Managing water sustainably

• Various strategies have been employed to make water available to more people, through water transfers and the construction of dams and reservoirs.
• Water sustainability is a global concern.
• Dams and reservoirs can prevent flooding and generate electricity through hydroelectric power.
• There are over 600 dams in Africa, with the Akosombo dam in Ghana and the Aswan dam in Egypt being two of the largest.
• When a country has a water surplus in one area and a water shortage in another, supplies can be transferred, this is called a water transfer scheme.
• Reservoirs collect and store water in areas of high rainfall.
• Canals transport the water from reservoirs to rivers or other parts of the country.
• Water transfer schemes can be found in lots of different countries, for example, the city of Las Vegas exists in the Nevada Desert because water is transferred to it.
• Desalination plants remove the salt from seawater to make it safe to drink, these plants could solve many of the world's water insecurity issues, but the process is expensive and therefore not viable in some developing countries.
• The UK has opened its first desalination facilities on the river Thames, the plant removes the salt from tidal water from the river Thames to help the UK during times of prolonged low rainfall and drought.