We know that freshwater resources are limited. We also know that industry is a huge consumer of this finite resource. But a new study has quantified this consumption and brought it down to simpler scales.
National Geographic is looking at the global water crisis through a series of articles. The latest one highlights the role of specific industries that are precipitating this crisis. The article examines what we call the water footprint. Similar to the carbon footprint, a water footprint is an indicator of direct and indirect water consumptions.
The study looked into the hidden costs of water use by approximating the amount of H2O consumed per U.S. dollar of end product by different industrial sectors and also agriculture. For instance, per dollar here’s how it works out for some day to day products – 270 gallons (1,022 liters) of water are needed to produce a dollar’s worth of sugar. 200 gallons (757 liters) go into a dollar’s worth of pet food. 140 gallons (530 liters) to make a dollar’s worth of milk.
Power generation (which needs huge volumes of water for cooling plants), and agriculture which needs it for production and processing, accounts for a 41 percent share of the water footprint.
On an individual level, the United States has the highest per capita of water footprint. According to the Netherlands based Water Footprint Network, an average U.S. citizen uses 766,098 gallons (2.9 million liters) each year.
The study tries to take into account indirect water usage that is not used during the production process. For instance, water used up during the production of raw materials, or used during transport. The study found that indirect water usage has a contribution of 60 percent to the total water consumption.
Unlike a carbon footprint, having a large water footprint isn’t harmful. The rider is that you should have enough freshwater resources to back up all the use. Another unsavory side effect in a global economy could be the practice of outsourcing production to a water scarce country.
As one of the study author’s explains –
“What you don’t want to see is the U.S., or any other powerhouse economy, essentially shifting their [water] burdens to other countries with lesser environmental standards.”
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