The feasibility of different techniques for providing fresh water to arid regions of the world - Essay Example

The shortage of freshwater sources, and the “need for additional water supplies is already critical in many arid regions of the world and will be increasingly important in the future” (Perlman 2011, p1). The availability of water just like the fossil energy sources is an important element in the determination of the world stability. Most of the arid regions lack freshwater supplies in forms such as lakes and rivers. The only available freshwater supply is the limited underground water sources; these sources are becoming brackish because of the continued abstraction of the water aquifers (Perlman 2011, p1).

There are some techniques that can be used to provide freshwater in the arid regions of the world and they include; the exploitation of the brackish water, desalination, management of the aquifer recharge, harvesting rain water, and the construction of dams. Brackish groundwater contains chlorine levels ranging between 250 and 20,000 parts per million (ppm). The volume of brackish water is similar to that of freshwater but brackish water has received little attention. Food and water scarcity and new techniques of treatment technologies have forced people to reevaluate brackish groundwater (a neglected source of water) (International Hydrological Programme [IHP] 2005, p12).

Brackish groundwater arises from the following; salt dissolution near the evaporative rocks, groundwater pollution, water evaporation, and seawater intrusion; these are as a result of the natural processes and they make up the larger brackish groundwater reservoirs. Brackish groundwater can occur in the coastal regions as well as in the semi-arid regions. Enhanced desalination techniques have enabled the production of freshwater water from the brackish groundwater; this form of desalination is economically feasible and very competitive compared to seawater desalination.

In the past decade, a number of water supply systems have become functional in areas such as Egypt and