Nowadays, one of the most serious problems in the world is water shortage (Brichieri-Colombi, 2008). The number of people who suffer from the scarcity of water is alarmingly big: about one- third of the humanity doesn’t have an access to water supply (Molden, 2010). Therefore, solving the problem of the scarcity of water is very crucial. This essay will discuss and analyze solutions that could help to avoid future water crisis and in order to do this the essay will refer to Mexico where water shortage is the national problem (Castro and Heller, 2009). The first solution that will be discussed is to reuse wastewater as the fertilizer in agriculture; the second one is to increase prices for water supply. But before discussing solutions the essay will describe the main problems connected with water shortage. Mexico is the country where water is the serious problem and it is still deteriorating (UNESCO, 2006). In the last two decades, as the population of the country has been growing intensively, the demand for water has also dramatically increased. The number of people who suffer from water shortage is about 11 million; almost 11% of Mexico’s total population (Castro and Heller, 2009). There are lots of problems connected with water shortage. One of the main problems is that in the situation with water scarcity the government decided to pump water from aquifers. For example, Mexico City is provided with water by six aquifers (UNESCO, 2006). The consequences of pumping groundwater resources are quite negative: aquifers are overexploited and they are drying, and ground is sinking for 40 cm every year (UNESCO, 2006). It is obvious that water shortage is a serious problem and effective measures must be taken in order to prevent water crisis. One of the most effective solutions to water shortage is treatment of wastewater. In Mexico, where pollution of water basins by wastewater is one of the causes of water scarcity, this kind of treatment is very useful (Helmer and Hespagnol, 1997). This solution can be explained on the example of Mexico’s case where government has begun to pay great attention to regulation of sewer systems (Holiday and Marin, 2007). In this country wastewater is used as fertilizer for crops (Helmer and Hespagnol, 1997). The process of getting this type of fertilizer is very simple; wastewater is distributed to rural areas by different systems of pipes and there it is treated by farmers.
Drip irrigation, xeriscape, desalination, water recycling, personal water conservation, and the change of household appliances are all techniques that would have a positive effect on California’s drought. Because of the constantly growing population, the demand for water is constantly growing. To make sure that this water crisis doesn’t become vital, Californian’s should think it is their duty to help improve the situation. These improvements can be made in farmers, landscapers, and the everyday citizen. Everyone should do their part in employing these techniques, whether they take the simple approach of shortened shower times or a costly approach, and re-design their outdoor spaces to be xeriscaped and use drip systems. California’s water is precious, and it is the duty of California Citizens implement solutions to bust the water drought.
- The government heavily depended on appropriations from national budget and loans. Because of the existence of insufficient tariffs to cover operating costs, government had to bring changes in management and the structure of regulation separating the quality and tariff regulatory functions from those of service provision. Sewerage treatment needed significant investments in water treatment especially in metropolitan area Santiago. Although three new water treatment plants were planned to be constructed under BOT with EMOS, targets of treating 100 percent of all wastewater by 2005 set by the Chilean administration did not seem realistic given an increase (up to 80 percent) in the amount of funding now needed for annual investment.
In December of 1915 a huge step for the rights of Peasants in Peru was taken. Juan Pevez was born in Ica, Peru and in 1915 he lead an uprising against the Picasso family who ran the that Pevez worked on. In Water!, an excerpt from Pevez’s autobiography, a dispute over rights to water is described and how the peasants overcame . Southern Peru does not see much rain during the year, so when it does come it is an extremely valued commodity. In December 1915 a very unusual thing happened. The water came much earlier that year and to the peasant's surprise it went unnoticed by the estate owners. In that time the estate owners unlawfully kept the water from the peasants until their own fields were irrigated. The water came that year in the middle of the night so the estate owners were clueless. Unaware that they had the same rights to the water as the estate owners, the farmers were reluctant to open up the Sluice gates that allowed the water to enter their own small canals to irrigate their land. Juan Pevez, who was enrolled in the School of Agronomy informed the farmers that legally they had a right to the water. Trusting Pevez, they all opened their gates to irrigate their fields unbeknownst to the landowners. Soon, morning came and the “stolen” water was noticed and a brawl broke out between the serfs and the estate owners. After being broken up the peasants formed a delegation to make a plea to the Technical Commission to state their concern about the unfair distribution of water. The director of the commission, Ezequiel Gago, heard both sides argument. In December 1915 history was made when Gago ruled in favor of the Peasants. That was the first time in the history of the valley that a group of peasants won a case against a powerful landowner like Picasso.
Fact: Arizona is in a 10-year drought. Fact: The city of Phoenix has a water problem that has nothing to do with lack thereof. A hundred years ago or more humans would just drink from a river or stream, but today we need purified, cleansed, and filter water. We do, as a state have a water treatment system in place but the faculties periodically need maintenance and must be shut down to receive it. The Water Department and their puppet master Frank Fairbanks the city mangers have been playing Russian roulette with the citizen of Phoenix. The bet you ask, will the shut down of facilities due to maintenance leave the citizens of Phoenix with a contaminated water system. We learn the answer to that question on the 25 of January the city council and water department both lost that bet. The water supply was contaminated, water had to be boiled to make in safe and long showers were not advisable. How can we as voters keep this from happening again? The short answer is building another water treatment facility, for the details read on.
Nevada’s population is increasing, in particular Las Vegas’ population, which is causing the water supply to decrease in the state (Brown, n.d.; Larson et al., 2015). Lake Mead provides Colorado River water to Las Vegas and currently Lake Mead’s water level is dropping (Wockner, 2014). This supply makes up 90% of Las Vegas’ water resource (Tracy, 2014). The lowering water level elicits concern over how water will be supplied to Las Vegas, and Nevada as a whole, in the future. Las Vegas sits in a valley, a trough, with sediment layered in the trough from weathered bedrock (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Before groundwater pumping began in the valley discharge occurred primarily through “springs and evapotranspiration” and the estimated natural
Increase in water consumption is a topic usually discussed inasmuch as this problem affects many cities. Phoenix is located in the State of Arizona, with around 540 square miles. Moreover, according to official site of City of Phoenix, the city ranks as one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation with approximately 1.4 million people. The city of Phoenix, although it is being in an arid area, has a per capita consumption lower than expected. The consumption of water is essential for life; however, what have to be analyzed is the withdrawal of water; furthermore, the capacity of regeneration of water resources mainly for future generations, which is the concept of sustainability. There are many aspects that would influence the consumption of water; however, each city has its own particularities. Although, Phoenix when analyzed as totality does not have an excessive consumption; it is a peculiar city and if an analysis is done in small scale, such as neighborhood, it is possible to identify the major consumer of water. “Determinants of residential water demand reflect both indoor and outdoor use and including size of the houses, if the houses have swimming pools, lot size, and the prevalence of gardens and vegetation that require water.” (Elizabeth A. Wentz & Patricia Gober, 2007). In addition, according to Phoenix City, since 1881, when the city was officially incorporated, until today’s date, the city of Phoenix has been improving its own capacity to provide water for the population. Phoenix can reach 2.2 million people by the 2030 (Census Boreau, 2010). A challenge for the future is to find new resources to provide water for the population even in severe drought.
Introduction on Water It covers 70% of our planet, makes up 75% of our body, it is necessary for survival and it is declining at a rapid rate (http://www.sscwd.org). It is water. Unfortunately, clean water is rare, almost 1 billion people in developing countries do not have access to water everyday. “Yet, we take it for granted, we waste it, and we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic bottles” (The Water Project). Use of earth’s natural resources should be seen as prosperity, although it is taken for granted, every aspect of daily life revolves around the environment, forcing water conservation to be necessary for future on this planet.
Most of water consumed in China is not rationally used. The cause which intensifies the water shortage in China is water inefficient use. For instance, 65%-70% of Chinese water usage is spent on agricultural needs, but more than half of this amount evaporates percolates and loses (Roberts 2009). Besides, majority of another 20%-25% which is occupied by China’s industry is not recycled (Brown 2008a, 16; Roberts 2009). Obviously, improving water distribution technologies and management quality can be one of the options to reduce the water scarcity in China. There are many different methods of improving the water distribution efficiency. Firstly, irrigation technologies should be improved. Farmers in China may use drip and shrink irrigation methods instead of traditional “surface” ones such as furrow and flood irrigation. Drip irrigation method is used mostly in arid and semi-arid zones and it increases the efficiency of irrigation by transporting the water directly to the roots of irrigated plant. The emitters sprinkle the soil under the roots with water which is introduced to the plant by pipes, diminishing water evaporation, deep percolation and leak. In contrast, fur...
... upon solution to water access disagreements, social and political powers must be willing to compromise since the risks associated with disagreements regarding water allocation may be too great. As stated by Shiyyab (2004), “If sustained over a period of time, these problems will directly affect social harmony, domestic stability and eventually, regional peace.” (p. 30). Investments must be made by industry as well as local and national governments for purification of wastewater so that clean water, when needed, will be available. The necessity of obtaining water is a fundamental human right and,
Around the world, there are many inequalities which can affect ones happiness, health and prosperity in life. One inequality affecting people's well-being is the inequality of water. Water inequality is a result of many factors and indicators such as which has been impacted by multiple factors such as pollution, high population rates, geographical barriers and climate change. A massive factor in the inequalities of water is the pollution, up to 90% of waste water in developing countries flows untreated into rivers, lakes and highly productive coastal zones, threatening health, food security and access to safe drinking and bathing water. Another factor is the high population
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only <1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises:
Many scientific studies also show increases in the intensity, duration, and extent of droughts, higher atmospheric temperatures, warmer sea surface temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and diminishing glaciers and snowpack. The bottom line is that causes of climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions, will have to be minimized if people want to do as much as possible to solve the water crisis. Works Cited Water demand management: the case of Zaragoza, Spain Web 25 Nov. 2014. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/swm_cities_zaragoza_2010/pdf/final_report_swm_cities.pdf.
Aquifers feed our rivers and supply much of our drinking water. Groundwater pollution is much less obvious than surface-water pollution, but is no less of a problem. As the long Mediterranean summer drags on and the promise of rain evaporates as quickly as the few fat drops that have fallen here and there, residents of the capital and its surrounding areas find themselves resorting to ad hoc private water networks as the public pipes run dry. "We had originally dug at 30 meters, but we are now digging at 70 meters," one private water supplier and well owner told The Daily Star(Unknown, 2013,page
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Water is an integral part of not only human beings but all other creatures in the world. We use it every day for different purposes such as domestic, agricultural and industrial. Water has always been a prestigious resource. However, the majority of people do not appraise water’s worth since they do not face water scarcity; whereas, in third world countries it is one of the most serious problems. Nearly 2.4 billion people have a lack of water resources in the world, shows the investigation done by the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based non-profit scientific research group. Moreover, every year this number is growing gradually and more people are suffering (Bloomberg News, 2010). There are certain causes which deteriorate current situation. The most influential reasons are global warming, pollution by human-beings and overpopulation. It is known that India is one of the countries which face water scarcity so this essay will consider the possible ways of solutions of water shortage in India.