What is water management?

Water management involves the responsible use and conservation of water resources to ensure a sustainable future. It means being efficient about the use, collection, storage, and disposal of water, thereby ensuring dependable water supply services, mitigating water-related hazards  and safeguarding the environment.

Water management has become increasingly vital as global demand for water resources keeps increasing. Climate change has increased the frequency and severity of droughts, floods, and other severe weather events, making managing our water resources more critical than ever. 

Are water management and water efficiency the same thing?

When it comes to water, managing it efficiently and using it wisely are two sides of the same coin.

Water management is about having a strategy in place to deal with sourcing water, treating it, dealing with water leaks in commercial buildings, and more. It’s a big-picture approach that considers things like pipe management, water damage mitigation, and even emergency planning for when water leaks become a severe hazard.

Water efficiency, on the other hand, is about making the most out of every drop of water. It’s about using best practices and technologies like WINT water intelligence to optimize water usage, minimize waste, and keep costs down.

Why water management is essential in real estate

Water management is crucial in many industries, including real estate, construction, existing building operations, and facility management. Let’s break it down and explore how water management applies to each of these areas:

  • In real estate, water management means recognizing and addressing potential water-related risks like flooding, drainage issues, and water quality concerns. It also includes evaluating water availability and quality when selecting sites for new developments.
  • During construction projects, it’s critical to ensure that water resources are used efficiently and water-related risks are minimized. For example, construction sites need to have systems in place to ensure that should a pipe burst, especially over a weekend or holiday when no one is on site, there’s a plan to deal with it.
  • Existing building operations can use water management strategies to reduce water waste and its associated costs. For example, implementing water-efficient fixtures and appliances, or technologies like WINT, can help reduce water waste and promote sustainability.
  • Facility managers are responsible for ensuring that buildings and other facilities operate efficiently and sustainably. Water management is a critical component of this, involving monitoring water usage, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing measures to optimize water efficiency.

With a comprehensive approach to water management and by implementing water efficiency measures, organizations can save a lot of money, reduce their environmental footprint, and improve their reputation as guardians of sustainability. This makes having a water management plan critical.

Creating your water management plan

A water management solution or plan is like a roadmap telling you how to manage your water effectively. It usually involves assessing your current water usage, identifying areas for improvement, and setting specific goals and targets for reducing water usage, improving water quality, and managing water-related risks.

Some of the key parts of a water resources management plan include:

  • Assessing current water usage: This helps identify areas of high water usage, potential sources of water waste, and opportunities for improvement. 
  • Setting measurable goals: This allows you to create a common goal for everyone in the business and track progress. 
  • Outlining specific water management solutions: This could include anything from implementing water-efficient fixtures and appliances, conducting regular leak detection and repair, or retrofitting a WINT system to manage your water usage going forward. 
  • Finally, a monitoring and measurement framework should be included: This lets you understand how well you’ve met your goals and optimize them for the next phase of your water management strategy. 

AI in water management: overcoming challenges with technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize commercial water resources management by providing cutting-edge analytical capabilities to monitor, manage and save water in real time. 

With the help of AI and cloud-based systems like WINT, businesses can collect, analyze, and interpret large amounts of data related to water usage, quality, and availability. This helps them on two fronts. First, it gives them the tools to identify patterns, trends, and irregularities in water usage; and second, it ensures they can take proactive measures to optimize water efficiency, reduce waste, and minimize water-related risks. 

AI-powered technologies like WINT use smart meters and machine learning algorithms to give you the most accurate and real-time information on your water usage, leak detection, and more.