Water, Energy and COVID-19

 

The importance of energy and water and their strong interdependence have become more evident during the COVID-19 world crisis of 2020. Without the critical services of water and energy, the full spectrum of health services could not be implemented. A catastrophic situation could occur anywhere in the world if these services were to be disrupted even for a short period of time during a pandemic. In light of the terrible consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainable water and energy solutions are viewed as a necessary response during this world health crisis and beyond.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic in record time has brought immense tragedy reflected by the large number of people who have died or have become seriously ill and the devastating impacts to the world economy. The crisis has made evident to everyone the importance of high-capacity, robust and reliable health systems, programmes, medical equipment and infrastructures as well as the availability of relevant medications, materials and personal protective equipment for health professionals and for the public in general. Additionally, the negative impacts from the pandemic have brought to the top of the agenda of policymakers and decisionmakers the need for comprehensive contingency plans and preparations for the world to be able to successfully confront this type of crisis now and in the future. Behind reliable health programmes, there are a number of critical services, sometimes taken for granted, without which the full spectrum of health services could not be executed. These critical services include water and energy.

 

 

The Importance of Water and Energy Services

 

Water is essential for washing hands, for medical procedures, for medicines and for adequate hygiene and sanitation. Additionally, water is indispensable for many energy systems such as electric generating power plants. Energy is needed for lighting, for refrigeration, for space heating and cooling, and for communication. Energy is also necessary for water supply, distribution and treatment and for disposal and recycling. Therefore, the availability and reliability of water services are closely related to the availability and reliability of energy services and vice-versa. And without energy and water services not only the health services can be compromised but also the food chain.

 

As the pandemic progresses around the world and if the crisis continues over many months or years, water and energy services could be at risk. As a matter of fact, there is little information on the impacts that an extended world health crisis could have on critical services such as water and energy. The essential workforce in water and energy utilities could be disrupted as well as a number of essential inputs needed to either generate electricity or to treat water. Recurrent catastrophic events such as droughts and hurricanes could happen concurrently with COVID-19 type of crises affecting water and energy services and making the situation even worse. Some of these events are becoming more intense and frequent in different world regions as a result of climate change. Although critical water and energy organizations plan for a variety of contingencies, including pandemics, COVID-19 is revealing the vulnerabilities of multiple contingency scenarios even in developed countries. Modifying contingency plans for severe weather responses may be necessary, given that the baseline assumptions of these plans do not reflect the human and other capacity constraints imposed by pandemic conditions.

 

Mangement of Critical Services

 

The effective management of the interdependence between water and energy is very important and critical for the world population particularly during a world health crisis. The sustainability of systems supporting world health services, the world economy and the population at large should be based on maximizing resilience and efficiency of water and energy resources.

Sustainable water and energy solutions are particularly important for those nations and communities where benefits from integrated water and energy approaches could be critical to health services and to save lives. The world needs integrated water and energy solutions with sufficient redundant capacity to withstand catastrophic events such as world health crises.

 

 

 

 

Leave No One Behind

 

“Leaving No One Behind” is one of the major concerns reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Today, the poorest segments of the population are usually the ones who lack the three basic services of energy, water and sanitation. About two-thirds of people in rural areas who lack access to clean drinking water also lack access to electricity. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and health crisis call for effective actions and international cooperation to ensure access to these critical services. Integrated water and energy solutions represent innovative and efficient options to provide these critical services to the people who need them the most. Technologically innovative systems exist and can be developed to realize the synergies that can be derived from integrated approaches to water and energy especially designed to respond to the needs of poor communities.

 

The Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Network will concentrate efforts in supporting the world community in its search for transformative pathways to achieve universal access to these critical services and to promote the development and availability of affordable and efficient integrated systems that maximize the reliability of these services. The Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Knowledge Platform will help to disseminate knowledge about the synergies that can be realized when integrated approaches are used to tackle water and energy services, particularly during world health crises. Users will also have the opportunity to learn and discuss innovative technological systems designed to promote efficient and effective use of available resources for a more resilient recovery to COVID-19.

 

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