World water news: A global perspective

Around the world, water remains a constant fixture in global headlines, underscoring its critical role in both ecosystems and human life. In each edition of World Water News, we curate recent developments and critical insights from the global water sector. Our focus is on innovative solutions and pressing challenges, highlighting pivotal articles that drive the conversation on sustainable water management forward. 

Join us as we examine the trends and technologies that are defining the future of water security.

The approach of Day Zero

Mexico City, home to 22 million, faces a looming water crisis as drought threatens the Cutzamala aqueduct that supplies 25% of its water. As the Washington Post reports, even affluent neighbourhoods in Mexico City are facing water shortages. With the city’s reliance on this depleting aquifer, it pumps more than twice the water that can be replaced in the aquifer by surface water infiltration alone.

The concept of ”Day Zero“ — a complete water shutoff — is a growing concern among cities worldwide. Global examples such as Cape Town illustrate the urgent need for diversified water sources and sustainable management to avert such risks.

“The key thing cities can do to avoid these Day Zero situations is to diversify their water sources,” said Barton Thompson, a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, in the Scientific American. “As water becomes scarcer, cities become far more creative in the way they try to diversify their supply.”

Learn more here.

Beverage companies assess their water footprints

During a different drought period in Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spotlighted the water-intensive brewing industry, urging beer companies to relocate to less stressed regions. As reported in the Financial Times, this incident highlighted a broader challenge as beverage giants face increasing scrutiny over water use.

As global water stress intensifies, companies are pressed to reevaluate water management both within their operations and supply chains, moving towards sustainable practices. Heineken, for example, has 32 sites in water-stressed areas. The company uses water balancing to replenish water extracted from watersheds at 28 of them, and aims to do so across all sites by 2030.

“We would encourage drinks companies to look not only within the factory fence to assess their water risks and impact, but to listen to and work with the communities where they’re based,” said Kate Holme, director of strategic partnerships at nonprofit body WaterAid, according to the Financial Times.

Read more about these efforts here.

The need for transboundary water governance 

Water knows no borders, as the UN’s recent World Water Day theme “Water for Peace” highlighted. More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders, but only 24 countries have cooperation agreements in place for their shared water.

Recent analysis urged improved collaboration to address climate impacts on South Asia’s vital river basins: the Brahmaputra, Indus and Ganges. These rivers are crucial for the food and water security of nearly a billion people in a geopolitically sensitive region. The reports, released by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Australian Water Partnership, emphasise the necessity of joint action to manage escalating pressures from population growth and rising temperatures. They advocate for cooperation among these countries to bolster water security and improve disaster resilience.

As Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York, wrote in Nikkei Asia, the World Water Forum in Bali represented a critical opportunity for global leaders to commit to sustainable solutions and reinforce international cooperation, aiming to ensure long-term water security and stability in the region. 

This is a global topic we’ll continue to follow, particularly as we bring decentralised water solutions to water stressed industries and regions. Our aim is to foster water autonomy by creating water exactly where and when it’s needed.

Read more insights on this topic here.

Stay tuned for future editions of World Water News, where we’ll continue to highlight crucial developments and innovative solutions in water security and sustainability.