Water Conservation Technologies

Given the increasing incidence of serious flooding in Europe in recent years it might seem odd to be addressing the problem of water conservation. However, recent economic prosperity has led to an increased per capita use of water for domestic and industrial use. The traditional approach to meeting increased demand is to augment supply. However, mobilising new resources involves ever higher costs. Allied to this is the concept of sustainability, which can be defined as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. An important consideration of itself, sustainability forms a major part of the new EU water strategy outlined in the Water Framework Directive 2000, which member states have 3 years to transpose into national legislation. Therefore, the concept of water conservation and water saving technologies are set to play a major role in our lives. Increasing the rate of water efficiency requires a multi-dimensional approach that can be achieved by adopting alternative technologies. The application of these technologies is further facilitated by the growth in urbanization and the scale of change in demand patterns.