Rising population, urbanisation and climate change will all put pressure on the world’s water resources, and require multi-billion dollars investments in order to keep the water flowing.
The OECD predicts that by 2025 its 30 member states will need to invest over a trillion dollars in their water supply and sewage treatment systems – a 26 percent increase on expected 2015 levels.
With these investments will come an increasing need for consultancy, and COWI has decided to focus on water as one of its key business areas.
Water to join climate as focus area
COWI Senior Vice President for Water and Environment Mogens Heering says:
“Globally, water issues don’t register as highly as climate issues. But, people are starting to pay closer attention. Not only is urbanisation outstripping existing water infrastructure capacity, we’re losing about a third of the world’s drinking water due to inadequate maintenance. Climate change-induced drought and flooding are only going to make matters worse."
Thinking in broad terms
“The majority of investments will be used to expand capacity, but if we can think in broader terms we can avoid spending too much money on new water systems.”
COWI is an experienced water supply and wastewater consultant. But Heering points out that with its palette of engineering, environment and social sciences services, COWI is in a good position to offer comprehensive consultancy.
“Increasing urbanisation requires urban planners to make water an important consideration. Urban planners, architects, environmentalists and engineers will all need to be involved in discussions about measures like using rainwater for recreational purposes or reusing wastewater.”
Integrated water planning
Another of COWI’s key business areas requiring comprehensive consultancy is integrated water planning.
Integrated water planning involves thinking about the water cycle in terms of population growth and climate change,” Heering says. “We’re involved in a number of international projects that deal with integrated water planning. We’re currently part of an EU consortium helping China to manage the waters of the Yangtze and the Yellow River and which is expected to establish sustainable river management.”
New focus draws on existing areas of expertise
The new focus will see COWI drawing on current areas of expertise, such as groundwater.
“Denmark is one of the only countries that gets all of its drinking water from underground aquifers, and because of that there is a generally high level of knowledge about groundwater here. It’s natural that we’d use what we know in the area to help other countries where groundwater is an important, if little understood, resource. Little is known about how much groundwater there is or how you can tap into it.”
Published 01.07.2010
