Is Water the New Oil ?

Definition:
Virtual Water
Virtual water is the amount of water used in the production of food and fibres. Our external water footprint is the total amount of virtual water we use in other countries when we import their goods.

Facts:

• Two thirds of the water needed to produce the UK's food and clothes is used in other countries.
• Pacific Institute: Droughts "attributable in significant part to climate change" are already causing "acute water shortages" around the world, and pressure on supplies will increase with further global warming and a growing world population.

My thoughts:
In 2008, when Crude Oil futures ramped up to a record-setting $147, I read an extensive research report that explained the rise of crude oil prices in a very macro-economic sense.
In sum, a growing world middle-class (BRIC nations, South Africa) demanded more oil for their newly-acquired vehicles and demand for power. But there were financial "technicals" that also showed that the levels could not hold.

However, the facts about an increased global demand for commodities holds and one of the things that cannot really be speculated upon is water. As the developing world becomes more urban and as the West requires more goods from these nations, water is definitely going to be a scarce commodity.

Question is... will it be the new oil? Causing economies that have it to boom and those that need it to wage war?