Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water to Arid Regions of the World - Term Paper Example

FC502, Skills for Study 2 Final Report Assignment Question: Write a Report for Assessing the Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water to Arid Regions of the World Table of Contents Introduction 2 Assessing the Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water in Arid Regions of the World 3 Conclusion 6 References 8 Introduction Arid regions are those regions in which there is a shortage in the availability of water. Both arid and semi-arid regions cover almost 40% of the entire landscape in the world wherein more than 2 billion people are inhabitant. It has been viewed that 90% of arid and semi-arid regions falls under developing countries and these areas mostly receive low extent of precipitation that is in the form of snow or rainfall (Bizikova, 2011). Moreover, in these areas, growth of plants and animals is witnessed to be relatively lesser. Lack of vegetation can often be viewed in these areas and as observed there is a possibility that in the coming years these areas might turn out to be deserts. In addition, these areas witness about 700mm of rainfall in an annual basis and these areas are often subjected to periodic droughts and water shortage which have been the main concerns for the people living in these areas (International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d.). In relation to these areas, it is very important to increase awareness about sustainable management related to water resources. Correspondingly, the essay intends to analyse the feasibility of various techniques used for providing fresh water to arid regions of the world. Assessing the Feasibility of Different Techniques for Providing Fresh Water in Arid Regions of the World Arid regions and the people living in these regions have been facing increased problems regarding water shortages due to which various techniques have been used in order to reduce the problem and provide fresh water to the people living in these areas. It is considered that programmes of sustainable development must be introduced in these areas that would create awareness amid people regarding the management of water resources as these places usually have an inadequate supply of underground water. Besides, the available fresh water in these areas has become salty as the aquifers in these regions are continuously getting destroyed. As it has been viewed that these areas have limited sources of water, therefore it is considered that various techniques must be used that would provide an adequate supply of fresh water. These techniques include desalination, treatment of wastewater and using bore holes to harvest ground water. Desalination: This process is also termed as distillation which involves changing salty water into fresh water by removing the salt that is mixed with sea water. It is the most ancient and common method of water treatment which is considered quite feasible for providing fresh water for the people living in arid regions as this process removes the impurities present in salt water. In accordance with the statistics, there were over 12,500 desalination plants being used in these arid areas wherein almost 14 million cubic metres of fresh water is produced on a day-to-day basis. However, the supply of fresh water through this process is relatively lower as it merely meets the requirement of the people requiring fresh drinking water (International Hydrological Programme, 2005). Consequently, it is considered that more plants of desalination must be installed in these areas that would ensure that sufficient amount of water is supplied to the people living in these areas and the pressure regarding the demand of fresh water would be subsequently reduced. It has been revealed that most of the Middle Eastern nations such as Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia use the method of desalination that has provided a huge contribution to the people living in these areas regarding adequate amount of fresh water. Arid areas that have been using the process of desalination so as to remove the problem of freshwater supply have witnessed that there has been a significant improvement in relation to catering the water requirements in these areas. Therefore, it can be asserted that desalination is a feasible technique of increasing the supply of fresh water in arid areas (International Hydrological Programme, 2005). Treatment of Wastewater: It has been observed that sewage or human waste can mostly be treated with the aim of producing freshwater that would be suitable for human use. Biological plants for water treatment can be used effectively that would recycle waste water for human usage. However, treatment of waste water at times turns out to be problematic as it requires convincing the people that the water which has been treated through biological plants is actually appropriate for human use. Treatment of wastewater through biological plants is considered reasonable and safe as compared to other process of water treatment as installing these plants do not require huge amount of investment apart from the initial phase of installing them (International Hydrological Programme, 2005). On the other hand, there are certain issues linked with waste water treatment in relation to its operation and execution as the water that has been treated requires to be connected with the water supply system of the municipality along with adequate infrastructure. Moreover, waste water treatment requires skilful personnel in order to ensure that the process of waste water treatment is productive. On the whole, it can be asserted that waste water treatment is a feasible approach for producing freshwater in arid regions as this process has the capacity of producing huge volumes of freshwater at a single point of time that would be useful for both the industries and people in arid areas (International Hydrological Programme, 2005). Using Bore Holes To Harvest Ground Water: It has been viewed that arid regions are in such a situation wherein the place might run out of freshwater availability in its surface at any point of time. Ground water is considered as the purest form of water that can be available in the livelihood of humans as the contaminant water gets completely pure as it reaches the earth’s surface (Goriwondo, n.d.). Likewise, drilling bore holes has been a popular method for producing freshwater in arid regions as it removes the problem related to shortage of freshwater (Akudago & et. al., 2009). In the present day context, drilling bore holes has been the most common method of producing freshwater in arid regions. It is perceived that the technique of drilling bore holes is more appropriate as compared to others as it does not require much of maintenance costs in comparison with the other techniques irrespective of the fact that this method requires to incur certain costs in the initial part of its installation. Moreover, ground water is the most genuine form of water as it is naturally pure that does not require any process of water treatment. Therefore, it can be asserted that drilling boreholes for producing freshwater in arid regions is a feasible technique which would produce a huge volume of fresh water as per the demand of people living in arid regions at a relatively lower cost and moreover it also requires less maintenance cost (Akudago & et. al., 2009). Conclusion From the foregoing study, it can be ascertained that the arid regions of the world and the people living in them have been facing huge problems regarding water shortage. Most of the arid regions in the world are in developing nations and possibility of precipitation in these regions is quite low as compared to other regions. Therefore, in order to tackle this problem several techniques have been introduced which ensure that freshwater is available for human usage as per their requirement. The most common practices for providing fresh water in arid regions have been determined to be desalination, wastewater treatment and drilling of bore holes to harvest ground water. It could be revealed that all the three techniques are effective in nature but as per the comparison of these techniques it would be worth mentioning that drilling boreholes for harvesting freshwater is the best technique as it does not require cost of maintenance and is quite feasible for a layman to produce freshwater. Moreover, the water produced from this technique is naturally pure and does not require any treatment. References Akudago, J. A. & et. al., 2009. Borehole Drying: A Review of the Situation in the Voltaian Hydrogeological System in Ghana. J. Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 3, pp. 153-163. Bizikova, L., 2011. Semi-arid Areas. International Institute for Sustainable Development, pp. 1-7. Goriwondo, W. M., No Date. Using Wind Energy for Harvesting and Providing Sustainable Safe Groundwater for a Rural Community in the Masendu Ward in Zimbabwe. National University of Science and Technology, pp. 1-7. International Hydrological Programme, 2005. Water Programme for Africa, Arid and Water Scarce Zones. Ministry for the Environment and Territory, pp. 1-13. International Institute for Sustainable Development, No Date. Arid and Semi-Arid Lands: Characteristics and Importance. Community Adaption for Sustainable Livelihoods. [Online] Available at: http://www.iisd.org/casl/default.htm [Accessed March 28, 2014]. Read More