CH2M HILL just launched WaterMatch because we believe it is time for water action at the local level.

WaterMatch is a goodwill initiative to help municipalities, industries and agriculture find each other and collaborate to conserve fresh water and promote community and economic development.

WaterMatch employs the most powerful force in the world: the power of people connecting. This social networking force is behind the most amazing revolutions in the last 10 years and has driven 800 million users to FaceBook, 170 million to LinkedIn and millions more to eHarmony and Match.com.

The website uses social networking and geospatial mapping to connect water generators with water users. Once online, water users can use the WaterMatch Map to find wastewater treatment plants close to their current and potential future operations and then use the social networking function to connect with the utilities operating those plants. The website is designed to help communities and companies meet and then take action on water. When action is taken, progress is made.

We've created a global Matching Map and populated it with the locations of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) around the world. Through a search of public information, we found the names and locations of 20,000 WWTPs in countries including the U.S., China, India, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Spain and Italy. This information was not simple to find and we're working to add more country lists. More importantly, we're hoping that water generators will add their sites to the Matching Map so that water users can find them.

Support of Global Business and Municipalities

When we came up with idea of WaterMatch a year ago, we wanted to make sure companies and municipalities would use it. We were mindful of what Mark Twain once said, "There's a book inside everyone ... and that's where it should stay."  If he had lived today, perhaps he would have said that about websites. So we went out to municipalities, industries, business groups, environmental NGOs and others with the idea and the invitation to join us in this goodwill initiative.

The response was strong and left no question that we had to make WaterMatch a reality. WaterMatch has the support of more than 200 global businesses through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, IPIECA and numerous individual companies and municipalities.

Why a Water Revolution Is Needed

We all know the global statistics too well: More than 1 billion people lack access to improved water supply and more than 2 billion people are without access to sanitation. Water scarcity and real-life stories of impacts to people, ecosystems and businesses around the world, including developed and developing nations, regularly make headlines. Looking forward, population growth will increase the number of water-stressed areas around the world.

Awareness of water issues has been on the rise through many fact-filled websites, conferences and publications. Thousands of people have been working for hundreds of years to improve water supply and sanitation, yet we are still falling short on key performance results. New approaches are needed, which is why CH2M HILL has launched WaterMatch to start a grassroots revolution to promote progress. It takes projects on the ground to promote progress, just like it takes people in the streets to start a revolution.

While there are many hurdles to overcome in creating a multi-stakeholder water reuse program, the first hurdle is finding a potential match. WaterMatch can help the world clear that first hurdle. In supporting web-material, we've also posted case studies and included links to technical documents from external organizations to help users with the next steps of project development.

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