Techniques for Providing Fresh Water to Arid Regions - Essay Example

A REPORT ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FOR PROVIDING FRESH WATER TO ARID REGIONS OF THE WORLD Lecturer 0 Introduction The purpose of this report is to compare and recommend the cost effective method of providing fresh water to arid areas. One of the options available is the construction of dams. On a smaller scale, we can have sand dams and the ground water dams (Borst and Haas, 2006) which are cheaper and do not require a lot of capital investment. Sand dams are built above into the riverbed of a seasonal sand river.The purpose of these dams is to store water which is normally available during the rainy season so that it can be used during the dry season until the next rainy season. These dams can thus provide water needed for domestic as well as minor irrigation. However, for industrial use, large dams are built to hold more water. Apart from provision of water, these large dams are multipurpose and can be used to generate hydropower, irrigation and inland navigation. Left is the structure of sand storage dam construction while Right is a completed sand dam constructed in Kenya. Source: Practical Action. The other option is supplying water through pipelines. Water is extracted from the deep within the earth through well pumping or taken directly from a surface water source such as a river, watershed basin, aquifer or lake (Grossman 2004). Once the water is extracted, it is then transported to the villages and towns with the help of pumps and the the natural force of gravity. Pipelines are preferred because it is a quick and effective way of transporting huge amounts of water over long distances. Lastly, water can be provided through ground water pumping. This basically involves sinking holes into the ground water source such as an aquifer and pumping out the water or drawing it by use of rudimentary system of a rope and a container (Kemper, 2002.). This method can be done cheaply by individuals themselves using low cost technology. Sometimes, even the digging is done by hand. Unregulated sinking of wells can lower the water table as the groundwater becomes unable to rejuvenate itself naturally. The illustration below shows the decline in monthly-mean water levels of a well in Cook County, Southwest Georgia. Source: USGS 2.0 Background of the Report Arid areas are characterized by low rainfall which leads to problems with the supply of water. Populations in arid areas therefore have to travel long distances in search of water and this makes their lives difficult. Besides, economic activities are affected as industry cannot be located in their towns due to problems with availability of water required in the manufacturing process. Apart from manufacturing, water needed for irrigation is also not enough. The only agricultural practices that can be carried out by these communities are irrigated agriculture due to low and unreliable rainfall. It is therefore imperative that arid governments and local communities look for way of providing their water for domestic as well as industrial use. Some of the arid areas of the world include the Northern United States which has a number of deserts such as the Sonoran desert that extends across several states and into Mexico. 3.0 Comparisons of Options 3.1 Cost For a pipeline, a network of pipelines will have to be constructed so as to connect various users to the water source. Acquisition of the pipes and the pumps costs a lot of money and the capital costs may force a country to borrow the required resources (World Bank, 1994). Besides, maintenance of the pipelines and checking of water quality should be done constantly, and this again adds to the overall costs which may be extreme in the event the pipeline length is long (Grossman, 2004). Construction of small dams can easily be done with locally available materials and human labour, making it cheaper. According to a study carried out in Kenya, a single sand dam with a capacity of holding 2,000m3 with a life span of 50 years only costs US$ 7,500 (Borst and Haas, 2006). For the large dams, the construction can easily run into billions of dollars considering the scale of the project, materials requires and the machinery and equipment employed not forgetting the technical personnel on the ground. IFPRI (1997) observes that the maintenance of dams mainly includes dredging the dams to maintain its depth by scooping the silt deposited on the floor of the dam. This is a capital intensive exercise and it may run into a lot of money. Overall, costs of large dams are so high and can only be funded by large investments in the project probably the government with the help of financial partners. Compared to other methods of provision of water to dry areas, ground water provides the cheaper alternative. Comparatively, the costs relates to drilling and pumping the water out of the wells and the maintenance of equipment (IFRI, 1997). This still ranks lower than others. In fact, with proper guidance, the local communities in arid areas can do the digging of wells by hand and get it out by rudimentary means, greatly cutting down the cost. 3.2 Technology/ Location Skilled personnel are required to lay down the network of pipeline and pumps and also service it to ensure supply is not disrupted due to damages and leakages. Such expertise may not be readily available especially at the local level. Just like the pipelines, dams also require technical personnel to do a number of feasibility studies to determine the suitability of a location for dam construction. Poor choice of location may lead to accidents due to dam the collapse of a dam after being overwhelmed by the weight of water (Goldsmith, 2014).For the small dams, poor choice of locations may not provide the best results, with the dams constructed failing to hold water, leading to disappointment. These personnel are also needed on the ground to ensure that that construction is done accordingly, even from those small dams where the local communities can be used to provide labour and locally available materials used in the construction (Borst and Haas, 2006). Construction large dams are a labour extensive exercise with heavy machinery and equipment being needed to excavate the ground and move the earth. Ground water extraction also requires specialized skills to do the prospecting and drilling. Otherwise, we may end up with many wells being dug close to each other, with some lacking sufficient quantities of water to justify their extraction (Kemper, 2002.). In the end this causes a problem as the the ground water cannot rejuvenate itself in a timely way to met the demand. 3.3 Water Quality Even though water in the pipeline is presumed to be safe, it has to be noted that the same cannot be said of a pipeline passing through enemy territory. Given that we have no control over the acts of the enemy, the quality of water cannot be guaranteed. A good example is the persistent Israel and Palestine squabbles over how to share water resources. There are fears that Palestinians militants may attempt to poison Israeli pipelines that passes over the disputed territory (Akleh, 2013). On the other hand, ground water is considered to be safe and of high quality. However, there is a danger of seepage of chemicals into it and affecting those consuming it. For instance, nitrates from fertilizers used in agriculture and other industrial chemicals may percolate through the ground and into the water table, thus entering the quality of ground water supply. Lastly, water from the dams are the easiest to control in terns of quality. To begin with, dams have historically been built in regions where the land is not disputed. As a result, there can be no malicious actions directed at the water. In any case, the dam, built along a river, have water flowing in and out of it. This way, even in the event of poisoning, the situation is easily visible and measures can be taken to bring it under control and avoid negative impact to humans. 4.0 Recommendations Pipeline is not recommended because it may be unreliable and expensive at the same time. As seen earlier, it may be a target of sabotage acts from those hostile to the government or the community being served. Dams on the other hand are the most expensive form of supplying water to a given region, and it is recommended to a state with enough financial resources. Ground water is cheaper to provide due to the small scale and the low cost. However, possibility of being polluted makes it undesirable. A good option perhaps would be a sand dam. It is small scale and thus cheap. Besides, it is safe as it is open and any cases of contamination are easily visible. Bibliography Akleh E. (2013). Israel Water Genocide. Retrieved November 25, 2014 from http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2014/05/israels-water-genocide/ Borst L. and Haas S.A. (2006). Hydrology of Sand Storage Dams: A case Study in the Kiindu Catchment, Kitui District, Kenya. Vrije Universtity, Amsterdam Cox, W. (1989). Water and Development: Managing the Relationship. UNESCO. Paris, Grossman, Z. (2004). Retrieved November 25, 2014 from http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/SUPPESBJ/ Goldsmith E.(2014). The social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams. Wadebridge Ecological Centre, Cornwall. IFPRI .(1997). Valuing Groundwater: Economic Concepts and Approaches. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. International Rivers (2014 Environmental Impacts of Dams. Retrieved November 25, 2014 from http://www.internationalrivers.org/environmental-impacts-of-dams Kemper, K. E. (2002). Markets for Tradable Water Rights. Focus 2020. Washington, D.C WWF (2014) Dam Problems-Social Impacts. Retrieved November 25, 2014 from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/water/dams_initiative/problems/social/ World Bank (1994). Water Resources Management. Washington, D.C. (World Bank Policy Paper). Read More