Documentary

Film Script

1. Water, the foundation of life.

2. A resource that is not only essential to human life but animals and plants,

3. without this precious resource we would perish.

4. Then why are we not doing more to keep clean water on our planet sustainable and

accessible to everyone?

5. Title Page, H20’s, Clark, Isaac, Ismarie, Dominic, and Anais

6. According to a study conducted by the United Nations there is a total of 1.2 billion

people in the world that don’t have access to water

7. and in the coming years that number will be rising with about 1/3rd of the world’s

population expected to have critical water shortages by 2025.

8. It might seem odd to have shortages when the entire earth is made up of 71% water

9. but data collected by the United Nations indicates that 97.5% of the water in the

planet is saltwater and 2.5% is freshwater safe for drinking.

10. Additionally, out of the 2.5% of the freshwater on earth, 1.7% of it that freshwater is

locked up in glaciers and snow. (United States Geological Survey, 2016)

11. Leaving us with only .8% of the freshwater readily available for extraction

12. Then why do we continue to take water for granted?

13. Well the reality is most of us in the United States are fortunate enough to live in a

city where water is not much of an issue,

14. where water is readily available all the time and we don’t have many limitations.
15. It is crucial to remember that this does not indicate that water problems in the

world are non-existent.

*Newscasts compilation*

16. “Water may be something you take for granted, but in the coming decade it seems

its likely to become more precious even than any fuel”.

17. “Never before in the history of the modern world has a whole city of this kind

threatened to run out of water for its citizens completely”.

18. “The state of California is resorting to drastic measures tonight to combat its severe

drought”.

19. “If the drought continues you might have to say goodbye to some of your favorite

foods”.

20. “China is drying up, in the 1950’s the were 50,000 significant rivers now less than

half remain”.

21. “The worst drought in 80 years in the state of São Paulo reservoirs have hit rock

bottom”.

22. “Lake Piru were at the bottom of a reservoir we should be 30 feet underwater here

instead these are the conditions”.

23. Things like climate and change and population growth have affected the recharge

rate and strain on the worlds water supplies.

24. Sedlak suggests that water reclamation, is a key answer to making water last us as

long as possible
25. Water reclamation is the process in which wastewater is converted and treated to

be reused for other purposes

26. such as irrigation,

27. put back into the ground to recharge aquifers,

28. or even be treated to drinking water standards

29. A method that has been extremely successful for the city of El Paso, in the last 30

years the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation plant has been in operation the plant has

treated over 55 billion gallons of water that were used to recharge the Hueco

Bolson.

30. *Insert this clip* “one of the first in the country to clean used water and successfully

recharge declining ground water”.

31. The downside of water reclamation is that it is not always the most cost-effective

method

32. *Insert this clip* “Bottom line is that the technology is there to clean that water up

to any level you want it’s just how much do you want to spend to do it and when is it

not economically feasible to pump groundwater”.

33. Another method that the city of El Paso is utilizing is switching from solely using

ground water to also using surface water

34. *insert clip* “the city of San Antonio is fully reliant on groundwater we utilize both

sources of water”.

35. The underground resource we use is called the Hueco bolson aquifer, which is

located in under the city as well as in part of Chihuahua and New Mexico
36. And most of the surface water used is obtained from the Rio Grande

37. Even though data indicates that climate change has affected the amount of rainfall

we get in the city, and the city has had an increase in population water usage has

actually decreased!

38. In 1990 with it was estimated that 38 billion gallons of water were used

39. And even though the population increased by about 200 thousand in 2010 the city

used 37.4 billion gallons of water

40. What changed in those 2 decades?

41. The El Paso Water Utilities took extra efforts to educate the growing community in

water issues and promoted water conservation

42. As the UTEP community is growing

43. The University is working alongside the El Paso Water Utilities to give more hands on

experience to students

44. so that they may graduate with the tools needed to help the world overcome this

issue

45. *Insert clip* “You can get out of your college program and not get out in the field

very much and see real projects, drilling projects, or real infrastructure”.

46. It is our job as students to continue spreading awareness for the water shortage

around the world

47. And so that we may graduate and become pioneers in the world

48. To develop new and innovative ways to manage and protect this vital reason

49. So that we may give access to those whom do not have access to water
50. And so that we may continue to provide water to our successors.