Will Water Continue to Supply Us?

 During my first year as an Environmental Engineering student, I took a course called "Earth Engineering." It was mainly about soil mechanics, yet the first lesson discussed the natural resources left on this earth, and how humans use them everyday. The most surprising fact was the amount of freshwater on our planet, which is barely anything!! As the years go by, experts keep warning us about the arising water scarcity problem. We have already heard many horror stories like the Flint water crisis, and there are many more to come. To learn more about our current situation, I wrote about the present water issues and their unknown future.

As the planet continues to warm and the world population endlessly grows, the need for water is increasing at a dangerous pace. Majority of the planet is water, however fresh water is the main source of drinking water for humans, and it only constitutes about 1/10,000th of one percent of the total water; of this minute amount, 68.7% is locked in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. As you can probably guess, the largest water source is oceans, seas, and bays that make up 96.54% of the water on this Earth.  Groundwater is another source of freshwater that comes from precipitation that seeps into the ground and refills aquifers. Aquifers are underground layers of permeable materials that collect water and aid in keeping rivers and lakes full. When looking at these statistics, one can see that the fresh water on our planet will eventually run out. But when will this happen? Gilbert Houngbo, the chair of the United Nations-Water sector, predicts that the water demand in 2050 will increase by nearly a third. He also states that if no action is taken, five billion people will be living in areas with poor access to water by 2050. The image below displays the water stress projections 2040 by country, it clearly shows the urgency of this crisis. 

To some, 2050 may seem a far 30 years away, but water scarcity is harming the planet right at this minute. A report: "Reassessing the projects of the World Water Development Report" written in 2019 states that currently, 47% of people live in areas that suffer from water scarcity at least one month each year. An apparent cause of this problem is water pollution. A lot of freshwater gets contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers; these pollutants reach underground aquifers causing the majority of water to be unfit to drink. The contaminates enter the sources of water due to poor water management by officials. A prime example of poor water management and water pollution is the situation in Basra, Iraq. In 2018, Basra was under a significant water crisis where 118,000 residents got hospitalized. The primary water resources of Basra are the Shatt- al-Arab river and freshwater canals. Basra has a lot of surrounding agricultural plants that dammed the rivers and decreased the freshwater flow. The mismanagement started when authorities did not enforce the framework prohibiting companies to discharge their untreated waste in the waterways. This caused the Basra water sources to have pollutants that their water treatment plants could not remove. The Shatt al-Arab river became unfit for drinking as it got filled with chemicals, pollutants, and a seawater intrusion. Additionally, Basra felt the effect of climate change as it experienced fewer rainfalls and higher temperatures, all worsening the water conditions. This water crisis is still ongoing in Iraq, and experts are worried it will only get worse. By 2050, the population of Iraq (40 million) is predicted to double, and the effects of climate change are expected to increase. Another origin of water scarcity is the current agricultural practices used around the world. Agriculture uses 70% of the Earth's accessible freshwater, but due to leaky irrigation systems and ineffective water systems, 60% of that freshwater is wasted! These wasteful techniques cause lakes, rivers, and aquifers to dry out faster leading to many countries such as Spain and the United States to reach their water resource limits.

Fortunately, solutions are arising to aid with the demand of water as it presents a grave problem for our future. Experts agree that the first plan of action is finding a more effective water management strategy. Arjen Hoekstra, a Professor of Water Management in the Netherlands, says that resources should be grown and produced in the most productive areas. For example, water-intensive crops such as rice and cotton should only be grown in water-rich regions. That might seem like an apparent strategy, yet it is not being applied. For instance, Europe depends on countries with elevated levels of water scarcity to produce their water-intensive products. A report by Water Footprint Network states, "Almost all of the crop products imported to the EU from India and Pakistan are sourced from locations with high levels of water scarcity."

With seawater representing the majority of the Earth’s water sources, desalination technology has become of great interest to tackle the water scarcity issue. Desalination is the process of removing salt from water using reverse osmosis. Its main benefit is the abundance of seawater, making it a climate-independent source of water. Unfortunately, there are pressing concerns such as the cost and energy use for the desalination process. Australia has been using desalination since 2006 and most of their plants use “Green Power” such as wind energy to power their plants, which increases the already high operating costs. The plants have been criticized for the steep price and deemed unnecessary as experts  believe Australia could have replaced some plants with lower costing sources of water. Australia claims that it was a rational long-term decision - however, any expert knows that this desalination process is not a solution for every country. A study by the University of Texas came out at the end of 2020 that describes a breakthrough in the desalination process that could lead to cheaper expenses. The researchers discovered that during reverse osmosis the desalination membranes are inconsistent in their density and mass distribution. Having a uniform density is the answer to increasing the amount of water cleaned by the membrane. The study shows it can increase membrane efficiency by 30%-40%, which allows for lower energy use and decreased costs. These findings are currently being modeled and discussed with industry experts to hopefully be implemented in desalination plants.

Water has become such a scarce resource that recently it became a commodity, meaning water is being traded on Wall Street. The news arrived in September of 2020 and was untalked-of due to the distraction COVID-19 caused. This new commodity will allow regions to purchase water during the dry periods to aid with their water scarcity issues. Some say it will clear up uncertain water prices and will add value to water as we should have been for years. On the other hand, some are troubled that putting water in the hands of investors is a mistake as it is a necessity. The future of water is unknown, but with rising technologies and effective strategies, there may be a way for it to continue supplying us with its precious resource.

 

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