Water is becoming one of the most contested and fragile resources of our century. By 2050, up to 31% of the global population is expected to live in areas of high to extremely high water stress, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI). Meanwhile, the UN estimates that over 2 billion people already live in water-stressed regions today. In Belgium, one of Europe’s wealthiest countries, 80% of available water is used each year, placing it among the 25 most water-stressed nations globally.
These are no longer isolated or seasonal problems. They reflect a systemic vulnerability where water availability, ecosystem health, economic development, and climate risks are converging. However, while headlines tend to focus on extreme weather, droughts, or agriculture, there is one critical aspect that remains underexplored: the role of buildings.
Before diving deeper, it’s important to distinguish between terms that are often used interchangeably:
All definitions are based on UN-Water publications.
These concepts are interlinked but distinct. Understanding them in context is essential to developing strategies that are not only reactive but resilient and future-facing.
Photo: Valentin Bianchi/AP via KETR
The dominant conversation around water stress tends to focus on macro-scale systems: shrinking rivers, polluted aquifers, or climate-induced droughts. Discussions often zoom out to national or regional levels, using aggregate indicators such as total renewable water resources (TRWR) or river basins under stress. For example, UN data shows global water stress at a "manageable" 18.4% but this hides regional variation, with some river basins facing critical conditions despite national averages appearing safe.
Agriculture is rightly highlighted as the largest water consumer globally, responsible for around 70% of freshwater withdrawals. Urbanisation, industrial pollution, and erratic rainfall patterns are also central to policy discussions. However, these challenges are often framed as systemic or geopolitical leaving individuals and even institutions feeling disconnected from the problem, or powerless to contribute solutions.
What’s often overlooked is the role that buildings play not only in consuming water, but in how they manage, waste, or preserve it.
Despite their significant role in water consumption and waste, buildings are rarely part of mainstream discussions on water stress and security. The main focus remains on building energy efficiency while overlooking its water footprint.
Buildings are part of the problem, but they can also be part of the solution.
From schools and hospitals to offices and homes, buildings are where much of our daily water use occurs. In many cases, water losses in buildings are entirely preventable. Shayp’s analysis of over 5,000 buildings across Europe shows that 1 in 3 buildings leaks each year, with leaks accounting for more than 20% of total water usage on average.
These are not small quantities. Every litre of leaked water represents a drain on water infrastructure, energy, and treatment costs, not to mention environmental impact. Yet this area remains under-discussed in water policy.
Consider the case of Iris Sud Hospital in Brussels, a 520-bed facility with 24/7 emergency services consuming 80,000 m³ of water annually. Despite having daily monitoring of water metres and a ticket system for reporting leaks, the hospital lacked visibility into actual water losses. After implementing smart water monitoring across seven key metres in 2020, the hospital identified and addressed previously undetected leaks, saving €22,000 annually and achieving a return on investment in less than one year.
This example illustrates how even well-managed facilities with existing monitoring systems can have significant hidden water losses. For a single hospital, this represents enough water to supply dozens of households for an entire year, highlighting how building-level inefficiencies compound into a substantial strain on infrastructure.
So why don’t we hear more about buildings in water stress discussions?
One reason is that buildings are dispersed, decentralized units. Unlike major rivers or large-scale agriculture, their individual footprint seems small. Collectively, they add up to a significant share of urban water consumption and loss. Across the European Union, an average of 23% of treated water is lost during distribution due to leaks and inefficient infrastructure, with some cities experiencing losses exceeding 30%.
Another reason is that water in buildings is often treated as a utility cost and not an environmental issue. Electricity and carbon emissions have become central to sustainability roadmaps in real estate. Water still lags behind.
But this is changing. The European Commission estimates that technological improvements could boost water efficiency by nearly 40% in Europe. Buildings represent a powerful frontier for that transformation.
There are no one-size-fits-all answers to water stress. Yet we do have the tools and we can use data to make smarter decisions. Buildings and their water consumption can be monitored. Leaks can be detected in real time. Water can be reused on site, from greywater to rainwater. And better policies can incentivise these behaviours at scale.
Just as buildings have become key to reducing carbon emissions, they now need to become part of the water conversation. This is not just about consumption, but about protecting one of our most precious resources, especially in urban environments where rainfall is increasingly unpredictable.
Recognising buildings as active players in water stress opens up a new lens on how we design, manage, and future-proof our built environment. It’s time we start talking about it.
By Agnes Aasmaa, Marketing and Communication @ Shayp.