Developing the greatest Blue Economy: Water productivity, fresh water depletion, and virtual water trade in the Great Lakes basin

Abstract

The Great Lakes basin hosts the world's most abundant surface fresh water reserve. Historically an industrial and natural resource powerhouse, the region has suffered economic stagnation in recent decades. Meanwhile, growing water resource scarcity around the world is creating pressure on water-intensive human activities. This situation creates the potential for the Great Lakes region to sustainably utilize its relative water wealth for economic benefit. We combine economic production and trade datasets with water consumption data and models of surface water depletion in the region. We find that, on average, the current economy does not create significant impacts on surface waters, but there is some risk that unregulated large water uses can create environmental flow impacts if they are developed in the wrong locations. Water uses drawing on deep groundwater or the Great Lakes themselves are unlikely to create a significant depletion, and discharge of groundwater withdrawals to surface waters offsets most surface water depletion. This relative abundance of surface water means that science-based management of large water uses to avoid accidentally creating "hotspots" is likely to be successful in avoiding future impacts, even if water use is significantly increased. Commercial water uses are the most productive, with thermoelectric, mining, and agricultural water uses in the lowest tier of water productivity. Surprisingly for such a water-abundant economy, the region is a net importer of water-derived goods and services. This, combined with the abundance of surface water, suggests that the region's water-based economy has room to grow in the 21st century.

Decoupling Analysis of Water Footprint and Economic Growth: A Case Study of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region from 2004 to 2017

“…Secondly, local government departments should implement the reasonable tiered water price according to the monthly water consumption on the premise of fully considering the total amount of water resources and the level of economic development in different regions [52,57,58,59], so as to raise residents’ awareness of water conservation. Thirdly, while ensuring the export of domestic products, the import of water-intensive products should be appropriately increased to alleviate the pressure of regional water shortage in certain years [53,61,62].…”

Global virtual water trade and the hydrological cycle: patterns, drivers, and socio-environmental impacts

“…(Mayer et al 2016), Yellow River basin (Feng et al 2012), and major aquifers of the US(Marston et al 2015) have been evaluated. These are examples of VWT studies at the watershed scale that provide information at a scale that is meaningful for water resources managers.5.2.…”

When is water withdrawal data enough?

“…Many municipalities withdraw from groundwater stocks and return treated wastewater to surface waters 30 ( Figure 1b). As an example, Mayer et al (2016) found that municipalities and industries in the Great Lakes region have a netnegative consumptive use of in-channel surface water on average (with important exceptions), because on average these users withdraw from groundwater and return to surface waters. Many thermoelectric power plants and industrial users are characterized by large withdrawals from surface water stocks followed by return of lower-quality water (Figure 1c), raising the issue of "grey" water footprints (Hoekstra et al, 2011).…”