circa 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water, but only about 3 percent is freshwater, and less than 1 percent of that amount is available for human use.1 Uneven distribution and polluted sources where supply is severely limited further strain the ability to meet the needs of humanity.
According to the United Nations, water scarcity can mean scarcity in availability due to physical shortage, or scarcity in access due to the failure of institutions to ensure a regular supply, or scarcity due to a lack of adequate infrastructure.2 Water scarcity is a pressing and complex issue that water utility operators can help address through data management. Effective data management optimizes operational decision making in the treatment of water, and wastewater, and the distribution of water for diverse purposes, including drinking, bathing and use by industries and in agriculture.
In the following Q&A, WSP experts discuss how data, digitization and intelligent software jointly provide promising opportunities for utility operators to make supply go further.
WSP experts: Matthew Gallaugher, Director of Technology, Digital, Australia; David Rawlinson, Lead Data Scientist, Australia; Anna Dahlman Petri, Senior Water Advisor, Sweden; and Morten Engedal Sørensen, Business Development Manager, Informatics, Denmark.