I have been at the International Dairy Foods Association for 22 years, and during that time water usage and wastewater discharges have always been important issues.
Discussions about water in the past were usually about wastewater. Historically, municipalities added more and more houses and businesses to their sewage treatment plants, but did not upgrade the infrastructure to accommodate the increased load. Things got ugly more than once, and when things went wrong, frequently dairy processors and other food processors got the blame.