Topic 5 - EQ3 - Water

Question 1

What is water stress?

Answer 1

If a country’s water consumption exceeds 10% of its renewable freshwater supply, including difficulties in obtaining a new quantities of water (e.g. from aquifers, lakes or rivers) as well as poor water quality restricting usage.

Question 2

What is water scarcity?

Answer 2

An imbalance between demand and supply, classified as: physical scarcity (insufficient water to meet demand) or economic scarcity (people can’t afford water even when it is available)

Question 3

What are the different thresholds for water stress vs water scarcity?

Answer 3

Scarcity = less than 1000m cubed of water available for each person per year

Stress = less than 1700m cubed of water available for each person per year

Question 4

What is water insecurity?

Answer 4

Where present and future supplies of water cannot be guaranteed leading to a need for physical or political and economic solutions.

Question 5

Which regions of the world are under most water stress?

Answer 5

• East and Southern Africa

- Some smaller high density countries like Czechia and South Korea

Question 6

Which regions of the world are suffering from water scarcity?

Answer 6

• Middle East and North Africa (Yemen, UAE, Algeria…)
• California and the Western US
• By 2025 large areas of China and India will suffer from water scarcity if current trends continue

Question 7

What are some physical factors that cause water insecurity?

Answer 7

• Warming climate = E/T increase which leads to less effective precipitation and thus a diminishing supply of water
• Varying seasonal rainfall seasons and low annual totals (especially with climate change) leads to a more unreliable supply of water
• Geology, permeable chalk and porous sandstone can store huge amounts of water underground which is crucial to reducing scarcity even with climate change as these stores are not susceptible to E/T
• Natural sea level rise means salt water intrusions can occur at the coast so salt water moves into the soil and aquifers and increases fresh water scarcity (decreasing security)
• Warmer waters encourage the growth of bacteria that are harmful to human health, sedimentation, nutrient enrichment… making some waterways unusable for human use

Question 8

What human factors cause water scarcity?

Answer 8

• Over abstraction from natural water sources (an estimated 20% of the worlds aquifers are over-exploited)
• Agriculture (largest user of water in the world), will only need more water for more crops as human population rises and need for agricultural products increases
• Industry and manufacturing needs a vast amount of water, also risk of industrial spillage and poor waste management leading to contaminated water sources
• Energy industry needs increasing amount of water for new energy development s (e.g. biofuels and fracking, fracking has also been linked to the contamination of many groundwater stores too)
• Increasing population
• Increasing demand for water as living standards improve (e.g. more meat consumption, more clothing bought like jeans which require 5-6 years of drinking water to manufacture one pair)

Question 9

What is physical water scarcity?

Answer 9

The imbalance between water supply and demand which results in an increasing percentage of available water being consumed. The threshold of physical scarcity is the 75% mark (more than 75% of blue water supplies are being used)

Question 10

What is economic water scarcity?

Answer 10

The shortfall in available water due to shortfalls in Human Resources such as capital, technology, infrastructure and governance. The assumption is that the water potential is there, but it waits to be exploited.

Question 11

What are areas of physical scarcity?

Answer 11

N Africa, Middle East, Southern India, Central Asia, Arizona, NW Mexico, Eastern interior of Australia

Question 12

What are areas of economic water scarcity?

Answer 12

Central America, Central West and East Africa, SE Asia

Question 13

What are the factors that affect the price of water?

Answer 13

• Cost of transport from source to consumption
• When demand>supply
• Insufficient water infrastructure due to poverty meaning residents rely on water tanks and bottled water (4x more expensive than piped water in Manila)
• Privatisation of water meaning residents pay more for water (Cochabamba 1999 water prices rose 20% after privatisation causing widespread protests and the re-nationalisation of water)
• Government price control (Denmark water is most expensive in the world in order to encourage Danes to cut down on water waste/use)

Question 14

What is our case study for international water disputes?

Answer 14

The Nile, particularly Egypt and Sudan versus the 8 other riparian countries of the Nile

Question 15

How many people live in the Nile basin?

Answer 15

300 million

Question 16

Where is the demand for water from the Nile?

Answer 16

Demand has always been high down river in Egypt, Egypt has always believed Nile water to be rightfully their’s, however, there is increasing demand in other less affluent countries which are becoming increasingly wealthy. Water can help develop crop irrigation, industrial processing and HEP production allowing countries like Ethiopia to lift their people out of poverty.

Question 17

What did the Nile Water Agreement II in 1959 agree?

Answer 17

100% of Nile water was to go to Egypt and Sudan only (not recognised by Ethiopia)

Question 18

What was agreed in 2010 by all riparian countries of the Nile (except Egypt and Sudan)?

Answer 18

All riparian countries should have equal rights to Nile water

Question 19

What dam has caused tension in the Nile?

Answer 19

The Grand Ethiopian Resistance Dam planned on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, Egypt claims the dam will have a negative effect on downstream water flows, Ethiopia claims it will have no effect, or it may even increase downstream water by reducing the potential for evaporation on Lake Nasser.

Question 20

What is our other case study for water conflict?

Answer 20

The Murray and Darling River Basin area in Australia

Question 21

What is a supply issue in the MDB?

Answer 21

The region is generally dry and prone to droughts, the rivers have very little water flow compared to other river systems with equal drainage areas in the rest of the world.

Question 22

Who are the 4 main stakeholders in the MDB?

Answer 22

Farmers, Urban Dwellers, Miners and Environmentalists

Question 23

What is the role of Farmers in the MDB?

Answer 23

• The agricultural industry uses 70% of Australia’s water
• Farmers I’m the MDB feed Australia and make Australia lots of money by growing cotton to be sold
• Use lots of water but are crucial for Australia

Question 24

What is the role of Urban dwellers in the MDB?

Answer 24

• The urban settlements of Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are all within the MDB or situated right next to the basin
• Areas are densely populated and have lots of water intensive services, urban dwellers of Australia need access to the water
• However, farmers use the water to feed the urban areas…

Question 25

What is the role of miners in the MDB?

Answer 25

• Mining in rural AUS uses lots of water for a variety of different mining processes
• Only use 1% of AUS’ water
• Mining and natural resources are key to the Australian economy and Australian self-sustenance
• However, environmentalists argue mining is unsustainable and shouldn’t be allowed to use so much water

Question 26

What is the role of environmentalists in the MDB?

Answer 26

• Advocate for less usage of water from the MDB to protect and conserve the complex system (plethora of different wildlife and important waterways to be protected)
• Particularly anti-mining

Question 27

Why is water supply so important for economic growth?

Answer 27

Water is essential for producing many goods and services (including energy generation and manufacturing). Water plays a central role in all economic productivity, whether directly as an input or as part of the context in which economic activity places. Most growth in water demand is coming from these rapidly economically developing places (e,g. BRICS countries)

Question 28

What growing industry has led to growing water demand?

Answer 28

The growing energy industry (to match the growth of industry in developed and developing countries), relies on water for generating HEP and cooling of thermal and nuclear power stations. The water used is almost always returned to the source, however, the water returns much warmer to these ecosystems causing potential isssues.

Question 29

Why does conflict occur when supplies are inadequate?

Answer 29

As the water pressure points cause the risks of physical water shortages to grow so does the potential for conflict as water is so crucial for so many things.

90% of all countries share a water basin with at least one other country, however, neighbours often do not want to share or they want to take the most water they can for themselves. Conflicts can arise because water is not shared equally but especially when patterns of economic development of either side of the border are uneven.

Question 30

What are the 3 hard engineering schemes at managing water supply?

Answer 30

• Three Gorges Dam (regulating river flow and HEP generation)
• South/North Transfer China (to redistribute water resources as the south is rich in water resources and north is not)
• Israel’s desalination (drawing supplies from sea)
• Smart Irrigation (Irrigation scheme where drip systems allow water to drip slowly to plants roots reducing wastage and evaporation)

Question 31

What are the two main sustainable schemes to manage of water supplies?

Answer 31

-Water conservation, including smart Irrigation (Irrigation scheme where drip systems allow water to drip slowly to plants roots reducing wastage and evaporation)

-Water restoration

Question 32

How has water conservation been implemented in some areas?

Answer 32

• For many farmers recycling of city waste for agricultural use is a feasible, low cost option as the grey water doesn’t need to be of drinking quality for agricultural use
• Magic stones system in the Sahel and development of devices to store and recycle rain in areas reliant on rains
• Hydroponics involves growing crops in huge greenhouses that are CO2 and temperate controlled (one of many systems devised to grow crops using little water)
• Attitudinal change has been an effective system

Question 33

What are water restoration schemes?

Answer 33

Attempts to restore damaged rivers, lakes and wetlands

Question 34

How has water restoration been implemented in some area?

Answer 34

• Restoring meanders, replanting vegetation and using sustainable methods to manage water courses to provide an alternative environment for all users (small scale)
• US Army Corps of Engineers have finished the restoration of the Kissimmee River in Florida and the marsh of South Iraq (larger scale)

Question 35

What is a big issue with most water restoration schemes that is not the same with many water conservation schemes?

Answer 35

Not very economically sustainable

Question 36

What are the benefits of water sharing treaties and frameworks?

Answer 36

• Reduces the chance of military involvement in water disputes
• Relatively successful as international co operation is farm more common than exception
• Often ensure fair distribution of water resources and stop powerful countries from taking water resources all for themselves

Question 37

What are the pros of the Integrated Water Resource Management in the Colorado drainage basin?

Answer 37

• Post-2007 water was more fairly supplied to different states in the basin
• Post-2012 Mexico was allowed to store some of its Colorado river water in Lake Mead and water providers have started improving h Mexican canals and water infrastructure
• Local supplies increase and 11 dams built to try and reduce E/T

Question 38

What are the cons of the Integrated Water Resource Management in the Colorado drainage basin?

Answer 38

• Some states lost out on the water they previously had (California had to reduce the amount it extracts by 20%)
• Water is seen as an entitlement in the USA, however, increasingly, water restrictions are now occurring, which can create conflicts between water providers and users
• Native Americans still unfortunately get much too little of the water resources on their historic lands
• Will any of the measures implemented under the IWRM be sufficient to cope with temperature rises and falling river levels (loss of 15% since 1990) and population rising
• E/T is huge and losses of water are still great even after the construction of the dams

Question 39

What are the costs of the Three Gorges Dam and the South/North Transfer projects in China?

Answer 39

-Very expensive (S/N is estimated to cost 70bn USD)
-Relocation. Dam = 1.3mil relocations (including destruction of points of cultural importance, entire villages, natural ecosystems…) and Transfer = over 300,000 relocations

Dam:
-Decomposing vegetation in reservoir = methane created and then released when water passes through HEP turbines
-Reservoir has poor water quality

Transfer:
-Risks draining too much water from S China
-Eastern route is industrial and risks pollution of waterways

Question 40

What are the benefits of the Three Gorges Dam and the South/North Transfer projects in China?

Answer 40

Dam:
-Generated electricity is vital for China’s growth (sustainable growth)
-Will help control devastating downstream floods

Transfer:
-Will take water from water rich S China to water insecure N China
-Will reduce over-abstraction of groundwater
-Will reduce risk of water shortages in Beijing and boost economic development

Question 41

What are the costs of Israel’s desalination project?

Answer 41

-Produces vasts amount of salt containing anti-scaling agents which harms ecosystem
-Each plant requires its own power station and adds to CO2 emissions

Question 42

What are the benefits of Israel’s desalination project?

Answer 42

-Creates reliable and predictable water supply from sea (aims to supply 70% of domestic water supply by 2050)
-Up to 600 tonnes of drinking water produced per hour

Question 43

What are the costs of smart irrigation?

Answer 43

-More expensive than spray irrigation

Question 44

What are the benefits of smart irrigation?

Answer 44

-Water use more localised than spray irrigation so there is less water lost and water is more efficient

Question 45

What are the costs of an attitudinal change water conservation approach?

Answer 45

-Not very enforceable and not always the most effective or easy to pursue

Question 46

What are the benefits of an attitudinal change water conservation approach?

Answer 46

-Cheap and very little action needed