Purified water exchange traded funds (ETFs) are fairly new. One of the reasons for their development is because modern-day developing nations have regular shortages of purified water for drinking and agriculture. The United States is not safe from this shortage either, reports Lawrence Carrel for TheStreet.com.

Three new water-related ETFs were released in the past two months. They focus on companies that provide portable water, water treatment and other technologies that relate to water consumption.

• First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (FIW) - holds top 36 stocks in the industry
• Claymore S&P Global Water Index (CGW) – comprises 50 global companies from developed markets
• PowerShares Global Water Portfolio (PIO) – includes global companies based on equal weighting

These ETFs hope to follow in the footsteps of PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio (PHO) that has been around since December of 2005. It’s up 15.8% year-to-date.

Tags: Water