Most municipalities use water once, then "flush and forget"! In fact, almost all municipalities in Alberta put more water back into the rivers and streams than they take out! Unfortunately it's usually not quite as clean as it was when they took it out! Municipalities need to have ways to purify and recycle water, instead of flushing it and sending downstream for some other municipality to worry about!
Some areas of the world are experiencing devastating drought. Places like California have relied on yearly snowpacks to replenish their reservoirs, when they could have developed a huge sea water desalination and purification system. The Pacific Ocean is right there! Now the seasonal precipitation are not coming and they're in huge strife! Our society has spent most of its efforts on refining, purifying, and transporting petroleum products and ignored the water supplies.
I think water will become the new oil. After all, there are alternatives coming along to replace oil, but there is no replacement for water!
