Reduce Demand
Reducing demand also relies on a mixture of technology and policy-based solutions. Certainly, technologies exist to reduce global water withdrawals significantly, but current regulations, subsidies, and market structures do not provide adequate incentives for ready adoption of these technologies.
Recycling techniques, low-flow appliances, dry-cooling units, leak detection, and improved pipes and valves could all significantly reduce the amount of water withdrawn for municipal and industrial uses. Initiating widespread adoption of such technologies in the developed world could be as simple as shifting water tariffs, providing certain tax incentives, regulating new construction, or even a public awareness campaign.
Did you know?
It takes 4,000 m3 of water to produce one head of cattle, 6 m3 to produce 1 kg of poultry, and 1 m3 to produce 1 kg of cereal. Over the past few decades, consumption of meat in developing countries has grown at a rate of about 5 to 6 percent per year with poultry representing the most significant gains.
Improving efficiencies in agriculture, however, represents the most significant potential reduction in global water withdrawal. Shifting from conventional and wasteful surface irrigation to drip and low-loss sprinkler technologies is proven to increase overall water productivity from 25 to over 200 percent for crops as diverse as bananas, cotton, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and food grains. Despite the potential water efficiency improvements, only about 1 percent of irrigated farmland worldwide currently uses precision irrigation. Domestic and industrial users often pay over 100 times as much per unit as agricultural users. Thus, water subsidies provide few incentives for farmers to adopt more efficient practices or grow less water-intensive crops.
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