1. Issues Facing Global Water Supply
CGR4M: Environment and resource management

2. Learning Expectations
Overall Expectations
analyse environmental and resource management issues and explain their global implications;
Specific Expectations
explain how growth in population and economic activity around the world increases pressure on natural resources and natural systems
evaluate the effectiveness of the efforts of individuals, groups, organizations, and agreements (e.g., United Nations, Kyoto Protocol) to implement solutions to global environmental concerns;

3. Water Scarcity Two types of water scarcity:
Physical scarcity: when there isn’t enough water to meet our needs. This type of scarcity is associated with arid areas.
Economic water scarcity: when various institutes (govt., businesses, etc.) and finances limit access to available water

5. What Happens when Water is Scarce: 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

6. Water Trucks Arid / rural areas In slums (unplanned neighbourhoods)
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

8. How can Mexico City Help Itself?
What are some things Mexico City can do to mitigate (to make less severe, to alleviate) the water crisis ?
- Ration the water
Make government building toilets water conserving
Improve pipes so not leaking
Provide pump so communities can get water not have to pay private companies
Educate
Make certain things against the law – for ex sidewalk watering

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

10. Trends
Since the 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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…

14. 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.

15. Increased Agriculture – estimated that it takes 10 000 litres of water to produce 1 beef steak
Industrial Growth – demand for cars, televisions, computers…

16. 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)

17. 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

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

19. 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..

20. Shared Resources: as supply decreases and demand increases, countries get in conflict about who the resource belongs to
- Less water going down the river if Turkey diverts some via dam
Turkey has proposed a series of dams. What does this mean? What are the effects of this?

21. The Nile River Problem
The Nile River is the 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 Uganda at that time)

22. "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."

23. Conflict at the Local / National Scale
Case Study: The Nile River
The Ethiopian Government is planning to build a dam near Lake Victoria

24. Conflict at the Local / National Scale

25. Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water
Video: The Cycle of Insanity
Urban development -- Pollutes our rivers and oceans
Reduce our water supply (salt water instrusion)
Paved area = rain washes cities and flows to ocean picking up pollutants
Creates sewage

26. Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water
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 …
What’s desalination? What’s the problem?
Urban development -- Pollutes our rivers and oceans
Reduce our water supply (salt water instrusion)
Paved area = rain washes cities and flows to ocean picking up pollutants
Creates sewage

27. World Water Crisis : Conflict Zones
water_crisis/default.stm

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