This informal CPD article, ‘Why Water Risks Are Increasing — and What This Means for Organisations and Professionals’, was provided by Water Security Collective, a globally operating consultancy specialising in water risk assessment, strategy, and professional training.
Water risks are no longer a distant environmental concern. We now see water risks as a defining factor shaping economic stability, business continuity, and social resilience across the globe. On the positive side, the increasing scale of water-related challenges has led to the growing recognition that trying to fix just the “symptoms” is no working and that to find impactful solutions that build resilience, the underlying drivers of why these water risks are intensifying – and how they interact across systems – need to be understood.
For organisations and professionals alike, water risk has moved from a niche technical topic to a core strategic issue.
Water risks have been among the world’s most severe global threats for years
For much of the past decade, water crises have consistently ranked among the most impactful global risks identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Between 2015 and 2020, “water crises” repeatedly appeared in the top five global risks by impact, alongside geopolitical conflict and extreme weather (World Economic Forum, 2020).
Since 2021, the WEF has reframed its risk categories, embedding water more explicitly within broader environmental and systemic risks such as biodiversity loss, critical changes to Earth systems, and natural resource shortages. Five of these environmental and systemic risks remain firmly among the top 10 global threats expected to have the most future impact by 2035 in the most recent Global Risks Report (World Economic Forum, 2025).
According to WWF, approximately 17% of the global population and 10% of global GDP are already exposed to high water risk today. By 2050, this exposure could rise to 51% of the global population and 46% of global GDP if current trends continue (WWF, 2020).
Why water risks are increasing
Several structural pressures are driving the rapid escalation of water risks worldwide.
1. Rising Demand Meets Fragile Systems
Water demand is increasing sharply due to population growth, changing consumption patterns, urbanisation, and industrial expansion. Where infrastructure is insufficient, aging or underfunded, supply systems struggle to keep pace. Weak governance often leads to over-usage, over-abstraction and long-term depletion of water sources. Water stress isn’t just about the lack of physical water supplies – it’s much more about how infrastructure and governance can handle increasing pressures.
2. Escalating Water Pollution
At the same time, water pollution is intensifying in both volume and toxicity. Industrial development has introduced new and more harmful pollutants, while municipal wastewater systems often lack the capacity to treat even basic loads. Around 80% of wastewater globally is discharged into the environment without adequate treatment, contaminating rivers, lakes, and coastal ecosystems (UN-Water, 2017). In many countries, pollution control regulations exist on paper (if at all) but are weakly enforced even for “traditional” contaminants, while most countries are not equipped to handle emerging pollutants such as PFAS, microplastics, pesticides etc.
Pollutants such as PFAS
3. Floods and Droughts Have A Greater Impact Than Before
Floods and droughts are becoming more harmful as the systems meant to buffer them have been weakened. Deforestation, wetland destruction, river channelisation, and unplanned urban expansion have reduced the natural capacity of landscapes to absorb shocks. At the same time, housing and industrial developments are increasingly located in flood-prone areas due to land scarcity, dramatically increasing exposure and damage when extreme events occur
4. Climate Change Acts As A Risk Multiplier
Climate change is undeniably affecting water systems by altering precipitation patterns, increasing variability, and intensifying extremes. However, it is important to recognise that many of today’s water risks are the result of non-climatic factors.
Population growth, industrial development, land-use change, pollution, and governance failures have placed water systems under pressure long before climate change became a central concern. Climate change acts as a risk multiplier, reinforcing existing stresses and accelerating impacts rather than being the sole driver.
Understanding this distinction is important: Water risk cannot be addressed through climate action alone making integrated, system-level approaches essential.
Water risk are affecting businesses globally
Water risks are no longer abstract projections for businesses and arise both from an organisation’s dependence on water and from its impact on water systems. This is often referred to as “double materiality”
CDP reports that 69% of companies disclosing through its platform already experience water-related risks with substantive business impacts — including higher operating costs, production disruptions, supply chain interruptions, and constraints to growth (CDP, 2018).
Impacts are already reshaping decisions
The consequences of unmanaged water risk are now visible at the highest political levels. Several cities have already experienced or narrowly avoided “Day Zero” scenarios, including São Paulo, Cape Town, Montevideo, and Mexico City. In more extreme cases, capital cities are being relocated as water scarcity, subsidence, flooding, and infrastructure failure converge — as seen in Indonesia’s decision to move its capital away from Jakarta and Iran’s announcement to relocate its capital away from Teheran.
A Shift Toward Collective Action
Recognising the scale of the challenge, leading companies, governments, and institutions are increasingly collaborating to address water risks collectively. Initiatives such as the Water Resilience Coalition, led by global CEOs, aim to deliver net-positive water impact across stressed basins and build resilient value chains through shared action and investment. (CEO Water Mandate, 2024). The World Bank’s 2030 Water Resources Group brings together governments, corporates and civil society to jointly understand the underlying drivers of water risks and finding actionable solutions.
This shift reflects a growing understanding that no single stakeholder can address water risks alone. Effective solutions require systems thinking, basin-level coordination, and professionals who can bridge science, economics, governance, and strategy.
What this means for professionals
As water risks intensify, organizations are moving beyond high-level screening tools toward contextual, location-specific assessments that capture physical, infrastructure, and governance risks together. With this shift comes a growing demand for professionals who can interpret complexity, translate risk into decision-relevant insights, and support meaningful action.
Water risk is no longer about compliance or reporting alone. It is about resilience, value protection, and long-term viability — and the need for capable professionals who understand how water systems truly work has never been greater.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Water Security Collective, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
References:
- World Economic Forum (2020). The Global Risks Report 2020. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020/
- World Economic Forum (2025). Global Risks Report 2025. https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-risks-report-2025/
- WWF (2020). Water Risk Filter: Water Risk Scenarios. https://riskfilter.org/water/downloads/WWF_Water_Risk_Scenarios_2020.pdf
- UN-Water (2017). Wastewater: The Untapped Resource. https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/wastewater/
- CDP (2018). Global Water Report. https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/water-report-2018
- CEO Water Mandate (2024). Water Resilience Coalition. https://ceowatermandate.org/resilience/what-is-the-wrc/
