Understanding the Global Water Crisis
Will Sarni
Leader: Corporate water strategy
Water is life. Discover how extreme weather events can disrupt our access to clean water and why it's crucial to understand the global water crisis.
Water is life. Discover how extreme weather events can disrupt our access to clean water and why it's crucial to understand the global water crisis.
Understanding the Global Water Crisis
10 mins 14 secs
Key learning objectives:
Understand the global water crisis
Identify the key components of the hydrological cycle
Outline the stakeholders who can solve the water crisis
Define wicked problems
Overview:
Water is essential for life, yet many parts of the world face severe shortages and contamination issues. The global water crisis is driven by climate change, increasing demand, and poor water management. Water is often undervalued and poorly managed, leading to overuse and scarcity. No single group can solve water issues alone but different stakeholders (such as the government, NGOs and businesses bring unique strengths.
Summary
What is the global water crisis, and why is it important?
Water is essential for life, yet many parts of the world face severe shortages and contamination issues. The global water crisis is driven by climate change, increasing demand, and poor water management. Extreme weather events, like Hurricane Katrina, highlight how vulnerable water systems are, with infrastructure damage leaving communities without safe drinking water. We often take clean water for granted, but ensuring a reliable supply requires careful management of water treatment, infrastructure, and conservation. Without action, more regions will struggle with water scarcity, affecting health, ecosystems, and economies.
What are the key components of the hydrological cycle?
The hydrological cycle, also known as the water cycle, describes how water moves continuously through the environment. This process is crucial for sustaining ecosystems and human life, but climate change and overuse are disrupting natural water availability. It includes:
- Evaporation and transpiration: Water from oceans, lakes, and plants rises into the atmosphere
- Condensation: Water vapour cools and forms clouds
- Precipitation: Clouds release water as rain, snow, or ice
- Infiltration and groundwater flow: Some water seeps into the ground, replenishing underground aquifers.
- Surface water movement: Water collects in rivers, lakes, and oceans, where the cycle starts again.
Why is water governance a challenge?
Water is often undervalued and poorly managed, leading to overuse and scarcity. For example, the Colorado River, which supports over 40 million people, is over-allocated due to outdated water laws. Climate change has reduced water availability, yet policies haven’t adapted to these new conditions.
What is a wicked problem, and why does water fit this definition?
A wicked problem is a complex challenge with no single solution. These problems:
- Have multiple causes and interdependencies
- Are difficult to fully understand
- Often lead to unintended consequences when addressed
Water fits this definition because solving its issues requires changes in behaviour, policy, and resource management. Even more challenging, water can also be seen as a super wicked problem one with an urgent deadline, no central authority, and where those trying to fix it are also contributing to it.
Who can help solve the water crisis?
No single group can solve water issues alone. Different stakeholders bring unique strengths. For example, governments have scale and resources but may lack speed and focus. Businesses and investors can act quickly but often lack large-scale impact. Communities and NGOs drive grassroots efforts and advocate for change. Collaboration across these groups is essential to developing sustainable solutions. Ensuring water security requires long-term strategies that are both sustainable and resilient, adapting to climate change while minimising environmental impact.
Will Sarni
Will Sarni, a hydrogeologist and author, has been working on water challenges for most of his career. He has focused on corporate sustainability and water strategy for the past two decades. Sarni is an optimist and believes we can solve wicked water problems. He lives in Colorado and the American West, which faces water scarcity challenges. The American West is a major agricultural region for the US, exporting crops. To have thriving cities and agriculture and manufacturing sectors in the region, we must solve water challenges.
Will has written several books on corporate water strategy, energy-water-food nexus, technology and policy innovation, and a children's book on water.
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