Water: Shortage, Pollution, and Change
Sarah Wiersma
Biology Senior Seminar
November 29, 2007
Thesis: There are many problems concerning the supply of fresh water in the world today and more time needs to be put into finding solutions for this problem.
Outline
I. Introduction
II. The ProblemIV. What still needs to be done?
A. Around the Home
B. On a Larger Scale
C. Water Privatization
Levi Eshkol, the Israeli prime minister in 1962 once said that “water is like the blood in our veins” (De Villers, 2000). Water is essential to all life on earth and concerns have been surfacing for a while about how long this precious resource will be available. Water also is a social commodity; it is used for many things outside of survival. Some may argue that it is a renewable resource, so what’s the problem? But looking around at the current state of things in the world, others have come to a different conclusion. World headlines hint at the many places where the lack of water is becoming a serious issue. There are many problems concerning the supply of fresh water in the world today and more time needs to be put into finding solutions for this problem.
A report published by USA Today states that the United States uses approximately 408 billion gallons of water a day. What is one country doing with that much water? According to the study, “homes and businesses use 11%, 48% goes to power plants, watering crops takes 34%, and the remaining 7% includes mining, livestock and individual domestic wells” (O’Driscoll, 2004). As can be seen by those numbers, water is very valuable, but also taken for granted in the United States. A lot of the water used daily is rarely thought about by the average American: the average toilet flush uses 3-3.5 gallons of water, the average shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
Irrigation
Worldwide crops use up the most water: “irrigation is by far the biggest user of water, and also the most rapidly expanding” (Clarke, 1993). Many parts of the world are not ideal for raising crops, but that does not stop farmers from planting. Irrigation is a very ineffective process, “less than half of all irrigation water reaches the crop” (Clarke, 1993). Not only is half of the water used for irrigation wasted, but much of that unused half becomes contaminated with fertilizers before running off into streams and rivers. This water can also contaminate ground water.
Industrialization
Industrialized countries are using much more water than developing countries. This is possible because of the wealth in industrialized countries. The United States, along with much of Western Europe, can afford water. There may be shortages throughout the world, but with money comes the ability to keep lifestyles the same. Developed countries can afford to ignore the shortages (Ward, 2002).
Overusing and wasting water are only half of the problem in the United States and other developed countries. Human activity is taking its toll on the fresh water supply. Water is a renewable resource, there is always the same amount of water in the world, but fresh water and the places we get fresh water can be exhausted (Glieck, 2003). The use of ground water has increased greatly over the past fifty years. Ground water, lakes, and rivers all have rates at which the water is renewed. If the water is pumped faster than it is able to be renewed, it is no longer sustainable. As a result, the water level in lakes drops, streams and rivers can dry up, and water tables drop.
Land Degradation
Another threat to the ground water available stems from land degradation. Humans are continually changing the landscape of natural ecosystems. Ground water is stored in aquifers of which there are two types: consolidated and unconsolidated. Consolidated aquifers are made of solid rock and the water is stored in channels and fractures of the rock. Unconsolidated aquifers are often made of sand and gravel, and the water is stored between the grains in “interstitial pores” (National Research Council [NRC], 1994). These pores and aquifers can be destroyed as more ecosystems are destroyed and more soil is displaced. Another problem faced in the United States is that so much of our land is covered in pavement, that when there is rain, the water cannot soak into the ground and renew the aquifers. In her book entitled Water: The International Crisis, Robin Clarke says that “when soil disappears, the natural cycle of water regulation breaks down” (Clarke, 1993).
Pollutants
Another huge impact from human activity stems from pollutants. Since the 1970’s, environmentalists have begun to push for cleaning up ground water. Before this time the focus was on surface water and air pollution. According to the National Research Council in the book Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup, the most common pollutant for surface and ground water is hazardous chemicals. Often these chemicals are waste products from large industries. These chemicals get into water through chemical spills, dumping, leaks in storage containers, and land fills (NRC, 1994).
A large contributor to water pollution is fertilizers and nitrates. A lot of the water that runs off from irrigation is polluted by fertilizers before it reaches streams, lakes, or ground water (Clarke, 1993). Irrigation of crops is not the only place fertilizers are a problem, home lawns are often over fertilized and causing much of the water pollution.
Sanitation
In developing countries where sanitation is a problem, sewage is polluting the little available water. When the only water available is that which is contaminated with excrement, disease becomes a major issue. Flooding is the largest cause of death because of all of the potential for diseases to spread, often amongst the poorest of the population (De Villiers, 2000). This is a huge problem for Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, only 13% of the population has access to safe drinking water. This is the lowest percentage for any country as of 2000, according to the World Health Organization (Glieck, 2003).
The problem of sanitation along with the shortages of water make for very little available water in many of the world’s developing regions. Some of the hardest hit regions include West Africa and the Middle East. In the Sahara, desertification, the filling in of the water sources with sand, is a major problem (De Villiers, 2000). Ten countries rely on the water from one river, the Niger River. In most developing countries there are no international agreements surrounding water use and distribution, and this causes much fighting to break out over the river. Countries upstream cut off the water flow so that the downstream countries do not get as much water (Clarke, 1993).
Climate
It is important to note that there is a difference between drought and water shortage. In her book, Clarke lists four causes of the current water shortage. The first component is the aridity and dry climate of much of the world; water may be renewable but it is not equally distributed around the world. A second factor in the water shortage is drought. A drought is a phenomenon that is irregular, resulting in a dry spell that can last for a few years. The third factor is land desiccation. This is the drying of up the land due to over-grazing and deforestation. The final factor is water stress. There are more people using more water today than ever before (Clarke, 1993).
Fighting has already begun over water, as was previously mentioned. Many fear that water will be the next big cause of war (Ward, 2002). Developed countries will not be able to ignore this problem for much longer. Awareness is being raised all over the world concerning this problem. A recent publication from MSNBC states that the United States government predicts that 36 out of 50 states will be faced with water shortages in the next five years. Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency, says that “water efficiency is the wave of the future; the need to reduce water waste and inefficiency is greater than ever before” (Associated Press, 2007).
So what is currently being done in the United States to deal with these water problems? There is a major effort to clean up the water that has been polluted over the past century. In 1980 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was passed. The passage of this act by congress made ground water clean up a higher priority for the country. This fund, around $15 billion, pays for the cleanup of sites contaminated by hazardous chemicals. CERCLA also allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to sue those responsible for the spills so that there is more money available for clean up costs (NRC, 1994).
Ground Water
Cleanup of groundwater, in particular, is a very complicated process. The main system used is called pump-and-treat. In this system, ground water is pumped to the surface, treated, and then pumped back into the aquifer. This system works well, but comes with many factors that need to be considered before starting, making the cleanup process very lengthy. The type of aquifer (consolidated or unconsolidated) makes a difference in the way the ground water is pumped. Also, ground water has a natural flow underground that can be thrown off if the pumps are not well placed (NRC, 1994).
In ground water there are many microorganisms (aerobic and anaerobic) that are present. The majority of these microorganisms are bacteria, but there are also fungi and protozoa. Their role in the aquifer is to consume organic matter often present as contaminants. With the current pump-and-treat system, there is always the worry that their system will be thrown off. This is especially true for the anaerobic microorganisms that rely on the lack of oxygen for their survival (NRC, 1994).
The type of contaminant also needs to be considered. Contaminants can be stored in different phases, for example a gas, liquid, or solid, each of which needs to be removed differently. Some contaminants are unable to be removed by a pump-and-treat system and so the main goal is to contain the contaminant and stop it from spreading. In order to know what type of situation will be encountered at each site, a lot needs to be known about the contaminants (NRC, 1994).
Another problem is that even if the water is pumped to the surface and cleaned, the cause of contamination is still present, meaning most likely the treatment will need to be repeated. Because of all of these factors, it often takes a large amount of time to identify cleanup sites, and actually begin cleaning the water (NRC, 1994).
Current legislation mandates that the water be cleaned to drinking water standards. There is much debate as to whether or not this is a good enough standard. Drinking water still contains many contaminants, but they are not harmful to humans and are often found in very small amounts. On the other hand, at some contamination sites, it may be impossible to reach these health standards. The current pump-and-treat technology is not usable in all situations. For this reason, deciding on new standards is at a standstill (NRC, 1994).
Desalination
In many coastal areas, desalination plants are used to try and offset the use of fresh water. The two main processes for desalination are reverse osmosis and distillation. Reverse osmosis is a system in which the saline water is pumped at high pressure through permeable membranes which separate out the particles from the water. The water is then treated and considered fresh water (Pantell, 1993). Distillation involves the heating of salt water and evaporation which separates the contaminants. This process often requires the use of multiple effect distillation and vapor compression.
Of the two procedures, distillation produces higher quality output. Both produce water output that falls within California regulations for drinking water. But, neither source has a very high yield. According to the California Coastal Commission, for every 100 gallons of salt water put into the system, only 15-50 gallons of fresh water are produced (Pantell, 1993).
The benefit of distillation is that there is less waste produced and the plants are shut down much less for cleaning and repair. Also, there is not a need for pretreatment of the water before it enters the distillation system. On the other hand, reverse osmosis does not rely on heat so there is less energy required for the process. Another benefit of reverse osmosis is that it is more likely to remove other contaminants that may be present in the water and has a more dependable yield than distillation (Pantell, 1993).
Conservation
There is less legislation concerning conservation at this point. There are nation wide regulations concerning new construction. There are rules about how much water is used by toilets, shower heads, and faucets. Unfortunately these rules only apply to new purchases, which means there are a lot of houses and businesses with old facilities that use much more water (California Urban Water Conservation Council [CUWCC], 2006).
On a county by county level, there are more regulations on water use. This is especially true for states in the south like California, Arizona, and Florida. During times of drought, state governments impose regulations on water use for conservation. In Texas, the government gives tax breaks to people who are willing to use decorative rocks in their yards instead of grass because of the water they save.
What still needs to happen?
Around the Home
Much still needs to be done on both an individual level and on a larger scale to reduce water use and pollution. The California Urban Water Conservation Council has a website devoted to helping families find out how to reduce their water usage. They first recommend that families calculate their water budget and then follow these tips to reduce water use (CUWCC, 2006).
One major thing families can do to cut down on water use is to check for leaks. Leaky pipes, toilets, and sinks waste a lot of water. Fixing these leaks will cut down on a lot of water waste. Another suggestion for families with houses built before 1993 is to replace their toilets. Toilets from before 1993 can use anywhere from 3-8 gallons of water per flush. They also recommend not using toilet tank tablets for cleaning purposes. These tablets raise the pH of the water and often damage the plastic and rubber parts of the toilet causing leaks that can go unnoticed. A very simple solution is to flush less often. Other suggestions include making sure you have a shower head that restricts water flow to 2.5 gallons of water per minute or less. The average shower uses about 17 gallons of water in about 8 minutes. Shortening showers to three or four minutes reduces that output to 7.5 gallons of water (CUWCC, 2006).
Another huge waste of water comes from washing machines. The average washing machine uses 41 gallons of water per use. Buying a high efficiency washer reduces that to 23 gallons per load. There are also dishwashers that are more efficient than others. A simple thing to help alleviate the water problem is making sure that the dishwasher is full when it is run (CUWCC, 2006).
Landscaping is also a place where a lot of water is used. Watering your yard daily results in a shallow root system. By watering less often, the root system will increase and less water will be used. Also, watering at night will allow the grass to take in more of the water. In the hottest portions of the day, the stomata (the portion of the plant that allows water to be taken in) is closed to prevent water loss and thus is unable to take in the water (CUWCC, 2006).
On a Larger Scale
These are all simple things that can be done around homes and businesses to be more water efficient. On a larger scale, there are also many changes that could result in more water efficiency. There are alternative irrigation methods that are much more effective and use much less water that could be used instead of the typical irrigation system. In Israel, “trickle irrigation” is used. In trickle irrigation, “water is trickled to crops down furrows, and the ground is never flooded” (Clarke, 1993). This method has proven to be 95% effective. Along with more efficient irrigation, farmers can use a variety of crops that are better suited to the conditions present on their land instead of overusing water to make up for the climate (Clarke, 1993).
Many organizations are pushing for more research in the area of water clean up. As was mentioned earlier, some sites are not able to be cleaned because of lack of technology. There are many proposed systems, but funding is needed to test and develop these schemes further. One suggestion posed in Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup by the National Research Council is to charge an “infeasibility fee” to those responsible for the sites where cleanup is not currently possible. This money could be used to research new technology (NRC, 1994).
The United Nations supports many smaller environmental agencies that are involved in testing water globally. This is a very difficult task because “water issues are, by their nature, interdisciplinary and multifaceted. No single index can provide all appropriate information about water availability, use, quality, and equality” (Gleick, 2003). Many of these organizations are pushing for legislation to be passed raising the standards for quality of water, but agreeing on those standards is a much debated topic.
Water Privatization
A very controversial proposal involves the privatization of water. The International Conference on Water and Environment published their opinion on the matter stating that water has an economic value and should be treated as an economic resource. Arguments supporting this view state that because water is provided by the government for an inexpensive price, it is more likely to be wasted by consumers. By privatizing water, the competitive prices would force people to use water more carefully. On the other hand, many worry that this would make it impossible for low income families to have access to sanitary water. These people would argue that water is a social good, much like education and electricity, and needs to be controlled by the government. There is also the fear that industrialized countries would use up the water and developing countries would suffer more because their economies could not support the shift (Glieck, 2003).
In conclusion, the fresh water supply on earth is being threatened in various ways and there need to be more steps taken to slow down this problem. Human activity, be it over use, pollution, or inefficiency, is causing a major shortage of water that is effecting the whole world. Industrialized countries need to lead the way in developing new technologies and putting forth funding to find ways to resolve some of these problems before it gets much worse.
Bibliography
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