The number one global crisis you haven’t heard of…yet

The number one global crisis you haven’t heard of…yet

For anyone lucky enough to live in a country with a ready, stable and high-quality supply of running water, the news that the world’s water is running out may come as something of a shock. After all, there’s gallons of the stuff, with sufficient supplies available to enable us to drink, wash and waste our way through 150 litres per day in the UK.

Yet events last year in Cape Town – voted the world’s best city to visit just four years ago – prove that nowhere is immune to the combined forces of nature and human activity.

Home to around four million people, Cape Town had to implement emergency water saving measures to prevent the city’s taps from running dry. Part of the problem was the failure of infrastructure to keep pace with demand. Between 1995 and 2018, the city’s population grew by 79 percent, yet dam storage was only increased by 15 percent. With rainfall in 2017 the lowest since 1933, there has been a steady reduction in the amount of water available to the city, with the population being given a strict 50-litre a day limit to help avert the very real prospect of completely turning off water supplies.

That something like this could happen to an international centre of commerce and tourism has acted as a wake-up call that water scarcity isn’t just an issue for third world countries.

Indeed, a 2014 survey of the world’s largest 500 cities identified 20 that were in serious danger of running out of water. Alarmingly, these cities include Tokyo, Moscow and London, all of which rely on their respective rivers to help meet a significant percentage of their water supply requirements.

Much of the problem stems from the fact that there are just too many of us. In the last 40 years, the world’s population has doubled, while demand for freshwater has quadrupled. According to predictions, this situation will only get worse. In the next thirty years, the world’s population is projected to grow further, from its current level of 7.5 billion to around 10 billion. This population explosion is made worse when food comes into the equation; feeding a larger world population will require 50 percent more fresh water, something which will not be easy to achieve.

The only way this could be achieved at the current time would be through the widespread construction and operation of desalination plants to turn ocean water into a useable potable supply. Widely used throughout the Middle East, the technology is also being adopted in other water stressed regions of the world, including California. Already home to America’s largest desalination plant, the state has a further eight desalination projects planned to help alleviate its severe water supply problems.

The cost and potential environmental concerns that surround their construction and operation mean that desalination plants have tended to be viewed as a last option, with the energy needed to turn seawater into potable water making the desalination process double the cost of treating freshwater. 

In the last 40 years, the world’s population has doubled, while demand for freshwater has quadrupled

Nevertheless, the UN predicts that 14 percent of the world will turn to desalination as a way of meeting their freshwater requirements by 2025, compared with just one percent today.

Treating water as a precious commodity

One of the interesting aspects of the Cape Town water shortage was how it was managed. Originally, Day Zero, the day on which the city’s water supplies were due to run out, was forecast for the start of April. This deadline was progressively shifted by collective action that saw everyone, from individuals through to large businesses, taking action to curb their water consumption. In this way, the city’s water consumption was effectively halved compared to 2014 levels, enabling a water supply - albeit a severely restricted one - to be maintained.

By imposing hefty fines for households that exceed their daily limit of 50 litres per person per day, encouraging the re-use of water from showers and limiting toilet flushes to once a day, Cape Town managed to avert its water crisis. 

This example shows what can be achieved if there is the willingness to treat water as a valuable commodity. It also warns other cities and nations to conserve water use, particularly when countries such as England could face the same issues in years to come.

Much like Cape Town, England’s main water sources are currently overstretched. With a population predicted to surpass 70 million by 2026, stress on water supplies shows no immediate signs of abating. Even if the predicted population growth slows and the impact of climate change is less severe, there will be still significant water shortages by the 2050s.

If we accept Cape Town’s example and England’s future plight as a warning of things to come, then the need to protect our freshwater supplies – whether they be naturally occurring or from desalination – becomes clear.

The UN predicts that 14 percent of the world will turn to desalination as a way of meeting their freshwater requirements by 2025

There are several ways this can be achieved, with both sides of the equation – water providers and water users – having a role to play.

For water providers, there is a need to lead by example. There is little incentive for users, whether domestic or industrial, to save water if millions of litres are being lost before they even reach homes and factories. For this reason, there needs to be serious and sustained investment in detecting, managing and reducing the incidence of lost water in water networks, utilising the latest techniques and technologies. This includes not just finding and repairing leaks but also assessing the extent of water being lost through other means, including unauthorised extraction.

For those that do this, and do it well, there is the welcome prospect of a significant boost in revenues. International development agency USAID estimates that over 32 billion m3 of treated water is lost from water networks worldwide, representing a loss of potential revenue totalling around $14bn. Depending on where in the world you are, such losses can account for 20 to 60 percent of the total water supplied. By being able to measure and pinpoint where these losses are occurring, and acting to recover them, there is the scope for significant financial rewards.

For water users, there needs to be a realisation that water is neither free nor in infinite supply. Those who argue that access to clean water is a basic human right need to also remember that this same right extends to everybody worldwide – we may not be happy that we must pay for it, but the money it raises can be put back into making networks more efficient.

Industrial water users also have their role to play, not only in using water more responsibly, but also when it comes to the treatment and disposal of wastewater. Published in 2017, the United Nations World Water Development Report estimates that worldwide around 80 percent of all wastewater is released into waterways without being treated. Not only does this waste what little we have of this precious resource, but it also pollutes our ecosystems and damages aquatic life.

Encouragingly, legislation is increasingly being introduced to combat this. In Europe, for example, the Water Framework Directive and the Environmental Permitting Regulations, both place strict controls on wastewater treatment and discharge, with stiff penalties for infringement.

Industries may be more culpable than most when it comes to wasting water, but this awareness needs to be applied at home. Turning the tap off when we brush our teeth, having a bath rather than a shower and reducing the amount we just pour down the sink can help. Perhaps our wasteful actions need to be governed by legal requirement?

Times change and outdated, dangerous or unacceptable practices can be replaced. Consider seatbelts in cars. In the 1970s, hardly anybody wore one. Following extensive campaigning and the introduction of strict legislation, including financial penalties for non-compliance, it would now be rare to find anyone who doesn’t belt up as soon as they get into their vehicle. The same applies to restrictions placed on smoking in public places such as pubs and restaurants, both of which were previously havens for smokers.

If we’re to ensure that water shortages remain the biggest crisis we’ve never heard of, maybe it’s high time we took the same stringent approach to water consumption. Before it’s too late.

Yes, water is certainly the most critical issue humanity will face pretty soon. China is already aware of this and working hard. By 2030, 40% of gap between supply and demand will occur and much more in water stress areas.

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