Diffusion of Innovative Water Atomization Technology to Conserve Water in Water Stress Countries

Abstract

Shantha Indrajith Hikkaduwa Liyanage and Venkataraman Vishwanathan

Clean water is a challenge in water stress semi-arid country like Botswana. All the perennial rivers are shared with river basins of neighbouring countries. Some of the ground water in aquifers are of fossil nature and remain without any recharge. The low rainfall and the increasing temperature increase further the scarcity of water. With the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR), the impact of climate change due to Global warming for Botswana, it is estimated that the Limpopo Catchment (runoff) would decrease 26%, 36%, 46% and 56% under the global warming 1.5°C, 2°C, 2.5°C, and 3°C respectively. Hence water management is imperative in Botswana In managing water, demand management with price and non-price strategies, is the most abundantly used approach. In this respect, a recently emerged strategy is the application of water atomization technology. This research investigates the effectiveness of using water atomization technology at Botho University, as a large size consumer in Botswana and envisage further to scale up to a macro level in Botswana. At Botho University, having studied this as a case study project, it was found that the application of water atomization technology at micro level enables us to save 75% of water that was previously consumed. The installation of technology is a simple process and the payback period is shorter. Further, it was found that the projection for the application of the technology at macro level reflects that there would be a saving of water by 36 million kilolitres. Hence, it was recommended to have a marketing strategy based on principles of persuasion for diffusion of innovative technology to attract adopters, within a budgeted period of ten years. These findings and recommendations are significant not only for micro level application but also macro level application in the country for fulfilling the pledge taken by the country and corporate citizens with SDG 06: Clean Water for all and Sanitation & SDG 12: Responsible Consumption of 2030 Agenda for 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). However, the study is subject to the limitation that assessing water savings expected from the water technology among various types of customers at macro level is dependent on high resolution water consumption data which is not publicly available.

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