Global Scans · Water · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Global demand for fresh water is expected to outpace sustainable supply by 40% in 2030. Global water demand will climb in tandem with population and economic growth. At least two-thirds of the world's population will face 'water stress' by 2025 and the number of people affected by floods could increase by a factor of three by 2100 bring significant risk of unrest and conflict. The UN Security Council will have to declare water a strategic resource of humanity and adopt a resolution to protect water resources and installations. Organizations will be expected to play their part in conserving water.

• [New] Investor Note As environmental monitoring becomes mandatory, automatic sprinkler systems with built-in traceability and real-time water use reports will capture new funding, insurance, and incentive streams globally. Farmonaut
• [New] Global Scale Integration: Farms, cities, and foresters will use satellite-driven water management platforms for regional drought response and conservation programs. Farmonaut
• [New] The average residential customer using 4 Hcf of water a month can expect a total bill increase of about $7.24 per month in 2026. SavingAdvice.com Blog
• [New] Spending in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 will be driven by road network modernization (estimated at a cumulative USD 69 million), as well as energy, rural development, and water management projects. Coface
• [New] In 2026, astronauts will travel around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, powerful new space telescopes will prepare to survey billions of galaxies, and multiple nations will launch missions aimed at finding habitable worlds, water on the Moon and clues to how our solar system formed. The Conversation
• [New] From 2026 to 2029, construction output is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.8%, driven by major investment in transport, renewable energy, water systems, and sewage infrastructure. PharmiWeb.com
• [New] The global requirement for water for the development of AI will increase up to 4.2-6.6 billion cubic meters in 2027. Paradigm Shift
• [New] Automated irrigation controllers will remain a critical technology for climate resilience, cost saving, and scalable agriculture in 2026. Farmonaut
• [New] With the integration of AI and machine learning, automated irrigation will keep evolving, further enhancing precision, resource efficiency, and environmental stewardship in the face of climate change and global agricultural demands in 2026 and beyond. Farmonaut
• [New] Again, the risks of inaction have become clear - decline in water availability and increase in water pollution could put up to 9% of global GDP at risk. Forbes
• [New] England faces a shortfall of nearly 5 billion liters of water per day by 2050, which is over a third of the amount of water currently consumed by the public. The i Paper
• [New] $1.65 trillion of investments will be needed for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure from 2024-2033. Advisorpedia
• [New] If the Norwegian deployment delivers stable output at the promised efficiency, underwater desalination could move from pilot concept to a practical option for countries looking for new freshwater sources without expanding industrial infrastructure along already crowded coasts. News Flow
• [New] Prolonged drought and water scarcity: Water stress is expected to worsen in regions already facing shortages, including parts of Africa, the Mediterranean, the western United States, and South America. Voices.earth
• [New] In 2026, rapidly intensifying hurricanes in the Atlantic and Western Pacific oceans could leave coastal communities with little time to prepare, increasing damage from wind, flooding, and storm surge. Voices.earth
• [New] ENSO-neutral conditions, where neither La Nina nor El Nino dominates, are forecast to persist through late spring 2026, reducing the risk of pronounced drought or flood patterns tied strictly to La Nina dynamics. / USA eDairyNews-EN
• [New] Scrutiny of AI's energy and water consumption will continue to rise in 2026. IT Brief Australia
• [New] Flocean, a Norwegian engineering company, will launch the world's first commercial-scale subsea desalination plant at Mongstad in 2026, a breakthrough that could change how the world accesses freshwater. The Business Standard
• [New] In India and worldwide, agritech startups and research centers are deploying AI-driven decision-support systems that recommend crop inputs, predict disease outbreaks, and automate irrigation, all of which lead to higher yields and reduced input costs. AgriBazaar
• [New] Key Insight: In 2026, integrated process automation solutions are forecasted to reduce food production costs by up to 25% and cut water use by 37% via precision technologies. Farmonaut
• [New] Emerging water treatment technologies 2026 are not disruptive; instead, they are evolutionary. Water Treatment Supply

Last updated: 17 January 2026