Author Description

For development projects that use water resources, the World Bank's emphasis on environmentally sustainable development means making the transition from water consumption to strategies that save water. This paper explores options for using--and reusing--water more efficiently. It arose from a policy review of the World Bank's projects with components promoting irrigation and drainage, water supply and sanitiation, and flood control. The allocation of water among various sectors of the economy is drawn from statistics from several countries and regions. Estimates of water use efficiency (WUE) are presented using data from dozens of applications worldwide. Technological and managerial options are discussed, and costs are compared.