Abdel Karim 1

Maha Abdel Karim

Mr. Mangan
ESS
4 June 2016
Wealth of Water Case Study
1. I agree with the belief that water is a human right because in order for a human to
survive they need water, therefore it is only natural that it should be provided for
humans to consume. In all honesty humans are very advanced and there are many
ways of donating money or collecting money by using clean resources that can fund
the human water need. If this is to happen however the water should be dispersed
evenly thought each country to ensure all get a fair amount and only then will there be
no need to consider water being a commodity. Not only the government but all
humans should make an effort to prolong their own survival.
2. Developed countries or countries with a sufficient amount of water should join with
the U.N to ensure that water gets distributed to developing and third world countries,
this should be a priority and when this is done there will be immediate results.
3. I think if done in an unethical strategic manner Bechtel can profit they can do this by
charging higher prices for water however they will be met with riots.
4. I do think this foreshadows other wars because human nature is selfish, and especially
when it comes to survival they will fight over it. Another example can be Afghanistan.
Afghanistan only has 13% clean water available and that is not nearly enough.

Question pt 2;

Abdel Karim 2
1. No, because the consumption only increased slight from 35 to 38, while the price
increased by 90% (13.67$ to $26.27). This shows that the company is trying to increase
their profits by increasing revenue from the significant price increase of water.
2. 90% increase
3. $988.53 is the average income for a Bolivian, and the price bill per month is $26.27
and $312.24 annually. So the percentage spent on water is about 32% from their
annual income.
4. 58472 x 0.32= 18711.04 would be spent yearly on water. I woud definitely revolt
against the government because there is no guerentee I will always be able to pay for
the water, furthermore so many people are poor so having to pay for a human right
makes no sense in my mind.
Questions pt 3:
1. Less than 1%
2. Overconsumption, pollution, agricultural use, industrial manufacturing.
3.
Total Gallons
Used/Day

Total Water
Use/Week

1 gallons/min 4

28

Showering

2 gallons/min

15

105

Bath

50 gallons/tub 0

Brushing
teeth

1 gallons/min 2

28

Flushing
toilet

3 gallons/flush 10

30

210

Activity

Water Loss*

Hand
washing

Number of
Times/Day

Abdel Karim 3

Laundry

10
gallons/load

Dish washing
5 gallons/load 1
by hand
Drinking
water

1 /16
gallons/glass

TOTAL

10

70

35

1/2

3.5

68.5

479.5

(*Data from the USGS. Note that some quantities are provided on a per
minute basis.)

4.

68.5 gallons per day for me alone is high. A realistic solution is taking the shortest

showers possible and conserving all sources of water I have in my home.

5. 24934 gallons per year of water. I will be paying over 700 dollars per year for my
water. This does not come close to the real value of water because water is a human
right and should not have a value. If it did however it would probably be much more
expensive.
6. I constantly raise awareness by funding organizations that help supply water to the
less fortunate, and mention the subject among my peers daily. I also am interested in
finding new ways to conserve water so I am constantly looking for solutions and ideas
online that I share on social media.