Water

• Rising population:

  • Each person needs water for drinking, washing, cooking etc.
  • More people require more food- irrigation for agriculture uses 70% of the world's freshwater resources
• Economic development:

  • Industrialisation- as countries become more developed they produce more goods, manufacturing uses a lot of water
  • Energy production- developed countries require more energy, lots of freshwater is used to produce energy
  • Rising living standards- as countries develop people become wealthier and can afford a higher standard of living. This increases water use as more people can afford flush toilets etc.
• Factors affecting water availability:

  • Climate
  • Geology
  • Over-abstraction
  • Pollution of supply
  • Limited infrastructure
  • Poverty
• Impacts of water insecurity:

  • Waterborne disease and water pollution
  • Reduced food production
  • Reduced industrial output
  • Conflict
• Strategies to increase water supply:

  • Diverting supplies
  • Dams and reservoirs
  • Water transfer
  • Desalination
• CAP:

  • Western desert, Arizona
  • Reservoir water is moved from the Colorado river to other places nearby in man made canals
• CAP:

  Advantages:

  • Brings water to cities in the Western desert
  • Aids development
  • Supports agriculture
  • Tourism

  Disadvantages:

  • Water shortages at source
  • Disrupts ecosystems
  • Expensive
  • Cause conflict
• Water conservation:

  • Fixing leaks to stop water wastage
  • Dual flush toilets
  • Buying efficient washing machines and dishwashers
  • Irrigating farmland by directing water only where it is needed
  • Fitting homes with water meters
  • Educating people
• Groundwater management:

  • Prevent over abstraction and pollution
  • Amount of groundwater extracted can be monitored, laws and licenses
  • Farmers are encouraged to use less artificial fertilisers and pesticides and companies that leak toxic waste are fined to prevent polluting groundwater
  • When groundwater is shared between countries international agreements to agree how much each country can take
• Recycling water:

  • Water from homes and industries can be piped to water treatment plants where it is made safe to reuse
  • Sustainable as less water needs extracting to meet demands
  • Using grey water- conserve energy used treating water, expensive, need to be used quickly
• Hitosa, Ethiopia:

  • Rural area, few reliable water sources
  • Lowlands are very dry with no permanent surface water, middle level plains are farmed- demand for irrigation is high
  • Water was collected from a few rivers are one spring, region has a noticeable dry season, some people had to walk 50km for water
  • Gravity is used to help transfer water from areas higher up Mount Bada and distribute to more than 60,000 people in 31 communities
  • The overall cost was £1 million
• Hitosa, Ethiopia:

  Advantages:

  • Over half of the funding was provided by water aid
  • Simple and easy to maintain
  • The small amount people pay is used for maintenance

  Disadvantages:

  • Will be expensive to replace
  • Hygiene around taps has been neglected and risk of disease increased
  • Some people argue agriculture has used too much of the water