World heads for 'water bankruptcy', says Davos report

Grist reports:

The world is heading toward "water bankruptcy" as demand for the precious commodity outstrips even high population growth, a new report warned Friday. In less than 20 years water scarcity could lose the equivalent of the entire grain crops of India and the United States, said the World Economic Forum report, which added that food demand is expected to sky-rocket in coming decades. Water has been consistently under-priced in many regions and has been wasted and overused, the report said. Many places in the world are on the verge of "water bankruptcy" following a series of regional water "bubbles" over the past 50 years. The report said that energy production accounts for about 39 percent of all water used in the United States and 31 percent of water withdrawals in the EU. Only three percent is actually consumed, but competition for access to water will intensify over the next two decades. Water requirements for energy are expected to grow by as much as 165 percent in the United States and 130 percent in the EU, putting a major "squeeze" on water for agriculture, said the WEF.