Global warming and excessive water consumption pose a serious threat to future supplies of this essential resource. Comprehensive water management and advanced technologies are the solution.
"Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." When the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote those words in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", he was describing the plight of a thirsty sailor mid-ocean, surrounded by salt water but with nothing to drink. Sadly, this is an issue that continues today, even on land. Half the world's population, about 4 billion people, already suffer from water stress, when demand exceeds supply, for at least one month a year.
Maintaining a sustainable global water supply is one of the most complex challenges we humans face. Water is essential for human life and economic activity. The good news is that improved solutions to our current and future water problems are constantly being developed. From upgrading outdated infrastructure, to harnessing technology, to creating smart and digital solutions, the water industry is laser-focused on mitigating water scarcity. More precise irrigation, alternative water treatment solutions, and cheaper desalination are all part of efforts to secure a more sustainable global water supply.
Water supply has come to the forefront because this vital resource is under increasing pressure due to a significant rise in demand. Global freshwater consumption has risen by about six times since 1900, reaching four trillion cubic metres a year. According to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, demand could double again by 2050, mainly due to a growing world population and accelerating global warming.
Groundwater, the water stored on land, has declined significantly over the last 20 years. Although the global 16 mm fall in 2024 doesn't sound like a lot, it is equivalent to about 50 times the volume of water in Lake Constance, between Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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Overall, the water cycle is being permanently disrupted by the significant overuse of existing resources and rising global temperatures. On average, the number of dry months is increasing significantly across the globe. In 2024, there were 38% more months with record low precipitation than the average for the period 1995 to 2005.
At the same time, Global Water Monitor 2024 reported that there were 52 % more days with record high levels of precipitation that year. This is because rising temperatures mean that the atmosphere can absorb more moisture, leading in turn to more rainfall.
While these statistics seem contradictory, both are bad news for water supply. Extreme weather events like floods have only a minimal effect because dry soil is unable to absorb immense quantities of water. If periods of heat or drought follow floods or heavy rainfall, rivers and lakes quickly lose the water they have absorbed.
According to figures from the UN, 72 % of global fresh water is consumed by agriculture, 13 % by municipalities and households, with the remaining 15 % used by industry. While much focus is on household consumption, industrial consumption is increasing. For instance, demand is growing for fresh water to cool the vast new data centres needed to support artificial intelligence.
Failing to act on water scarcity could carry a steep economic cost.
The cost of not addressing water scarcity could be very high. The World Resources Institute estimates that without improvements, GDP in developed countries could decline by 8 % by 2050. The Global Commission on the Economy of Water expects an average decline of between 10 % and 15 % in developing countries in the same time period.
Some of the solutions are straightforward. Thanks to outdated infrastructure, lots of water is lost simply through leakage. Better leak detection processes using sensors and maintenance are critical. But so too are digital solutions that both monitor and optimise water delivery throughout supply systems. Tech companies are developing and supplying smart meters and other tools to automate and simplify processes.
In agriculture, the focus is on precision irrigation, to ensure that plants receive exactly the right amount of water at the right time. This is an important way to make water use more efficient, as well as to improve plant health and thus crop yields. But until recently precision irrugation has been viewed as too expensive. With the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and water shortages, its use is likely to become more widespread.
Part of the efficiency comes from the combination of methods used to deliver and monitor water usage. Most precision irrigation systems use more than one type of technology, from a range that includes smart pivot irrigation, sprinkler/drip irrigation, sensors, artificial intelligence, drones, and satellites.
Precision irrigation had a market volume of an estimated USD 4 billion to USD 5 billion last year, with a predicted growth trajectory of 6 % to 9 %.
Water treatment plants are already a standard feature in water management systems, but today the focus is on making these processes more efficient while also ensuring that more wastewater is treated. This is especially important when, according to the UN, 27 % of the world's population currently lacks access to safe drinking water, and 42 % of the world's wastewater is not treated properly.
One important development is the ability to treat water more comprehensively to take account of new pollutants such as PFAs, the "forever chemicals". Recirculation systems will also be a key driver of growth in the water treatment industry, as they enable the water in cooling systems for computer and data centres to be reused more frequently.
Singapore offers a case study in capitalising on the latest water treatment technology. It now recycles about 30 % of its wastewater. After treatment, the water is not released into the environment, but is largely used in industry. The island nation aims to increase this figure to 55 % by 2060.
The market for water treatment solutions is expected to grow by an average of 7 % per annum to reach about USD 130 billion by 2033.
Water desalination, another familiar process, is also likely to gain new adherents thanks to improvements in membrane technology and the increasing use of energy recovery systems alongside renewable energies. The costs of desalination have fallen significantly recently, enabling further reductions in total energy costs.
Around 97 % of the Earth's water reserves are contained in its oceans. Several stages of purification and filtration are required before saltwater can become drinkable or be used in industry or agriculture. Traditional desalination processes have several drawbacks, including the fact that highly concentrated brine (saltwater) is released back into the ocean afterwards.
Although there are thought to be 22,000 desalination plants worldwide, they only provide around 1 % of the global supply of clean water. Global desalination capacity has increased steadily since 2002, however, and it is estimated that the market will grow by about 10 % to 12 % a year by 2030.
While these developments can't do much for the plight of the ancient mariner, the water industry and its suppliers are developing a steady stream of cost-effective and efficient new tools that can help contribute to a more sustainable supply of fresh water.
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