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Contributed by Waterless Co., Inc. 

The western half of the United States has experienced severe drought conditions for several years. However, while 2022 is starting out as a “wet” year, our problems are from over.

According to Klaus Reichardt, CEO and founder of Waterless Co Inc., “long-term, most water experts predict parts of the country will have chronic water scarcity issues for decades to come."

But, unnoticed to most of us, water scarcity has produced a silver lining, concludes a study released by Pennsylvania State University on Jan. 10, 2022. According to the researchers, companies that use large amounts of water, for instance, in manufacturing, are becoming much more water efficient.

Water efficiency refers to long-term water reduction, often by eliminating water waste. Plus, they are releasing lower amounts of toxic emissions into wastewater, which typically end up waterways, potentially harming marine life and vegetation.

“Most of the prior research has been focused on how companies are negatively affecting the environment,” says Suvrat Dhanorkar, one of the researchers.

“We flipped that around to see how companies [are responding] to climate change. We found that water scarcity can induce manufacturing facilities…to improve their environmental performance by lowering toxic releases into water.”

The study involved more than 3,000 manufacturing facilities in Texas from 2000 to 2016.Texas was selected because the state has many manufacturing facilities but frequently suffers from long-term dry periods resulting in water scarcity.

According to Reichardt, this research is one of many indicating how some industries are becoming not only more water-efficient due to water scarcity but are reducing their impact on the environment. 

“Fortunately, when it comes to water, new technologies and innovation are helping us reduce water consumption, many times dramatically, all of which benefits our planet.”

For related content on ensuring water safety when re-opening facilities, click here.