Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water - Case Study Example

Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water 1.0 Introduction Water shorted in arid and semi arid area is a major concern for both national and international humanitarian agencies. The limited rainfall makes water a limit resource in these regions. There is need to focus on models that will effectively collect and store water in this regions. There is need to consider the feasibility of different methods in this area. An effective method should be recommended for use in these regions. The government and other aid agencies should consider an effective model. The effectiveness of the model is defined by the level of accessibility, the overall cost and its overall benefit. The essence of any system is to maximize on the output and reduce the amount resources gathered to enhance the system. The easy will focus on details of different sources of water collections and recommend on an effective plan to utilize in the Nubian Desert. 2.0 Background Information The focus will be on Nubian Desert. Covering an Area of more than 400,000 Square kilometres, the region remains venerable to water shortage. The arid region is bordered by the large Sahara desert. It has a minimal rainfall of 125mm per year. The desert is located in Sudan North-East part of Africa (world atlas, n.d ). 3.0 Presentation of Options Underground Water In this model, underground water reserves are exploited and utilized in various ways. The common method of harvesting underground water is through boreholes. Different sites are set and underground water utilized for both domestic and agricultural purposes. The technique requires technical knowhow at the initial stages. This means locating sites to be drilled. After a site is located, the drilling process begins. During this process, both mechanical and human power is required. Limits spaces are need as the size of a borehole is smaller compared to other forms of water harvesting. The availability of this resource will determine the life of the borehole (Thangarajan et al, 2002). Rain Harvest Some arid areas experience limited amounts of rainfall per year. With the right mechanism, the water could be collected and used for both agricultural and domestic purposes. In analyzing this aspect, hill slope dams are required. Rainwater is collected down rock hill slopes. Gravity is what is needed to collect water and be pumped into storage tanks. The technique requires a large surface area as water from the hill tops need to be collected over a wider area compared to borehole drilling where a small excavation of the earth is done. The hill slopes dam could only be effective in regions with limited amount of rainfall. In most arid areas, they hardly experience rainfall all year long (Aladenola & Adeboye, 2010). In this case, the model could be ineffective given the fact that the process requires rainfall to succeed. 4.0 comparisons of options 4.1 cost The borehole drilling has a higher initial cost compared to rain water harvest. In this case the mechanism requires both mechanical and human labour to facilitate its operations. The high initial cost is a reflection of the eventual benefits. The potential benefit of this source makes it effective. Rain harvest on the other hand has low initial and maintenance cost. In this case the program would be effective in areas with high rainfall. In this scenario it could be uneconomical to invest in this project given the fact the region experience minimal rainfall per year. 4.2 Usability and Sustainability 4.2.1. Ground Water harvest The method is effective given the fact that it could have a low maintenance cost. This will be possible if solar energy is used to pump and treat water from these boreholes. According to Thangarajan et al. (2002), sustainability is a major factor while harvesting underground water. The area terrain plays an important role in determining the method of drilling model. The unlimited underground water volumes make the model effective. The process potentially has the ability to produce enough water to cater for various needs. The affordability of the model makes it a preferred choice in many arid areas. Governments and non-governmental organization channel funds towards the process. The amount of underground reserves will depend on site location and depth of the boreholes. The water could be pumped in storage tanks to be later used for domestic purposes. The model can be used for both commercial and humanitarian purposes. The number of boreholes drilled per square kilometre is limited in order to ensure the rare commodity is not depleted area. The system is easy to use hence; a vast majority of individuals could utilize it as a water source (Thangarajan et al, 2002). 4.2.2 Rain harvest The process is limited a specific period of the year. The level of heat in semi arid areas will be a disadvantage to the hill slope dams. Water collected through this process could be derailed, as the rate of evaporation will surpass the rate of water being collected. This means the process would be a short-term solution for water shortage. The process cannot sustain itself. Unreliable nature of the process makes it ineffective and could not be utilized in wider scale. The process requires additional programs to make it effective. The program cannot be relayed upon and could only be used as a secondary source of water harvest. The benefit of the model is limited to a small scale. The amount of water collected through this process is limited to domestic use and that cannot be utilized for commercial and agricultural purposes (Aladenola & Adeboye, 2010). 4.3 Environmental effects The amount of space needed to drill boreholes is small compared to rainfall collection. This means to harvest more than 4000liters, a large surface area is needed for the rainfall harvest meaning a number of locals need to be relocated to pave way for the construction of hill slope dams. In the case of borehole drilling a 30- 100 meter drilling is done on the earth’s surface meaning it will have a less impact on both wildlife and humans (Pushard, 2015). 5.0 Conclusion The limited rainfall in the Nubian Desert makes it impossible for rain dependency as a source of model in water harvesting. Alternative means are recommended but there is need to focus on the overall cost before deciding on alternative in water collection. The underground water harvesting is effective given the fact that if a correct model is contracted, the process can be relayed upon all year round. The level of labour invested in ensuring a water project is effective is important as it will determine the type of model chose. In this case, the low maintenance and operational cost required in boreholes makes it an effective model in arid and semiarid regions. The initial cost is low compared to seawater purification. It is evident that borehole drilling is the most effective model to deploy in the region. Works Cited Aladenola, Olanike. & Adeboye, Omotayo B. Assessing the Potential for Rainwater Harvesting. Water Resources Management, 24, (2010) pp. 2129-2137. Print. Thangarajan, M., Rai S.N. Sign, V. Sustainable Development and Management of Groundwater Resources in Semi-Arid Regions with Special Reference to Hard Rocks: Proceedings of the International Groundwater Conference IGC, Dindigul, India, 2002. London: CRC Press. 2002. Print. World Atlas. Land of Africa. N.p. n.d web 30 Mar. 2015. http://www.worldatlas.com Pushard , Doug. Rainwater harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1. Harvest H2O. 1 Mar. 2015. Web. 30. Mar. 2015 Read More