The world’s largest manufacturers and investment firms...are backing a major water database aimed at helping prevent disastrous regional shortages of the critical resource...The Aqueduct Alliance was founded by the Washington DC-based think tank the World Resources Institute (WRI), investment bank Goldman Sachs and manufacturer General Electric. It also has the support of news and data firm Bloomberg, The Dow Chemical Company, Talisman Energy, and United Technologies, the building and aerospace firm. Beverage giant Coca-Cola has also committed to providing a raft of data from its proprietary database of water risk information, which it uses to ensure a consistent supply of its most vital ingredient. The WRI said the database was “at the heart” of the Aqueduct alliance’s efforts to tackle water shortage...The Aqueduct Alliance intends for it to help promote much better dialogue on water between citizens, companies and governments, in order to encourage better usage and planning.