7/19/2011

Water Scarcity

Dr. Danilo C. Terante

Head, Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering
Civil Engineering Department
De La Salle University
Chairman, Water Engineering Specialty Division
Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers - National

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 7/19/2011

Terms to Watch
condition in which the annual
availability of renewable fresh water is
Water Stress less than 1,700 and greater than 1,000
cubic meters per person in the
population

as used in reference to countries by

water engineers, condition in which the
Water Scarcity annual availability of renewable fresh
water is 1,000 cubic meters or less per
person in the population

Terms to Watch
the magnitude of primary water supply (PWS) development with
respect to potentially utilisable water resources. Physical water
scarcity conditions are reached when PWS reaches 60% of the
country’s potentially utilisable water resources (PUWR).

Countries in this category need to transfer water

from agriculture to other sectors to meet water use
demand and import food or invest in costly
desalinisation plants.

have sufficient water resources to meet additional PWS

needs, but do not have the financial means to mobilise
these resources through storage and conveyance
facilities.

Terms to Watch
Renewable
Water water that is continuously renewed within
reasonable time spans by the hydrologic cycle,
such as that in streams, reservoirs or other
sources that refill from precipitation or runoff.

depends both on its natural rate of recharge

and the rate at which the water is withdrawn
for human ends.

To the extent water is withdrawn faster than

its source is recharged, it cannot be
considered renewable.

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 7/19/2011

Terms to Watch
Non-renewable
Water

water in aquifers and other

natural reservoirs that are not
recharged, or are recharged so
slowly that significant
withdrawals will cause
depletion

What We Will Address?

The Problem

Hypothesis

If global water
scarcity issues are
not addressed
today, it will
greatly limit future
sustainability.

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 7/19/2011

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 1

Water scarcity occurs even in areas

where there is plenty of rainfall or
freshwater. How water is conserved,
used and distributed in communities,
and the quality of the water available
can determine if there is enough to
meet the demands of households,
farms, industry and the environment.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 2

Water scarcity affects one in three

people on every continent of the globe.
The situation is getting worse as needs
for water rise along with population
growth, urbanization and increases in
household and industrial uses.

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 7/19/2011

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 3

Almost one fifth of the world's

population (about 1.2 billion people)
live in areas where the water is
physically scarce. One quarter of the
global population also live in
developing countries that face water
shortages due to a lack of infrastructure
to fetch water from rivers and aquifers.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 4

Water scarcity forces people to rely on

unsafe sources of drinking water. It also
means they cannot bathe or clean their
clothes or homes properly.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 5

Poor water quality can increase the risk

of such diarrhoeal diseases as cholera,
typhoid fever and dysentery, and other
water-borne infections. Water scarcity
can lead to diseases such as trachoma
(an eye infection that can lead to
blindness), plague and typhus.

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 7/19/2011

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 6

Water scarcity encourages people to

store water in their homes. This can
increase the risk of household water
contamination and provide breeding
grounds for mosquitoes - which are
carriers of dengue fever, malaria and
other diseases.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 7

Water scarcity underscores the need for

better water management. Good water
management also reduces breeding
sites for such insects as mosquitoes
that can transmit diseases and prevents
the spread of water-borne infections
such as schistosomiasis, a severe illness.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 8

A lack of water has driven up the use of

wastewater for agricultural production
in poor urban and rural communities.
More than 10% of people worldwide
consume foods irrigated by wastewater
that can contain chemicals or disease-
causing organisms.

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 7/19/2011

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 9

Millennium Development Goal number

7, target 10 aims to halve, by 2015, the
proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation. Water
scarcity could threaten progress to
reach this target.

Ten Facts About Water Scarcity

Water is an essential resource
for life and good health. A lack
of water to meet daily needs is
a reality today for one in three
people around the world.
Globally, the problem is getting
worse as cities and populations
grow, and the needs for water
increase in agriculture, industry
and households.
This fact file highlights the health
consequences of w ater scar city, its
impact on daily life and how it could
impede international de velopment. It
urges everyone to be part of efforts to
conserve and protect the resource.

Fact 10

Water is an essential resource to

sustain life. As governments and
community organizations make it a
priority to deliver adequate supplies of
quality water to people, individuals can
help by learning how to conserve and
protect the resource in their daily lives.

Research Findings

1: Useable Water Supply 2: Water Renewal 3: Water Consumption 4: Water Reuse

1: 2e+014.
2: 2e+012.
3: 6e+012. 1
4: 1
3

1
1
1: 1e+014.
2: 2e+012. 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4
3: 3e+012.
4: 0 3

3
1
1: 0 3
2: 2e+012.
3: 0
4: -1
2000.00 2075.00 2150.00 2225.00 2300.00
Page 1 Time 9:04 PM Mon, Dec 04, 2006
Untitled

Graph with 0% recycled water

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 7/19/2011

Research Findings

1: Useable Water SÉ 2: Water Renewal 3: Water Consumption 4: Water Reuse 5: Renewal and Reuse
1: 5e+014.
2: 2e+012.
3: 8e+012. 5
4: 5e+012.
5: 7e+012.
4
1

3
1: 2.5e+014 1
2: 2e+012.
3: 4e+012. 2 2 2 2
4: 2.5e+012 5
5: 4.5e+012 4
1
3
5
4
1: 0 3
2: 2e+012. 4 5
3: 0 1 3
4: 0
5: 2e+012.
2000.00 2075.00 2150.00 2225.00 2300.00
Page 1 Time 9:08 PM Mon, Dec 04, 2006
Untitled

Graph with 70% recycled water

Implications

(www.infoforhealth.org/pr/m14/fig5a.gif)

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Implications

• Health Care
Many global • 10,000-20,000 children killed by
implications water-related diseases every day

• Environmental
Many global • 20% of all freshwater fish species
are now threatened or endangered
implications (Gleick, 2001)

Implications

(www.waternunc.com/.../waterscarity2025.jpg)

Implications

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Implications

Implications

Implications

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Sustainable Water Use

the use of water that

supports the ability of
human society to endure and
flourish into the indefinite
future without undermining
the integrity of the
hydrological cycle or the
ecological systems that
depend on it (Gleick et al.,
1995)

Seven Sustainability Requirements

A base water
requirement will be
guaranteed to all
humans to maintain
human health.

Seven Sustainability Requirements

A basic water
requirement will be
guaranteed to restore
and maintain the health
of ecosystems.

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Seven Sustainability Requirements

Water quality will be

maintained to meet
certain minimum
standards. (BFAD Water
Quality Standards)

Seven Sustainability Requirements

Human actions will not

impair the long-term
renewability of
freshwater stocks and
flow.

Seven Sustainability Requirements

Data on water-
resources availability,
use and quality will be
collected and made
accessible to all parties.

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Seven Sustainability Requirements

Institutional
mechanisms will be set
up to prevent and
resolve conflicts over
water.

Seven Sustainability Requirements

7
Water planning and
decision making will be
democratic, ensuring
representation of all
affected parties and
fostering direct
participation of affected
interests. .

Water Resources Crisis

•Is Philippines a ‘water-rich’
country?
•Climate change: water scarcity
•Droughts and floods
•Urban people w/o access to
potable water
•Urban people w/o access to
sanitation
•Groundwater ‘mining’
•Water pollution
•Aging water infrastructure

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Managing Water Scarcity

Policy Reforms
Adopt an integrated approach to water resource management

Pricing water delivery

Encourage farmers to shift to irrigated crops

Adopt a sustainable groundwater use strategy

Decentralize water management responsibility

Promote cooperation for sustainable mgmt of transboundary water resources

Managing Water Scarcity

Water-Saving Technologies
Irrigated Rainfed
Agriculture Agriculture
Improve small-
Use of treated scale and
wastewater supplemental
irrigation systems

Increase adoption
of new precision Use of diversified
irrigation and cropping
drainage systems

Planting new
Promote low-cost
crop varieties
water-harvesting
that require less
technologies
water

adopt
conservation
tillage and
planting on raised
beds

The End
Dr. Danilo C. Terante
De La Salle University - Manila

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