the demand for water supply

• what is water security?

  • availability of clean water to support health, wellbeing and economic growth
• what can lead to water insecurity

  • Physical factors - insufficient rainfall or salt water in aquifers
  • Human factors - over extraction of aquifers, rapid population growth
• what is physical water scarcity?

  • occurs in areas of low rainfall
• what is economic water scarcity?

  • found in regions with water recources but they lack the infrastructure to utilise it
• where are areas of water surplus

  • well developed countries such as north america, europe and parts of asia
  • high rainfall
• where are areas of water deficit?

  • low rainfall
  • low developed countries such as african countries and india
  • also have very high population and therefore high demand
• what is water stress?

  • countries per capita water availability falls below 1700m3 per year
  • this reduces economic development, wellbeing and human health
  • ie cyprus
• why is water consumption increasing?

  • population growth - higher demand
  • econ dev - due to rising living standars, more industrial growth, and different agricultural practices, more leisure activities, urbanisation etc
  • agriculture - more water is needed for irrigation
• what factors affect water availability?

  • climate
  • geology
  • pollution of supply
  • over abstraction
  • limited infrastructure
  • poverty
• how does climate affect water availability?

  • high levels of rainfall lead to surplus
  • however they may not be able to store or extract it or it may not fall in areas with high demand
• how does geology affect water availability?

  • aquifers can form if the rock is permeable so the water can be stored undergroudn and then extracted
  • non permeable rock will cause surface run off
• how does pollution of supply affect water availability?

  • pollution from domestic sewage, industrial processes and agricultural run off can make the water unusaeable and lead to water stress
  • this really effects LICs as they do not have the ability to clean the water so it leads to disease
• how does overabstraction affect water availability?

  • removing more water from the source that can be replaced so you wont have any water left
• how does limited infrastructure affect water availability?

  • LICs dont have the ability to transport water in pipes and canals and dont have the infrastructure to treat it
  • this leads to them having less water they can intake
• how does poverty affect water availability?

  • many poor people cannot afford clean water
  • this means they have to rely on polluted water which greatly impacts their health
• what are the impacts of water insecurity?

  • diease and pollution
  • food production
  • industrial output
  • conflict
• how is disease and pollution an impact of insecurity?

  • in many LICs they lack sanitation for polluted water
  • open and untreated bodies of water allow disease to thrive
  • this can cause outbreaks of life threatening disease such as cholera and dystentry
  • ie the ganges river in india contains raw human sewage and industrial waste - many rely on it for washing and drinking water
• how is food production impacted by insecurity?

  • agriculture uses a lot of the global supply of water
  • countries such as the USA which supply wheat, rice and maize for the global world also experience regular droughts which impacts global food production
  • they will struggle to irrigate crops which leads to low productivity and low yields, therefore farmers struggle to commercial farm
• how is industrial output affected by insecurity?

  • low water supply may lead to factories having to close so there is less production and output, impacting the local economy and the business
• how is conflict caused by water insecurity?

  • wars may be fought between two countries experiencing water insecurity
  • they may fight over sources such as aquifers and rivers which cross borders
  • dams built in one country may affect the downstream river in another country