Industrial products, like life itself, also have a water footprint. Nearly every manufactured good requires water for at least some phases of the production process: the extraction of the raw materials, processing of intermediate products (e.g., steel), manufacturing, transport, its use and maintenance, and finally its disposal or reuse. Water may be used directly in the industrial process, or indirectly through pollution (e.g., runoff from mine tailings).
Manufacturing
Water management associated with the industrial manufacturing processes, include efficiency, conservation, reuse, and treatment or filtration of the water that has been used. By investing time and resources into finding ways to use less water to produce the same products, and to return good quality water back to the environment, manufacturing industries are acting "responsibly" and ethically. For example, the Intel Corporation uses a small fraction of the water it previously needed to manufacture computer chips, as a result of R&D efforts in the manufacturing process.
Extractive Industries
A second category of industrial water ethics relates to the water impacts from extracting oil, gas, and minerals. The water extracted from the aquifer underlying the Black Mesa coal mine on Hopi and Navajo lands in Arizona constitutes incurs environmental and social costs from the direct consumption of water as water pollution from the mine tailings. The issue of extractive industry impacts has been especially contentious in the context of Indigenous Peoples' rights. The indigenous rights advocacy organization, Tebtebba, has drawn international attention to the impacts of extractive industries on Indigenous Peoples, a topic which is also addressed in the webpage on Indigenous Water Justice. While it is important to recognize the unique ways that Indigenous Peoples are affected in particular, through oil and gas development and mining, contamination of water impacts everyone in the vicinity. The practice of extracting coal deposits through mountain-top removal in the Southeastern United States has destroyed huge sections of land, disrupted communites, and endangered the health of poor "white" Americans. Disenfranchised communities, whether considered indigenous or not, are at risk from suffering disproportionately from extractive processes. The ethical issues blend environmental and social ethics and need to be countered through an alliance of social and environmental advocates. A recent conference organized by Tebtebba resulted in the "Manila Declaration" of Indigenous Peoples' rights relating to extractive industries. (See Resources section below for details)