Water shortage is one of the most urgent challenges of the XXI century. As the population grows, climate patterns change, and the demand for resources intensifies, efficient water management transforms into a vital necessity to guarantee sustainability and life quality. 

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What is the efficient management of water?

The efficient management of water is the group of practices, policies, and technologies destined to optimize the use of hydric resources, reducing waste and guaranteeing its availability for the present and future generations.
It’s not about consuming less water, but about using it with intelligence, taking advantage of every drop responsibly.

Key principles for efficient water management

1. Preservation of the hydric resour

We protect the water bodies through geosynthetic solutions that avoid pollution, promote their conservation, and assure future availability.

2. Water quality improvement

We implement technologies that control pollution and rehabilitate degraded water bodies, guaranteeing their capacity to sustain life and for human use.

3. Equitable access to water

We contribute to improving hydric infrastructure in rural and urban communities, ensuring a fair distribution and prioritizing vulnerable populations. 

4. Efficient water use

Our solutions minimize loss, promote efficient irrigation, and encourage water reuse in productive sectors. 

5. Resilience that faces climate change

We design systems that resist droughts and floods, and we support the restoration of environments that regulate the hydric cycle.

Water shortage causes

Hydric shortage can be a result of a long variety of complex and linked factors that range from natural elements to human activities. 

Climate change

The Worldwide Report from the United Nations about the 2020 Development of the Hydric Resources, titled “Water and Climate Change,” is an emblematic publication coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) from UNESCO. This information highlights the interrelationship between water and climate change, underlining that an adequate management of the hydric resources is essential for the adaptation and mitigation of the effects that climate change causes. 

This document emphasizes the fact that climate change directly affects the availability, quality, and quantity of the necessary water to satisfy the basic human and environmental needs. Besides that, it highlights that a comprehensive and sustainable management of the hydric resources can contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Hydric resources pollution

Rivers, lakes, and aquifers are experiencing a significant degradation in their quality caused by the pollution from industrial, agricultural, and urban waste, just as the disposal of chemical products and toxic waste. This kind of pollution not only affects aquatic life., it also compromises human health and the biodiversity of the circumjacent ecosystems. As a result, the water from these sources turns unuseful for human consumption, agriculture, and other activities without a previous exhaustive and expensive treatment. 

Population growth

Each new person on the planet requires water for consumption, food preparation, personal hygiene, agricultural production, and maintenance of a dignified life. As the countries experiment with decontrolled growth, frequently without an adequate plan. A lot of infrastructures are not designed to provide the necessary needs of millions of people, and the excessive consumption is bigger than the natural capacity of the aquifers and rivers to recharge.

Inefficient use of the resources

In numerous cities, it is estimated that more than 30% of the drinking water gets lost before it can reach homes, caused by leaks in the piping and obsolete systems. In residences and commercial and agricultural establishments, the excessive and irrational use of water—such as garden irrigation during the hottest hours or leaving the water faucet open unnecessarily—contributes to an exhaustion of a limited resource. Besides, the consumption of water above the real needs affects the hydric resources; it also implies energetic waste, because the treatment and water transportation require electricity, creating a cycle that affects climate change.

Strategies for an efficient water management

Reduction of losses on the distribution nets

Its main objective is to minimize leaks, infiltrations, and losses caused by evaporation in the conduction and storage systems of drinking water through solutions like

• Rehabilitation of existing nets: Substitution of piping damaged by high resistance solutions and chemicals that guarantee long-term durability and reduce the risk of fractures or corrosion. 
• Waterproofing of hydraulic structures: Application of technical lining or waterproofing membranes to tanks, canals, and reservoirs that avoid filtration to the subsoil and improve the operative control of the resource.
• Detection and monitoring systems: Incorporation of intelligent sensors that allow the identification, in real time, of losses or weird variations of pressure on the lines of distribution, easing a technical answer. 

Recycling and reuse technologies for wastewater 

Its objective is to enlarge the useful life of the hydric resource by treating it and taking advantage, safely, of the waste water. 

• Physical-biological treatment plants: Installations that are designed to clean wastewater through different processes like separation, filtration, aeration, and disinfection, adequate for communities, industrial, or agribusiness zones.
• Safe reuse systems: Controlled conduction of treated water to non-drinking uses (irrigation, industrial cleaning, aquifer recharge) through canals or encapsulated lines that avoid a second contamination. 
• Encapsulation of processes: Use of technical materials to contain and stabilize sludge or waste liquids, preventing runoffs to the soil or nearby water bodies.

Rainwater capturing

Objective: Maximize the hydric availability, taking advantage of the seasonal precipitations for non-drinking uses or strategic storage. 

• Capture ponds and rural reservoirs: Waterproofed excavations that collect superficial runoffs in agricultural zones, allowing the storage and posterior use during drought periods. 
• Urban capturing modular tanks: Prefabricated storage systems that can be installed underground in reduced spaces, ideal for building, industrial parks, or public installations. 
• Initial filtration and canalization: Capturing systems implementation, with filters and conductions that assure the quality of the collected water and an efficient conduction to the storage points.

Key actions depending on the industry

Efficient management water is not an option anymore but a critical necessity while facing climate change, urban increase, and pressure over natural resources. Each industry faces unique challenges talking about the use, treatment, and conservation of water. However, the correct implementation of technologies such as technic waterproofing, rainwater capture, wastewater treatment, and smart reuse not only protects the environment but also improves the operative efficiency and guarantees the compliance of regulations.

At SAI, we care about a sustainable future. That’s why we focus on providing specialized technical solutions for each industry, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. We design and implement strategies that allow us to use, reuse, and protect the hydric resource, always by the side of trained and certified personnel, committed to a long-term positive impact. Contact us to get more information about how our solutions can help your industry to manage water in a more efficient way.