Water megatrend: ”A shortage of water is everyone's business”

The United Nations is even talking about an imminent water crisis. How can water become scarce when it covers most of our planet?

Our main problem is that only two percent of the world's water is fresh water. Most of this is stored in aquifers and in glaciers and polar ice caps. The rest is salt water and difficult for us humans to use. In addition, there are regions of the world where there is a notorious scarcity of water - for example, in the Middle East, but also in parts of India, China and Africa. In these places climate change will of course exacerbate the existing water stress and massively affect people's lives.

KSB is a manufacturer of pumps and valves - and these are frequently used in water transport. What positive influence can the company have on these developments?

As a pump and valve manufacturer, we have many years of experience in the world of water. Our knowledge of applications relating to the extraction, transport and treatment of water, and to waste water systems, enables us to have an impact at various levels. For example, over 80 percent of the world's waste water is still released untreated into nature. There is a huge demand here that we are able to meet. Then, of course, there is the issue of operating reliability and system availability. If water is becoming scarcer as a resource, then we need to ensure that the infrastructure operates extremely efficiently. So the issue of leakage is particularly relevant to an ageing infrastructure. For example, in the United States, as much as 50 percent of the water in supply systems is simply lost. With our breadth of knowledge, our consulting services provide significant added value for consultants and architects in the field of water facilities and systems.

Which trends will become particularly important for KSB?

Energy efficiency has always been a major issue for KSB – and its relevance will continue to grow. It is estimated that worldwide pumps consume around ten percent of the electrical energy used in industry. Water and energy are two areas that are inextricably linked. It's also called the "water-energy challenge", because by 2040 it's estimated that water consumption by power generation will increase by up to 60 percent. And finally, we need to focus on more digitalisation. If we look at countries with water shortages, such as Chile or countries in the Middle East, condition monitoring and remote maintenance will play a major role in the future in order to prevent water losses.

Water is something that is absolutely essential to life. Yet at the same time, it is seen as something very commonplace, an almost worthless commodity. Do we need to change our attitude towards water?

Yes, I think so. Here in the temperate regions we naturally have a view of water as a resource that is not representative of many other regions of the world. We may find that we are not allowed to wash our car in the summer, or that small rivers and streams dry up occasionally, but we never experience a situation in which nothing comes out of the tap at all. But changes in this attitude are becoming increasingly noticeable. Many countries are making incredible efforts to influence the behaviour of people and of industry - for example, through awareness campaigns or by subsidising products that save water.  When it comes to saving water, everyone faces a challenge, but especially those industries and companies that make intensive use of fresh water resources.

What can we do in our everyday lives to save water?

We can all become more aware of the value of water and think about how we can reduce waste in our everyday lives. This starts with the smallest activities, for example, when we don't spray the whole garden when watering, but direct a narrow jet of water directly to the roots of the plants. In Israel, for example, a country with scarce water resources, this drip irrigation has been practised in agriculture since the 1960s. These are the first small steps toward using this precious resource as sustainably as possible. In addition, everyone should be aware that it is not just about saving running water, but also about reducing the virtual water footprint.