Clean Water and Sanitation

Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, as the world’s population continues to soar, so does the need for fresh water that makes up only 2.5% of the world’s water supply. The reality today is that the need for clean, safe water for drinking and sanitation far exceeds the readily available amount.

The need is severe. That’s why Xylem Watermark, Xylem’s corporate citizenship program, provides and protects safe water resources for many of the world’s most vulnerable communities and educates individuals around the globe about water issues.

Anne Arundel County leadership in Maryland recently celebrated the successful completion of upgrades to the Cox Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), designed to drastically reduce pollutants in local waterways.

In 2015, Cargill set five-year goals to improve our use of energy and natural resources. By 2020, we're committed to sourcing 18 percent of our energy portfolio for renewable sources, up from 14.4 percent today. We are also committed to improving energy efficiency, freshwater efficiency and greenhouse gas intensity by 2020. See the video for a look at our progress so far.

By participating in a hands-on experience where they were able to see the amount of trash at the floodgate, these Xylem volunteers realized the importance of keeping water sources clean. Through their participation in this event, they helped to protect the water quality of the Delaware River and surrounding water sources.

Objectives for developing alternative water supplies to increase availability and improve water system resilience continue as top priorities for resource stakeholders. This year more than 50 percent of Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report respondents cited resiliency as an increasingly important driver for ensuring reliable water system delivery.

Clean water is one of the few things in life that never fails to live up to expectations. It is difficult to overstate the importance of having it. Really difficult. In fact, it’s probably impossible. Clean water changes almost everything.

Sands ECO360, the global corporate sustainability program of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) has released its 2016 environmental report. The report marks the company’s first annual measurement against its revised sustainability goals, building upon the success and key learnings of original targets set in 2011 and reported on through 2015.

Water providers have been collecting and utilizing data to perform important but traditional tasks: Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) devices speed information across networks, and smart metering infrastructure systems measure consumption and contribute to customer billing. But, as utilities wrestle with addressing aging foundational assets while balancing limited capital and rising calls for lower costs and safer water, there is new urgency to explore how data can drive and optimize asset performance and reduce risk.

Mike Orth, Executive Managing Director for the Americas in Black & Veatch’s water business, discusses how data should drive smarter business decisions for long-term water sustainability.

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper announces the 2017 Climate Change Conference with presenting sponsors Cox Enterprises and The Ray C. Anderson Foundation. The conference is set to take place on September 27-28, hosted by the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center.