Industries Using The Most Water

Water is indeed a priced commodity. It is needed to sustain lives, to clean every household and establishment, to water the plants, to feed the animals to fuel industries. There is no question that water can be found in every corner of the planet. However, due to rampant pollution, climate change and the overuse or misuse of it, there is already a growing scarcity over the Earth. To address this issue, it is vital to analyze how water is used and how much water is withdrawn from the different storage basins of the world. In this way, water management can be efficiently done.

 

            From the different sectors that utilize water, the industry sector leads the way. There are millions of industries around the globe and whatever that company is producing; water is definitely an indispensable ingredient. For instance, in recent researches it has been found that it takes more than 270 gallons of water to come up with a $1 worth of sugar, 200 gallons of water to produce $1 worth of dog and cat food and 140 gallons of water to produce $1 worth of milk. These values are only representative of the many different factories using water. Water use is also relative since different industries may or may not be really concerned with water conservation

 

            There are two means of water withdrawals, either directly or indirectly. Surprisingly, indirect withdrawals account for 60%. In this virtual water use, the beverage industry tops the list with 30% of withdrawals. Furthermore, 96% of sectors use water indirectly in their supply chains than directly. In terms of direct utilization, the agriculture and power generation sector are the industries that use the most water with 90%. This is used to supply the world with farm fresh products such as fruits, vegetable, rice and wheat.

 

            The use of water has also increases over the years. For instance, the power industry increased its consumption by 500% from 1950 to 2000. The irrigation for farms has escalated water use by 50%. This is due to the increasing population of the planet.

 

            Another interesting point is the distribution of industrial water use with 59% for high income countries while 8% for the low income countries. It is also alarming to know that about 300 to 500 million tons of contaminants like toxic sludge, heavy metals and solvents go into the water supply. In Industrial countries, 70% of factory wastes are dumped into untreated water, thus polluting the potable water. As such, EPA has set rules for industries regarding water safety.