Rich elites overconsuming water as poor left without access, research finds
People walk by a formerly sunken boat standing upright into the air with its stern buried in the mud along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Friday, January 27, 2023, near Boulder City, Nevada. A Native American tribe in Arizona has reached a deal with the US government not to use some of its Colorado River water rights in return for $150 million and funding for a pipeline project
RICH elites are overconsuming water for their own personal leisure and leaving poorer people without basic access in cities across the world, research has found.
The international team of researchers from Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands focused their study on Cape Town, South Africa, but found similar issues in 80 cities worldwide, including London.
It found that social inequalities are exacerbating urban water crises more than climate change or population growth, as the richest people use water for swimming pools, gardens and washing cars when others lack basic means.
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