water transfers- a quick fix? receiving areasource area
TRANSCRIPT
Video: China’s Parched North Water crisis
What has led to some of China’s water scarcity problems?
Examples of existing schemes Proposed schemes
InternationalLesotho to South Africa: Lesotho Highlands Water Project Turkey to Israel by tanker
National:Snowy Mountains-AustraliaMelamchi Nepal Tagus-Mercia Spain
InternationalTurkey to Israel undersea pipelinesAustrian Alps to Spain + Greece by pipeline
National: South-North transfer- ChinaEbro -SpainOb to the Aral Sea NAWAPA Alaska to California
Major Water Transfer Schemes
Beijing
Tianjin
Eastern Route1,155km long diversion
Central routes1267 km diversion. May have to use some water from 3 Gorges reservoir to help
Western Routes
Work starts 2010, at
high altitude,
very difficult
500kms at 3-5000m above sea
level
Demand from industrial centres, high population density and intensive agriculture. Low rainfall and over abstracted
groundwater: physical scarcity•Industrial growth along routeways will exacerbate existing pollution problems•Changes in water balances: reduced water in Yangtze means less dilution and more pollution• Displaced people especially from Dang Jiang Kou dam ......
Yellow River
Yangtze River
South China Sea
CHINAShanghai
0 mls 250
Mega Tech Fixes: China’s South–North water transfer
Originally planned 1952, started 2002, due to finish 2050. Chief player: Government sponsored ‘South to North Water Transfer Project Company, with each province having a local water company. Involves huge civil engineering works, 3 major canals, pipelines, tunnels, pumping stations
One of the largest water transfers globally.Aim: to divert 45bn m3/year from the water surplus river basins of the S and E to the water deficit areas of the North, especially Beijing and Tianjin
China: the North/South water divide
• Video: China’s parched north
• VIDEO: Great Chinese Drought continuing–What are some of the causes and
consequences of the drought problems in Northern China mentioned in the report?
Local water resources are intensively exploited• 70% of land surface in Spain semi-arid climate
zone• Recurring droughts• Strong seasonal variability of rainfall• Agriculture• Tourism
The explansion of water supply by construction of dams has come to an end• 1,300 dams in Spain• Spain is the country with the 4th largest number of
damsSome aquifers are overexploitedClimate change will further lower the natural supply of waterLow water prices hold back the development of unconventional supply sources
Water ManagementSpain Case Study
The Colorado River: A Case Study
• Video: The Colorado: a river in peril? 0’52
• Video: Colorado River: America’s Most Endangered River 2013
The Colorado River• Most endangered river in the U.S.
– Most dams, – supplies the largest portion of the population– Irrigates the most crops
• Increasing water supply problems in California– Climate change
• Less run-off from melted snowcaps
– Longer and more severe droughts– Population growth
• Mostly in arid south• Immigrant populations looking for farm work
– Infrastructure• Ageing pumps and aqueducts = environmental havoc
– Region contains richest farmland in the country• Major food supplier of the U.S.• Agriculture Accounts for % of employment
Human influences on water supply and scarcity
• Humans affect the hydrological cycle at many points of flows and storage:
In developing countries, 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters where they pollute the usable water supply.
Source:World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
Water Security: a definition
“The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”
The risks of water insecurity• What are the potential implications of an increasingly
‘water insecure’ world?
Water supply problems
Increasing water shortages may be
more important than energy shortages-
because there is no alternative!
Water conflictsWhere demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates,
then there will be conflicts between the various
players involved
Water geopoliticsThe conflicts between nation
states, despite the international agreement called the Helsinki Rules designed to create more equitable use of water
extending across boundaries
Water transfersOf this precious resource by either diverting the actual
river, or using canals . Long carried out at a small scale but
increasingly over larger distances, and even
transboundary
A Delicate Balance
Water
FoodEnergy
Energy is needed to clean and transport
water
Water is needed to generate energy
Water is needed to grow food
Food transports (virtual) water
Energy is needed to
produce food
Food can be used to produce energy
Synopticity-Water-Energy• Energy and Water: Solving Both Crises Together:• Water and energy are the two most fundamental ingredients of
modern civilization• We consume massive quantities of water to generate energy, and
we consume massive quantities of energy to deliver clean water• There are tensions between the two:
• An issue in energy rich states ,which are semi arid/arid: to sell cheap oil or keep to power desalinisation plants
• Water is needed to generate energy. Energy is needed to deliver water. Both resources are limiting the other—and both may be running short. Is there a way out?
water restrictions are
hampering solutions for generating
more energy
energy problems, particularly rising
prices, are curtailing efforts to supply
more clean water.