tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/world-water-day-25962/articlesWorld Water Day – The Conversation2023-03-22T20:06:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2017562023-03-22T20:06:56Z2023-03-22T20:06:56ZHow the bottled water industry is masking the global water crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516888/original/file-20230322-28-8wbvdz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=170%2C78%2C4191%2C2635&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bottled water corporations exploit surface water and aquifers, buy water at a very low cost and sell it for 150 to 1,000 times more than the same unit of municipal tap water.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bottled water is one of the world’s most popular beverages, and <a href="https://www.statista.com/study/55493/non-alcoholic-drinks-report/">its industry</a> is making the most of it. Since the millennium, the world has advanced significantly towards the goal of safe water for all. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-drinking-water">In 2020, 74 per cent of humanity had access to safe water</a>. This is 10 per cent more than two decades ago. But that still leaves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1067123">two billion people without access to safe drinking water</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, bottled water corporations exploit surface water and aquifers — typically at very low cost — and sell it for <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/ambio-a-journal-of-the-human-environment/volume-30/issue-2/0044-7447-30.2.118/Bottled-Water-Understanding-a-Social-Phenomenon/10.1579/0044-7447-30.2.118.short">150 to 1,000 times more</a> than the same unit of municipal tap water. The price is often justified by offering the product as an absolute safe alternative to tap water. But bottled water is not immune to all contamination, considering that it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1220">rarely faces the rigorous public health and environmental regulations that public utility tap water does</a>. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://inweh.unu.edu/global-bottled-water-industry-a-review-of-impacts-and-trends/">recently published study</a>, which studied 109 countries, it was concluded that the highly profitable and fast-growing bottled water industry is masking the failure of public systems to supply reliable drinking water for all.</p>
<p>The industry can undermine progress of safe-water projects, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, by distracting development efforts and redirecting attention to a less reliable, less affordable option.</p>
<h2>Bottled water industry can disrupt SDGs</h2>
<p>The fast-growing bottled water industry also impacts the UN’s <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDG) in many ways. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pile of plastic bottle waste." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516889/original/file-20230322-20-t3cg69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rising sales of global bottled water is contributing to plastic pollution on land and in the oceans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The latest <a href="https://inweh.unu.edu/global-bottled-water-industry-a-review-of-impacts-and-trends/">UN University report</a> revealed that the annual sales of the global bottled water market is expected to double to US$500 billion worldwide this decade. This can increase stress in water-depleted areas while contributing to plastic pollution on land and in the oceans.</p>
<p>Growing <a href="https://www.statista.com/study/55496/food-report-2021/">faster than any other in the food category worldwide</a>, the bottled water market is biggest in the Global South, with the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin American and Caribbean regions accounting for 60 per cent of all sales.</p>
<p>But no region is on track to achieve universal access to safe water services, which is one of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6">SDG 2030 targets</a>. In fact, the industry’s greatest impact seems to be its potential to stunt the progress of nations’ goals to provide its residents with equitable access to affordable drinking water.</p>
<h2>Impact on vulnerable nations</h2>
<p>In the Global North, bottled water is often perceived to be healthier and tastier than tap water. It is, therefore, more a luxury good than a necessity. Meanwhile, in the Global South, it is the lack or absence of reliable public water supply and water management infrastructure that drives bottled water markets. </p>
<p>Therefore, in many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the Asia Pacific, rising consumption of bottled water can be seen as a proxy indicator of decades of governments’ failure to deliver on commitments to safe public water systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people fill water in their drums from a truck carrying municipal water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516890/original/file-20230322-20-voxzso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rising consumption of bottled water in some countries can be seen as a proxy indicator of decades of governments’ failure to deliver on commitments to safe public water systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This further widens the global disparity between the billions of people who lack access to reliable water services and the others that enjoy water as a luxury.</p>
<p>In 2016, the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/cfbfaf80-3930-5ffd-a5bf-6ded12a1340e">annual financing required to achieve a safe drinking water supply throughout the world was estimated to cost US$114 billion</a>, which amounts to less than half of today’s roughly US$270 billion global annual bottled water sales. </p>
<h2>Regulating the bottled-water industry</h2>
<p>Last year, the World Health Organization <a href="https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-drinking-water">estimated that the current rate of progress needs to quadruple to meet the SDGs 2030 target</a>. But this is a colossal challenge considering the competing financial priorities and the prevailing business-as-usual attitude in the water sector.</p>
<p>As the bottled water market grows, it is more important than ever to strengthen legislation that regulates the industry and its water quality standards. Such legislation can impact bottled water quality control, groundwater exploitation, land use, plastic waste management, carbon emissions, finance and transparency obligations, to mention a few.</p>
<p>Our report argues that, with global progress toward this target so far off-track, expansion of the bottled water market essentially works against making headway, or at least slows it down, adversely affecting investments and long-term public water infrastructure.</p>
<p>Some high-level initiatives, like an alliance of <a href="https://sdg.iisd.org/news/ceos-explore-solutions-to-bridge-annual-usd-4-3-trillion-sdg-financing-gap/">Global Investors for Sustainable Development</a>, aim to scale up finance for the SDGs, including water-related ones. </p>
<p>Such initiatives offer the bottled water sector an opportunity to become an active player in this process and help accelerate progress toward reliable water supply, particularly in the Global South.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zeineb Bouhlel works for United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). UNU-INWEH is supported by the Government of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vladimir Smakhtin received funding from Global Affairs Canada </span></em></p>The bottled water industry can undermine progress of projects aimed at creating safe-water systems for all, by redirecting attention to a less reliable, less affordable option.Zeineb Bouhlel, Research Associate, Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), United Nations UniversityVladimir Smakhtin, Former Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022852023-03-22T15:07:53Z2023-03-22T15:07:53ZFreshwater ecosystems are becoming increasingly salty. Here’s why this is a concern<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516784/original/file-20230321-502-l9q2xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C28%2C3844%2C2860&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Roads require de-icing strategies in northern regions, but this practice has negative effects on aquatic biodiversity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Freshwater ecosystems around the world <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad3488">are becoming saltier and saltier</a>. Many human-driven factors contribute to freshwater salinization, including: irrigation, oil extraction, <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1287569/mine-potasse-saskatchewan-sedley-environnement-pollution">potash mining</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/laccumulation-des-sels-de-deglacage-dans-les-lacs-menace-ceux-qui-y-vivent-179166">road de-icing</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, salts enter waterways. But as bad news never comes alone, the salts are often accompanied by a toxic cocktail of other pollutants, whose combined toxicological effects are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711234115">largely unknown</a>.</p>
<p>Although the problem of rising freshwater salinization went largely unaddressed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2934-5_30">for many decades</a>, it has gained considerable attention<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507389102"> during the last 20 years</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists around the world are working together to understand the ecological impacts of increasing salinization on aquatic biodiversity and food webs. Our ultimate goal? To examine the adequacy of water quality toxicity thresholds for the protection of aquatic life. </p>
<h2>Salinization, a major problem</h2>
<p>Canada is home to a majority of the world’s freshwater resources, mostly concentrated in the provinces <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13603">of Ontario and Québec</a>, where close to 5 million tons of road salt are applied annually <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/pollutants/road-salts/code-practice-environmental-management.html">to de-ice roads</a>. </p>
<p>Combined with climate change and increasing frequency and duration of drought in many regions of the world, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1633">the problem is getting worse</a>. This is a major concern. Why? Because the availability of freshwater resources will become a critical factor for humanity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011615108">over the next 50 years</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516786/original/file-20230321-16-qtyme2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The inequitable global distribution of surface freshwater resource availability. (Source: Philippe Rekacewicz, February 2006).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Researchers from around the world mobilized</h2>
<p>We recently presented a series of articles in a special issue on freshwater salinization in the journal <em>Limnology and Oceanography Letters</em>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10307">published last February</a>. </p>
<p>In this special issue, we focus on sodium chloride (NaCl), the same molecule found in table salt, as a key agent of freshwater salinization. We highlight a series of co-ordinated field experiments, conducted by researchers in North America and Europe, that have addressed the impacts of freshwater salinization on <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/zooplancton">zooplankton</a> (microscopic crustaceans) at a regional scale.</p>
<p>Zooplankton are an ecologically critical group in aquatic food webs and are often used as indicators to detect environmental change due to their sensitive ecological tolerances. </p>
<p>The main conclusions of these experiments are as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Water quality guidelines in Canada and the United States (standards) do not adequately protect freshwater zooplankton, which could lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115033119">an increase in the abundance of algae</a>, which the zooplankton feed on. This is because when zooplankton abundance decreases, especially for large grazers such as Daphnia, phytoplankton can proliferate under conditions of reduced predation; </li>
<li>Salinization of freshwater systematically leads to a loss of abundance and diversity of zooplankton <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10239">in all regions</a>; and </li>
<li>Individuals of the same zooplankton species do not all exhibit the same tolerance to salinity. Thus, this variation may interfere with our ability to predict community-level responses. Water quality guidelines may therefore need to be adjusted to become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10277">more region-specific</a>.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516423/original/file-20230320-16-m9r9yu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regional coverage of a co-ordinated field mesocosm experiment (Hintz et al. 2022b, Hébert et al. 2022; Arnott et al. 2022), with an example of one of the experiments that was conducted at Lac Croche (Québec, Canada) (Astorg et al. 2022) (Figure modified from Hintz et al. 2022b).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A matter of regulation</h2>
<p>Many questions remain unanswered. However, what we do now know is that long-term water quality guidelines (Canada: 120 mg Cl⁻¹L⁻¹; United States: 230 mg Cl⁻¹L⁻¹) and in the short term (Canada: 640 mg Cl⁻¹L⁻¹; United States: 860 mg Cl⁻¹L⁻¹) for chloride concentrations are too high to protect aquatic life <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02396">in Canada and in the United States</a>. For reference, a pinch of salt in a pot of water corresponds to approximately 0.3 mg of Cl⁻¹/L⁻¹. In other words, adverse effects are observed at much lower concentrations. Regulations in Canada and the United States should therefore be reviewed. In Europe, the water quality standards for salinity <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0019">for the protection of aquatic life in freshwater ecosystems are mostly absent</a>. </p>
<h2>The importance of taking concrete action</h2>
<p>Water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life are generally established using laboratory tests (called toxicological tests) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10208">on a single species</a>. </p>
<p>However, aquatic habitats harbour a complex array of predators, prey, competitors, and pathogens, the interactions of which can limit our ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.01.066">predict the responses of communities and species to pollutants </a>. </p>
<p>Thus, the collective research published in this special issue also highlights the importance of understanding ecological responses in multi-species communities in natural settings to assess <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115033119">the responses of freshwater life to human impacts</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516409/original/file-20230320-1978-kggv7i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aerial view of a field enclosure experiment conducted in a chloride-sensitive lake in the Laurentians (Québec) (Astorg et al. 2022) (Photo credit: Étienne Laliberté).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Overall, we should develop alternative applications and technologies that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-1064-6">more sustainable and efficient</a>.</p>
<p>We also need to establish <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0019">more appropriate water quality guidelines</a> to improve controls on salts entering our freshwater environments to reduce adverse effects on aquatic life <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00784-w">and the quality of our freshwater resources</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202285/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Although it has been considerably less studied than other environmental problems, salinization presents major challenges for biodiversity in freshwater and coastal areas.Alison Derry, Professeure agrégée, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles, Profesor lector en Ecología, Universitat de BarcelonaStephanie J Melles, Associate Professor, Spatial Ecology, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2017042023-03-21T08:58:39Z2023-03-21T08:58:39ZAfrica’s aquifers hold more than 20 times the water stored in the continent’s lakes, but they aren’t the answer to water scarcity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515190/original/file-20230314-2482-5vni0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Giordano Cipriani/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Discoveries of aquifers – underground earth formations that hold water – often create excitement around their ability to ease water scarcity in a region. </p>
<p>For instance, about 10 years ago a large aquifer was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24049800">discovered</a> in Kenya’s Turkana region. This is one of the hottest, driest parts of Kenya and it frequently suffers from drought. The government claimed that the aquifer could supply the entire country with water for 70 years. More recently, the US announced the <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-a-press-availability-31/">discovery</a> of five aquifers in Niger, one of Africa’s <a href="https://washdata.org/data/household#!/ner">most water scarce</a> countries, containing over 600 billion cubic metres of water. To put it into perspective, Egypt’s current water demand is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508060.2021.1921503">114 billion cubic metres</a> of water per year. </p>
<p>These are welcome announcements. Due to a changing climate and the increasing demands of a growing population, <a href="https://theconversation.com/worrying-insights-from-uns-first-ever-assessment-of-water-security-in-africa-179577#:%7E:text=Only%2013%20of%2054%20countries,to%20reach%20an%20acceptable%20level.">many of Africa’s surface water resources</a> – such as dams and rivers – are under strain. They’re being overused and slowly depleted. </p>
<p>Alternative water sources, like aquifers, need to be explored. Based on Africa’s geology we know aquifers are <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abd661">highly prevalent</a> across the continent. But, as a groundwater and aquifer expert, I want to highlight that they’re not always going to help address water scarcity. For instance, early research findings <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/rift-valley/article/2001440969/residents-hope-dimmed-as-aquafer-water-unfit-for-use">deemed</a> Kenya’s Turkana aquifer water unfit for use due to high salinity.</p>
<p>It’s important to bear these challenges in mind so that expectations can be managed. It is also useful for planners and governments, as they need to think of other ways around the water scarcity problem.</p>
<h2>Africa’s aquifers</h2>
<p>The volume of groundwater that’s held in African aquifers is <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009">estimated to be</a> 0.66 million km³. This is more than 100 times the annual renewable freshwater resources stored in dams and rivers, and 20 times the freshwater stored in Africa’s lakes. </p>
<p>The size and shape of an aquifer is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/groundwater.pdf">based</a> on the body of rock beneath the Earth’s surface. Some can be in the form of caves and hold water on a large scale. Some can range from a few metres thick to hundreds of metres with multiple layers. Aquifers can also extend for many kilometres or be localised in certain areas. </p>
<p>Water gets into these aquifers in different ways. Some are filled by new rainfall, others hold old, or ancient, rainfall. In Africa, most are found less than <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009">50 metres</a> below the ground’s surface.</p>
<p>Many of Africa’s aquifers are <a href="https://www.un-igrac.org/resource/transboundary-aquifers-africa-map-2022">spread across country borders</a>, meaning countries have to share the water resource. The largest volumes of groundwater in Africa are <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009">found in</a> large aquifers in Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan.</p>
<p>There are various ways to tap into aquifers, including hand-dug wells, drilled wells and boreholes, and <a href="https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/56/What-is-a-Spring#:%7E:text=As%20rainwater%20enters%20or%20%22recharges,surface%20at%20places%20called%20springs">natural springs</a>. </p>
<h2>Tapping into the groundwater</h2>
<p>Some countries have already taken steps to tap into aquifers. </p>
<p>South Africa has two massive aquifers. The largest stretches from Cape Town to Gqeberha, a city 750km away. This geological formation <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/58914805.pdf">covers</a> a surface area of 37,000km² and ranges in thickness from 900 metres to 4,000 metres. The other big one is the Cape Flats aquifer. It is estimated that by 2036, almost R5 billion (about US$274 million) will have been invested to tap these aquifers. They will yield about half of the amount of water in the Berg River dam, which provides <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/r15bil-berg-river-dam-supply-20-cape-towns-water">almost 20%</a> of the City of Cape Town’s supply.</p>
<p>Another large aquifer on the continent, containing only ancient trapped water, is the <a href="https://www-naweb.iaea.org/napc/ih/documents/factsheetsPosters/Nubian%20-%20Transboundary%20Aquifers%20and%20Rivers%20Basins.pdf">Nubian Sandstone</a> in North Africa. It covers about 2 million km², and spans Libya, Egypt, Sudan and Chad. It contains more than 150,000km³ of groundwater – more water than the Nile River <a href="https://eos.org/articles/ancient-water-underlies-arid-egypt">discharges</a> in 500 years. The countries it spans <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/chad/four-african-nations-agree-water-management-programme">are tapping</a> into the aquifer and have agreed on its fair use. </p>
<p>Libya has undertaken the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356666715_The_Great_Man-_Made_River_Project">Great Man-Made River project</a> to pipe water hundreds of kilometres from the Nubian sandstone to the coast by means of gravity flow. </p>
<h2>Challenges in using aquifers</h2>
<p>But aquifers aren’t a silver bullet. There are many factors to consider when using them as a water source. </p>
<p><strong>Distance</strong></p>
<p>The distance between the aquifer and where the water is needed can be an obstacle. In some places in Africa, this distance is covered by women carrying buckets and walking for many kilometres. The construction of pipelines and infrastructure can be costly.</p>
<p>A related challenge is the depth required to drill for groundwater, which can incur great costs. A type of X-ray is done of the surface to confirm whether there are groundwater resources worth exploiting, and then there’s the expense of a drilling rig. </p>
<p><strong>Water quality</strong></p>
<p>Water quality in an aquifer isn’t always good. Sometimes it’s polluted by human activity; sometimes the water takes on characteristics of the surrounding material in the ground. </p>
<p>An example is outside Gqeberha, which has one of the largest drilled wells in the Southern Hemisphere. It yields about 100 litres per second. Unfortunately the iron content of the water is <a href="https://issuu.com/glen.t/docs/imiesa_august_2020/s/10926142">above the required standards</a>. It has to be treated before it is drinkable. </p>
<p><strong>Unsustainable groundwater use</strong></p>
<p>Overpumping is becoming common in certain areas, especially cities. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223625261_The_use_of_garden_boreholes_in_Cape_Town_South_Africa_Lessons_learnt_from_Perth_Western_Australia">Cape Town</a> and <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/nairobi/2019-01-17-no-more-boreholes-to-be-drilled-water-table-dropping-warns-cs/">Nairobi</a> are reporting hundreds of well points being drilled for residents to use. Cases of wells drying up and water levels dropping rapidly <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc2755">have been reported</a> in places.</p>
<p>Industrial activity, agriculture and chemical leaks can also affect groundwater quality.</p>
<p>Overpumping can also cause seawater to get into groundwater. The more dense seawater migrates to replace the freshwater removed from an aquifer. This has devastating implications for the storage capacity of the aquifers as well as the overall groundwater quality. It has been seen in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246822762030140X#:%7E:text=The%20intrusion%20of%20seawater%20into,are%20the%20unconfined%20coastal%20aquifers">certain coastal aquifers</a>. Saline intrusions are very difficult to address.</p>
<h2>Meeting water needs</h2>
<p>Despite these concerns, aquifers have the capacity to provide some water in almost all parts of Africa. Groundwater is part of the solution to water scarcity, but not the entire solution. It should be used in a way that keeps it available long into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaathier Mahed does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Aquifers are highly prevalent across Africa – but they’re not always going to be usable.Gaathier Mahed, Senior lecturer, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1796202022-03-21T18:09:53Z2022-03-21T18:09:53ZGroundwater: depleting reserves must be protected around the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453335/original/file-20220321-21-1hj00o7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A well brings groundwater to the surface at an oasis in Egypt. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/36424070724/in/photolist-26if5jE-XuETeo-7PABtL">Water Alternatives Photos</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Though water is central to our everyday lives and indeed life itself, we often mark World Water Day on March 22 not by reminding ourselves of all that water brings, but of the consequences of its absence or contamination. </p>
<p>As the American polymath <a href="https://archive.org/details/privatelifeoflat00franrich/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater">Benjamin Franklin noted</a>, “when the well runs dry, we (shall) know the worth of water”. This direct reference to groundwater, the water flowing through the pores and cracks in rocks beneath our feet, is fitting as the theme of this year’s water day is <a href="https://www.worldwaterday.org/">Groundwater: Making the Invisible, Visible</a>. </p>
<p>Groundwater is our planet’s invaluable natural store of freshwater but it is woefully neglected. It differs from the water running off into rivers, lakes and wetlands as this underground flow derives from precipitation that occurred years, decades or even millennia ago. Much of the estimated <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2590">23 million km³</a> of groundwater in the upper 2 km of the Earth’s crust is ancient. Yet even the shallower and more easily accessible water, part which has been replenished by rain over the past half century, still greatly exceeds all other unfrozen water on Earth.</p>
<p>Found throughout landscapes on all continents, groundwater plays a vital role in not only sustaining water-dependent ecosystems during period of low or absent rainfall, but also providing people with access to safe water, especially off-grid communities. In drylands that stretch across around 40% of the world, groundwater is often the only perennial source of freshwater. It is estimated that <a href="https://www.un-igrac.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/Groundwater_around_world.pdf">half of</a> the world’s drinking water and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-1037-2021">a quarter of</a> all the water used in irrigation are currently sourced by groundwater drawn from wells and springs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman uses a well" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453325/original/file-20220321-23-mdis59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Water, water every where nor any drop to drink’ – a woman pumps fresh deep.
groundwater in coastal Bangladesh while surrounded by brackish surface
water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Taylor</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Groundwater flowing within rocks underground known as aquifers is generally more resilient to climate variability and change than surface waters. Therefore droughts – whose frequency and severity are amplified by global warming – often increase dependence upon groundwater. This was recently witnessed in Cape Town in South Africa, which narrowly avoided <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05649-1">“day zero”</a> when the municipal water supply would be turned off. It has even been argued that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107358">human evolution itself</a> relied on continuous spring discharges during periods of extreme drought.</p>
<p>The world is expected to become more dependent upon fresh water stored as groundwater as societies adapt to a world in which rain falls <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3110">less frequently but in heavier bursts</a> brought about by climate change. Recent evidence suggests such changes in rainfall may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1441-7">favour groundwater replenishment</a> in the tropics to cope with drier periods, and that irrigation with groundwater could address climate change threats to rain-fed agriculture. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in field beside pipe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453330/original/file-20220321-13-831xiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Onion crops irrigated by groundwater in southeastern Niger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boukari Issoufou</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Exploited and contaminated</h2>
<p>Despite groundwater’s invaluable attributes, it is not immune to overexploitation or contamination. For instance, continued groundwater pumping in some of the world’s most productive food-growing regions – California’s Central Valley, the North China Plain, northwest India, the High Plains of the US – is rapidly depleting reserves. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of global groundwater depletion" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453320/original/file-20220321-13-1ny1oc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Groundwater is running low in some of the world’s main agricultural areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/2022/en">UNESCO</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, some of the world’s fastest growing cities such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-007-0226-5">Dhaka (Bangladesh)</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-020-02236-5">Nairobi (Kenya)</a> are struggling to reliably provide safe water as the groundwater below is running out. Groundwater depletion in both contexts disproportionately affects lower-income households and farmers who are typically less able to engage in a “race to the bottom” and drill deeper wells.</p>
<p>Groundwater in coastal areas is also becoming more salty, thanks to intensive pumping and rising sea levels, which both serve to drive sea water into underground aquifers. This salinisation especially affects groundwater in low-lying nations across the world and has the potential <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050">to force</a> millions of people to leave their homes. </p>
<p>Use of groundwater is also impaired by the natural leaching of pollutants such as <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/water-quality/unicef-who-arsenic-primer.pdf">fluoride and arsenic</a> from their host rocks – arsenic leaking into wells in Bangladesh has been described as the <a href="https://www.who.int/bulletin/archives/78%289%291093.pdf">largest mass poisoning</a> in history. Human activity, be it indiscriminate use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture, inadequate sanitation infrastructure, or ineffective regulation of industrial practices, also threatens the sustainability of groundwater use.</p>
<h2>A common resource</h2>
<p>As groundwater is out of sight, it has long been out of mind. Many countries struggle to monitor and evaluate their supplies, and only invest a tiny fraction of the resources they allocate to tracking surface water. There has also been a lack of investment in training and education in groundwater science, known as hydrogeology. </p>
<p>Like fisheries, groundwater is a commons, which is constantly threatened by <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1724745">The Tragedy of the Commons</a> – a situation where individual users act in their own self-interest to deplete or degrade a resource, contrary to the collective good. The Nobel-Prize winning economist Elinor Ostrom showed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316423936">cooperation is possible</a>, however. She identified a set of conditions from case studies that included shared use of groundwater in which a community of users regulates individual access to develop common-pool resources prudently and sustainably. If we are to make groundwater visible, and ensure it provides equitable and climate-resilient access to water throughout the world, then such cooperative approaches are urgently required.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Taylor receives funding from UKRI, The Royal Society and FCDO. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohammad Shamsudduha ('Shams') does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our planet’s invaluable natural store of freshwater is woefully neglected.Richard Taylor, Professor of Hydrogeology, UCLMohammad Shamsudduha ('Shams'), Associate Professor in Humanitarian Science, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1520662021-03-22T14:58:01Z2021-03-22T14:58:01ZHow the UK’s first lockdown changed water habits – and risked shortages<p>Though it may have escaped the public’s attention at the time, the three months from late March to June 2020 were exceptionally challenging for water providers all across the UK. The sudden changes in personal routines that greeted the onset of lockdown influenced when people showered, cleaned and looked after their homes and gardens. </p>
<p>With offices, restaurants and other public places closed and everyone but essential workers told to stay at home, water companies struggled to balance supply with the unusual patterns of domestic demand.</p>
<p>It didn’t help that the period was also particularly <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2020/2020-spring-and-may-stats">sunny and dry</a>. By the end of May, the daily peak in water consumption was <a href="https://www.artesia-consulting.co.uk/blog/New%20Waterwise%20article!%20The%20effect%20of%20the%20coronavirus%20lockdown%20on%20water%20use">35% higher</a> than before lockdown and came in the evening, whereas it previously peaked around 8am. About 2,000 homes in the Midlands <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-52875417">suffered water shortages</a> and several water companies had to ask clients to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-52890535">reduce how much water they used</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://artesia.shinyapps.io/Artesia-Reports/">We charted</a> this unique period by speaking with people living in England and Wales and tracking water use in data, news articles and scientific studies. While some of these changes may only be temporary, some in the water sector worry that demand patterns and increased home water use may become locked into everyday routines as more people opt to work from home.</p>
<h2>Working from home</h2>
<p>Throughout lockdown, people did most of their drinking, cooking, dish washing and toilet flushing at home. Those working from home slipped into more flexible domestic routines without the commute determining when they needed to rise and shower. This meant that water use didn’t spike first thing on weekday mornings as it normally would. The morning peak shifted from 9am to 10am, while more generally, water use was higher during lockdown on average.</p>
<p><strong>Average hourly consumption before and during lockdown</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A line graph showing daily peaks and troughs in water use." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390913/original/file-20210322-19-1d3vi2b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.artesia-consulting.co.uk/">Artesia</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Water use increased most during evenings, when homeworkers had more free time to invest in cooking and other activities without the commute. That meant people consuming more water washing fresh produce, boiling rice and pasta and cleaning dishes. </p>
<p>These thirsty lifestyle changes during lockdown were eventually tempered somewhat as people staying at home showered, washed their hair and did their laundry less often – and used less water and energy in the process. Compared to the workplace, working from home demanded fewer social expectations to be presentable. </p>
<h2>Leisure and gardening</h2>
<p>Cleanliness routines structured leisure time and relaxation in otherwise monotonous days. People who were no longer able to visit cinemas, pubs and restaurants replaced these treats with a relaxing bath or an invigorating shower. With the “one journey outside” <a href="https://theconversation.com/daily-exercise-rules-got-people-moving-during-lockdown-heres-what-the-government-needs-to-do-next-143773">policy</a>, the people we spoke to were exercising more and taking extra showers to freshen up throughout the day.</p>
<p>Domestic gardens became important spaces for recreation and socialising too. Throughout the spring and early summer of 2020, <a href="https://www.business-live.co.uk/retail-consumer/garden-furniture-retailer-moda-reports-18267964">sales of garden furniture</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/23/pool-sales-covid-19-backyard-swimming">paddling pools</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/how-lockdown-has-created-veg-growing-revolution-uk-coronavirus">plant seeds</a> rocketed. </p>
<p>The government’s Office for National Statistics <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/anewnormalhowpeoplespenttheirtimeafterthemarch2020coronaviruslockdown/2020-12-09">reported that</a> the amount of time people spent gardening doubled in March and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2015. Many people relied on hosepipes as water butts used for collecting rainwater ran dry.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-analysed-electricity-demand-and-found-coronavirus-has-turned-weekdays-into-weekends-134606">We analysed electricity demand and found coronavirus has turned weekdays into weekends</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Adapting to change</h2>
<p>With the full return of students to school in September, patterns of water use returned to something resembling life pre-lockdown.</p>
<p>But the new habits that people picked up during lockdown will potentially linger for months and even years after the pandemic. Many people we spoke to as part of our study expected to continue working from home after government restrictions were lifted. Prior to the outbreak, 68% of British employees <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/articles-reports/2020/09/22/most-workers-want-work-home-after-covid-19">never worked from home</a>. As the country prepares to emerge from its third national lockdown, the <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/working-home-revolutionising-uk-labour-market">evidence suggests</a> that more than 40% want to continue working from home for a few days a week.</p>
<p>Before the pandemic, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/escaping-the-jaws-of-death-ensuring-enough-water-in-2050">Environment Agency was warning</a> that the UK is at risk of running short of water by 2050 due to climate change and population growth. Water companies are preparing with efficiency measures and long-term planning, but the large shifts in where water was consumed and how much during spring 2020 caught many of them by surprise.</p>
<p>Water helped preserve a semblance of normal life for many during lockdown, by helping people discover the relative freedom of their own gardens and in offering an escape from boredom and a chance to relax. For others, greater water use at home will have meant <a href="https://www.nea.org.uk/publications/covid-water-use-and-the-impact-on-poverty-in-the-uk/">higher bills</a> which some struggled to afford. </p>
<p>Lockdowns have shown how wider social trends influence water demand. Flexible working arrangements encouraged people to move their most water-intensive routines outside peak hours, but new routines made many people use more water in daily life. And if a new generation of gardeners emerges from the pandemic, there’s an opportunity to encourage water-wise gardening practices. Water butts which pool rainwater could help households cut their water demand in future by using hosepipes less often.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cecilia Alda Vidal received funding from the University of Manchester’s Collaboration Labs programme, the Economic and Social Research Council, Artesia, Anglian Water and the Anglian Centre for Water Studies at the University of East Anglia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Browne has received funding from ESRC, EPSRC, Innovate UK, Artesia Consulting, Anglian Water and the Anglian Centre for Water Studies at the University of East Anglia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruby Smith has received funding from Artesia Consulting, Anglian Water and the Anglian Centre for Water Studies at the University of East Anglia.
</span></em></p>With fewer people commuting, home water use changed radically overnight in March 2020.Cecilia Alda Vidal, PhD student in Human Geography, University of ManchesterAlison Browne, Lecturer in Human Geography, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of ManchesterRuby Smith, Research Assistant in Geography, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561802021-03-18T15:09:08Z2021-03-18T15:09:08ZHow droughts and floods lead to migration — and 7 things governments can do to help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387106/original/file-20210301-21-6s92gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=70%2C121%2C4142%2C2712&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ferries on the Padma River in Bangladesh. Development reports, academic research and news indicate that water- and climate-driven migration crises are escalating in Bangladesh.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Nidhi Nagabhatla)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Extreme water events affecting water for drinking, cooking, washing and agriculture drive migration all over the world. Earlier this year, cyclone Eloise battered Mozambique, displacing 100,000 to 400,000 people and weakening the country’s infrastructure. People displaced by the storm were in need of <a href="https://www.iom.int/news/frightened-residents-brace-cyclone-eloise-approaches-mozambique">food, hygiene kits and personal protective equipment (PPE)</a>.</p>
<p>Cyclones are just one form of extreme water events that will play out <a href="https://environmentalmigration.iom.int/blogs/reconsidering-water-health-migration-nexus-amid-covid-19-5-point-strategic-framework">more frequently and adversely</a> as water crises worsen with climate change. Water extremes and climate change will cause <a href="https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/water-climate-conflict-migration-coping-with-1-billion-people-on-the-move-by-2050">more than one billion people to migrate by 2050</a>. </p>
<p>Migration will be spurred by drought, as in <a href="https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/climate_change_and_migration_in_vulnerable_countries.pdf">the Sahel in Africa</a>, shortsighted water management, as in <a href="https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Migration-and-Water-A-Global-Overview.pdf">the Aral Sea region</a> of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, flooding, as in <a href="https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/climate_change_and_migration_in_vulnerable_countries.pdf">Bangladesh and small island developing states</a>, and other extremes like cyclones. </p>
<p>Addressing water-driven migration will require research that crosses borders and research boundaries. As climate change continues to cause serious displacement and socio-political upheaval, governments must take action to minimize the effects on people vulnerable to migration. </p>
<h2>The stakes of water-driven migration</h2>
<p>Water-driven migration is a crucial challenge for people living in vulnerable and unstable regions. Water stress acts as a <a href="https://www.wri.org/news/water-stress-helping-drive-conflict-and-migration">direct or indirect driver of conflict and migration</a>. As water and climate extremes become worse, more people will face water crises and be forced to migrate. </p>
<p>For instance, take the <a href="https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Migration-and-Water-A-Global-Overview.pdf">famous case of the Aral Sea</a> that shrank to 9,830 square kilometres in 2017 from 55,700 square kilometres in the 1970s. More than 100,000 people migrated due to collapse of agriculture, fisheries, tourism and increased illnesses such as tuberculosis and diarrhea.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Satellite imagery of the Aral Sea over time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389961/original/file-20210316-23-t4zxbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than 100,000 people were displaced from the area around the Aral Sea from 1970 to 2017 due to water mismanagement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Migration-and-Water-A-Global-Overview.pdf">(Landsat data mapped by UNU-INWEH)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vulnerable populations <a href="https://programme.worldwaterweek.org/Content/ProposalResources/PDF/2018/pdf-2018-8117-7-UNDP_Andrew%20Hudson.pdf">bear the brunt of impacts on water availability, food production, livelihoods and income</a>. As water and care providers, women and girls carry the burden of fulfilling water needs for their households and families. Women and girls also bear <a href="https://healthandmigration.org/women-wash-covid-19-the-burdens-of-and-opportunities-for-the-vulnerable/">disproportionate health impacts of water crises</a> as more hours are spent organizing household water needs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.internal-displacement.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/2019-IDMC-GRID.pdf">A recent report</a> explains that political instability, chronic poverty and inequality and climate change worsen water-driven migration. With <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/aqueduct-projected-water-stress-country-rankings">at least 33 nations set to face “extremely high (water) stress” by 2040</a>, it is more pressing than ever to face this problem with a strategic approach.</p>
<h2>A seven-point strategy</h2>
<p>Countries that have committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals could address water-driven migration through <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319959597#aboutBook">SDG 16</a> (peace, justice and strong institutions). Policy can be aligned with SDG 16 along a seven-point strategy:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Address the connection between water ownership, distribution and migration</strong>: <a href="https://futureearth.org/2019/01/14/water-migration-nexus-and-the-human-displacement-discourse/">Water ownership and distribution likely influence migration at local, regional and global levels</a>. To capture the scope of water issues, future research must <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43942-2_4">strike a balance between scientific and social aspects of water</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Understand how water crises influence migration</strong>: Causality is important in addressing migration. Land, water and human security issues could serve as a base for outlining a preventative outlook for new and emerging migration pathways.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Integrate diverse perspectives in water migration assessments</strong>: Water co-operation treaties must integrate under-represented, marginalized and racialized migrant voices. The <a href="https://inweh.unu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Migration-and-Water-A-Global-Overview.pdf">United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health</a> has developed an approach to aggregate the causes and consequences of water-driven migration. This framework can help policy-makers interpret migration in diverse socio-ecological, socio-economic, and socio-political settings.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Assess water, migration and development practices through participatory, bottom-up and interdisciplinary approaches</strong>: Research should be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12019">participatory</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.08.012">applicable between disciplines</a> and socially inclusive to complement scientific, descriptive methods. Nuanced facts of the diverse influences that shape migration can provide understanding to build resilience among vulnerable populations. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Manage data, information and knowledge</strong>: Researchers need updated data to examine how water crises are linked with human migration. To close the gaps, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1034051">the UN has pointed to the need</a> to improve capacity for data analysis within and between countries. Also, there must be stronger co-ordination at the state, regional and international levels to share best practices. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Apply a gender-sensitive lens</strong>: The economic, health and societal effects of water-driven migration affect <a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/10476-women-move-migration-gender-equality-and-2030-agenda-sustainable-development">men, women and children differently</a>. Filling these knowledge gaps will require a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2015_Highlights.pdf">gender-sensitive approach to assess causes and effects</a>. Namrata Chindarkar, a water and public policy researcher, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/025601">has argued</a> that comprehensive and holistic investigations of the states people come from, end up in and transit through must be gender-sensitive if they are to be inclusive.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Understand water, migration and peace</strong>: There is potential for <a href="https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-analytical-brief-water-security-global-water-agenda-4-page-summary-decision-makers/">using water security to promote peace</a>. Broader approaches could help examine key links between water, migration and peace.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Policy-makers must prepare for the consequences of water crises by adopting improvements that address the concerns of those vulnerable to migration. The seven-point strategy calls for policy-makers to use strategic and integrated approaches between disciplines. Research that maps causes, risks and impacts at the local, regional and global levels can strengthen water migration policies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Fioret receives funding from a Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nidhi Nagabhatla works for United Nations University. She received funding from IDRC, Canada for a project focusing on water and migration in the Congo Basin, while she associated with UNU INWEH.</span></em></p>Water and climate issues are expected to cause more than one billion people to migrate by 2050.Cameron Fioret, Visiting Scholar, University of Michigan, University of GuelphNidhi Nagabhatla, Research Fellow, Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) and Adj Prof McMaster University, Canada, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1556892021-03-17T17:41:10Z2021-03-17T17:41:10ZCOVID-19 has decimated water systems globally, but privatization is not the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389937/original/file-20210316-22-13th6b9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=162%2C89%2C3164%2C2142&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men wade through an abandoned highway tunnel to repair a self-created water system in the Esperanza neighbourhood of Caracas, Venezuela, in June 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The financial impact of COVID-19 has been devastating for public water operators around the world. Millions of households and businesses have not been able to pay their water bills due to lost income, while operating expenses have risen sharply. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/30/supporting-water-utilities-during-covid-19">Data collected</a> in June 2020 found that revenues had fallen by up to 40 per cent for some water operators. In the <a href="https://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/AWWA/ETS/Research/AWWA-AMWA-COVID-Report_2020-04.pdf?ver=2020-06-22-153757-187">United States</a> alone the financial impact on water utilities is expected to exceed $27 billion as a result of COVID-19.</p>
<p>This temporary financial crisis is made worse by long-term budget deficits, with at least <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/08/28/millions-around-the-world-held-back-by-poor-sanitation-and-lack-of-access-to-clean-water">$150 billion a year</a> required to meet global backlogs for water and sanitation. As much as one might like to think that COVID-19 will be the contagion that finally wakes the world up to the need for adequate funding for these basic public services, there is no indication that the required public money will be forthcoming.</p>
<h2>COVID-19 and privatization</h2>
<p>Alarmingly, one possible consequence of COVID-19 may be an increase in privatization in the water sector. <a href="https://publicbankscovid19.org/index.php/publications">Our recent book</a>, co-edited with Daniel Chavez, a fellow at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, demonstrates how many governments are using the crisis to promote private sector participation in water and sanitation. </p>
<p>This pressure to privatize is particularly notable in places where there was already a push to do so, <a href="https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/sponsored/privatization-of-rios-water-utility-during-pandemic-raises-concerns-about-access-for-favelas/">such as Brazil</a>. In other cases, fiscal strains are pushing authorities to consider privatization, such as in <a href="https://www.inthepublicinterest.org/a-philly-suburb-wants-to-sell-its-water-offering-a-glimpse-of-post-covid-america/">Philadelphia</a>. In <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/sites/municipalservicesproject.org/files/publications/12-Jakarta.pdf">Jakarta</a>, COVID-19 has emboldened the state to retract its promise to reverse water privatization.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1248802799711731712"}"></div></p>
<p>Some multilateral organizations are also using COVID-19 to promote water privatization. The <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/34043">World Bank</a> has created a “blended financing” program that requires private sector participation before public water operators can receive financial support. <a href="https://bit.ly/2Gb82oO">UN-Habitat and UNICEF</a> are promoting public-private-partnerships to “engage and empower” small private water vendors.</p>
<p>Ironically, these calls for privatization contradict the warnings of a large group of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/19/covid-19-exposed-catastrophic-impact-privatising-vital-services">UN Special Rapporteurs who recently published an op-ed</a> outlining how “COVID-19 has exposed the catastrophic impact of privatizing vital services” like water and sanitation, with private water companies putting profit ahead of basic needs and public health.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, private water companies are also on the offensive. As the CEO of one <a href="https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/smart-water-magazine/water-sectors-response-covid-19">private equity water company</a> noted in May 2020: “We believe water utilities are amongst the most resilient sectors to an epidemic.… Water consumption is rigid by nature and we think the sector will actually become even more attractive to investors.”</p>
<p>COVID-19 appears to be contributing to a rash of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, further concentrating the power of big multinational water firms. <a href="https://smartwatermagazine.com/bimonthly/3">Some analysts</a> are predicting a “complete restructuring of the water industry,” exemplified by one of the most dramatic potential takeovers of the past 50 years: a hostile <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-suez-m-a-veolia-france-idUSKBN2A80MM">takeover bid</a> by French water multinational Veolia for rival company Suez.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Veolia water logo on a wall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389886/original/file-20210316-17-1jzeupf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The French water and waste-treatment company Veolia Environnement made its initial takeover bid for Suez in August 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another concern is that COVID-19 will deepen the trend towards <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290648498_To_corporatize_or_not_to_corporatize_and_if_so_how">commercializing public water services</a>, with budget cuts and neoliberal doctrine (such as small government, low corporate tax and deregulation) forcing public water agencies to act like private companies, charging market prices even when households cannot afford to pay. Many public water operators have relaxed these policies during COVID-19, but some have made it clear that market-based pricing will return once the health crisis is over. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-neoliberalism-84755">What exactly is neoliberalism?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/sites/municipalservicesproject.org/files/publications/20-Cost-Recovery-Colombia_0.pdf">Colombia</a> Empresas Públicas de Medellín introduced emergency measures to make water affordable for the poor during COVID-19, but these are temporary reprieves from market-oriented policies. In <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/sites/municipalservicesproject.org/files/publications/8-Uruguay.pdf">Uruguay</a>, reforms introduced during the pandemic have intensified the trend towards the commercialization of their national water utility.</p>
<h2>Reclaiming public water</h2>
<p>Is this <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dmqyk/naomi-klein-interview-on-coronavirus-and-disaster-capitalism-shock-doctrine">disaster capitalism</a> at work with private business and their state backers pushing aggressively to normalize neoliberal relations and expand profitability in the wake of a crisis? There are certainly signs of it, but it is not a foregone conclusion. With progressive governments, unions, NGOs and community organizations continuing to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fighting-water-privatization-2640206378.html">fight against privatization</a> while at the same time advocating for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlSM1TPm_k8&feature=emb_logo">more progressive</a> forms of public water services.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A drawing of houses in a city with water pipes and sewers underground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389865/original/file-20210316-17-gwgxtv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Millions of households and businesses have not been able to pay their water bills due to lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our book provides a critical but optimistic overview of these “pro-public” forces, illustrating how public water operators have responded effectively to COVID-19 in the short-term while working towards improved democratic engagement and accountability in the long run. </p>
<p>Examples include free water services for marginalized communities, moratoria on cutoffs, emergency services for vulnerable groups, remote technical support for households, finding ways for low-income communities to participate in decision-making, public education campaigns to assure residents their water and sanitation systems are secure, and child care for front-line workers.</p>
<p>To make this happen, hundreds of thousands of public water employees around the world have worked long hours to keep their systems running, with little in the way of public recognition. Many also engaged in <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/sites/municipalservicesproject.org/files/publications/9-Aqua-Publica.pdf">peer-to-peer learning</a> and knowledge sharing, deepening their sense of public purpose and expanding their <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/sites/municipalservicesproject.org/files/publications/10-WOPS.pdf">networks of solidarity</a>.</p>
<p>Hopefully, these examples of positive performance by public water operators will curtail pressures for privatization. They may even contribute to an acceleration of demands for <a href="http://www.remunicipalisation.org/">remunicipalization</a>, as cholera outbreaks did during the initial waves of making water services public <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2018.1525755">in the 19th century</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the challenges they continue to face, many public water operators around the world have demonstrated not just the significance of public ownership in times of crisis but the value of public services that are transparent, democratic and oriented towards equity and sustainability. It is essential that we use this opportunity to <a href="https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/publication/future-public">reclaim and remake public water</a> in the post-pandemic period.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David McDonald receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Spronk receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>Water privatization is often seen as a solution to municipal budget shortfalls and aging water systems.David McDonald, Professor, Global Development, Queen's University, OntarioSusan Spronk, Associate Professor of International Development and Global Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1327312020-03-20T12:07:54Z2020-03-20T12:07:54ZCoronavirus spotlights the link between clean water and health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321430/original/file-20200318-1926-1plb0nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5587%2C3705&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Collecting water from a street pump in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Jan. 13, 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bangladeshi-people-collecting-drinking-water-from-a-water-news-photo/1193639864?adppopup=true">Mehedi Hasan/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the world confronts the coronavirus pandemic, experts say that a key way to minimize the odds of getting sick is by <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public">washing your hands thoroughly and frequently</a>.</p>
<p>But what if you don’t have access to clean water?</p>
<p>Over the past 40 years, many nations have <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">made great progress</a> in treating wastewater, providing residents with clean drinking water and enhancing water supplies to grow needed food and fiber. But as a researcher focusing on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zRUW2ksAAAAJ&hl=en">water resources management and policy</a>, I know there is still far to go. </p>
<p>More than 40% of the world’s population lives in regions where water is becoming increasingly scarce, and that figure is likely to rise. Every day, nearly 1,000 children die from <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">preventable water- and sanitation-related diseases</a>.</p>
<h2>Life without clean water</h2>
<p>Water use has increased worldwide by about 1% annually since the 1980s, driven by population growth, economic development and <a href="https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2019/">changing consumption patterns</a>. At the same time, water supplies are increasingly threatened by climate change, overuse and pollution. </p>
<p>For example, in 2019 residents of Chennai, India, had to queue up for water delivered by tanker trucks because the city’s reservoirs were empty. Persistent drought, worsened by climate change, had virtually exhausted local supplies. The city, which is home to 7 million people, still faces severe shortages, and <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/08/chennais-man-made-water-crisis/">may exhaust its available groundwater within a few years</a>. </p>
<p>In rural Mexico, some 5 million people <a href="https://www.sdgfund.org/case-study/water-and-sanitation-management-gender-perspective-mexico">lack access to clean water</a>. Women and children are tasked with collecting water, taking time that could be spent in school or on political engagement. Meanwhile, men decide how water rights are allocated. </p>
<p>Residents of Flint, Michigan, whose trust in the safety of their drinking water has been gradually restored after a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-behind-the-flint-water-crisis-corrosion-of-pipes-erosion-of-trust-53776">notorious case of lead contamination</a>, were advised in August 2019 to boil water as a precaution against impurities after a pipeline rupture <a href="https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Boil-filtered-water-advisory-issued-for-all-Flint-city-customers-527899411.html">reduced pressure in the city’s water lines</a>. The advisory ended after sampling indicated that there was no danger of contamination, but the city is still replacing lead and galvanized steel water delivery pipes to prevent further lead exposure.</p>
<p>Today, with coronavirus present on <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-wuhan-novel-coronavirus-outbreak/?cmpid=BBD031920_CORONAVIRUS&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=200319&utm_campaign=coronavirus">every continent except Antarctica</a>, washing hands is a difficult challenge in many developing countries. Clean water and soap are often in short supply, and many slum dwellers <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51929598">live in homes without running water</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k4c3xtQwcJQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">According to development experts, the world’s water crisis is not so much an issue of scarcity as it is of poor management and inequitable distribution.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Systems under stress</h2>
<p>According to the United Nations, rising demand for water in the industrial, domestic and agricultural sectors signals that people are starting to live better, thanks to progress in harnessing fresh water for <a href="https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2019/">growing food and fiber and for public consumption</a>. However, experts note three areas where progress is lagging. </p>
<p>First, more than 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress, and about 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity during <a href="https://www.unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2019/">at least one month of the year</a>. These problems are directly attributable to rising water demands and the <a href="https://www.unwater.org/publications/un-water-policy-brief-on-climate-change-and-water/">intensifying effects of climate change</a>. They also worsen mistreatment of women, who <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-still-carry-most-of-the-worlds-water-81054">bear much of the burden</a> of providing scarce water to families.</p>
<p>Second, while many countries are spending money on improving access to water – often by privatizing supplies, which enriches global engineering firms that build infrastructure – access to clean water remains inadequate. Nearly 800 million people worldwide lack updated sanitation. In many instances primitive latrines release human wastes directly to the environment, contaminating streams and rivers. Worldwide, over 80% of wastewater from human activities <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">remains untreated</a>. </p>
<p>Third, in every country water infrastructure is deteriorating, and people are disposing of <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-new-generation-of-water-pollutants-in-your-medicine-cabinet-71260">drugs, personal care products</a> and other common household goods into public water systems. These combined trends add persistent, hard-to-treat contaminants to water supplies and threaten public health worldwide.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321439/original/file-20200318-1926-k89gg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aging lead pipe removed from a home in Flint, Mich., in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Michigan-Budget-Water/171fb3ae78414b7991b4841e85f73be0/28/0">AP Photo/Paul Sancya</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Water as a leadership test</h2>
<p>These problems are daunting, but progress is possible if water agencies and government officials engage the public, heed evidence-based advice from experts and exercise political leadership.</p>
<p>As a first step, governments need to focus on long-term planning and coordinated responses. The problems facing Chennai, rural Mexico, Flint and countless other places usually generate early warning signs, which public officials often ignore due to a lack of political will or sense of urgency. </p>
<p>In Cape Town, South Africa, where residents faced a water shortage in 2017 similar to Chennai’s, it had been clear for years that the city’s water infrastructure could not handle growing demands. A government-sponsored study published in 1998 had recommended building a wastewater reuse plant as a hedge against future drought, but the plant was never constructed. Flint’s water crisis escalated over some 18 months while public officials closed their ears to residents’ frequent complaints about the <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/09/30/flint-water-woes-seep-city-state-politics/73129478/">smell and taste of their water</a>. </p>
<p>The good news is that many large cities, including Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil, have begun to heed climate change warning signs. In response, public officials are initiating innovative water alternatives that <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-rainwater-lost-wet-winter-california-20190220-story.html">conserve water</a>, reuse wastewater and <a href="https://transitionnetwork.org/stories/rainwater-harvesting-sao-paulo-brazil/">harvest rainwater</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1239525534146560004"}"></div></p>
<p>Second, it is important to recognize water problems as <a href="https://theconversation.com/flints-water-crisis-is-a-blatant-example-of-environmental-injustice-53553">environmental justice challenges</a>. The U.N.’s <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/water-security/hydrology">International Hydrological Program</a> now promotes water equity, recognizing that the burdens of protracted drought, water stress and contaminated supplies fall disproportionately on women, the very young, the frail and destitute, and oppressed indigenous minorities, who often are forced to <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html">migrate elsewhere</a> when conditions become intolerable. Here in the United States, cities and states are pledging <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/states-utilities-pledge-to-keep-water-flowing-amid-coronavirus">not to cut off water supplies</a> to households that fail to pay their bills during the coronavirus crisis.</p>
<p>Finally, I believe that building or restoring public trust is critical for addressing these problems. The experience of cities that have weathered drought, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drought-is-affecting-water-supply-in-australias-capital-cities-127909">Melbourne, Australia</a>, shows that governments need to weigh and address community concerns, and to foster trust and confidence in the agencies charged with implementing solutions. In my view, the best way to build that kind of trust is by courageously meeting today’s water crises head-on.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for our newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132731/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Feldman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Water is essential for health, economic well-being and social equity, but too many people around the world still don’t have access to clean drinking water and sanitation.David Feldman, Professor Urban Planning & Public Policy and Political Science, Director of Water UCI, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/937702018-03-21T23:04:58Z2018-03-21T23:04:58ZUnderstanding the risks to Canada’s drinking water<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211439/original/file-20180321-165571-1llnv6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new report finds concerns about water infrastructure tops the list for Canada's water providers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>March 22 marks World Water Day, an acknowledgement of the importance of safe, clean drinking water. This year, the celebration takes place against the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nudging-the-city-and-residents-of-cape-town-to-save-water-92192">backdrop of water shortages</a>. </p>
<p>The United Nations has concluded that there is an international water crisis, and the principal failing is one of governance. Cape Town is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-town-water-crisis-7-myths-that-must-be-bust-86582">latest crisis</a>, but we can only <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-a-water-crisis-looms-in-cape-town-could-it-happen-in-canada-90582">expect water shortages to become more common</a>.</p>
<p>Canada has an abundance of water for its size: It has 0.5 per cent of the world’s population but seven per cent of the world’s renewable freshwater supply. </p>
<p>From a global perspective, most Canadians are lucky, but the messages that emanate from academic and popular literature often paint an unsettling picture. </p>
<p>Our freshwater systems are under strain from threats of <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-water-mains-infrastructure-1.4517540">aging infrastructure</a>, climate change causing <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canada-fresh-water-review-1/article35262579/">floods and droughts</a>, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3827296/cyberattacks-bank-of-canada/">cyberattacks</a>, transboundary <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/victoria-sewer-dispute-hits-the-fan-as-washington-state-urges-bc-intervene/article19131685/">conflicts with the U.S.</a>, contamination due to <a href="https://energy.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/Report%20of%20the%20Nova%20Scotia%20Independent%20Panel%20on%20Hydraulic%20Fracturing.pdf">hydraulic fracturing (fracking)</a> and <a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/canadians-stance-on-water-exports-softens-in-last-decade-poll-shows-396092911.html">the sale of water to foreign markets</a>.</p>
<p>On top of that, more than 300,000 people who live in Indigenous communities do so under long-term boil-water orders. The federal government, however, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-first-nations-boilwater-advisories-1.4500068">has committed to correcting this longstanding wrong by 2021</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/collaboration-can-help-in-the-indigenous-water-crisis-83705">Collaboration can help in the Indigenous water crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many of these risks are qualitatively different, and require different approaches to addressing them. Over the past two years, my colleagues and I have studied the Canadian water sector with an eye to better understanding its risks. </p>
<p>We concluded that there is merit in distinguishing between the types of risks. </p>
<h2>Infrastructure tops the list</h2>
<p>The first category includes infrastructure risks that can result in wasted water and water contamination. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/dept/maceachen-institute/REPORT%20-%20Stregthening%20the%20Resilience%20of%20the%20Canadian%20Water%20Sector.pdf">national survey</a> of Canadian water service providers, aging infrastructure, such as pipelines and water treatment plants, ranked as their top risk — and by a good measure. </p>
<p>According to the 2016 <a href="http://www.canadainfrastructure.ca/downloads/Canadian_Infrastructure_Report_2016.pdf">Federation of Canadian Municipalities Infrastructure Report</a>, the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure that is in poor condition in Canada would cost $51 billion to replace. </p>
<p>The solutions to the deficit include access to funding, technology, improved supply-and-demand models and better coordination across jurisdictions. </p>
<p>These risks are often the domain of the technical experts, but we sometimes neglect important social considerations. </p>
<p>People don’t like to pay for the true cost of water. According to <a href="https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/research_papers/mixed/commentary_281.pdf">a 2009 report</a>, Canadians pay about 70 per cent of the real cost on their bills, and are apt to complain to elected officials if their rates increase. </p>
<p>Rural communities face additional barriers. With their shrinking tax bases, they are less able to pay for upgrades and attract the qualified labour to manage these assets. </p>
<p>Not withstanding these blind spots, most water managers and engineers are reasonably confident when it comes to understanding these risks. But the second and third categories of risk to freshwater supply are more problematic.</p>
<h2>Lack of reliable data</h2>
<p>Our second category includes uncertain threats such as climate change, cyber-security and malevolent actors, such as insider threats and terrorists. We don’t, however, have enough reliable information to predict the likelihood of these events. </p>
<p>While Canadian water service providers recognize some of the potential consequences of these threats, they spend less time worrying about these types of risks, largely because they exist outside of their routines and they don’t have adequate data, policies or training. </p>
<p>In these cases, risk management becomes more reliant on “fuzzy” or subjective measures; risk estimations usually include a range of possibilities and disagreements among experts. </p>
<p>Uncertain risks frequently generate surprises that we didn’t see coming, such as the recent news of the possibility of severe water shortages <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/africa-capetown-water-shortage-drought-canada-rockies-glacier-1.4564616">in Western</a> and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/iqaluit-will-run-out-of-water-1.4156559">Northern Canada</a>.</p>
<p>We also underestimate the interconnected nature of water infrastructure. For example, a failure in the water supply will have an immediate impact on the health sector and the economy.</p>
<p>When addressing uncertainty like this, we have to accept that we may have to deal with surprises from time to time. We also need to understand our willingness to accept a failure in the system; when it is low, we need to invest in redundant and more robust systems and train our staff to address circumstances that deviate from normal practice. </p>
<p>Governments are driven by the priorities of the day, and researchers aren’t always adept at communicating their research results. These habits don’t help. </p>
<p>In order to improve our understanding risks, we need to continue to support research so we can understand them better. We also need to allow those in the water sector and researchers to exchange information and learn from each other. </p>
<p>We should educate the public about the cost and behaviour changes that may be required to address challenges like climate change or emerging security threats.</p>
<h2>Conflicting values and views</h2>
<p>The third category covers the deeply held, conflicting values and beliefs about our water supply, including how it should be used and protected. </p>
<p>Environmental groups are opposed to fracking, for example, because they believe that fracking will contaminate the water supply, and that the consequences could be irreversible. </p>
<p>Fracking advocates, however, argue that the natural gas made available through fracking could meet Canada’s natural gas demands for generations, create jobs and provide clean energy security. They believe the downsides can be managed through technological advances.</p>
<p>Greater public engagement is required in this debate, but it is problematic. </p>
<p>Town halls on fracking can be reduced to sit-ins and screaming matches. More discrete consulting efforts open up the possibility of lobbying, which benefits those with resources, expertise and privileged access. </p>
<p>Managing these types of risks often lead to precautionary approaches, which are expensive because they often seek consensus among different groups, which slows progress and constrains innovation. These approaches also lack clear indicators of who is paying the price for failing to advance new policies, and how we can provide evidence that people will accept before moving ahead with new policies.</p>
<p>We need to focus on learning and negotiation, and develop provisional plans until we have a better understanding of the risk of fracking. Ironically, these debates are hardly mentioned by Canadian water service providers, suggesting that these debates are too often the domain of a select few.</p>
<h2>Balancing risks</h2>
<p>Individually and collectively, we have a difficult time comparing risks across policy areas, like water and energy. Our bureaucratic regulatory arrangements reinforce this limitation. </p>
<p>People would prefer to hear what these individual sectors are doing to manage risks than contemplate the messy trade-offs that are inherent in policy decisions. How much water do we risk contaminating for more energy, and how would the benefits be distributed? </p>
<p>On World Water Day, we shouldn’t be framing a discussion about water in isolation of other considerations. It neglects fundamental characteristics of the challenge before us. </p>
<p>In our study, we concluded that a risk profile for the water sector is not simply a list — we need to be careful to distinguish and categorize these risks based on the knowledge we have about them. This will allow us to commit the right types of resources to the right problems at the right time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Kevin Quigley received research funding from the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) and the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA). We also thank Public Safety Canada (PSC) for its assistance throughout the water security research project.
Dr. Quigley is the Scholarly Director at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, a non-partisan organization based at Dalhousie University. </span></em></p>World Water Day shines a light on the importance of safe, clean drinking water, but a new report finds Canada’s freshwater systems are under stress.Kevin Quigley, Scholarly Director of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/738152017-03-22T06:36:48Z2017-03-22T06:36:48ZHow recycled water could revolutionise sustainable development<p>By 2025, absolute water scarcity will be a <a href="http://www.unwater.org/statistics/statistics-detail/en/c/246692/">daily reality for an estimated 1.8 billion people</a>. </p>
<p>In a world where vital resources are increasingly scarce, nations cannot afford to flush them down the drain. But that is exactly what we do. After we use water in our homes and businesses, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-needs-more-toilets-but-not-ones-that-flush-74007">it is washed away</a>, and takes many valuable resources with it. </p>
<p>Waste water is rich in carbon and nutrients and – if collected and treated properly – it could provide new water, fertiliser, and energy. A number of nations and major cities have already built sophisticated waste water treatment plants that effectively recover nutrients and bioenergy, and produce “new water” that can be reused. But <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/waterday/">more than 80% of all waste water</a> still currently flows into natural ecosytems, polluting the environment and taking valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials with it.</p>
<h2>Think smaller</h2>
<p>While waste-water systems in large cities are often effective, they are also very expensive to construct and costly to maintain and operate. This is still better than the situation in smaller cities. There, you frequently find badly adapted systems that lack the necessary staff to perform the needed maintenance and operation.</p>
<p>In Latin American countries, those living in small and medium-sized cities have, at most, onsite treatment, in the form of septic tanks that lack regular and proper maintenance.</p>
<p>In Guatemala, only about <a href="http://www.tidskriftenvatten.se/mag/tidskriftenvatten.se/dircode/docs/48_article_3287.pdf">5% of cities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants</a> have centralised treatment plants; and in the Atitlan Lake Basin in Guatemala, roughly 12% of the population is not connected to any kind of sanitation system at all. If any infrastructure exists in these areas, its main goal is to collect waste water, not to treat it and reintroduce it into the water cycle.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161770/original/image-20170321-5377-1v9p9hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Around 12% of the population of the Atitlan Basin is connected to sanitation.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is even more problematic if we consider that, according to the <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/695_filename_sowp2007_eng.pdf">United Nations Population Fund</a>, the populations of small and medium-sized towns will double in Latin America over the next 15 years and double again in the coming 30 years. And yet, most efforts to improve waste-water management focus on the region’s big cities.</p>
<h2>Using waste water to save trees</h2>
<p>Imagine that outside one of these small cities lies a lovely piece of land: on the surface it is aesthetically pleasing and provides refuge for local wildlife. Beneath the surface is a wetland that is treats waste water and produces energy. The energy produced saves families from having to resort to using firewood collected in the wild or manure for cooking purposes. What’s more, the outflow of this wetland can be used safely in crop irrigation.</p>
<p>This is not a dream scenario. It is called a “<a href="https://flores.unu.edu/en/news/news/constructed-wetlands-to-turn-wastewater-into-energy.html">constructed wetland environment</a>” and is already in practice on a small scale worldwide.</p>
<p>As part of a team looking into the potential of constructed wetland environments, <a href="https://flores.unu.edu/en/news/news/constructed-wetlands-to-turn-wastewater-into-energy.html">we have analysed 800 examples of biomass in more than 20 countries</a>. </p>
<p>We found that, depending on climate and the type of plant used in the construction of this type of wetland, up to 45 hectares of land could be irrigated using waste water a daily basis. This would reduce the need for fresh water for irrigation and energy for pumping. </p>
<p>Under this system, a hypothetical community of 60 people would require a wetland area of about 420 square metres. And this wetland could supply the community with 630 kilograms per year of dry biomass, which could go on to produce ten gigajules per year of energy.</p>
<p>To put that in perspective, an average household in Ethiopia <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/9/9565">requires about seven gigajules for cooking</a> and there are about <a href="https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/TR4/TR4.pdf">five people per home</a>, so the annual energy requirement for cooking in this community of 12 homes is about 84 gigajules. </p>
<p>The biofuel produced by the wetland can therefore supply about 12% of the cooking fuel needs of the village. And by reducing cooking fuel needs by 12%, this village can save half a hectare of forest per year on average.</p>
<h2>We can stop wasting water</h2>
<p>Another solution is constructing <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/mou-intro-paper-081712-pdf-adobe-acrobat-pro.pdf">decentralised waste-water treatment plants</a> in affected communities. Unlike city waste-water treatment plants, in decentralised plants, raw waste water is treated directly where it is produced instead of being confined in the sewer system. In rural areas, this setup can provide ready access to clean water and reduce environmental pollution.</p>
<p>Due to their relatively small size and low carbon footprints, the negative impact these plants have on the environment is lower than traditional plants. Another bonus is that each site can be tailor-made to suit local climatic conditions, aesthetic requirements, water quality demands, and intended use of the water.</p>
<p>There is no longer any good reason to waste any type of water. Collecting and exploiting waste water is both technically feasible and financially justifiable. </p>
<p>If properly managed, the water we have already used stops being an environmental hazard and becomes an affordable and sustainable source of energy, nutrients, and other recoverable materials.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamara Avellán receives funding from Bundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung and the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst. </span></em></p>There is no longer any good reason to waste any type of water. We have the technology to turn waste water into a vital resource.Tamara Avellán, Research Fellow- Water Resource Management Unit, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/740092017-03-22T06:36:43Z2017-03-22T06:36:43ZYour future food will be grown with waste water<p>In an increasingly water-scarce world, there is no doubt that recycling water we’ve already used has to become normal. Part of that will inevitably mean using waste water to help grow the food we need. But will we ever feel comfortable using waste water for food production? </p>
<p>The reality is that this is already happening but more needs to be done to keep communities safe from the dangers of using untreated waste water. </p>
<p>The use of waste water for food production is mainly a question of managing water shortage and socioeconomic costs. <a href="http://mathbench.umd.edu/modules/popn-dynamics_exponential-growth/page18.htm">Exponential population growth</a> and climate change have seriously compromised water availability in many regions, from the Middle East to Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Local communities urgently need to find solutions to the problem of increasing water scarcity.</p>
<p>If used properly, waste water can provide important nutrients for plant growth and act as a replacement for mineral fertilisers. But it should be used for agricultural purposes only after being treated. Unfortunately, in many regions of the world, the reality is far from that. </p>
<p>Agricultural and water policies have not sufficiently addressed the inherent threats posed by the use of untreated waste water for irrigation. Often, hazardous materials in the form of heavy metals, organic contaminants, pathogens or <a href="https://flores.unu.edu/en/news/news/superbugs-evolve-in-wastewater-and-could-end-up-in-our-food.html">antibiotic-resistant bacteria</a> can be found in waste water. These accumulate in soils, crops and groundwater and so pass into the food chain. </p>
<p>If evidence of the threats to human health and the environment are readily available, why are so many farmers still using untreated waste water for irrigation purposes?</p>
<p>In developing countries, the use of untreated waste water has one big advantage: it is cost-free. This means farmers use it for irrigation of crops without taking the necessary precautions to avoid public health risks. </p>
<p>Today, waste water irrigates between 1.5% and 6.6% of farmland worldwide; about <a href="http://www.emag.suez-environnement.com/en/re-using-wastewater-11023">10% of world’s food is produced using the practice</a>. But the true extent of untreated waste water being used illegally for agriculture is unknown. </p>
<p>The Mezquital Valley in Mexico <a href="https://flores.unu.edu/en/events/archive/workshop/sustainable-management-options-for-wastewater-and-sludge.html#overview">perfectly illustrates</a> the issues involved. Rapid urbanisation and inadequate treatment facilities have led farmers in the valley to use untreated waste water from Mexico City for irrigation purposes. For more than a century, this practice has helped grow marketable crops at low production costs.</p>
<p>But these benefits come at the cost of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4347510/">health of the population</a>. The use of contaminated water for crops growth has resulted in severe gastrointestinal disease and cancer in the local community. Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people whose immune systems are compromised because of HIV/AIDS are especially vulnerable. </p>
<p>It is not a coincidence that the Mezquital Valley has the highest incidence of kidney cancer in the region as well as occurrence of <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs366/en/">helminth</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11037783">Giardia infections in children</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161750/original/image-20170321-5408-8fn7rj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers in the Mezquital Valley have been using waste water for a century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezquital_Valley#/media/File:Vallemezq.jpg">Alextorrej</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Only by developing eco-friendly sanitation strategies has the reduction of water pollution loads while conserving the benefits of nutrients been possible. Since 1999, local waste-water plants have been built, and <a href="https://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/management/constructed-wetlands/">new wetlands have been constructed</a> with satisfying results for water quality. But the people of the valley are still sceptical about the benefits of treated waste water.</p>
<p>The experience of industrialised countries shows that even advanced waste-water treatment technologies <a href="https://theconversation.com/superbugs-evolve-in-waste-water-and-could-end-up-in-our-food-65698">struggle to address all risks</a>. The presence of emerging pollutants and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in waste water are known to escape conventional waste-water treatment. </p>
<p>Needless to say, these contaminants are, even at low concentrations, a <a href="http://www.who.int/drugresistance/activities/wha66_side_event/en/,%202013">serious threat to human health</a>. We need technologies and structured monitoring to ensure swift responses in order to keep communities safe.</p>
<p>There is no escaping the fact that our future food will be grown using waste water. Local communities like those in the Mezquital Valley can only do so much to protect themselves; regulations and government policies must be evaluated alongside the scientific evidence for the danger waste water can pose to human health. Only then can <a href="https://flores.unu.edu/en/news/news/safe-use-of-wastewater-in-agriculture-in-practice.html">safe use of waste water in agriculture</a> stimulate sustainable development in our water-scarce world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Worldwide, farmers are already using untreated waste water to irrigate their crops. Here’s how to mitigate the danger.Serena Caucci, Researcher, United Nations UniversityKristin Meyer, Researcher, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/747432017-03-22T01:10:36Z2017-03-22T01:10:36ZReducing and reusing wastewater: Six essential reads for World Water Day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161881/original/image-20170321-5408-1ts10fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Last year's Olympic Games in Rio highlighted the health perils of contaminated waters. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories.</em></p>
<p>Every year on March 22, the United Nations observes <a href="http://www.worldwaterday.org/">World Water Day</a> to highlight the global water crisis. This year the focus is on reducing and reusing wastewater from homes, farms, factories and other sources. </p>
<p>Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all people is one of the U.N.’s <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, adopted in 2015 by the United States and 192 other nations. Specifically, the goals <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">call on member nations</a> to </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Read on to learn about what it will take to meet this goal, and some potential solutions.</p>
<h2>The scourge of sewage</h2>
<p>Untreated sewage is a major threat to human health. According to the <a href="http://www.worldwaterday.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Fact_sheet_WWD2017_EN.pdf">World Health Organization</a>, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene cause approximately 842,000 deaths each year, and 1.8 billion people use drinking water sources contaminated with feces.</p>
<p>Contamination in Rio de Janeiro’s harbors and marinas, which were settings for aquatic events during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, spotlighted the serious health risks associated with exposure to sewage. According to Joan Rose, laboratory director and principal investigator in water research at Michigan State University, human waste contains a wide range of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Around the world, those who swim in and boat on or use polluted surface waters for hygienic purposes such as bathing, cleaning clothes, washing dishes or even for religious purposes are all at risk of diarrhea, respiratory disease, skin, eye, ear and nose infections,” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rose <a href="https://theconversation.com/brazils-sewage-woes-reflect-the-growing-global-water-quality-crisis-63172">observes</a>. </p>
<p>Rose’s research group has found some of those agents in waterways around Chicago that received treated wastewater. Reducing the risk to human health will require better testing methods, more monitoring and more effective water treatment methods. These types of contamination are <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-rio-bay-waters-show-we-badly-need-innovation-in-treating-human-wastes-63379">actually quite common</a>, notes Tufts University’s civil and environmental engineering assistant professor Daniele Lantagne, and point to the need to develop innovative ways to treat wastewater. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/161884/original/image-20170321-5380-1h70zes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Studies have found that wastewater treatment plants release nutrients and toxins into waterways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/48722974@N07/4515205247/in/photolist-7SZBdk-5BdxXc-povzaq-7nzhLo-grxzft-auokWh-bB76ni-auk9vc-8vdrRx-aunN3s-dZCoiu-p74eAD-povydA-pmv83G-bFfM22-5XBZ3x-o4N11f-bFfzve-5zWkcH-bFfLZn-hgzbt5-bFfKdX-bskSb5-bskTUC-bskSaw-bskLsA-anzdTq-bFfTt4-bsm1fo-bFfTsa-anzdNA-anzdXW-axoUVq-9Ej7ZR-bsm1hE-omhPAZ-bFfDyM-bFfDy4-bFfzsT-aXHFLk-bFfKeR-dZvM7M-m1p6cH-bFfLZD-65BJZz-o4MZWY-bskLxG-9Ej4L4-bskLyo-bskGjd">eutrophication&hypoxia/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people in developing countries do not have access to modern drinking water or <a href="https://theconversation.com/toilet-talk-meeting-one-of-the-worlds-grand-challenges-with-innovation-50646">sanitation systems</a>. In Haiti, a major cholera outbreak occurred after a devastating earthquake in 2010. Now cholera appears to have become <a href="http://annals.org/aim/article/746949/cholera-epidemic-haiti-2010-using-transmission-model-explain-spatial-spread">endemic there</a>. Fecal contamination was the original route by which cholera spread, but now reservoirs of bacteria have become established throughout Haiti, even in uncontaminated surface water sources. </p>
<p>Since little has been done to improve drinking water treatment in Haiti since the earthquake, University of Florida research scientist Alex Weppelmann <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-haitis-cholera-epidemic-become-a-permanent-problem-55790">predicts</a> that “mass vaccination with oral cholera vaccines might be the only intervention available” to stop cholera transmission – an effort that would require major financial and logistical support from the international community.</p>
<h2>Social and political obstacles</h2>
<p>Money is not the only roadblock that prevents communities from solving water-related problems. In its annual survey of U.S. mayors, the Boston University Initiative on Cities found last year that infrastructure repairs – including upgrades to wastewater and stormwater systems – were <a href="https://theconversation.com/u-s-mayors-desperate-to-fix-crumbling-infrastructure-but-states-feds-hold-them-back-54085">by far the largest headache</a> for mayors from a broad swath of cities. Money for these projects is tight, but fractured relationships between federal, state and city agencies also make it hard for mayors to advance projects their cities desperately need. </p>
<p>In developing nations, water issues are colored by <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-empower-women-give-them-better-access-to-water-56244">gender roles</a>. Millions of women worldwide spend hours fetching water for drinking, cooking, bathing and other household needs. And when family members get sick from consuming tainted water, women spend hours caring for them. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“An insufficient supply of safe and accessible water poses extra risks and challenges for women and girls,” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/to-empower-women-give-them-better-access-to-water-56244">writes</a> Emory University postdoctoral fellow Bethany Caruso.</p>
<h2>Innovations in treatment and reuse</h2>
<p>Farms produce a lot of wastewater, especially runoff from irrigated fields. Excess fertilizer feeds into streams, rivers and bays, creating large blooms of algae. When the algae die and decompose, they deplete waters of oxygen, creating “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-toxic-algae-blooms-like-floridas-are-so-dangerous-to-people-and-wildlife-61973">dead zones</a>” in important areas like the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay. </p>
<p>One potential solution to nutrient runoff is filtering it through bioreactors – trenches filled with wood chips, which are colonized by native bacteria from the surrounding soil. The bacteria use carbon as a food source, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-water-pollution-with-microbes-and-wood-chips-58852">explains</a> research assistant professor Laura Christianson of the University of Illinois. When nitrate-loaded water flows through the trenches, “The bacteria ‘eat’ the carbon in the wood chips,‘inhale’ the nitrate in the water, and ‘exhale’ nitrogen gas,” reducing nitrogen pollution in the water by up to 90 percent. Researchers are building and testing large bioreactors to put this strategy into practice across the Midwest.</p>
<p>Many communities in water-stressed areas are considering ways to reuse water after it has been appropriately treated. A 2016 study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine evaluated uses for so-called graywater from bathroom sinks, showers, bathtubs, clothes washers and laundry sinks, but not from toilets or kitchens. It concluded that using graywater for purposes other than drinking, such as flushing toilets, could expand local water supplies and provide a drought-resistant year-round local water source.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Graywater reuse for toilet flushing and other indoor uses offers the greatest opportunities for water conservation and does not reduce the amount of water available to downstream water users, as use for outdoor irrigation can,” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-strategy-for-drought-stressed-cities-graywater-recycling-56564">writes</a> Colorado State University assistant professor Sybil Sharvelle, who served on the study panel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Developed and developing countries alike struggle with water quality problems. For World Water Day, a look at the challenges – and some potential solutions – to better treating wastewater.Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/740072017-03-21T06:14:55Z2017-03-21T06:14:55ZThe world needs more toilets – but not ones that flush<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161360/original/image-20170317-6139-l6460x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231823E.pdf">35.8% of the world’s population</a> still lacks access to any proper sanitation facilities. </p>
<p>That’s why in 2015, the world’s leaders agreed to strive for access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030 as part of the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals</a>. That means more than three billion extra people will need access to a toilet. </p>
<p>But if we solve this problem with the flush toilets we’re used to in the West, we will have a whole new water access and sanitation problem on our hands. </p>
<h2>From toilets to treatment</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/turrets-toilets-partial-history-throne-room-180951788/">invention of the flush toilet</a>, or water closet, in 1596 ended open defecation and transferred excreta outside of homes for the first time. This was certainly a good thing in the short term, but today the flush toilet probably stands as one of the most unsustainable innovations in human history. </p>
<p>Think about it. Why would we want to increase the liquid volume of a potentially harmful substance – human waste? Most of the waste water that flush toilets create – <a href="http://www.unwater.org/statistics/statistics-detail/en/c/211793/">more than 80% worldwide</a> – ends up going directly back into the environment. No treatment, no use, just a lot of open sewers. </p>
<p>With the invention of flush toilets, the volume of waste created when humans go to the bathroom increased almost 20-fold. To deal with this new level of waste, we invented waste-water treatment plants. The aim of these sewage treatment systems has traditionally been to provide clean effluent that can be put back into the ecosystem.</p>
<p>So basically, we suck water out of an ecosystem (using energy), clean it (more energy), pipe it through a city (using lots of infrastructure) into our homes. Then we flush it down the drain (this is where it gets dirty again) and pipe it to a waste-water treatment plant (more infrastructure often using a lot of energy) to put it back into an ecosystem. What a waste. </p>
<p>Municipal waste-water treatment plants are also terrible energy consumers. In the United States, waste-water treatment accounts for about <a href="https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/P100IL6T.TXT?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=2006+Thru+2010&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5Czyfiles%5CIndex%20Data%5C06thru10%5CTxt%5C00000034%5CP100IL6T.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=x&ZyPURL">3% of the national electricity load</a>. Many facilities in industrialised regions <a href="https://www.globalmethane.org/documents/ww_fs_eng.pdf">produce methane</a>, another greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. </p>
<p>So for all those people who still need access to safe sanitation, we need to consider other types of toilets. </p>
<h2>Sewage is so much more than dirty water</h2>
<p>Which brings me back to water-based flush toilets and sewage treatment plants. Worldwide, sewage treatment plants take more than four million kilograms of nitrogen and nearly a million kilograms of phosphorus <a href="http://www.unwater.org/downloads/sickwater_unep_unh.pdf">out of wastewater</a>. The nitrogen goes into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. This is bad for the climate, and bad for soils. </p>
<p>Soil would actually profit from these extra nutrients. Worldwide, about 135 mega-hectares of soil is reportedly <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/48855698_Global_Soil_Nutrient_Depletion_and_Yield_Reduction">prone to nutrient exhaustion</a>, of which 97% occurs in developing and least developed countries. It’s estimated that, globally, 5.4 million kilograms of nitrogen and 2.2 million kilograms of phosphorus are needed to counteract nutrient depletion for the four most important staple crops: wheat, rice, maize and barley. Might this be a happy coincidence? </p>
<p>Using waste water safely in agriculture can increase yields, reduce the need for fertilisers, enhance soil quality through the introduction of organic matter, and therefore safeguard lives and livelihoods. </p>
<p>Another use for one sewage treatment byproduct – sludge – is the production of energy. Instead of flaring and wasting sludge, some plants use it as a heat source or even for renewable energy purposes. </p>
<p>Vienna’s main waste-water treatment plant, <a href="https://www.ebswien.at/home/">Ebswien</a>, purifies approximately <a href="https://www.ebswien.at/en/wastewater/energy/wastewater-and-energy/">220 million cubic metres</a> of sewage each year. The power used by the plant accounts for almost 1% of the city’s total electricity consumption through renewable energy technologies such as hydropower, solar energy, wind power and methane.</p>
<p>The plant is energy self-sufficient and produces a surplus of approximately 15 gigawatt hours of electricity and 42 gigawatt hours of heat annually. Its reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at 40,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to a town of 4,000 inhabitants.</p>
<h2>Not everyone needs to flush</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.unwater.org/downloads/Water_facts_and_trends.pdf">United Nations estimates that roughly 50 litres of water per day</a> are needed by each household for the preparation of meals and for personal hygiene, not including toilet flushing. In Africa, most people get along with <a href="https://www.water-for-africa.org/en/water-consumption/articles/water-consumption-in-africa.html">20 litres per day</a> – less than what developed nations use for daily toilet flushing. </p>
<p>By using more dry toilets, not only do you save water, you can actually use the waste for fertilisation purposes. Dry toilets separate urine and faeces in distinct containers. When handled properly, they produce no smell. The urine, which is usually sterile, has high nitrogen content and is therefore a suitable fertiliser. The faeces can be composted and used as soil amendment in non-food plants. </p>
<p>Rather than just handing out flush toilets, development agencies and governments need to start asking important questions. Is there any water to be wasted on flush toilets in the location that I am considering? What kind of water quality could be useful in that place? What is the social acceptance among people for toilets, for the use of recycled water, for composted sludge? Is there a market for secondary products that can be used for energy or agriculture? </p>
<p>Everyone needs access to adequate sanitation services, but not everyone needs a toilet that flushes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamara Avellán receives funding from the Bundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung and the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst. </span></em></p>The invention of the flush toilet was probably one of the most unsustainable innovations in human history.Tamara Avellán, Research Fellow- Water Resource Management Unit, United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/563192016-03-25T09:40:35Z2016-03-25T09:40:35ZWhy it makes little sense to regulate rainwater barrels in the dry western U.S.<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116036/original/image-20160322-32320-17n57wb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Western water law means collecting rainwater was legal only a few years ago in some states.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">rain barrel via www.shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us never think about who gets to use the drops of rain that fall from the sky. But it’s an increasingly pertinent question as more people look to collect rainwater as a way to conserve water, live off the grid or save money on water bills. </p>
<p>As a result, many states in the arid West are now asking whether rain barrels are allowed under existing <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/rainwater-harvesting.aspx#State">law and policy</a> and, in some cases, are setting limits on the practice of rainwater catchment.</p>
<p>Colorado has gone further than any of its neighbors by requiring a <a href="http://www.ext.colostate.edu/sam/rainwaterbills.pdf">permit</a> for any <a href="http://water.state.co.us/DWRIPub/Documents/DWR_RainwaterFlyer.pdf">rainwater collection</a>. Meanwhile, Utah put rainwater harvesting rules into effect in 2010 with some <a href="http://waterrights.utah.gov/forms/rainwater.asp">restrictions</a>, and Washington legalized rainwater collection in 2009, while leaving the state the “<a href="http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/hq/rwh.html">ability to restrict if there are negative effects on instream values or existing water rights</a>.” </p>
<p>Why this worry over rainwater harvesting? </p>
<p>If everyone captures the rain that falls on rooftops and through downspouts of homes, the argument goes, then the water will never reach the rivers and streams. If this happens, existing water users may not be able to access their rights to use the water. </p>
<p>This concern, however, overstates the issue and risks missing more concrete opportunities for water conservation and efficiency. A more effective way to address decreasing water supply would be for states to apply the legal principles <a href="http://scholarship.law.umt.edu/plrlr/vol8/iss1/2/">prohibiting waste and demanding reasonable water use</a>, which have long been embedded in any right to use water. </p>
<h2>U.S. water law, east and west</h2>
<p>Both the rainwater collectors and the existing water rights holders, such as irrigators or municipalities with water rights to river flows or groundwater sources, believe they have a fully private interest in any water they use. </p>
<p>Throughout the United States, however, the law recognizes the public nature of water. Under the <a href="http://lawschool.unm.edu/nrj/volumes/29/2/14_walston_public.pdf">public trust doctrine</a>, each state holds title to the water within the state in trust for the people of the state. </p>
<p>Given the competing demands for water use, principles of U.S. law seek to balance these competing needs and uses to ensure that the public’s rights to water are protected.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116039/original/image-20160322-32320-eg08t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In western states, farm owners often have rights to use water which can often be delivered through irrigation ditches, such as this one in Colorado.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/question_everything/4084365574/in/photolist-7dVrA7-avvpNc-8SehwN-dnqQZd-9NE9RC-7pshpz-9PmNcy-9PmNs3-ah8REf-cuTmwd-7CMgvC-brxGqs-xsqb9-fqwNjc-9B84G3-kUmVWg-9B83Hw-9NE93h-9B58fD-8UaHin-bq7ijM-drf1UF-rkGXWC-AaaZT-8TWER5-BQkVk-d6Eh3j-q35Lh-82KY6Q-ar3eS5-DpkQq4-7irTpf-dKhwni-76iqo-6VbFx-a2vsrS-82GNRX-76ipx-76ina-6mcGSf-76io6-76ir2-kUnYXA-76is2-9Co1qB-76irC-8oWaur-5ywvuN-cuSTQS-8oZm1N">question_everything/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the eastern United States, there is the riparian system that protects reasonable use of water among all landowners along rivers or streams. In the western part of the country, the doctrine of prior appropriation requires a permit to use water based on showing that the water will be put to beneficial use without waste.</p>
<p>The public nature of water ensures that individual private interests never fully control who gets access to water and when, where and how water is used. In fact, when an individual has a right to use water, that right is known as a “usufructory” interest – that is, the right to use the water without owning the water itself. </p>
<p>Granting a usufructory interest – something that doesn’t fully privatize a water right – makes good sense when you think about the nature of water. </p>
<p>Short of putting water in a bottle and selling it by the ounce, water is difficult to possess and reduce to ownership. It is a shared resource that is used over and over again as the molecules of water make their way through the hydrologic system. </p>
<p>Water falls from the sky, runs along the ground and percolates into the groundwater system. It is taken up by plants and trees, consumed by people and animals, and eventually makes its way through one mechanism or another, back into the groundwater or surface water sources, only to flow further down the system to be used again or eventually evaporate back into the atmosphere to start the process all over again. </p>
<p>Private ownership of drops of water presents a complex problem not only as a legal matter, but as an ethical public policy choice as well. </p>
<p>The debate over rainwater collection demonstrates this complexity. </p>
<p>Don’t homeowners in Colorado have the right to collect rain that falls on their rooftop? At the same time, doesn’t a senior water right holder have a right to have the rain enter the stream so that their right can be satisfied? </p>
<p>Our legal system evolved ways to deal with this complex reality, with our state governments empowered to manage this resource among competing interests on behalf of all of us.</p>
<p>In the eastern United States where rainfall is plentiful and competing uses for water are rare, the riparian system allows any landowner adjacent to a water source to use its water. If there is a conflict about the quantity of water available for a certain use, that conflict is resolved by using legal standards to sort through the reasonableness of each individual’s use. </p>
<p>In the western United States, where competition among users has always been more commonplace, each individual state requires a permit for water use. These permits are awarded pursuant to the doctrine of prior appropriation. For example, irrigated agriculture often holds senior water rights (issued under state law) and Indian tribes often hold even more senior rights (based on federal law).</p>
<p>When conflict arises, disputes are resolved using the legal principle of <a href="http://water.state.co.us/surfacewater/swrights/pages/priorapprop.aspx">first-in-time, first-in-right</a> that protects the most senior, beneficial, nonwasteful uses of water. Or at least that is the theory.</p>
<h2>Water waste and powerful interests</h2>
<p>So how does this relate to the regulation of rainwater harvesting? </p>
<p>If the primary concern is that somehow rainwater barrels will limit the amount of water in the system, reduce availability of water and potentially impact existing rights, then there may be better ways to address this concern. </p>
<p>Rather than devoting resources to regulating individual rain barrels – a logistically difficult task – it may make more sense for state water agencies to get serious about enforcing principles of waste. </p>
<p>To enforce waste reduction policies, water resource management agencies in each state would need to set standards on how much water is needed to carry out a particular use. They then would need to measure water use to ensure that individual permit holders are not taking more water than what is necessary to accomplish their purpose. </p>
<p>Many longstanding water users take more water than they need, under the principle of <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/killing-the-colorado/story/wasting-water-out-west-use-it-or-lose-it">use-it-or-lose-it</a>. In western water law, if you don’t use the water, you risk forfeiting your water right. As a result, many users divert the full quantity of their water right whether that amount is needed or not. </p>
<p>If the states crack down on waste, it will bring this longstanding practice into the spotlight. Existing water users may be faced with calls to increase efficiency and to decrease the rate of diversion. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116041/original/image-20160322-32323-i1oxrt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As droughts become more frequent and demands on water grows, states could do more to reduce waste from big water users.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunlizard4fun/9777507411/in/photolist-fU1hiZ-fU2iVN-4CUCQU-fU2jFW-fU2maQ-fU1in2-763Xp-7GrFJ9-7GfVaa-n6Tnbx-jxV53N-eSpdT6-7FfsFB-7GmDZB-n6Tn4D-o1VYWf-7GtRNQ-nBxf7c-bJb47P-fU1n39-wk3Voo-5xNSKP-4BmTfW-eZkuPL-eZkuoh-eZ99i6-nD8cwY-eZktP7-fpxpRs-eZkuGy-4BmTAu-MZCSU-7Gg3Bk-fyW9yH-bJaZHF-jxV4Zm-bJb1f4-nCUVc5-bJb3s8-o3QiMH-8p3SdK-bJbcXB-bJb3MP-bvgezU-bvgq7w-51NV4b-8p73YW-6WAYY-bJb4Fx-bvghrw">sunlizard4fun/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For decades, there has been a persistent reluctance to address waste because it would involve scrutinizing water use practices among some of the most powerful interests in the state.</p>
<p>But by addressing the thorny problem of waste, state agencies could make more headway in securing reliable water supplies and certainly could have a more significant impact on water supply than regulating rainwater catchment. </p>
<p>In the end, we may face tough public policy choices about whether and how to regulate rainwater catchment. But before we go in this direction, policymakers should take a careful look at whether existing larger-scale water users are complying with longstanding principles of nonwaste and reasonableness embedded in U.S. water law.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adell Amos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>States, including Colorado, restrict the use of rain barrels. A water law scholar says a better way to conserve is reduce waste from big – and powerful – water users.Adell Amos, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Associate Professor of Environmental and Natural Resources Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/562442016-03-22T09:51:53Z2016-03-22T09:51:53ZTo empower women, give them better access to water<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115796/original/image-20160321-30921-1wr4f30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carrying water in rural Kenya</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bethany Caruso</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine going through your day without ready access to clean water for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing. Around the world, <a href="http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Progress_on_Sanitation_and_Drinking_Water_2015_Update_.pdf">663 million people</a> face that challenge every day. They get their water from sources that are considered unsafe because they are vulnerable to contamination, such as rivers, streams, ponds and unprotected wells. And the task of providing water for households <a href="http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=spp_papers">falls disproportionately to women and girls</a>. </p>
<p>Water, <a href="http://www.un.org/es/comun/docs/?symbol=A/RES/64/292&lang=E">a human right</a>, is critical for human survival and development. A sufficient supply of biologically and chemically safe water is necessary for drinking and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.12339/full">personal hygiene</a> to prevent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.12331/full">diarrheal diseases</a>, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001605">trachoma</a>, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001620">intestinal worm infections</a>, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12330/full">stunted growth among children</a> and numerous other deleterious outcomes from chemical contaminants like <a href="http://search.proquest.com/openview/0eae305bc51900da0bd056019fe3f1eb/1?pq-origsite=gscholar">arsenic</a> and <a href="http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?pid=S0042-96862000000900003&script=sci_arttext">lead</a>. </p>
<p>I have carried out research in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615300010">India</a>, <a href="http://www.unicef.org/wash/schools/files/Bolivia_MHM_Booklet_DM_15_Nov_single_0940_Bolivia.pdf">Bolivia</a> and <a href="http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/4/4/642">Kenya</a> on the water and sanitation challenges that women and girls confront and how these experiences influence their lives. In my field work I have seen adolescent girls, pregnant women and mothers with small children carrying water. Through interviews, I have learned of the hardships they face when carrying out this obligatory task. </p>
<p>An insufficient supply of safe and accessible water poses extra risks and challenges for women and girls. Without recognizing the uneven burden of water work that women bear, well-intentioned programs to bring water to places in need will continue to fail to meet their goals.</p>
<h2>Heavy loads</h2>
<p>So, what is it like for women who live in places where sufficient and safe water is not readily accessible?</p>
<p>First, collecting water takes time. Simply to get water for drinking, bathing, cooking and other household needs, millions of women and girls spend hours every day traveling to water sources, waiting in line and carrying heavy loads – often several times a day. In a study of 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, UNICEF estimated that women there spent <a href="http://www.unicef.org/media/files/JMPreport2012.pdf">16 million hours collecting water</a> each day. </p>
<p>When children or other family members get sick from consuming poor quality water, which can happen <a href="http://search.proquest.com/openview/abbed8d7464d9c5a80ff98e98738e7d8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar">even if the water is initially clean when collected</a>, women spend their time providing care. These responsibilities represent lost opportunities for women’s employment, <a href="https://etd.library.emory.edu/view/record/pid/emory:94cc7">education</a>, leisure or sleep.</p>
<p>Collecting water also requires tremendous physical exertion. Water is heavy. The United Nations recommends <a href="http://www.unwater.org/statistics/statistics-detail/en/c/211765/">20-50 liters of water per person per day</a> for drinking, cooking and washing. That amounts to hauling between <a href="http://www.onlineconversion.com/waterweight.htm">44 and 110 pounds of water</a> daily for use by each household member. And in many places, water sources are far from homes. In Asia and Africa, women <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet35en.pdf">walk an average of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) per day</a> collecting water. Carrying such loads over long distances can result in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222335075_Gender_Differences_in_Time_and_Energy_Costs_of_Distance_for_Regular_Domestic_Chores_in_Rural_Zimbabwe_A_Case_Study_in_the_Chiduku_Communal_Area">strained backs, shoulders and necks</a>, and other injuries if women have to walk over <a href="http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=spp_papers">uneven and steep terrain or on busy roads</a>. The burden is even heavier for women who are pregnant or are also carrying small children.</p>
<p>Even when a household or village has access to a safe water source close to home, residents may not use it if they believe the water is inferior in some way. As one woman told my research team in India:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tube well water quality is not good… water is saline. Cooking is not good due to this water. Not good for drinking either. People are getting water from that neighbouring village…. for cooking we get water from the river.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this community, the neighboring village was at least a kilometer away. </p>
<p>Fetching water can be very dangerous for women and girls. They can face <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25167777">conflict at water points</a> and the risk of <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/50">physical or sexual assault</a>. Many of these dangers also arise when women do not have access to <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-equality-comes-one-toilet-at-a-time-50700">safe, clean and private toilets or latrines for urinating, defecating and managing menstruation</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115712/original/image-20160320-4453-1pwwid1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Girls wash at school water tap, Honduras.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waterdotorg/3695937013/in/album-72157628221473795/">Water.org/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now imagine that you have managed to get water, but only a limited supply. How will you allocate it? Women need water for hydration, regular handwashing, washing their bodies, and cleaning clothes and materials when they are menstruating <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130777">in order to prevent urogenital infection</a>. </p>
<p>But in areas where water is scarce, women and girls may sacrifice so that other family members can use water. In a study that assessed <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224939005_Water_insecurity_in_3_dimensions_An_anthropological_perspective_on_water_and_women's_psychosocial_distress_in_Ethiopia_Social_Science_Medicine_752_392-400">how water insecurity affected rural women</a> in Ethiopia, 27.8 percent of women surveyed reduced the amount of water they used for bathing, 12.7 percent went to bed thirsty and 3.7 percent went an entire day without drinking water. One woman described many challenges, including the possibility that no water would be available when she finally reached a source; the struggle to complete domestic tasks, such as washing clothes and cooking, in the time she had left after fetching water; and worries that not completing this work would lead to arguments with family members.</p>
<p>When conditions such as drought make water scarce, women have to travel farther to collect it and make more frequent trips, expending more time and energy. Water scarcity has been shown to increase women’s stress in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1548-1387.2009.01072.x/full">Bolivia</a>, <a href="http://www.psicorip.org/Resumos/PerP/RIP/RIP036a0/RIP03811.pdf">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224939005_Water_insecurity_in_3_dimensions_An_anthropological_perspective_on_water_and_women's_psychosocial_distress_in_Ethiopia_Social_Science_Medicine_752_392-400">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/maq.2001.15.3.368/full">Mexico</a>.</p>
<p>And global demand for water is increasing. The United Nations forecasts that if current water use patterns do not change, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002318/231823E.pdf">world demand will exceed supply by 40 percent by 2030</a>. In such a scenario, it is hard to imagine that women’s and girls’ experiences will improve without intentional efforts.</p>
<h2>A focus on women’s needs</h2>
<p>When communities initiate programs to improve access to water, it is critical to ask women about their needs and experiences. Although women and girls play key roles in obtaining and managing water globally, they are <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.32.041806.143704?journalCode=energy">rarely offered roles</a> in water improvement programs or on local water committees. They need to be included as a right and as a practical matter. <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.32.041806.143704?journalCode=energy">Numerous water projects in developing countries have failed</a> because they did not include women. </p>
<p>And the inclusion of women should not be ornamental. A study in <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-014-0356-1">northern Kenya</a> found that although women served on local water management committees, conflict with men at water points persisted because the women often were not invited to meetings or were not allowed to speak. </p>
<p>We also need broader strategies to reduce <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)61497-0/fulltext?rss=yes">gender disparities in water access</a>. First we need to collect more data on women’s water burden and how it affects their their health, well-being and personal development. Second, women must be involved in creating and managing targeted programs to mitigate these risks. Third, these programs should be evaluated to determine whether they are truly improving women’s lives. And finally, social messaging affirming the idea that water work belongs only to women must be abandoned. </p>
<p>UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called empowerment of the world’s women “<a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53064#.Vu62W-IrKM9">a global imperative</a>.” To attain that goal, we must reduce the weight of water on women’s shoulders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56244/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bethany Caruso receives funding from UNICEF and from the NIH for her post doctoral fellowship. She also works and has worked on projects funded by UNICEF and Save the Children.</span></em></p>Many women in developing countries spend hours every day fetching water for their families. Reducing the burden of water work will improve their health and welfare.Bethany Caruso, Postdoctoral (FIRST) Fellow, Department of Environmental Health, Emory UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.