When water runs out...

A report published this month on global water resources makes for bleak reading. We already have a shortfall: 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean water and in 20 years, water demand will be 40% higher than it is today. Augmenting existing supplies will not be sufficient, instead we need to focus on reducing the water-intensity of the economy. Drought-resistent crops should help to reduce water demand in agriculture that uses around 70% of supplies today.
Reducing industrial and domestic demand will assist water management to a lesser extent. But questions do need to be asked about whether we need clean water for swimming pools and washing the car when we cannot supply people with drinking water...

Water shortages in Harare, Zimbabwe are raising fears of a new cholera outbreak after electric power failures that are affecting the water treatment system. Residents in some suburbs without running water for a week are being forced to draw water from shallow wells.

It's not just in the developing world that there is a shortage of water; California has been troubled by shortages for decades. This summer and autumn, the water main breakages have been unprecedented, especially in Los Angeles. It now appears that an unusually full reservoir put too much pressure on the old corroding cast-iron water pipes serving the city. However, Southern California may be getting a major new source of fresh water: a massive sea-water desalination plant is being proposed at Carlsbad, next to the Encina power station, to produce enough water annually for 100,000 households in San Diego County. The cost of the project? Around £200 million in subsidies and £300 million in bonds. So it's easy to see why water conservation is cheaper than producing alternative water sources.

Water is fast moving up the political agenda in the US as more states struggle to deal with dwindling supplies and increasing demand. A quarter of the state of Texas is currently in some stage of drought: state officials are attempting to implement a raft of programmes to provide drought-proof water supplies that will provide water to residents, industry, agriculture and allow the power plants to keep running.

Drought is a frequent visitor to Australia. Unfortunately, Docker River township in the Northern Territory has another visitor as a result: a herd of 6000 feral camels is laying siege to the remote town, smashing water mains, water tanks, fences and approaching houses as they seek to relieve their thirst. The camels have also blocked the airstrip preventing medical evacuations and as more converge there daily, they are contaminating what water supplies are left. The local council is now looking to cull the animals in an attempt to regain control as residents are too scared to venture outdoors. Australia is home to the largest herd of feral camels in the world, around a million animals that have few natural predators and are also threatening fragile desert ecosystems. Lets hope they don't all decide to head for Docker River...

For a taste that's out of this world: moon water may one day be on tap

So the Man in the Moon has water to wash down his cheese...

After the damp squib of the moon-crash on 9th October, the data have now been more closely examined and there is water on the moon. Water exists within the permanently-shadowed lunar craters of the southern pole and the deliberate crash kicked up ~100kg of ice and vapour within the mile-high plume of debris. Whilst that won't satisfy the thirst of a team of astronauts, let alone the population of of a permanent lunar outpost, it does indicate that there may be reserves at the southern pole that can be plumbed for human use. There's no evidence of whether it would be drinkable, so we won't be holding our breath for "Moon Water" appearing in our Supermarkets just yet. It might be combined with contaminants that require complex purifcation systems to release the water - it's unlikely that simple filtration will do the job.

Whilst still in office, George W. Bush had wanted a $100billion+ plan to return to the moon that would then stretch on to Mars. Barak Obama is hedging his bets: appointing a special panel of experts to examine the entire moon exploration programme. In September, tiny amounts of water were found in the lunar soil all over the surface of the moon. However, the October 9th mission is a strong confirmation that may help tip the balance of Obama's decision-making process.

Whilst waiting for your trip to the moon, you can visit Just Water Now's website at www.juswaternow.com for our range of water-filtration products that will make your tap water taste out of this world!

Space, the final frontier? or just a new low...

Last month, water conservation reached the final frontier. Billionaire Guy Laliberte, the founder of the Cirque du Soliel, broadcast to the world from the International Space Station via a satellite video link to promote clean drinking water. "Everytime I look down at this fantastic planet... it looks so fragile," he said. He also tried to gulp down a drop of water floating in the zero-gravity atmosphere of the ISS where urine is recycled into drinking water, a technology that may someday be necessary down here on terra firma to overcome the water crisis that experts predict will strike in the next 25-50 years.

"All for water, water for all," was Laliberte's cry. Clowning around with water it may be: the cost of his trip was $35 million, and some critics suggested that the money would have been better spent digging wells in Africa. Laliberte's broadcasts were linked to a 2-hour 14-city worldwide extravaganza here on Earth with celebrity guests that included Al Gore, Bono, Peter Gabriel. This certainly highlights water conservation issues in a new way.

In a related water-in-Space topic, NASA crashed a rocket into the Moon's south pole hoping to find water in the impact debris. Spectacular idea - just the photos were a bit boring. The point of it all? If we want to colonise the Moon or other planet, we need drinking water - and not just recycled from our pee. Water would also have other uses, as a radiation shield (!) and when broken down into its constituents, hydrogen and oxygen, for humans to breathe and use for energy: fuel cells and rocket propellant. There have also been tell-tale signs of water on Mars - the Red Planet has long been a favorite of Sci-Fi enthusiasts for a colonisation. Not so much little green men as little green chips of ice in craters...

The European Space Agency is to launch a new satellite (how many are up there??) to follow the Earth's water cycle and its constant flux. Yawn? Maybe not. It is to characterise global changes in soil moisture as well as the salinity of seawater - yep, it will track the drinkable water that we need, leading to improvements in climate models. In turn, these will help water management programmes focused on agricultural and drinking water activities.

In another water-related stunt last month, the Maldives Government 'sank to a new low'. The president and his ministers donned wetsuits and scuba gear, used sign language and waterproof documents to conduct affairs of state for 1/2 hour on the sea floor, 20ft beneath the waves. Rising sea levels threathen to submerge the Maldives in the Indian Ocean within a century, robbing celebrities and other monied tourists of a favoured vacation spot...not to mention the locals' homes.