How much water do you need to survive ?
Our bodies consist of between 45% to 75 % of water (Sissons, 2020) and thus it is a provider of life. While food sustains energy and growth, Water and Oxygen sustain life. According to the United Nations nearly 3 billion people live in water stressed countries, and we have to ask ourselves why so little came out of COP 29 - did they pacify this fact? As icecaps melt, we will have more freshwater available in the seas however, that brings more serious issue, affected ocean life, rapidly changing weather patterns and rising sea levels all impacting us. COP 29 recognises water security is a major issue along with many others and may just change the timetable from 2030 to 2050 to achieve a difference.
The world is struggling to supply clean drinking water to its vast population. Many countries (List of countries by access to clean water - Wikipedia) are already struggling and if weather gets warmer, or floods appear the issues becomes exacerbated (dry land cannot absorb floods and plants and food needs water). Water affects the quality of living but you would not think that when examining the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) irregular reports (Global Burden of Disease 2021: Findings from the GBD 2021 Study | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) on morbidity and mortality. Water shortage is NOT the No.1 killer, social created issues are (Ritchie, Spooner and Roser, 2019, Citing IHME data) :
Yet, we all acknowledge that water is important, which varies according to age and sex (Sissons, 2020) :
In general, you need to drink 2.5 to 3.7 litres per day, or to be more accurate using Watsons formula to calculate it e.g., 2.447 - (0.09156 x age) + (0.1074 x height in cm) +(0.3362 x weight in kg) = total body weight in litres. Or use the Watsons Total Body Water Calculator = https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/body-water.
Drinking water is a major issue, caused by multiple factors contributing to shortage. Land use, pollution and Climate Change affects land availability and its ability to absorb and filter water. If land has dried up, water cannot be absorbed so basically flows over the top of it causing chaos especially during floods. This is made worse when building on flood plans or cutting down trees that would absorb water (and carbon dioxide). So what is happening to the water?
According to Sissons (2020) drinks companies are extracting masses of water to sell very profitably elsewhere, which can be argued contributes to the issues (and plastic pollution). While Sissons's article is heavily focused on the US market it is a useful indication as one of the biggest economies in the world :
Nestle Water (Swiss) = $104.11 billion sales, 94 productions facilities over 34 different countries
Danone (French) = $30.22 billion sales, in 2015 apparently made $200 billions which has declined sharply. Brands include Aqua, Bonefont, Evian, Volvic, Salus, Font Vella and others.
Master Kong (China) = $11.44 billion sales in China alone. Master Kong / Tingyi is a new one on me, wow)
Dasani (American) = $3.79 billion sales is owned by Coco-Cola, sold globally.
Glaceau SmartWater (American) = $830 million sales is owned by Coco-Cola, sold globally.
Aquafina (American) = $872 million sales is owned by Pepsi-Cola, sold globally.
Poland Spring (American) = $670 million sales, american originally, once owned by Nestle (as Perrier (France) then Nestle (Swiss) was sold back to an american private equity brand)
Ozarka (American) = $579.0 million sales mainly in Texas, good ol US of A, apparently.
Deer Park (American) = $58.1 million sales
Fiji Water (American) = $43.0 million sales. From California, who used to debate if they were Californians or Americans? Note Fiji water is sold globally so teh above figure is adaptable.
However, the UK is also affected by similar companies (Msn.com, 2024):
Coco-Cola (American) can extract 1.59bn litres in Sidcup, Kent, and 377m litres for many brands including Glaceau Smartwater and Abbey Well in Northumberland. See above report on brands.
Roxanne and Alma (French) Aqua Pura brand can extract 1.5bn litres annually in Cumbria and sold as Aqua Pura water. They also supply to Tesco's for their Ashbeck and Elmhurst brands, and separately to Asda. Separate agreements with South Staffordshire Water plc ensure water can supplement their supplies although quantities and purity data is not provided.
Nestlé Waters (Swiss) can extract 880m litres of water (Buxton water and Pure Life water in Derbyshire and Pembrokeshire, and Princes Gate in Wales).
Schwarz (German) can manage up 700m litres water a year in Derbyshire.
Danone (French) can extract 460M lites water and sold as Harrogate Spring Water.
let's not forget Highland Spring Water owned by one of our favourite rich Emirate's, who also market bottled water, who helped his country, bottles water in recycled plastic and looks to reach net zero by 2040 (and on the way).
According to a separate report (Juline, 2021) the Global bottled water industry accounts for $342.4 billion in sales - surely that is underestimated? Water Security is as important an issue as Energy Security so you may want to get into the Water Game ?
References:
Bakker, Karen & Dunn, Gemma & Norman, Emma & Allen, Diana & Cook, Christina & Albuquerque, Rafael & Simpson, S.. (2013). Water Security Indicators: The Canadian Experience
Ritchie, H., Spooner, F. and Roser, M. (2019). Clean Water. Our World in Data. [online] Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/clean-water . 1st published September 2019, revised January 2024.
University of Washington School of Medicine, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) (2024). Global Burden of Disease 2021: Findings from the GBD 2021 Study | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. [online] www.healthdata.org. Available at: https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/library/global-burden-disease-2021-findings-gbd-2021-study [Accessed 23 Nov. 2024].
Johan Rockström and Strauss, T. (2024). COP29 Water Day: How to finance global water resilience. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/11/7-facts-about-the-global-water-crisis-that-cop29-leaders-should-know/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2024].
Sissons, C. (2020). What percentage of the human body is water? [online] www.medicalnewstoday.com. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-percentage-of-the-human-body-is-water.
Msn.com. (2024). MSN. [online] Available at: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/foreign-firms-taking-billions-of-litres-from-uk-aquifers-to-make-bottled-water/ar-AA1uGVx3?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=ab4ec5c244394c899a0019b64e966362&ei=29 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].
Juline, A. (2021). 10 Largest Bottled Water Companies In The World. [online] Zippia. Available at: https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-bottled-water-companies/.