Global water use may outstrip supply by 2050

Population growth could cause global demand for water to outpace supply by mid-century if current levels of consumption continue, according to a new study.
Using a delayed-feedback mathematical model that analyses historic data to help project future trends, the researchers identified a regularly recurring pattern of global water use in recent centuries.
Periods of increased demand for water - often coinciding with population growth or other major demographic and social changes - were followed by periods of rapid innovation of new water technologies that helped end or ease any shortages.
Based on this recurring pattern, researchers from Duke University predict a similar period of innovation could occur in coming decades.

"Researchers in other fields have previously used this model to predict earthquakes and other complex processes, including events like the boom and bust of the stock market during financial crises, but this is the first time it's been applied to water use," said Anthony Parolari, postdoctoral research associate in civil and environmental engineering at Duke, who led the new study.
"What the model shows us is that there will likely be a new phase of change in the global water supply system by the mid-21st century," Parolari said.

"This could take the form of a gradual move toward new policies that encourage a sustainable rate of water use, or it could be a technological advancement that provides a new source of water for us to tap into. There's a range of possibilities," he said.

Data on global water use shows we are currently in a period of relatively stagnant growth, he said.
Per-capita water use has been declining since 1980, largely due to improved efficiency measures and heightened public awareness of the importance of conserving Earth's limited supply of freshwater. This has helped offset the impacts of recent population growth.
"But if population growth trends continue, per-capita water use will have to decline even more sharply for there to be enough water to meet demand," Parolari said.
The world's population is projected to surge to 9.6 billion by 2050, up from an estimated 7 billion today.

"The model suggests we may reach a tipping point where efficiency measures are no longer sufficient and water scarcity either impacts population growth or pushes us to find new water supplies," Parolari said.
Water recycling, and finding new and better ways to remove salt from seawater, are among the more likely technological advances that could help alleviate or avoid future water shortages, he said.
The study was published in the journal Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water.