The RSK Group, a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions, has launched the Water Data Exchange, a global digital platform for water utilities to share water demand and consumption insights crucial to achieving water efficiency against the backdrop of climate change and continued environmental challenges.
RSK has been collaborating with a number of global utilities ahead of the project launch at Singapore International Water Week 2024. The group, a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions, operates across 40 countries with a strong presence in the water sector among its more than 200 environmental, engineering and technical services businesses.
RSK Water Data Exchange Project Lead and Head of Digital Water Thomas Allen said climate change presented a range of challenges across the world, with utilities lacking robust and consistent information on global water patterns needed to influence policy and infrastructure development.
Thomas said: “Water scarcity is a problem so big, it cannot be tackled alone. The good news is that water utilities by their very nature are collaborative, and the growth of smart metering is creating a volume of data with significant operational and social value. This offers tremendous opportunities for shared learning on water consumption and a data exchange has the potential to offer not only raw data but also valuable insights on a range of topics including water consumption patterns and water loss.
“With the reality of water as a scarce and precious resource, even within countries which have enjoyed the luxury of taking plentiful rainfall for granted, we feel the time is right to create a platform to support shared solutions.”
In addition to informing the work of utilities and quality of life, Thomas said the data, which RSK intended to be freely available to water utilities sharing their own data, would be particularly useful in informing academic research, regulator policy making and driving innovation.
The group emphasised that the project is based on the understanding that the ability to share information, insight and knowledge will be vital in adapting the world’s future water resource demands.
Tom added that, by sharing aggregated smart metering data, the Water Data Exchange would give utilities greater visibility outside of their supply areas and facilitates a standardised approach to per capita consumption around the world. Providing immediate access to real-time, updated information and reports for analysing water consumption data, the platform facilitates insights into water usage patterns and trends, and enables informed decision making for effective water management and policy formulation.
RSK Chief Executive Officer Alan Ryder said funding for the project was linked to the group’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in this case specifically SDG 6 which focuses on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Alan said: “Climate change represents a global challenge and nothing short of a shared global solution will be enough to adapt and protect our access to water. Countries which have access to greater resources can participate in the data exchange to ensure that developing nations, who often bear the brunt of the most devastating climate change impacts, have access to crucial information. This can inform and support infrastructure development. Increasingly what we thought we knew about our countries and continents; their weather patterns and climate is shifting and we have to work together to harness the collective knowledge which can make a difference.”
To find out more, and to register your interest, please visit https://rskgroup.com/water-data-exchange/
