Possible Methods for Water Provision in an Arid or Semi Arid Region - Essay Example

Methods for water provision in an arid area Considerably since the initial times of man, it is worth noting that water has been a vital substance where communities have been depending on for survival. Man’s livelihood has been the manner of getting as well as sharing these scarce resources. Today, the above is still true in some arid regions and parts of America where resource of ground water is non-renewable and surface water is very scarce. Here, it is pertinent to illustrate that this essay is a report that deals with comparison of two methods of water provision in semi and arid regions of America. The essay goes further on, to detail the sustainability of supply, social impact of the water and quality of water produced against demand. Experts affirm that sanitation and water is a link to both poverty eradication and achievement of a sustained development. The above gears up the provision of impetus and focus to water, where it is recommended that the poor should get an increased access to sanitation and water. Having put that across, here are the two discussed methods of water provision in the arid and semi arid regions (McGinnies, 25). First in arid areas, the main method of water provision is desert irrigation pumps, and desert wetlands incorporated with mangrove growing. Another method is the artificial seawater supply Pumps and desert irrigation It is worth noting that areas like arid, are regions with scarce water supply. Therefore, the only pertinent method of acquiring water is by either irrigating the desert or the use of pumps. The above method has been in use for a thousand of years by North American, Mongolia and Latin America just to sample but a few. The method of water provision above involves building dams from the riverbed sand, which acts as a channel of water flow to adjacent fields. The above system is involving since it requires a constant maintenance as well as attention due to the often overwhelming of flood water or the damages made by the floodwaters. Further, despite of the above being a key solution for water provision in the desert it has several disadvantages. For instance, it is vital to replace spate irrigation with a dam made of concrete, which causes harm in the process. It causes harm because the above process of replacement in most cases causes the clotting of the gates from the large amounts of sediments deposited at the canals and gates. Importantly, it is wise to heed that pumps are pertinent for the irrigation process. Reckoning the old days, both the manual labor and water wheels formed a good tool for lifting water from the rivers, wells and ponds for the agriculture of the land. Now days, it is fortunate that most of the work is done by the diesel-powered pumps and gasoline. Even though pumps may be noisy, one advantage of using the same is that they are efficient and relatively cheap to buy. The above is one of the methods of providing water in arid region of the Latin America. It has proved to be more helpful to the natives who use it for agricultural process, which in tern helps them to get agricultural produce. In sustainability of desert irrigation, the water covers twenty hours of inflow of water during the night and day. With the above type of irrigation, it is pertinent to heed that farmers usually receive one hour of water per feddan per 12 days. For instance for those who have seven feddan, they benefit with seven hours of water for each 12 days. The type of the crops that the farmers are planting does not necessary matter. Further, the quantity of water varies with the amount of water required to seep into the soil in order to dissolve the silt completely. Therefore, for the above type of irrigation, the experts affirm that latter should be considered. Latter entails the ratio of transpired amount of water and the production of dry matter. It is recommended that in dry climate, the ratio should be 1000 or more if evaporation is highly demanded. Artificial seawater Another pertinent method is the staging of artificial seawater that helps to irrigate the arid land, incorporated with the planting of the Mangroves. All the above are practical way of providing water in the arid regions of the Latin America. Hodges Carl an environmental scientist at the Arizona University pioneered massive artificial water. According to Hodges setting up seawater that is artificial in which primarily, seawater is channeled to canals in the coastal region it vital in arid areas. Under the seawater in the scheme, water is flown into the shrimps farms after which it’s nutrients is loaded and directed to the wetlands from the farms with salicornia mangrove forest. Salicornia is a plant that grows in a salty place, which is advantageous in a manner that it does not absorb nutrients required for the agricultural products. Here, water is filtered naturally, as it returns to the sea. It is vital to note that heavy seawater aids in the raising the table of the fresh water. One of the advantages of the system, global warming is the compartment of the production of the carbon dioxide and further sucking of the canals and plants. The above drains water from the sea and oceans making the sea levels rise. The system above is functional in Kino Bay in the Mexican desert in the western side of California. Of late, there is growing danger of water scarcity which manifest a negative effects in technological hydraulic. It is pertinent to note that there is a transition to more industrial modernity from hydraulic mission; this is because of the water management approach. It is fortunate to realize that water technologies tent to dissociate individuals from the natural environment. On contrary with the artificial seawater supply, the sustainability of water varies with the type of crops being grown. However, generally water is directed into the arid water twenty-four hours a day. Again, the regulation depends on the type of the crop grown. For instance, those who plant rice are given upper in water supply. Having put that across, it is pertinent to note that quantity of water for artificial water supply is more the same as pump irrigation. Here, it is recommended that in dry climate, the ration should be 1000 or more if evaporation is highly demanded. In comparison, it is pertinent to note that both the above methods have its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, it is vital to replace spate irrigation with a dam made of concrete, which causes harm in the process. It causes harm because the above process of replacement in most cases causes the clotting of the gates from the large amounts of sediments deposited at the canals and gates (Hillel, 26). Having put that across, staging artificial seawater entails the practical way of providing water in the arid regions of the Latin America. Hodges Carl an environmental scientist at the Arizona University pioneered massive artificial water. According to Hodges, setting up seawater that is artificial, in which primarily, seawater is channeled to canals in the coastal region is influential. Under the seawater in the scheme, water is flown into the shrimps farms after which it’s nutrients loaded and so it is directed to the wetlands from the farms with salicornia mangrove forest. In Latin America, it is pertinent to employ the two methods of water provision due to its landscape affirms (Agnew, 2009.p.126). For social impacts, both the water provision methods act actively in the social interactions of the arid societies. Individual’s tents to get settlement near water and so due to that settlement, there is culture interaction, which intern brings about a positive and friendly living environment. In summary, water is a vital substance in the society to the extent that individuals cannot do without. Arid areas are fertile and needs to be irrigated to produce quality crops. Due to the above reason, methods of water provision are essentials in making land fertile. However, the above gears up the provision of impetus and focus to water, where it is recommended that the poor should get an increased access to sanitation and water. Having put that across, here are the two discussed methods of water provision in the arid and semi arid regions. It is pertinent to note that sustainability of water depends with the type of crop and climate. Further, it is vital to realize that quantity of water supply depends on the latter that is, it is recommended that in dry climate, the ratio should be 1000 or more if evaporation is highly demanded. Bibliography Agnew, Clive, and Ewan W. Anderson. Water resources in the arid realm. LondonRoutledge, 2009. Hillel, Daniel. The efficient use of water in irrigation: principles and practices for improving irrigation in arid and semiarid regions. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1987. McGinnies, William Grovenor. Arid lands in perspective; including AAAS papers on Water importation into arid lands.. Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science;, 1969. Stamp, L. Dudley. A history of land use in arid regions. Paris: UNESCO, 1961. Worthington, E. Barton. Arid land irrigation in developing countries: environmental problems and effects : based on the international symposium, 16th-21st February, 1976, Alexandria, Egypt. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1977. Read More