The Future of Water: Comments on the June 2023 Oceanside Chat

In his recent book, The Past, Present and Future of Water, Peter Gleick explores the ways in which water has shaped the planet and influenced human civilizations. During his chat with a diverse audience of water professionals, he focused much of his attention on water’s future in light of the environmental and societal challenges that we face today. He pointed out that humanity is doing more with less water than was the case even 30 years ago, owing to both technological advances and an increased awareness of conserving a resource that has been too frequently overexploited. Peter also called our attention to the often-overlooked fact that water is an international, if not global, resource that has resulted in political conflicts throughout human history. A combination of international agreements and governmental policies functioning to provide potable water and adequate sanitation to everyone would be instrumental in reducing water’s politicization.

Peter also talked about his “soft path” to water management, which emphasizes decentralized facilities, efficient technologies and demand-side actions rather than focusing exclusively on centralized facilities, legacy technologies and supply-side solutions. The soft path creates fewer ecological and social impacts but requires cooperation among governments, industries, financial institutions and other stakeholders that have a history of operating independently to address water issues. He observed that many industries have become better stewards of the water they use, and those who have not done so are increasingly faced with risks to their earnings and reputations. Agriculture is an industry that is particularly crucial to humanity’s producing more (i.e., food) with less water as it represents the single largest user.

Although humans have become more efficient users of water, the combination of rapidly expanding global populations and escalating effects of climate change is putting even greater pressure on freshwater resources — in terms of both quantity and quality. Peter was asked a question about whether, given the inevitability of our dealing with the water-related impacts of climate change, adaptation has been underemphasized compared to mitigation and prevention. He noted that humans often adapt only when forced to do so by events that demand it. The alternative is a more proactive and strategic approach to adaptation. It is worth noting that climate change is, itself, a water cycle issue in terms of both its processes and consequences.