| | DECEMBER 20198EXPERTS TALKWater is the most important resource on this planet! Nothing is more critical to the suc-cess of a society than its ability to supply water where it is needed, when it is needed. With 4.8 billion (55 percent) people are living in urban areas today globally, this number is projected to grow ex-ponentially to 68 percent of world population will be living in urban areas. The impact of climate change on water availability cannot be overemphasized, with droughts and flash floods becoming the new nor-mal. Mass exploitation of ground water due to rapid and unorganized urbanization has resulted in cities going dry. The good news is, earth has enough water for ev-eryone. However the bigger question is to figure-out who should pay for it, how much and to whom? Re-cently, we witnessed cities of Cape Town and Chennai running dry and people resorting to bottled water for their daily use. Rain water is pure and free, tap water is relatively inexpensive, and bottled water is a thousand times expensive than tap water. Soon, the valuation of cities, homes and people's worth will be co-related to their access to clean fresh water and aquifers, thus defining a new status sym-bol, and consequently triggering intense competition to possess the most valuable resource. The day is not far when conveyance allowance will be replaced by Hydration allowance in salary slips. Water Security should be our biggest focus, as it directly impacts food security and with it the very existence of human life.How can we be more responsible and ensure affordable clean water is available to all?The crux of the issue is to Conserve, Recycle, Utilize and Extract (CRUX) in that order. Today, we are in the XUV mode (Extract, Utilize and Waste). How can we make CRUX a part of our life?Conserve: Lima is a desert city with very little rainfall. Just over 1cm falls every year, which is a tiny amount considering that the Peruvian capital has eight million residents. In 2007, Lima's public officials wisely decided that to cope with severe water shortag-es, and they needed the urban population to be tuned into those issues. The initiative targeted 12-30 year olds after a study of the age group showed that awareness of the prob-lem was very low. A national writing competition for school children was held and the 50 best stories about water were published on World Water Day in 2014, in a book which translates as `Myths and Legends of Water in Peru'. A full time schools officer is now em-ployed to help schools throughout Lima to provide good quality education about water issues.Recycle & Utilization for Non Potable Use and Indirect Potable Reuse: Namibia, an arid country IF THERE IS WATER, THERE IS TOMORROWBy Girish Iyer, Director, SUEZ-Water Technologies & SolutionsGirish boasts of having over 26 years of experience working with Ion Exchange, Metito, TPSC Engineering, GE, and SUEZ, and specializes in Engineering & Contracts Management for large Drinking Water, Waste Water, Ultra Pure Water and Zero Liquid discharge projects.THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
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