RS Water Case Studies

Question 1

Egypt Aswan Dam
How is it done? Has it Worked?
(Water - Increasing Supply)

Answer 1

Storage and Distribution
Has it worked? - Yes
- Allows for 2 crops per year due to irrigation (supply of water to land/crops) - 46/55 cubic metres/year for irrigation
- Lots of money now made from agriculture - $10 Billion building debt paid back in only 10 years
- + Protected Egypt from 2 major droughts (1983-1987)

Question 2

Egypt Aswan Dam
Consequences?
(Water - Increasing Supply

Answer 2

• Loss of Sediment - Prevents sediment transportation down the river + adds sediment to Nile Delta
• This caused erosion at Mediterranean Coast (125m/year) - expensive coastal management
• Impact on Dam - In 300-500 years the dam could be full of sediment
• Increased soil salinity - Large amounts of salt drawn to the surface of soil, affecting agriculture - surface drains put in place but very expensive
• Health Issues - Disease Bilharzia spread caused by breeding snails carrying parasite that stayed in irrigation channels due to standing water - this was solved

Question 3

Israel
How is it done? Has it worked?
(Water - Increasing Supply)

Answer 3

Desalination
Has it worked? - Yes
- Produces 20% more water than it needs - water surplus
- (5 desalination plants) Provide 90% of domestic and industrial water needs
- Also used recycled grey and black water to produce water for irrigation and agricultural use

Question 4

Israel
Environmental Impacts
(Water - Increasing Supply)

Answer 4

• Salty and Brine Water dumped into Mediterranean Sea - can cut levels of oxygen in seawater which impacts sea animals
• CO2 release - Increased energy usage which releases CO2
• However, overall impact will not be known for a while (new technology)

Question 5

Namibia
(Water - Increasing Supply)

Answer 5

Blackwater (Sustainable)
Has it worked? - YES
- Provides 25% of potable drinking water - survive droughts - 27,000 cubic metres (1968) - 41,000 cubic metres (2023) of sewage
- Sustainable - Has met population needs which have increased from 40,000 (1968) to 300,000 (2020)
- Consequences? - Minimal - energy usage which releases CO2 but only on a small scale (city - not national)

Question 6

China
(Water - Increasing Supply)
What is it? What has/will it done/do?

Answer 6

South -> North Water Transfer
- Will eventually divert 44.8 Billion cubic metres of water annually to the population centres of North
- Will link China’s four major river - Yangtze, Huaihe, Yellow and Haihe

Question 7

China
(Water - Increasing Supply)
Has it worked?

Answer 7

No
- Expensive
- Environmental Concerns
- Pollution Risk
- Doesn’t really increase supply - New Water
- Water doesn’t reach everyone - Inequality

Question 8

Cape Town
(Water - Reducing Demand)

Answer 8

Laws
Emergency Rationing

Question 9

UK
(Water - Reducing Demand)

Answer 9

Water Metres
Good amount of usage but not enough to make a real difference

Question 10

Spain
(Water - Reducing Demand)
What is it?

Answer 10

Strawberries - Drip Investigation
Irrigation was using up too much groundwater - water levels dropped
Innocent drink created an app that identified the optimum irrigation levels daily - Irri-Fesa

Question 11

Spain
(Water - Reducing Demand)
Has it worked?

Answer 11

Has saved 1.7 billion litres of water
Cut water use by 40%
Increased fruit production and quality without increasing cost
But
Only 40% of farmers use it
And many farmers cannot access it and/or don’t want to participate

Question 12

Ethiopia/Egypt
(Water - Conflict) - International

Answer 12

GERD Dam - Nile Water Flow
Issue:
Dam on Nile in Ethiopia
Potential for water deficit in Egypt
18% losses in agriculture there - 50% loss in food
If dam fills up in 5 years there will be 36% water deficit
However:
Deficit can be managed - Ethiopia can let out more water whenever necessary
And dam in Ethiopia can provide 10s of millions of people with electricity and reduce poverty
This electricity could be sold to other countries too - Energy security
Solutions:
Communications agreement? - let water out

Question 13

Israel/Palestine
(Water - Conflict) - National

Answer 13

Aquifer Groundwater
Issue:
Israel Ownership of land with aquifer
Claimed 80% of water as theirs, 20% for Palestine
But Israel has desalination which provides them a water surplus already (argued they don’t need that much of the aquifer as well)
Aids inequality and poverty in Palestine
However:
Palestine still have enough water (73 litres/day/person) which is more than the UN says is necessary
But Israeli people have 300 litres/day/person - inequality
Solutions:
Geopolitical adapting - find agreement
Israel adapt attitudes to their desalination - realise they already have water surplus without aquifer

Question 14

Chile
(Water - Conflict)

Answer 14

Avocado Farming
Issue:
Water extraction for avocado farming caused water deficits and droughts
Drinking water lacking
However:
Global demand for fruit - avocados a highly profitable export - economic benefit for Chile (long term)
Solutions:
Priorities made - make sure population has enough water before using it mainly for a minor export
Balanced sustainable water usage
MNCs need to know avocados are (or at least should be) second priority below peoples water demand