Consumption & Water Footprint

Water use has been growing at more than the rate twice of population increase in the last century; in 60% of European cities with more than 100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a faster rate than it can be replenished [WBCSD, 2005].

 

The IPCC identifies the most important drivers of water use as population and economic development, and changing societal views on the value of water, which refers to the prioritization of domestic and industrial water supply over irrigation water supply and the efficient use of water, including the extended application of water-saving technologies and water pricing [Bates et al., 2008]. [Vörösmarty et al., 2005] estimated that 5 - 25% of global freshwater use exceeds long-term accessible supply.

 

By calculating the water footprint (WF), which measures the total volume of water used to produce goods and services that we consume and accounts for the volume of rainwater (green WF) and ground and surface water (blue WF) consumed in the production of agricultural goods from crops and livestock – the major uses of water – as well as the volume of water polluted (grey WF) by agriculture and from household and industrial water use, a better understanding emerges of water use patterns. As [Hoekstra et al., 2011] explain, the “water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, showing not only volumes of water consumption and pollution, but also the locations.”

 

The countries with the largest total water footprints are China, India, and the United States – 38% of the global production water footprint stems from these three countries; India and China are simultaneously experiencing moderate to severe water stress [Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2011]. The global water footprint is comprised of 92% agriculture, 4.4% industrial production, and 3.6% domestic water supply; additionally, 20% of the global water footprint is related to production for export ([Hoekstra & Mekonnen, 2011]; [Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2011]). Though different for each country, the water footprint related to agricultural production dominates the greatest share of nations’ total water footprint.