The Stream, March 22: Closing World’s Water Deficit Could Cost $104 Billion Annually

On World Water Day, we look at:

Water Innovation
Hindustan Times features examples of grassroots water innovation in India. With 1.2 billion people, India is teeming with innovators and places to try out ingenious ideas in energy, water, banking, and health care, according to Fast Company. What makes a country ideal for innovation?

Israel could hit its renewable energy target for 2020 just by covering its 400 wastewater reservoirs with floating solar panels, an Israeli company says.

Water Scenarios
The world’s water deficit will grow to 200 billion cubic meters (53 trillion gallons) a year by 2050, according to a World Bank official. Closing this gap will be a significant challenge, costing $104 billion annually, The Daily News Egypt reported.

A dire drought in Mexico that has cost farmers about $1.18 billion in lost harvests is just a foretaste of the drier future facing the country, Reuters reported. Mexico’s water authority says it must invest around $24 billion by 2030 to modernize the country’s water infrastructure by fixing leaky pipes, expanding reservoirs and recycling municipal wastewater.

As they build more nuclear plants, China and India are eager to invest in potential uranium resources in Australia’s state of New South Wales, Bloomberg News reported. Would uranium mining trigger public concerns about water resources in the state, whose farmers are already up in arms over coal seam gas drilling?

Water Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that landowners can sue to void compliance orders issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to The Chicago Tribune, the decision sides with corporate groups and sharply curbs the federal government’s power to enforce the Clean Water Act.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.