Desalination and Water Reuse Set for Growth as Global Water Crisis Comes into Focus

New report by Global Water Intelligence suggests strong growth for water scarcity technologies. Water scarcity will be a bigger issue in 2008 than global warming according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, speaking at Davos this week. Increased demand for food, the expansion of agriculture for bio-fuels, and urbanisation are putting greater pressure on water resources than ever before.

Oxford, UK January 28, 2008 -- A new global water market forecast* published by Global Water Intelligence, suggests that the market for desalination and water reuse technology will expand rapidly. Global desalination capacity is expected to increase from 52 million m3/d in 2008 to 107 million m3/d in 2016. Over the same period, advanced wastewater reuse will see capacity triple from 20 million cubic metres to 60 million m3/d.

Over the decade 2007-2016 $64 billion will be spent on building desalination plants around the world, and £25.6 billion on advanced water reuse projects.

That means demand management, desalination, and water reuse. Global Water Market 2008 paints a picture of the emergence of a robust global industry. However, the environmental and human cost of getting it wrong is clear.

Christopher Gasson says: “Across the world millions of people are dependent on non-renewable water: they are draining the aquifers and depleting the rivers. What is left becomes mineralised, threatening ecosystems and reducing agricultural yields.

“People in the developing world are eating more protein, which means more water is needed to grow animal feeds. They also want to grow more crops for biofuel. This puts pressure on food prices, but the real story is in water. That is the ultimate limiting factor. And with urban demand for water growing apace, the only solution is to make more of what we have got.

“That means demand management, desalination, and water reuse. Global Water Market 2008 paints a picture of the emergence of a robust global industry. However, the environmental and human cost of getting it wrong is clear.”

Among the companies expected to gain from the growth of this market are: General Electric, Veolia Environment, Suez, Siemens, Acciona, Abengoa, Christ Water Technologies, Hyflux.

*Global Water Market 2008: Opportunities in Scarcity and Environmental Regulation, published by Global Water Intelligence priced £1400. See www.globalwaterintel.com/GWM2008/ for further details

Christopher Gasson is author of Global Water Market 2008. Please contact him directly for further discussion on +44 1865 204208.

Contact:
Christopher Gasson
Global Water Intelligence
+44 1865 204208

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water crisis environment waste water bio fuel water market water reuse global water intelligence ecosystems christopher gasson water intelligence

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