The Imagination Challenge Unites the US Water Sector Against Climate Change

The water industry has come to reckon with climate change. According to recent studies, water-related activities may account for more than 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Water utilities also consume a major portion of electricity, as energy is needed to collect, clean and transport water.

Luckily, water can also be a climate solution, as explained in a recent Water Online article by US Water Alliance Board Members Al Cho of Xylem and Cindy Wallis-Lage of Black & Veatch. From renewable energy generation to carbon sinks, water can aid decarbonization efforts.

To take advantage of these capabilities, the US Water Alliance — in partnership with Xylem, Black and Veatch, PolicyLink, Stantec, and Empowering a Green Economy and Environment, LLC — recently launched the Imagination Challenge: Water’s Role in the Race to Zero.

This challenge, part of US Water Alliance’s Recovering Stronger initiative, outlines a vision and strategic pathway for climate mitigation through One Water. The exciting new effort brings the US water sector together in pursuit of a common goal: measurably reducing greenhouse gas emissions using methods that provide added benefits to utilities and the communities they serve.

The Imagination Team includes over 35 representatives from water associations, utilities, academia, environmental organizations, consulting firms, art and more who will collaborate to envision innovative strategies for the mitigation of the Water industry’s GHG emissions.

“We all need clean water and sanitation. So, it is good news that the water sector has the potential, today, to become carbon neutral,” wrote Cho and Wallis-Lage. “By joining together, we now have an opportunity to bring sector-wide change.”