Water: The Challenge of the Century

With 74% of the planet projected to face water scarcity by 2100, SDG 6 of the 2030 Agenda calls on governments and businesses to rethink water management through a circular, efficient, and resilient approach.

A new study published in Nature Communications in September 2025 has issued an unprecedented warning: the world is entering the era of global water scarcity.
For the first time, researchers estimated when and where Day Zero Drought events could emerge. Periods during which water demand consistently exceeds natural availability due to global warming and human pressure.

According to the study, more than one-third of global regions may face these crises as early as 2030, affecting over 750 million people, especially in urban areas. By 2100, the figure could reach 74% of the Earth’s surface. The Mediterranean, southern Africa, and parts of Latin America are among the most vulnerable hotspots.

These figures confirm a clear trend: water is becoming the new frontier of global sustainability. Not only as a natural resource to safeguard, but as a strategic asset that must be managed in a circular, efficient, and resilient way.

SDG 6 and the urgency of action

Ten years ago, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) guiding the world toward a more equitable and planet-friendly future. Among them, Goal 6 — ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all — is one of the most fundamental, and today one of the most behind schedule.

Progress has been made: according to the latest WHO-UNICEF reports (late 2024), the share of the global population with access to safely managed drinking water rose from 68% in 2015 to 75% in 2024; access to adequate sanitation improved from 48% to 58%. But to meet the 2030 targets, the pace would need to be eight times faster for water and six times faster for sanitation.

Complicating this picture is the rapidly increasing risk of water scarcity highlighted by the Nature study, which shows that producing more water is no longer enough: it must be regenerated, reused, and valorised. In other words, the world needs a circular water economy, one that reduces waste, retains the value of the resource, and reintegrates it into natural and industrial cycles.

Cities under pressure

Cities are where the crisis manifests most acutely. Today, 718 million people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and 1.6 billion live without adequate sanitation. Rapid urbanization and climate change are straining water networks and drainage systems, while prolonged droughts are making supply increasingly unstable. The Nature study indicates that urban areas in emerging economies are among the most exposed to Day Zero Drought risks: water scarcity is no longer just an environmental issue but a matter of social, economic, and public-health resilience.

In this context, the reuse of treated wastewater and desalination technologies have become key tools for urban water security: they transform what was once waste into a new resource and support the transition toward more resilient, circular cities.

Water, energy, and food: a balance to rebuild

In its September 2025 report, the FAO highlights that mounting pressure on water resources increasingly affects agriculture, threatening food security and economic stability. Water is the thread connecting energy, agriculture, and the environment: managing it in an integrated way — through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus approach — is essential to securing prosperity and sustainability. The reuse of treated water, efficient resource management, and the design of resilient infrastructure are cornerstones of this balance: solutions that address scarcity not only through new sources but through new models of management.

Fisia Italimpianti’s Commitment to SDG 6

Drawing on its expertise in desalination and wastewater treatment, Fisia Italimpianti makes a concrete contribution to the goals of the 2030 Agenda. Its advanced technologies enable water to be recovered, reused, and valorised, reducing waste and strengthening the resilience of communities facing the climate crisis. 

A clear example of this approach is the Riachuelo System, delivered by Fisia Italimpianti and the Webuild Group with the support of the World Bank, which stands as a tangible and measurable response to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. It is the largest water treatment project in Latin America and the Caribbean: located in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, it improves the environmental quality of the river of the same name and the lives of over 4.3 million people, providing new sewerage access to 1.5 million residents.