The Big Gulp and Water Poverty

Where does it come from, why it’s important, water scarcity and sustainability

Javed MohammedA K2Vista Projectk2film@live.com

Imagine it is hot, you are thirsty, you’re lips are parched, but you can’t turn the tap on.

Imagine having to carry water for hours each day for you and your family twice a day

Imagine closing your eyes or pinching your nose as you drink muddy water and to avoid it’s awful smell.

Imagine that as much as you want to quench your thirst, this water is going to make you sick

Today 1 Billion, i.e. 1 in 6 people on earth don’t have access to clean water

That’s like all the population of

US South America Western Europe

> 1 Billion

+ +

Oceans contain 97.5% of all water

But only 2.5% of water is drinkable

Clean water: It’s not much but it’s all we have

Glaciers, Snow & permafrost 1.725%

Ground water 0.075%

Lakes, swamps & rivers 0.025%

Global Water Usage

70%

8%

22%

01020304050607080

Agriculture Domestic Industry

% o

f tot

al w

ater

use

d

Water uses

Agriculture Domestic Industry

Per capita water availability is on decline

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1960 1990 2025

Africa

Asia

MEast & NAfrica

Th

ou

sa

nd

m3

World

6

Agua, Maa, Djour, Voda, Shouei, Paani, Woda, Mizu, Eau

all mean water

Water = Life

• ~2/3s of human body is made of water and we need 1.5 liters/day to drink and sustain it. We in the West use 70 liters just to flush our toilets, the 1.1Billion are lucky to get 5 liters per day. (source the Big

Thirst)

Water = Survival• It carries our food and waste in and

out of our cells. It keeps our temperature at the right level

Water = Sickness

• 90% of wastewater in developing countries is discharged directly into rivers and streams, where they pollute water supply, resulting in 80% of illnesses.

Water = Death

• 1.8 Million children die from lack of water or disease every year. That’s one every 15 seconds. 5,000 children a day. 5 Elementary schools of 500 kids each a day. (source the Big Thirst)

Water scarcity is a major problem

Water scarcity= poverty

Water scarcity= climate change

Water scarcity= population growth, 300% increase in 20th century but

700% increase in water use

Water scarcity= waste Approximately 2M tons of human waste is released annually into

rivers and streams around the globe

The world’s water resources are under rapidly growing

pressure

http://www.iucn.org

Stress on World’s River Basins

High None

Stress

North America

Europe

Asia

Australia

Africa

South America

Major rivers including the Indus, Nile, Colorado, Rio

Grande, and Yangtze struggle to reach the sea

Inland Seas and Lakes are drying upAral Sea (Central Asia) has 60% less water than 1975 Lake Chad (West Africa) is 1/20th its 1970s size

By 2030, half of the world’s people will be living in areas of

acute water shortage (UN)

27% of the urban population in the developing world does not have piped water in its house.

Source: UNESCO

1.8 Billion don’t have access to water in their homes so they are forced to

leave home in search of water

Women and children in developing countries spend many hours each

day walking miles to get water

Carrying heavy water containers is bad for children’s backs, leads to

exhaustion, poor attention or absenteeism from school

Without major water investments, many poor economies cannot grow

Present Solutions to Water Scarcity

• Bottled Water• Water pumps, Tube wells• Dams• Lined Irrigation Canals• Desalination Plants• Rainwater harvesting• Others

Bottled Water although convenient and portable has

many downsides• Bottled water is

from 500 -10,000 times more expensive than tap water, so large corporations are profiting from it.

• Quality or Safety is not always better especially in developed countries

Bottled Water although convenient and portable has

many downsides• As much as 25% of

bottled water comes from municipal (tap) water

• It causes environmental pollution. Although water bottles are recyclable, only 5% are recycled, the rest fill waterways, landfills etc.

• In developing countries there are many scams relating to bottled water

Water pumps allow access to ground water

Tube wells allow access to ground water. However as the water table

lowers, the pumps have to go instead of 10 feet deep, 200 or a 1000 feet down. These are constructed by larger farmers,

encouraged by cheap electricity but drain ground water faster than it can be recharged.

Dams can provide control, year round water, flood control

and electricity. However, they are expensive, displace communities, lead to deforestation, reduce soil quality, also lose a lot of water to evaporation,

silt up, and cause conflicts between nations

Lined irrigation canals prevent water loss through seepage, but

have negative effect the eco-system

Desalination plants take sea water, distill it and provide

drinking water to dry regions, however they cost >$ 1Billion and their water can be more expensive that gasoline

Rainwater harvesting makes use of run-off water as most

water reaches the ground through rain

Water PrivatizationSome governments addressing issues through

Water Privatization, eg Cochabamba, Bolivia which was strongly rejected by the people. Private

companies are motivated by profit and have no interest to conserve water nor meet the needs of

the poor

Water may replace Oil as next source of conflict and war

amongst nations• River Nile: Egypt depends on Nile for

irrigation. Ethiopia controls flow upstream.

• River Jordan: Israel annexed lands of Golan heights, West bank and controls the Jordan River

• River Indus: Lifeblood of Pakistan and breadbasket for the Punjab, but it is sourced, dammed and controlled by India in Kashmir

• Tigris and Euphrates rivers: Pass through Jordan, Syria but being dammed upstream by Turkey

Solutions

• There are no easy answers, no silver bullets. For many of us in the West, we have taken water for granted. In the West or the East, with demand outstripping the freshwater supply, we have to take a new look at the Eco-system of water and decide what is best and moral for the future of our children and the human race.

Sustainable Water Use Ideas

• Use Rainwater Harvesting• Leveling fields with lasers• Irrigating at night to reduce evaporation• Using soil and satellite sensors and

computer systems to monitor soil moisture and add water only when necessary

• Growing water-efficient crops using drought-resistant and salt tolerant crops varieties

• Outside party mediation of water disputes between nations

Sustainable Water Use Ideas

• Prevent groundwater contamination• Reuse treated wastewater for irrigation• Work with nature to treat sewage• Practice four R's of resource use

(refuse, reduce, recycle, reuse)• Use drip irrigation• Consumption of clean water must

balance natural recharge• Need major water investments, so poor

economies can grow

References

• Blue Planet Run by Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt

www.blueplanetnetwork.org• When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce• The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

A K2 Vista Projectk2film@live.comCopyright 2012

All images are from public domain and copyright of respective owners