The dislocation of water assets and the market value of water resources continues to persist, not only in Australia but also across the globe. Per Credit Suisse: "the average price for water and wastewater is USD 2.06 per cubic meter, which falls well short of its true capital cost. Global Water Intelligence estimates that water tariffs need to increase by 5.9% every year to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030."
| less than a minute read
Water scarcity presents risk for investors, but opportunity too
commercial enterprises like mines and farms pay less for water on a per-kiloliter basis than households currently: A$2.11 ($1.42; €1.28) per KL for households compared with the average commercial spot price of A$0.71 per KL for 2019-20 so far.
The figures show that water-intensive commercial farming and mining operations are paying less than households, even in a one-in-100-year drought, and while there may be good reasons for that, it is reasonable to question how sustainable that is in the long term, economically or politically.
