An Endangered Ressource

Santiago, Cape Town, Karachi, Los Angeles, Mombasa... All of these cities are preparing for "day zero", when not a single drop of water will come out of the tap. Subjected to unprecedented anthropic pressures, this resource is now amongst one of the planetary boundaries that have been crossed, which has major impacts on ecosystems, health, food resilience or peace in the world. Solutions do exist, however. There is an urgent need to rethink our relationship with water and to collectively rewrite its history.

The shortage concerns worries

100 kilometers north of Barcelona, the Sau reservoir that supplies the city and its surroundings is at its lowest level ever. Catalonia has been experiencing a drought for more than two and a half years. In the streets, posters calling for water sobriety are displayed and the first restrictions on agriculture, industry and individuals have come into force. The situation is worrying, as the report of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission underlined in March 2023. Indeed, its combined drought index has gone into the red for Catalonia as for many other territories. Not only are there summer droughts, but now winter droughts are a reocurring reality as well - water is becoming a constant concern.

Today, according to UN-Water, 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries, including 733 million at high or critical levels. About 4 billion people, i.e. almost 2/3 of the world's population, suffer from a severe water shortage for at least one month of the year. Dry rivers, lakes at historically low levels, insufficient snow accumulation on the summits, forest fires from spring onwards... The reality is becoming more obvious every year.

The myth of inexhaustible groundwater reserves

Unlike surface water, whose scarcity is visible to man, groundwater, which accumulates as a result of rainfall, is very difficult to measure. It represents the primary source of daily water supply for a quarter of the world's population and some water tables cover very large areas. In South America, for example, the Guarani aquifer extends over four countries and is estimated to contain up to 40,000 km3 of water.

These reservoirs are undergoing massive extraction across the globe. One of the regions that pumps the most groundwater is the Asia-Pacific region, where 7 of the 10 most extracting countries account for 60% of all withdrawals. But these territories are far from being exceptions and more than 20% of the world's aquifers are overexploited. In Europe, every year the volumes withdrawn exceed the level of precipitation. The aquifers have been decreasing continuously since the beginning of the 2000s and the pace is accelerating. Globally, groundwater withdrawals have tripled in 50 years (between 1970 and 2020). A rarefaction of the resource, invisible, but real.

Green water, a planetary boundary/limit exceeded

Among the nine planetary limits/boundaries initially identified in 2009 by researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Center, the use of freshwater was not a matter of concern since it did not exceed the critical threshold established. However, this diagnosis only took into account the so-called blue water (lakes, rivers and groundwater). But a study published in Nature last year has raised the crucial importance of green water. This water, absorbed by plants and present in the soil and in biomass, stands actually at a much more worrying level. The study shows that green water is the sixth planetary boundary that humanity has breached. It plays several fundamental roles for the planet and for living beings, such as diluting pollutants, preserving biodiversity and mitigating floods through wetlands.

Multiple water pollution

Beyond the quantitative aspect, the quality of the resource is also a major concern. Antibiotics, hormones, microplastics, synthetic fertilizers, heavy metals, chemicals of all kinds..., water is loaded with multiple pollutants all along its journey. A study published last August in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, identifies the presence of toxic synthetic products exceeding the thresholds of recommendations in water. These are called, in technical language, the "PFAS" (for "per and polyfluoroalkyl") and their planetary boundary has already been exceeded too. Even rain is contaminated... The main author of the study, researcher and professor at the University of Stockholm Ian Cousins, makes a clear statement: "There is nowhere on Earth where rainwater would be safe to drink, according to the data we have used.” Whether we are in Tibet or on the Marquesas Islands, rainwater is polluted and therefore not drinkable!"

Climate change - the main culprit

In February 2022, the sixth IPCC report highlighted the impact of climate change on freshwater resources worldwide. Scientists predict that the increase in frequency and magnitude of floods, torrential rains and droughts will directly impact access to freshwater. Rising in global temperatures and the ever more frequent heat waves are already causing evaporation of water reserves and accelerating the melting of glaciers. The decrease in precipitation in desert areas of the world is estimated at 5% to 15%, Sahel being among the most affected areas.

Conversely, high latitudes are experiencing an increase in precipitation that can lead to flooding and landslides, phenomena already observed in North America, Northern Europe, Central Asia and Northern Asia. These heavy precipitations are also problematic because they can deteriorate water treatment and delivery systems, severely impacting access to the resource.

Numerous direct pressures related to human activity

Human activities directly affect water cycles in all four corners of the globe. The strong growth of the world's population, coupled with rapid urbanization and its corollary, the artificialization of soils, lead to ever more drastic water withdrawals. In one century, total consumption has increased sixfold to reach an average of 137 liters per day per capita. However, this figure varies greatly from country to country. The biggest consumers are the United States, Canada and Japan with an average of 600 liters per capita, followed by European countries with 250 liters per capita. Sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, uses only 10 liters per capita.

In order to take into account all of our water needs, it is relevant to refer to the broader concept of "water footprint", created by Professor Arjen Hoeskra for UNESCO in 2002. This indicator takes into consideration the direct and indirect use of water by the consumer or the producer, i.e. the total volume used for the production of a product or a service. This water, referred to as "virtual water", may have been extracted in one country and consumed in another, which thus becomes a virtual importer of water. The figures are surprising. For example, the footprint of a cup of coffee reaches 140 liters and that of a pair of jeans 11000 liters.

Agriculture is the most water intensive human activity and accounts for 72% of water withdrawals. The UNEP deplores the fact that more than half of the wetlands have disappeared since 1900, due to agricultural needs. And the increased resort to irrigation is accelerating the trend. The FAO recalls that 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas marked by high to extreme shortages and expects a doubling of irrigated areas in sub- Saharan Africa by 2050. Globally, by 2050, food production will have to increase by 50% to feed the 9 billion inhabitants of our planet. Agriculture also causes an imbalance in the water cycle when crops involve deforestation. With the disappearance of trees, evapotranspiration is greatly reduced, fewer clouds are formed and ultimately the quantity and frequency of rainfall decreases. This phenomenon has for example directly affected the megalopolis of São Paolo in 2014 and 2015. The Brazilian city of more than 12 million inhabitants saw its reservoir reach an extremely critical threshold and now suffers from a chronic lack of water.

Another impact of the agricultural sector is the runoff of chemical inputs that cause pollution of waterways. Synthetic fertilizers composed of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium run off onto the soil and cause eutrophication of freshwater bodies. By bringing in these nutrients, the plant biomass develops strongly to the point of depleting the aquatic ecosystem of oxygen and totally unbalancing it.

The industry is also a major water user, accounting for 12% of global water withdrawals. The energy sector is often blamed for its high water consumption due to the cooling of power plants. The textile industry is also pointed at. It absorbs alone 4% of the drinking water resource with 93 million m3 used per year. Cotton production in particular is very water- intensive and often involves countries already under water stress, such as Turkey, the United States and India. This sector is also extremely polluting at different stages of the product life cycle: from the heavy metals and chemicals discharged into rivers near the manufacturing plants to the microplastics from synthetic fibers that end up in our washing machines....

Strong impact on health

The scarcity of water resources leads many populations to use contaminated water. In addition, sanitary infrastructures damaged by natural disasters or devastating conflicts sometimes prevent access to good quality water. These factors cause numerous impacts on human health, including the resurgence of certain diseases. Cholera, for example, resurfaced in 2022 in Lebanon after a 30-year absence, because of weakened sanitation systems. Last year, about thirty countries saw cases of this disease emerge. Good quality water is key to public health. Even today, 700 children die every day from diseases related to lack of access to water and UNICEF counts one million deaths per year related to poor hygiene during childbirth.

In response to this, the United Nations has developed a vast project for access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as part of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to guarantee access to water and sanitation for all and to ensure sustainable management of water resources. According to the latest progress report of this project published in 2021, still one in four people did not have access to an adequate drinking water service in 2020 and half of the world's population did not have access to an appropriate sanitation service. Still 3 out of 10 people on earth cannot wash their hands regularly. Yet, as the World Bank points out, hygiene programs are the most effective health measure. According to the WHO, universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation would reduce diseases by 10%.

Inequalities in the face of threats

Not all populations are equal in the face of extreme water stress. According to the World Bank, 85% of people affected by rainfall instability live in low- to middle-income countries. In order to identify these discrepancies, a team of researchers from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallington, England, created the water poverty index. This index takes into account water availability, pressure on resources, investments, environmental preservation and access to water for the population. This new indicator reveals surprising situations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, countries where the resource is not limited, but where less than half the population has access to water.

The context of each country makes the issue of access to water unique. Armed conflicts greatly weaken the availability of water. In Syria, for example, only 50% of the water supply and sanitation systems are still functioning properly.

Source of geopolitical tensions

On Earth, 286 rivers are international and 468 aquifers are transboundary. These are all potential conflict situations. Central Asia and the Sahel are particularly affected. As the latest atlas of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies points out, the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East is also a high-risk area in this respect. Access to the Tigris, the Jordan, the Nile or the Euphrates, and in particular the construction of dams, is poisoning relations between countries. To cope with the shortage, many desalination plants are built, but to meet their energy needs, thermal power plants are constructed nearby. States such as Turkey, Iran and Egypt are launching a race for civil nuclear power to supply these plants. The multiplication of these programs does, however, raise the question of the proliferation of military nuclear power in the region.

At the global level, the World Economic Forum predicts a 40% gap between water supply and demand by 2030, a prospect that leaves little doubt that tensions over this resource will intensify.

Right to access water

If water is a source of tension between nations, it is also sometimes the object of strong claims within countries because its access is being privatized. This is precisely the case in Chile, which recently revised its Constitution, in the context of historic droughts, to put an end to legislation that had allowed the privatization of water since the 1970s. Thus, in 2022, a gradual process ending the commodification of water was set in motion: authorizations for the use of the resource now depend on its actual availability and it is considered a natural common good. "The approval of the constitutional proposal is probably the first step in recovering the basis of our lives," said Manuela Royo, a member of the Chilean Conventional Constitution, in September 2022. The United Nations Water Conference held in March 2023 emphasized this issue by positioning access to water and sanitation as human rights. Today, 29% of the world's population still does not have access to drinking water. It is therefore essential to understand how water, a common good of humanity but unequally distributed on Earth, can become a universal right.

However, along with the scarcity of the resource, a movement of financialization of this good is noticeable. Water is the object of growing speculation. In Australia, within the framework of the Water Act, quotas have been established and it is possible to sell one's rights or to buy them on a large dedicated financial market. And California seems to be going down the same path. Even on a global level, betting on the price of water is now possible, notably via the water index available on Nasdaq.

This is an eminently ethical question for our societies and as Agathe Euzen, director of the new French exploratory research program and priority equipment One Water - Eau Bien Commun, points out, "Fresh water is vital and must therefore be considered as a common good to be shared, and not as a product that could be subject to the law of the market." It is therefore key to rethink water governance and define a common framework to protect this resource. The Water Directive adopted in 2000 by the European Union establishes a framework for a global community policy in this field. A first step towards the protection of this common good...

Drawing inspiration from nature

Nature-based solutions draw on natural processes and ecosystems to address a variety of issues such as food security and disaster risk reduction. In the face of water resource challenges, ecosystems (forests, grasslands and wetlands), soils and biodiversity are key allies. At a time when a quarter of cities are considered to be under water stress, public decision-makers are now considering de-artificialising the heavily concreted soils of urban environments and fighting against the heat island effect through the greening of spaces. Initiatives are flourishing, such as in the Netherlands and Belgium with the organization of the paving stone removal championship, which aims to limit soil sealing.

Furthermore, the concept of "sponge city" is being developed in China. The objective is to combine various solutions inspired by nature to absorb and reuse over 70% of rainwater. Green roofs, permeable floors and walls, and wetland regeneration allow rainwater to be recovered and stored to ensure water availability.

While nature-based solutions are relevant for cities, they are equally appropriate for rural areas. As the most water-intensive sector, agriculture must rethink its model according to the biomes in which it is practiced in order to promote a beneficial water cycle. One priority is to favor crops that are adapted to the climatic conditions and do not consume water. For example, the cultivation of grain corn, which is of tropical origin, is increasingly being questioned for temperate environments. Also, sustainable models of crop intensification such as agroforestry - the practice of associating trees with crops or livestock - are emerging across the continents and show an increase in yields while preserving the various ecosystems. The objective is to limit on soil evaporation and to increase the absorption capacity of plants.

Circular water

First of all, it is important to remember that leaks in drinking water networks constitute the basis of the approach. 50% of the water drawn by communities in the world is never redistributed to users, due to defects in the pipes. The fight against this huge waste is therefore the main priority.

Reusing the resource is of course a key issue. Water, once used, can be of value. And high quality drinking water is not necessarily required for all uses. This approach is already favored by certain countries particularly troubled by water stress, such as Israel, which reuses 91% of its wastewater, and Spain (14%). It is a promising avenue that is still largely unexplored in many countries. Today, for more than 40 billion m3 of wastewater treated in Europe each year, only 964 million are reused.

Some companies are taking a circular approach to water. For many of them, this resource is essential and securing water supplies is becoming a question of resilience. This means establishing a water assessment, hunting down leaks and investing in the reuse of water depending on its use. The Procter & Gamble Group, for example, has embarked on this path for some of its production sites. To encourage this approach, some companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive, have set an internal price for water in order to better manage this resource, following the example of carbon pricing. Tools exist such as the WWF Water and Value Tool or the Smart Water Navigator from Ecolab. To guide companies, Freshwater science-based targets have been defined by a group of organizations forming SBTN's Freshwater Hub. These specific, measurable and time-bound targets aim to reduce the water impacts of a company's direct and upstream supply chain operations.

Rethinking our relationship  with water

It is becoming vital to no longer consider water as a commodity but as a precious resource... and to question the water footprint of our purchases or our habits. These can have a direct or indirect impact. For example, 17% of the world's food production, which is very water consuming, is wasted. Avoiding food waste is therefore also a good part of the solution. Raising public awareness for water sobriety can make a difference. This has been the case in Denmark, where water consumption per capita has dropped from 200 liters per day in the 1980s to about 100 liters per day today.

Restoring the value of water is at the heart of the solution. Although vital, it is rarely valued at the level of its true contribution to all systems. The cost of water only reflects the services that provide access to it. However, the value of this resource goes far beyond these notions. It integrates various socio-cultural aspects, or a role in maintaining peace and food security, all of which are difficult to quantify. It is time to value water at its true worth because it is the new blue gold.

To be read also in the dossier "The Blue Gold Crisis"

• Water is not a given
• Interview with Abou Amani
• Drawing for companies in action
• State of Luxembourg's water supply