Noted water expert Peter Gleick gave the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of IWA’s World Water Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada, in August. His message was that the options available mean there are grounds for optimism for a water-secure future – what he sees as a Third Age of Water.
“We’re in a crisis, threatening the health of the planet and, of course, our own health,” says water expert Peter Gleick. “It’s a crisis of our own making. It’s been developing for centuries, slowly and incrementally in different ways, in different places, in different forms. But it’s now reaching a crescendo. Coming together in more than just small local problems, but now including global climate change, ecological collapse, expanding economic and political failure, and widening conflict and violence.”
“A core part of this crisis are the challenges and threats associated with the planet’s hydrological cycle and with the freshwater resources on which we all depend,” he adds.
But the message that Gleick offers is not one of doom and gloom. Yes, there is great cause for concern as we look ahead, but there are grounds for optimism too. Humankind has tipped our exploitation of water onto an unsustainable path, but we can share and replicate alternatives to allow a change of course. This is his message. One that he has set out in detail in his recent book, The Three Ages of Water: Prehistoric Past, Imperiled Present, and a Hope for the Future, and which he shared with delegates at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition.
The First Age of Water
“The First Age of Water is the period from the very creation of the universe through the formation of our solar system, the Earth, the evolution of life – including our own species – and the development of the earliest societies and empires, and the role that water has played throughout that time,” Gleick continues. “Science tells us that the first hydrogen atoms were likely formed maybe minutes or maybe a few 1000 years after the Big Bang.
“We’re in a crisis, threatening the health of the planet and, of course, our own health”
“Oxygen took a bit longer. But when we had hydrogen and oxygen, we had water, and science tells us that water is ubiquitous throughout the universe. It also tells us that, without water, there would be no life.
“This is all part of the First Age of Water. The billions of years from the Big Bang to the formation of our planet, to the ultimate evolution of Homo sapiens, and ultimately the formation of the first empires and cultures on Earth.
“As early species of hominids – the family that includes our own – evolved in Africa millions of years ago, the presence and absence of water, and the variations of climate over time, were key to the success or failure of our ancestors. In these early years, human populations expanded from 1000s to the first millions, and then expanded from our ancient home in Africa across the globe to Egypt, to Mesopotamia, to the flood plains of the Indus Valley in Asia, to the great rivers of China, across to Australia, and, ultimately, to the vast rainforests, grasslands and savannas of the Americas.
“These early populations created writing and religion, invented agriculture, and formed the first empires that began to manipulate the world and their water around them, including the building of the first dams and aqueducts.
“Thousands and thousands of years ago, our ancestors invented intentional agriculture and intentional irrigation. They created the first water laws and institutions. And they fought the first wars over water.
“Ultimately, the First Age of Water came to an end when rising populations, expanding cities, and growing pressures on natural resources demanded that we forge a new relationship with water.
The Second Age of Water
“The answer to these challenges was found in the science, engineering, and cultural and philosophical blossoming of civilization that defines the Second Age of Water.
“This encompasses the hydrological marvels built by the ancient Greeks and Romans. They unlocked the biological, chemical and physical properties of water, and built the first dams of gigantic scale to hold back flood waters and store water for dry periods, produce reliable electricity, and essentially re-plumbed the entire planet. We learnt about germs and water-related diseases and their links to dirty water, and so we built the water treatment plants that provide safe water to our cities.
“If we fail to achieve a positive future for water, it won’t be because we can’t. It will be because we didn’t.”
“We learnt how to pump groundwater from deep underground so that farmers could grow food in places and at times that our ancestors were unable to do. The green revolution that we hear so much about was really a blue-green revolution. It was a revolution of irrigation technology as much as it was a revolution of agricultural technologies. Without irrigation water, we would not be able to feed the planet today.
Mounting concerns
“Modern civilization is built on the advances of the Second Age of Water, and we’ve benefited from those advances in countless ways. We mostly live longer, healthier lives. We’re mostly richer, economically, socially and culturally, and mostly we take much of that for granted. But we’re also now facing the unintended consequences of those advances.
“By the middle of the 20th century we started to see and understand the first evidence of nature loss due to our water strategies, policies and technologies. We started to see the rise of environmental problems as the Industrial Revolution expanded and as populations grew exponentially. We saw the World Wars and skyrocketing pressure on natural resources. Rivers and lakes were treated as a dumping ground for waste.
“Despite advances in water quality protections, serious water quality challenges remain. We have plastic pollution. We have algal outbreaks. We understand the causes of water-related diseases and how to prevent them, but they persist, including new illnesses associated with pollutants like mercury and lead, pesticides and complex mixes of industrial chemicals.
“Perhaps worst of all, we have failed to provide safe water and sanitation for everyone on the planet. Literally billions of people today still do not have access to something most of us, fortunately, are able to take for granted.”
Noting the water contamination that occurred in Flint, Michigan, in the USA, and the lack of access to water for some rural communities and for Native American and Canadian First Nations communities, Gleick adds: “This is not just a developing world problem. It’s a problem here in some of the richest parts of the world.
Work at his organisation, the Pacific Institute, includes tracking water conflicts worldwide. “Violence associated with competition and access to water has worsened,” says Gleick. “Peak water limits are being reached as rivers run dry, as aquifers are being depleted, as ecosystems are destroyed. As much as 30% of global food production today comes from unsustainable use of groundwater – groundwater that is pumped out faster than nature recharges it. We’re strip mining our forests and oceans. We’re driving uncounted species of plants and animals to extinction. Some of the worst ecological challenges that we face worldwide are a direct consequence of our water policies and our water strategies of the last century.
“Most worrisome of all for water resources and humanity is the threat of climate change, with accelerating impacts in every community and for every natural resource.
Time to transition
“The end of the Second Age of Water is a race between the growing risks of ecological collapse, massive economic inequality and political conflict, and the growing efforts to apply our hard-earned knowledge, experience and technologies to prevent global disaster.
“It’s time to acknowledge the benefits of the Second Age of Water and the need to make a transition to a Third Age of Water, where we address the growing failures surrounding us and make the technological and social transition to sustainability. That transition won’t be easy, but it’s both necessary and possible.
“Two paths lie before us. One to a dystopian future. The other to a positive, sustainable future. And just as we can imagine a disastrous future, we can also imagine and work toward a positive future – a future with a balance between humans and nature, growing equality and social cohesion, and healthy, stable societies. That’s the future I focus on in the Third Age of Water.
“I believe this positive vision is possible and achievable. In fact, I believe the transition to that positive future is already under way. We’re learning how to weave together a tapestry of technologies and actions to address the unresolved challenges of the Second Age of Water. This is what I call the Soft Path for Water.
“The Soft Path for Water asks us to rethink what we mean by water supply. Rethink the demand for water and how we manage our water resources. It teaches us to understand that water is an economic good and a human right.
“We need to protect water quality. We need to understand that ecosystems support us. We need to rethink our water institutions and expand community participation.
“We know how to provide safe water and sanitation to everyone on the planet. We know how to use water more efficiently and productively. Efficiency is the fastest, cheapest and best way to reduce pressure on water resources, cut our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
“We know how to clean up and reuse the most contaminated wastewater. We know how to desalinate water. We can produce fresh water from the oceans. It’s expensive, and it is energy and technology intensive, but we know how to do it.
“We’re learning how to restore and protect natural ecosystems that have suffered from our past abuse, including guaranteeing water for ecosystems and removing some of the most damaging dams and infrastructure that were put in place in the Second Age of Water.
A time to choose
“The coming years will determine how we choose to make this transition to the Third Age. Whether we slip down into that grim and dismal future or solve the crises that afflict us and make the shift to a sustainable, just and peaceful world.
“I’m convinced that a positive future is both possible and under way. I’ve worked with individuals and communities, companies and countries, to put in place solutions to our water problems. There are no insurmountable technological or economic roadblocks to a positive Third Age of Water. But whether we can overcome the political, social and cultural obstacles that remain depends on the choices that we make and how quickly we act.
“If we fail to achieve a positive future for water, it won’t be because we can’t. It will be because we didn’t. The hopeful vision for water that I offer here is achievable and reachable, and pieces of it are already apparent in innovative, successful water efforts around the world.
“That’s what all of us here at Congress are working for. And that’s a future worth fighting for!” •
Acknowledgments
This article is an edited version of the keynote given by Peter Gleick during the Opening Ceremony at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 11-15 August 2024, Toronto, Canada.
