Water - Battery Powered

Almond farmers used to grab a shovel and start digging when they wanted to check the water levels of their irrigation systems. Now scientific instruments allow them to know 24 hours a day if they are using their water or just flushing it through the system. This is the type of solution that was overlooked with the mountain of attention given to the state’s drought. Water may be scarce, however those in the know insist we can innovate our way to sustainability, which is no small thing for a state where some two million residents lack access to safe water and 95 percent were impacted by our historic drought.

Big change is going to require a mindset shift, one where we recognize what washes down the drain as a resource instead of a waste product. Solutions start in your kitchen and bathroom. A new shower head or a high-efficiency toilet can save gallons of water daily from washing down the drain. And even more could be saved through recycling greywater—water from sinks, showers and baths—for reuse in lawns and gardens. Purified greywater has the potential to be safe to drink and use for cooking, and we are moving toward a future where water can be fully reused and recycled.

This is precisely why a Resource Revolution is not only coming, but necessary. Where old models see shortages, new shifts see the opening opportunities for sustainable impact and investment.

“Our modest increase underscores the fact that we still have a critical water shortage after four-plus years of drought that we don’t know when will end,” Mark Cowin, director of the state water agency, told the New York Times.

While every Californian has felt the impact of the historic drought, it dwarfed all other issues in California's Central Valley. The Central Valley hosts 1 percent of American farmland, but more than 15 percent of all irrigated fields—and it grows a quarter of the nation’s food. Water shortages have created alliances between poor Spanish-speaking workers and the region's wealthiest farmers, according to the New York Times. “We created an organization that’s called El Agua Es Asunto de Todos—Water Is Everybody’s Business—so the Latino voice can be heard,” said Maria L. Gutierrez. “Don’t devastate our economy. Don’t take our jobs away.”

OPPORTUNITIES

Consider these untapped opportunities for efficiency:

California farmers now produce almost twice as much food as they did four decades ago with only ten percent more water. Roughly half of all California farmers still need to switch to low-flow irrigation methods, according to the New York Times.
Billions of gallons of California water is unsafe to drink due to a variety of toxins and pollutants from agricultural and stormwater runoff, as well as industrial pollution. A combination of protection and purification could return these billions to the pipelines of safe supply.
Water infrastructure is managed by a complex and fragmented network of local, state, and federal institutions that is ripe for a modern approach.
Pacific Institute has estimated that an 85 percent reduction in urban water use could be achieved through existing technologies at costs below tapping into new sources of supply.
Pacific Institute also found that California could be saving more than the amount of water used in all of California’s cities in one year with statewide water-saving practices around reuse and stormwater capture.

SOLUTIONS

In February, Sen. Dianne Feinstein embarked on sweeping legislation following two years of negotiations throughout the state. “I can’t not do a bill,” she said, calling it the most difficult legislation she’s ever tried to author. Such is the nature of California's water challenges.

In 2014, California passed a $7.5 billion water bond, which, Lester Snow, former California Director of Resources, called an important step toward innovative investment. The bond will support many crucial efforts, including an program to capture the 1.5 million acre-feet of wastewater that goes into the ocean instead of being reclaimed. Investment, Snow said, inspires creativity and innovation on many levels, and in the end, spurs greater investment, which continues the shift toward sustainability.

“Sometimes for the water to manifest from investments takes a while. We have a water system that hundreds of billions have been invested in over the years, and we have been slow to reinvest in it. With the $7.5 billion, we're jump-starting some of that.”

Lester Snow
former California Director of Resources

Petaluma-based HydroPoint Data Systems is an example of this sustainability shift. The company launched a “Smart Water Management,” an advanced sensor technology system for homes and buildings that empowers individuals to measure, monitor, and manage water use remotely. In one year alone, its U.S.-based customers saved 20 billion gallons of water.

Unlike innovative and technological leadership that is evident in energy and rising to the fore with food, water innovation lags by comparison. Philanthropy can help create prominent breakthroughs in this space by promoting the research, policies, and adoption strategies necessary to realize the untapped potential for enhanced water management.