Water Scarcity Flashcards
Water scarcity
A local condition - demand for water is higher than available resource
Transboundary externality
Externalities that flow between nation or state borders
Demand management
Incentives and mechanisms that promote water conservation
Supply management
Locating, developing and exploiting new sources of water
- Controlling flow
- Importing water
- Desalination
- Wastewater reuse
Two types of water scarcity
Physical - Less available water than needed
Economic - Existing infrastructure limits access to water
Water stress vs water scarcity
Water stress - water supplies drop below 1700 m^3 / person
Water scarcity - less than 1000 m^3 per person
What makes water distribution difficult
There is enough water, the challenge is management - lack of will and capacity
Climate change effects of water for human use
- Change in precipitation in different areas
- Increase in variability and intensity
- Decrease in water stored in glaciers/snowpack –> less in warmer months
- Change in average river runoff in different places
Water conflicts
Conflicts that arise over water due to the change of freshwater flow due to climate change
Water pricing
A proposed solution to the distribution of water
