The very large Ogallala aquifer in the American mid-west is under severe stress. The Great Lakes, the largest repository of freshwater in the world, are losing water and have suffered considerable pollution and contamination. Mexico, once rich in water, has become dry because of the destruction of old systems, and is sinking because of extensive groundwater-extraction.

Big corporations, sensing profits in the emerging water scarcity, are moving in (Suez, Vivendi, RWE-Thames, Bechtel, the soft-drinks giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, and so on), and are trying to obtain control over the world's water resources. The growth of the global water lords and the emergence of water cartels make frightening reading.