Water shortages are boiling over.
In the U.S. alone, the federal government just declared a water shortage on the Colorado River, and announced mandatory cutbacks. “The declaration of a shortage by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has been expected for months and was triggered by the spiraling decline of Lake Mead, which stores water used by Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico,” reports USA Today.
Orlando just declared a water shortage, with surging COVID cases.
“A surge in hospitalized patients in the state is creating ‘a regional shortage of liquid oxygen,’ the Orlando Utilities Commission announced. Liquid oxygen is also used to treat water, and its diversion to hospitals is straining the region’s water supplies. City officials are asking residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars to save water for COVID-19 patients,” reports CBS News.
In California, the drought is leading to higher water prices.
“It’s a ‘perfect storm of conditions’ for California’s water, with “worsening supply/demand imbalances, telltale signs of climate change, and a hesitancy by state officials to step up permanent solutions like conservation, water reuse, and desalination,” says Deane Dray, a managing director and multi-industry analyst at RBC Capital Market,” according to Barron’s.
In short, we have a nice little mess – one that we can also invest in with water ETFs, such as:
- First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW)
- The Guggenheim S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW)
- The PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio (PHO)