Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Solving the Global Water Challenge
Milken InstituteDiane Regas, Christine Cioffe, Monica Ellis, Robert MacLean, Seth Siegel, Gary White
- By 2025, the UN projects two-thirds of the global population will inhabit water-stressed areas, driving fiercer competition for resources needed for food, energy, and housing as prosperity increases.
- Over the next decade, public-private partnerships are expected to prioritize investment in emerging markets as the dominant consumer block, utilizing recurring revenue models to sustain these efforts.
- Without intelligent adaptation, local water shortages are predicted to escalate into higher food prices, social instability, and immigration pressures that could fundamentally alter international defense architectures within 10 to 20 years.
- Infrastructure challenges include the necessity for rate increases (potentially 5-10%), pipe replacement, and asset hardening against weather variability and unprecedented floods, though a 5% pipe replacement rate may face regulatory opposition.
- Long-term conservation behaviors observed during droughts are anticipated to persist, reducing pressure on future development and shifting societal attitudes toward recycling, reuse, and storm water capture.
- Financing barriers for the 2.5 billion lacking sanitation and 660 million without improved water supplies are being addressed by commercial finance models targeting the base of the pyramid, such as a fund projecting access for 100,000 people per billion invested.
- The Water Capital fund, closed at $11 million, offers investors a targeted 2% annual dividend and principal return over seven years, aiming to replace charity with sustainable loan portfolios.
- Establishing real water prices is predicted to trigger extraordinary innovation similar to the internet, with technologies like direct drip irrigation, water-efficient varietals, and biofuels from salt-tolerant plants becoming key solutions.
- Desalination is expected to become cost-competitive with regular water in Southern California within three to five years, contingent on coupling the process with renewable energy to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and brine disposal impacts.
- Large-scale water transfer between regions is deemed unlikely due to political resistance and the enormous energy footprint required, which could exacerbate climate change.
- Market forces and corporate engagement are expected to drive the monetization of water value, shifting perceptions from cheapness to cost burdens, while utilities continue to innovate without compromising safety.