A transgenerational experiment in solving a wicked water problem

The Colorado river basin flows, theoretically, 1,450 miles (2,330 km) from high up in the Rockies in Colorado to the bay of California in Mexico. In theory? Yes, the river has rarely actually made the last 100 miles in the last few decades. It is “Blood of the West” for 40 million people in 7 US States and 2 Mexican ones, an area over which the river has nourished peoples for 8,000 years. But that blood is running out. The images of a small trickle of silver at the base of the Grand Canyon are familiar to us. Climate change, human interventions and increased consumption are endangering the entire ecosystem to the extent that the river is becoming a trickle further and further upstream.

We thought this would be a perfect challenge for our Water Professionals room in Clubhouse on April 8. To galvanise the discussion and bring in three different generational perspectives, “water newbie” Patty Camps, “mid-career” Alexander Lane and “seasoned” water professional Will Sarni identified 3 key issues to tackle in our 75-minute exchange:

• Disjointedness: a lack of collective ownership, cohesive initiatives and personal responsibility.
• Blindness: a lack of information and curated knowledge of the situation on the ground and how to share equitably.
• Apathy: a lack of interest in and empathy about how taken-for-granted-water relates to an individual’s life.

In a vibrant exchange, the 3 experts followed the order of the roll of the dice to give their concrete solutions to relieve the water stress.

7 solution proposals made the shortlist

1. Landscaping techniques: conserving water used for greenification and making more sponges
2. Stipulating water saving devices and new sanitary fixtures in buildings and homes
3. Water audits in municipalities to better understand water availability, usage and distribution
4. Water reuse: large scale recycling of “preloved” water to achieve circularity, along the lines of Singapore and Orange County.
5. Sectoral conservation: adopting water saving among major users like agriculture and the power industry
6. Education: countering apathy, and building individual awareness and activism
7. Democratisation: build the direct connection of services, quasi “Uberisation”

A voice from the future

Enter our surprise guest. All the way from 2190, The Professor (Dragan Savic) joined center stage to give a critical stress-test of the shortlisted solutions – would they stand the test of time? Have we thought adequately about the 7th generation? Whilst he would not reveal what the future holds for the Colorado river, at least we could take comfort that such a sophisticated human being has prevailed and that we have obviously overcome the environmental challenges we have brought upon ourselves.

“All of the above”, The Professor (2190AD)

Dragan’s summarised that not one silver bullet exists for such multi-faceted challenges. "All of the above", he said, affirming the need to awaken behavioural change in individuals, let us know that the perpetual growth of the middle class will increase water stress and cited the problem of the “yuk effect” in regard to reuse in people’s minds. In a survey, most people said they would be prepared to “Mad Max” by reusing their own household used water. Many less would be prepared to reuse their neighbours and the amount that would reuse water from their street is below 20%. Dragan recommended making steps of progress “bite-sized” for individuals, so they are empowered and it means more to them.

 Democratisation and scale-with-speed

The conversation moved to the “Uberisation” of water, building consumer-oriented services with digitalization. Should water be rationed? And those that overuse face higher rates? Examples from around the world were cited, like in the UAE where households have a bandwidth of water to stay within, reflected on their monthly invoice. Language is so key to taping into people’s empathy. Calling the problem “drought” means that once it rains the problem goes away. And the recreational benefit of the river. Rafting, rowing, splashing and swimming. All dependent on healthy, plentiful waters. Activating the stakeholders differing capacities for scale and speed was the next “To Do”. Where larger, often governmental, organisations have the scale, they lack speed. Smaller organisations with fresh thinking, conversely, have the agility, but not the scale. Matching those forces could have a lasting impact.

Much like matching the diverse differences between the speakers has a strong impact, too. There was a strong blend of sentiment for consumer rebellion, institutional changemaking, forging efficiencies in major industrial consumers, circularity, digitalisation. The bottom line? Simply to increase the perceived value of water.

The conversation continues, not only in Clubhouse (follow the Water Professionals: https://www.joinclubhouse.com/club/water-professionals). The recently launched Colorado River Basin Fund: www.coloradoriverbasin.com gives a bias for action on multiple levels. Check it out.