Global Water Poverty - C Flashcards
Water scarcity index
quantified on a percentage scale
physical availability of renewable water
Renewable water supply = Water /Discharge
Water poverty index
physical availability of water that also accounts for social, economic, environmental factors
areas with most freshwater do not necessarily overlap with areas of greatest population
Main strategies to alleviate water scarcity
and issues with strategies
capturing runoff (dams)
- causes decomposition, hurts local animals and humans
moving remote water (pipelines and trucks and ships)
- pipelines are expensive and need certain availability, trucks are small-scale and interfere with job and education
“producing” more water
- groundwater, recycled water, desalination
Groundwater,
most cannot be replaced within a human life
fills species between rocks or soil
over extraction when water is withdrawn from groundwater reservoir faster than it can be replaced over extended period of time
Land subsidence
decrease in elevation because groundwater supports soils and therefore elevation
Treated water
water which has been chemically treated to remove contaminates for use as drinking water
greywater
wastewater that does not contain toxic chemicals or human fecal matter
50% - 80% of household wastewater is greywater
reused water
waste water that has been chemically treated for reuse but treatments can vary in intensity
untreated water
water that is toxic or excrement contaminated
the yuck factor
can be difficult to convince population that recycled water is safe to drink
desalination
removal of salt from salt water to produce freshwater
feasible for a community located close enough to a significant source of salt water
costly, energy intensive, toxic salty waste disposed
Perth uses wind power and diluting pipeline to address these issues
