Industry to play critical role in securing U.S. domestic freshwater supply, reveals Schneider Electric research at WEFTEC 2024

• More than a third of states already facing 'medium' to 'extremely high' water stress today
• Water stress expected to increase 9% on average across the US by 2050¹³
• Industry can increase water efficiency by up to 40% with automaton and digital technologies

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and industrial automation, has today released new analysis to highlight the pivotal role industry in the United States (US) has to play in safeguarding the country's freshwater reserves.

The new findings from Schneider Electric, TIME and Statista's most sustainable company in the world for 2024, were announced at WEFTEC 2024, North America's most comprehensive gathering of water quality professionals. The analysis – produced in conjunction with Bluefield Research – identified that more than a third (38%) of U.S. states are already facing 'medium to high' or 'extremely high' water stress in 2024. Water stress is expected to increase in 40 out of 50 states between now and 2050².

"It's encouraging that water availability and security are government priorities," said Aamir Paul, President of North America Operations at Schneider Electric. "As one of the largest users of freshwater resources, industry has a responsibility to adopt more circular water management practices to preserve reserves for the future." 

The latest analysis from Schneider Electric shows that the energy sector has the largest freshwater withdrawals across all industrial sectors, using nearly 52 billion gallons of water each day (BGD)³ – the equivalent to 78,788 Olympic pools of water^4. Today, the other sectors using several billion gallons of water per day (BGD) include Chemical & Pharma (3.9 BGD) ⁵, Pulp & Paper (3.5 BGD) ⁶, Food & Beverage (1.5 BGD) ⁷, Mining (1.6 BGD) ⁸, Semiconductor (0.2 BGD) ⁹, and Data Centers (0.2 BGD) ¹⁰.

Looking ahead to 2050, daily water withdrawals are expected to increase to 4.8 BGD in the Chemical & Pharma industry¹¹. Daily water withdrawals will also increase in the Food & Beverage (1.7 BGD) ¹², Data Centers (0.6 BGD) and Semiconductor (0.4 BGD) ¹³ industries by 2050.

The research goes on to highlight how, through the implementation of automation and digital technologies, industry can be more efficient in its water usage, adopting more circular water management practices to reduce water usage and minimize waste.

Schneider Electric helps its industrial customers reduce water usage through innovative solutions that leverage automation and advanced digital technologies. Through chemical usage optimization and enhanced data visibility, energy efficiency, and predictive maintenance, Schneider Electric empowers industrial companies to leverage smart decision-making and improved operational efficiency.

Additionally, Schneider Electric supports customers to harness water recirculation, including the recovery and reuse of treated water within industrial processes to minimize freshwater intake and reduce wastewater discharge. Its EcoStruxure™ Platform helps here by bringing data visibility from connected products and edge control to apps, analytics, and services to drive sustainability and streamline operations. Join us at the Schneider Electric WEFTEC Booth (Booth 4641) to discover the future of sustainable and digitized industrial water management.

Related resources:

Notes to Editor

¹More than a third (38%) of US states are already facing 'medium to high' or 'extremely high' water risk in 2024:

• 13 states 'medium to high' and 6 states 'high to extremely high' of 50 states.

² Water stress expected to increase in 40 out of 50 states between now and 2050:

• Percentage increases in the 'Water Stress Score per State' table below.

³ More than a third (38%) of US states are already facing 'medium to high' or 'extremely high' water risk in 2024:

• Usage percentages in the 'Water Usage per Industrial Sector' table below.

⁴ An Olympic swimming pool holds about 660,000 gallons of water:

• The number of pools = 52,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 660,000 gallons = 78,788 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

^5-13 Data is from Bluefield Research's North American Industrial Water Forecasts

• Daily usage calculated from Annual Water Usage in 'Water Usage per Industrial Sector' table below (e.g., 1,430,892 million gallons of water per year in 2024 for Chemicals ÷ 365 days / year = 3,920 million gallons per day or 3.9 billion gallons per day).

References for press release findings:

Water Usage per Industrial Sector:

Water Stress Score per State:

Source: World Resources Institute (WRI), Bluefield Research.

Water stress is defined as "an indicator of competition for water resources and is defined informally as the ratio of demand for water by human society divided by available water."

The 2050 projection used was World Resource Institute's baseline "business as usual" projection. The water stress scores per state are averaged across all the hydrologic basins in each state.

1.0 - 2.0: Low to Medium

2.0 - 3.0: Medium to High

3.0 - 4.0: High

4.0 - 5.0: Extremely High

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