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Water variability is increasing 鈥渄ue to climate change and to more frequent natural disasters,鈥� said Jonathan Cook, Senior Climate Change Adaptation Specialist with the U.S. Agency for International Development, at the fourth and final event in a series on water security organized by the 乐鱼 体育 and the . To solve the problem of increasingly erratic water, 鈥渂usiness as usual is really not acceptable anymore,鈥� said Will Sarni, founder of , who called for new, innovative ideas: 鈥淗ope is not a strategy.鈥�

Food and Floods: Challenges

鈥淎griculture currently uses about 70 percent of the world鈥檚 freshwater resources, with only about 10 percent going to cities and residents, and 20 percent going to industry,鈥� said Kate Tully, Assistant Professor of Agroecology at the . Water is 鈥渆mbedded in the foods that we eat,鈥� she said; the most 鈥溾�� foods鈥攍ike beef and pork鈥攔epresent much more water use than poultry and legumes.

Through agricultural products, moves around the world. 鈥淭he globalization of trade has decoupled the environmental effects that are a result of our agricultural production from the places that are consuming those products,鈥� said Tully. 鈥淲e now are relying very heavily on a few water-rich regions to provide most of our food.鈥�

But environmental changes, including climate change, may threaten this reliance. For example, at the current rate of , a good portion of habitable and agricultural land space in will be underwater. In Africa and Asia, eight major crops may be lost by 2050, warned Tully.

Droughts and floods in the United States also threaten trade.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages navigable rivers, channels, and dams, can recover from floods relatively quickly, said Kathleen White, the lead of the Corps鈥� . But droughts can present significant challenges: If 鈥測ou can鈥檛 get any barges down the river, then there鈥檚 a real problem.鈥� Improving the United States鈥� hydroclimatic forecasts will help improve dam management, she said.

鈥淗ope Is Not a Strategy鈥�: Solutions

To solve these problems, we must 鈥渢hink about 21^st century infrastructure, beyond just centralized systems,鈥� said Sarni. The private sector is moving from supply-side concepts like managing water risk to a more proactive approach to water stewardship. But for Sarni, companies should move even further鈥攖owards water innovation鈥攂y focusing on the opportunities for business growth and value creation.

鈥� is the game changer in the world of water: applying information and communication technologies to a sector that desperately needs it, so we know how much water we鈥檙e using and how we鈥檙e using it,鈥� said Sarni. He called for a shift away from 鈥渦sing water once and throwing it away鈥� towards the circular economy concept of 鈥�,鈥� which involves diversifying sources and 鈥渞eusing water over and over again鈥� to maximize efficiency.

颁补濒颈蹿辞谤苍颈补鈥檚 has adopted technological solutions to diversify water sources and ensure a 鈥渂alanced approach to water reliability,鈥� said , member of the district鈥檚 board of directors. The , generates water suitable for industrial and agricultural uses and replenishes that prevent saltwater from getting into freshwater aquifers. The district has also launched an ambitious program to test to increase future supplies.

Smaller-scale solutions can also help mitigate the risks of erratic water. Distributed, off-stream storage鈥攊nstead of large storage dams鈥攃ould increase the flexibility to deal with erratic water supplies, said White. Farmers can improve water efficiency by building for irrigation or by keeping agricultural land moist through mulching or , said Tully.

However, any technological solution brought into the developing world should . While living in Kenya and Tanzania, Tully saw some projects fail due to lack of local capacity, such as solar-powered micro-irrigation systems scavenged for parts within a year. 鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 even buy the right-size PVC pipe, because they don鈥檛 make it in Africa,鈥� she said. In some regions, White pointed out, wells might not be a good solution if the water鈥檚 contact with the soil can cause health issues, such as .

Overall, we need to embrace holistic solutions that avoid silos and consider perspectives from the economic, policy, technology and business sectors, said 乐鱼 体育 Global Fellow Ladeene Freimuth. 鈥淭hese types of solutions鈥攖he innovation, the creativity--will  be part of creating a more sustainable, resilient, and secure water future for us all.鈥�

Written by Rebecca Lorenzen and edited by Meaghan Parker.