The 2030 Water Resources Group

Water is vital to life itself, and critical to sustainable economic growth and human development. Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all is one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 6. And achieving Goal 6 will be needed to meet all the other SDGs. Unfortunately, water is already in short supply, and trends point in the wrong direction. The population is growing and urbanizing, increasing demand for water across the economy and straining the capacity of municipal water systems in many countries. Incomes are rising and supporting more water-intensive lifestyle choices, from using more energy to eating more meat. In some cases, companies are fueling such choices in their efforts to grow. Water governance is often weak and water prices are often so low that companies struggle to make the business case for using water wisely. It is also difficult to attract private sector investment into water infrastructure and other solutions. Climate change is exacerbating the problem from the supply side. By 2030, demand for water is expected to exceed supply by 40% –reducing water available to consumers, causing shortfalls in agricultural production, and imposing limits on economic growth.