ISSUES FACING GLOBAL WATER SUPPLIES CGR4M

Safe Drinking Water is Essential Video Make notes on: Source, Distribution, Treatment, Number who live without access to safe drinking water Causes of the problem Effects (associated diseases..)

Water Scarcity Watch the video and make notes on two different types of water scarcity that exist and global regions affected Water Scarcity

Water around the world Africa Water Resources Clean Water in Papua New Guinea

Distribution of Water: Mexico What’s happening in Mexico? What does Mexico City look like? What’s the population of Mexico City? Cenotes (underwater caves)

Distribution of Water: Mexico City 20 million people in Mexico City Founded on a cluster of ancient lakes (had lots of freshwater) 1800s – discovered groundwater – created wells 1930s – had to dig deeper wells = sign of problem Groundwater supplies 80% of Mexico City’s usable water Old, rusty, leaky pipes waste 25% of the water

Water Trucks Arid / rural areas If no infrastructure for water delivery, then truck delivery! Trucks also serve displaced communities (refugee camps), areas with intermittent supply Could be public or private In slums (unplanned neighbourhoods) Water is only supplied by privately owned trucks Quality varies Sometimes better quality Sometimes the same thing Sometimes unsafe to drink!

Help Mexico City ! What are some things Mexico City can do to mitigate (to make less severe, to alleviate) the water crisis ?

Water Uses Naturally, as population grows, so does the need for more food – and the need for more water.

Trends Since dawn of irrigated agriculture at least 5000 years ago, controlling water to grow crops has been the primary motivation for human alteration of freshwater supplies. Today, principal demands for fresh water are for irrigation

Timeline of human water use: 7000 years ago: water shortages spur humans to invent irrigation 1,100 years ago: collapse of Mayan civilization due to drought Mid 1800s: fecal contamination of surface water causes severe health problems in major North American cities (Chicago) 1858: “Year of the Great Stink” in London 1900s: The green revolution strengthens human dependency on irrigation for agriculture The Green Revolution = 1940s – 1960s, research + technology + development = increased agricultural production worldwide WW2: water quality impacted by industrial and agricultural chemicals 1972: Clean Water Act passed; humans recognize need to protect water

Conflict over water is likely to increase because of… Population Growth Economic Development Increased Agriculture Industrial Growth Global Warming Water Pollution Groundwater Depletion Shared Resources

Population Growth – as population increases, so does demand for water, for drinking, for bathing, for washing… Economic Development – generally more developed countries use more water, so as countries get more developed, they will have flush toilets, showers, dishwashers…

Link to Millennium Development Goal 7 (Ensure Environment Sustainability) Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation World has met the target 5 years ahead of schedule ! Between 1990 and 2010, more than 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources. Despite progress, 2.5 billion still lack access to improved sanitation facilities.

Increased Agriculture – estimated that it takes litres of water to produce 1 beef steak Industrial Growth – demand for cars, televisions, computers…

Global Warming – affects different regions differently – some become wetter others suffer drought Water Pollution – polluted groundwater affects supply of water Groundwater Depletion – unsustainable extraction (removing faster than can be replenished), can cause saltwater intrusion (makes aquifer unsuitable for drinking)

Contaminated Waters Video Make notes on: Different diseases cause by unclean and contaminated water Impact of arsenic intake in Bangladesh Impact of polluted water in Cambodia

Contaminated Aquifers How does an aquifer get contaminated ? What happens if an aquifer is contaminated ? -Landfills -Industrial waste sites -Oil storage tank leak -Septic tank leak -Accidental spills -Infiltration from farm land with pesticides and fertilizers

Naturally Contaminated Overabundance of naturally occurring iron, sulphides, manganedes Seawater can seep into aquifer to make it salty

Consequences of Contaminated Aquifer Loss of water source Aquifer may not be used for decades or ever Risk migration of contaminants – it is, after all, a water cycle Contaminants go to nearby lakes, wetlands..

Shared Resources: as supply decreases and demand increases, countries get in conflict about who the resource belongs to Turkey has proposed a series of dams. What does this mean? What are the effects of this? What do you know about the Nile River?

Fast Facts : The Nile River Longest river in the world 10 countries share the basin of the Nile Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Congo, Uganda Covers about 10% of the African continent 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their livelihood Within the next 25 years, the region’s population is expected to double… Except for Kenya and Egypt, all of the basin countries are among the world’s 50 poorest nations (vulnerable to disease, famine) Egypt & Sudan (technically) hold absolute rights to use 100% of the river’s water under agreements reached in 1929 between Egypt and Britain (colonial power in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, and Ugranda at that time)

"Ethiopia is killing us," taxi driver Ahmed Hossam said, as he picked his way through Cairo's notoriously traffic-clogged streets. "If they build this dam, there will be no Nile. If there's no Nile, then there's no Egypt."

Conflict at the Local / National Scale Case Study: The Nile River Video: Nile River DisputeNile River Dispute Video: Sharing the NileSharing the Nile Video: Egypt and Sudan oppose Nile dealEgypt and Sudan oppose Nile deal

Conflict at the Local / National Scale Case Study: The Colorado River Chasing Water: The Colorado River; Flowing Through Conflict Chasing Water: The Colorado River; Flowing Through Conflict The Colorado River – The Most Endangered River in America The Colorado River – The Most Endangered River in America

The real story of water

Cycle of Instanity: The Real Story of Water What are aquifers? How can wells reduce flows in nearby rivers and streams? What are some ways communities get water? What is the issue around agricultural water use? Why are wetlands useful? What have we done to them? What is salt water intrusion and how does it happen? Issues with Urban Development… Current Water Management (Issues and Ways)… What’s desalination? What’s the problem?

Independent Learning Conflict at the Local or National Scale – Water in the Middle East e+local+or+national+scale e+local+or+national+scale

World Water Crisis : Conflict Zones 0/world_water_crisis/default.stm 0/world_water_crisis/default.stm

‘Huge’ Groundwater supply found beneath Africa What implications could this have on health and well- being in Sub Saharan Africa? Think of access to freshwater, waterborne diseases, agriculture

IRRIGATION & AGRICULTURE Water Management

Agro-Chemical Runoff What is a pesticide ? Effects on the environment

Groundwater Contamination Groundwater pollution can occur by: Fracking Agriculture and irrigation Management strategies Video: Groundwater Contamination Video: Fracking explained

Eutrophication of Rivers, Lakes & Wetlands What is eutrophication ? Video : Eutrophication AnimationEutrophication Animation Read article “Nitrate pollution raises water bills” and summarize the main causes of eutrophicationNitrate pollution raises water bills

Exam Type Question Using multiple examples or case studies, discuss the extent to which agriculture and irrigation impact upon the quality of water supplies around the world?

Solutions Solutions via integrated water management Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Residential Conservation (smart appliances, waste disposal) Ocean friendly gardens – plants meant for our own climate and soil require a lot less maintenance Permeable pavement (so rain can be recaptured) Reusing water Low impact development Ditches on side of road can be used to collect rain water so trees can use them Where space is limited, cisterns can be used Wastewater Treatment

One Solution Michael Pritchard on TED How to make filthy water drinkable Watch the video Evaluate the project clearly in terms of likely outcomes Write a response of 50+ words.

SO WHAT’S THE STORY IN 2014 Competing Demands for Water