LOS ANGELES, July 9 — The figure that matters: 2 billion. That is the number of people globally affected by water scarcity, according to the United Nations. By 2040, the World Resources Institute projects that one in four children will live in areas of extremely high water stress.
The bottom line is that a market already valued at $281.6 billion in 2020 is racing to close a gap that threatens both human health and economic stability. Three technologies dominate the response: desalination, wastewater recycling, and atmospheric water generation.
Desalination capacity had already reached 95 million cubic meters per day by 2020. Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair plant, the world’s largest, produces 1.025 million cubic meters daily. Israel’s Sorek plant, operational since 2013, produces 624,000 cubic meters per day.
California’s Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which opened in 2015, produces 189,000 cubic meters per day. Investors will note that these are not pilot projects — they are industrial-scale infrastructure already in operation.
Wastewater recycling has advanced further in some regions than others. Singapore’s NEWater program, operational since 2003, now provides up to 40% of the nation’s water needs. In California, Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System, expanded in 2015, produces 130 million gallons per day.
These systems treat used water to a standard that allows it to be returned to the groundwater supply or used directly for industrial purposes. Atmospheric water generation is a newer entrant. Watergen, founded in 2009, produces devices that extract moisture from air.
The technology is less mature than desalination or recycling, but it addresses a niche that the other two cannot: water supply in locations without access to seawater or wastewater infrastructure. The global water and wastewater treatment market was valued at $281.6 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $474.4 billion by 2028, according to industry data.
That growth trajectory reflects both rising demand and the capital intensity of the solutions. Desalination plants require billion-dollar investments. Recycling systems demand extensive pipeline and treatment infrastructure.
Atmospheric generators, while cheaper per unit, have limited scale. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ensure universal access to safe drinking water by 2030.
That target is now four years away. The gap between current capacity and the goal remains substantial. What to watch next: the pace of desalination capacity expansion in water-stressed regions, particularly the Middle East and the American Southwest.
Also worth tracking: whether atmospheric water generation can scale beyond its current niche, and whether recycling programs modeled on Singapore’s NEWater approach gain traction in other major urban centers. The market numbers suggest capital is flowing in. The question is whether it is flowing fast enough.
