Global Scans · Clean Water and Sanitation · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 6. Ensure availability of water and sanitation for all.

• [New] By the mid-2020s, heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events had become more frequent and severe across many parts of Asia, increasing risks to food security, water resources, infrastructure, and public health. EBSCO
• [New] The mass deployment of sensors, including Event Duration Monitoring, at all UK storm overflows creates opportunities for digital solutions to improve the way water quality is both managed and subsequently communicated to communities. CIWEM
• [New] Water companies must have improved 75% of storm overflows by 2035, and 100% by 2045. / UK CIWEM
• [New] There are renewed warnings that threats to food and water security in the Pacific arising from a stronger than usual El Nino climate pattern will compound the shocks emanating from the ongoing Middle East conflict. Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
• [New] The kind of increasingly frequent heatwaves we have experienced and greatly reduced rainfall that we could see over successive summers with climate change, plus a projected increase in demand for water, have raised the prospect that England could at some point run out of water. BBC News
• [New] Bit barn construction is projected to expand rapidly, with growth often concentrated in areas already classified as water-stressed, like London and the South East. theregister
• [New] On the water side, MPs were warned earlier in 2026 that official forecasts of England's future water needs excluded datacenters, despite the growing number of them, and that they could end up competing with homes and businesses for supply. theregister
• [New] Attacks targeting critical infrastructure could have serious real-world consequences, including disruptions to hospitals, electrical systems and water treatment facilities. KDBC
• [New] Longer droughts, rising populations and a siphoning off of resources via a large dam in Ethiopia may soon contribute to conflicts over water and its natural resources downstream in Egypt, potentially putting millions of people at risk of poverty and starvation. News Decoder
• [New] While drinking-water testing leads regulatory activity now, the European Food Safety Authority's scientific opinion on microplastics in food, due by the end of 2027, could prove a major inflection point. Science and Medicine Group
• [New] Regulatory readiness is geographically uneven: California leads U.S. states with Phase Two treated-water testing expected in fall 2026; the EU has a harmonized methodology but no monitoring mandate yet; Japan has an advanced commercial ecosystem but no drinking-water requirement. Science and Medicine Group
• [New] The scale of planned investment in water infrastructure across England and Wales is creating a substantial delivery opportunity, but workforce availability is emerging as an important constraint on how effectively that capital can be deployed. DirectorsTalk Interviews
• [New] By 2030, global water demand will exceed supply by approximately 40%, underscoring the urgency of robust water management solutions. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Increasing pressure on global water resources is encouraging industries to adopt water reuse and recycling strategies, creating new opportunities for zero valent iron technologies. Persistence Market Research
• [New] The U.S. Department of Energy finalized standards requiring over 50% of newly manufactured electric storage water heaters to use heat pump technology by 2029. Persistence Market Research
• [New] AI-powered data centers are becoming significant consumers of electricity and water, with demand expected to increase substantially by 2030. GCC BUSINESS WATCH
• [New] Water and food security will form another major pillar of WGES 2026, reflecting the growing pressure that climate change is placing on essential resources. GCC BUSINESS WATCH
• [New] The EU established a harmonized methodology under Delegated Decision 2024/1441 for measuring microplastics in drinking water, under Article 13 of the revised Drinking Water Directive (2020/2184). Science and Medicine Group
• [New] No federal testing mandate for microplastics in drinking water will exist before 2031 at the earliest, putting a major potential tranche of compliance-driven instrument procurement - U.S. public utilities - at least five years out. Science and Medicine Group
• [New] Industrial water utilities are expected to register the fastest growth, expanding at a CAGR of 13.9% between 2026 and 2033, driven by sustainability commitments, water reuse initiatives, and rising freshwater costs across manufacturing, mining, and power generation industries. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Water main pipes is likely to register fast growth projected above 5.6% CAGR, driven by rising water main break rates and municipal drinking water infrastructure investment worldwide across aging distribution networks nationwide requiring proactive rehabilitation ahead of costly emergency repairs. Persistence Market Research
• [New] By providing governments, researchers and farmers with open-access data, we can target water-saving technologies where they will have the greatest impact, improving water productivity while strengthening food security and climate resilience. FAO

Last updated: 06 September 2026