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Water scarcity in the United States is an increasing problem and it's estimated that more than 50% of the Continental U.S. has experienced drought conditions since 2000. [1]
Water scarcity has far-reaching implications for society, economy, and the environment, affecting sectors such as public health, agriculture, industry, and biodiversity.
Water scarcity impacts agricultural productivity, creating immense challenges for farmers and food production. With limited water resources, farmers struggle to irrigate their crops adequately, insufficient irrigation affects plant growth, leading to reduced yields of water-intensive crops such as rice, soybeans, wheat, sugarcane, and cotton, most of which are breadbasket staples. [2] Reduced agricultural output can lead to food insecurity, and higher food prices due to a dependence on food imports and exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities.
Water scarcity poses a threat to ecosystems and biodiversity, primarily through its impact on aquatic habitats, rivers, wetlands, and lakes. [3] Decreased water flows and the drying of water bodies disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems, affecting a range of species including fish, amphibians, and water-dependent plants, experience habitat loss and fragmentation, affecting their reproduction and survival. The decline in biodiversity can also disrupt vital ecosystem services such as water filtration, flood regulation, and nutrient cycling, leading to further ecological imbalances. [4]
Desalination is one technology that is being used to solve water scarcity around the world. Israel is a leader in this field. Israel currently has five operation desalination plants. [5] The oldest, the Ashelkon Plant (which began operation in 2005) can produce up to 120 million cubic meters of potable water in one year. The Palmachim plant (which began operation in 2007) can produce up to 100 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Hadera plant (which began operation in 2009) can produce up to 127 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Sorek plant (which began operation in 2013) can produce up to 150 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Sorek plant (which began operation in 2015) can produce up to 100 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. Combined, all of these operational plants contribute to around 60% of Israel's potable water supply. [6] Two additional plants are planned which will produce 300 million cubic meters of water a year between the two of them. [5] Once these plants are online, desalination will make up 90% of Israel's potable water supply. In response to the growing urgency of the water crisis in California, lawmakers have greenlit a project to introduce desalination plants to support California's water supply. [7]
Israel's desalination infrastructure is so extensive that they are now producing a surplus of water. The country is using the surplus to refill previous reservoirs of freshwater such as the Sea of Gailee. [8] The surplus also opens up avenues of water diplomacy. In 2021, Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan signed a deal where Israel would provide 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water to Jordan per year–this would account for 20% of Jordan's freshwater needs. [9] In exchange, Jordan would provide clean solar energy to Israel. This relationship is just the latest in a long history of water diplomacy between the nations. [10] The State of Utah in the United States has also been in talks with Israel to learn how the small nation has taken control of its water scarcity issue. Some topics discussed during the meeting between a delegation of Utah lawmakers and Israeli representatives like Yehezkel Lifshitz (Director General for the Israeli Water Authority), included drip irrigation and vertical gardens. [11] Drip irrigation, as opposed to sprinkler irrigation, has helped Israel save 50% more water in its agricultural sector than when sprinkler irrigation was the predominant form of irrigation in the country. Water conservation efforts are especially important for American States facing water scarcity issues due to legal issues of water rights which limit their access to the water that the Colorado River provides. Localities such as Las Vegas have begun to limit outdoor swimming pool sizes in an effort to save water. California has emergency rules in place to save water by limiting the watering of lawns. [12]
A major issue of using desalination to solve water scarcity is the energy cost of desalination. While great strides have been made in the energy efficiency of desalination technology, much of the desalination effort still uses fossil fuels, such as the Ashelkon Plant which is gas fired. The emission of greenhouse gasses to solve the water scarcity problem only exacerbates the issue since global warming is a major cause of new water scarcity issues around the world. [13] Novel technologies such as small-medium scale solar powered desalination systems are being developed in Israel to supply farming operations and hotels with potable water. The new solar powered desalination systems use up to 90% less energy than conventional desalination systems.
The water scarcity issues around the world largely revolve around lack of access to fresh water; water is still extremely abundant in the world. Desalination is a method of turning unusable saltwater into potable water. In a sense, it is transporting water from areas of high availability into low availability. Aqueduct systems do the same. In the American West, water scarcity largely revolves around a drought which is drying up the Colorado River, the primary source of freshwater for a number of Western States. However, in the American Northwest, there is an abundance of water. Methods to transport that water to the water scare American Southwest can help alleviate water stress in the region. Similar projects have been undertaken multiple times in the American Northeast. During the 19th century, the Croton river in Upstate New York was diverted via the New Croton Dam. During the 20th century, more projects were undertaken to continue to divert water from areas of high-availability and low need to New York City where the availability of clean water in the area could not meet the demand. The Catskill Aqueduct System, which began construction in 1907, built over 160 miles of aqueducts. Following the completion of the Catskill Aqueduct System, city planners looked for other sources of water to supply the city in preparation for future increases in demand. The city planners identified the Delaware Aqueduct System which built around 115 miles of aqueducts to transport water from the Delaware River to New York City. [14] A similar project was developed during the 1960s called The North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA). NAWAPA would divert water from rivers in the Pacific Northwest to the American Southwest as well as connect the water sources to the Great Lakes in the Midwest. However, due to the grand scale of the project, it ultimately failed to come to fruition. [15] [16]
As an intrinsic human need, water and its accessibility remains a universal concern that accentuates the vital importance of having a reliable and safe supply for its myriad of uses so much hygienic as agricultural. The implications of overcoming such a task are only feasible through the use of novel and innovative technologies in conjunction with interdisciplinary collaboration which could provide the science and resources necessary to combat water scarcity with water treatment and management solutions. Technological headways in nanofiltration, oxidation-reduction, and reverse osmosis use state-of-the art filtering membranes in high pressurized systems to remove contaminants as small as .005 um, thus reusing existing water sources to regenerate purified water. [17] The Western States Water Council (WSWC) have negotiated federal, state, financial, ecological and technological constraints on water reuse with release of the EPA’s National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) in 2020 as a collaborative effort in sustainability, security, and resilience of resources. [18]
In addition, rainwater harvesting in conjunction with cloud seeding has been receiving more attention for the western United States where acute drought stricken regions are desperate for any uptick in precipitations. Releasing silver iodide particles into atmospheric storm or rain clouds generates supercooled water crystals around them which sparks a chain reaction of water crystallization, condensation, and precipitation. [19]
Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is soil desalination. This is important for agriculture. It is possible to desalinate saltwater, especially sea water, to produce water for human consumption or irrigation. The by-product of the desalination process is brine. Many seagoing ships and submarines use desalination. Modern interest in desalination mostly focuses on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater, it is one of the few water resources independent of rainfall.
Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. It makes is possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strategies and activities to reach these aims. Population, household size and growth and affluence all affect how much water is used.
Water reclamation is the process of converting municipal wastewater or sewage and industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes. It is also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling. There are many types of reuse. It is possible to reuse water in this way in cities or for irrigation in agriculture. Other types of reuse are environmental reuse, industrial reuse, and reuse for drinking water, whether planned or not. Reuse may include irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or replenishing surface water and groundwater. This latter is also known as groundwater recharge. Reused water also serve various needs in residences such as toilet flushing, businesses, and industry. It is possible to treat wastewater to reach drinking water standards. Injecting reclaimed water into the water supply distribution system is known as direct potable reuse. Drinking reclaimed water is not typical. Reusing treated municipal wastewater for irrigation is a long-established practice. This is especially so in arid countries. Reusing wastewater as part of sustainable water management allows water to remain an alternative water source for human activities. This can reduce scarcity. It also eases pressures on groundwater and other natural water bodies.
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit, aquifer, or a reservoir with percolation, so that it seeps down and restores the ground water. Rainwater harvesting differs from stormwater harvesting as the runoff is typically collected from roofs and other area surfaces for storage and subsequent reuse. Its uses include watering gardens, livestock, irrigation, domestic use with proper treatment, and domestic heating. The harvested water can also be committed to longer-term storage or groundwater recharge.
Water supply and sanitation in Hong Kong is characterized by water import, reservoirs, and treatment infrastructure. Though multiple measures were made throughout its history, providing an adequate water supply for Hong Kong has met with numerous challenges because the region has few natural lakes and rivers, inadequate groundwater sources, a high population density, and extreme seasonable variations in rainfall. Thus nearly 80 percent of water demand is met by importing water from mainland China, based on a longstanding contract. In addition, freshwater demand is curtailed by the use of seawater for toilet flushing, using a separate distribution system. Hong Kong also uses reservoirs and water treatment plants to maintain its source of clean water.
Water supply and sanitation in Singapore are intricately linked to the historical development of Singapore. It is characterised by a number of outstanding achievements in a challenging environment with geographical limitations. Access to water in Singapore is universal, affordable, efficient and of high quality.
Water supply and sanitation in the United States involves a number of issues including water scarcity, pollution, a backlog of investment, concerns about the affordability of water for the poorest, and a rapidly retiring workforce. Increased variability and intensity of rainfall as a result of climate change is expected to produce both more severe droughts and flooding, with potentially serious consequences for water supply and for pollution from combined sewer overflows. Droughts are likely to particularly affect the 66 percent of Americans whose communities depend on surface water. As for drinking water quality, there are concerns about disinfection by-products, lead, perchlorates, PFAS and pharmaceutical substances, but generally drinking water quality in the U.S. is good.
Mekorot is the national water company of Israel and the country's top agency for water management. Founded in 1937, it supplies Israel with approx. 80% of its drinking water and operates a cross-country water supply network known as the National Water Carrier. Mekorot and its subsidiaries have partnered with numerous countries around the world in areas including desalination and water management.
Water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia is characterized by challenges and achievements. One of the main challenges is water scarcity. In order to overcome water scarcity, substantial investments have been undertaken in seawater desalination, water distribution, sewerage and wastewater treatment. Today about 50% of drinking water comes from desalination, 40% from the mining of non-renewable groundwater and only 10% from surface water in the mountainous southwest of the country. The capital Riyadh, located in the heart of the country, is supplied with desalinated water pumped from the Persian Gulf over a distance of 467 km. Water is provided almost for free to residential users. Despite improvements, service quality remains poor, for example in terms of continuity of supply. Another challenge is weak institutional capacity and governance, reflecting general characteristics of the public sector in Saudi Arabia. Among the achievements is a significant increases in desalination, and in access to water, the expansion of wastewater treatment, as well as the use of treated effluent for the irrigation of urban green spaces, and for agriculture.
Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two type of water scarcity. One is physical. The other is economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where there is not enough water to meet all demands. This includes water needed for ecosystems to function. Regions with a desert climate often face physical water scarcity. Central Asia, West Asia, and North Africa are examples of arid areas. Economic water scarcity results from a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to draw water from rivers, aquifers, or other water sources. It also results from weak human capacity to meet water demand. Many people in Sub-Saharan Africa are living with economic water scarcity.
Peak water is a concept that underlines the growing constraints on the availability, quality, and use of freshwater resources. Peak water was defined in 2010 by Peter Gleick and Meena Palaniappan. They distinguish between peak renewable, peak non-renewable, and peak ecological water to demonstrate the fact that although there is a vast amount of water on the planet, sustainably managed water is becoming scarce.
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air. Natural sources of fresh water include surface water, under river flow, groundwater and frozen water. Non-natural or human-made sources of fresh water can include wastewater that has been treated for reuse options, and desalinated seawater. People use water resources for agricultural, industrial and household activities.
Water supply and sanitation in Israel are intricately linked to the historical development of Israel. Because rain falls only in the winter, and largely in the northern part of the country, irrigation and water engineering are considered vital to the country's economic survival and growth. Large scale projects to desalinate seawater, direct water from rivers and reservoirs in the north, make optimal use of groundwater, and reclaim flood overflow and sewage have been undertaken. Among them is the National Water Carrier, carrying water from the country's biggest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee, to the northern part of the Negev desert through channels, pipes and tunnels. Israel's water demand today outstrips available conventional water resources. Thus, in an average year, Israel relies for about half of its water supply on unconventional water resources, including reclaimed water and desalination. A particularly long drought in 1998–2002 had prompted the government to promote large-scale seawater desalination. In 2022, 85% of the country's drinkable water was produced through desalination of saltwater and brackish water.
As Australia's supply of freshwater is increasingly vulnerable to droughts, possibly as a result of climate change, there is an emphasis on water conservation and various regions have imposed restrictions on the use of water.
Water supply and sanitation in Jordan is characterized by severe water scarcity, which has been exacerbated by forced immigration as a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Gulf War of 1990, the Iraq War of 2003 and the Syrian Civil War since 2011. Jordan is considered one of the ten most water scarce countries in the world. High population growth, the depletion of groundwater reserves and the impacts of climate change are likely to aggravate the situation in the future.
Namibia is an arid country that is regularly afflicted by droughts. Large rivers flow only along its northern and southern borders, but they are far from the population centers. They are also far from the country's mines, which are large water users. In order to confront this challenge, the country has built dams to capture the flow from ephemeral rivers, constructed pipelines to transport water over large distances, pioneered potable water reuse in its capital Windhoek located in the central part of Namibia, and built Sub-Saharan Africa's first large seawater desalination plant to supply a uranium mine and the city of Swakopmund with water. A large scheme to bring water from the Okavango River in the North to Windhoek, the Eastern National Water Carrier, was only partially completed during the 1980s.
Beijing, the capital of China, is characterized by intense water scarcity during the long dry season as well as heavy flooding during the brief wet season. Beijing is one of the most water-scarce cities in the world. Total water use is 3.6 billion cubic meters, compared to renewable fresh water resources of about 3 billion cubic meters. The difference is made up by the overexploitation of groundwater. Two-thirds of the water supply comes from groundwater, one third from surface water. Average rainfall has substantially declined since the 1950s. Furthermore, one of the two main rivers supplying the city, the Yongding River, had to be abandoned as a source of drinking water because of pollution. Water savings in industry and agriculture have compensated for these losses and freed up water for residential uses.
Water scarcity in India is an ongoing water crisis that affects nearly hundreds of million of people each year. In addition to affecting the huge rural and urban population, the water scarcity in India also extensively affects the ecosystem and agriculture. India has only 4% of the world's fresh water resources despite a population of over 1.4 billion people. In addition to the disproportionate availability of freshwater, water scarcity in India also results from drying up of rivers and their reservoirs in the summer months, right before the onset of the monsoons throughout the country. The crisis has especially worsened in the recent years due to climate change which results in delayed monsoons, consequently drying out reservoirs in several regions. Other factors attributed to the shortage of water in India are a lack of proper infrastructure and government oversight and unchecked water pollution.
Drinking water supply and sanitation in Algeria is characterized by achievements and challenges. Among the achievements is a substantial increase in the amount of drinking water supplied from reservoirs, long-distance water transfers and desalination at a low price to consumers, thanks to the country's substantial oil and gas revenues. These measures increased per capita water supply despite a rapidly increasing population. Another achievement is the transition from intermittent to continuous water supply in the capital Algiers in 2011, along with considerable improvements in wastewater treatment resulting in better water quality at beaches. These achievements were made possible through a public-private partnership with a private French water company. The number of wastewater treatment plants throughout the country increased rapidly from only 18 in 2000 to 113 in 2011, with 96 more under construction. However, there are also many challenges. One of them is poor service quality in many cities outside Algiers with 78% of urban residents suffering from intermittent water supply. Another challenge is the pollution of water resources. There has also been insufficient progress concerning reuse of treated water, a government priority in this dry country.
There are approximately 16,000 operational desalination plants, located across 177 countries, which generate an estimated 95 million m3/day of fresh water. Micro desalination plants operate near almost every natural gas or fracking facility in the United States. Furthermore, micro desalination facilities exist in textile, leather, food industries, etc.
