BY GERI PELL
Clean water is, thankfully, something we all take for granted. But should we? More than a billion people across the globe do not have access to fresh, clean water, according to data from the World Health Organization. Water is a scarce resource, and the scarcity is expected to worsen as the global population grows and the developing world industrializes.
The issue is not only about the ability to quench one”™s thirst. According to the United Nations, access to safe drinking water can influence everything from human health and sanitation to biodiversity and access to education. Tragically, the U.N. also estimated that 6 million to 8 million people die each year as a result of water-related disasters and diseases.
Unfortunately, the problem is only accelerating. As the U.N. stated, “Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century, and, although there is no global water scarcity as such, an increasing number of regions are chronically short of water.”
If, as a global society, we continue on the current path with regard to water management, the World Bank cautions that we “will not be able to meet the great development challenges of the 21st century ”” access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all, livable cities, food security, energy security, jobs through economic growth and healthy ecosystems.”
What is being done?
Around the world, governments, nongovernment organizations, nonprofits and even for-profit companies recognize that the global water infrastructure must be improved in order to solve this looming crisis. They are banding together to invest in projects such as wastewater treatment, desalination and water reuse. Recycling water may sound strange but, according to the U.N., there is a need for cost-effective options for collection, treatment and disposal of human wastes. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of used water worldwide is not collected or treated.
Agriculture is the source of much of water demand, as is the energy industry. The U.N. has noted that a particular emphasis has to be placed on increasing the water use efficiency in energy production ”” essentially producing more kilowatt-hours per drop of water. There is also a pressing need for improved water sanitation infrastructure. This is true even here in the U.S., where our aging infrastructure is estimated to require billions of dollars in investment over the coming decades.
How can I get involved?
There are many publicly traded companies that are investing in sustainable methods of collecting, treating and delivering water efficiently. Indirectly, several large beverage companies use their corporate charitable foundations to deliver clean water solutions to communities around the globe. Companies more directly involved in the management of this valuable resource include those developing and selling water efficiency technologies such as meters, leak detection units or low flow technologies; others selling water-related infrastructure such as pipes, filters and rain water collection systems; or those developing new technologies, such as wastewater treatment or desalinization.
The critical need for clean water around the world makes it an area of potential opportunity for you as an investor. If the issue compels you to act, speak with an investment adviser who can help you identify companies or funds to invest in to improve the world”™s access to clean water.
Geri Pell is a private wealth adviser and CEO of Pell Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., with headquarters in Rye Brook and offices in Manhattan and Port Jervis. Contact her at geri.e.pell@ampf.com or 914-253-8800. Over the next few months, Pell will write a series of articles focusing on different areas of investments.
