Throughout history, people have innovated to improve the use and management of water. The Egyptians invented water filtration and solar water sterilization over 4000 years ago.^[8] By 100 ad, the roman aqueducts were delivering an average of 550 liters of fresh water per capita to 1 million people per day^[9] - about the same amount used per capita in many cities in the developed world today.^[10]

The Roman Empire was built, in part, on its innovations in water management - the aqueducts that supplied the water, the baths that used water for social purposes, and the great sewers that carried the wastewater away.

With its remarkable record of innovation, it is somewhat surprising to learn that one roman - none other than Sextus Julius Frontius, an engineer and Rome's commissioner of water in the first century ad - doubted that the water supply could meet the challenges of a rapidly growing population.

In his essay, "on aqueducts: water supply of the city of Rome," published 19 centuries ago, he wrote: "inventions have long since reached their limit - I see no hope for further development."

We must be careful not to make the same mistake and underestimate the ability of government, industry, agriculture and . . . Most of all . . . People to find a solution to the current water crisis. Some may be pessimistic as to the future outlook, but I believe optimism is the only way to go forward.

As the world water vision reminds us, today's situation is not the result of our having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of management . . . It is our inability to make water available to everyone who needs it while protecting the environment they live in.^[11],[12]

We can solve this management crisis . . . If we have the will. The first step is to change behaviors and perceptions as we create sustainable growth. But where do we begin?

The answer lies in what I'm calling seven "Catalysts for Change" . . . Initiatives that will lead to a restructuring of industry and a new focus on sustainable growth.