The city where you live may be the next to run out of water. Regions of the world are increasingly vulnerable to a severe water crisis scenario. Factors such as population growth and increased demands, pollution, governance problems, losses and waste, climate change, and decline in the volume of rainfall are among the main contributions to raising the risk of water in cities.
Cities around the world are facing increasingly intense droughts with high temperatures and a drastic water reduction in the volume of the reservoirs.
In 2013, the state of California has faced a major drought that has continued for 120 years causing a severe reduction in consumption, cutting the supply of water to cities and agricultural production.
Australia faced the drought of the millennium (2000-2010), which required an entire restructuring of the water production, involving companies and governments associated with re-education for economic consumption by the population.
Are we really getting ready to avoid missing water in our cities? Are policies considering effective initiatives for the management of the risk of water collapse? Are institutions responsible for the governance of water using the existing legal mechanisms to promote rational and democratic use of this natural resource? Have investments in science and efficient technologies been sufficient to define and validate alternatives to the water crisis? It is what we will discuss throughout this post.
SOLUTIONS TO THE WATER CRISES IN CITIES
Countries like the United States, Australia and Singapore have adopted decisive and systematic measures to overcome the water crisis. The following are the top 10 lessons we can learn from these countries for the conservation and sustainable use of water will be displayed.
7) WATER RECYCLING
Water recycling is a key for sustainable supply. In dry regions of the United States, it has been a much cheaper alternative to desalinate seawater or import water to cities of drought.
The water recycling capacity increases every day in the United States, through special purification plants and water production industry releasing million liters of recycled water per day. A difficult and politically sensitive matter is to convince the people to drink this water. However, through the smart use of marketing, challenges have been overcome and people seem to be more interested in the benefits and understand the need to drink recycled water.
In California, as they struggle for ways to deal with the crippling drought and restrictions on water use, the practice has been widely encouraged. Treatment and reuse of water are commonly used for irrigation and recycled water is delivered on golf courses, zoos, farms and parks. It is also used in cooling towers and heaters, as well as for watering gardens and plants domestically.
The cities in Texas have already pouring purified water directly into their reservoirs of drinking water, with no problems so far since 2014.
In Singapore, a huge desalination plants, with support from companies, are responsible for meeting up to 25% of the demands for water. Sydney, Australia has 13 water recycling plants for industrial use, recovery of rivers and residential use.
The development of increasingly modern technologies for recycling water and overcoming the stigma surrounding the reuse of water for the population, maybe a more feasible to overcome the current water crisis path. Water scarcity demands us urgent practice of water recycling.
8) WATER DESALINATION
To diversify its water matrix, some countries have invested in seawater desalination. It is an alternative to the lack of water. Australia, which recently faced the “drought of the millennium”, lasting for a decade (2000-2010), applied about $ 13.2 billion in desalination plants, in one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects.
The technology is able to turn millions of gallons of ocean water a day, removing the salt and producing drinking water. Soon, about 30% of the demands for drinking water from major Australian cities will be coming from the sea.
Although it is an alternative to increase water security in the regions with a crisis in water supply, desalination is an extreme measure that, in some places, faces strong public resistance, as is the case with the cities of Australia. The desalination depends on technology and the high cost of infrastructure to produce drinking water. Its geographical range is still limited and successful implementation depends on the good management of saline waste pollution on the environment.
9) RAISING THE PRICE OF WATER
In Brazil, the National Water Resources Policy considers water as a limited natural resource with economic value. The charge for raw water has an educational character and seeks to encourage rational consumption patterns of this natural resource. Moreover, it is also an important matter to raise funds that will be applied to the management of our own basins.
However, charging for water use is still very incipient in Brazil. Water is essential to the production in industries. It generates income through its use. Therefore, the valuation of this natural resource is a fundamental way to promote water efficiency. However, it is important that the charging for the use of water meets the standards of environmental justice. As water is a fundamental human right for all people, it has to be accessible by even the ones who cannot afford it.
10) INVESTMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Cape Town, South Africa could be the first metropolis of the planet running out of water. Since 2000, the population has been subjected to extreme rationing system to prevent the increase in water consumption. The population is desperate and many people have left the city. The government was not prepared to handle such a complex problem. The results depends on many factors, such as drastic limitations in consumption; reduction of losses in the distribution; and diversification of water matrix with technologies already consolidated, such as desalination.
The case of Cape Town is an alert for cities around the world with water risk. It has reminded us to prepare in advance with proper planning and seek alternatives to possible crises. The cost of seeking solutions for the medium and long term now is much lower and adaptation is less painful for the population.
Thus the way is to invest in science and advanced technologies, following the example of countries cited throughout this post, in order to develop and validate efficient and environmentally sustainable mechanisms for water supply. Economic losses from lack of water are much higher than investing today in science, technology and water infrastructure.
7) WATER RECYCLING
Water recycling is a key for sustainable supply. In dry regions of the United States, it has been a much cheaper alternative to desalinate seawater or import water to cities of drought.
The water recycling capacity increases every day in the United States, through special purification plants and water production industry releasing million liters of recycled water per day. A difficult and politically sensitive matter is to convince the people to drink this water. However, through the smart use of marketing, challenges have been overcome and people seem to be more interested in the benefits and understand the need to drink recycled water.
In California, as they struggle for ways to deal with the crippling drought and restrictions on water use, the practice has been widely encouraged. Treatment and reuse of water are commonly used for irrigation and recycled water is delivered on golf courses, zoos, farms and parks. It is also used in cooling towers and heaters, as well as for watering gardens and plants domestically.
The cities in Texas have already pouring purified water directly into their reservoirs of drinking water, with no problems so far since 2014.
In Singapore, a huge desalination plants, with support from companies, are responsible for meeting up to 25% of the demands for water. Sydney, Australia has 13 water recycling plants for industrial use, recovery of rivers and residential use.
The development of increasingly modern technologies for recycling water and overcoming the stigma surrounding the reuse of water for the population, maybe a more feasible to overcome the current water crisis path. Water scarcity demands us urgent practice of water recycling.
8) WATER DESALINATION
To diversify its water matrix, some countries have invested in seawater desalination. It is an alternative to the lack of water. Australia, which recently faced the “drought of the millennium”, lasting for a decade (2000-2010), applied about $ 13.2 billion in desalination plants, in one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects.
The technology is able to turn millions of gallons of ocean water a day, removing the salt and producing drinking water. Soon, about 30% of the demands for drinking water from major Australian cities will be coming from the sea.
Although it is an alternative to increase water security in the regions with a crisis in water supply, desalination is an extreme measure that, in some places, faces strong public resistance, as is the case with the cities of Australia. The desalination depends on technology and the high cost of infrastructure to produce drinking water. Its geographical range is still limited and successful implementation depends on the good management of saline waste pollution on the environment.
9) RAISING THE PRICE OF WATER
In Brazil, the National Water Resources Policy considers water as a limited natural resource with economic value. The charge for raw water has an educational character and seeks to encourage rational consumption patterns of this natural resource. Moreover, it is also an important matter to raise funds that will be applied to the management of our own basins.
However, charging for water use is still very incipient in Brazil. Water is essential to the production in industries. It generates income through its use. Therefore, the valuation of this natural resource is a fundamental way to promote water efficiency. However, it is important that the charging for the use of water meets the standards of environmental justice. As water is a fundamental human right for all people, it has to be accessible by even the ones who cannot afford it.
10) INVESTMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Cape Town, South Africa could be the first metropolis of the planet running out of water. Since 2000, the population has been subjected to extreme rationing system to prevent the increase in water consumption. The population is desperate and many people have left the city. The government was not prepared to handle such a complex problem. The results depends on many factors, such as drastic limitations in consumption; reduction of losses in the distribution; and diversification of water matrix with technologies already consolidated, such as desalination.
The case of Cape Town is an alert for cities around the world with water risk. It has reminded us to prepare in advance with proper planning and seek alternatives to possible crises. The cost of seeking solutions for the medium and long term now is much lower and adaptation is less painful for the population.
Thus the way is to invest in science and advanced technologies, following the example of countries cited throughout this post, in order to develop and validate efficient and environmentally sustainable mechanisms for water supply. Economic losses from lack of water are much higher than investing today in science, technology and water infrastructure.
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