Comenius Project

The Importance of Clean Water Kaisa Teele Oja, Katie Grierson, Fae Treadaway, Christian Höffner, Mirco Börner Roy Burkhart

European Water Charter European Council, Strasbourg 6 May 1968 Principles: - Precaution and preventive action, - Reduction of damage, -“polluter pays”, - Education and cooperation

Keypoints of the Charter:  Essential for life  Not an infinite resource  Dependence on purified water  Suitability  Has to be reusable  Adequate plant cover  Inventory of water resources  Correct administration of water  Scientific investigation, special training, public training  Common heritage  National water resources  International cooperation European Water Charter

Germany  Mainly Groundwater (64%)  Lakes and Rivers  Water has to be demineralised, filtered and desinfected in a Water treatment plant Origin of Clean Water

Scotland Essentially, all of our water in Scotland comes from rain. When it does rain, two things can happen…  …The water can flow into streams, rivers, lochs and reservoirs and then be classified as surface water.  …Or the water can also seep through the ground and form underground pools, this water is very pure as many of the pollutants are filtered out during the seeping process. = Most people receive surface water yet some are supplied with underground pools. Origin of Clean Water

Estonia  Mainly groundwater  40% comes from the uplands  Protection areas  Purification centres filtrate and aerate the water (remove S, Fe) Origin of Clean Water

1.Screening 2.Aeration (to supply with air) 3.Clarification 4.Filteration 5.Disinfectant 6.pH Adjustment Treatment Process

Water Prices Country:GermanyScotlandEstonia Incoming water (1m³) 2,94 €£00,696 € Outgoing water (1m³) 3,20 €Council tax1,2 € (normal) Total (1m³)6,14 €Percentage of the council tax 1,896 €

Water Crisis Problems since the turn of the millenium Water is used wastefully and it is managed inefficiently Result: – Healthcare costs a lot of money – Slow economic process – Ecological problems

People living without clean drinking water. (in millions) !!!

Examples:  In Spain, people use a lot of water for watering the fields. They pump it out of the ground illegally. If we continue the same way, then by the year 2025 about 2 billion people will live without access to clean, drinkable water. Water Crisis

Solutions :  Educate to change consumption and lifestyles  Invent new water conservation technologies  Recycle wastewater  Improve irrigation and agricultural practices  Appropriately price water  Develop energy efficient desalination plants  Improve water catchment and harvesting  Look to community-based governance and partnerships  Shrink corporate water footprints Water Crisis

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