Mining demand is water that is used for mining and differs according to the mineral. Factors that Affect Water Demand Water demand is defined as the water that is required to fulfill all the needs of a community, a city or a country. The factors that affect water demand will vary according to the demographics of an area, its location, population and industrial or agricultural practices in the region. In most Agricultural countries such as Australia, the agricultural industry consumes most of the water that is allocated to industries.
According to the Australian Bureau of statistics, the agricultural industry consumed about 59% of Australia’s water in 2011 to 2012. In industrial regions, most water is used by the industrial sector. CHINA Background China is one nation that is approaching a phase of water crisis. Apart from the reduction in water supply, the water that is currently supplied is of poor quality that is already creating health problems for the Chinese people in some regions. According to Bateman (2014), an estimate of 400 cities is currently facing water shortage while 110 of these are experiencing water scarcity.
A shocking revelation is that about 55% of rivers that were in China in the 1990s have disappeared which may be one of the factors that is responsible for the upcoming water crisis. The main reason for this crisis is poor planning of water resources. The major reasons as to why the water supply is dwindling in China are urbanization, population growth, income growth and the economic structure of the country. Although there is adecrease in the population growth rate from 2.4% to 0.9%, there is population growth.
A higher population increases water demand. Urbanization and income growth has led to an increase in the domestic demand due to the shift of population. By 2025, urbanization and higher incomes will have caused a doubling of domestic demand. This can be rectified by putting measures that ensure domestic water is recycled (Upali, 2005). China’s economy has been on the rise. In 2013, it grew by 7.7%. This is a great thing but it is a threat to water security. The greatest contributor to this economy is industry which contributes about 80%.
In earlier years, china’s economy was dependent on Agriculture. The shift from agriculture to industry has led to an increase in industrial water demand. By 2025, industrial demand will supersede agricultural demand. These four factors have created a water security problem for China which might become a crisis if appropriate recycling and conservation measures are not enforced. The best way of handling the issue of water insecurity and poor water quality is water accounting. The Chinese government must understand the potential of all water supplies for planning purposes.
Most of the water sources are rivers and basins. A majority of these are in the Northern area. As stated by Upali et al (2005 p. 7), in 2005 China had a reliable and sufficient water resources. Northern basins provided about 14 percent of the total consumption while the southern basins supplied more than 60 percent. Currently, this supplies supply less water and some of them are polluted. Water Demand The water demand in China is increasing annually. According to Amarasinghe (2005), the total water demand in 2000 was approxianately 545km3.
The agricultural sector had the highest water demand of more than 70% while domestic demand was about 8% of Chinas total water demand in the year. In 2008, data from the ministry of water resources shows that agriculture accounted for 62% of demand, industry accounted for 32% and domestic and replenishment usage accounted for 14%. The increase in water consumption and consequently water demand is shown in the figure 1 below: Source: Statista 2014 Figure 1: National water consumption in China from 2001 to 2012 (billion cubic meters) In order to meet the increasing water demand China is currently working on ways of recycling water, decontaminating available water supplies and looking for alternative water sources.
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