Cities across the world are rapidly expanding — by 2050 2.5 billion more people are expected to live in cities — and the demand for clean and safe water is only growing.

Despite the fact that demands are rising, we’re continuing to waste and/or contaminate our available resources. Globally, we are losing an average of 30% of all pumped fresh water — and cities are losing up to 60% of all pumped water due to poor water networks. At the same time, a total of 80% of all wastewater returns to nature without being properly treated.

The concept of water scarcity is nothing new to Mexico City. The city seems to be quite accustomed to shortages, importing 40% of its water from distant sources. At the same time, due to pipe network issues, the city loses 40% of its pumped water — and on top of that, there is no large-scale operation for recycling wastewater. Intelligent water solutions can reduce losses like this dramatically.

The water infrastructure of many cities is old and deteriorating and simply not equipped to deal with this rate of rapid growth. Business-as-usual will lead to a 40% gap between freshwater supply and demand by 2030.

We can already see many large cities around the world approaching Day Zero, meaning these cities – London, Miami, Beijing, Mexico City, Cape Town to name a few – are at risk of running out of drinking water. To overcome these global water challenges, the right water management solutions for water use and reuse are critical. And the right mindset is integral for us to make any lasting changes.

Learn more from Grundfos and how together, we can solve the world’s water and climate challenges!