water managment

• Top Down - large-scale capital intensive development schemes usually developed by the government

  Bottom up - small -scale development schemes
• contrvacy 1 social vs political

  • Social players see access to clean, safe water as a human right
  • Political players see water as a human need, which, like food, shelter and energy, can be provided in a number of ways through private, public or public-private partnership services.
  • The infrastructure of water provision is extremely expensive, so governments have to find a way to pay for it in order to satisfy the needs of their people.
  • It was estimated that meeting the UN’s MDGs (Millenium Development Goals), would cost over $200billion US
• controvecy 2: economic vs enviroment

  • Businesses favour hard engineering schemes such as mega dams, water transfer projects and desalination plants.
  • These schemes have high social and environmental costs and are opposed by these players who favour more sustainable approaches. 
  • There are a number of responses that can be made to manage future water supplies with action at different levels. This can range from IGOs such as the World Bank (usually top down) to changing consumer attitudes towards water use (usually bottom up)
• hard engineering schemes

  • Water Transfer Schemes - Attempt to make up for water shortages by constructing elaborate systems of canals, pipes, and dredging over long distances to convey water from one river basin (the donor basin) to another (the recipient basin).
  • Dams - A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.
  • Desalination - The process of removing salt from seawater.
• issues of Water Transfer Schemes

  the engineering of transfer schemes is usually successful but there are many social and environmental damages such as hydrological changes, increase flood risk, damaging fish stocks, spreading disease and pollution and potentially introducing new species into rivers.

  
• China water transfer scheme

  • The south of China is rich in water resources but the north is not. To redistribute these resources and to even out the availability of water, a gigantic south-north water diversion project was begun in 2003. 
  • It was expected to take up to 50 years to complete and will costs close to US$100billion.
  • It will transfer a total of 44.8 billion cubic metres if water per year.
  • The project involves building three canals that run 1300 km across the eastern, middle and western parts of China and link the country’s four major rivers: the Yangtze, Yellow, Huai and Hai.
• Three Gorges Dam


  The world's largest dam located on the Yangtze River in China
• Benefits of the Three Gorges Dam

  • Economic: Provides a safe shipping route, Increased trade and economic output, Opportunity for foreign investment
  • Social: Increased water for irrigation, Hydroelectric power reducing costs
  • Environmental: Produces clean, reliable, renewable power, Reduces China's reliance on coal and greenhouse gas emissions
• Costs of the Three Gorges Dam

  • Economic: $22.5 billion to build, Maintenance costs, Loss of agricultural land and exports
  • Social: 100,000 hectares of farmland flooded, 1.4 million people displaced, Homes destroyed by landslides
  • Environmental: Vegetation degradation and greenhouse gas production, Increased sedimentation and pollution, Disruption of fish migration,
• Israel has built one of the world's largest desalination plants
• Desalination plant


  A plant that removes salt and other minerals from seawater to produce freshwater
• Sorek Desalination Plant


  • Treats 624,000m3 of seawater a day
  • Investment estimated to be $400 million
  • Covers 10 hectares
  • Situated in Tel Aviv
  • Aims to produce 650 million meters cubed of freshwater by 2020
  • Provides 10% for drinking water and 20% for domestic use