Water and Change
1.1 billion don’t have access to sufficient water.
Water use growing twice the rate of population growth.
Asia: 60% of world’s population, 36% world’s water.
Europe: 8% world’s population, 13% world’s water.
Africa faces the most challenges over water.
In 25 years half of Africa will suffer from Water Stress.
Resources have become thinly stretched, people killed in fighting over water.
Water is non-renewable. The water we've got is billions of years old.
Water is similar to oil.
Some of the water in aquifers is not replenishing quickly.
We can tap into aquifers, but once the water is taken from that aquifer, the water doesn’t come back. It’s gone (if it comes back, it takes MANY years).
With increasing population = increasing demand for water = increasing consumption.
Example with the Colorado River, before the water reaches the delta in the Gulf of Mexico, the water is being sucked dry before it even reaches the ocean!
There is a lot of water, but most of it is salt water. Countries can desalinate, but for poor places, they have serious problems as it is very costly as a process. These countries manage water through rainfall or glacier melts.
Identify the ways in which water is utilized at the regional scale.
Used
Examine the environmental and human factors affecting patterns and trends in physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity
Physical Water Scarcity
Where the demand for water is greater than the supply of water. Physical water scarcity does not have to be an arid environment, because there demand for water in arid environments (deserts) is not normally low meaning that there is no shortage.
Economic Water Scarcity
Where there is water available, but for some economic reason it is not possible to fully utilize the source of water. This might because extraction or transportation costs are too high, or because the water is polluted and it is not possible to treat it.
Factors Affecting Water Scarcity
Population Growth
As with many of the world's resources, they are coming under increasing pressure as the world's population grows. The world's population now stands at about 7 billion, all of whom are placing increasing on water resources as they develop and get richer.
Pollution
As the world's population grows so does the demand for agricultural and industrial products. Our thirst for agricultural products is increasing the use of fertilizers and pesticides which often run off into rivers and lakes or leach down to groundwater stores. Likewise our increasing demand for industrial and at times relaxed environmental regulations mean more chemicals and metals are being released into our water sources. Sewage treatment also often lags behind population growth so increasingly our rivers and lakes are being polluted by sewage.
Domestic Demand
The demand from households is not only increasing because there are more households in the world, but also because the amount of water they want is increasing with development. For example as peoples income increases and they move into permanent residences, they demand flush toilets, bath/showers, washing machines, dishwashers and green gardens, all of which use large amounts of water.
Agricultural Demand
As can be seen in the graph below, agricultural places by far the biggest demand on water. With a growing population, global warming and the movement in to less favorable agricultural regions, the demand from agriculture is only likely to increase in the future.
Industrial Demand
As the world's population grows and becomes richer our demand for industrial products grows. Many industrial products, particular things like processing metal use huge quantities of water and place increasing demand on resources. Also mining for the raw materials used in manufacturing use large quantities of water.
Sewage
With rapid urbanization taking place in many cities around the world, infrastructure often does not keep up with new arrivals. The growth of informal settlements without proper sewage treatment can mean that human waste is often pumped directly into water sources. However, this is not only a problem in LEDCs, in London the sewer system cannot cope and an estimated 39 million tons of sewage are dumped in the River Thames annually.
Climate Change
Climate change is impacting the availability of water in many ways. Global warming maybe releasing freshwater from glaciers and ice shelves, but unfortunately much of it is running directly into the oceans. The subsequent rising sea levels are threatening many coastal freshwater wetlands as well as increasing the risk of saltwater intrusion into aquifers. Warmer temperatures are increasing the amount of evaporation from rivers and surfaces stores.
Political
In many countries or regions, water sources are shared e.g. the River Nile flows through eleven countries. At times some countries control large percentages of the shared resource, leading to shortages for other countries. Follow the link and read how Egypt and the Sudan control the majority of the Nile's water. (Conflicts at the international scale)
Mismanagement
If water is not used sustainably or inappropriately then water shortages can occur. One of the most famous examples is the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea is located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Water was taken from the two rivers that fed the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert and grow cotton. Unfortunately so much water was needed to grow cotton in the desert, which no water reached the Aral Sea and it began to dry up, causing huge water shortages.
Groundwater Depletion
If water is used unsustainably i.e. more is taken out than is being recharged then aquifers can suffer from salinisation and saltwater intrusion. If you increase the concentration of water it can become too salty for human use. Also if you drain aquifers near coastal areas, then they can become full of saltwater, again making them useless
Energy Production
Although HEP is the most obvious form of energy that uses water, this water is released into rivers once it has passed through the dam. Other types of energy that uses large amount of water for cooling e.g. coal and nuclear power may pollute water or see it evaporated removing it from local use.
Case Study – El Atlo, Bolivia
Economic Water Scarcity
Causes
Privatization of water
Can’t afford to pay companies for water
High connection fees
Relatively low water availability
May have a pipe, but no actual water
Consequences
Have to walk far to fetch water
Death from contaminated water
Protests and War
Tap into water illegally
Case Study – Dar es Salaam
Economic Water Scarcity
Causes
Water shortage
Water privatization
Can’t afford, prices are too high
Can’t get access - but water that they have access to, is very dirty
Consequences
Water is stored using tires stacked from the ground and human excrement goes into the ground water making it lethal
Safe water comes from richer families who sell water by using buckets
Drink contaminated water gets sick, diarrhoea
Travel at least 2 hours
Water boys
Water is less and less available
Even if they don’t use water, they are still charged
Pipes filled with concrete
Water becomes like oil, a black gold
Examine the factors affecting access to safe drinking water.
Poor or rich
High income country, low income country
Increasing population
Absence of management of water such as pollution from industries
Problems with pipes – lead pollution
Natural disasters – earthquake, floods
Armed conflict
Water sources are often far from where people live
Case Study – Bangladesh
Wells and water pumps were the original solution to access to clean water.
The water in wells unfortunately has been found to have arsenic.
You can reverse it by drinking pure clean water.
In later stages however, it can lead to cancer.
Nearly 90% of Bangladeshis use groundwater
Up to 77 million people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking water in recent decades, according to a Lancet study.
The research assessed nearly 12,000 people in a district of the capital Dhaka for over a period of 10 years.
More than 20% of deaths among those assessed were caused by the naturally occurring poisonous element, it found.
The World Health Organization said the exposure was "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history".
It began after hand-pumped wells were installed in the 1970s to tap groundwater.
Scientists say even small amounts of arsenic over a long period can cause cancer of the bladder, kidney, lung or skin.
Bangladesh was chosen for the study because nearly 90% of the population uses groundwater as its primary source of fresh water.
Water use growing twice the rate of population growth.
Asia: 60% of world’s population, 36% world’s water.
Europe: 8% world’s population, 13% world’s water.
Africa faces the most challenges over water.
In 25 years half of Africa will suffer from Water Stress.
Resources have become thinly stretched, people killed in fighting over water.
Water is non-renewable. The water we've got is billions of years old.
Water is similar to oil.
Some of the water in aquifers is not replenishing quickly.
We can tap into aquifers, but once the water is taken from that aquifer, the water doesn’t come back. It’s gone (if it comes back, it takes MANY years).
With increasing population = increasing demand for water = increasing consumption.
Example with the Colorado River, before the water reaches the delta in the Gulf of Mexico, the water is being sucked dry before it even reaches the ocean!
There is a lot of water, but most of it is salt water. Countries can desalinate, but for poor places, they have serious problems as it is very costly as a process. These countries manage water through rainfall or glacier melts.
Identify the ways in which water is utilized at the regional scale.
Used
Examine the environmental and human factors affecting patterns and trends in physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity
Physical Water Scarcity
Where the demand for water is greater than the supply of water. Physical water scarcity does not have to be an arid environment, because there demand for water in arid environments (deserts) is not normally low meaning that there is no shortage.
Economic Water Scarcity
Where there is water available, but for some economic reason it is not possible to fully utilize the source of water. This might because extraction or transportation costs are too high, or because the water is polluted and it is not possible to treat it.
Factors Affecting Water Scarcity
Population Growth
As with many of the world's resources, they are coming under increasing pressure as the world's population grows. The world's population now stands at about 7 billion, all of whom are placing increasing on water resources as they develop and get richer.
Pollution
As the world's population grows so does the demand for agricultural and industrial products. Our thirst for agricultural products is increasing the use of fertilizers and pesticides which often run off into rivers and lakes or leach down to groundwater stores. Likewise our increasing demand for industrial and at times relaxed environmental regulations mean more chemicals and metals are being released into our water sources. Sewage treatment also often lags behind population growth so increasingly our rivers and lakes are being polluted by sewage.
Domestic Demand
The demand from households is not only increasing because there are more households in the world, but also because the amount of water they want is increasing with development. For example as peoples income increases and they move into permanent residences, they demand flush toilets, bath/showers, washing machines, dishwashers and green gardens, all of which use large amounts of water.
Agricultural Demand
As can be seen in the graph below, agricultural places by far the biggest demand on water. With a growing population, global warming and the movement in to less favorable agricultural regions, the demand from agriculture is only likely to increase in the future.
Industrial Demand
As the world's population grows and becomes richer our demand for industrial products grows. Many industrial products, particular things like processing metal use huge quantities of water and place increasing demand on resources. Also mining for the raw materials used in manufacturing use large quantities of water.
Sewage
With rapid urbanization taking place in many cities around the world, infrastructure often does not keep up with new arrivals. The growth of informal settlements without proper sewage treatment can mean that human waste is often pumped directly into water sources. However, this is not only a problem in LEDCs, in London the sewer system cannot cope and an estimated 39 million tons of sewage are dumped in the River Thames annually.
Climate Change
Climate change is impacting the availability of water in many ways. Global warming maybe releasing freshwater from glaciers and ice shelves, but unfortunately much of it is running directly into the oceans. The subsequent rising sea levels are threatening many coastal freshwater wetlands as well as increasing the risk of saltwater intrusion into aquifers. Warmer temperatures are increasing the amount of evaporation from rivers and surfaces stores.
Political
In many countries or regions, water sources are shared e.g. the River Nile flows through eleven countries. At times some countries control large percentages of the shared resource, leading to shortages for other countries. Follow the link and read how Egypt and the Sudan control the majority of the Nile's water. (Conflicts at the international scale)
Mismanagement
If water is not used sustainably or inappropriately then water shortages can occur. One of the most famous examples is the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea is located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Water was taken from the two rivers that fed the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert and grow cotton. Unfortunately so much water was needed to grow cotton in the desert, which no water reached the Aral Sea and it began to dry up, causing huge water shortages.
Groundwater Depletion
If water is used unsustainably i.e. more is taken out than is being recharged then aquifers can suffer from salinisation and saltwater intrusion. If you increase the concentration of water it can become too salty for human use. Also if you drain aquifers near coastal areas, then they can become full of saltwater, again making them useless
Energy Production
Although HEP is the most obvious form of energy that uses water, this water is released into rivers once it has passed through the dam. Other types of energy that uses large amount of water for cooling e.g. coal and nuclear power may pollute water or see it evaporated removing it from local use.
Case Study – El Atlo, Bolivia
Economic Water Scarcity
Causes
Privatization of water
Can’t afford to pay companies for water
High connection fees
Relatively low water availability
May have a pipe, but no actual water
Consequences
Have to walk far to fetch water
Death from contaminated water
Protests and War
Tap into water illegally
Case Study – Dar es Salaam
Economic Water Scarcity
Causes
Water shortage
Water privatization
Can’t afford, prices are too high
Can’t get access - but water that they have access to, is very dirty
Consequences
Water is stored using tires stacked from the ground and human excrement goes into the ground water making it lethal
Safe water comes from richer families who sell water by using buckets
Drink contaminated water gets sick, diarrhoea
Travel at least 2 hours
Water boys
Water is less and less available
Even if they don’t use water, they are still charged
Pipes filled with concrete
Water becomes like oil, a black gold
Examine the factors affecting access to safe drinking water.
Poor or rich
High income country, low income country
Increasing population
Absence of management of water such as pollution from industries
Problems with pipes – lead pollution
Natural disasters – earthquake, floods
Armed conflict
Water sources are often far from where people live
Case Study – Bangladesh
Wells and water pumps were the original solution to access to clean water.
The water in wells unfortunately has been found to have arsenic.
You can reverse it by drinking pure clean water.
In later stages however, it can lead to cancer.
Nearly 90% of Bangladeshis use groundwater
Up to 77 million people in Bangladesh have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from drinking water in recent decades, according to a Lancet study.
The research assessed nearly 12,000 people in a district of the capital Dhaka for over a period of 10 years.
More than 20% of deaths among those assessed were caused by the naturally occurring poisonous element, it found.
The World Health Organization said the exposure was "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history".
It began after hand-pumped wells were installed in the 1970s to tap groundwater.
Scientists say even small amounts of arsenic over a long period can cause cancer of the bladder, kidney, lung or skin.
Bangladesh was chosen for the study because nearly 90% of the population uses groundwater as its primary source of fresh water.