“Chiara, are you seriously still carrying around that same full water bottle from this morning?... You can’t seriously not be drinking anything!”
Mattea raises an eyebrow, wearing that unmistakable expression that says she’s scolding me — lovingly, of course.
“Come on, I swear I’ve been drinking!” I reply with a cheeky smile, trying to look innocent.
“I’ve had plenty — today I’m already at 3,496 liters. I’m really making an effort!”
Mattea stares at me, eyes wide. “Chiara, 3,496 liters? You’ve lost it! You’re kidding, right?”
“No, no,” I say, stepping back and raising my hands as if to defend myself.
“I’ve had all the water hidden in the food I’ve eaten! You know our average daily water consumption is exactly that - when you add up everything we eat: the meat, the veggies, the nuts, the bread, the pasta... My water footprint is huge, even if I don’t notice it.”
Mattea pauses for a moment, staring at me in disbelief — then bursts out laughing:
“Okay, Chiara, if it makes you feel better to think you drink 3.496 liters a day, I’ll let it slide. But now please drink the actual glass of water that’s been sitting in front of you since this morning!”
And so, as I chuckle to myself, I’m reminded that our water consumption is something incredibly invisible - and yet absolutely essential.
And no, I’m not just talking about the water we drink, but the water that’s hidden in every single thing we eat, wear, or use. Unfortunately, it's becoming a global issue.
And that’s exactly what I’d like to talk to you about today.
Water: Why It’s a Global Issue Imagine this: by 2030, global water demand could exceed supply by 40% (Source: Summary Progress Update 2021 – SDG 6: Water and Sanitation for All, United Nations). And this isn’t just a challenge for developing countries - it affects us all. To understand the importance of proper water resource management, we need to look at the climate shifts we’ve experienced in recent years. Extreme temperatures and declining rainfall have led to a sharp rise in drought events, directly disrupting natural hydrological cycles.
This makes it harder for crucial sources like snowpacks, glaciers, aquifers, and lakes to replenish themselves. On top of the climate crisis, the global population has quadrupled in the last century, with projections reaching 10 billion people by 2050. This means a constant increase in the demand for natural resources - including water, which is steadily decreasing. It’s a reality that calls for urgent, conscious action. That’s why we’re taking a moment to pause, reflect, and ask ourselves: can we really make a difference?
“We still haven’t managed to convey the urgency of the issue. The water crisis is advancing, and no real action is being taken to address it.”
- Andrea Rinaldo, Professor of Hydrology and Hydraulic Constructions at the University of Padua and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), winner of the 2023 Stockholm Water Prize - the ‘Nobel Prize for Water’
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When it comes to sectors, agriculture alone accounts for 70% of global water consumption (Source: FAO). Let’s not forget industry, which uses another 20%, and finally, the remaining 10% comes from all of us - through domestic water use in our daily lives.
Question: Are we really doing everything we can to reduce our water consumption, perhaps by choosing foods and products that help save water? Is there a simple solution we can adopt in our daily lives? Sometimes, we don’t realize just how much hidden water we’re actually using. For example, producing 1 kg of meat requires over 15,000 liters of water, and only 3% of that comes directly from surface and groundwater sources! That’s like taking a really long shower. And not a short one either… we’re talking at least 25 minutes under running water!
Source: Mekonnen, M.M., Hoekstra, A.Y. The Green, Blue and Grey Water Footprint of Farm Animals and Animal Products. Value of Water Research Report Series No. 48, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands, 2010.
Back to Mattea’s scolding, maybe she’s right. I really am dehydrating! And let’s be honest: I don’t think I’m the only one. Thirst only kicks in when we’ve already lost 1% of our body’s water, and even if we drink right away, it takes 20 minutes before that water actually has an effect.
So in the meantime, our brain tricks us into thinking everything’s fine, but really… we’re already late. The next World Water Day, on March 22, 2025, reminds us that the planet is thirsty too, and we can’t afford to ignore it any longer.
I’ll leave you with a timeless classic. I’m sure you’ll end up singing at the top of your lungs.
The legendary Lucio!
“Blue water,
clear water
With my hands,
I can finally drink.”
See you soon,
Chiara Pontoni
Sustainability Manager at Gesteco