Water for Life

Water has always been a cornerstone of human settlement, supporting vital functions like food production, transportation, development and growth and — in more recent history — energy production and population health and wellbeing. Over time, the infrastructure required to supply and manage water in communities has become more complex. 

Historically, water infrastructure planning has occurred independently of the built environment planning processes, despite them occupying the same physical space. This siloed approach means the solutions developed to overcome common water management challenges, such as flooding, water quality and scarcity, have been developed independently too. 

Today, water supply and management in communities are under pressure from ongoing rising demand for domestic, industrial, recreational and agricultural uses and from the impacts of climate change. In responding to these challenges, the water sector has the opportunity to embrace OneWater thinking that values water in all its forms and recognizes water’s vital connections to land, food, energy and communities.

The water sector is also a contributor to climate change; producing greenhouse gas emissions in the form of direct emissions from wastewater treatment processes, energy use and embodied emissions in concrete, steel, plastics and other materials used in the construction of water infrastructure. Voluntary — and increasingly, mandated — Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) approaches are emerging as a major catalyst for change too; helping the water sector consider the many complexities and interdependencies it faces and challenging how it responds to risks and evaluates impact.

As we grapple with the uncertainty that a changing climate presents to our future, we must leverage this disruptive period to embed highly collaborative and integrated approaches into planning and decision making to set the stage for a more resilient future.