Our Scans · (LF.6) 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] Around 700 million people worldwide suffer from water scarcity, a number that is predicted to rapidly increase in coming decades. ClimateCheck
• [New] Climate change has aggravated water stress and may cause significant danger to global health and productivity, and will continue to do so as global temperatures rise and weather patterns change. ClimateCheck
• [New] Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, Russia, Australia, and the U.S. have the most renewable water resources in the world, yet every community will have different levels of water resources and will be affected by water stress differently. ClimateCheck
• [New] The increased prevalence of drought has a high potential to disrupt water sources and strain water supply in communities across America. ClimateCheck
• [New] Agricultural forecasters in the U.S. now expect farmers to lose more than 40% of the cotton crop, while many acres of farmland are being left unplanted because of water shortages. The Council of Industry
• [New] Google announced five AI data center water commitments, including a goal to become water-positive by 2030, local infrastructure investments, and greater transparency around water usage. Tech Startups - Tech News, Tech Trends & Startup Fundin
• [New] Asia is predicted to be one of the regions most exposed, with intensifying heat and drought predicted to put major stresses on agriculture, power grids and water supplies. The Guardian
• [New] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory predicted in a 2024 report that hyperscale data centers could consume up to 33 billion gallons of water by 2030 if they relied heavily on evaporative cooling. Wired
• [New] Under climate change, many regions in the EU - especially southern European Member States - and globally are expected to face severe water scarcity. EU Blue Economy Observatory
• [New] Turkey, which is not classified among water-abundant nations, could move closer to the category of countries experiencing water stress in the coming decades due to population growth and the mounting impacts of climate change. hurriyetdailynews.com
• [New] Backed by IDE's proven innovation in water technology, the Harbour Island Desalination Facility will solve for a critical water need in South Texas and help to diversify and strengthen the overall water supply. Rutland Herald
• [New] The project, which is designed to deliver 100 million gallons of water per day to South Texas, will be the largest seawater desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere. Rutland Herald
• [New] Recent seasonal outlooks point to an elevated risk of heat and water stress across several of the world's key agricultural production areas. Elicit Plant
• [New] Water risks-fueled by extreme weather, population pressures, and product demand - are escalating across the globe. Ceres: Sustainability is the bottom line
• [New] If 2024 water-use intensity persists, U.S. data centers could require 697 million to 1.451 billion gallons per day of new water capacity by 2030, with a water-capacity valuation on the order of $10 billion to $58 billion. Tank Transport
• [New] The ongoing water crisis in First Nations communities has drawn international condemnation, with human rights bodies warning that Canada's failure to ensure safe water constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights. SenCanada
• [New] The United Nations is warning of a global sand deficit caused by over-dredging, threatening water quality, infrastructure, and biodiversity. Circle of Blue
• Investors, through the Valuing Water Finance Initiative, are engaging large companies from four water intensive industries-apparel, beverage, food, and high-tech-on how to understand and address financial risks stemming from their broad water impacts and dependencies. Ceres: Sustainability is the bottom line
• The Valuing Water Finance Initiative is a global investor-led effort to engage companies with a large water footprint to value and act on water as a financial risk and make the necessary large-scale changes to better protect freshwater water resources and build business resiliency. Ceres: Sustainability is the bottom line

Last updated: 08 June 2026