Coping with Water Scarcity Addressing the Challenges

About this book

One of the main problems confronting the world of the 21st Century is a shortage of water. There is already severe scarcity in many regions of the world, causing tremendous problems for local populations and indeed entire societies. There is insufficient water available for the production of food to alleviate poverty and starvation; the lack of water hampers industrial, urban and tourism development, forcing restrictions on other sectors, especially agriculture; health problems arise as the deterioration of ground and surface waters favors water-borne diseases, which flourish in the absence of decent water distribution and sewerage systems. Water conflicts still arise in areas under stress, while water for nature has become a vanishing priority in such zones.

This book is a guide to the establishment of regional and/or local guidelines for developing and implementing new ideas for coping with water scarcity.The basic premise underlying the book is that water scarcity will persist, so personal, human and society-wide skills will be needed to cope with it while living in harmony with the necessary environmental constraints. The book provides basic information to assist decision makers, water managers, engineers, agronomists, social scientists and other professions (and their students) in formulating coherent, hopefully harmonious and consolidated views on the issue. Guidelines are also given for introducing the general public to the concept of water scarcity and how to deal with it.

Contents

Foreword iii1 Introduction 2. Water scarcity concepts2.1. Concepts2.2. Coping with water scarcity3. Physical characteristics and processes leading to water scarcity3.1. Introduction3.2. Climatic conditions3.3. Hydrologic characteristics3.4. Climate change and its impacts on water scarcity3.5. Meteorological and hydrological data collection and handling4. Droughts and desertification4.1. Droughts4.2. Desertification5. Conceptual thinking in coping with water scarcity5.1. Introduction5.2. Social value of water5.3. Environmental value of water5.4. Landscape and cultural value of water5.5. Economic value of water5.6. Priorities for water allocation5.7. International issues - treaties between sovereign states5.8. Conclusion6. Surface water use and harvesting6.1. Large and small scale projects6.2. Reservoir management6.3. Control of water losses and non beneficial uses of water6.4. Water harvesting6.5. Environmental and health issues6.6. Conclusion7. Groundwater use and recharge7.1. Introduction7.2. Major aquifers and well fields7.3. Minor aquifers of local importance7.4. Environmental, economic and social impacts of aquifer overexploitation7.5. Artificial recharge7.6. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater7.7. The use of groundwater in coping with water scarcity8. Using non-conventional water resources8.1. Introduction8.2. Wastewater use8.3. Use of brackish, saline and drainage waters8.4. Desalinated water8.5. Fog-capturing, water harvesting, cloud seeding, and water transfers9. Water conservation and saving. Concepts and performance9.1. Concepts9.2. Water use, consumptive use, water losses, and performance9.3. Water use performance indicators9.4. Water conservation and saving to cope with the various water scarcity regimes9.5. Implementing efficient water use for water conservation and saving10. Water conservation and saving measures and practices10.1. Water conservation and saving in urban systems10.2. Water saving in domestic applications10.3. Water conservation and saving in landscape and recreational uses10.4. Water conservation and saving in industrial and energy uses10.5 Water conservation in dryland agriculture10.6. Water saving and conservation in irrigated agriculture10.7. Supply management10.8. Concluding remarks11. Social, economic, cultural, legal and institutional constraints and issues11.1. Local communities11.2. Urban centres11.3. Rural areas11.4. User groups11.5. Administration of water use - public and private organizations12. Education12.1. Need to change attitudes to water12.2. Education and training12.3. Need for new developments and research12.4. Development of public awareness of water scarcity issues12.5. ConclusionBibliographyIndex

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