The savings produced by these programs should be viewed in the context of the $90 billion per year that cities spend to build treatment plants, pipes, and other components of water infrastructure. The authors of “The Urban Water Blueprint” have calculated that more than $18 billion could be productively directed toward conservation activities, saving cities money and creating a new market comparable in size to the market for the water sector’s existing technologies.
应当以城市兴建污水处理厂、铺设管道及其他供水设施的年投资额900亿美元为背景来看待项目带来的节约。《城市供水蓝图》的编写者计算出超过180亿美元的投资可以在保证效益的前提下转投到水资源保护领域，在节约城市成本的同时创造出与水务部门现有技术市场相当的全新市场规模。