Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap: A Playbook

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Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap: A Playbook

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Water is increasingly recognized as a strategic driver of economic growth, security and employment. Yet, current investments and actions fall far short of what is needed, and poor water management remains one of the greatest sources of global inequality. New evaluations of the benefits of closing the infrastructure gap and the positive socioeconomic impacts of water investment presented in this paper are crucial to spur action. This paper shows that water infrastructure yields socio-economic returns significantly superior to those of comparable infrastructure sectors, including energy and digital technology.

The message is clear: investing in water is not merely a social obligation, but a high-multiplier economic strategy with long-term dividends for growth, stability and competitiveness. Besides the research done for this paper, progress in water science is accelerating. Advances in hydrology, freshwater ecology and data modelling now allow us to better understand how freshwater ecosystems function and to measure the benefits they provide to society. These advances strengthen our ability to assess human impacts on freshwater ecosystems across all scales and support more credible valuations of natural capital, thereby encouraging stronger action to protect and conserve water resources, especially for vulnerable communities. Rethinking the management of water resources is key to achieving global equity and inclusion.

Connecting billions to safe water and wastewater networks will demand substantial investment in new infrastructure, and a whole new attitude towards water from governments, industry and citizens. Education and behavioural change programmes can foster this culture of water resilience, a moral and economic imperative that will define our collective future.

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