World Water Day 2025: The Urgent Need for Water Conservation and Reuse
World Water Day 2025: Glacier Preservation, Water Security and the Role of Ozone & UV in Reuse-Ready Treatment Trains
World Water Day 2025 focuses on Glacier Preservation—a reminder that shrinking glaciers are making water availability and seasonal flows more uncertain for communities, agriculture and industry.
Against this backdrop, water systems need to become more resilient: protecting source water, improving efficiency, and accelerating fit-for-purpose water reuse where appropriate.
Why water resilience matters now
Global access to safe water remains a major challenge. In 2022, 2.2 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking-water services.
At the same time, multiple projections indicate significant pressure on freshwater withdrawals by mid-century; one widely cited projection points to an increase of around 55% by 2050 driven mainly by manufacturing, energy and domestic demand.
The practical implication for utilities and industry is clear: resilience requires a combination of demand management, better treatment performance, and circular water practices.
Water reuse needs multi-barrier thinking
Water reuse is not a single technology—it is a multi-barrier treatment train designed around:
target water quality (end use),
site-specific risk management,
stable operation under variable influent conditions,
monitoring and control that keep the plant within its validated operating envelope.
Learn more about our municipal water treatment and reuse solutions.
Where ozone and UV add value in reuse-ready trains
When engineered and integrated correctly, ozone and UV can support treatment objectives in municipal and industrial applications. Their role should be defined by process targets and operational constraints—not generic claims.
Ozone (oxidation and process conditioning)
Ozone is a powerful oxidant used in water treatment for oxidation and process conditioning (application-dependent). Performance depends on delivered dose, contacting, automation and overall system integration. Disinfection by-product management (e.g., bromate risk in bromide-containing waters) is site-specific and should be addressed in design and operation.
Explore NLO ozone generator systems.
UV (disinfection barrier and multi-barrier robustness)
UV disinfection (commonly UV-C, 254 nm) inactivates microorganisms by damaging nucleic acids, supporting robust pathogen control as part of a multi-barrier strategy. UV does not create a chemical residual, so it is typically designed and operated as a defined barrier with monitoring aligned to project requirements.
Explore UV disinfection systems (NLQ).
From World Water Day to practical action
Glacier preservation highlights a wider reality: water security is becoming more variable, and treatment systems must be designed for reliability, operability and lifecycle performance. Reuse-ready infrastructure—supported by engineered ozone and UV systems—can help utilities and industries:
reduce freshwater withdrawals (where reuse is feasible),
improve discharge quality and environmental protection,
increase resilience against seasonal variability and source-water changes.
Contact
To discuss reuse-ready treatment trains and engineered ozone/UV systems: