The planet has incurred a watery debt. Society is using far more water than is ecologically sustainable, leading us to what's called water bankruptcy. The problem is only going to worsen with climate change, population growth and technological expansion that continuously increase water demand. And while some water sources can still be protected, many places may have already reached a point of no return.
What's water bankruptcy?
We are using up water sources faster than they can be replenished, essentially putting us in water debt. In “many basins and aquifers, long-term water use has exceeded renewable inflows and safe depletion limits,” said a report by the United Nations. Other water sources, including rivers, lakes, wetlands, soils and glaciers, have been “damaged beyond realistic prospects of full recovery.”
Like financial bankruptcy, water bankruptcy happens gradually. We “pull a little more groundwater during dry years. We use bigger pumps and deeper wells. We transfer water from one basin to another. We drain wetlands and straighten rivers to make space for farms and cities,” said Kaveh Madani, the director of the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health and author of the report, at The Conversation. After that, the costs begin to pile up. “Lakes shrink year after year. Wells need to go deeper. Rivers that once flowed year-round turn seasonal. Salty water creeps into aquifers near the coast. The ground itself starts to sink.” More cities are experiencing Day Zero events in which their municipal water systems are unable to provide for the whole population.
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Before using the word “bankruptcy,” scientists used “water stress” or “water crisis,” both of which imply the possibility of recovery. “If you keep calling this situation a crisis, you’re implying that it’s temporary. It’s a shock. We can mitigate it,” said Madani to CNN. Though steps can still be taken, in acknowledging water bankruptcy, “you also need to adapt to a new reality,” and to “new conditions that are more restrictive than before.”
What does the future look like?
More than two billion people worldwide don’t have access to safe drinking water today, and roughly half of the world’s population is experiencing severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, according to the UN. Agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of global water usage. “Increasing agricultural water efficiency has been shown to only increase water use, since drip or sprinkler irrigation allows water to be gradually absorbed by plants,” said New Scientist, whereas the “flooding of fields results in more water running back into the river.” In addition, “population growth, urbanization and economic expansion have increased water demand for agriculture, industry, energy and cities,” said the report.
Climate change is only exacerbating the problem by “reducing precipitation in many areas of the world,” said Madani. Global warming “increases the water demand of crops and the need for electricity to pump more water” and also “melts glaciers that store fresh water.” The Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the U.S. Southwest are especially struggling with climate vulnerability and high levels of water stress.
Even in places that do receive adequate rainfall, “more water is being sucked up by data centers or polluted by industry, sewage, fertilizers or manure,” said New Scientist. The expansion of AI is a particular risk to water sources, as data centers can “consume up to 5 million gallons per day, equivalent to the water use of a town populated by 10,000 to 50,000 people,” said the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
Despite these challenges, water bankruptcy may be a “powerful bridge to promote cooperation to address some of the most critical security, peace, justice, development and sustainability challenges of our time,” said the UN report. Water is an “effective medium to fulfill the global environmental agenda.”
