Calculate the water available: we'd like a far better accounting of our “water balance sheet”. In many places, we don’t have any idea how current and near-term future demand matches up with the available surface and groundwater supplies. The WRI’s Aqueduct tool features a water supply/demand indicator – called “baseline water stress” – that provides an honest preliminary read on whether local water use is sustainable or not. Betsy Otto, global director - water programme, World Resources Institute, Washington DC, US, @wriaqueduct
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Link global water use: Although Swiss are quite efficient at using water within our country, we've an enormous water footprint due to all the food and goods we import, often from very water stressed parts of the planet. Globalisation means there's a worldwide water economy at play. Government regulation or taxation could nudge behaviours onto a more sustainable path. Sean Furey, water and sanitation specialist, Skat, St Gallen, Switzerland, @thewatercyclist
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Think across sectors: Currently, those that work on “water services” think almost exclusively in terms of access, and people who work on “water resources” think in terms of sectors and water usage. i feel the water service people (myself included) got to think harder about where the water for increasing coverage goes to return from, and the way we will best implement sanitation services that protect water resources. Sophie Trémolet, director, Trémolet Consulting, London, uk , @stremolet
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Treat water resources better: For an extended time we treated water as limitless, and therefore the incentive structures in cities and rural areas pushed people towards unsustainable practices. Water distribution being highly subsidised by governments doesn’t help create awareness about its actual value. We must make measurable efforts to vary water-use habits during a global scale. Carlos Hurtado Aguilar, manager - sustainable development of water resources, FEMSA Foundation, Monterrey, Mexico
Develop water monitoring and regulation: Governments can provide both regulatory sideboards – like requirements for full cost recovery on water tariffs – and incentives – like cost-share on water reuse and rainwater harvesting systems. For developing countries (and many developed countries) this might desire a frightening task, but governments do that kind of thing for education, energy, and other sectors. It’s time to try to to an equivalent for water. Betsy Otto
