Ecolab Lead Sponsor of The Nature Conservancy’s Urban Water Blueprint Report

Ecolab, a global leader in water technologies and solutions, is the lead sponsor for a new report issued by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in partnership with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the International Water Association. The report, Urban Water Blueprint: Mapping Conservation Solutions to the Global Water Challenge, analyzes the state of water among more than 2,000 water sources and 530 cities throughout the world. 

The report offers science-based recommendations for natural solutions – such as reforestation, repairing stream banks and improving agricultural practices on farms and ranches in watersheds – that can be integrated alongside traditional engineered solutions to improve water quality. The report finds that one in four cities could realize a positive return on investment and more than 700 million people could benefit from cities integrating natural solutions into future infrastructure development plans.

“The Ecolab Foundation has long supported The Nature Conservancy, including a recently announced three-year, $2 million commitment to support TNC’s ‘Securing and Restoring Water Sources Around the Globe’ initiative,” said Tim Mulhere, Ecolab executive vice president and president, Global Water and Process Services. “In our business, we see firsthand the interrelated dynamics of limited freshwater resources. This report, which provides a roadmap that demonstrates how investing in natural solutions, in additional to engineered solutions, can help address the fresh water challenges facing cities around the world.”

The Urban Water Blueprint report and accompanying website provide a resource for decision-makers in evaluating water quantity and quality risk across the world’s largest cities, the steps some cities have taken to overcome water stress, and the cost-benefits of incorporating natural solutions. Since the benefits of natural solutions often extend beyond municipal boundaries, the report also outlines unique financing mechanisms that cities, water utilities and partners can use to share the cost of implementing these solutions in shared watersheds. 

“In less than two decades, demand for fresh water will surpass supply by 40 percent, and already, more than 20 percent of the world’s population lives in areas where access to clean, safe water is increasingly limited,” added Mulhere. “Tools such as the Urban Water Blueprint and the Water Risk Monetizer recently launched by Ecolab and Trucost, provide actionable information to help improve and protect fresh water supplies.”

For more information about the Urban Water Blueprint, please visit nature.org/waterblueprint.