Water, Sanitation and Nanotechnology

Amanda Catanero, Natalia Garcia, Damian Khan,

Marsha Smith, and Anum Zara

Global Freshwater

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia (source: http://all-that-is-interesting.com/worlds-six-most-beautiful-lakes)

Global Freshwater Crisis

Bangladesh (Photograph by Karen Kasmauski)

Distribution of Global Water Resources

Source: Earth Forum, Houston Museum of Natural Science

Freshwater and Sanitation

How many people in the world lack access to clean drinking water?

① 1 in 8

② 1 in 15

③ 1 in 30

④ 1 in 50

Well near Dimeka, Ethiopia (Photograph by Peter Essick

Freshwater and Sanitation How many people in the world lack access to clean drinking water?

① 1 in 8 ②  1 in 15

③  1 in 30

④  1 in 50

Source: National Geographic, Photograph by: Associated Press

Supply and Demand

�  Only 63% of world’s population has access to improved sanitation

�  Of the 60 million people added to the world's towns and cities every year, most move to informal settlements (i.e. slums) with no sanitation facilities.

�  Lack of sanitation and proper hygiene is the world’s leading cause of infection

�  Only 10% of waste water is treated, remaining 90% is released into lakes, rivers and oceans (UN Water)

Global Water Usage

Source: FAO of the United Nations 2010, Aquastat online database, Water use, by sector and by source, viewed May 15, 2011. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm

Water Security

�  Health

�  Nutrition

�  Equity

�  Gender Equality

�  Economic Progress

Maharashtra, India National Geographic

(Photograph by Lynsey Addano)

Human Rights and International Policy

International Focus on Water �  2005-2015: Water for Life Decade

�  July 2010: UN recognizes the human right to water and sanitation

�  Millennium Development Goals for Water and Sanitation: �  884 million (est.) people lack access to safe drinking

water �  2.6 billion (est.) lack access to adequate sanitation

�  Goal to reduce these numbers by 50% by 2015

UN Millennium Development Goals

Groundwater Importance

Source: Eckstein & Eckstein, 2003

Is Nanotechnology the Solution?

�  Nanoparticles, engineered particles with a wide range of applications

�  Strong potential in the treatment of contaminated water and the remediation of ground water

�  Developed nations: solution to industrial contamination

�  Developing nations: cost effective solution to increase water

�  Pandora’s Box: What are the risks?