History
The term “Water Positive” began to be used in the early 2000s in the construction industry, focused on the process of rainwater harvesting to minimize the consumption of fresh water. It emerged in light of the need to develop a collective definition of “zero impact buildings” that integrates the efficient use of resources such as energy, water, materials and land.
Subsequently, the concept expanded to other industries and entities given the global challenge of freshwater scarcity. It arises by analogy to the previous notion of “carbon neutral,” as a philosophy of sustainable management of the vital liquid to achieve a net positive impact.
Similar to the compensation of greenhouse gases (GHG), the idea behind water positive is to balance the water footprint by implementing process efficiency measures, water purification, aquifer recharge, ecosystem conservation, and other water compensation projects. It focuses on managing this critical resource in a way that organizations contribute more to global water sustainability than they extract from the environment.
Expansion of the concept
The concept of Water Positive emerged in the 2000s driven by the UN Millennium Development Goals related to access to drinking water and the need for industry to show sustainability in its production.
Beverage producers such as PepsiCo, The Coca Cola Company and AB InBev, among others, were pioneers in establishing water positive commitments for regions of water stress, investing in water efficiency and community projects. They set ambitious goals to reduce the water used per liter produced, becoming models for other industries.
With the Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN in 2015, and growing social pressure for companies to adopt environmentally sustainable practices, more companies from various industries publicly assumed the goal of being Water Positive between 2030 and 2050.
The rise in the commitment to this initiative is achieved after 2020, where leading companies such as Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, Nestlé, AB InBev, Levi’s, IKEA, Cargill, bp, Gap Inc., Colgate-Palmolive, Meta, Diageo, Starbucks, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Intel and Mars proposed drastically reducing their operational water consumption and compensating for it by implementing rainwater harvesting systems, water purification, reforestation projects, aquifer recharge, among other initiatives focused on watersheds with water stress.
Does water have value?
Yes, but it must be distributed correctly. The WWF report estimates that in 2021, the total quantifiable economic value derived from water amounted to approximately $58 billion, equivalent to the combined GDP of the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India. This represents about 60% of the global GDP in 2021. This initiative adheres to the golden rule of a regenerative economy, proposing to generate more water than is consumed in industrial production, which accounts for 90% of global water consumption. Hence, every product we use should make water more affordable for people, as outlined in SDG 6. It is the industry that has committed to this, which is very good news.
What we need to know about aquifers
How much water is there on, in, and above the Earth?
The Earth is a watery place. But just how much water exists on, in, and above our planet? About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water. Water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers, and even in you and your dog.
Water is never sitting still. Thanks to the water cycle, our planet’s water supply is constantly moving from one place to another and from one form to another. Things would get pretty stale without the water cycle!
All Earth's water in a bubble
The globe illustration shows blue spheres representing relative amounts of Earth’s water in comparison to the size of the Earth. Are you surprised that these water spheres look so small? They are only small in relation to the size of the Earth. This image attempts to show three dimensions, so each sphere represents “volume.” The volume of the largest sphere, representing all water on, in, and above the Earth, would be about 332,500,000 cubic miles (mi3) (1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers (km3)), and be about 860 miles (about 1,385 kilometers) in diameter.
The smaller sphere over Kentucky represents Earth’s liquid fresh water in groundwater, swamp water, rivers, and lakes. The volume of this sphere would be about 2,551,000 mi3 (10,633,450 km3) and form a sphere about 169.5 miles (272.8 kilometers) in diameter. Yes, all of this water is fresh water, which we all need every day, but much of it is deep in the ground, unavailable to humans.
Do you notice the “tiny” bubble over Atlanta, Georgia? That one represents fresh water in all the lakes and rivers on the planet. Most of the water people and life on earth need every day comes from these surface-water sources. The volume of this sphere is about 22,339 mi3 (93,113 km3). The diameter of this sphere is about 34.9 miles (56.2 kilometers). Yes, Lake Michigan looks way bigger than this sphere, but you have to try to imagine a bubble almost 35 miles high—whereas the average depth of Lake Michigan is less than 300 feet (91 meters).
Where is the Earth's Water?
Where is Earth’s water located?
For a detailed explanation of where Earth’s water is, look at the data table below. Notice how of the world’s total water supply of about 332.5 million mi3 of water, over 96 percent is saline. Of total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground. Rivers are the source of most of the fresh surface water people use, but they only constitute about 509 mi3 (2,120 km3), about 1/10,000th of one percent of total water.
One estimate of global water distribution
Freshwater Sources in the Water Footprint
The main sources of fresh water that make up the water footprint of a product or service are:
- Rainwater used in crops. A large part of the water needed by crops comes from rainfall. This water evaporates from the fields and is considered part of the water footprint.
- Surface water from rivers, lakes and streams used for irrigation. In many cases, water from rivers and reservoirs is used to irrigate crops, which also contributes to the water footprint.
- Underground water extracted through wells and used in agriculture or industry. Pumping of aquifers for agricultural or industrial use is another major source of water footprint.
- Purified Water. Regenerated water from wastewater treatment or desalinated water from sea water can also be important sources of freshwater contributing to the water footprint. These non-conventional sources are increasingly used in agriculture, industry, and human supply.
Water in the Atmosphere: A Crucial Constant Flow for Life
The Earth’s atmosphere contains around 12,900 km3 of water in the form of vapor, clouds and precipitation. This amount, although small compared to the amount of water in the oceans, is vital for the global climate and the water cycle that sustains life.
On a daily basis, this atmospheric water volume gets renewed thanks to evaporation and subsequent condensation and precipitation. According to data from the World Meteorological Organization, an average of 500 billion tons of rain fall each day around the world, equivalent to 500 km3.
It’s difficult to estimate a global average for snow precipitation, but it’s calculated that the heaviest snowfalls occur in the cold polar regions and on the crests of mountains. The snow and ice accumulated in glaciers and polar ice caps amounts to around 29 million km3.
To get an idea of the daily amount of global rainfall, if we gathered those 500 km3 of water into a giant sphere, it would have a diameter of approximately 47 km. This is the amount of freshwater that nature provides us in a renewable form, and it is the water we should aim to utilize, since as we have seen, the water in aquifers is not a renewable resource. The naturally renewable water flowing through the atmosphere and water cycle each day allows for human usage and ecosystem replenishment. However, we must be careful not to exploit non-renewable groundwater resources, which accumulate very slowly over time. Implementing responsible water management practices will allow us to sustainably access life-giving water by tapping into nature’s constant atmospheric provision while conserving precious stores under the surface. The key lies in aligning our freshwater use with the recurring rhythm of evaporation, cloud formation, and rainfall circulating ceaselessly around the globe.
As we have seen in the presented values of the water footprint, the Water in the atmosphere is a crucial part of the water cycle.
In short, even if it doesn’t seem like it, the water surrounding us in the atmosphere, condensed into clouds, falling as rain and snow, is essential for life to develop on the planet. Its incessant movement and transformation mark the pulse of our fragile global ecosystem.
The Delicate Balance Between the Natural Water Cycle and the Growing Human Water Footprint
The natural hydrological cycle provides us with a renewable source of freshwater through evaporation and subsequent precipitation in the form of rain and snow. According to WMO data, 500 billion tons of rain fall each day (500 km3), and although snow is difficult to estimate, we know that large volumes accumulate in the poles and glaciers. The atmosphere contains around 12,900 km3 of water, which, although a small fraction of the planet’s total, is essential for distributing and renewing it. Although we will not discuss this topic now, this balance is affected by climate change, but it is relatively constant, so we should understand that the fresh water provided by the hydrological cycle will not be enough for the growing water footprint of production and population growth.
Meanwhile, the growing human population demands an enormous and increasing amount of freshwater. The estimated total daily water footprint is 25.000 million m3 (25 km3) United Nations. (2022). United Nations World Water Development Report 2022: Groundwater: Making the invisible visible. UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Paris, UNESCO. Much of this water footprint comes from the extraction of groundwater from wells and aquifers. This is worrying because unlike rain, these waters take a long time to renew.
Currently, a sustainable way we can increase the renewable supply of working in parallel with the hydrological cycle is through Multi-Barrier Purification Processes as desalination and regeneration of wastewater. While these sources generate only 0.25km3 per day, they have great potential to relieve pressure on non-renewable resources. This water sphere would have a diameter of approximately 0.78 km.
In conclusion, it is crucial that we learn to sustainably harness the limited but renewable resource that atmospheric rainwater constitutes and reduce our dependence on groundwater from the water table and aquifers underground, y como podemos ver la regeneracion de agua a travez de la purificación sostenible a travez de agua de mar, wastewater o agua disponible en la naturaleza no potable, es una fuente de agua renovable que debe ser la primera opcion ante el uso de agua de pozo. Si la huella hídrica de la humanidad se debe a impcato amropogenico, es lógico que el mismo hombre mediante tecnologia compense este impacto ambiental