HL Geo: Access to Safe Water

Use the following articles to examine the factors affecting access to safe drinking water in these
countries. Take notes on the key factors in each one in the box below and submit this document on
Managebac.

China
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/30/cadmium-spill-china-river\
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
-

Too much cadmium concentration in the Liu River, which threatens 3 million
residents in the LiuZhou city

Speculated six metal companies responsible

Nuomintan dam Cadmium concentrations are eight times higher than

safety levels

Solutions
-

Police, soldiers, and fire brigade officers mobilized to halt the spill

Attempted to dilute the contamination, but worsening the effects of Hechi

Pour more than 300 tons of polyaluminium chloride daily to flocculate the
cadmium (later it can be easily filtered since the molecules are relatively
bigger)

Provided bottle water for two villages

Type of water shortage

-

Physical shortage of fresh, uncontaminated water

China
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13742272.htm
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
-

Drought in the Chongqing Municipality

Little rain in winter and most of its reservoirs are now empty
Water shortages had been reported in nearly 80 villages and 20 towns
(wells dried up)

Solutions:

Water conservancy bureau sent water wagons to drought-hit areas to

compensate inadequate water supplies
- South-to-north diversion project to distribute irrigation in drought-stricken
regions
Type of water shortage:
- Physical natural water shortage due to drought and climate change
Peru
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/15/peru-asparagus-britishwells
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
- Asparagus grown in Peru left water footprints
- However, its international imports are economically rewarding especially
for the demand of higher quality imported goods
- Encourages more and more agriculture and irrigation efforts to deplete
freshwater
- E.g. UK is the 6th largest importer of virtual water, meaning water used to
crops imported
- Climate change shrinks the glaciers that feed the Ica river system
Solutions:
- Loans from the World Bank to alleviate the situation temporarily
- Progressio Advocates and calls for more sustainable partnerships between
big corporations, government and the small farmers to both benefit
economically whilst improving the environment
- Big companies (Tesco, M&M, etc.) has commented saying they want to
raise the standards of water managements for their products especially in
Ica Valley
Type:
- Physical Freshwater sources are clearly being depleted.
- Economic Country too poor so they have to use a lot of water in
agriculture to sell overseas, leading to a lack of funding in freshwater
efforts
Niger
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_35633.html
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
- Geographic location makes freshwater sources far away in rural villages
- Guinea worms affect high levels of fluoride and nitrates
- Generally unsanitary environments lead to water contamination
Solutions:
- WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) partnering with governments and
NGOs to install improved water systems
- Installing a solar-powered water pump in Guidan Gazobi so that water can
be more accessible (distance-wise)
Type of water shortage:
- Physical Nigers environmental conditions make it rather scarce for
freshwater supplies to be evenly distributed for various villages
- Economic They dont have the economic standing to decontaminate and
process polluted water

Australia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8483009.stm
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
- Climate Change
- Sydney and other coastal cities in Australia have erratic rainfall patterns
and relying on that supply is unpredictable
- More and more people (50,000 new residents per year) means less water
supply going around
Solutions:
- Desalination plant in the southern suburb of Kurnell
- Might be and criticized to be a huge waste of money/energy for the city
Type of water shortage:
- Physical unpredictable rainfall = natural fluctuations in freshwater
resources
The Middle East
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/20/arab-nations-waterrunning-out
Factors affecting safe drinking water:
- Depleted water resources from an already arid environment in the Middle
East abandons agriculture and imports food (strain in the economy)
- Rapidly growing population due to industrialization
- Climate change = rising temperatures for Middle Eastern countries =
increasingly scarce water supply
- Overconsumption of freshwater to maintain crops, parks, golf courses, and
all the luxuries of big cities in the Middle East
Solutions:
- Mass desalination projects around the coasts Incredible waste of money
and energy for small output of water (currently desalination techniques are
vastly inefficient)
- Desalination projects also kill marine life when the plants return salt to the
sea
- Bilateral or multilateral, peaceful agreements amongst nations to trade
resources like water or oil to benefit and develop sustainably
Type of water shortage:
- Physical The arid environment of Middle Eastern countries make it
increasingly scarce for freshwater supplies around the area, if not at all