Trickle of energy

IBM will soon launch a water management system for utilities that it says will bring much-needed intelligence to the treatment and distribution of water and also save up on much energy.

The system, using sensors, will automatically collect all sorts of important data — like water quality, pump rates, and water use at meters — analyze these and then package it into easy-to-consume formats for water managers to evaluate and take quick decisions. The company is eyeing markets all across the globe.

IBM also said it had made a “major breakthrough” in its development of an energy-efficient membrane for water purification.

A 2008 JP Morgan study predicted that by 2025, major economies, including the U.S., Western Europe, China and India, will likely experience significant water problems as consumption outstrips. In the US west, like parts of California, water scarcity is already being felt and its repercussions on agricultural productivity predicted.

The fact that most big tech players are pitching for the water market is proof enough of the crisis waiting to explode as water scarcity becomes a widespread reality. Given the population which is set to touch 7 billion by 2012, and that average health standards prescribe 3500 calories per day per person and 247,000 gallons of water per year per person, we are already in a mismatch situation. There is room only for 5 billion.

Are we doing enough to conserve water? As one of our blog readers Sudhakar advises, can each one of us pledge to sow and nurture at least two saplings every year, and devote a small patch of the soil for water conservation? Can we look for 2-3 simple ways in which we can curb our water use?