1.0 Introduction
Water is life, and although it is tasteless, colourless and orderless, it is still the most valuable source of life. Fresh water is regarded as a universal human right (United Nations Committee in Economics, Social and cultural Rights, 2003).
2.0 Background
70% of the earths surface is covered with water and 90% of this is salt water, over 700 million people don 't have access to clean and safe drinking water (wateringearth.org). Furthermore 30% of the total world area comprises of inhabited arid and semi-arid areas (Howard, Mathais Xin, 2010). It has also been proven that social and economic development of these areas relate to significant water shortages. These areas also face the problem of limited fresh water from
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An IPCC report done in 2009, anticipates that over the next centuries climate change will influence river flows, sea levels and rainfall patterns. Dry and low pressure air contribute to the causes of aridity, therefore aridity is commonly found in areas where anticyclonic conditions are continuous.
3.0 Presentation Of Options
While a number of different techniques are available all over the world to ensure safe, clean drinking water, such as desalination, borehole water (ground water) the building of dams to store rainwater recycling of Municipal waste water, which seems to work well in industrial purpose (Mays, 2008) in Durban, South Arica. Through biological Water Treatment Plant, waste water has been successfully purified, but while it works well in industrial consumption convincing the public it is safe for drinking, it is proving to be a little difficult even though Shemang and Chaoka (2004) points out that the water is 100% safe for human consumption.
Other methods are Water Transfer which works in some countries such as Tanzania since water availability is difficult due to precipitation changes (British Geological Survey, 2004)
In order to sustain life in these regions two techniques will be discussed to ensure a constant supply of fresh water to these regions namely desalination and harvesting water.
Desalination is also referred to as distillation. It is a method whereby sea water is distilled into drinking
Today, desalination is a common process that's used in seaside cities and towns worldwide. There are more than 15,000 desalination plants around the world providing freshwater from salt and brackish water alike (Planet Green 2011). This number continues to grow as researchers work to improve the process, both in terms of cost effectiveness and energy efficiency (DSE 2011). But countries such as Australia, Israel and even the United States are continually adding desalination plants of various sorts into their water-management portfolios. The facilities are common in North Africa and the Mideast, where freshwater is scarce (Chandler 2008).
The Earth is a huge planet this is covered by 70 percent water. Astonishingly from this 70 percent the human population can only use 1 percent of the world’s water the rest of it is salt water, frozen, or in some way unattainable (Santa Clara Valley Water District, 2016). Humans have found many different ways to obtain this 1 percent of fresh water they need, but the techniques vary depending on location. In San Jose, California we obtain our water from 3 major sources: groundwater, imported surface water, and local mountain surface water. These 3 sources contribute different amounts of water to the San Jose community. Imported surface water composes about 50 percent of our water supply, while ground water composes roughly 40 percent, and local mountain surface water composes approximately 10 percent (Santa Jose Water Company, 2016). However, these percentages can change due to factors such as weather and global warming.
Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.
1. There are two main sources of fresh drinking water, ground water and surface water. Ground water originates from precipitations that usually fall in the form of snow or rain. While, the surface water is also originates from precipitate that reaches the land surface and is then recharged into rivers, wetlands and lakes. Although these systems are usually reliable, in desperate time of need, a more reliable source of water is needed. The desalination plant is extremely valuable and flexible because it does not depend on rainfall. Instead, the desalination plant is the only source that relies on seawater. Using seawater in the desalination plant helps meet the community’s water needs and secures the water needs in the future. While other sources of water, such as rainwater or water from dames are not reliable enough to strictly rely
Desalination is basically the procedure of separating excess sodium chloride, minerals and impurities from sea and ocean water to make it usable for irrigation and human consumption. It has been touted to rid the world of its current water problems for nearly 5 decades now, during this period huge strides have been made in the desalination technology. These advances have made it possible to venture into desalination as the long term option to the water problem in many parts of the world. It is seen as long term since the ocean is not going anywhere anytime soon as compared to lakes and rivers that have been going dry seasonally. The state of California is not new to the water shortage problem; as stated above tit has been a witness to previous droughts. It is therefore time to consider a long term solution to this problem.
There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of
Due to the industrial revolution and the increasing in the world population, which leads to water scarcity of potable water and water for industrial applications. To cover the increasing demand of water we have to treat the polluted or saline water using the separation techniques to produce the potable and industrial water. This process it’s called, Water Desalination. Water Desalination is the process that treats the raw water by removing the suspended solids from the water. Sustain or the feed water sources may incorporate briny water or brackish water, seawater, ground water from wells, surface water (rivers and streams), wastewater, industrial feed and process waters. Desalination of seawater has the ability to produce enough amount of
Water scarctiy is something that far too many coutries face. Everyday countries in Africa, the Middle East, India, and China face the detrimental challenges of not having enough water to provide to their population. Over the years there have been many propositions as to how we can help resolve this issue and restore countries access to clean water. However one process has remained. This is known as Water Desalination. Water Desalination is a process that was introduced many years ago to continents and countries located near the equator such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, India, and China which are located on or near the solar belt. It has proven to help bring a substantial amount of clean water to these countries and to overall help deplinish
Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe water supply, almost 2.5 billion people cannot access basic sanitation which caused the deaths of More than five million people who die each year from water-related diseases that are mostly preventable (IHP,2005). Some areas of our world are more affected by the lack of fresh water supply than others, those are considered as Arid regions. Arid and semi-arid regions are characterized by low erratic rainfall of up to 700mm per year, repetitive droughts and different combinations of vegetative cover and soils which are not suitable for cultivation
Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes
Desalination is one of the more popular options being considered to attempt to terminate the drought. Desalination is a process through which salt water is pumped from the ocean in to a treatment facility, and then the salt is extracted to make it possible to be used domestically. This is a long drawn out process, which involves seven different steps. The steps of desalination include the
Solving the global water crisis moves beyond the technical feasibility stage.(2011). Trends Magazine, (104), 19-24.
Water is a very essential component of living things on this world. It comprises three quarters of earth. We need fresh water for agriculture, drinking, medical and many other different purposes. But the renewable fresh water supply is less than 0.3% which is not enough [2]. It is really very hard to get fresh water for people who live near coastal areas to travel very long and get water for them. That is the reason why desalination came into existence where seawater is used as a source to produce potable water for use. The population grown bothered more for the demand of more fresh water. The fresh water resources like rivers, lakes are slowly getting lost or either getting salty [6]. There were several different approaches of desalinating the seawater to
Desalination continues to assist various countries such as Saudi Arabia in increasing their supply of freshwater to the public. In his report, Alghariani (2003) suggests that the expense of spare parts, maintenance and training costs, as well as the difficulty of some processes involved, has lead to the low production volume from desalination techniques, however, Lisa Henthorne of the International Desalination Association, claims that as of 2009, there were 14,451 desalination plants with a combined production volume of 59.9 million cubic metres per day, indicating an increase in the supply of freshwater. Although seawater desalination removes most of the contaminants in the water, and not all, it still provides means for utilizing the ocean, which is the world’s main water resource, and this continues to deliver high quality water, which is suitable for human consumption, therefore making significant contributions to the supply of water to arid regions.
Fresh Water is a fundamental component of the earth’s ecosystems. It is required for food production, different domestic uses, industry, etc. All forms of life are in need to water to survive.