In case you weren’t aware, much of the southwestern United States has been in a drought for the past two-plus decades. And the situation is getting more and more dire by the day.

According to an article in The Washington Post, a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change shows just how bad it is.

I’ll give you a hint: it’s really bad. As in the driest period of the past 1,200 years bad. Here’s more from the Post:

“The double whammy of searing heat and persistent drought in recent years reflects the steady increase in global temperatures brought on by the burning of fossil fuels. The authors attribute 19 percent of the severe 2021 drought, and 42 percent of the extended drought since the 21st century began, to human-caused climate change.”

Earlier this week, my colleague Nathan Slaughter wrote about some of the ways you can invest in water – or water infrastructure, to be specific. As usual, his timing couldn’t have been better. (I highly suggest you go back and read that piece for more background, as well as ideas to invest.)

But Nathan isn’t the only one of our analysts who has his sights set on water. In fact, my colleague Jimmy Butts talked about water in his annual report of investment predictions for 2022…

Prediction: The “Sleeper” Investment of 2022 Will Be… Water

Here’s a bit of what he had to say…

Few Americans realize what a luxury it is to turn on the faucet for a glass of clear, clean, cool water.

But not everyone is so lucky… even folks in America.

You might recall the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, that surfaced in 2014. Over 100,000 residents were potentially exposed to high levels of lead in the drinking water.

Then there was the water crisis in California… thanks to a prolonged drought, the state announced its first-ever mandatory water restrictions. And that doesn’t even touch on the fact the state has its own problem of getting clean, safe drinking water to hundreds of thousands of its residents.

And this is only a couple of isolated examples in the United States. You look at this from a global perspective and it’s easy to see that water — arguably our most valuable commodity — is an important topic for every single country in the world.

Believe it or not, more than one billion people each day don’t get enough water to drink, bathe, or wash clothes.

Water is a critical resource that will see billions of dollars getting poured into it, and companies that serve this industry will be in high demand for years to come.

No matter how you look at it, the water shortage is going to get worse before it gets better. Especially when you consider the Southwest —millions of people are pouring into this region. Whether they’re coming for warmer climates, high-paying jobs, or lower taxes, they’re coming. And right now, there just isn’t enough fresh water to support all of that growth.

_{Lake Oroville, CA – Source: California Department of Parks and Recreation}

That’s why we think “blue gold” will be one of the best investments of the coming decade.

It might sound a little strange at first. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Remember learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in school? Physiological needs sits right at the bottom of the pyramid. And water is certainly a physiological need. It’s the foundation.

You can’t have human growth and flourishing or prosperity without it.

That means we’re going to need to get more creative and industrious about how we get water, conserve it, and get it to people who need it.

For that reason, we think rising water prices will make fortunes for investors who position themselves accordingly.

Nathan gave readers a few ideas to profit in his article. Water utilities are another option. But these utilities are highly-regulated, and will likely only offer utility-like returns to investors.

That’s not what we’re shooting for with our investment predictions report. Instead, we like a little-known company that started buying up water rights years ago in Nevada and Arizona. The company sells those water rights to everyone from municipal governments to real estate developers to commercial and industrial clients to alternative energy facilities and more.

It sits right at the heart of the region most affected by this problem. And by holding substantial water rights, we’re banking that early investors will be set up for years of profits.

You can go here to learn more about our investment predictions for 2022 right now.