Citizen established Smart City: A practical guide for local authorities

In the US, building operations use roughly 12% freshwater consumption. Therefore, advancing water resource management in buildings can help mitigate water scarcity in urban areas. Amaral et al. list evidence-based practices that are significant in improving the water resource management of building operations. Moreover, incorporating better water resource management also builds resilience to extreme climate conditions that endanger water supply. 

The recommendations include, first, metering and monitoring of indoor water consumption. Analysis of historical water use in the building is a powerful tool for building managers to know how occupants use water and take action to improve the efficiency of the usage. Next, reducing the freshwater consumption can be attained by adopting technology to reuse greywater that is often most of the water waste in buildings. Alternatively, investing in a rainwater harvesting system not only provides non-potable water for indoor use but also may reduce stormwater runoff. Lastly, nature-based solutions of water management such as green walls, green roofs, or vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland also show high performance in conserving water. 

Reference:

Amaral, R. E., Brito, J., Buckman, M., Drake, E., Ilatova, E., Rice, P., ... & Abraham, Y. S. (2020). Waste Management and Operational Energy for Sustainable Buildings: A Review. Sustainability, 12(13), 5337.

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