When we turn on the tap there is plenty of water. What is there to worry about? According to UN statistics, less than a decade from now, every fourth person on Earth might be suffering from extreme water scarcity. Perhaps, the time has come not to take water for granted. While you brush your teeth if you turn off that tap you will save up to 750 liters of water per month. The only factor that mitigates this true sustainability issue is the digital era that we’re in and its possibilities.
Is Water Really Abundant?
Only 2.5% of all the water on our “Blue Planet” is fresh water available for humans to drink and more than 97% is saltwater. In addition, only a small portion of this 2.5 % of fresh water is easily reached, more than two-thirds is frozen in form of snow and ice, and the second biggest portion is groundwater. This means that only 0.3% of all fresh water on Earth is readily available as surface water in lakes, swamps, rivers, and streams. In fact, half of the world’s fresh water can be found in only six countries.
Even though the total quantity of fresh water on earth has always remained approximately the same, the uneven allocation of water and human settlement resumes creating growing problems of freshwater availability and accessibility.
How does water “scarcity” occur? Water “scarcity” happens when the amount of water withdrawn from lakes, rivers or groundwater is so considerable that water supplies are no longer sufficient to fulfill all human or ecosystem requirements. Also, in developing countries, 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters, polluting the usable water supply. Let’s not forget about the global warming issue, it’s becoming more and more clear that we will be dealing with a water crisis in the near future.
Presently, about 40% of the world’s population lives in water-stressed areas. By 2025, this is projected to be 50-65%.
The Whole World is Looking for a Solution
Due to misuse and incorrect management of water, every day more water is moving from usable to unusable. With the urbanization of cities across India, suitable water management is becoming crucial in order to recycle this invaluable resource. According to a WRG Report, 40% of Indian citizens may not even get sufficient drinking water by 2030. Government of India has launched a “Smart City Mission” for building 100 smart cities, in which constant availability of water is one of the major emphasis.
Technology has improved, so today drinking water can be produced from seawater by removing salt in the process named desalination. Saudi Arabia has long been a leader in desalination. In fact, it’s the largest producer of desalinated water in the world. Whilst desalinated water is considered safe to drink, it causes many problems for hair.
On the other side of the world, the United Kingdom is enabling residents to monitor their water usage online. Smart meters provide users with more detailed information about water consumption. It encourages residents to install water efficient appliances and other water-saving technologies in their homes. It also helps customers pinpoint leaks that cause increased usage.
Which Country in the World Has the Most Water?
The answer is Brazil. This is the country with the highest volume of renewable freshwater resources, amounting approximately 8.233 cubic kilometers. The freshwater in Brazil accounts for approximately 12% of the world’s freshwater resources. Even here the situation is not as what it seems on first glance. Access to freshwater by poor neighborhoods in urban areas remains a challenge in Brazil.
IoT Can Be Used to Solve the Problem of Water Scarcity
The Internet of Things is ranging from smart cities to smart homes, traffic management system to transportation and various other fields. Among these fields is the water management system which is highly impacted by the IoT.
IoT can benefit the water industry and address the problem of water scarcity through:
- Water conservation – Water reservoirs and overhead tanks are required to have sensors and equipment which are specially designed to display the level of water inside them. With the help of these sensors, the water level in the reservoir or the overhead tank can be sent to the server at regular intervals to calculate the amount of water used on a daily basis
- Smart irrigation – Currently, a huge amount of water is getting wasted during the irrigation process. This is because the irrigation process is scheduled automatically at a particular time regardless of the weather condition and moisture present in the soil. IoT sensors can determine the weather condition and the soil moisture which will help in getting the right amount of water at the appropriate time to the desired place.
- Smart water metering – Keeping a record of water consumption can be extremely challenging. This issue can be solved using IoT which will keep a record of people using water on a particular day.
- Water quality testing and analysis – The internet of things can be used for measuring and monitoring the data captured and drawing a real-time analysis of water testing in industries like manufacturing, energy, etc.
Digital Solutions for Households
Besides turning off the tap while brushing teeth or washing hands, checking every leaky faucet, tap, and pipe, households can mitigate the water-related problems by applying more comprehensive solutions for smart water management.
Smart water management is the use of integrated, real-time information and communication technology (ICT) solutions, such as sensors, monitors, geographic information system and satellite mapping and other data sharing tools in water management.
All smart water management solutions for residential purposes can be categorized as followed:
- Water security – Some of the most useful features of this water management segment are through the smartphone app connected to home-based sensors, which alerts you in case of even small leaks and gives you the ability to remotely or automatically shut off the valve if the damage occurs.
- Water consumption – Since bathrooms are the biggest cost drivers in the house when it comes to water consumption, this solution provides even information on water consumption by fixture type (faucet, washing machine, toilet, shower) presented via a smartphone app.
- Water quality – According to UN, every year more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. On the market, you can find solutions that alert you via smartphone to disruption in a distribution network and provide an early warning system against contaminants in your water.
- Wastewater – With wastewater management at your home, you can reduce water bills, use fewer water resources, irrigate the garden during drought or water restrictions, cut down the amount of pollution going into waterways. Many other benefits come from this water saving solution, especially with a handy smartphone application.
Smart water recycling systems for homes can work completely automatic. However, through the smartphone application, you can choose which priority should be given to recycled water (toilets, washing machine or garden).
Facts & Figures
- The analysts forecast the global smart water management market to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period 2018-2025.
- When it comes to total water spend by region, Asia Pacific tops with $8.2 billion.
- Each person uses about 142 liters of water each day.
- People generally spend 7.5 min in the shower. 87% of people do not exceed ten minutes on their daily shower.
- Showers are the biggest water user in the house (25%), followed by lavatories (22%).
- In a recent survey on water security in Europe, the average answer on how many households in Europe have suffered from water damage was 37%, but in fact, the actual result is far more 54%.
- Burst pipes and penetrating water through the roof due to rain are two the most frequent reasons for the water damages in the house.
- As a result of one survey, the average water damage cost in Europe was 2.300e, and 39% of the damage was not reimbursed.