Industrial Water Resource Management E-Book

Pradip K. Sengupta

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Challenges in Water Management Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 805

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Provides the tools that allow companies to understand the fundamental concepts of water resource management and to take proper action towards sustainable development Businesses, communities, and ecosystems everywhere depend on clean freshwater to survive and prosper. When the same source of water is shared for economic, social, and environmental causes it becomes the responsibility of every sector to develop a sustainable water strategy beneficial for all. This book offers a water resource management plan for industries that is directly implementable and consistent with the Water Framework Directives of different countries with a special emphasis on developing countries--a plan that is economically efficient, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable. Industrial Water Resource Management, Challenges and Opportunities for Efficient Water Stewardship offers explicit technical and investment solutions, socioeconomic and legal instruments, and recommendations for institutional restructuring. Written by a leading world expert in the field, it covers a wide range of topics including: * Source water assessment and protection * Water audit, industrial water footprint assessment--an evaluation of tools and methodologies * Corporate water disclosure methods and tools * Water stewardship by the industries * Stakeholder collaboration and engagement * New technologies enabling companies to better manage water resources Given the well-known challenge of managing natural resources in a way that maximizes and sustains social welfare, this book provides an invaluable point of reference for applied researchers and policy makers working in water resources management.

Leseprobe

Challenges in Water Management Series

Editor:Justin TaberhamIndependent Consultant and Environmental Advisor, London, UK

Other titles in the series:

Water Resources: A New Management ArchitectureMichael Norton, Sandra Ryan and Alexander Lane2017ISBN: 978‐1‐118‐79390‐9

Urban Water securityRobert C. Brears2017ISBN: 978‐1‐119‐13172‐4

INDUSTRIAL WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CORPORATE WATER STEWARDSHIP

PRADIP K. SENGUPTA

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Sengupta, Pradip K., 1946– author.Title: Industrial water resource management : challenges and opportunities for corporate water stewardship / Pradip K Sengupta.Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2017. | Series: Challenges in water management series | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2017012527 (print) | LCCN 2017027061 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119272472 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119272465 (epub) | ISBN 9781119272502 (cloth)Subjects: LCSH: Industrial water supply–Management.Classification: LCC TD353 (ebook) | LCC TD353 .S375 2017 (print) | DDC 363.6/1068–dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017012527

Cover Design: WileyCover Image: West Point Water Treatment Plant in Discovery Park, Seattle, USA, © 2016 King County.

To my children

Series Editor Foreword – Challenges in Water Management

The World Bank in 2014 noted:

Water is one of the most basic human needs. With impacts on agriculture, education, energy, health, gender equity, and livelihood, water management underlies the most basic development challenges. Water is under unprecedented pressures as growing populations and economies demand more of it. Practically every development challenge of the 21st century – food security, managing rapid urbanization, energy security, environmental protection, adapting to climate change – requires urgent attention to water resources management.

Yet already, groundwater is being depleted faster than it is being replenished, and worsening water quality degrades the environment and adds to costs. The pressures on water resources are expected to worsen because of climate change. There is ample evidence that climate change will increase hydrologic variability, resulting in extreme weather events such as droughts floods, and major storms. It will continue to have a profound impact on economies, health, lives, and livelihoods. The poorest people will suffer most.

It is clear there are numerous challenges in water management in the 21st century. In the 20th century, most elements of water management had their own distinct set of organisations, skill sets, preferred approaches and professionals. The overlying issue of industrial pollution of water resources was managed from a point source perspective.

However, it has become accepted that water management has to be seen from a holistic viewpoint and managed in an integrated manner. Our current key challenges include:

The impact of climate change on water management, its many facets and challenges – extreme weather, developing resilience, storm‐water management, future development, and risks to infrastructure

Implementing river basin/watershed/catchment management in a way that is effective and deliverable

Water management and food and energy security

The policy, legislation, and regulatory framework that is required to rise to these challenges

Social aspects of water management – equitable use and allocation of water resources, the potential for water wars, stakeholder engagement, valuing water and the ecosystems that depend upon it

This series highlights cutting‐edge material in the global water management sector from a practitioner as well as an academic viewpoint. The issues covered in this series are of critical interest to advanced‐level undergraduates and Masters students as well as industry, investors, and the media.

Justin Taberham, CEnvSeries Editorwww.justintaberham.com

Foreword

For all the technological marvels available today, the defining element of the Third Millennium as of date is, perhaps, crisis management. Nothing can be taken for granted anymore; all raw material extractions are carried out now under careful management plans to avoid future crises. Like the growing list of endangered animals, there is a growing list of dwindling resources; the latest entry into that endangered list is fresh water.

In January 2016, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki‐moon, convened an emergency meeting of nation states to focus on water crisis. He said, “Water is a precious resource, crucial to realising the sustainable development goals, which at their heart aim to eradicate poverty.” Freshwater resources of the planet Earth are put to enormous pressure by the mad rush for economic growth which, as is well known, started with the Industrial Revolution and had a free run for more than two hundred years. It is only in the last couple of decades that the word ‘development’ has undergone a metonymic transformation into ‘sustainable development’; as a consequence of which science and technology is now fully prepared to mitigate water crisis; but tragically, the preparedness is a typical instance in which the soul is willing but the flesh is weak: Science has identified parameters of water crisis and its reversal methods; technology has come up with innovative solutions; the only reason why the freshwater crisis continues to be a crisis is because it now rests upon what appears to be a lackadaisical response of industry and agriculture.

The term corporate water stewardship (CWS) has entered into the vocabulary of the corporate world. This is a clear demonstration that the corporate sector is aware of the water problem, but it invests only nominally in CWS initiatives. At a functional level, the corporate sector invests so much more in business expansion that the far from successful implementation of CWS it is aggravating water crisis. The lackadaisical response of the corporate world is enigmatic because CWS is specifically formulated to cater to all stakeholders: from a corporate bigwig contemplating water related business risks to a marginal farmer praying for rain. The obvious question, then, is to ask why despite being aware, and indeed a victim, of water crisis the corporate bigwigs do not invest meaningfully in CWS? In a world riven by money power, the obvious answer is that the corporate world is much too preoccupied with the profit curve to have any time or energy left for CWS. The obvious answer, however, may not be the correct one, no matter how fervently it is endorsed by suffering millions. A far more insightful answer would be that the corporate world is neither lackadaisical nor tight‐fisted about CWS. The most likely reason why the corporate world is shooting itself in the foot is because what it knows about CWS is declarative knowledge; the corporate world has no procedural knowledge of how to go about solving the water crisis. With all its good intentions, the corporate cannot solve the water crisis until it has a firsthand understanding of the problem. And, that firsthand understanding or procedural knowledge can only begin with reading up on what CWS aims to achieve and how.

This book, by my friend Pradip, will lead the reader step by step through the entire narrative of water crisis and its solutions. It is a comprehensive treatment that pans from basic elements of hydrology to various tools available for water resource assessment and delivery of water stewardship; clearly outlining at each step the long‐term benefits of CWS. The chapters are so designed that they can both be read sequentially or at random because each chapter is complete in itself. The reader is at liberty to choose which chapter to begin with, which is a degree of freedom few books will allow. To sum up the book in just one line, I would say this book makes Corporate Water Stewardship an achievable utopia.

Samaresh SanyalKolkata, India

Preface

The online edition of Merriam‐Webster dictionary defines the word ‘stewardship’ as ‘the activity or job of protecting and being responsible for something’. This goes a long way towards explaining the subject matter of this book, that is, the responsibility of the corporate world to society by way of water stewardship; which, in recent times, has become an essential part of corporate management termed corporate water stewardship (CSW).

In 1776, Adam Smith introduced the concept of the ‘invisible hand’ in his book The Wealth of Nations, which instantly became the driving force of industrialisation and capitalism. The philosophy propounds that every individual strives to make as much money as he can; he neither intends to promote public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it “he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was not a part of his intention. The fact that it was not a part of his intention does not always worsen the situation for the society. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good have been done by those who affected to trade for the public good” (italics mine). What Adam Smith could not have foreseen two and a half centuries ago is the ambivalence of rapid industrialisation, which is plainly visible now: Aside from accelerating modernization (see Chaplin’s Modern Times), the invisible hand is surreptitiously leading the world to unliveable conditions (which is hardly surprising, seeing that the maximum impetus to technological advancement came from the two World Wars and the Cold War that followed).

It is high time for the world to become aware of the water problem before the problem becomes irreversible. This book aims to promote such awareness, and I hope that my Muse will grant me such simplicity so that my readers can identify with the subject in hand and the book may acquire another status – not that of a polemic, nor of a mere source of topical reference but of turning it into a well‐described text with an attempt to present it to, and make it understood by large numbers of the public; that, then, is my priority in which simplicity of presentation is just as important as the idea of water stewardship vis‐à‐vis industrialization.

When I started my career as a hydro‐geologist in a state government department of India in the mid‐1970s, the concept that water is a ‘resource’, like gold, for instance, was incomprehensible to users; in my home state, West Bengal, water is quite abundant, by virtue of an average rainfall of more than 1500 mm per year and groundwater level close enough to the surface to make dug wells and tube wells affordable even to low‐income groups. The West Bengal landscape is dotted by huge waterbodies used for irrigation and fisheries. Most of the rivers are perennial and navigable in the rainy season. Availability of usable water was taken for granted, except in the relatively thinly populated western districts, which are chronically draught‐prone. The Gangetic alluvial plain is one of the richest aquifers in the world. During the 1970s, the government of West Bengal was implementing the ‘Minor Irrigation Policy’ by installing thousands of deep and shallow tube wells across the state. Groundwater was exploited as an apparently inexhaustible resource and was made available to small and marginal farmers at subsidised rates. It was a boon to the farmers. Needless to say, however, such good times do not last forever. By the end of the 1980s, the water problem was first noticed when arsenic in toxic concentrations was detected in the groundwater of eastern districts. It was also observed that groundwater levels had gone down in many areas, so opportunistically, many privately owned irrigation tube wells came up and farmers had to purchase water at a premium. This was the time when water started becoming an unorganised business sector not just in West Bengal but in India as a whole.

It was during these times of rising water problems that I visited some of the other states of India, some of which differed from West Bengal in terms of hydrogeological conditions and, therefore, water culture in general. The groundwater level in some states was so deep that heavy‐duty submersible pumps were required to lift water from low‐yielding aquifers. Those states are still suffering from a chronic shortage of water due to over‐extraction, erratic rainfall and poor aquifer storage. In my home state too, the hydrological scenario has changed rapidly under the pressure of the minor irrigation sector; aquifer levels went far below the centrifugal pumping limits pushing extraction costs beyond the affordability of small and marginal farmers, who constitute the vast majority of the agricultural sector. Heavy industry was not a big player in the water market at that time because their number in West Bengal was lower compared to other states. Heavy industries started exploring West Bengal prospects in the 1990s, and it was land, not water, which was the main hurdle. Resistance to industrialisation came mainly from small and marginal farmers who, as mentioned earlier, constitute the majority and depended almost solely on agriculture for livelihood; farmer resistance, therefore, had the support of the civil society. Consequently, industries were allotted land in non‐agricultural belts, that is in hard‐rock or laterite‐covered areas deficient in water. Though the land was made available, water scarcity of this land compelled industries to take appropriate measures to secure their water supply, which meant industries had to draw water from distal aquifers and rivers, which in turn, formed the lifeline of the agrarian population in the source region. It soon became clear that industries could take water for granted. Perforce, therefore, industrialists had to assure rural people that industries would not snatch their glass of water and, for a substantive assurance campaign, industrialists had to undertake a quantified assessment of water like any other valuable resource. Industry, agriculture and society thus became entwined in issues relating to water; the issues being over‐withdrawal, quality deterioration by contamination, and monopolisation of water sources.

In agriculture‐based economies of South and Southeast Asia, industrialisation collided head on with farming communities and domestic water consumption. What was once considered to be a boon now became a polarising force separating two fundamentally important economic sectors: agriculture and manufacturing. The only way to surmount, or at least mitigate the divisive force of water is informed management of water distribution, that is, water stewardship. With hindsight, it can be appreciated that the modified avatar of water was an inevitable consequence of the steam‐powered Industrial Revolution set in motion by colonising countries. Moreover, there is also the climate change set in motion by industrialisation, compounding the job of water stewardship.

The British Geological Survey document, Groundwater Information Sheet on The Impact of Industrial Activity (Water Aid, 2008) termed industries as an environmental pressure. It claims that industries draw much more water than they consume and are fraught with polluted effluent discharge to the environment. Untreated wastewater has the potential to cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem. As an instrument of economic development, industries need to act as facilitators of social wellbeing; this is a tough task, but it is crucial to sustainability. There are laws and enforcement machinery, however, to compel industries to move on the right track. In developed countries and also in some developing countries, there are stringent laws to compel industries to ensure pollution‐free discharge. But safeguarding the remaining water reserve is not enough. Usable water like any other geological resource is finite, but population growth is unbounded. Water stewardship is mandated to keep economic growth running apace with growing population.

The introductory chapter (Chapter 1) of this book provides an overview of the status of global water, how it is shared by different sectors of the society like domestic, agriculture and industry, and the various effects forced upon the ecosystem due to such sharing processes. The introduction also deals with other topics like why water is a critical business issue for companies and why water crisis is a risk to their operations and brands. The chapter also discusses how industries should manage water from an ethical standpoint and how water should be priced and evaluated. Pre‐war industries, and especially the war industries during World War II, operated without restraint; but now industries are facing social and political pressure to operate under regulating norms. Since manufacturing industries are major consumers of fresh water, it is incumbent upon them to foster green growth through water stewardship.

In Chapter 2 global trends of business are put into perspective against the backdrop of water crisis; that is, how business relates to global water crisis and how increased consumption leads to conflicts as a consequence of population growth; the impact of the ever‐increasing demand of water for industrial growth is also discussed. Also offered for discussion are examples of water‐related conflicts in different parts of the world. The unsustainability of the ‘business as usual’ model is compared with emerging paradigms that are attempting to redefine sustainable business practice. The United Nations agenda on sustainable development has also been discussed. Finally, the concept Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is introduced.

In Chapter 3 a simplified and very brief introduction to hydrology is provided for decision makers on water management. Fundamentals of the hydrological cycle and redistribution of water to various storages and flows are discussed in light of such hydrological terms as watershed, river basin, aquifer and so on. Focus has been given on activities at the interface of water with industry, society, ecology and water cycle. A brief discussion on soil‐water interaction is incorporated to help readers understand the concept of ‘green water’. This chapter also gives special emphasis to river basin–watershed interaction so that readers can appreciate the delicate balance between river basin dynamics, surface water resource and water withdrawal. Ground water being a major source of industrial water, methods of measurement of groundwater resource are discussed in detail.

In Chapter 4 water stewardship is explained. The methods of developing a corporate water strategy and how stakeholders can be involved in industrial water management are thoroughly discussed citing examples of various engagement policies. The role of global organisations that deal with corporate water stewardship and extend technical guidance to sustainable business has been emphasised. The issues, challenges and opportunities in water stewardship are highlighted, and global standard of corporate water stewardship is incorporated.

In Chapter 5 water framework laws or directives required for formulating policies of national water governance are discussed. While introducing the concepts of water framework and water policy, the social, environmental and political drivers of the concept are highlighted. Water framework and water governance of nine countries, both from the developed and developing world are discussed as case studies.

In Chapter 6 water quality and water pollution are discussed, with water quality standards of different countries in the first part of this chapter. Chemical and physical parameters of water quality and their major sources are listed and how those chemicals are potential hazards to human health and environment are appended in different tables. Water quality standards for human consumption and food‐beverage industries are listed. National guidelines on the drinking‐water quality of some countries are compared. Quality guidelines on intake water and effluent water that are followed in different countries are discussed. In the second part of this chapter, different aspects of water pollution caused by industries are discussed. Effects of industrial pollution on the social, environmental and economic environment that cause conflicts, loss of reputation and brand value of the industries are also discussed.

In Chapter 7 the methods of withdrawal of water from surface water and groundwater sources along with processes of drilling and developing tube wells are discussed. This is followed by a discussion on water conveyance systems and methods of water purification. Industrial methods of storing and distributing water are also discussed with special reference to EPANET 2.0 software.

In Chapter 8, different methods of source water assessment are dealt with. The reader will find here the different methods of quantitative assessment of both surface and groundwater resources of a drainage basin.

In Chapter 9, available tools for water accounting and disclosure are introduced. Methods of water profiling by industries are discussed, along with methods of calculating a ‘business water footprint’ and how it is useful in estimating corporate water sustainability. The chapter also discusses corporate water disclosure documents and sustainability assessments.

In Chapter 10 the focus is on water conservation which is discussed in terms of (a) water overuse from the point of view of benchmarking, (b) identification of water loss through water audit, (c) prevention of loss through leakage management by retrofitting, (d) water saving in agriculture‐based industries and (e) augmentation of water resources through rain‐water harvesting (RWH) and artificial groundwater recharge. The chapter explains the use of water auditing software developed by the American Water Works Association (AWWA).

In Chapter 11 corporate social responsibility in the field of water management is discussed with illustration from case studies of several industrial organisations.

Water stewardship is an emerging subject crying out for global attention. And the most effective way of drawing attention to the need for water stewardship is through citing examples from countries already affected or in the firing line of a water crisis. I have mostly used the internet (and some publications) as is the global practice, for fishing out illustrative examples, and I have also drawn from my own field experience.

Water stewardship, as a discipline, has not been well established in most of the countries where industrial development has made deep environmental footprints. Alarmists project industries as a scourge of freshwater resources (which may be partly true), but the larger truth is that corporate bodies are becoming increasingly more conscientious about the environmental sustainability of big business. More importantly, the national economy is buttressed by industries. And, industries generate employment in massive numbers, which makes industries a de facto agency for government’s employment‐generation plans. Reinforced by water stewardship, industries can be instrumental in achieving the green growth targets of a nation. I hope this book will guide industries and policy makers in that direction.

Pradip K. SenguptaKolkata, India

Acknowledgements

The formulation of this book proceeded with the delightful experience of a remarkable event: the birth of my first grandchild, Myra in the household of my daughter, Rai. The composition of a book can be correlated to the prolonged course of gestation that ultimately leads to the birth of a new entity.

A book cannot take the required shape of a ‘magic lantern’ without an immense incentive and stimulus from the outside. While I entered into an agreement with John Wiley & Sons, my friend Sibabrata Basu Roy presented me with a book on Industrial Water Resource Management that has provided inspiring guidance in fashioning the various sections of this book. A lot of inspiration and invaluable constructive criticism was offered by my son, Shinjan who, from the United States, extended all possible logistic help. This book would have never seen the light of day without the constant support of my friend Samaresh Sanyal who not only gave me friendly advice but also religiously revised the content of all the chapters with care and patience. I’m equally indebted to Ananya Sasaru, my young friend for editing the language of the text that greatly assisted in my project. I am also grateful to my friends Arunabha Das, Sandeep Gupta, Debasish Guha and Arijit Das, who provided me with various photographs, which were essential to frame the content of this book. I profited immensely due to the permission granted from individuals and organisations for using their original texts and diagrams in my book. In this context, I would like to humbly acknowledge Dr. K.V.S.G.Murali Krishna, Dr. V.V. Rao, Dr. Colin Mayfield, Dr. A.Y. Hoekstra, Eddy Leks, Joachim Baumgaertner and M. Owasis Khattak. The organisations that granted me permissions to use their material in my book are SD Knowledge Platform, CEO Water Mandate, Policy Quarterly, the American Water Works Association, World Meteorological Organisation, The United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, UNDP, TIDE, Leks & Co., Alliance for Water Stewardship, King County and Water Footprint Network. Their generous support has enormously facilitated the act of organizing this book. I must also mention in this connection that I reprinted a good amount of public domain materials from Wikimedia, the United States Geological Survey, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Environment Protection Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, the Government of Australia, India WRIS and HM Government of the United Kingdom. While writing this book I consulted many publications in both printed and digital media, which I have listed at the end of each chapter. I am also thankful to Justin Taberham, independent editor of this series who offered me the opportunity to write a book for John Wiley & Sons. I sincerely thank Ramya Raghavan, the editor at John Wiley & Sons who managed to spare her valuable time in commenting upon the drafts and earlier versions of the manuscript. In this adventuring process upon which I had been engaged for quite some time, I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout.

At this stage of life, when children are away from us, my wife deserved my attention which I could not pay while writing this book. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Shyamali, my wife for her overall support.

Pradip K. SenguptaKolkata, India

1Introduction

1.1 The context

In the closing years of the 20th century, big business had a rude awakening to the fact that its obsession with the profit curve was causing environmental crises, which was affecting the curve itself. Commenting on the results of CDP Global Water Report 2014 (CDP, 2014), CEO Paul Simpson says ‘The availability of water poses a strategic risk to a large and growing number of companies.’ Industries are facing competition in regions of water scarcity, and as a consequence public grievances are beginning to force cancellation of licences to operate. It has taken the shape of a global phenomenon because the underprivileged are becoming more and more aware of their right to water. Additionally, global warming (even though the underprivileged are not well informed on climate change) looms larger with time. In short, the profiteering tendency of big business is being directly challenged by (1) resource depletion, (2) non‐delivery of the social responsibilities, (3) management crises in the value chain (4) rising costs of water, (5) climate uncertainties, and (6) political and social pressure.

In the past, industries were considered in isolation, that is, as entities separated from the ecosphere although, in fact, industrial dynamics is dependent on information flow between the industry and its environs (Odongo, 2014) because they share common resources with other user sectors (see Figure 1.1). The underlying concept is simple: Industries depend on services provided by the ecosystem; consequently, an industrial system should be viewed as a subsystem that impacts the biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

Figure 1.1 Industry and agriculture, sharing the same resource.

Industries often act upon the idea that they are free to operate merely by complying with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and the water laws of the country in which they operate. But simply complying with guidelines is not enough to sustain a business, especially in areas known for water crisis (Aghababyan, 2006). Industry’s own way of fulfilling social responsibilities often fails to convince the people when both industry and people confront severe resource depletion. Given below is a case in India that has given rise to newer questions on water stewardship delivered by industries.

1.1.1 The story of Coca‐Cola in India

Mehdiganj near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh (India) is mainly an agricultural belt. In 2003, with temporary permission to operate with a production target of 20,000 crates per day, Coca‐Cola started its bottling plant, which increased its production to 36,000 crates per day by 2009 (India Resource Centre, 2014). In 1999, Mehdiganj was declared a safe category block1 by the Central Groundwater Authority. By 2004, after only a few years, it turned into a critical block in terms of the groundwater resource. A report published on 19 June 2014 states that (The Ecologist, 2014) in pursuance of a Supreme Court ruling the ‘local authority has passed an order to evict Coca‐Cola.’ The Coca‐Cola Company, however, has published documents in defence against the charges drawn against them (Coca‐Cola India, no date) claiming that the charges are nothing but myths and that they have abided by the laws and statutes.

The court verdict against Coca‐Cola is a clear demonstration that big corporate houses have to look beyond profiteering and proactively participate in broader catchment‐level resource management. Formulating or practicing their own policies and simply abiding by the terms of their legal licence will not suffice. Industries will lose the social licence (Lassonde, 2014) if resources begin to get endangered by their activities. The Mehdigunj case underscores the responsibility of multi‐national companies to respect societal needs alongside protecting shareholder’s interest (Sengupta, 2014). Goods produced to cater to the desires of the privileged class may have to confront questions such as how ethical it is to make use of scarce resources that are supremely essential for the larger underprivileged population for the sake of producing something, rendered non‐essential by another group. The difference between the concepts of ‘need’ and ‘want’ must be emphasised to the society. The derivative of this question is also equally important to manufacturers because consumers, of such products as are deemed non‐essential in the world at large, do not like to see their brand manufacturers falling foul of the law. The bottom line is a fundamental question: Can the corporate sector be allowed to secure their production requirements only on the basis of complying with local or national statutes? Clearly not, as exemplified in the aforesaid court verdict. Big business has to factor in safeguarding the rights of the underprivileged to remain in business.

Manufacturers are thus accordingly awakened to their responsibility to the two most powerful factors that have the power to affect business sustainability: (1) accountability to shareholders and consumers, who feel affronted if the manufacturer is punished by the court of law; and (2) preventing people from protesting in the area of their operation by following the law both in letter and spirit. In the context of water stewardship, for example in the beverage industry, manufacturers have to keep a keen eye on the water they are exporting from catchment vis‐à‐vis effectiveness of their replenishment plans so that the total water reserve is not irreversibly damaged or severely depleted. Manufacturers are trying to compensate withdrawal by providing rainwater harvesting installations to the community. The question is how these two are balanced. Herein rests the importance of source‐water assessment, which is vital to balancing resource extraction and input—a balancing act vital to avoid possible confrontation between business and society.

Coca‐Cola is merely one example; it is by no means unique. The corporate sector is facing popular resistance throughout the world. A few more examples are given in Box 1.1

BOX 1.1 Corporate‐society conflict over water

In July 2012, residents of Shifang in the southwestern province of Sichuan, China, protested against a proposed USD 1.64 billion molybdenum copper plant, fearing negative impact on the environment and their health. The protest turned violent, and 17 people were injured. Ultimately, local officials announced that the project would be halted (Economy, 2013).

In 2004, a Peruvian gold mine had to suspend its production due to people’s protest about their water concerns (Walton, 2016).

In 1999, the people of Cochabamba in Bolivia protested against privatisation of water in favour of industries, and the conflict led to violence (Otto and Böhm, 2006).