We're using water faster than nature can replenish it

Water scarcity is becoming one of the most pressing challenges of our time. While the planet has the same amount of water it always had, we're using it faster than natural systems can replenish it, and climate change is making water cycles more unpredictable.

Nearly half the world's population already experiences severe water scarcity for at least one month each year. Meanwhile, aging infrastructure loses billions of gallons through leaks, and 2 billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water at home. Agriculture consumes 70% of global freshwater, often inefficiently, while extreme weather events — both floods and droughts — are becoming more frequent and severe.

This isn't just about inconvenience. Water stress drives conflict, forces migration, threatens food security, and holds back economic development. The technologies in this category work to stretch our water supplies further, deliver clean water more efficiently, and help communities adapt to an increasingly unpredictable water future.

Aquifers that took thousands of years to fill are being drained in decades. Rivers run dry before reaching the sea. Groundwater levels drop year after year as we pump faster than rainfall and snowmelt can refill underground reserves.

This overdraft is happening everywhere from California's Central Valley to India's Punjab region. Once these water sources are depleted, communities face a stark choice: find new sources, use less, or abandon the area entirely.