Menu Close
The Conversation

Articles on Water supply

Displaying 1 - 20 of 43 articles
Sprinklers water a lettuce field in Holtville, California with Colorado River water. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads

Jennifer Weeks, The Conversation

Two decades of drought have reduced the river’s flow by one-third compared to historical averages. The Biden administration is considering mandatory cuts to some states’ water allocations.
Following historic drought in 2021, reservoir levels dropped down in the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, which gets its waters from the melting snowpack from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. (pxhere.com)

Scientists dig deep and find a way to accurately predict snowmelt after droughts

Dana Ariel Lapides, Simon Fraser University; Daniella Rempe, The University of Texas at Austin; David Dralle, University of California, Berkeley, and Jesse Hahm, Simon Fraser University

Unprecedented droughts leave the subsurface drier than usual, affecting water supply in subsequent years.
Hundreds of freshwater basins across the world, including the dried-up Santa Olalla permanent freshwater lagoon, in Spain’s Doñana National Park, are the most likely to experience social and ecological impacts due to freshwater use. (Donana Biological Station/CSIC)

Ripple effect: As global freshwater basins dry up, the threat to ecosystems and communities grows

Xander Huggins, University of Victoria

While we know how global changes in freshwater pose risks to humans and ecosystems, we know less about how people and ecosystems will respond to these global freshwater challenges.
As periods of drought become more common, the consequences of an ill functioning water sector will be severe. malgosia janicka/Shutterstock

The UK’s water industry is broken – here’s how to fix it

Kevin Grecksch, University of Oxford

Unless action is taken, the UK will be unable to supply its own water needs in the future – we should look to water-scarce regions such as California for inspiration.
Dave Hunt/AAP

The ‘yuck factor’ pushes a premier towards desalination yet again, but history suggests recycled water’s time has come

Margaret Cook, University of the Sunshine Coast; Andrea Gaynor, The University of Western Australia; Lionel Frost, Monash University; Peter Spearritt, The University of Queensland, and Ruth Morgan, Australian National University

Australian politicians have a history of opting for high-cost, high-emissions desalination projects. The Queensland government is still wary of using the largely untapped resource of recycled water.
Farmers in some regions are being encouraged to preserve and establish grasslands that can survive drought and protect the soil. AP Photo/Mark Rogers

Grim 2022 drought outlook for Western US offers warnings for the future as climate change brings a hotter, thirstier atmosphere

Imtiaz Rangwala, University of Colorado Boulder

La Niña is only part of the problem. The long-term driver of increasing drought – even in areas getting more rainfall overall – is the rapidly warming climate.
NASA’s Landsat satellites have been monitoring changes on Earth’s landscape for 50 years. NASA illustration

Satellites over the Amazon capture the choking of the ‘house of God’ by the Belo Monte Dam – they can help find solutions, too

Pritam Das, University of Washington; Faisal Hossain, University of Washington; Hörður Bragi Helgason, University of Washington, and Shahzaib Khan, University of Washington

When Indigenous peoples lose their river flow to dams, satellite programs like Landsat – which is celebrating its 50th anniversary – can help them fight for their resources.
Alien pine trees, which use substantially more water than the native vegetation of the Cape Mountains, reduce river flows to dams that supply the city’s water. Martin Kleynhans

Clearing alien trees can help reduce climate change impact on Cape Town’s water supply

Petra Brigitte Holden, University of Cape Town; Alanna Rebelo, Agricultural Research Council; Joyce Kimutai, University of Cape Town; Kamoru Abiodun Lawal, University of Cape Town; Mark New, University of Cape Town; Piotr Wolski, University of Cape Town; Romaric C. Odoulami, University of Cape Town, and Tiro Nkemelang, University of Cape Town

Clearing alien trees before the drought hit could have reduced the impact of climate change on water supply during the ‘Day Zero’ drought.
Women line up to collect water in their buckets in the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi. Photo by Wendy Stone/Corbis via Getty Images

A deep data dive reveals extent of unequal water provision in Nairobi

Mutono Nyamai, University of Nairobi; Henry Mutembei, University of Nairobi; James Wright, University of Southampton, and Thumbi Mwangi, Washington State University

The manner in which people access water differs according to income. People in high- and middle- income areas tend to have piped connections in their homes.
MNStudio/Shutterstock

Even in a ‘water-rich’ country like New Zealand, some cities could face water shortages this summer

Julia Talbot-Jones, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Sophie O'Brien, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, and Suzie Greenhalgh, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research

Given long-term forecasts for growing urban populations and an increasingly variable climate, local authorities will have to think about how best to encourage people to conserve water.

Related Topics

  1. Climate change
  2. Desalination
  3. Drinking water
  4. Drought
  5. Peacebuilding
  6. Recycled water
  7. Water
  8. Water conservation
  9. Water security
  10. Water use

Top contributors

More