Water EQ3 (5.3) Flashcards
what are some factors that reduce the amount of available water for humans to drink ?
- evepotranspiration
- discharge in to the sea
- saltwater encroachment
- contamination of water by toxic pesticides
- over abstraction
what is water insecurity ?
this is when people have an inadequate supply of water less than 1700m3 per person
what is the difference between water stress and water scarcity ?
water stress is when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a period and people have around 1700m3 per person but water scarcity is is when resources are low and people have bellow 1000m3 per person
what is water scarcity like around the world ?
- North and South America have a lot of water stability
- places like the Middle East, India, central Europe and North Africa have high water security
- Middle east and Northern Africa worst off
what are the three main factors driving water demand ?
- population growth
- economic development
- rising living standards
what are the two different types of water scarcity ?
physical scarcity: where water availability does not meet water demand
economic scarcity: where access to water is limited by poor infrastructure, technology and governance
what are some examples of water scarcity throughout the world ?
- Ogallala aquifer provides 1/3 of all US irrigation but is seriously depleted
- sub Saharan Africa suffers economic scarcity from poverty and lack of infrastructural development
- Egypt imports 50% of food due to water scarcity
- Ganges faces physical stress doe to pollution and over abstraction
what are the human causes of the Karachi water crisis ?
- criminal gangs take water and sell it on the black market for profit
- lack of investment and organisation from water board
- there are illegal water pipes with links to corrupt water board officers
- population of 20 million in the city
what are the physical causes of the Karachi water crisis ?
- rains have stopped coming due to climate change
- salt water encroachment is occurring-underground seawater getting in to aquifers and turning freshwater salty
what are the social impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?
- people must queue for hours to get water
- those that rely on criminal pipes struggle once they are cut away
- sewage water is being drunk
- water is only turned on once every two weeks and people must get up at midnight to collect it once it is switched on
what are the economic impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?
- some have to spend half of their income on water
- less crops and money from agriculture due to lack of irrigation
- water is very expensive due to black market traders
what are the environmental impacts of the Karachi water crisis ?
- vegetation is dying
- rivers have completely dries out
- wells have become salty due to salt water encroachment
- desertification occurring
what are the reasons water is used for ?
- agriculture accounts for the majority of water use and lads to a lot of groundwater depletion
- industry and energy use up around 20%
- domestic use accounts for the least amount withdrawn however this is on the rise due to rising living standards
what are some different hard engineering water supply schemes ?
- water transfers which is diverting water from one drainage basin to another
- mega dams
- desalination which is expensive but is useful for countries with a lack of freshwater
What was the main reason for the water crisis in the Maldives ?
They relied very heavily on a desalination plant for most of their water however when it was damaged in a storm they didn’t have any people with the skills to fix the desalination plant.