Sharing Water
At a Glance
-
Without water, a mine cannot operate. As such, considerable investment in water infrastructure is required to ensure a reliable water supply for mining operations—and, to a lesser but still significant degree, oil and gas projects.
-
There is considerable scope for synergies between the water infrastructure needs of mines and onshore oil and gas projects, and the water supply needs of surrounding communities.
-
Shared use of water infrastructure can both minimize the water footprint of extractive operations and leverage a project’s demand for water to benefit the broader community.
Case Studies
- The Water Footprint of Heavy Oil Extraction in Colombia: A Case Study (Luis Gabriel Carmona, Angeles Carrasco, Kai Whiting)
- Water Management in Mining: A Selection of Case Studies (International Council of Mining and Metals)
- Water Risks in the Mining Sector, Western Australia (Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment)
Key Resources
- Leveraging Mining Investments in Water Infrastructure for Broad Economic Development: Models, Opportunities and Challenges (Clara Roorda, Perrine Toledano)
- A Framework to Approach Shared Use of Mining-Related Infrastructure (Nicolas Maennling, Alpa Shah, Sophie Thomashausen, Perrine Toledano)
- A Comparative Overview of Legal Frameworks Governing Water Use and Waste Water Discharge in the Mining Sector (Nicolas Maennling, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Sophie Thomashausen)
- Water Management in Mining: A Selection of Case Studies (International Council of Mining and Metals)
- Mapping the Oil and Gas Industry to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas (International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, International Finance Corporation, United Nations Development Programme)
Topic Briefing
The shared use of water infrastructure has the benefit of both minimizing the water footprint of extractive operations and leveraging an extractive project’s demand for water. Encouraging investment in reliable and efficient water infrastructure can, in turn, increase the availability of potable water to communities near the project.