SciAm: The world water shortage looks unsolvable

[GliderGuider]

The world water shortage looks unsolvable

Ever-rising water demand, and climate change, are expected to boost water problems worldwide, especially in countries that are already experiencing shortages. Globally, the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people unable to reach or afford safe drinking water by 2015, but it still must make strides to improve global sanitation, says Aaron Salzberg, the State Department’s Special Coordinator for Water Resources. In addition to supply problems, unclean water causes more than four billion cases of diarrhea a year which lead to roughly 2.2 million deaths, and most are in children under the age of five.

The hearing comes on the heels of stark reminders of the current water shortages that are apparent across the globe. Pakistan, one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, is on the brink of crisis. A recent report from the Asian Development Bank, highlighted by The Atlantic, states that the country’s emergency water reserve only has enough supply for 30 days – more than 30 times below the 1,000-day recommendation for similar countries. Pakistan, the report states, is “not far from being classified as ‘water scarce,’ with less than 1,000 cubic meters per person per year.” Among other factors, climate change is affecting snowmelt and reducing flows into the Indus River, the area’s main water source.

At the hearing, House members pressed speakers for information on tools they might need to better address the problem. Answers, however, are challenging to come by, says Holmes, “It really doesn’t lend itself to easy fixes.” Moreover, when water shortages threaten to elevate tensions where the supply is scarce it can be challenging to provide assistance. “Many countries view water as a sovereign issue and discourage outside intervention,” Salzberg says.

[chervilant]

1. Thank you

for a timely post on a critical issue about which most US citizens -- who routinely purchase wee plastic bottles of water -- are ignorant. And, we should look at who has been buying out water "rights" (strange to think there is such a thing). I encourage awareness for the children's sake -- children do not HAVE to die from diarrhea!

(BTW, my anti-nuke activism does not preclude my awareness of the problems commensurate with coal and fracking. And, my posts re: our species' {likely} imminent extinction event are observations only -- not 'doom and gloom' prophecies.)

[quadrature]

2. simple solution ...stop trying to grow watermelons

in a desert.

[Nay]

3. Another simple solution--make waterless toilets immediately legal to put in any

house, no matter what the local building code says.

[Champion Jack]

4. Another idea: stop using billions of gallons of fresh water to frack oil and gas wells

[wtmusic]

5. Small modular reactors and nuclear desalination

"According to the IAEA, SMRs offer the largest potential as coupling options to nuclear desalination systems in developing countries. The organisation has concluded that the costs for nuclear desalination are around the same as that of natural gas desalination and could even be better, depending on fuel costs.

Jonathan Hinze, a nuclear specialist at UXC Consulting, comments on their potential: “water desalination is what will most likely get SMRs off the block because of its dual use producing electricity and desalinating,” he says.

The dual use produces economic advantages for the technology, which in any case demands a lower upfront capital investment than larger nuclear facilities. There will be many advantages to their use, if they do develop. These include relatively quick construction periods, lower risk of cost overrun as a result of modular construction, increased flexibility to raise generating capacity by adding modules and a potential lower overall cost per kilowatt of electricity generation capacity."

http://analysis.nuclearenergyinsider.com/small-modular-reactors/desalination-and-alternative-markets-get-smrs-starting-block

What to do with the salt? Hint: 50% of the world's sodium chloride production requires fossil fuels.