How the growing “One Water” movement is not only helping the environment but also saving millions of dollars

For years, campaigns to clean Nepal's polluted Bagmati River resulted in failure. Now with police and government backing, the organization Safai Abhiyaan is in its third year, attracting hundreds of volunteers who are willing to brave the polluted waters to collect trash. The program's unique approach to organizing community volunteers has been a success, but the problem will not subside until greater perceptions about litter and water pollution are tackled.

Though once the rivers were afoul with pollution and the carcasses of poisoned fish and the water from taps was too hazardous to drink, Denmark now boasts some of the world's cleanest drinking water and some of it's most comprehensive programs for good water management. The Danish government is looking to help other nations replicate their success, leveraging technology and collaboration to better manage water treatment and conservation for all.

Through a government funding program, several communities are working on initiatives to improve their access to clean drinking water. In India, one community formed a citizen’s group, cleaned up a local pond, and restored its natural water flow. Another initiative involved more than 1,000 women from 21 villages to build rainwater harvesting structures. These projects are seen as models for water conservation efforts as climate change exacerbates the country’s ongoing water crisis.

Zero Mass Water partnered with the Navajo Nation to bring water into the homes of rural residents who may not have easy access to a water source. Hydropanels that connect to a tap inside the home use sunlight to absorb enough water vapor to make at least 10 liters of water per day. While people at first were skeptical about the idea during a pilot test, the company and Navajo officials are hoping to scale the solution.

Upcycling spent barley helps to ease wastewater treatment. In Havre, Montana, the town’s wastewater treatment plant uses barley from a local brewery, Triple Dog Brewing, to feed bacteria. The nutrients from the barley give the bacteria a boost, helping to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the water. The collaboration means that Havre can save on expensive solutions and upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

Ohio’s drinking water has tested positive for PFAS chemicals, so state officials are looking at what has worked in other states to fund the process of restoring a clean drinking water supply. In Michigan, this looks like a multi-agency approach that supports bipartisan buy-in, while Minnesota saw success by holding the state’s largest manufacturer accountable for the contamination and clean-up.

As climate change alters environments across the United States, it has become increasingly important to manage watersheds as a preventative measure to wildfires. Amid responses across the country, one private-public partnership, the Rio Grande Water Fund, is leading the way, demonstrating enough success that the model has become federal policy. The Fund brings together government agencies, NGOs, businesses, and residents to fund watershed restoration which, in turn, creates jobs and build more resilient ecosystems.

With water scarcity becoming a reality for many cities, people are looking towards the premise of recycling stormwater into drinkable water collected from urban runoff. One major limitation of this is that the water often is too polluted for consumption, however researchers have piloted several new technologies that may hold the key to being able to scale the stormwater recycling solution.

Berlin has historically struggled with implementing new digital advancements. Thanks to a collaborative effort however, the community can now be informed about the water pollution level of various lakes that are often used for swimming via the implementation of an online tool.

TARU, an Indian thinktank, has found that Indians cities have combined decentralized action and "multi-stakeholder engagement" in public policy to respond to problems of scarcity in water and power as well as climate change-related natural disasters. Municipalities are putting responsibility for improving local lives at the grassroots level; integrating disruptive technologies from the private sector; and fostering collaboration between government and citizens.