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Smart water management for healthy city’s
Stormwater as a valuable resource
Today, 55% of the world’s population live in urban areas and this is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 according to the United Nations.
At the same time weather patterns are changing. The average temperature is rising, dry spells are more frequent and rain falls in shorter and more intense rainstorms.
Balancing act between development and environmental Impact
Population growth in cities leads to more buildings and paved areas, in turn decreasing the amount of green infrastructure. This reduces the capacity for rainwater infiltration which, in combination with an increasing quantity of rainstorms, leads to more frequent and severe occurrences of urban flooding.
At the same time these built areas collect energy from the sun during the day and radiate this back into the city as heat during the night. In metropolitan areas the night-time temperature can be as much as 8 to 10 degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. Where nature creates a microclimate in which it thrives, human settlements suffer from this Urban Heat Island effect, negatively impacting human lives and well-being.
The solutions for a healthy city
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