Having platforms that provide and integrate information about water is key to understand the water numbers and transform the water world. We need to understand that we are all in the same water cycle and that we cannot survive without this fundamental resource.
Watch the interview to Elisa Stefan, Environmental Engineer and Expert in Water Resources Management to see her point of view about this topic.
”We cannot survive without water. We need companies that provide information to understand the numbers and transform the water world.
Interview Transcription
1. The water numbers
I think that a big problem is that people have no idea about what is really happening. There is a lot of people who don’t know about water problems and I think that the one huge thing that we should do is to provide information and to know more about the water numbers.
We need to estimate, to have a plan, to make a plan, to make better decisions.
2. A finite Earth
We need to rethink how much we need to produce. We are now 7 billion inhabitants on the Earth and there is a limit. It’s finite. It’s not sustainable.
A circular economy is a really nice way to rethink water resources, the water economy…
We have a lot of losses of water in this process and a lot of losses of energy and environmental impact. We can reuse water; we can implement reused water systems that allow us to reduce a lot of energy.
3. Integrated Data
We need the government to bring the data, to come up with data, and we need to share this information: give this data to the schools and the media, so we can make better choices.
We need companies that bring this information to the people; that help to provide the basic water numbers and integrate them. Because nowadays that is totally disintegrated. So, we have data with governments, we have data with some private sector (for example dams), we have data with sanitation companies… So, that is disintegrated. We need something that integrates this information and that, of course, is the key to transform the world that we want.
4. Risk vs Crisis
We can deal with risk or we can deal with a crisis. Just Curitiba has 3.5 million inhabitants, so it’s a lot of people and we are living in one and a half days of water rationing at this moment; exactly now. So, 36 hours with water, 36 hours without water.
5. First reducing, then reusing
So, the first thing: we need to reduce, there are a lot of losses and opportunities to reduce the water use. And then we should, of course, start to implement technology in order to recycle the water. Is there technology that doesn’t need too much energy? Because if you implement a process that demands so much energy and makes more environmental impact, what are we doing? We are solving a problem but making another problem.
6. The same water cycle
We cannot take water and put it in a box. This is water. Water doesn’t respect boundaries. We need to stop thinking that it is a country problem.
We will start to see a lot of events of the water crisis and without water, we cannot survive. There’s no future without water. We need to understand that everyone is in the same water cycle.
