The future of water and wastewater management was an important issue of discussion during the 2021 Singapore International Water Week (SIWW). Within a short period of 12 years, SIWW has become the premier event globally where participants learn about the first-in-class practices developed in different parts of the world on different aspects of urban water and wastewater solutions that actually work, that have been successfully implemented, and that objectively assessed the enabling conditions that followed their successful implementation. It has led the way to show there is no one universal solution for every water problem of the world and for all times. For urban water and wastewater problems, solutions are city-specific and time-specific. Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “The essence of knowledge is having it, to apply it.” In approaching the second quarter of the 21st century, knowledge has four important dimensions: generation, synthesis, dissemination and application. In terms of knowledge generation and bringing it to the attention of the world, SIWW is now significantly more effective than rest of the global water fora.
By Asit K. Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada, 2021. Article published in International Journal of Water Resources Development, Volume 37, Number 5, pages 753-757. DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2021.1963115