WATER

H20  
The  Challenge  –  The  Water  /  Energy  Conundrum  
Water  is  essen9al  to  sustaining  healthy  people  and  healthy  economies.    However  in  a  
resource-­‐scarce  world  there  are  always  trade-­‐offs,  and  we  expect  this  water/energy  
conundrum  to  worsen  over  9me.  
Growing  scarcity  of  freshwater  
•   Current  freshwater  sources  sa9sfy  only  50%  of  world  demand.    By  2025,  the  world  will  
need  25%  more  water  than  is  available.  
•  UNICEF  &  WHO  report  884  million  people  lack  safe  drinking  water;  another  2.5  billion  
lack  water  for  basic  sanita9on.    Contaminated  water  and  poor  sanita9on  contribute  to  
the  deaths  of  5  million  people  annually,    more  than  all  forms  of  violence  combined,  
including  wars.  
•  Humans  are  extrac9ng  freshwater  at  a  rate  of  14million  acre-­‐feet/year  –  up  to  100X  the  
natural  replacement  rate.  
•  Water  scarcity  is  already  an  economic  constraint  in  major  growth  markets  such  as  China,  
India,  Indonesia,  Australia  and    
       the  Western  United  States,  warns  the  U.N.    By  2025,  per  capita  water  availability  in  the  
Gulf  will  likely  decrease  by  50%.  
Water  required  for  energy  produc[on    
•  Approx.  800  million  gallons  of  petroleum  are  refined  in  the  U.S.  every  day,  requiring  1-­‐2  
billion  gallons  of  water.      
•  Extrac9ng  oil  from  aging  oil  fields  or  unconven9onal  sources  requires  vast  amounts  of  
water.    For  example,  tar  sands  require  nearly  10X  more  water  than  conven9onal  oil  
extrac9on.    5  barrels  of  water  needed  to  obtain  one  barrel  of  oil  from  oil  shales.  

THE  GREATEST  NEEDS  OF  OUR  LIFE  TIME  =  WATER  &  NATURAL  RESOURCES  

•  Electric  power  industry  is  2nd  largest  user  of  water  in  the  U.S.  behind  agriculture,  
consuming  39%  of  total  freshwater  supplies.  
High  demand  from  agriculture    
•  Nearly  70%  of  global  water  consump9on  used  for  agricultural  irriga9on.    In  developing  
na9ons,  this  can  be  as  high  as  90%.  
•  Every  year,  the  global  agricultural  sector  wastes  approximately  60%  of  the  2,500  trillion  
liters  of  water  it  uses.  
•  Dangerous  aquifer  deple9on  in  major  agricultural  centers,  including  NW  India,  NE  China,  
NE  Pakistan,    and  SW  USA.  
Inefficient  water  infrastructure  
•  Municipali9es  commonly  lose  up  to  50%  of  their  water  supplies  because  of  leaky  
infrastructure.    In  the  U.S.,  a  projected  $1  trillion  in  infrastructure  spending  will  be  
required  to  overhaul  pipeline  system.  
Advances  in  desalina[on,  smart  metering  and  wastewater  treatment  
•  There  are  more  than  7,500  desalina9on  plants  around  the  world,  with  60%  in  MENA    
U.N.  predicts  use  of  desalina9on  will  double  by  2025.  
•  Treated  and  untreated  wastewater  reserves  account  for  2%  of  all  global  water  supplies.  
Inves9ng  in  wastewater  treatment  infrastructure  is  a  growing  priority  in  our  water-­‐
strained  world,  as  costs  are  typically  one-­‐third  less  than  desalina9on.      
•  China  plans  to  increase  its  wastewater  reclama9on  from  52%  in  2005  to  70%  in  2010.  
The  global  water  sector  is  currently  valued  at  $425  billion;  over  next  two  decades,  
predicted  to  grow  over  $6  trillion.  

T H E   B E S T   I N V E S T M E N T S   A R E   W H E N   N E E D S   =   O P P O R T U N I T I E S