In general terms, we can understand resilience as the capacity to withstand and recover from difficult circumstances. Similarly, water resilience is this exact same characteristic but in relation to a water system. Have a read below to learn more about water resilience and how it can be achieved.
How can water resilience be achieved?
Within communities, water systems must be upgraded. There is an urgency to improve urban water infrastructures in all parts of the world as the population growth increases. This is in anticipation of several factors: severe weather conditions such as hurricanes or floods, water scarcity, weakened pipe networks and the increasingly damaging climate crisis.
One way in which water resilience can be achieved is through water reuse. This is when water is reclaimed from various sources, treated and then reused. Water reuse can take domestic wastewater and transform it into agricultural irrigation water which in turn, promotes food security.
Desalination is also a popular method that can be used for water resilience too. This is due to operation expenses having dropped whilst demand has increased as it has become a more viable, accessible method, particularly in coastal locations.
Projects that slow down the journey of water to the ocean can also be a strategy for water resilience. Anything from groundwater banking to watershed upgrade and restoration – all of which will prove to be effective.
Decentralised systems:
Currently, it is popular for water systems to be centralised. However, in many circumstances a decentralised water system can provide more resilience. This is because if there is a single part that fails within a decentralised system, this will not disrupt the other parts within the system from operating. However this is not the case for centralised systems, which can result in overall CAPEX and maintenance costs to increase.
