WATER SCARCITY - EFFECTS
Effects
of Water Scarcity
·
Hunger
Water is incredibly required to
grow crops and to care for livestock animals. It is estimated that the global
use of water for irrigation and agriculture is about 70% and that only 10% is
utilized for domestic purposes. As a result, water shortage means the practice
of growing crops and farming is greatly impacted. For this reason, water
scarcity commonly contributes to lower yields and death of animals particularly
in the arid and semiarid regions and as such, it results in hunger, poverty,
and thirst.
·
Poor Heath
In many developing nations, water
scarcity forces people to drink water of low quality from flowing streams,
majority of which are contaminated. Accordingly, they are infected with
water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery that kill people.
Water shortage may also mean sewage systems are stagnant which creates room for
the build-up of bacteria and harmful insects that result in infections.
Besides, sanitation might become chaotic when water is scarce especially in
restaurants, clinics, and public places thus compromising the health of the
general public.
·
Poverty
Access to quality water is
fundamental to better living standard and economic growth. Schools,
restaurants, hospitals, hotels and other businesses need to stay clean for
operations to run effectively. In a situation whereby a major school or hotel
goes without water even for a day, the situation can be disastrous and leads to
enormous economic losses. Restaurants and shopping malls have to be kept clean
to attract visitors. Manufacturing and industrial processes, mining activities,
and commercial businesses all need large quantities of water to flourish.
Without these economic activities owing to inadequate supply of water, then it
means higher poverty levels and poor living standards.
·
Habitat Loss and Destruction to
Ecosystems
When water is scarce, then it
means the natural landscapes suffer the most as it contributes to
desertification, lose of plants and death of wildlife and other animals. As a
result, these ecological catastrophes create habitat loss that, in turn, leads
to food shortages and poor quality of life. For instance, the Aral Sea in
Central Asia that used to be the world’s fourth largest freshwater lake has
been reduced by more than a third in a period of only three decades. The water
is now very salty, and the ecosystems within and around it have been
extensively destroyed due to overuse of the water resource, mainly influenced
by water scarcity in the region according to Earth Eclipse
·
Disappearance of Wetlands
According to World water forum (WWF)
more than half of the planet’s wetlands have lost since 1990 which is largely
due to water scarcity. The wetlands have become dry to the point of losing its
natural capability to hold water. Human activities are the main contributors
because of water overuse, pollution, and
interference with the underground aquifers.
Solutions
to Water Scarcity
Provision
of Borehole
Proper geological and hydrological mapping/
investigation should be carried out to determine the aquifer characteristic of
such community and based on this investigation, individual, Government agencies
and cooperate bodies should help such communities with a deep aquifer in
drilling boreholes in strategic places within the communities to help the
habitant of such area have access to potable water for their daily use.
Recharging Aquifers/Groundwater
According to a 2012 UN report
on The World’s Water, groundwater retraction has tripled in
the past five decades because of industrial and agricultural uses. For this
reason, governments and organizations can undertake measures to recharge
aquifers or groundwater by undertaking projects aimed at infiltrating or
injecting excess surface water into the underground aquifers. This may include
aspects such as restoration of watersheds and wetlands and the practice of
green infrastructure which aims at reducing impervious surfaces.
Water Re-use and Effective Water
Treatment Technologies
Water re-use strategies can help
alleviate water scarcity in cities, schools, hospitals, and industries. The
main strategies here include reuse and recycling and the use of zero-liquid
discharge systems. Zero-liquid discharge system is whereby the water within a
facility is constantly treated, used and reused again and again without being
discharged into the sewer or other external water systems.
The non-potable water (greywater)
can be used for washing cars, irrigating landscape, industrial processing and
flushing the toilets. Such a system allows the waste water that would have been
discarded to become a helpful resource. Water re-uses or greywater can hence
save a lot of fresh water for human consumption in times of water shortage and
water stress. Several low cost technologies are available that can be
implemented in any community.
Desalination
Desalination is the treatment of
saline waters. The treatment process aims at obtaining fresh drinking water
from the salty ocean waters or groundwater with high salt concentrations that
make them unsuitable for human consumption. Nations should invest in
desalination technologies as a means of attaining a more reliable water
resource system to meet the ever rising water demands. Desalination can thus
offer an incredible solution to fresh water scarcity. However, desalination
heavily relies on power-hungry technologies and facilities which should
thoroughly be evaluated. Use of greener power sources and energy efficient
technologies are recommended.
Water Management
Water management by the use of
regulations and policies can help reduce water scarcity. The regulations and
policies can address the water-related problems including aspects such as water
reuse, water resource management, water rights, industrial water use, wetland
restoration, domestic water supplies, water pollution, and
others. In precise, water management has the capability of addressing human
interventions and the various natural events in connection with resources and
the long-term water policy decisions on the environment and economy. A simple
addition of a water free male urinal in our homes can save several Millions
Litres of water per homes per year. The traditional flush dispenses around sit litres
of water per flush, if all male members including boys of the house use the
water free urinal instead of pulling the traditional flush, the collective
impact on the demand for water will reduce significantly. This must be made
mandatory by law and followed up by education and awareness both at home and
public places.
Infrastructure Repair and
Maintenance
One of the key ways of solving the
problem of water scarcity can be through infrastructure repair and maintenance
of water channels. Leaking pipes and sewage systems normally lead to water
wastage and contamination respectively. If these infrastructures are left
unattended to over time, the cumulative effects can create water shortages.
Millions of litres of water are lost yearly in various regions of the world
owing to leakages and sewer contamination, creating water shortages. Unless we
are aware and conscious of water wastage we will not be able to avail the basic
quantity of water that we need to carry on with our normal lives.
Water Conservation
Water conservation is one of the
leading ways to grow out of water scarcity. It is an indirect approach to
reducing water demands and is it usually critical in maintaining the
supply-demand balance. During droughts and
in densely populated regions, for instance, water conservation efforts ensure
there is a supply-demand balance. The approaches can easily be implemented as
they involve simple ways of saving water. For water conservation to be
effective enough, it has to work hand in hand with water management policies.
Rainwater
Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is
the storing of rainwater during the monsoon season for the purpose of using
it during periods of water scarcity.
Generally speaking, it is a process used for collecting and storing rainwater
for human use. Rainwater harvesting is best described as the technique by which
rain water is accumulated and stored with the intention of reusing it during
the dry season or when there is a drought.
With rapid climatic changes, increase in global temperature and population
growth, there is a scarcity of potable
water in many countries across the world.
Rainwater harvesting is an easy and economical way to deal with this crisis. As
men are becoming environment
responsible, rain
water harvesting is gaining popularity leading to eco-conservation and
constructive use of natural resource. Falling water tables are widespread and
most people in urban areas are dependent on bottled water which is neither
cost-effective nor dependable. Every independent home/flat and
group housing colony must have rain water harvesting facility. If efficiently
designed and properly managed, this alone can reduce the water demand
significantly
Check Dam
A check dam is a
small, temporary or permanent dam constructed across a drainage ditch, gully,
swale, or channel to lower the speed of concentrated flows (like an overflow
weir) for a certain design range of storm events. They may be more categorized
as a type of floodwater rather than a runoff harvesting technique. A check dam
can be built from logs of wood, stone, pea gravel-filled sandbags or bricks and
cement.
Construction
of Porous Pavement
Pervious
concrete pavement is a unique and effective means to address important
environmental issues and support green, sustainable growth. By capturing
stormwater and allowing it to seep into the ground, porous concrete is
instrumental in recharging groundwater, reducing storm water runoff, and
meeting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In pervious concrete, carefully
controlled amounts of water and cementitious materials are used to create a
paste that forms a thick coating around aggregate particles. A pervious
concrete mixture contains little or no sand, creating a substantial void
content. Using sufficient paste to coat and bind the aggregate particles
together creates a system of highly permeable, interconnected voids that drains
quickly according to National
Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA).
Water
Scarcity and the Managing Development Goals:
The way water scarcity
issues are addressed impacts upon the successful achievement of most of the
Millennium Development Goals: ·
MDG 1: Access to water
for domestic and productive uses agriculture, industry, and other economic
activities has a direct impact on poverty and food security.
MDG 2: Incidence of
catastrophic but often recurrent events, such as droughts, interrupts
educational attainment.
MDG 3: Access to water, in particular in
conditions of scarce resources, has important gender related implications,
which affects the social and economic capital of women in terms of leadership,
earnings and networking opportunities.
MDG 4 and 5: Equitable,
reliable water resources management programmes reduce poor people's
vulnerability to shocks, which in turn gives them more secure and fruitful
livelihoods to draw upon in caring for their children.
MDG 6: Access to water,
and improved water and wastewater management in human settlements, reduce
transmission risks of mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria and dengue
fever.
MDG 7: Adequate treatment of wastewater
contributes to less pressure on freshwater resources, helping to protect human
and environmental health.
MDG 8:
Water scarcity increasingly calls for strengthened international cooperation in
the fields of technologies for enhanced water productivity, financing
opportunities, and an improved environment to share the benefits of scarce
water management (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
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Contractor Certification (revised
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Water Scarcity, Water Stress, and Water Risk: It’s Not Just Semantics
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