In fewer than six years, 1.8 billion people will live in countries that cannot meet the rising demand for water, according to the United Nations. Two thirds of the world’s population, meanwhile, will live in areas with stressed supplies of freshwater. Moreover, a third of the world’s biggest groundwater systems are already in distress, a 2015 study by the University of California, Irvine, and NASA found.
As the global population rises and industries use up more and more of the world’s water, the gap between
available supplies and growing demand continues to widen. By 2030, the World Economic Forum expects the shortfall to reach 40 percent.
These figures are worrying on many levels: water, of course, is fundamental to life, but it is also key to economic stability. For numerous industries – including agriculture, energy, apparel and manufacturing – water is a critical resource. Without finding ways to boost efficiency and reduce usage, the economic cost of the water crisis will be devastating.
Innovation on tap
The World Economic Forum regularly lists water security as one of the top threats in its annual Global Risks Report. “Globally, water-resource management and improved water supplies are critical elements in growing economies and reducing poverty,” Jade Huang, a portfolio manager at the Calvert Global Water Fund, told World Finance. In fact, the World Bank found that countries across the Middle East, North and Central Africa, and East Asia could each lose up to six percent of their GDP by 2050 as water scarcity negatively impacts agriculture, health and income.
From clothing makers to drinks brands, nearly every industry is impacted by the risks associated with declining water reserves. In 2018 alone, water-related financial losses reached $36bn at companies involved in an analysis by CDP, a non-profit that encourages companies to disclose their environmental impact.
Emerging technologies are beginning to address the issues that communities and businesses face regarding water, including by improving quality, boosting efficiency and reducing consumption levels. For instance, innovation in nanotechnology, filtration membranes and anaerobic treatment technology aims to enhance water quality in areas that struggle to source enough clean water. In wastewater treatment, the process of ‘zero liquid discharge’ seeks to remove all liquid waste from systems in industries such as oil and gas, petrochemicals and mining by using a range of technologies.
Breakthroughs are also occurring in older technologies, such as desalination. For instance, research has shown that graphene, a versatile carbon-based material discovered in 2004, can be used to transform salty ocean water into freshwater. Smart-metering technology and irrigation management can also help businesses and farms to better understand and control their water usage.
The agriculture industry is the largest consumer of water globally, accounting for 70 percent of all usage. Johannes Cullmann, Director of Climate and Water at the World Meteorological Organisation, told World Finance the industry is using technology to better manage irrigation solutions. “There is a whole industry that is trying to optimise technology and management systems for irrigation for an improved crop production,” Cullmann said.
The infrastructure gap
While technological innovation is boosting industry efficiency and increasing water supply, many issues still exist at the level of city planning and infrastructure management. In developed nations, this is evidenced by the burst pipes and high leakage rates that come with ageing infrastructure networks.
For instance, in England and Wales, Victorian-era plumbing results in leaks of more than three billion litres of water every day. In London, this, along with the growing population and pressures caused by climate change, means that new sources of water will be needed to meet the city’s demand from 2025, The Telegraph reported.
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