What are the issues of water supply and demand? Flashcards
Millennium Development Goals:
Number 7
Number 7 Is intended to ensure environmental sustainability and includes the aim to ‘reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water’.
Challenges:
Money- whether countries have the resources and economic stability to provide them aid.
Distributing the water- decentralized, hard to reach rural and urban areas- urban areas- concentrated population, contamination.
Infrastructure
Growing population
Water Stress
The term used when annual supply of water per capita falls below 1,700m³.
Water Scarcity
When annual supply of water per capita drops below 1,000m³.
What are the two types of water scarcity?
Physical: When more than 75% of a country or region’s river flows are being used. There isn’t enough water.
Economic: When water is available locally to meet human needs but access is restricted due to costs. Water resources may be abundant relative to water use. There is water but people can’t afford it.
Proportions
On a global scale, most water is used on agriculture (70%0, followed by industry (22%) and then domestic use (8%).
High income countries: agriculture (30%), followed by industry (59%) and then domestic use (11%).
Low income countries: agriculture (80%), followed by industry (10%) and then domestic use (8%).
But these percentages are not relevant to each country. MEDCs would use a lot more water in comparison to LEDCs.
Since 1930…
The total amount of water demand has increased by 9x since 1930. All the individual sectors have gone up as well.
Why is demand for water rising domestically?
Domestic- smallest sector water usage, but it is increasing.
More countries are developing
More countries have a reliable water supply
Greater access to water consuming technology- showers, jet wash, baths, central heating
More people
Why is demand for water rising agriculturally?
Agriculture- the largest global user at about 70%. Higher percentage in poorer countries- larger proportion is used on this than others (doesn’t mean more water is used in agriculture in poor countries than rich).
Cotton growth is very water intensive.
Farming animals- Providing them water and also having to water crops
We are farming in places that have little water e.g deserts
More people in the world = more food
Clearing areas-destroying ecosystems
Why is demand for water rising industrially?
Industry- about 20% of demand globally
Globalisation- things obtained more cheaply- allows for more- more water used- containerisation
Western diet- more meat- more water use- more land to farm
