New push on water scarcity accounting
Calpers, the California public employees pension fund, has called for US corporations to improve their reporting of the business risks posed by climate change-related water-scarcity.
Anne Stausboll, the recently-appointed chief executive of Calpers, on Thursday welcomed a new report that calls on companies to measure their water “footprint” in the way that some are now meauring their greenhouse gas impact, and to take steps to address and measure potential risks.
“Some companies are becoming transparent about reporting on water, but the marjority are not reporting on water risk,” she said. “We think this report is a really important step in highlighting” the issue.
The report, produced by the Pacific Institute and funded by Ceres, a group backed by investor and environmental groups, argues that many companies, from energy producers to clothing and computer brans, are failing to account for their dependence on raw materials whose costs can be affected by water shortages and political decisions.
It cites the example of Dell and Hewlett-Packard, which it says fail to acknowlege their exposure to water risk in regulatory filings, despite the heavy consumption of water in the manufacturing of semi-conductors.
In the garment industry, it argues that no companies are properly assessing the dependence of cotton production on heavy use of irrigation, and highlights the costto water suppliers posed by the recent boom in the exploitation of Canadian tar sands.
Several Wall Street research firms have also issued reports in recent months highlighting water risk, with a JP Morgan analyst saying in March last yeat that “these risks are difficult for investors to assess, due both to poor information about the underlying supply conditions and to fragmentary or inadequate reporting by individual companies.”
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Source: Financial Times
South Korea: Nakdong Reservoirs Running Dry
March 3, 2009 by Editor
Filed under World's Water
The Korea Water Resources Corporation’s inadequate water management is contributing to a water shortage in the Nakdong River. According to analysis of data the Chosun Ilbo obtained with the help of Grand National Party lawmaker Yoon Young, five multi-purpose dams along the Nakdong River can supply 560 million tons of water, including expected rainfalls, until June 20 when the rainy season begins. But the actual amount residents and facilities along the river need is as much as 730 million tons, indicating a crisis in the making even if water is used sparingly.
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According to the corporation’s own regulations, when dams are short of water, it is necessary to reduce supply needed for the maintenance of the eco-systems at streams first; then for irrigation; and finally for people and industrial use.
Dr. Park Ki-wook of the Rural Research Institute said, “Unless we have more rain than in previous years, we will experience shortage of irrigation water from April. Then the southern regions will suffer severe crop damage, and the damage will become worse in May.”
Dr. Kim Sung of the Korea Institute of Construction Technology said, “The basic principle of dam management is to store maximum amounts of water in dams for the three months of the flood season from June 20 to Sept. 20 and to supply water for various purposes for the remaining nine months. But it is doubtful if the corporation has followed the principle.”
Analysis of data on the corporation’s website shows that the five dams stored only 94 million tons of water, about 9 percent of 1,159 million tons that had flown into the reservoirs, during three rainy season last year. The corporation discharged the remaining 91 percent of water under the pretext of flood control.
From 2003 to 2007, the corporation stored 20 to 30 percent of the water that had flown into the reservoirs. But it drastically reduced water storage last year, when there was less rain. The Hapcheon and Namgang dams then discharged about 100 million tons of their stored water. The corporation said, “In case of Namgang Dam, we needed to hastily discharge large amounts of water as we expected torrential downpours last summer.”
Experts say the Nakdong River water shortage is the combined result of long-term drought and the corporation’s careless water management.
Source: Chosun
5th World Water Forum to Address Planet’s Water Concerns
March 3, 2009 by Editor
Filed under Water Saving Solutions
Chicago, USA (UAE Daily News): The 5th World Water Forum, the world’s largest water-related event, will convene in Istanbul, Turkey, March 16-22, 2009, to push the worldwide water crisis onto the international agenda. Held every three years, the Forum gathers parties from every horizon to find sustainable solutions to the world’s water challenges.
With more than 3,000 participating organizations and over 10,000 attendees, this year’s Forum will include international heads of state, United Nations representatives, ministers, parliamentarians, local authorities and other government officials, as well as water professionals, activists and other interested parties. During this year’s Forum, the United Nations’ World Water Development Report will be unveiled giving insight into freshwater resources.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, two-thirds of the planet will live in water-stressed conditions by 2025 if present consumption patterns continue. “The ultimate goal of the 5th World Water Forum Istanbul 2009 is to motivate action to improve the world’s management of water resources,” says Prof. Dr. Oktay Tabasaran, the Forum’s secretary-general. “This can only be done by raising awareness of the importance of water-related issues. However, global awareness must be followed by actions such as legislation and funding, which are promoted through the Forum.”
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Source: UAE Daily News
Parched China to slash water consumption by 60%
March 2, 2009 by Editor
Filed under World's Water
As rivers run dry and fields turn to dust, China has announced dramatic plans to cut water use by industry and agriculture.
Water resources minister Chen Lei said it would cut the amount of water needed to produce each dollar of GDP by 60% by 2020. With the economy on course to grow by 60% by then, that effectively means it wants to consume no more water then than today.
The announcement suggests that the government has finally decided that it cannot rely on “supply-side” solutions to water shortages, like the $60-billion south-north water transfer scheme, which is aimed at watering the arid north with water from the giant Yangtze river in the south.
It comes after China’s worst drought in half a century, and increased water shortages caused by industrial pollution that makes river water unfit for drinking, even after treatment.
Official statistics show the country’s urban supply systems and irrigation networks currently lack, on average, 40 cubic kilometres of water a year – not much less than the entire flow of the Yellow River.
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Source: NewScientist
Link Between Climate Change & Water Scarcity
March 2, 2009 by Editor
Filed under World's Water
Global climate change is exacerbating water scarcity problems around the world, yet few businesses and investors are paying attention to this growing financial threat, according to the report Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses and Investors issued by Ceres and the Pacific Institute.
Water drives every industry from agriculture to electric power to silicon chip manufacturing. Beverage, apparel and tourism also rely on supplies of clean, potable water.
Decreasing water availability, declining water quality, and growing water demand are creating immense challenges to businesses and investors who have historically taken clean, reliable and inexpensive water for granted. These trends are causing decreases in companies’ water allotments for manufacturing, shifts towards full-cost water pricing, more stringent water quality regulations and increased public scrutiny of corporate water practices.
Climate change will exacerbate these growing water risks – especially as the world population grows by 50 million people every year. Already, China, India and the western U.S. are seeing growth limited by reduced water supplies from shrinking glaciers and melting snowcaps that sustain key rivers.
Meanwhile, agricultural and power plant production have been cut back due to more frequent and more intense heat waves and droughts in large parts of Australia, California and the southeast U.S.
“The business community needs to wake up to the reality that water is becoming scarcer and will likely become even more so in many parts of the world due to climate change,” says Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres.”
“For businesses, addressing risk factors of water scarcity and conflict is as urgent as addressing energy security and greenhouse gas emissions,” says Jason Morrison, program director at the Pacific Institute and the report’s lead author.
The report identifies water-related risks specific to 8 key industries, including:
- Electric Power: Drought-induced water shortages have already caused power plant shutdowns in Europe, Brazil and the southeast U.S. that led to price spikes and reduced economic growth. The power industry depends heavily on water and accounts for a staggering 39% of freshwater withdrawals in the U.S.
- High-Tech: 11 of the world’s 14 largest semiconductor factories are in the Asia-Pacific region, where water scarcity risks are especially severe. IT firms require vast amounts of ultra clean water – Intel and Texas Instruments alone used 11 billion gallons to make silicon chips in 2007. A water-related shutdown at a fabrication facility operated by these firms could result in $100-$200 million in missed revenue during a quarter, or $0.02 or $0.04 per share.
- Beverage: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo bottlers lost their operating licenses in parts of India due to water shortages and all major beverage firms are facing stiff public opposition to new bottling plants – and to buying bottled drinking water altogether. Nestlé Waters has been fighting for five years, for example, to build the country’s largest bottling plant in McCloud, CA.
- Agriculture: Reduced water availability is already impacting food commodity prices, as shown by last year’s sharp increase in global rice prices triggered by a drought-induced collapse of rice production in Australia. Roughly 70% of the water used globally is for agriculture, with as much as 90% in developing countries where populations are growing fastest.
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Source: Sustainable Business
Water Scarcity: Hidden Risks to Business
If there weren’t enough for businesses to worry about these days, here is another threat: water scarcity. Companies in industries from technology to agriculture to apparel are vulnerable to the risks posed by a falling supply of available water, according to a report released Feb. 26 by the Boston-based investor coalition Ceres and the Oakland (Calif.)-based Pacific Institute.
Decreasing water availability, declining water quality, and increasing water demand are creating major new challenges for businesses and investors who have historically taken clean cheap water for granted, says the report. It warns of water shortages in many areas of the world in the coming decades and urges companies and investors to examine business’s exposure to water scarcity risks to prevent them from eating into revenues and harming corporate reputations.
“This report makes clear that companies and investors can no longer take water for granted,” says Anne Stausboll, chief executive of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest U.S. public pension fund, with approximately $170 billion in assets. CalPERS is a member of Ceres. “For many years, CalPERS has advocated for corporate disclosure of environmental risks, and it’s clear that this disclosure must include water-related risks and opportunities.”
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Source: BusinessWeek
California Faces Water Rationing, Governor Proclaims Drought Emergency
February 27, 2009 by Editor
Filed under The Southwest
SACRAMENTO, California, February 27, 2009 (ENS) – Parched California is a step closer to mandatory water rationing today as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency and ordered all government agencies to implement the state’s emergency plan and provide help for people, communities and businesses impacted by the third consecutive year of drought.
“This drought is having a devastating impact on our people, our communities, our economy and our environment – making today’s action absolutely necessary,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California’s water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state.”
The governor’s order directs that by March 30, the Department of Water Resources will provide an updated report on the state’s drought conditions and water availability.
If the emergency conditions have not eased, the governor said he could start mandatory water rationing and mandatory reductions in water use.
Schwarzenegger said he could order reoperation of major reservoirs in the state to minimize impacts of the drought. He also could provide additional regulatory relief or permit streamlining as allowed under the Emergency Services Act.
The governor called for a statewide water conservation campaign and asked all urban water users to immediately reduce their individual water use by 20 percent. He asked all Californians to reduce their water use as much as possible.
“Even with the recent rainfall, California faces its third consecutive year of drought and we must prepare for the worst – a fourth, fifth or even sixth year of drought,” he said. “Last year we experienced the driest spring and summer on record and storage in the state’s reservoir system is near historic lows.”
The DWR and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are ordered to recommend, within 30 days, measures to reduce the economic impacts of the drought, including water transfers, through-Delta emergency transfers, water conservation measures, efficient irrigation practices, and improvements to the California Irrigation Management Information System.
Low water in Littlerock Reservoir, Littlerock, California (Photo by David Steele)
The drought conditions and water restrictions are causing additional devastating economic and business losses. Agricultural revenue losses exceed $300 million to date and could exceed $2 billion in the coming season, with a total economic loss of nearly $3 billion in 2009.
In his proclamation, Governor Schwarzenegger directs the Department of Water Resources to expedite water transfers and related efforts by water users and suppliers.
The governor also directs the DWR to implement short-term efforts to protect water quality or water supply, such as the installation of temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or temporary water supply connections.
He asks the state water agency to offer technical assistance to agricultural water suppliers and agricultural water users and provide information on managing water supplies to minimize economic impacts and implementing efficient water management practices.
He asks local, state and federal agencies to immediately implement a water use reduction plan and take immediate water conservation actions.
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Source: Environment News Service
Water conservation bill gets House OK
February 26, 2009 by Editor
Filed under Water Saving Solutions
ST. GEORGE – Pushing to make water conservation and efficiency more of a priority, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill designed to protect the world’s most precious resource.
The Water-Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act, passed on a voice vote in the U.S. House on Wednesday, authorizes $100 million over five years to create a research and development program on water-use efficiency and conservation within the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
“Many experts are starting to see water as the ‘new oil’ in terms of what a precious commodity it is,” Matheson said in a statement Tuesday. “The key to avoiding future scarcity is more efficient use, reuse and distribution. We need the best minds tackling the challenge, and then we need to ensure the information is readily available to the public.”
For arid western states such as Utah, water conservation has always been a hot topic, and the region’s rate of population growth portends more obstacles to come.
“Fast-growing urban areas in arid or drought-stricken regions are looking at water shortages unless we get smarter about using technology to be more efficient,” Matheson said. “It will also save money.”
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Source: The Spectrum
Federal water supply may be cut off from California
February 25, 2009 by Editor
Filed under The Southwest
Federal water managers say they might have to cut off water supplies to some of California’s largest farms, thanks to the state’s severe drought.
This would be the first time in more than 15 years such a move was taken. The state predicts a loss of more than $1 billion and an elimination of as many as 40,000 jobs if this takes place.
The Western Growers Association says as of December 2008, the drought has cost California’s agriculture industry more than $308 million. Local city leaders say the Central Coast water supply is OK, but across the state it is a different story.
“Well, it’s the lifeblood of agriculture. We irrigate virtually all of our crops with water,” said Richard Quandt, president of the Grower-Shipper Association.
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Source: MSNBC
Will mega-pipeline fix water problems or ruin Central Florida
February 25, 2009 by Editor
Filed under The Southeast
Imagine 15 or 30 years from now, turning on your kitchen faucet. A few drops dribble into the sink, then the water stops. It’s gone.
That’s what could happen without a large-scale plan to supply water to Central Floridians, DeLand Public Services Director Keith Riger said.
A couple of years ago, the St. Johns River Water Management District said Central Florida could not rely on the Floridan Aquifer as a source of drinking water beyond 2013.
Utilities would have to find alternatives to deep wells drilled to draw water from the aquifer far below.
Riger, along with Robert Thielhelm for the City of Mount Dora and Ray Sharp for the City of Leesburg, wrote a paper proposing a solution.
It calls for using Coquina Coast, a proposed ocean-water desalinization plant off Flagler County, along with water plants proposed on the St. Johns River and the Lower Ocklawaha River. These new water sources would be connected by a vast 500-mile pipeline crisscrossing Central Florida, to take water where it’s needed.
The three-city consortium will make a presentation on the project to the Water Authority of Volusia technical advisory committee at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 27, at the WAV Conference Room at 2570 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach.
The authors explained the plan to the Lake County Water Alliance at a Leesburg meeting Feb. 12. Alliance members said they want more input from other elected boards before making any decision.
The water-transmission pipeline in still in the conceptual stages.
The pipeline would carry water produced at the Yankee Lake and Taylor Creek plants on the St. Johns River in Seminole County, and water drawn from the Lower Ocklawaha River, in addition to any plant built on the river at DeLand.
The overall cost? More than $1 billion, perhaps several billion. Hence the necessity to pool resources.
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Source: Beacon Online
