The Stream, August 26: Coca Cola to Reach Its Water Replenishment Goal 5 Years Early

The Global Rundown

Heavy rainfall has caused a large sewage spill on one of Hawaii’s most famous beaches. A new analysis predicts water stress by country in 2040. Coca Cola will meet its goal of replacing a large portion of the water it uses for production five years early.

“All I can do is apologize to the public. This is unheard of. It’s unprecedented.” — Lori Kahikina, director of environmental services for the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, on the 500,000 gallon sewage spill that shut down Waikiki beach this week. (Reuters)

By The Numbers

500,000 gallons – Amount of sewage that spilled onto Honolulu’s Waikiki beach after an intense rainfall event Sunday night. A badly timed shutdown of a pumping station allowed the sewage to overflow from the city’s manholes and into the ocean. Officials have said the beach will be closed until at least Wednesday afternoon. Reuters

Science, Studies, And Reports

A new analysis carried out by the World Resources Institute predicts water stress for each nation by 2040, calculating an index for each decade between now and then. The Middle East is home to almost half of the 33 countries predicted to have ‘extremely high’ water stress by 2040. Thompson Reuters Foundation

On The Radar

Coca Cola is ahead of schedule to reach its goal of returning a volume of water equal to its final products to the environment and communities globally. In 2007, the company said that it would replenish 160 billion liters of water per year — a volume equivalent to its beverage sales — by 2020. However, the company now says they will meet this goal by the end of 2015. The company uses 300 billion liters of water each year to produce 160 billion liters of finished products. New York Times