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waterLook at a map of the world and the first thing that strikes you is the amount of blue. This sea water actually represents 70% of the surface of the globe. Space probes may be on their way to verify whether or not there are traces of water on Mars but on planet Earth we have water in abundance. However, as Coleridge's Ancient Mariner out on the high seas remarked, it is a case of 'water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink'. Saline water in seas and oceans forms 97.4% of the water on our planet leaving only 2.6% in the form of fresh water. And 3/4 of even this small 2.6% is frozen in ice caps which means that only 0.6% of the water in the world is available for use. Incredibly,
though, this small 0.6% is enough fresh water to fulfil the needs of everyone
in the world. In the course of a year, it is estimated that 14,000 cubic
kilometres are available to us in rivers, lakes and underground reserves
of which only half is used. (However, many experts believe that parts
of the world are running out of water as wetlands vanish, deserts spread,
rivers and lakes dry up and underground aquifers run dry.) Of the freshwater we use, agriculture accounts for 66%, industry 19%, domestic use 10% and 5% is lost through broken pipes/ evaporation. Demand for water continues to grow and today in the rich countries of the North we use 6 times more than we used in 1950. We use it in the home, often without thinking, to shower, flush the toilet, clean, wash clothes, drink and cook. Outside we use it in our gardens and to wash our cars. Water is needed to grow our food, generate power, build houses and in manufacturing where, incredibly, it takes 150,0000 litres to produce just 1 car. Like the air we breathe water is indispensable and we cannot live without it. But unlike the air we breathe, water carries a cost - albeit small. For although water has been described as a 'gift from God' someone has to put the pipes in the ground whilst at the same time ensuring there is a constant supply. It is estimated
that for the cost 1p (1.5 US cents), we can drink around 40 glasses of
tap water. Flushing the toilet needs 6 litres of water and sets us back
0.8p (1.2c); taking a shower uses 40 litres and costs 5p (8c). In total,
in the UK, on average, each of us uses 135 litres of water per day at
a 'staggering' cost of just 17p (25c). For us then whatever way you look
at it, water is undoubtedly a bargain without equal. As a result, people in the South only use an average of 10 litres per day but by drinking unclean water, many regularly suffer severe bouts of diarrhoea which can leave them weak and unable to work. Closely related to clean water is the need for proper sanitation. And the two requirements together are paramount for any society to advance. Thanks to our Victorian ancestors piped water and sanitation have been available throughout the UK for more than 100 years. And it was their joint introduction that helped pave the way for the huge increase in life expectancy from 50 years in 1880 to 65 years in 1920. Their major contribution towards improved health was further underlined recently in a poll conducted by the British Medical Journal which set out to find the greatest medical advance in the last 150 years. To the surprise of many in the medical profession the separation of clean water from sewage was voted into No 1 position ahead of the discovery of anaesthesia, antibiotics, vaccines, D.N.A. and the contraceptive pill. So civil engineers can lay claim to have been responsible for the greatest medical advance in probably the whole of history! Sadly, however, in 2010, in the developing world 2.6bn people still have no access to any sort of lavatory. The situation is worst in sub-Saharan Africa where 63% of the people lack proper sanitation. And without a toilet you must go outside. This is bad enough for men but much worse for women and dangerous for young girls. Hygiene here also becomes a problem for failure to wash hands regularly fuels diseases. In 2000
all the nations of the world signed up to the UN Millennium Development
Goals of halving world poverty levels of 1990 by 2015. Included in these
targets are the aims to halve the proportion of people without safe water
and adequate sanitation which are arguably the toughest challenges of
all. Yet, at the same time, they are perhaps the most cost effective with
UNDP calculating that for every US$1 invested in water and sanitation
brings a US$9 return. However, the latest UN figures show investment in
water infrastructure is falling - currently around half the amount required
at around US$13bn (£8.4bn) - as water budgets compete with those
for health and education. On present trends, according to WaterAid, sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the UN Millennium Development target in water until 2060 and in sanitation until the 23rd century. And this is only halving the 1990 figures. At this rate universal access to clean water in sub-Saharan Africa will take until the 22nd century and for sanitation until the 25th century. And by then it is not impossible that man may well be living on other planets - having first found water there of course! Water and sanitation then have to be prioritised for together they bring FOUR additional benefits to people's lives - better health, more time for children to attend school and more food can be grown leaving families with greater resources. So whatever way you look at it clean water and proper sanitation are an investment without equal. So what can developing countries do to improve water supplies and sanitation and how can rich countries help? Governments
in poor countries could start by implementing some or all of the following
cost-effective measures:-
Bringing in private companies, which account for just 8% of world water services, may be anathema to many governments and international NGO's like Oxfam but if the choice is between safe water on the one side and dirty or no water on the other, there really can be no debate. International water companies, however, will only commit themselves to constructing desalinisation plants, sinking wells, building reservoirs and installing and maintaining pumps and pipes if they can charge for the water. That means the price paid by consumers should be just over the cost of the supply in order to give water companies the incentive to invest in new water schemes. Charging consumers would also encourage water conservation. And the poor need not lose out because they have no money if schemes similar to those operating in South Africa are put in place. Here water is metered and priced but 25 litres for human survival is given FREE TO EVERYONE EVERY DAY. When the ANC came to power in 1994 14m South Africans did not have clean water. Today 9m of those have been connected up and the rest should be on tap by the end of 2013. And what a difference it is making to people’s lives there. Girls can now go to school instead of fetching water, women can spend more time caring for their families and subsistence farmers are able to grow more food. Moreover, the risk of life threatening diseases spread by unsafe water is being dramatically reduced leaving people to enjoy longer and healthier lives. Sourcing and securing clean water for poor people then is a win/win/win/win situation like no other. Yet incredibly, as indicated above, only a small percentage of rich country ODA funding for specific projects goes for investment in water in the developing world. This present allocation of Western ODA for water then needs to increase. But, at the same time, the way this assistance is given should change. What developing countries need most of all is expertise and rich countries should increasingly consider sending there water engineers, planners, surveyors, hydrologists etc - the people who can make water flow literally anywhere - to source and secure water supplies. For the countries of the European Union this would best be achieved through working together to pool resources. Once this was agreed the next step would be to involve the African Union which would provide the over-arching framework for directing water resources development. Working through the African Union would also take care of any political considerations. And, in time, through this comprehensive and co-ordinated approach millions more Africans should soon see clean water and better sanitation delivered to their cities, towns and villages. And with continuing commitment from OECD countries water development projects would continue across the continent until most of the population was within 1 mile of a safe water source. Rainfall
is projected to decline in Africa in the coming years due to global warming.
And for many people who currently rely on rain no rain means no crops
and no food. But in many respects this is just a logistical problem. For
example, in the Ethiopian Highlands - the 'water tank' of Africa - there
is enough water fall annually to feed 12 great rivers and in the midst
of that area stands Lake Tana whose waters are barely touched. This in
a country where famine is never far away and to which the international
community is forever donating emergency food aid. There is then a huge potential in many parts of Africa to literally make the desert bloom, as in Israel. But somehow the political vision is lacking. That is why the EU through the African Union should grab the moment and start to draw up plans about how best to develop huge virgin water sources. This will be a formidable undertaking but working in collaboration much could be achieved so that many more Africans can access the life-changing priceless asset of clean water. <<<<^>>>>
Drinking tap water costs us a negligible amount. But most of us think nothing of buying bottled water in a shop at 40p for 1/2 litre which is 300 times the cost of tap water. At the same time we are even prepared to pay £1.50 in a restaurant for the same bottled water which is an incredible 1200 times the cost of tap water. And can we tell the difference? Probably not. So here is an easy way to save money and help those without access to clean water. Instead of buying bottled water, before going to bed at night, put a bottle of tap water in the fridge and take it to work/school the next day. At the same time if you are eating out in a restaurant ask for tap water which should come free of charge. Tell your friends to do the same and with the savings help deliver new life to people in the developing world through sending the money saved to WaterAid. <<<<^>>>>
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just1world@just1world.org |
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There,
girls, some barely into their teens, rise early every morning and set
off walking, sometimes long distances, to collect water for use by their
families. In temperatures of 40ºC, they will queue up to collect water
from a pool which is often muddied by the time they get to the front.
And when they get home, because they were not able to carry enough, they
often have to return to collect more. They do this every day until perhaps
younger sisters take over. In these rural areas, it is estimated that
25% of household time is taken up finding and carrying water. And it is
collected from literally anywhere; sometimes in the dry season the water
is brought back from a pool where cattle and wild animals have been drinking.
There is often no alternative. 
suggest people collect
rain water from roofs.
All
of the above measures will help ameliorate the water situation in each
country and that is important. However, with 96% of water in Africa* undeveloped,
it is going to be a colossal task to get clean water flowing across the
continent. But a start must be made and ALL means should be used in meeting
this challenge - even to the extent of inviting international water companies
to participate. (*Half of all fresh water in Africa is to be found in
the Congo basin)