Water crisis: private sector solutions for closing the resource gap

Constraints on a valuable resource should draw new investment and prompt policies to increase productivity of demand and augment supply. However, for water, arguably one of the most constrained and valuable resources we have, this does not seem to be happening. Calls for action multiply and yet an abundance of evidence shows that the situation is getting worse. There is little indication that, left to its own devices, the water sector will come to a sustainable, cost-effective solution to meet the growing water requirements implied by economic and population growth

This study focuses on how, by 2030, competing demands for scarce water resources can be met and sustained. It is sponsored, written, and supported by a group of private sector companies and institutions who are concerned about water scarcity as an increasing business risk, a major economic threat that cannot be ignored, and a global priority that affects human well-being. Assuring sufficient raw or "upstream" water resources is a precondition for solving other water issues, such as those of clean water supply in municipal and rural systems, wastewater services, and sanitation - the "downstream" water services. Yet the institutions and practices common in the water sector have often failed to achieve such security. A lack of transparency on the economics of water resources makes it difficult to answer a series of fundamental questions: What will the total demand for water be in the coming decades? How much supply will there still be? What technical options for supply and water productivity exist to close the "water gap"? What resources are needed to implement them? Do users have the right incentives to change their behaviors and invest in water saving? What part of the investment backlog must be closed by private sector efforts, and what part does the public sector play in ensuring that water scarcity does not derail either economic or environmental health?

Read this highly interesting report at:
http://www.mckinsey.com/App_Media/Reports/Water/Charting_Our_Water_Future_Exec%20Summary_001.pdf