Disaster: Global Fresh Water Shortage

Objective: Disaster prevention

Kristijan Bevc

Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Department of Geography, Slovenia

Reasons for selection

I have chosen this type of disaster since, in my opinion, it represents

the biggest threat to humanity

The first signs are already here 40 % of the world population

already have water shortages (1)

Water is essential for life; we cannot exist without it

The more water we use and as of result pollute, the less of it will be

available for us and future generations

This presentation presents some simple but concrete data on how

fresh water is (mis)used and gives possible solutions how to reduce

fresh water usage or completely remove it where it is not needed.

(1) http://www.lenntech.com/specific-questions-water-quantities.htm

How, why, when?

Human population is growing rapidly

Earth’s resources are limited, water is no exception

If the trend continues there will not be enough water to

sustain the entire human population

The question is not IF, but WHEN will it happen if we

continue with wasteful and unsustainable use

By 2025, 1,8 billion people will be living in regions with

absolute water scarcity and 2/3 of world population could be

under stress conditions (1)

More populationmore foodmore irrigation=less water(1) http://www.unwater.org/statistics_use.html

Source: (1)

Problems already exist 6 billion people already used 54 % of accessible fresh water (1)

2,5 billion people suffer at least moderate shortage and 1-2 billion high level of water scarcity (2)

Today over a billion people do not have access to clean drinking water (4)

During the last century water consumption rose twice as fast as the population did (1, 3)

Toilet flushing uses at least 25 % of all the water used in a day by a person If 4 billion people out of 6,5 (2,6 estimated to be without even the

basic sanitation facility (4)) use 40 liters a day (4 to 5 flushes) = 58 km3 of water in 1 year, which is about 15 % of all fresh water distributed for domestic use

(1) http://www.unwater.org/statistics_use.html

(2) Charles J. Vo ro smarty, Christian Le veˆque and others: Fresh water, URL: www.maweb.org/documents/document.276.aspx.pdf

(3) Deborah Zabarenko , Oct 25, 2011: Water use rising faster than world population, URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/us-

population-water-idUSTRE79O3WO20111025

(4) WHO/unicef: Water for life (2005)

Ideas for

conservation

Without decreasing the world population growth this solution would only postpone the inevitable.

The idea is focused on preventing the disaster by changing the ways we use water now, finding new solutions and potential ways of averting the disaster

Conserving fresh water, dual water supply, drip irrigation are just a few of the ideas how to optimize and reduce fresh water usage

Potable/fresh water should only be used for cooking, drinking, showering, washing clothes and dishes as depicted in the above picture

Toilet flushing, car cleaning, watering the garden, fire-fighting, irrigation etc., is a WASTE of fresh/potable water or uses too much of it.

A simple model of what

can be done at home.

Dual water supply is essential if we want to conserve potable water. Toilets, car washes, watering the garden and other household chores, industrial companies that don’t need clean fresh water for production, fire-fighters should use recycled water or filtrated storm water.

Dual water piping needs to be built; one supplying clean potable/fresh water and the other filtrated storm water or recycled waste water; toilets can even use sea water if the region is located near a salt water source

Construction of the dual water piping would cost the same as the regular one, but costs can be reduced if both systems are installed at the same time.

Since this can only be done when constructing a new building, existing buildings and structures would be hard to modify for the dual piping system, thus, at least all future buildings yet to be constructed would have to have this system implemented.

Agriculture is the biggest user of fresh water, water conservation should be applied there first; with new techniques like drip irrigation to minimize evaporation and maximize water delivery efficiency

FAO estimates this system can reduce water usage by 30-60 % (1)

(1) http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0303sp3.htm

Another simple way of conserving water, where dual water supply cannot be implemented, is the dual-flush toilet; an option to either flush using the entire water tank or just flush with half the amount, depending on the “situation”. A dual-flush toilet can use up to 40 % less fresh water

Simple calculation: using 10l and 8l tank; 4 times liquid waste and one solid waste (1 to 2 full flushes) per day

Full flush: 4x10l+10 to 20=50/60l ; 4x8l+8 to 16=40 to 48l

Half flush for liquid waste: 4x5l+10 to 20= 40 to 48l ; 4x4l+8 to 16 = 24 to 32l 40 to 30 % less fresh water

All industrial companies should have a closed water loop the same amount of water in the system all the time, no use for additional fresh water or should use recycled/filtered water instead of fresh where the loop in not possible.

Since city population is increasing, storm water should be filtered and reused for purposes already mentioned above, getting cities one step closer so self-sustainability

The proposed solutions are pretty straight forward, making

fundamental changes at the heart of the problem. Toilets are a

big problem but at the same time the easiest to solve.

Large scale projects like dual water supply, storm water

filtration and drip irrigation require a lot more planning and

even more funding.

Instead of governments giving subsidies for water to farmers,

giving subsidies for drip irrigation implementation would be a

lot more beneficial (where applicable).

Fresh water usage needs to be cut by all sectors by providing

new technology solutions that can greatly optimize and reduce

use of fresh water, especially in agriculture.

Goals and targets The proposed solution is aimed to reduce the quantity of used fresh water in all

sectors (agriculture, industrial and domestic sector), to optimize its usage or to completely remove it from operations that do not need fresh/potable water.

By eliminating fresh water usage by toilets, fire-fighters and all other mentioned proposals, we can save a huge amount of fresh water that can be distributed to households, hospitals and other locations that need it. Estimation: 100 % less fresh water usage by substituting fresh water with recycled/filtered for toilets or 30 % by only implementing dual-flush toilets.

With dual water supply and storm water filtration cities can become more self-sustainable, since world trends show a continuous increase in urban population, most of the solutions must be focused on urban areas.

By implementing drip irrigation in agriculture, huge amounts of fresh water can be saved and allocated elsewhere. Estimation: 30-60 % less fresh water usage

To prevent world population from using 75 % or more of all accessible fresh water sources in 2025 and more than 90 % in 2050

To prevent an even greater fresh water scarcity in regions where the problem already occurs or is starting to manifest, thus preventing desertification

Impact and arguments Fresh water usage should drop significantly and be diverted where it is

needed the most. Regions under water stress could receive more fresh water.

Cities would pump less water, because of storm water filtration which would be used for toilets and fire-fighters, thus being more self-sustainable.

By reducing fresh water usage future generations are given a chance for better living conditions. More recycled and filtered water means less depletion=larger bodies of water=higher regeneration ability=less polluted=less water-related diseases

The questions whether the solution will work will undoubtedly arise. The presented arguments about that are clear, with the right technology and implementation, good results are inevitable, global examples of good practice confirm that.

Since the solution is aimed at the biggest fresh water users it should have the maximum effect.

Israel, using water treatment and recycling, recycles more than 80 % of household water and half the water for irrigation is from recycled water (1).

(1) http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/14/us-climate-israel-idUSTRE6AD1CG20101114