Water is a vital resource that sustains life, drives economic development, and maintains ecological balance. Despite Rwanda’s abundant rainfall, the water sector faces significant hurdles. Limited water storage infrastructure, high water losses, and the impacts of climate change necessitate sustainable solutions. As we approach the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali on 10-14 December 2023, here we shed light on the increasingly important role played by young water professionals in tackling Rwanda’s water sector challenges. Looking ahead, join us and explore how young water professionals are shaping the future of water management in Rwanda at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, where we will come together to discuss and seek sustainable solutions for a water-wise future. 

Water Challenges in Rwanda 

Rwanda, known for its lush landscapes, has a complex water situation. The country is characterised as water-scarce, with only 670 m³ of water per capita per year. Furthermore, climate change exacerbates the situation, leading to frequent floods and landslides. In 2020 alone, devastating floods and landslides caused numerous fatalities and extensive damage to infrastructure and crops. To address these challenges, innovative approaches and a skilled workforce are essential. 

The IWA Young Water Professionals (YWP) Rwanda Chapter, informally operating since 2012 and officially registered as an NGO in 2019, plays a pivotal role in addressing water sector challenges. Comprising talented young professionals with diverse skills, the chapter leverages state-of-the-art skills and expertise to find sustainable solutions. Our contributions span several areas: 

1. Flood Risk Management: Through advanced modelling and forecasting techniques, including artificial intelligence, we assess and predict flood risks. Emphasising nature-based solutions, we prioritise adaptation and mitigation measures for enhanced climate resilience. 
2. Sanitation Technologies: Building on our expertise in natural wastewater treatment systems, we develop innovative and effective sanitation technologies. Our aim is to improve sanitation access and promote environmentally friendly solutions. 
3. Non-Revenue Water Reduction: Addressing high water losses during the supply chain, we actively contribute to the development of state-of-the-art technologies that monitor and reduce non-revenue water. These efforts enhance water management efficiency. 
4. Workforce Development: Recognising the significance of a skilled workforce, we focus on capacity building initiatives. By equipping young professionals with essential knowledge and skills, we contribute to the professional development of Rwanda’s water sector workforce. 

Looking forward to the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition 

The YWP Rwanda Chapter eagerly anticipates active participation in the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition. Our abstract on “Nature-based Flood Adaptation Measures in Informal Settlements” reflects our commitment to context-specific solutions and showcases our research-oriented projects. Additionally, we will actively contribute to the Emerging Water Leaders Forum, tailored for young water professionals. More information coming soon!

The Congress provides a unique platform for the YWP Rwanda Chapter to connect with other IWA YWP chapters worldwide. We will exchange knowledge, share experiences, and develop future strategies. This event offers valuable networking opportunities and the chance to establish strategic partnerships, further advancing water and development solutions in Rwanda. By fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, and sustainable practices, we can all contribute significantly to sustainable development. 

We hope that the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition, coupled with our initiatives, inspires water sector professionals worldwide and highlights the transformative power of water for development in Rwanda and beyond. Registration for the event is now open, find out more: www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org

Lake Erhai is the seventh largest freshwater lake in China attracting many visitors worldwide. However, the water quality has significantly deteriorated throughout the years. China Water Environment Group, Shanghai Jiaotong University and the local Dali Government have taken a series of actions to restore and protect the lake through PPP mechanisms and innovation since 2015. Fertilizer usage was reduced, inflow river wetland and littoral zones were built for ecological restoration, sewage networks and 6 underground water reclamation plants were constructed to reclaim wastewater. All these plants are covered by landscapes so that the sewage systems have minimum impacts on the environment. Ottelia acuminata, a species indicating water quality, reappeared in 2020 showing that the lake is recovering successfully. Meanwhile, the restoration attracted more tourists. In 2019, the total tourism revenue of Dali increased to 5.9 billion dollars.

China Water Environment Group developed the distributed-underground water and resource factory as revolutionary route for wastewater management, which turns the high burden of wastewater treatment and land occupation into multiple gains at once, such as reclaimed water, resource recovery and freeing up land. This would be China’s solution for combating water and land scarcity.

At the Project Innovation Awards 2022, the project by the China Water Environment Group, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People’s Government of Dali, China, won the Silver prize in the Exceptional Project Execution and Delivery Category. Find out more about the winners.

One of the challenges shaping the water sector is the discussion around the vital role that women play. Even though the water sector recognises that gender matters for water and that women are critical to achieving sustainability, the engagement and involvement of women face a series of barriers that result in their under-representation in diverse areas linked to the water sector.

To mark International Women’s Day 2022, IWA is hosting a webinar focused on empowering women in the water sector in partnership with the Management Committee of IWA’s Specialist Group on Sustainability in the Water Sector. Following on from last year’s webinar, which featured speakers from Liberia, Malaysia, Albania, Ecuador, South Africa and Australia and was viewed by almost 700 participants, this webinar will highlight perspectives from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The webinar will address the gender gap in the water sector and advance the discussion, setting out specific proposals to increase and support women’s representation in the water industry. It will be held on 8 March at 15:00 GMT and registrations are now open. The webinar will have live Spanish translation to ensure a wider outreach and participation from the Latin American region.

The list of speakers ranges from younger to senior women professionals working in different areas of the water sector in Central and South America, providing their experience, insights and suggestions to empower, attract and retain more women in water. The webinar will be moderated by Diana Ulloa and Norhayati Abdullah. Diana Ulloa works as a consultant and part of the Coordinating Group of Red Agua Ecuador, she is also a member of the Governing Council of IWA Ecuador. Norhayati is Associate Director at the UTM International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The webinar will have Blanca Jiménez, Martha Orta Zambrano, Sharon Archie, Juanita Ayala and Malena Galmarini among its panellists. When questioned about the  importance  of discussing the role of women in the water sector, Blanca Jiménez, Mexico’s Ambassador to France and a well-known professional in the water sector, replied that water has an intrinsic gender perspective. According to Blanca, “we need to create better strategies to reduce the labour inequality gap and generate inclusion and non-discrimination in the sector”. Furthermore Malena Galmarini, Pesident of the Argentine Water and Sanitation Company (AYSA), adds that the discussion around water and women raises issues of equity and equality since women represent half of the world’s population and “there is no possibility that this world or the water sector will be more egalitarian if women are not included”.

According to Martha Orta, “today’s women, with their dedication and passion, have demonstrated their knowledge, leadership and resilience is a key part of the change that humanity is experiencing, within a framework of sustainability and innovation”. Finally Juanita Ayala, a Young Water Professional, adds that “pressing challenges such as achieving SDG6, implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation actions, and strengthening WASH governance are not gender-neutral issues. We experience the impacts of these wicked problems differently, making us key agents of change at all managerial and advocacy levels. Purposefully including women in addressing these issues is a win-win situation”.

Besides the webinar, IWA and the Management Committee of IWA’s Specialist Group on Sustainability in the Water Sector launched a survey on this topic, underlining the Association’s commitment to gender issues and its desire to expand its outreach in the LAC region. The survey is available here. Complete the short survey and contribute to the discussion! Responses will form a key part of the 8^th March webinar. We look forward to reading your responses and we hope to see many of you at the webinar!

In the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, some face masks used to control the spread of the virus as personal protective equipment (PPE) have become an emerging threat to water, aquatic life and the environment.

Most face masks contain plastics or other by-products of plastics materials. As such, increased usage of face masks, especially single-use ones, will eventually increase plastic pollution, which threatens marine and aquatic environments.

Most plastic particles are photo-oxidized when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, causing them to become brittle and fragment into microplastics. While heat, sunlight, and well-aerated conditions are ideal to produce microplastics via iterative fragmentation processes, the cold and anoxic conditions of aquatic environments and sediments can cause very slow degradation of plastic particles, which can last over centuries.

Conservationists have warned that the pandemic has contributed to a surge in ocean pollution, adding onto the existing plastic waste crisis. Aside from the formation of microplastics, wrongly disposed face masks can also have a direct effect on wildlife through direct and indirect ingestion – causing respiratory and gastrointestinal obstructions or death by starvation. If not properly cut, the string of face masks can also cause entanglements (see picture on the left – photo credit: Mary Caporal Prior).

Moreover, micro and nanoplastics from face masks not only harm wildlife but also pollute our water courses. Researchers have found that disposable masks could also be releasing dangerous pollutants, including heavy metals and toxic dyes.

These emerging challenges in solid waste management are being taken into account in novel academic studies as well as in environmental policies trying to find ways to contain the threat. It is necessary to plan and consider various options, such as specific separation, storage and collection strategies for recycling and appropriately disposing of face masks and medical waste in order to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, it is crucial to adopt alternative technologies to obtain more environmentally friendly PPE. In this scenario, a sustainable approach can focus on promoting the use of natural plant fibres in the production of face masks to obtain a biodegradable and compostable product.

Our fight against waste and the commitment to the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra contributes to reducing the over-exploitation of raw materials, which is more needed than ever. Governments are employing numerous international agreements to regulate on plastic pollution. Furthermore, upcycling face mask waste and producing construction materials from it (e.g. artificial aggregates, light weight plastic blocks and ecological mortar) can be another viable solution in the near future to repurpose plastic waste and reduce environmental and health impacts.

To encourage and promote the use of natural plant fibre face masks and to reduce the risk of the pandemic spreading to the environment from hospitals and communities, it is crucial to develop standardisation procedures and to strictly implement medical waste management guidelines. We urge governments and international organisations to prioritise funding for research & development of eco-friendly PPE, to implement clear quality standards for their fabrication and to design guidelines to manage hazardous waste like facemasks not just in medical settings but also in communities. Let’s solve this growing health and waste crisis together, with action today.

___________

What can YOU do?

• Consider buying a reusable mask or a mask made of natural fibre.
• Dispose your mask properly.
• Cut the strings to prevent entanglement for wildlife

Floods and storms are responsible for almost three-quarters of climate disasters. Yet, all around the world, resilience to climate shocks does not get as much attention as the “net zero” agenda.

Building resilience is becoming increasingly more important in the face of more severe and frequent environmental disasters, such as floods and landslides happening because of climate change.

However, resilience measures are under-prioritised on the global agenda and are too reliant on the public purse. Just 3% of private finance mobilized under the Paris Agreement in 2018 went towards adaptation, with over 95% going towards mitigation.

According to the Global Commission on Adaptation’s “State and Trends in Adaptation 2020” report, the private sector is failing to respond to the climate risks in their midst. In global finance, we are robbing ‘climate resilient Peter’ to pay ‘net zero Paul’. Instead, we need to learn about the mutual benefits of action on both agendas.

The impact of global warming on water is already at crisis point, but we can’t win a war against water. We need to learn how to live with it, and also with less of it, better.

Last year, more than 50 million people were affected by droughts, floods, and storms. In 2020, the rainy season across most of southern China was the longest in 20 years. This meant that severe flooding and landslides were particularly intense, with more than 2.2 million people evacuated from their homes and surroundings in July. It was a tragic event, but there are also signs of progress. In 1998, similar levels of flooding led to more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of 7 million homes. Last year, far fewer lives were lost, in large part because of a new approach focused on environmental improvements, rather than relying solely on hard, grey engineering solutions. The restoration of close to 300,000 hectares of flood plains, alongside reforestation, has increased flood retention capacity, and also supported nature.

In England, the Environment Agency is responsible for the regulation of water, waste, and emissions from industry. We also deliver flood protection, building and maintaining defences and emergency response. These actions often require advanced technology and hard engineering. But today we are increasingly looking at nature-based solutions to achieve multiple outcomes. For instance, we are working with local authorities, businesses, and community groups to restore ecosystems and enhance nature. In 2019/2020, we created 531 hectares of blanket bog and, restored a further 2,148 hectares. We have also restored peatland ecosystems to improve the quality of water. Peatland soils are known for alleviating flooding, slowing the flow of water and for their filtering capacities.

Greta Thunberg has talked about “cathedral thinking” to convey a sense of urgency to fight the climate emergency, meaning that we must lay the first stone without knowing exactly how to construct the ceiling.

In India, the government has established six small-scale adaptation projects in diverse regions of the country. The projects range from mangrove restoration, to the use of short-duration crops that mature in 70 days to adapt to late sowing conditions. Instead of pursuing one large national project, the approach is piloting different models – designed so that they can be replicated elsewhere – and establishing new networks to share knowledge across the country.

Elsewhere, Norway’s government emphasizes that if municipalities do not choose nature-based solutions, they must explain why. These include measures such as restoration of wetlands and expanding existing streams and rivers to cope with rainfall. If more countries followed this lead and insisted on nature-based solutions by default, then the world would be a lot closer to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of integrated water-resources management by 2030.

A recent essay in The New York Times, entitled “We’re Not Ready for the Next Big Climate Disasters”, revealed that the federal government in the United States is spending about 46 billion USD per year on recovery from disasters, which is seven times the level of investment in resilience. The world cannot afford to respond like this, we need to be better prepared. But we are finally starting to see change in the investment community with initiatives like the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment. By including physical climate risks in upfront financial decision-making, members are pressing for a shift towards greater resilience.

At state level too, there are signs of change. Recently, the climate and environment ministers of the G7 secured historic commitments to put climate, biodiversity, and the environment at the heart of worldwide COVID-19 recovery. All G7 members signed up to the global ‘30×30’ initiative to conserve or protect at least 30% of the world’s land, and at least 30% of the ocean, by 2030. This year, is the first ever ‘net zero G7’, with all countries committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest, with deep emissions reduction targets in the 2020s.

The G7 has also agreed to increase the quantity of finance for climate action, including for nature, in order to meet the annual 100 billion USD target to support developing countries.

So, there are signs of change. But, despite these historic agreements and the uphill struggle, it will be for governments to deliver them and go even further. No one would argue that 30% is enough.

If we are going to improve humanity’s quality of life in the face of worsening floods, storms, and droughts we need to embed a shift in global finance towards nature recovery, climate resilience, and net zero. We need to steam ahead with a race to zero and a race to resilience, fuelled by trillions of dollars, and engineered with nature.

The International Water Association, representing water professionals and inspiring change for a water wise world, has a crucial leadership role to play in pushing this agenda. And time is of the essence. As Simone de Beauvoir once said: “Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”

This blog is an extract from Emma Howard Boyd’s speech given during IWA’s Digital World Water Congress 2021. To watch the entire keynote, please click here, and watch from 10:47.

Professor David Sedlak of UC Berkeley and author of Water 4.0 shares his perspective on the next path for water management.

First, came the hard path.  To meet the needs of rapidly growing populations and expanding economies in the years following the Second World War, society went on a water infrastructure spending spree. Between 1950 and 2000, we built about 40,000 large dams, and created dozens of inter-basin transfer projects that dwarfed the aqueducts of the Roman Empire or the qanats of the Ancient Persia.

Beyond the costs of concrete and steel needed to create all this water infrastructure, the world paid a steep price for following what has been referred to as the hard path.  Tens of millions of people were displaced by dams and water projects.  Aquifers were sucked dry and entire lakes disappeared.  Unrestrained development of water infrastructure took a toll on the environment, too, blocking the movement of fish, depriving river deltas of sediments and creating conditions that led to the collapse of sensitive ecosystems.  By the end of the twentieth century, as the world recognized the true costs of water infrastructure, the hard path lost much of its luster.

In response, water managers turned to the soft path.  Over the past 40 years, many of the world’s largest cities have met the needs of expanding populations without building more infrastructure.  This has happened through actions like incentives on the purchase of water-efficient appliances. Utilities and governments have even made some progress in educating consumers about the need to use water more wisely and other forms of demand management.

Four decades ago, when the soft path was first becoming popular, water providers turned to it because there was slack in the system.   In many cases, demand management was the least costly and environmentally damaging ways of meeting the needs of society.  Now that the easy steps have been taken, that may no longer be the case.  In light of the challenges posed by growing demand and shrinking supplies due to population growth and climate change, we may need an all-of-the-above approach.  This means finding ways of using water more efficiently.  But it also means that we need to reuse more water and, in some cases, expand the supply.  Let’s call this the ‘next path’.

The next path is not a return to the hard path, nor is it exclusively a matter of more soft path solutions.  It is a hybrid of the two approaches, informed by the experiences of the past and enabled by technological advances that are transforming other aspects of society.

To illustrate the potential for new technologies to catalyze the next path, we can consider three themes have emerged from reviewing research needs related to desalination and advanced water treatment. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a research roadmapping effort from the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI)—a newly launched initiative from the US Department of Energy to address water insecurity at the national scale.  (See nawihub.org/roadmaps)

The first theme that emerged as being a key area of research is the IT revolution.  When it comes to water quality and quantity, sensors, actuators and data processing algorithms can allow us to get more out of our existing infrastructure and possibly create small-scale, autonomous systems.  We have been hearing about this for over a decade, but it still needs a push to get it where it needs to go.  With a bit more effort directed at bringing the IT revolution to water, we may finally be able to realize new modes of water supply that do not require on-site operators to assure water safety.

Presently, there are many R&D efforts underway to realize the promise of digital twins and autonomous control.  A key challenge is the interoperability of data from multiple sources in a common platform as a means of  making the most out of these new data streams.  Development of digital water also will advance if data streams can be opened to researchers who can use them as living laboratories, creating algorithms necessary for optimizing operations and anticipating and responding to process upsets.

The second theme that we observed as being important is related to the need to unlock the full potential of desalination technologies. As was the case with solar and wind power, with every passing year, the cost of desalinating water drops relative to the established approaches.  For example, the cost of installed capacity for seawater desalination dropped by a factor of three between 1970 and 2000 as the technology matured. As evidenced by experiences in Israel, Australia and most recently, Southern California, it has matured to a point at which it is less expensive than new sources in many water-stressed cities.

The last theme that we identified is related to using IT and advances in modular water treatment technologies to safely operate networks of small-scale treatment facilities. This offers the possibility of tailoring treatment to the needs of the user and creating more flexible systems that do not require a centralized treatment plant and an expensive underground pipe network.  The idea of non-grid solutions and hybrids of centralized and decentralized treatment has been gaining traction in response to the challenge of sanitation and resource recovery from sewage.  In addition, electrification of the remainder of the treatment process can play a key role in enabling distributed treatment systems.

Over the past two decades, we have developed a vocabulary for articulating our aspirations for the future of water management.  One water.  The circular economy of water.  Integrated water resources management.  These terms all recognize the need to expand the palette of solutions to access non-traditional sources and to think in a more systematic way about the effects of our water use on others and the environment.

This next path requires that we expand our perspective, bringing along the lessons of the hard and soft paths.  We also will have to bring in new technologies in a manner that integrates with existing water systems and institutions, while simultaneously adapting to a changing climate and different expectations about the services that water systems provide.  I can think of no group of people who are better poised to take on this challenge than the water professionals who are part of IWA.

This blog is an extract from Professor David Sedlak’s speech given during IWA’s Digital World Water Congress 2021. To watch the entire keynote, please click here, and watch from 16:47. 

Dear colleagues and friends,

We are delighted to welcome you to IWA’s 2021 Digital World Water Congress. This virtual event has been a classic case of necessity being the mother of invention. As a result of Covid-19, none of us could meet face to face in 2020. However, given IWA had already developed an outstanding programme of activity, we still wanted to provide members and stakeholders with a platform to share ideas and network.

This determination to be a positive force for good for our industry, despite the challenges we face, highlights the value of IWA to our members and the industry.

Our focus now is rising to the current and future issues the water sector faces, and to provide compelling and enduring solutions. A key part of this is the ‘build back better’ agenda, a phrase recently popularised by the UN and World Bank, among others.

Our question to you all therefore is – how can the water sector play a role in building back our economies and societies post-coronavirus in a way which protects the natural environment and is sustainable?

We believe there are huge opportunities in all contexts across the world. For instance, technology can play a critical role in improving access to water and sanitation in low-income countries. Meanwhile, many high-income countries don’t have a circular approach to water usage – meaning there are substantial efficiencies to be found.

IWA looks forward to discussing this topic during the Digital World Water Congress, as well as showcasing presentations from dozens of members from around the world, across six themes.

As well as the core schedule, there is also a poster presentation hall, covering further research and insight into how we move to a more water-wise world. The event will also play host to the IWA Awards, as well as offering networking, the opportunity to view three exciting water documentaries free on-demand, and more.

Now is the time for us all to collaborate and work with a laser-like focus on solutions to enable benefits to be felt across an array of social, environmental, economic and health outcomes. We therefore hope the event proves compelling, informative and engaging – and helps enable these conversations and initiatives to develop. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Tom Mollenkopf, IWA President
Kala Vairavamoorthy, IWA Executive Director