We need a radical rethink of water resource planning. Strategies should include reusing water and moving water physically to water-scarce areas.
The old village of Aceredo, submerged 30 years ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, emerged during a drought in northwestern Spain, in February 2022.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Water is central to adapting to climate change, but very few of the strategies put in place to respond to water hazards or ensure its availability have been evaluated.
New technologies that can clean salty or polluted water could help meet growing water needs.
Science Photo Library/Getty Images
Desalination can help meet growing water needs globally. But toxic wastewater and inefficiency hamper current techniques. A new approach uses custom membranes to clean water more easily.
Cities relied entirely on conserving and recycling water to get through the last big drought. We now have desalination plants, but getting the most out of our water reserves still makes sense.
The largest desalination plant in Australia, Victoria’s A$3.5 billion ‘water factory’ can supply nearly a third of Melbourne’s needs.
Nils Versemann/Shutterstock
Sydney and Melbourne are bringing desalination plants back on stream and Adelaide plans to increase its plant’s output. Perth depends on desalination. But is it the best way to achieve water security?
Some sea creatures are displaced by the desalination plant, but others actually grow.
Supplied
Australian cities have turned to some very costly solutions when water is scarce. But as the world’s second-highest users of water per person, more efficient use and recycling are key.
Cape Verde’s renewable energy resources account for about 25% of total energy production.
Shutterstock
At present, the Middle East and North African region contains 7% of the world’s population but only has access to 1.5% of its renewable freshwater supply through rainfall.
Modern desalination plant on the shores of the Arabian Gulf where the most desalinated water is produced.
Shutterstock
Desalination has been proposed as one of many strategies to deal with the water shortages. But the process is known to be expensive and harmful to the environment.
Star Wars moisture ‘vaporators’.
Véronique Debord-Lazaro/Flickr