Water Management Lessons Learnt from Day Zero

Water Management is critical for effective management both in our locality, nationally as well as on a global water. 

Firstly for those who have done their research you will have probably come across Day Zero which relates to a point in a cities management where it runs out of water which it can provide to its population. 

Now water is this fantastic resource that everything relies on a depends on but to much or to little can cause problematic situations to arise. In the UK last week we had some of the heaviest downpours of the recent year in quick succession leading to flooding in areas which have faced drought conditions for a prolonged period. Now the water courses and drainage basins receiving a much needed resupply was crucial for the flora and fauna of these areas. The question is how do we best manage these water courses in our local areas. 

Sarni, (2020) writes that Day Zero as a principle is flawed this concept is something that will be discussed further in the article. Initially the concept comes out of a situation in 2018 in Cape Town where after continual droughts for 3 years. The aim was to ration the water available to the community. Yet the warning of being wasteful with water was enough to change the consumers habits. Now whilst they did not have to restrict water, there was a lack of strategy with this action and more a lucky perfect storm of circumstances. Statistically as our climate changes and historic data is less reliable than it has been. This also highlights a problem that we need to address, is complacency until the challenge is staring us in the face we often do not adjust our habits until we have to a proactive approach is necessary to conserve the resource. Continued population growth is likely to increase demand not only abroad but in the UK as well as we see an increased demand for water both in agriculture and residential purposes. Other industries also need to reflect on water usage the fashion and textile sector is also seeing step changed to a more conservation focused to water management particularly some denim producers. Sarni (2020) particularly highlights that as demand for water increases the impact on those in our society will be more profound. 

Edmond, (2020) points out that part of the problem is rapid urbanisation. Urban areas can both displace water and if not correctly planned prevent water being conserved. Planning urban areas with water conservation tools such as water less sanitation where possible. Better habits for conserving water and recycling of grey water. Vancouver increases the cost of water at different times of the year to reduce excessive consumption this is a measurable increase not overtly affecting core needs for water. Levying this against excessive uses such as key businesses or even residential. Australia uses water efficiency management strategies on high use buildings similar to other forms of gradings to improve efficiency and effective use. Both Dubai and Ireland have looked at education to embed water conservation at the heart of education. 

By designing our urban and rural planning systems to collect and store water more effectively to both enable better drought reduction as well as safer by avoiding water build up on roads. By having roofs which collect excess water and slows the rate the water enters the water course as well as where feasible using water storage systems like boreholes or miniature reservoirs which store the excess water. This coupled with earlier points made about trees in earlier articles can better protect our urban areas and provide better access to the community to flood protection and water availability. 

https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/the-myth-of-day-zero-what-we-got-wrong-with-water/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/cape-town-was-90-days-away-from-running-out-of-water-heres-how-it-averted-the-crisis/

https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/innovation/rethinking-urban-planning-create-water-sensitive-cities

Summer Scorchers and where are all the Trees?

With the UK currently in the midst of a heatwave the normally water logged country is getting a true British Summer. However, the heat is not for everyone our four legged friends can suffer and some die in the heat the weather does not always suit the elderly or certain industries (agriculture, horticulture). Many of us are suffering from hot offices due to air conditioning units being turned off because of Covid.

What’s the solution? Trees!

They offer shade for us and shelter for wildlife and a forest can be a number of degrees cooler then a field as it collectively absorbs the heat and light. So first of all looking at shade.

Trees can block nearly ninety percent of light and heat from our environment by offering shade and acting like a parasol. On top of this it cools the ground by shielding it from the sunlight. By allowing the ground to be cooler it encourages heat loss from us and our surroundings. This can have a relative affect of us feeling around eight degrees cooler celsius. Which is why both us and animals shelter in urban oasis’s or flock to the cooler countryside. For those in largely glass offices the benefit of planting across the suns path and incorporating this into the design process of the building shields you and the workforce by stopping or reducing light penetrating the windows. Some studies have looked at the benefit of trees vs air conditioning costs but this is only in the early stages of research. This is an important fact for countries like the UK as many of our homes do not have air conditioning and for those looking for a zero carbon solution to cooling their houses natural shade could be an option. 

Now heat in the urban environment vs the country can be more noticeable as the largely glass and concrete buildings can increase the suns intensity. Solutions such as the living walls could offer solutions for both nature in a urban environment and heat absorption. In the countryside we have the luxury of a cooler environment but as planning increases house building we need a green plan to establish flora as an essential part of our environment. Evapotranspiration occurs on all trees but in urban trees as water evaporates off of their leaves it cools them and us as a secondly affect as the process uses the light and heat energy to evaporate the moisture. 

Not all trees are created equal when planning your projects you need to think about the climates of your area. What type of soils do they thrive in? What type of buildings are they near to as you do not want the trees to damage infrastructure and subsequently get removed. Are the trees you are planting tolerant of your climates extremes some will tolerate droughts but not floods and plants like any species should be native in the first instance. If they are of a different variety make sure they are sourced from a registered company and seller.

Now trees and other natural tools can offer us a valuable resource other suggestions to use them to enrich local areas by producing fruit which are for all in the community is another possible avenue to explore.