# Water

Fresh water is the material people move most: about 3,855 km³ withdrawn in 2022, 71% for farming, scarce where demand concentrates.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/

Water · No. 1

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 743 · unconcentrated
 Water · Foundation · Matter

India pulls more fresh water from the ground and rivers than any other nation: about 648 cubic kilometres in 2022.

Chart: Illustration: Water

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Water comes from rivers, reservoirs and aquifers, and a little from desalinated seawater or recycled wastewater. Desalination is under 1% of what the world withdraws.

##### Three things to know

1. Desalination still provides under 1% of global withdrawals, yet it supplies about 3.5% in the Middle East and North Africa.
2. A cubic metre of water weighs a tonne, so moving it far is costly and almost every water market stays local.
3. Turning seawater into drinking water by reverse osmosis takes about 4 kWh per cubic metre, roughly 20 times conventional treatment.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Rain and snow**Feeds rivers, lakes, aquifers and glaciers
2. 2 **Abstraction**Dams, canals, tube wells and desalination plants
3. 3 **Treatment**Cleaned to farm, factory or drinking standard
4. 4 **Delivery**Canals, pipes and tankers to users
5. 5 **Return**Wastewater treated, reused or sent back
 Covered in [What makes something a commodityCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/what-is-a-commodity/)[From ground to marketCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/from-ground-to-market/)[Reserves, stocks and depletionCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/reserves-stocks-depletion/)[Criticality and geopoliticsCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/criticality-and-geopolitics/)[The chemical industry: what it makes and how it is organisedChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/chem-industry-map/)[How a chemical process works: reactions, separations, catalysts and flowsheetsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/how-chemical-processes-work/)and 26 more

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/links/index.md)