Learning Objectives

• To understand some of the issues raised by Inter-Basin Water Transfers.

• To see how issues can be used in an ‘assess’ question.

Assess the extent to which plentiful supplies of water in some parts of the world can be used to make up shortages elsewhere.

(15 marks)Key points: • scale; • within/between countries; • +ve/-ve; • winners/losers etc ASSESS!!

Why?

Water transfers- a quick fix?

Receiving areaSource area

Examples of existing schemes Proposed schemes

InternationalLesotho to South Africa: Lesotho Highlands Water Project Turkey to Israel by tanker

National:Snowy Mountains-AustraliaMelamchi Nepal Tagus-Mercia Spain

InternationalTurkey to Israel undersea pipelinesAustrian Alps to Spain + Greece by pipeline

National: South-North transfer- ChinaEbro -SpainOb to the Aral Sea NAWAPA Alaska to California

Beijing

Tianjin

Eastern Route1,155km long diversion

Central routes1267 km diversion. May have to use some water from 3 Gorges reservoir to help

Western Routes

Work starts 2010, at high altitude, very

difficult 500kms at 3-5000m above

sea level

Demand from industrial centres, high population density and intensive agriculture. Low rainfall and over abstracted groundwater: physical scarcity

Externalities•Industrial growth along routeways will exacerbate existing pollution problems•Changes in water balances: reduced water in Yangtze means less dilution and more pollution• Displaced people especially from Dang Jiang Kou dam ......

Yellow River

Yangtze River

South China Sea

CHINA Shanghai

0 mls 250

Mega Tech Fixes: China’s South–North water transfer

Originally planned 1952, started 2002 ,due to finish 2050. Chief player: Government sponsored ‘South to North Water Transfer Project Company, with each province having a local water company. Involves huge civil engineering works, 3 major canals, pipelines, tunnels, pumping stations

One of the largest water transfers globally.Aim: to divert 45bn m3/year from the water surplus river basins of the S and E to the water deficit areas of the North, especially Beijing and Tianjin

Inter-Basin Water Transfers(I BT)

A multi billion Euro scheme designed to divert water from Spain's rainy north to it's parched south is dividing the Spanish nation.

Water flowing south Vicente Sicilia's company exports 60 million kilos of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and celery each year, much of which ends up in British supermarkets. To him the Spanish government's National Hydrological Plan makes perfect sense. "Here in Murcia we've got a wonderful climate, good land and hard working people. There's just one thing missing - water".

The Spanish government says the water is needed for the agribusiness sector that covers much of southern Spain in a sea of polytunnels and plastic sheeting.

Water flowing south

The idea is to siphon off "excess water" from the River Ebro, which springs in the Pyrenees and ends just south of Barcelona.

It involves building 118 dams and more than 1000km of canals and pipelines with an estimated price tag of 18bn Euro. One third of the money is supposed to come from European taxpayers.

The plan has been stopped!

The Spanish government's announcement is good news for the wetlands of the Ebro Delta

"We have stopped the water transfer, but still have threats from the basin plan" —Dr Carles Ibañez, SEO/BirdLife

Tasks• Two groups – one studying the Tagus-Segura IBT in Spain, one studying

the Lesotho Highland Water Project in southern Africa.• Each pair has information about the case study, which needs to be

summarised. For example – positive/negative impacts; winners/losers - and then contribute to a group discussion about your findings.

• Each person will need an overall summary of the case study eg on A3.• You will then be paired with a pair from the other group and you will

teach each other about your case study.

Water Transfer scheme

What is being done

Positives/Negatives

Winners/Losers

The Tagus – Segura Transfer, Spain

The Lesotho Highland Project, Southern Africa

Summary

• What common issues arise with Inter-Basin Water Transfers?

• Are they a better solution than dams?