Water
Access to water is critical to Rio Tinto's operations. We use water at every stage of our business - for exploration, mining, processing, smelting, refining, rehabilitation and drinking. We also use significant quantities of water to generate hydroelectric power.
Each of our operations has its own set of water challenges. Some are located in water-scarce environments where they compete with other users, while other operations need to manage surplus water from storms or groundwater. The quality of water is also a consideration, as it can affect production or increase operating costs. As a result, each of our operations implements our water strategy in its own way.
- Approach
- Risks
- Impacts
- Engagement
- Results
Our water strategy provides a framework for managing water related business risks (threats and opportunities), and encouraging long term thinking about water in terms of its social, environmental and economic values.
Communities need clean water for drinking and sanitation but in many countries water is either contaminated or insufficient to meet community needs. The world is also recognising the importance of good quality water for environmental flows and the value of water as an ecosystem service.
Consequently Rio Tinto has linked our management of water to our energy, climate change and biodiversity management approaches. Our water strategy was developed following broad internal and external consultation in 2005.
We use water from different sources and of different qualities, such as groundwater (sourced from aquifers), surface water (sourced from rivers, lakes, rain and snow), sea water or water from dams that we build on site. Additionally, we use recycled water where possible - some sites are able to recycle up to 70 per cent of their water, others source water from external recycling and treatment plants. At many sites, we replace high quality (potable) water with poorer quality water to help conserve local water supplies.
Our operations need to continually improve their water management, in order to be good neighbours, reduce operational constraints, and demonstrate why Rio Tinto should be the developer of choice for new orebodies. Operations that reduce their demand through efficiency, technology and the use of lower quality and recycled water are more likely to have a competitive, economic and reputational advantage.
We take a "catchment approach" to water management, meaning that we consider all of the water flows and uses for the areas surrounding our operations that impact the same water bodies as us. We take this broad approach because solutions to the water issues we face often lie outside of our operations' boundaries. The minerals and metals industry is often a small user of water on a national scale, but it can be the largest user at a catchment level.
We have developed a number of programmes to help achieve improved performance, including:
- a water target for all operations that aims to improve the efficiency of freshwater use;
- a water standard that sets the minimum expectations for each operation when managing water; and
- a water risk review that helps an operation assess risk and opportunities, and provides a holistic approach to water management.
