Human perspectives
ON THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS
WaterViews
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BY PETER SWINBURN 3 FOREWARD BY JASON MORRISON 4 OVERVIEW 5 CANADA 6 CHINA 8 INDIA 10 MEXICO 12 RUSSIA 14 UNITED KINGDOM 16 UNITED STATES 18 ACROSS THE GLOBE 20 ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS 21 CONCLUSION 22
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THIS PAGE: Approximately 63 billion tons of wastewater flow into China’s rivers every year. Aquifers in nearly 90 percent of Chinese cities are polluted. More than three-quarters of river water in urban areas is unfit for drinking or fishing. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue. COVER PHOTO: A seven-year-old boy waits his turn to collect water outside his home in Sanjay Colony, a slum area in North West Delhi, India. With no drainage system to serve the community, sewage and rainwater mix on the streets of the neighborhood. © 2009 Anita Khemka/Photoink/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
“Critical to our future” A GLOBAL CHALLENGE THAT MERITS OUR FULL ATTENTION Of all the Earth’s water, less than three percent is fresh and most of what constitutes fresh water is locked in glacial ice or soil. That leaves less than one percent available for human use. Compounding the problem is global climate change, which contributes to droughts, storms and flooding, and affects water quality in ways we are only starting to understand.
“The very same values that motivate one of the world’s largest beer companies to responsibly manage its water supply also influence citizens around the world to secure their fresh water resources.”
Molson Coors understands that corporations play a critical role in leading the transition to a new era in which water quality is respected and water management practices improve so that every person on the planet enjoys ready access to clean, fresh water. That’s why we have supported the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey, a pioneering piece of global research that provides the first clear evidence that people around the world share similar views about the severity of the water crisis and how to achieve solutions. The survey reached important conclusions about how the world thinks about water by asking a sample of 15,000 people in 15 countries a number of direct questions. What worried them most about water? Was scarcity, pollution, or some other factor the most severe water problem they faced? Who did they think was responsible for solving the problem? Our goal in sponsoring the survey was to clarify public attitudes about risks to the water supply and motivate individuals, non-profits, and corporations—including our own company—to engage and collaborate on solutions. Like beer, which is often locally brewed and influenced by local market dynamics, the solutions to global water issues are also locally based and require people to work together in their watersheds and communities. The Circle of Blue/Globescan survey found that the very same values that motivate one of
the world’s largest beer companies to responsibly manage its water supply also influence citizens around the world to secure their fresh water resources. Molson Coors’ commitment to water is based on our heritage and brewing expertise. Fresh water is what brought John Molson to the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, and Adolph Coors to Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado. And, it was the waters beneath Burton-on-Trent that gave birth to the British brewing industry we know today. It’s the #1 ingredient in beer. The quality of our beer is tied directly to the quality of the water we use to produce it. Molson Coors has more than 350 years of experience developing and implementing real-world solutions for water use and conservation in our breweries and watersheds. Preserving clean water and ensuring it as a sustainable resource is not only integral to our history, it is critical to our future.
“Water issues merit the full
In addition to highlighting key principles of attention of corporations in accountability and collaboration, this survey order to have a real impact.” demonstrates that water issues merit the full attention of corporations in order to have a real impact. At Molson Coors, we continue to address water sustainability in the communities where we operate and remain guided by the belief that every person in the world should have access to water that is as fresh as the water we use to brew our beers. The survey findings that follow, though humbling at times, only serve to reinforce our commitment, and hopefully that of all corporations to contribute experience and resources, to listen and learn from others, and work collaboratively to solve one of the century’s greatest challenges.
PETER SWINBURN CEO, MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY
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“People globally believe water is a key concern” DETAILS OF PIONEERING SURVEY REVEAL CLEAR RECKONING AND ABIDING HUMANITY People around the world identify access to clean water as the most serious environmental challenge facing the planet today. Of the 15,000 people from 15 countries surveyed by Circle of Blue and GlobeScan, over 70 percent found water pollution and shortages of fresh water to be “very serious” problems.
“Public attitudes about water transcend individuals’ local circumstances.”
Two other salient results of the survey, the first of its kind ever conducted, also merit special attention. The first is that public attitudes about water transcend individuals’ local circumstances and instead are focused on an altruistic concern for those suffering from water shortages. Over 90 percent of the survey’s respondents believe that adequate and affordable drinking water for all people is important. The second is that almost 80 percent of those surveyed believe that solving drinking water problems will require significant help from companies. Both findings are consistent with the Pacific Institute’s research in recent years. Our work has explored the various water-related risks—physical, regulatory, and financial— that companies face, along with the array of stewardship platforms, strategies, and tools that are emerging to reduce them. Leading companies have identified water stewardship as a strategic factor that is central to their long-term
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business success. These firms understand that the era of easy access to cheap, clean water has ended. They recognize the need to more closely consider limited supplies and the implications of their water use and discharge on watersheds, ecosystems, and communities. How does the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey help solve these and the many other facets of the freshwater crisis? It demonstrates how global water problems are a priority for companies and the general public. The survey highlights the shared interest in finding proactive and transparent actions that address the fresh water crisis. It also alerts the many business, government, and research organizations working on water issues they are on the right track. The Pacific Institute focuses “We are convinced that a good share of its work on companies can and the nexus between corporate must play a vital role.” water risk and stewardship. We are convinced that companies can and must play a vital role in developing and deploying water management practices that are socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. Not only does this help improve access to clean water for the world’s people, it also holds the greatest promise for companies seeking to drive down water-related risk and ensure that they stay in business. All of these are goals that citizens around the world can get behind.
The survey findings underscore the public’s desire to pursue a new direction in managing the world’s water resources and to bring more partners and more information to the table. In every country surveyed there was significant public appetite for more knowledge about how to solve the crisis. Pronounced water scarcity in key geographic regions, along with heightened expectations among important stakeholders—particularly consumers and investors—also has produced a compelling business case for companies to actively pursue corporate water stewardship as a strategy that drives down water-related impacts and market risks. In sum, people globally believe water is a key concern, that the private sector has an important role to play in solving global water challenges, and that companies and others need to provide more information about what can be done to advance a better water future. Taken together, the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey clarifies the public case for taking much better care of Earth’s fresh water.
JASON MORRISON PROGRAM DIRECTOR, PACIFIC INSTITUTE
METHODOLOGY
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
The Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey polled a representative sample of 15,000 adults in 15 countries and 500 adults in seven “deep dive” countries. Those seven were: Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The other eight countries were Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Turkey. Face-to-face and telephone interviews occurred between June 24, 2009, and August 3, 2009. Generally accepted research standards were employed in each country and the sample error was 3.1 percent to 4.4 percent, 19 times out of 20.
RUSSIA
CANADA
UK
WATER CONCERN INDEX MEX 7.03 IND 6.99
CHI 6.72 CAN 6.71
AVERAGE 6.69
UK 6.58 USA 6.53
FRANCE An index score measuring concern about water issues is computed by aggregating the concerns expressed about each of the four prompted water issues: water pollution, lack of safe drinking water, lack of water for agriculture, and high cost of water. The average score by country is used to illustrate the relative positioning of countries in terms of concern for water issues.
USA
GERMANY TURKEY
MEXICO
CHINA INDIA
NIGERIA BRAZIL
PHILIPPINES
KENYA
CHILE
RUS 6.30
Note: Sample size n=500 in all countries
SERIOUSNESS OF WATER PROBLEMS AVERAGE OF 15 COUNTRIES ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES BY RANK
WATER POLLUTION
SHORTAGES OF FRESH WATER
1. WATER POLLUTION 2. FRESH WATER SHORTAGES 3. DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES 4. AIR POLLUTION 5. LOSS OF ANIMAL/PLANT SPECIES 6. CLIMATE CHANGE/GLOBAL WARMING
71%
72% 21%
4% 1%
20%
6%
7. AUTOMOBILE EMISSIONS
“VERY SERIOUS” | AVERAGE OF 15 COUNTRIES | 2009 Please tell me if you are very concerned, somewhat concerned, not very concerned or not at all concerned about each of the following issues?
Note: Sample size n=1,000 in all countries
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FOUR BARRELS OF WATER ARE NEEDED TO PRODUCE ONE BARREL OF
tar sands oil
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FACING PAGE: Refining earth to oil, raw industry transforms the natural landscape of the Athabasca tar sands in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. This $90 billion project, the world’s largest industrial operation, has turned the region’s boreal forests into surface mines and tailings ponds. © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Hasted Hunt Kraeutler, New York/Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto.
CANADA BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
33,487,208 80% URBAN 20% RURAL $39,300 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
759 L /DAY 20% DOMESTIC 69% INDUSTRIAL 12% AGRICULTURAL
Canada IN WATER-RICH CANADA, INDUSTRY AND OVERUSE RAISE CONCERNS Only Brazil and Russia have more fresh water than Canada. But it is wrong to assume that water security is not an issue. Canada faces a crisis of overuse. Canada is second in the world in total per capita withdrawal, at 3,797 liters a day, up 25 percent in the last 20 years. Industry is the largest water consumer—69 percent. Example: Northern Alberta’s oil sands industry uses up to four barrels of fresh water for every barrel of oil it produces. Canadians regard their water security as a serious issue, according to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey. They hold government most responsible for community water supply, and 82 percent of Canadians think large companies should play a role.
Nearly all Canadians surveyed—97 percent—agree that it is important for people to have adequate, affordable drinking water. Ninety-four percent worry that fresh water shortages will become an increasingly severe problem worldwide. Majorities demonstrate concern for particular water issues in Canada. Concern is primarily around water pollution—67 percent are very concerned—and the lack of safe drinking water—65 percent.
that the government should bear complete responsibility. More than four in ten believe water companies and large companies generally should be held responsible. While Canadian respondents do not place primary responsibility on large companies, 82 percent believe that companies need to be a part of the clean water solution.
When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring clean water in communities, half of Canadians believe
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CHINA BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
1,338,612,968 43% URBAN 57% RURAL $6,000 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
98% URBAN 81% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
74% URBAN 59% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
80 L /DAY 7% DOMESTIC 26% INDUSTRIAL 68% AGRICULTURAL
China SERIOUS WATER CONTAMINATION CHALLENGES CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT China faces severe impediments to its emergence as a global industrial and economic power, many of them directly connected to the country’s unstable access to available supplies of clean fresh water. Aquifers in nearly 90 percent of Chinese cities are polluted. More than three-quarters of river water in urban areas is unfit for drinking or fishing. Some 700 million Chinese drink water contaminated with animal or human waste. Cities like Beijing and Tianjin could run out of water in five-to-seven years, says China water expert and environmentalist Ma Jun. It is no wonder that the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey found that 67 percent of respondents consider water
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pollution to be a very serious problem in China, and 59 percent said they are very concerned about the lack of safe drinking water. When asked who should be responsible for ensuring clean water in communities, Chinese respondents point to government (48 percent) and water companies (45 percent). Agriculture and intense industrial use exacerbate China’s water problems. China grows a vast amount of waterintensive crops, including rice and wheat. Water tables under the North China Plain, a region that produces half of China’s wheat and one third of China’s corn, are falling at a rate of three meters per year.
The country uses nearly four times more water than the world’s average to produce goods worth $10,000, and 20 times the amount of water used in Japan and Europe for the same product. Perhaps reflecting the attitude of a people overseen by a centralized government, Chinese residents do not feel especially empowered to address water problems. Sixtytwo percent of Chinese respondents agree that water shortages are too big of a problem for individuals to be able to contribute to the solution, while 34 percent believe individuals can make a difference. Only 29 percent of respondents feel that large companies should be held responsible.
Wang Rui, 21, washes her face after spending the day after work watering the beans, corn, and flower seeds in her parents’ field in the Wulanjiqi village, west of Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The family has no running water in the house and has to collect, store, and boil water from a nearby well. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
SOME 700 MILLION CHINESE DRINK WATER CONTAMINATED WITH ANIMAL OR
human waste
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NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF INDIA’S 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE
do not have a toilet
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TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: 1) Families collect water from a tanker supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in Mangolpuri. 2) Ram Bihari spends up to four hours a day collecting valuables thrown as offerings into the holy river. 3) Women and children wait for a trickle to fill their buckets and containers with water in a slum area in Delhi, India. BOTTOM: New Delhi dumps more than half of its waste into the Yamuna, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. © 2009 Anita Khemka/Photoink/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
INDIA BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
1,166,079,217 29% URBAN 71% RURAL $2,800 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
96% URBAN 86% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
52% URBAN 18% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
128 L /DAY 8% DOMESTIC 5% INDUSTRIAL 86% AGRICULTURAL
India INDIA’S PEOPLE CRY OUT FOR CLEAN WATER Compared to other environmental issues, Indians consider water pollution and fresh water shortages to be the most serious. But Indians do not feel especially empowered. Three-quarters of the respondents to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey say they need more information to be able to help protect water. Indians, though, hold government the most responsible for community water supply. And for good reason. Seven years ago an Indian government report found that in the four largest cities barely 30 percent of wastewater is treated before disposal. The rest ends up in the rivers, lakes, and groundwater that provide drinking water to more than 60 million people. It’s gotten worse since, according to studies by the government and advocacy groups. The average resident
gets just over four hours of access to clean fresh water a day. Along the Ganges, the sacred river of Hinduism, two million bathers cleanse themselves daily in an ablution of fecal bacteria, untreated sewage, chemical runoff, and partially cremated corpses. Open defecation is still viewed with remarkable social acceptance. Seven hundred million people in India do not have a toilet. The World Health Organization estimates that 700,000 Indians die each year of diarrhea. Other waterborne or water-contact illnesses include hepatitis A and E, typhoid fever, and leptospirosis. Mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever are common.
asked who should be held responsible for ensuring clean water in communities, 44 percent of Indians place primary responsibility on the government. Approximately one-third of respondents believe large companies, water companies, and individual citizens bear complete responsibility. Little responsibility is placed on farmers and NGOs. While Indians do not place primary responsibility on large companies, 44 percent believe that companies need to be a part of the solution.
Seventy-one percent of Indians who responded to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey agree that it is important for all people to have adequate, affordable drinking water. When
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MEXICO BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
111,211,789 77% URBAN 23% RURAL $14,200 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
98% URBAN 85% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
91% URBAN 48% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
340 L /DAY 17% DOMESTIC 5% INDUSTRIAL 77% AGRICULTURAL
Mexico WATER SHORTAGE, CONTAMINATION PROD MEXICANS TO LOOK TO GOVERNMENT FOR ANSWERS Mexico’s capacity to meet the water demands of its 111 million people, the world’s 12th largest nation, is under challenge like never before. Less than half of the people living in rural areas in Mexico have access to basic sanitation. The country’s water supply and sewage systems are old and falling apart. Waterborne and vector diseases include malaria, leptospirosis, hepatitis A, typhoid, and dengue fevers. Bacterial diarrhea was solely responsible for five percent of child deaths in 2004. These trends are reflected in how Mexicans responded to the Circle of Blue/ GlobeScan survey. Mexicans consider fresh water shortages and water pollution to be the most serious environmental problem affecting their lives. Public concern centers primarily around the lack of safe drinking water—84 percent of those surveyed said they are very concerned. Mexico’s response to that concern is a publicly financed program of building expensive and energy-draining desalination plants. It ranks 12th in the world in the number of such plants, which convert seawater into drinking water.
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Desalination will not come close to solving Mexico’s fresh water crisis. The central and northern states of Mexico house the large majority of the population but contain the minority of the country’s fresh water resources. Mexico City, the third largest metropolis in the world, is unable to provide safe drinking water to all of its 19 million citizens. The huge city, built on a lakebed, thirsts for new water sources. When Mexico City’s drinking water supply falls short, water trucks meet needs. When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring there is clean water in communities, 80 percent of Mexicans said they believe the government should bear complete responsibility. A majority of Mexicans, though, said that individuals have the ability to contribute solutions to the country’s shortage of clean, fresh water.
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: 1) Mexican Army units help residents shovel raw sewage after an open canal flooded El Molino. 2) After waiting several days for relief, mothers and children gather water at a 600-liter tank that four families share in El Molino. 3) Valentìn Pèrez Hernadez keeps plants healthy in a quiet enclave of multi-million dollar homes in Mexico City. Water is scarce, however, in the tiny apartment he rents with family members just eight miles away from his job. 4) Roman Ricaño Rios’s municipal water is often murky with sediment and fecal matter. He is one of millions in Mexico City’s metropolitan area who depend on private water vendors for drinking water. © 2009 Janet Jarman/ Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
MEXICO CITY WATER SHORTAGES, CONTAMINATION, AND
raw sewage spills ARE A DAILY DISRUPTION
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TOP: A young bride poses for a photo under the "Hero" boat in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT: 1) Near Nizhny Novgorod, a dilapidated boat lies in a stagnant pond in the Russian village of Bezvodnoye, whose name translates to "without water." 2) A fisherman rides a boat on the polluted Volga River at Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. 3) An integral part of the daily lives of its riparian cities, the Volga also lives—majestic and proud—in Russian poetry, music, literature, art, and history. © 2009 James Hill/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
THE VOLGA, MAJESTIC AND PROUD, ATTRACTS BRIDES TO A RIVERBANK MARRED BY A
legacy of pollution
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RUSSIA BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER ACCESS TO SANITATION DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
140,041,247 73% URBAN 27% RURAL $15,800 US 100% URBAN 88% RURAL 93% URBAN 70% RURAL 279 L /DAY 19% DOMESTIC 63% INDUSTRIAL 18% AGRICULTURAL
Russia DESPITE MOTHERLODE OF FRESH WATER, RUSSIANS WORRY ABOUT HOW CLEAN AND HOW MUCH Considering its other significant environmental issues— nuclear contamination, vast industrial degradation, fearsome air pollution, and rampant toxic chemical persistence— Russians nevertheless regard water pollution to be the most serious. And even in a nation with enormous fresh water reserves, Russians told the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan pollsters that they are concerned about shortages. The responses to the global survey from Russia were surprising and telling. The largest country in the world geographically, Russia possesses one-third of the planet’s fresh water, second only to Brazil. Spanning the whole of northern Asia and 11 time zones, the country accommodates five main drainage basins, the world’s largest lake, Europe’s
longest river, about two million fresh water and saltwater lakes, and 10 million square kilometers of permafrost. Russia’s giant rivers, also called “little mothers,” weave and braid through the vastness of the Russian steppe, tundra, and taiga in Europe and Asia. In remote southern Siberia, Lake Baikal—the world’s largest, deepest, and oldest lake—contains 20 percent of the planet’s surface fresh water and 80 percent of Russia’s fresh water. But in the more densely populated European Russia, 35 percent to 60 percent of potable water does not meet sanitary requirements as a result of high industrialization and the legacy of the Soviet and transitional periods.
The Amur and the Volga are the most heavily contaminated rivers. The Techa River in the southern Ural Mountains suffers from intense radioactive pollution. Existing water infrastructure is largely outdated, resulting in frequent breakdowns. About $459 billion is needed to complete the necessary upgrades and extensions of water and sanitation infrastructure in Russia by 2020, according to the World Bank. When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring clean water in communities, 65 percent of the Russians surveyed place primary responsibility on water companies. Less than half—47% —say responsibility lies with the government.
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U.K. BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
61,113,205 90% URBAN 10% RURAL $36,600 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 100% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 100% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
119 L /DAY 22% DOMESTIC 75% INDUSTRIAL 3% AGRICULTURAL
United Kingdom IN U.K., WHERE WATER SUPPLY IS ASSURED, OTHER ISSUES TAKE PRECEDENCE In the United Kingdom, the depletion of natural resources and the loss of plant and animal species are considered the most significant environmental problems. Water issues are also regarded as serious by Britons, particularly the lack of safe drinking water, according to the Circle of Blue/ GlobeScan survey. With 90 percent of Britain’s population living in cities, the demand for water will grow. In 2008 the average person used at least 160 liters, or about 50 percent more than 25 years ago. Government is held less responsible, though 47 percent agree that help from companies is needed to solve drinking water problems. When it comes to water, majorities demonstrate concern for particular issues in the United Kingdom. Lack of safe
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drinking water is a primary concern—61 percent are very concerned. Of those surveyed, 53 percent said pollution was also a serious issue. The Circle of Blue/GlobeScan findings reflect the United Kingdom’s capacity to ensure its citizens a clean and safe supply of fresh water. The ability of the country to continue its good record, though, is not assured. The United Kingdom—England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland—is surrounded by saltwater and has a finite supply of fresh water. While Scotland is abundant in water, people in England and Wales have only 1,334 cubic meters per person a year—less than the hot Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, and Egypt.
Climate change could reduce the amount of water available by 10 percent to 15 percent by 2020, according to U.K.’s Environment Agency. In 2006, 18 million people faced water use restrictions in South East England because of droughts. A year later, the Thames River broke its banks as a result of heavy rain.
TOP: The Victorian sewers, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette after the Great Stink of 1858, criss-cross the London underground. Once an architectural masterpiece, the sewers now struggle to serve the eight-million English capital. BOTTOM: Thames Water workers often get around a melee of various piping when they lay the new blue mains that will replace the Victorian water mains in London designed by Joseph Bazalgette in the 19th century. © 2009 Sam Faulkner/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
CENTURIES OF MISERY ENDED WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF LONDON'S SEWERS, BUT THE U.K'S GOOD WATER RECORD IS
still not assured
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CLOCKWISE, FROM BOTTOM LEFT: 1) A view along the shore of the desiccating Salton Sea. As new irrigation practices in the Imperial Valley decrease the water discharge to the Salton, toxic sediments get exposed, threatening to cause major air pollution in the area. 2) An aerial view of a field in the Imperial Valley which receives water from the Colorado River and uses mainly flood and furrow irrigation systems. 3) The All-American Canal, the main water conduit from the Colorado River into the Imperial Dam. 4) Larry Gilbert, a lifelong Imperial Valley farmer, stands in his sugarcane field. Local farmers are looking at alternative techniques to conserve water. © 2009 Brent Stirton/Reportage for Getty Images/Circle of Blue.
THE LARGEST RESERVOIRS IN THE U.S. ARE ONLY
half full
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U.S. BY THE NUMBERS POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY GDP PER CAPITA
307,212,123 82% URBAN 18% RURAL $47,000 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 94% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE WATER USE BY SECTOR
570 L /DAY 13% DOMESTIC 46% INDUSTRIAL 41% AGRICULTURAL
United States DIRTY WATER AND SHORTAGES ARE AMERICAN CONCERNS Americans are particularly worried about two facets of the fresh water crisis: dirty water and the lack of safe drinking water. According to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey, 57 percent of the Americans interviewed said they are very concerned about water pollution. Those sentiments are high in the Great Lakes region, where water quality is challenged by toxic contamination, sedimentation, and overflowing sewage treatment plants. Nearly the same number—56 percent—say the lack of safe drinking is a serious concern. Just a third of Americans—35 percent—say the cost of water is worrisome. What’s more, the survey found that public concern about water shortages in the United States has increased since 2003.
According to the Government Accountability Office, an investigative unit of Congress, at least 36 states anticipate water shortages in the next five years. Much of California has been declared a drought emergency. The five-state Colorado Plateau is in the ninth year of a drought. Moreover, the Colorado River Basin is over-allocated. States are withdrawing water from the basin at a rate greater than the rate of replenishment. Lake Mead and Lake Powell—the largest reservoirs in the country—are half full. Some scientists estimate they could be empty within 20 years.
When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring clean water in communities, 44 percent of Americans believe that water companies should bear complete responsibility, while approximately 30 percent believe individual citizens should be held completely responsible.
The Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water to the grain farmers of the Great Plains, is steadily being drained. And snow packs that feed rivers and lakes in the Rocky Mountain West are gradually losing moisture because of global climate change.
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Across the globe SURVEY FINDS WATER POLLUTION AND SHORTAGES ARE TOP GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES The fierce impediments to clean water and sanitation and the millions of premature deaths from water-related disease are seen as having a greater influence on quality of life and the planet than air pollution, species extinction, depletion of natural resources, loss of habitat, and climate change. “There are a couple of big stories here,” said Rob Kerr, vice president of GlobeScan, and one of the principal researchers of the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey. “People would reluctantly accept higher costs to solve the problems. Cost is not the issue with polluted water and lack of safe drinking water. “And strong majorities see a huge role for government and large companies in solving the fresh water crisis.” More than 90 percent of the more than 15,000 people polled in 15 countries expressed a conviction that access to clean, fresh water is fundamental, not only for themselves, but for all people. Across the globe, respondents to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey also said education was essential to help people understand the dimensions and the urgency of the crisis.
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The immensity of the global freshwater crisis is visible almost everywhere, including on the rain-starved Waikool River in southeastern Australia. Photo by J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
1 ANITA KHEMKA INDIA An English literature graduate, Anita Khemka began her photography career in 1996. Her oeuvre has largely been defined by social documentary work— people living with HIV, the mentally challenged, and sexual minorities. Her work has been exhibited in India as well as in London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Bangkok, Melbourne, and Paris. 2 GREG GIRARD CHINA Greg Girard’s photographs have
appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Elle, Paris-Match, Stern, the New York Times Magazine, and others worldwide. His work has been exhibited in galleries in South Korea, London, Germany, Helsinki, and New York. 3 JAMES HILL RUSSIA James Hill, who was born in London in 1967, attended Oxford and the London College of Printing before he took up photography. In 1991, he set off for the Soviet Union, where he worked for over 10 years, first in Kiev, then as a Moscow-based contract photographer for The New York Times. His work from Afghanistan, where he spent three months in 2001, earned him a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. In 2003 he reported on the war in Iraq for the New York Times and Time magazine. In 2005, his images from the Beslan tragedy won First Prize in General News Stories at World Press Photo and the award for Feature Photography from the Overseas Press Club of America.
4 SAM FAULKNER UNITED KINGDOM After graduating from Kings College London in 1994, Sam Faulkner traveled to Afghanistan to photograph the forgotten civil war between the former Mujihadeen allies. His pictures won the Ian Parry award for young photojournalists, sponsored by the Sunday Times Magazine. Faulkner has also worked for Figaro, GQ, the Independent magazine, GEO, Vogue, the Telegraph magazine, Newsweek, Time, Liberation and Esquire. In the last 10 years, he has traveled extensively to photograph slavery in Sudan, child weddings in Rajasthan, women soldiers in Eritrea, AIDS orphans in Uganda, the FARC in Colombia, drought in Mongolia, gangs in Los Angeles, opium in Afghanistan, voodoo in Haiti, and poverty in America. 5 EDWARD BURTYNSKY CANADA Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada’s most respected photographers. His consummate, detail-packed photographs of global industrial landscapes are in the collections of several major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. 6 JANET JARMAN MEXICO Janet Jarman is a Mexico-based photojournalist. She works extensively in Latin America and Asia and previously lived in Japan, England, and Chile. Jarman’s photographs have appeared in GEO, the New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times, TimeAsia, Newsweek, Fortune, MSNBC.com, and other publications. 7 BRENT STIRTON UNITED STATES Brent Stirton is the senior staff photographer for the assignment division of Getty Images, the largest photographic agency in the world. He specializes in documentary work and is known for his alternative approaches. He travels an average of nine months of the year on assignment. Brent’s work is published by National Geographic magazine, National Geographic Adventure, the New York Times Magazine, the London Sunday Times Magazine, Smithsonian magazine, the Discovery Channel, Newsweek, L'Express, Le Monde 2, Figaro, Paris Match, GQ, GEO, Stern, CNN, and many other respected international titles and news organizations.
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GD
PP
PE
CHI
IND
RS
ON
UK Pop. 61,113,205 GDP US $36,600 Tap water 100% APW 119 L/day
IND Pop. 1,166,079,217 GDP US $2,800 Tap water 19% APW 128 L/day
CAN Pop. 33,487,208 GDP US $39,300 Tap water 88% APW 759 L/day
US Pop. 307,212,123 GDP US $47,000 Tap water 100% APW 570 L/day
CHI Pop. 1,338,612,968 GDP US $6,000 Tap water 69% APW 80 L/day
MEX Pop. 111,211,789 GDP US $14,200 Tap water 90% APW 340 L/day
RUS
MEX
ER
CAN
UK
AVERAGE PERSONAL WATER USE (APW)
US
PERSONAL WATER USE, ACCESSIBILITY, AND GDP BY COUNTRY
RUS Pop. 140,041,247 GDP US $15,800 Tap water 82% APW 279 L/day
UT HO IT ER T W A W H IT R W ATE W
ON
I AT
L PU
PO
CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY Among the survey’s other consequential findings:
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• People around the world view water pollution as the most important facet of the fresh water crisis; shortages of fresh water are very close behind. Concern about both issues tended to be higher in developing countries than in developed nations.
• The respondents said that large companies were nearly as responsible as governments for ensuring clean water; nearly eight of 10 respondents from the seven nations said that solving drinking water problems “will require significant help from companies.”
• In all seven countries where the survey asked more penetrating questions, respondents consistently said that governments were the most responsible for ensuring clean water.
• More than 90 percent of the more than 15,000 people polled in 15 countries expressed a conviction that access to clean, fresh water is fundamental not only for themselves but for all people.
Sources: UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme; World Health Organization; CIA World Factbook; National Land and Water Resources Audit; Ministry of Water Resources, China; FAO Aquastat; Eurostat Yearbook; US Geological Survey
FRESH WATER USE BY SECTOR
RUSSIA #2
CANADA #3
UNITED STATES #4
#RANK Fresh water reserve ranking
Domestic
69%
63% 19%
18%
CHINA #6
20%
46% 12%
INDIA #9
41%
Industrial Agricultural
13%
FRESH WATER USE BY COUNTRY km3/yr
IND
86%
68% 7%
26%
CHI
78.22
RUS
76.68
UK
17% 5%
477
MEX
CAN
UNITED KINGDOM #51
77%
549.76
US
8% 5%
MEXICO #23
645.84
44.72 11.75
75% 22%
3% Sources: National Land and Water Resources Audit; Ministry of Water Resources, China; FAO Aquastat; Eurostat Yearbook; US Geological Survey
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WaterViews CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CIRCLE OF BLUE J. Carl Ganter, Executive Director Keith Schneider, Senior Editor Aaron Jaffe, Project Manager Nadya Ivanova, Project Manager Eric Daigh, Senior Producer Karen Mullarkey, Photo Editor Aubrey Parker, Data Analyst and Reporter Jordan Bates, Data Analyst Cody Pope, Reporter Connor Boals, Reporter Alex Lane, Reporter Hannah Nester, Graphic Designer GLOBESCAN Rob Kerr, Vice President Chris Coulter, Vice President, Strategy and Insights Oliver Martin, Director, Global Development Gwen Cottle, Research Associate DESIGN Tandem Design, Traverse City www.tandemthinking.com
MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY Bart Alexander, Global Vice President, Corporate Responsibility Mike Glade, Director, Water Resources Dan Lewis, Chief Public Affairs Officer PACIFIC INSTITUTE Peter Gleick, President Jason Morrison, Program Director Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate Heather Cooley, Senior Research Associate Juliet Christian-Smith, Senior Research Associate SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Alon Halevy and the Fusion Tables Team, Google Måns Hultman, Shima Nakazawa, Anthony Deighton and Chuck Bannon, QlikTech Caroline Cortizo, Field Producer, London Jeffrey Smith, Contact Press Images Robert Pledge, Contact Press Images Kerry McCarthy, Getty Images Peggy Willette, Getty Images
LEFT: A Chinese family fishes recreationally on the shores of the Yellow River in Huijihe, west of Baotou in Inner Mongolia. The river carries effluent from the paper mills and fertilizer factories lined on its banks and along its tributaries in this heavily industrialized area of China. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.