robert giegengack_the looming global water crisis

8/3/2019 Robert Giegengack_The Looming Global Water Crisis

1/48

THE LOOMING GLOBAL WATER CRISIS(Happy World Wuddah Day!!)

IGEL 3/22/2011Robert Giegengack

Earth & Environmental Science

[email protected]


2/48


3/48

ESCALATION OF HUMAN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Time 2011

Human population growth

6.8 billion

10 billion?


4/48

1/2 mi

1 mi1 mi

6.8 x 109

6.8 billion people is not

a large biomass


5/48


Time 2011


Human resource use (water, energy, etc.)

+ disposal of waste products of that use

6.8 billion

10 billion?


6/48


Time 2011


Human resource use

Human impact on the environment

6.8 billion

10 billion?


7/48

Water is moved closeto the Earths surface

by solar energy,gravity, and the energyof the Earths rotation


8/48

Water is moved close tothe Earths surface by

solar energy, gravity,and the energy of theEarths rotation

All water is recycled!

The amount of freshwater available for

human use is a tinypercentage of thewater on Earth



9/48

Anthropogenicmodificationrepresented by

red arrows

All water is

recycled!

The amount of freshwater available for

human use is a tinypercentage of thewater on Earth


?


10/48

DIRECT HUMAN WATER CONSUMPTION:

At 4 liters/person/day, the worlds human population (6.8

billion) requires 100,000,000,000 m3/yr.

Annual precipitation (rain, snow) just over over the State

of Pennsylvania is 10 times that!!


11/48




Annual precipitation (rain, snow) just over the State of

Pennsylvania is 10 times that!!

There is a lot of water


12/48






But it isnt uniformly distributed


13/48






Nor is it efficiently used


14/48

Trends in Global Population, Diet, Energy:

The global human population is growing The per capita water demand is growing faster

than the population:

# cal/person/day is rising

we are all eating higher on the food chainwater is used in all industrial processes

domestic water use rises as the standard of living rises

Energy use/person is growing faster than the population

These trends will continuewe are losing

Despite our brave rhetoric, we are moving rapidly away fromsustainability


15/48


16/48


17/48


18/48

Worldwide, many watershedsface a supply crisis

A US example:

: The Colorado River Basin


19/48


20/48


21/48

.

Source of directcontaminants

Further inputs may

come from proposed

development of new

energy sources(uranium, oil shale)


22/48


23/48


24/48

McDonald, 2007

out-of-basin transfers


25/48

McDonald 2007


26/48

Colorado River Compact (1922) allocation: 16.50 maf

1906-2004 mean flow: 15.03 maf

508-yr dendrochronologically determined mean flow: 14.67 maf

NAE, 2007


27/48

Salton Sea

Imperial Valley


28/48

McDonald, 2007

Players in the Colorado Basin:Municipalities: Denver

Las Vegas

Phoenix

LA-San Diego

other towns

Irrigation districts: Imperial Valley

SW Colorado

E Utah

Industry: mining

ore processing

Ecosystem services: NPS

Recreation: NPS

Mexico!

The 1922 compact allocated 1.4 maf to

Mexico; that commitment is rarely met


29/48

Other river basins under stress:

Jordan

NileTigris-Euphrates

YangtzeMekong


30/48

Tel Aviv

Beirut

125

250125

500

+150

+500

+150

Total flow to DeadSea: ~1800 Mm3/yr;

Israel now uses ~2350

Litani 800

Amman

Jerusalem


31/48

99,000 Mm3/yr

White Nile:26,000 Mm3/yr

Blue Nile:67,000 Mm3/yr

to Egypt

Atbara: 12,000

1.4

1.4

2.82.3

1.51.0

Mm3/yr

Evaporation in

m/yr


32/48

~33,00E0

Mm3

/yr

Euphrates at Hit:

Tigris: ~

Khabur: 6%

Balikh:

Hit

0.6%

Kharun:

~24,000 Mm /yr3

Khabur 6%

Balikh 0.6%

Euphrates at Hit:

~33,000 Mcm/yrTigris: ~44,000 Mcm/yr

Kharun: 24,000 Mcm/yr

Area of rainfall in the Tigris-

Euphrates Watershed


33/48

Qurna

Hammar

Huwaiza

Marshlands in the lowerTigris-Euphrates watershed

Planned GAP

impoundments

on the upper

Euphrates andTigris

M hl d d i j t 1992 1995


34/48

Qurna

Hammar

HuwaizaMain Outfall Drain, or Third River,

or Saddam River, or

Mother of BattlesRiver

Marshland drainage projects, ~1992-1995

Glory River, or

Loyalty to the Leader Canal


35/48

SOME EXAMPLES OF PROPOSED

INTERBASIN WATER TRANSFERS ON

A GRAND SCALE:

China

Former Soviet Union

Canada


36/48

THE FUTURE OF GROUND WATER

The USAThe Great Libyan Man-Made River


37/48


38/48

Groundwater

overdraft from

the OglalaAquifer


39/48

The Great Libyan Man-Made River


40/48

Solutions:

Expand supply

Reduce demand

Reform global food industry


41/48

Solutions:

Expand supply:

exploit traditional sources

interbasin transfersgroundwater extraction

desalinationcapture icebergs


42/48

Global growth of

desalination


43/48

Antarctic Icebergs:sources of fresh

water

S l i


44/48

Solutions:

Reduce demand:conserve

improve irrigated agricultureapply water directly to plants

avert losses (evap., leakage)reduce industrial consumption

re-use grey water, raw sewage

S l i


45/48

Solutions:

Reform the global food industry:improve irrigation practices

eat lower in the food chainimprove food crops:

select drought-resistant varietiesengineer higher photosynthetic

efficiency


46/48

The water crisis is more threatening to

human welfare than climate change,

and more immediate than the energycrisis

Climate change may contribute to the

water crisis, but it is a small player

We can address the water crisis with

available technology and resources


47/48


48/48

robert giegengack_the looming global water crisis

Documents