Water Crisis Management Quiz

Total Water on Earth

• Total water on Earth: 1391,000,000 Km3
• Seawater: 97.5% (1356,000,000 Km3)
• Iceberg and permanent snowcover: 68.9% (241,000,000 Km3)
• Groundwater including soil moisture: 30.8% (108,000,000 Km3)
• Freshwater: 2.5% (35,000,000 Km3)
• Lakes and river storage: 0.3% (100,000 Km3)

Freshwater Availability

• Freshwater available for humanity: 0.1% (35,000 Km3)

Rainwater

• Global average rainfall: 2 x 10^8 km3 per year
• Rainfall is poorly distributed across the globe
• Rainfall is unpredictable and uncontrolled

River Water and Lakes

• Rivers are the main source of freshwater
• GCC does not have a single natural river

Groundwater

• It is important to determine the amount producible rather than the amount available
• Most underground water is not discovered yet
• Most underground water is not producible

Water Demand

• Water demand can be grouped into: domestic use, agriculture use, and industrial use
• Domestic demand: water is used for drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening, and other utilities
• Some water is lost in the distribution systems
• Water consumption increases with improving life standards

Agriculture Demand

• Irrigation water consumes more than 50% of freshwater and can reach as high as 80% in some agricultural communities
• Water with salinity of 1000-4000 ppm is suitable for irrigation (depending on crops)
• Saline type agriculture is under research to use saline water up to 10,000 ppm

Industrial Demand

• Water is used for cooling streams, condensing, chemical industries, mining industry, power plants, etc.
• Industry is growing rapidly, which increases water demand
• Water quality for industry varies, and sometimes seawater can be used in cooling, while in many cases desalinated water as 5 ppm should be used

Water Crisis Management

• Better freshwater management: better storage, distribution, and use
• Water consumption awareness focusing on better management
• More efficient irrigation: new irrigation technologies, building dams, and opening channels to transport water to dry areas
• Industrial and waste water recycling (water reuse)
• Desalination: more than 70% of the world population lives within 70 km of seas or oceans

Water Footprint

• Virtual water is the volume of water required to produce a product
• Water footprint is the sum of virtual water in the full supply chain
• Both are an indication of the consumption of freshwater resources
• Colors of water footprint: green (rainfall water), blue (surface and groundwater), and grey (water required to dilute polluted water)

Case Study: Production of Sugar from Sugarcanes

• Agricultural phase: rainfall, evaporation, inputs, irrigation, runoff, and drainage
• Industrial phase: steam, water in cane, sugar process water, and effluent
• Total water footprint: approximately 1000 L/kg sugar

Water Required to Produce 1 kg of Food

• Potato: 65 L/kg (UK)
• Tomatoes: 74 L/kg (Spain)
• Sugar: 1000 L/kg (Swaziland)
• Milk: 1000 L/kg (global average)
• Rice: 3000 L/kg (global average)
• Meat (poultry): 6000 L/kg (global average)
• Meat (cow): 15,500 L/kg (UK)
• Meat (sheep): 57,800 L/kg (UK)

Reducing Water Footprint

• Mean annual rainfall is relatively low, < 100 mm, and irregular
• Droughts of 2-3 years are common
• Total average annual amount of rainfall is approximately 19,250 Mm3
• 80% evaporates, and 1,400 Mm3 leaves as water runoff
• 119 Mm3 is lost to the sea, while the rest refills the shallow aquifers