Human perspectives
ON THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS
WaterViews
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION BY PETER SWINBURN 3
FOREWARD BY JASON MORRISON 4
OVERVIEW 5
CANADA 6
CHINA 8
INDIA 10
MEXICO 12
RUSSIA 14
UNITED KINGDOM 16
UNITED STATES 18
ACROSS THE GLOBE 20
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS 21
CONCLUSION 22
2
THIS PAGE: Approximately 63 billion tons of wastewater flow into China’s rivers every year. Aquifers in
nearly 90 percent of Chinese cities are polluted. More than three-quarters of river water in urban areas is
unfit for drinking or fishing. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
COVER PHOTO: A seven-year-old boy waits his turn to collect water outside his home in Sanjay Colony,
a slum area in North West Delhi, India. With no drainage system to serve the community, sewage and
rainwater mix on the streets of the neighborhood. © 2009 Anita Khemka/Photoink/Contact Press
Images for Circle of Blue.
“Critical to our future”
A GLOBAL CHALLENGE THAT MERITS OUR FULL ATTENTION
Of all the Earth’s water, less than three percent is fresh and most of what
constitutes fresh water is locked in glacial ice or soil. That leaves less than one
percent available for human use. Compounding the problem is global climate
change, which contributes to droughts, storms and flooding, and affects water
quality in ways we are only starting to understand.
“The very same values that motivate
one of the world’s largest beer
companies to responsibly manage its
water supply also influence citizens
around the world to secure their
fresh water resources.”
Molson Coors understands that
corporations play a critical role in leading
the transition to a new era in which water
quality is respected and water management
practices improve so that every person on
the planet enjoys ready access to clean,
fresh water. That’s why we have supported
the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey, a pioneering piece of global research that
provides the first clear evidence that people around the world share similar
views about the severity of the water crisis and how to achieve solutions.
The survey reached important conclusions about how the world thinks about
water by asking a sample of 15,000 people in 15 countries a number of direct
questions. What worried them most about water? Was scarcity, pollution,
or some other factor the most severe water problem they faced? Who did
they think was responsible for solving the problem? Our goal in sponsoring
the survey was to clarify public attitudes about risks to the water supply and
motivate individuals, non-profits, and corporations—including our own
company—to engage and collaborate on solutions.
Like beer, which is often locally brewed and influenced by local market
dynamics, the solutions to global water issues are also locally based and require
people to work together in their watersheds and communities. The Circle of
Blue/Globescan survey found that the very same values that motivate one of
the world’s largest beer companies to responsibly manage its water supply also
influence citizens around the world to secure their fresh water resources.
Molson Coors’ commitment to water is based on our heritage and brewing
expertise. Fresh water is what brought John Molson to the banks of the St. Lawrence
River in Montreal, and Adolph Coors to Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado. And, it
was the waters beneath Burton-on-Trent that gave birth to the British brewing
industry we know today. It’s the #1 ingredient in beer. The quality of our beer is tied
directly to the quality of the water we use to produce it. Molson Coors has more
than 350 years of experience developing and implementing real-world solutions
for water use and conservation in our breweries and watersheds. Preserving clean
water and ensuring it as a sustainable resource is not only integral to our history, it
is critical to our future.
“Water issues merit the full
In addition to highlighting key principles of
attention of corporations in
accountability and collaboration, this survey
order to have a real impact.”
demonstrates that water issues merit the
full attention of corporations in order to have a real impact. At Molson Coors, we
continue to address water sustainability in the communities where we operate and
remain guided by the belief that every person in the world should have access to
water that is as fresh as the water we use to brew our beers.
The survey findings that follow, though humbling at times, only serve to reinforce
our commitment, and hopefully that of all corporations to contribute experience
and resources, to listen and learn from others, and work collaboratively to solve one
of the century’s greatest challenges.
PETER SWINBURN
CEO, MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY
3
“People globally believe water
is a key concern”
DETAILS OF PIONEERING SURVEY REVEAL CLEAR RECKONING AND ABIDING HUMANITY
People around the world identify access to clean water
as the most serious environmental challenge facing the
planet today. Of the 15,000 people from 15 countries
surveyed by Circle of Blue and GlobeScan, over 70 percent
found water pollution and shortages of fresh water to be
“very serious” problems.
“Public attitudes about water
transcend individuals’ local
circumstances.”
Two other salient results
of the survey, the first of its
kind ever conducted, also
merit special attention.
The first is that public attitudes about water transcend
individuals’ local circumstances and instead are focused
on an altruistic concern for those suffering from water
shortages. Over 90 percent of the survey’s respondents
believe that adequate and affordable drinking water for all
people is important. The second is that almost 80 percent of
those surveyed believe that solving drinking water problems
will require significant help from companies.
Both findings are consistent with the Pacific Institute’s
research in recent years. Our work has explored the various
water-related risks—physical, regulatory, and financial—
that companies face, along with the array of stewardship
platforms, strategies, and tools that are emerging to reduce
them. Leading companies have identified water stewardship
as a strategic factor that is central to their long-term
4
business success. These firms understand that the era of
easy access to cheap, clean water has ended. They recognize
the need to more closely consider limited supplies and the
implications of their water use and discharge on watersheds,
ecosystems, and communities.
How does the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey help solve
these and the many other facets of the freshwater crisis? It
demonstrates how global water problems are a priority for
companies and the general public. The survey highlights the
shared interest in finding proactive and transparent actions
that address the fresh water crisis. It also alerts the many
business, government, and research organizations working
on water issues they are on the right track.
The Pacific Institute focuses
“We are convinced that
a good share of its work on
companies can and
the nexus between corporate
must play a vital role.”
water risk and stewardship.
We are convinced that companies can and must play a
vital role in developing and deploying water management
practices that are socially equitable and environmentally
sustainable. Not only does this help improve access to
clean water for the world’s people, it also holds the greatest
promise for companies seeking to drive down water-related
risk and ensure that they stay in business. All of these are
goals that citizens around the world can get behind.
The survey findings underscore the public’s desire to pursue
a new direction in managing the world’s water resources
and to bring more partners and more information to the
table. In every country surveyed there was significant public
appetite for more knowledge about how to solve the crisis.
Pronounced water scarcity in key geographic regions,
along with heightened expectations among important
stakeholders—particularly consumers and investors—also
has produced a compelling business case for companies to
actively pursue corporate water stewardship as a strategy
that drives down water-related impacts and market risks.
In sum, people globally believe water is a key concern, that
the private sector has an important role to play in solving
global water challenges, and that companies and others
need to provide more information about what can be done
to advance a better water future. Taken together, the Circle
of Blue/GlobeScan survey clarifies the public case for taking
much better care of Earth’s fresh water.
JASON MORRISON
PROGRAM DIRECTOR, PACIFIC INSTITUTE
METHODOLOGY
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
The Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey polled a representative sample
of 15,000 adults in 15 countries and 500 adults in seven “deep dive”
countries. Those seven were: Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. The other eight countries
were Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines,
and Turkey. Face-to-face and telephone interviews occurred between
June 24, 2009, and August 3, 2009. Generally accepted research
standards were employed in each country and the sample error was
3.1 percent to 4.4 percent, 19 times out of 20.
RUSSIA
CANADA
UK
WATER CONCERN INDEX
MEX 7.03
IND 6.99
CHI 6.72
CAN 6.71
AVERAGE
6.69
UK 6.58
USA 6.53
FRANCE
An index score measuring concern
about water issues is computed by
aggregating the concerns expressed
about each of the four prompted
water issues: water pollution, lack
of safe drinking water, lack of water
for agriculture, and high cost of
water. The average score by country
is used to illustrate the relative
positioning of countries in terms of
concern for water issues.
USA
GERMANY
TURKEY
MEXICO
CHINA
INDIA
NIGERIA
BRAZIL
PHILIPPINES
KENYA
CHILE
RUS 6.30
Note: Sample size
n=500 in all countries
SERIOUSNESS OF WATER PROBLEMS AVERAGE OF 15 COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES BY RANK
WATER POLLUTION
SHORTAGES OF FRESH WATER
1. WATER POLLUTION
2. FRESH WATER SHORTAGES
3. DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
4. AIR POLLUTION
5. LOSS OF ANIMAL/PLANT SPECIES
6. CLIMATE CHANGE/GLOBAL WARMING
71%
72%
21%
4% 1%
20%
6%
7. AUTOMOBILE EMISSIONS
“VERY SERIOUS” | AVERAGE OF 15 COUNTRIES | 2009
Please tell me if you are very concerned, somewhat concerned, not very
concerned or not at all concerned about each of the following issues?
Note: Sample size n=1,000 in all countries
5
FOUR BARRELS OF WATER ARE NEEDED TO PRODUCE ONE BARREL OF
tar sands oil
6
FACING PAGE: Refining earth to oil, raw
industry transforms the natural landscape of
the Athabasca tar sands in Fort McMurray,
Alberta, Canada. This $90 billion project, the
world’s largest industrial operation, has turned
the region’s boreal forests into surface mines and
tailings ponds. © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy
Hasted Hunt Kraeutler, New York/Nicholas
Metivier Gallery, Toronto.
CANADA BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
33,487,208
80% URBAN 20% RURAL
$39,300 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
759 L /DAY
20% DOMESTIC 69% INDUSTRIAL 12% AGRICULTURAL
Canada
IN WATER-RICH CANADA, INDUSTRY AND OVERUSE RAISE CONCERNS
Only Brazil and Russia have more fresh water than Canada. But
it is wrong to assume that water security is not an issue. Canada
faces a crisis of overuse. Canada is second in the world in total
per capita withdrawal, at 3,797 liters a day, up 25 percent in the
last 20 years. Industry is the largest water consumer—69 percent.
Example: Northern Alberta’s oil sands industry uses up to four
barrels of fresh water for every barrel of oil it produces.
Canadians regard their water security as a serious issue,
according to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey. They hold
government most responsible for community water supply, and
82 percent of Canadians think large companies should play a role.
Nearly all Canadians surveyed—97 percent—agree that it is
important for people to have adequate, affordable drinking
water. Ninety-four percent worry that fresh water shortages
will become an increasingly severe problem worldwide.
Majorities demonstrate concern for particular water issues
in Canada. Concern is primarily around water pollution—67
percent are very concerned—and the lack of safe drinking
water—65 percent.
that the government should bear complete responsibility.
More than four in ten believe water companies and large
companies generally should be held responsible. While
Canadian respondents do not place primary responsibility on
large companies, 82 percent believe that companies need to
be a part of the clean water solution.
When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring
clean water in communities, half of Canadians believe
7
CHINA BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
1,338,612,968
43% URBAN 57% RURAL
$6,000 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
98% URBAN 81% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
74% URBAN 59% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
80 L /DAY
7% DOMESTIC 26% INDUSTRIAL 68% AGRICULTURAL
China
SERIOUS WATER CONTAMINATION CHALLENGES CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT
China faces severe impediments to its emergence as a
global industrial and economic power, many of them
directly connected to the country’s unstable access to
available supplies of clean fresh water.
Aquifers in nearly 90 percent of Chinese cities are
polluted. More than three-quarters of river water in urban
areas is unfit for drinking or fishing. Some 700 million
Chinese drink water contaminated with animal or human
waste. Cities like Beijing and Tianjin could run out of
water in five-to-seven years, says China water expert and
environmentalist Ma Jun.
It is no wonder that the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey
found that 67 percent of respondents consider water
8
pollution to be a very serious problem in China, and 59
percent said they are very concerned about the lack of
safe drinking water.
When asked who should be responsible for ensuring clean
water in communities, Chinese respondents point to
government (48 percent) and water companies (45 percent).
Agriculture and intense industrial use exacerbate China’s
water problems. China grows a vast amount of waterintensive crops, including rice and wheat. Water tables under
the North China Plain, a region that produces half of China’s
wheat and one third of China’s corn, are falling at a rate of
three meters per year.
The country uses nearly four times more water than the
world’s average to produce goods worth $10,000, and 20
times the amount of water used in Japan and Europe for the
same product.
Perhaps reflecting the attitude of a people overseen by
a centralized government, Chinese residents do not feel
especially empowered to address water problems. Sixtytwo percent of Chinese respondents agree that water
shortages are too big of a problem for individuals to be
able to contribute to the solution, while 34 percent believe
individuals can make a difference. Only 29 percent of
respondents feel that large companies should be held
responsible.
Wang Rui, 21, washes her face after spending the day after work watering the beans, corn, and
flower seeds in her parents’ field in the Wulanjiqi village, west of Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The
family has no running water in the house and has to collect, store, and boil water from a nearby
well. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
SOME 700 MILLION CHINESE DRINK
WATER CONTAMINATED WITH ANIMAL OR
human waste
9
NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF INDIA’S 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE
do not have a toilet
10
TOP ROW, FROM LEFT: 1) Families collect water
from a tanker supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in
Mangolpuri. 2) Ram Bihari spends up to four hours a day
collecting valuables thrown as offerings into the holy
river. 3) Women and children wait for a trickle to fill their
buckets and containers with water in a slum area in Delhi,
India. BOTTOM: New Delhi dumps more than half of its
waste into the Yamuna, one of the most polluted rivers in
the world. © 2009 Anita Khemka/Photoink/Contact Press
Images for Circle of Blue.
INDIA BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
1,166,079,217
29% URBAN 71% RURAL
$2,800 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
96% URBAN 86% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
52% URBAN 18% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
128 L /DAY
8% DOMESTIC 5% INDUSTRIAL 86% AGRICULTURAL
India
INDIA’S PEOPLE CRY OUT FOR CLEAN WATER
Compared to other environmental issues, Indians
consider water pollution and fresh water shortages to
be the most serious. But Indians do not feel especially
empowered. Three-quarters of the respondents to the
Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey say they need more
information to be able to help protect water.
Indians, though, hold government the most responsible
for community water supply. And for good reason. Seven
years ago an Indian government report found that in
the four largest cities barely 30 percent of wastewater is
treated before disposal. The rest ends up in the rivers,
lakes, and groundwater that provide drinking water to
more than 60 million people.
It’s gotten worse since, according to studies by the
government and advocacy groups. The average resident
gets just over four hours of access to clean fresh water a
day. Along the Ganges, the sacred river of Hinduism, two
million bathers cleanse themselves daily in an ablution
of fecal bacteria, untreated sewage, chemical runoff, and
partially cremated corpses.
Open defecation is still viewed with remarkable social
acceptance. Seven hundred million people in India do not
have a toilet. The World Health Organization estimates
that 700,000 Indians die each year of diarrhea. Other
waterborne or water-contact illnesses include hepatitis
A and E, typhoid fever, and leptospirosis. Mosquito-borne
diseases like malaria and dengue fever are common.
asked who should be held responsible for ensuring
clean water in communities, 44 percent of Indians
place primary responsibility on the government.
Approximately one-third of respondents believe
large companies, water companies, and individual
citizens bear complete responsibility. Little
responsibility is placed on farmers and NGOs.
While Indians do not place primary responsibility
on large companies, 44 percent believe that
companies need to be a part of the solution.
Seventy-one percent of Indians who responded to the Circle
of Blue/GlobeScan survey agree that it is important for all
people to have adequate, affordable drinking water. When
11
MEXICO BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
111,211,789
77% URBAN 23% RURAL
$14,200 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
98% URBAN 85% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
91% URBAN 48% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
340 L /DAY
17% DOMESTIC 5% INDUSTRIAL 77% AGRICULTURAL
Mexico
WATER SHORTAGE, CONTAMINATION PROD MEXICANS TO LOOK TO GOVERNMENT FOR ANSWERS
Mexico’s capacity to meet the water demands of its 111 million people, the
world’s 12th largest nation, is under challenge like never before.
Less than half of the people living in rural areas in Mexico have access to basic
sanitation. The country’s water supply and sewage systems are old and falling
apart. Waterborne and vector diseases include malaria, leptospirosis, hepatitis
A, typhoid, and dengue fevers. Bacterial diarrhea was solely responsible for five
percent of child deaths in 2004.
These trends are reflected in how Mexicans responded to the Circle of Blue/
GlobeScan survey. Mexicans consider fresh water shortages and water
pollution to be the most serious environmental problem affecting their lives.
Public concern centers primarily around the lack of safe drinking water—84
percent of those surveyed said they are very concerned.
Mexico’s response to that concern is a publicly financed program of building
expensive and energy-draining desalination plants. It ranks 12th in the world
in the number of such plants, which convert seawater into drinking water.
12
Desalination will not come close to solving Mexico’s fresh water crisis.
The central and northern states of Mexico house the large majority of the
population but contain the minority of the country’s fresh water resources.
Mexico City, the third largest metropolis in the world, is unable to provide safe
drinking water to all of its 19 million citizens. The huge city, built on a lakebed,
thirsts for new water sources. When Mexico City’s drinking water supply falls
short, water trucks meet needs.
When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring there is clean water
in communities, 80 percent of Mexicans said they believe the government
should bear complete responsibility. A majority of Mexicans, though, said that
individuals have the ability to contribute solutions to the country’s shortage of
clean, fresh water.
CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: 1) Mexican Army units
help residents shovel raw sewage after an open canal
flooded El Molino. 2) After waiting several days for
relief, mothers and children gather water at a 600-liter
tank that four families share in El Molino. 3) Valentìn
Pèrez Hernadez keeps plants healthy in a quiet enclave
of multi-million dollar homes in Mexico City. Water is
scarce, however, in the tiny apartment he rents with
family members just eight miles away from his job.
4) Roman Ricaño Rios’s municipal water is often murky
with sediment and fecal matter. He is one of millions in
Mexico City’s metropolitan area who depend on private
water vendors for drinking water. © 2009 Janet Jarman/
Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.
MEXICO CITY WATER SHORTAGES, CONTAMINATION, AND
raw sewage spills
ARE A DAILY DISRUPTION
13
TOP: A young bride poses for a photo
under the "Hero" boat in Nizhny
Novgorod, Russia. BOTTOM ROW,
FROM LEFT: 1) Near Nizhny Novgorod, a
dilapidated boat lies in a stagnant pond
in the Russian village of Bezvodnoye,
whose name translates to "without
water." 2) A fisherman rides a boat on the
polluted Volga River at Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia. 3) An integral part of the daily
lives of its riparian cities, the Volga also
lives—majestic and proud—in Russian
poetry, music, literature, art, and history.
© 2009 James Hill/Contact Press Images
for Circle of Blue.
THE VOLGA, MAJESTIC AND PROUD,
ATTRACTS BRIDES TO A RIVERBANK MARRED BY A
legacy of pollution
14
RUSSIA BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
ACCESS TO SANITATION
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
140,041,247
73% URBAN 27% RURAL
$15,800 US
100% URBAN 88% RURAL
93% URBAN 70% RURAL
279 L /DAY
19% DOMESTIC 63% INDUSTRIAL 18% AGRICULTURAL
Russia
DESPITE MOTHERLODE OF FRESH WATER, RUSSIANS WORRY ABOUT HOW CLEAN AND HOW MUCH
Considering its other significant environmental issues—
nuclear contamination, vast industrial degradation, fearsome
air pollution, and rampant toxic chemical persistence—
Russians nevertheless regard water pollution to be the most
serious. And even in a nation with enormous fresh water
reserves, Russians told the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan pollsters
that they are concerned about shortages.
The responses to the global survey from Russia were
surprising and telling. The largest country in the world
geographically, Russia possesses one-third of the planet’s
fresh water, second only to Brazil. Spanning the whole of
northern Asia and 11 time zones, the country accommodates
five main drainage basins, the world’s largest lake, Europe’s
longest river, about two million fresh water and saltwater
lakes, and 10 million square kilometers of permafrost.
Russia’s giant rivers, also called “little mothers,” weave and
braid through the vastness of the Russian steppe, tundra, and
taiga in Europe and Asia.
In remote southern Siberia, Lake Baikal—the world’s largest,
deepest, and oldest lake—contains 20 percent of the planet’s
surface fresh water and 80 percent of Russia’s fresh water.
But in the more densely populated European Russia, 35
percent to 60 percent of potable water does not meet sanitary
requirements as a result of high industrialization and the
legacy of the Soviet and transitional periods.
The Amur and the Volga are the most heavily contaminated
rivers. The Techa River in the southern Ural Mountains suffers
from intense radioactive pollution.
Existing water infrastructure is largely outdated, resulting in
frequent breakdowns. About $459 billion is needed to complete
the necessary upgrades and extensions of water and sanitation
infrastructure in Russia by 2020, according to the World Bank.
When asked who should be held responsible for ensuring clean
water in communities, 65 percent of the Russians surveyed place
primary responsibility on water companies. Less than half—47%
—say responsibility lies with the government.
15
U.K. BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
61,113,205
90% URBAN 10% RURAL
$36,600 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 100% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 100% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
119 L /DAY
22% DOMESTIC 75% INDUSTRIAL 3% AGRICULTURAL
United Kingdom
IN U.K., WHERE WATER SUPPLY IS ASSURED, OTHER ISSUES TAKE PRECEDENCE
In the United Kingdom, the depletion of natural resources
and the loss of plant and animal species are considered the
most significant environmental problems. Water issues
are also regarded as serious by Britons, particularly the
lack of safe drinking water, according to the Circle of Blue/
GlobeScan survey. With 90 percent of Britain’s population
living in cities, the demand for water will grow. In 2008 the
average person used at least 160 liters, or about 50 percent
more than 25 years ago. Government is held less responsible,
though 47 percent agree that help from companies is needed
to solve drinking water problems.
When it comes to water, majorities demonstrate concern
for particular issues in the United Kingdom. Lack of safe
16
drinking water is a primary concern—61 percent are very
concerned. Of those surveyed, 53 percent said pollution
was also a serious issue.
The Circle of Blue/GlobeScan findings reflect the United
Kingdom’s capacity to ensure its citizens a clean and safe
supply of fresh water. The ability of the country to continue
its good record, though, is not assured.
The United Kingdom—England, Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland—is surrounded by saltwater and has a
finite supply of fresh water. While Scotland is abundant in
water, people in England and Wales have only 1,334 cubic
meters per person a year—less than the hot Mediterranean
countries of Italy, Spain, and Egypt.
Climate change could reduce the amount of water
available by 10 percent to 15 percent by 2020, according
to U.K.’s Environment Agency. In 2006, 18 million people
faced water use restrictions in South East England
because of droughts. A year later, the Thames River broke
its banks as a result of heavy rain.
TOP: The Victorian sewers, designed by Sir
Joseph Bazalgette after the Great Stink of
1858, criss-cross the London underground.
Once an architectural masterpiece, the
sewers now struggle to serve the eight-million
English capital. BOTTOM: Thames Water
workers often get around a melee of various
piping when they lay the new blue mains
that will replace the Victorian water mains in
London designed by Joseph Bazalgette in the
19th century. © 2009 Sam Faulkner/Contact
Press Images for Circle of Blue.
CENTURIES OF MISERY ENDED WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF
LONDON'S SEWERS, BUT THE U.K'S GOOD WATER RECORD IS
still not assured
17
CLOCKWISE, FROM BOTTOM LEFT: 1) A view
along the shore of the desiccating Salton Sea. As
new irrigation practices in the Imperial Valley
decrease the water discharge to the Salton, toxic
sediments get exposed, threatening to cause major
air pollution in the area. 2) An aerial view of a field
in the Imperial Valley which receives water from the
Colorado River and uses mainly flood and furrow
irrigation systems. 3) The All-American Canal,
the main water conduit from the Colorado River
into the Imperial Dam. 4) Larry Gilbert, a lifelong
Imperial Valley farmer, stands in his sugarcane field.
Local farmers are looking at alternative techniques
to conserve water. © 2009 Brent Stirton/Reportage
for Getty Images/Circle of Blue.
THE LARGEST RESERVOIRS IN THE U.S. ARE ONLY
half full
18
U.S. BY THE NUMBERS
POPULATION
DEMOGRAPHY
GDP PER CAPITA
307,212,123
82% URBAN 18% RURAL
$47,000 US
ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER
100% URBAN 94% RURAL
ACCESS TO SANITATION
100% URBAN 99% RURAL
DAILY DOMESTIC WATER USE
WATER USE BY SECTOR
570 L /DAY
13% DOMESTIC 46% INDUSTRIAL 41% AGRICULTURAL
United States
DIRTY WATER AND SHORTAGES ARE AMERICAN CONCERNS
Americans are particularly worried about two facets of the fresh
water crisis: dirty water and the lack of safe drinking water.
According to the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan survey, 57 percent
of the Americans interviewed said they are very concerned
about water pollution. Those sentiments are high in the
Great Lakes region, where water quality is challenged by
toxic contamination, sedimentation, and overflowing sewage
treatment plants.
Nearly the same number—56 percent—say the lack of safe
drinking is a serious concern. Just a third of Americans—35
percent—say the cost of water is worrisome.
What’s more, the survey found that public concern about water
shortages in the United States has increased since 2003.
According to the Government Accountability Office, an
investigative unit of Congress, at least 36 states anticipate
water shortages in the next five years. Much of California has
been declared a drought emergency. The five-state Colorado
Plateau is in the ninth year of a drought.
Moreover, the Colorado River Basin is over-allocated. States
are withdrawing water from the basin at a rate greater than
the rate of replenishment. Lake Mead and Lake Powell—the
largest reservoirs in the country—are half full. Some scientists
estimate they could be empty within 20 years.
When asked who should be held responsible for
ensuring clean water in communities, 44 percent
of Americans believe that water companies should
bear complete responsibility, while approximately
30 percent believe individual citizens should be held
completely responsible.
The Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water to the grain farmers
of the Great Plains, is steadily being drained. And snow packs
that feed rivers and lakes in the Rocky Mountain West are
gradually losing moisture because of global climate change.
19
Across the globe
SURVEY FINDS WATER POLLUTION AND SHORTAGES
ARE TOP GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES
The fierce impediments to clean water and sanitation and the millions of
premature deaths from water-related disease are seen as having a greater
influence on quality of life and the planet than air pollution, species extinction,
depletion of natural resources, loss of habitat, and climate change.
“There are a couple of big stories here,” said Rob Kerr, vice president of
GlobeScan, and one of the principal researchers of the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan
survey. “People would reluctantly accept higher costs to solve the problems. Cost
is not the issue with polluted water and lack of safe drinking water.
“And strong majorities see a huge role for government and large companies in
solving the fresh water crisis.”
More than 90 percent of the more than 15,000 people polled in 15 countries
expressed a conviction that access to clean, fresh water is fundamental, not only
for themselves, but for all people. Across the globe, respondents to the Circle
of Blue/GlobeScan survey also said education was essential to help people
understand the dimensions and the urgency of the crisis.
20
The immensity of the global freshwater crisis is visible almost
everywhere, including on the rain-starved Waikool River in
southeastern Australia. Photo by J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
1 ANITA KHEMKA INDIA An English literature graduate, Anita
Khemka began her photography career in 1996. Her oeuvre
has largely been defined by social documentary work—
people living with HIV, the mentally challenged, and sexual
minorities. Her work has been exhibited in India as well
as in London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Bangkok,
Melbourne, and Paris.
2 GREG GIRARD CHINA Greg Girard’s photographs have
appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, Fortune,
Forbes, Elle, Paris-Match, Stern, the New York Times Magazine,
and others worldwide. His work has been exhibited in galleries
in South Korea, London, Germany, Helsinki, and New York.
3 JAMES HILL RUSSIA James Hill, who was born in London
in 1967, attended Oxford and the London College of Printing
before he took up photography. In 1991, he set off for the
Soviet Union, where he worked for over 10 years, first in Kiev,
then as a Moscow-based contract photographer for The New
York Times. His work from Afghanistan, where he spent three
months in 2001, earned him a nomination for the Pulitzer
Prize. In 2003 he reported on the war in Iraq for the New York
Times and Time magazine. In 2005, his images from the Beslan
tragedy won First Prize in General News Stories at World
Press Photo and the award for Feature Photography from the
Overseas Press Club of America.
4 SAM FAULKNER UNITED KINGDOM After graduating from
Kings College London in 1994, Sam Faulkner traveled to
Afghanistan to photograph the forgotten civil war between
the former Mujihadeen allies. His pictures won the Ian Parry
award for young photojournalists, sponsored by the Sunday
Times Magazine. Faulkner has also worked for Figaro, GQ, the
Independent magazine, GEO, Vogue, the Telegraph magazine,
Newsweek, Time, Liberation and Esquire. In the last 10 years,
he has traveled extensively to photograph slavery in Sudan,
child weddings in Rajasthan, women soldiers in Eritrea,
AIDS orphans in Uganda, the FARC in Colombia, drought
in Mongolia, gangs in Los Angeles, opium in Afghanistan,
voodoo in Haiti, and poverty in America.
5 EDWARD BURTYNSKY CANADA Edward Burtynsky is one
of Canada’s most respected photographers. His consummate,
detail-packed photographs of global industrial landscapes
are in the collections of several major museums around
the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the
Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, and the Museum of Modern
Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
6 JANET JARMAN MEXICO Janet Jarman is a Mexico-based
photojournalist. She works extensively in Latin America
and Asia and previously lived in Japan, England, and Chile.
Jarman’s photographs have appeared in GEO, the New York
Times Magazine, Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic
Traveler, the New York Times, TimeAsia, Newsweek, Fortune,
MSNBC.com, and other publications.
7 BRENT STIRTON UNITED STATES Brent Stirton is the
senior staff photographer for the assignment division of
Getty Images, the largest photographic agency in the world.
He specializes in documentary work and is known for
his alternative approaches. He travels an average of nine
months of the year on assignment. Brent’s work is published
by National Geographic magazine, National Geographic
Adventure, the New York Times Magazine, the London Sunday
Times Magazine, Smithsonian magazine, the Discovery
Channel, Newsweek, L'Express, Le Monde 2, Figaro, Paris
Match, GQ, GEO, Stern, CNN, and many other respected
international titles and news organizations.
21
GD
PP
PE
CHI
IND
RS
ON
UK
Pop. 61,113,205
GDP US $36,600
Tap water 100%
APW 119 L/day
IND
Pop. 1,166,079,217
GDP US $2,800
Tap water 19%
APW 128 L/day
CAN
Pop. 33,487,208
GDP US $39,300
Tap water 88%
APW 759 L/day
US
Pop. 307,212,123
GDP US $47,000
Tap water 100%
APW 570 L/day
CHI
Pop. 1,338,612,968
GDP US $6,000
Tap water 69%
APW 80 L/day
MEX
Pop. 111,211,789
GDP US $14,200
Tap water 90%
APW 340 L/day
RUS
MEX
ER
CAN
UK
AVERAGE PERSONAL
WATER USE (APW)
US
PERSONAL WATER USE, ACCESSIBILITY, AND GDP BY COUNTRY
RUS
Pop. 140,041,247
GDP US $15,800
Tap water 82%
APW 279 L/day
UT
HO
IT ER
T
W A
W
H
IT R
W ATE
W
ON
I
AT
L
PU
PO
CONSISTENCY AND VARIABILITY
Among the survey’s other consequential findings:
22
• People around the world view water pollution as
the most important facet of the fresh water crisis;
shortages of fresh water are very close behind.
Concern about both issues tended to be higher in
developing countries than in developed nations.
• The respondents said that large companies were nearly
as responsible as governments for ensuring clean water;
nearly eight of 10 respondents from the seven nations
said that solving drinking water problems “will require
significant help from companies.”
• In all seven countries where the survey asked
more penetrating questions, respondents
consistently said that governments were the most
responsible for ensuring clean water.
• More than 90 percent of the more than 15,000 people
polled in 15 countries expressed a conviction that
access to clean, fresh water is fundamental not only for
themselves but for all people.
Sources: UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme; World Health
Organization; CIA World Factbook; National Land and Water
Resources Audit; Ministry of Water Resources, China; FAO
Aquastat; Eurostat Yearbook; US Geological Survey
FRESH WATER USE BY SECTOR
RUSSIA #2
CANADA #3
UNITED STATES #4
#RANK
Fresh water reserve ranking
Domestic
69%
63%
19%
18%
CHINA #6
20%
46%
12%
INDIA #9
41%
Industrial
Agricultural
13%
FRESH WATER USE BY COUNTRY km3/yr
IND
86%
68%
7%
26%
CHI
78.22
RUS
76.68
UK
17% 5%
477
MEX
CAN
UNITED KINGDOM #51
77%
549.76
US
8% 5%
MEXICO #23
645.84
44.72
11.75
75%
22%
3%
Sources: National Land and Water Resources Audit;
Ministry of Water Resources, China; FAO Aquastat;
Eurostat Yearbook; US Geological Survey
23
Circle of Blue, based on the
shores of the Great Lakes
and founded by prominent
journalists and scientists, is
the leading news organization
in the world covering the
global freshwater crisis.
1200 West 11th Street
Traverse City, MI 49684
+1.202.351.6870
[email protected]
www.circleofblue.org
©2010 Circle of Blue. All Rights Reserved.
May not be reproduced without permission.
Printed on 75% alternative fiber (Eucalyptus) paper.
WaterViews
CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CIRCLE OF BLUE
J. Carl Ganter, Executive Director
Keith Schneider, Senior Editor
Aaron Jaffe, Project Manager
Nadya Ivanova, Project Manager
Eric Daigh, Senior Producer
Karen Mullarkey, Photo Editor
Aubrey Parker, Data Analyst and Reporter
Jordan Bates, Data Analyst
Cody Pope, Reporter
Connor Boals, Reporter
Alex Lane, Reporter
Hannah Nester, Graphic Designer
GLOBESCAN
Rob Kerr, Vice President
Chris Coulter, Vice President, Strategy and Insights
Oliver Martin, Director, Global Development
Gwen Cottle, Research Associate
DESIGN
Tandem Design, Traverse City
www.tandemthinking.com
MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY
Bart Alexander, Global Vice President, Corporate Responsibility
Mike Glade, Director, Water Resources
Dan Lewis, Chief Public Affairs Officer
PACIFIC INSTITUTE
Peter Gleick, President
Jason Morrison, Program Director
Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate
Heather Cooley, Senior Research Associate
Juliet Christian-Smith, Senior Research Associate
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alon Halevy and the Fusion Tables Team, Google
Måns Hultman, Shima Nakazawa, Anthony Deighton and
Chuck Bannon, QlikTech
Caroline Cortizo, Field Producer, London
Jeffrey Smith, Contact Press Images
Robert Pledge, Contact Press Images
Kerry McCarthy, Getty Images
Peggy Willette, Getty Images
LEFT: A Chinese family fishes recreationally on the shores of the Yellow River in Huijihe, west of Baotou in Inner Mongolia. The river
carries effluent from the paper mills and fertilizer factories lined on its banks and along its tributaries in this heavily industrialized
area of China. © 2009 Greg Girard/Contact Press Images for Circle of Blue.