Water Resilience In LATAM
We use innovative software and technology to deliver water resilient cities.
Delivering Water Resilience
In Latin America
The two cities of Monterrey and São Paulo in Latin America experienced the devastating global drought last year. In both cities urban population is growing exponentially, climate change weather events are recurring in rapid succession causing droughts and floods, groundwater aquifers are being over-mined, typically quite a lot of in the water networks is lost through leakage. There is also a dwindling of ecological flows which is threatening the survival of many species, invertebrates and habitats. This matter is compounded by the fact that we have an unusually high water use per capita in the region.
Monterrey, Mexico ​
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Monterrey is a vibrant city in north Mexico located close to the boarder with the USA, making a vital component to the Mexican economy. Of late it has attracted significant developments including big factories for manufacturers from China, Unilever and the Mega Factory for Tesla.
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Population Explosion​
The population of the city is growing at a phenomenal rate of 5% per annum, in a country that is highly urbanised. There is an increasing demand for water from both the growing population, business services and the burgeoning industry.
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In the summer of 2022 dams and reservoirs ran dry, taps stopped running for millions of people in the city of Monterrey, where the water shortage became a matter of national security as water bills have skyrocketed, water pipes were sabotaged and truck drivers delivering water intercepted en-route to deliver water to residents.
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There is a great opportunity to make a paradigm shift in the way that water is supplied, treated and managed in Monterrey. We propose to use our water neutrality strategy which combines innovative technology, hardware and technical experience to increase the capacity of the existing water supply by 25%. Our system has been tested and trialled in the UK where we have managed to reduce the consumption per person to 65 litres/person/day. The current use in Monterrey ranges from 140 to 290 litres/person/day.
WE CAN SAVE
25% to 50%
OF WATER IN Monterrey
40% of Monterrey's water supply comes from aquifers which are over mined. Over-abstraction of water decreases the resilience of residents, the city and natural habitats and wildlife, particularly during summer or in a drought. This results in irreversible damage to the hydrological cycle, aquatic ecosystems and ecological services.
São Paulo
São Paulo occupies a critical role as the economic and financial hub for Brazil. It is one of the largest cities in the world economically and a GDP over $250 USD million and is expected to be the 6th largest in 2025. It has a population of nearly 12 million people and this is growing at an incredible pace. Brazil has high level of urbanisation of around 87.8% and São Paulo is particularly popular because of its vibrant economic activity. In order to cope with the high demand for housing the city has adopted a very dense urban settlement highlighted by an extensive installation of tall residential blocks.
Water has historically been a challenge for the city as both formal and informal settlements compete for water and sanitary services. Recurrent and extensive incidents of water pollution has been recorded and reported in local rivers which has occurred owing to the lack of sanitary facilities at informal settlements which tend to sit along the rivers banks on the outskirts of the city. Historically many laws have been enacted to stop sprawling of informal settlements along the rivers banks this but it is particularly difficult to stop and govern informal settlements.
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In São Paulo there is an additional conflict between land-use planning, which is the responsibility of the municipalities, even though it affects water resource policy, which is a responsibility of the state. Hydropower production, potable water supply and flood control are conflicting uses. There is also a dwindling of ecological flows which is threatening the survival of many species, invertebrates and habitats.
São Paulo
Brazil's Economic Hub
WE CAN SAVE
16 BILLION LITRES
OF WATER IN São Paulo
São Paulo
Housing Densification & Verticality
Delivering Water Resilience
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In São Paulo the Non Revenue Water supply stands at 40%, which is lost through leaks, unmetered connections and illegal connections. As the city continues to grow the best opportunity for the city is to consider how it can maximise the opportunity to optimise the water use of the 60% that is currently being metered and delivered. Average per capita water use in São Paulo is about 180 liters per day, with large variations between the rich and poor. This compares to an average water use of less than 120 litres/person/day and in Germany and 150 litres/person/day in England. Using our Water Neutrality software and hardware solution there is an opportunity to reduce the average consumption by at 25% in São Paulo, saving 45 litres/person/day. In a tall building of 1,000 people this will save 16,4 million litres a year. If we applied this to 1000 similar buildings we could save a staggering 16 billion litres a year. This is why we are excited to be engaging with the local government and partners to make São Paulo a Water Resilient and Water Neutral city within the next 3 to 5 years.
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