Worrying About Water
5 years, 4 months, 11 days, 16 hours
10 March 2024
‘Come summer, and water becomes a commodity as precious as gold in India’.
So said the World Bank in a briefing last year, that pointed out the country had 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent of its water resources ‘making it among the most water stressed countries in the world’. Sumouleendra Ghosh, who leads KPMG’s global water network, shared with me recently that around 80% of India’s water is used for irrigation, and how efficiencies in agricultural use will therefore hold the key to providing enough domestic and industrial supply for the growing population.
But it is not just India that is worrying about water. Everywhere it is now a major topic of concern. In New Zealand the new government has scrapped the previous government’s attempt to rationalise the country’s water authorities and in the capital, Wellington, the water authority CEO’s estimate that 45% of the region’s water is being lost through leaks is intensifying public debate over impending water usage restrictions. In Singapore, the Government is not only making investments to secure the country’s self-sufficiency in water supply, it is also promoting major new coastal defences including the 800 hectare ‘Long Island’ project to protect the country against rising sea levels. The Chilean water crisis, which has seen precipitation levels in Santiago fall to 20% of the previous average, is so serious it has its own Wikipedia entry. Whilst in the UK discharges into rivers has become the latest lightning rod for intense political pressure on the country’s privatised water utilities.
It was reviewing a UK political party's public policy pronouncements on the water sector a few weeks ago that led me to agree with Sumo there is really only one sustainable solution to the world’s water demand, which is through efficiency of use. That party has called for a) improved service outcomes in all respects, b) minimised cost impact on consumers, c) no additional public investment and d) ensuring private capital providers are accountable for delivering a public service without making excessive profits. So, maximum outcomes for minimum inputs. As the world faces unprecedented need for investment across all of its infrastructure, to decarbonise it, protect it from climate change, and continue to deliver economic and social progress, I can see no way to achieve this except by minimising demand and satisfying the demand that still remains in the most efficient way possible.
How? Through rapid adoption of technology, digital transformation, and stronger commercial incentives to optimise use.