Water:
distribution
and consumption
| The water on the planet | |
The
water content
of
the planet
is
estimated
at
1,300
trillion
liters.
The
majority,
97.47%,
the oceans
store,
the rest is
fresh water.
Freshwater
is a
limited resource and
its
quality
is under
constant
pressure.
Drinking
water is
a
scarce commodity
in
the amount of
energy
you
need to invest
in
their training.
The
water
of
the poles
is
not directly usable
on a
large scale,
and it is necessary
to resort to
the
aquifer,
some of
which are
fossil,
ie, non-renewable,
and
rivers.
Preserving
freshwater
quality
is
important
for
the supply
of
drinking water or
food
production.
The
largest
percentage
of this
water
is
in
ice caps
and
groundwater.
This amount has been around forever for the Earth, creating and preserving life on it. We currently have the same amount that was given to the dinosaurs 65 million years. |
|
| Distribution of water resources in the world | |
The
scarcity
of
fresh water is
one
of
the
main environmental problems
before
we
met.
Can
easily
say
that we are
reaching
the limit
of
extracting
fresh
water from
the
surface,
but
consumption
is
increasing.
However,
a
major
threat
is
the
effect
climate
change will have
on
the hydrological cycle
and
freshwater
availability.
Basically
conditions
will
worsen
the
shortage
of
areas
that are already
dry
(less
rain
and
more
evaporation).
Currently
20%
of
the
population has no
access
to
water of
sufficient
quality
and
50%
lack sanitation.
Africa
and
Western
Asia
are
the
areas of greatest
deprivation.
In
simple terms
we
could say that
in
the richer countries
the
water problem
especially
affects
the
conservation
of
nature
and
the potential for
economic
growth
while
in
the
south,
besides
all that,
the lack of drinking
water is the
direct
cause
of
disease
as
diarrhea and
cholera
kill
15
million children
each
year.
To ensure our basic needs we need 20 to 50 liters of drinking water free of pollutants per day. A newborn in a developed country consumes an amount of water 30 to 50 times greater than that of a newborn in a developing country. |
|
| Distribution of water resources in Europe | |
The
situation of
water
distribution
in
Europe is not
particularly
serious.
Water
demand
is
in
decline
due
to
improved
management,
reuse and industrial
process
changes.
There
is
an
abundance of
dams
and
water
infrastructure.
The
biggest problem
has
always been the
industrial
pollution
of
rivers,
especially in
Central
and
Eastern
European countries.
However,
it
is
producing a
significant
overall
improvement,
especially in the
situation
of
the rivers,
through the treatment
plant
expansion,
tightening control
and
legislation
and
the use of
structural
funds for
improvements,
infrastructure and environmental
research.
|
|
| Consumo de agua por continentes y sectores | |
The
water consumption
is
carried
agricultural
bound
70%
of
fresh
water consumed
by
the use of
inappropriate
irrigation
techniques.
Industrial
consumption
will
double
in
2050
and
rapidly
industrializing countries
like
China
will
be multiplied
by
5.
Urban
consumption
also
increases
with
income per
capita,
especially in recreational
uses
(golf
courses,
parks and
gardens,
etc.) and from
tourism.Worldwide,
the
global
freshwater
consumption
has
multiplied by
6
between
1900
and 1995
while
population
has
only
done
by
3.
|
|
| Price of water | |
Water
has always
had
a
price,
since
the first
settled
communities
began
to
control
access to
strategically
placed
springs
and
streams.
The
creation
of cities
demanded
large
expenditures on
wells,
aqueducts and
cisterns.
In
our era,
urban expansion, agricultural and industrial water
has
turned
into
something very
valuable
in many
parts
of the
world.
In
fact
in
some countries,
water from illegal
vendors
is
over
100
times
more
expensive
than water
supplied
by
the
network
connection.The
"water
price" is defined as
"the
aggregate or
marginal
users
pay
for
all services
related
to water
(eg
wastewater
treatment),
including the environmental
aspect."
|
|
Daily per capita domestic consumption |
|
The
volume of water
that
is spent on
household
grows
from
year to
year.
The
installation of
economizers
and
a change of
habits
are
the
steps we must
take
to
spend
less.
But more important are the differences between consumption across countries. Thus India consumes a total volume of water for domestic use very similar to the average European spends only wash dishes and cook. The authors make accounts' and a country like ours, you might spend only domestic consumption up to 6 times more water than India, but if we also take into account the different populations of both countries the figures are to take their hands head. |
|
Water consumption by sector in Spain
In
Spain,
where droughts are
becoming increasingly
frequent
and
virulent
controversies
over
the
supply
and use
of
water is
acute.
Nobody
seriously
facing
as
vital
factors
in
the
shortage
of
water
such
as:
climate
change,
lack of
forests (Spain
has lost more
than 4
million
hectares in
the
last decades),
pollution of
water (about
33,000 cubic
hectometres
water
quality
is
fair,
poor
or
low
and
can not be
used),
losses in
the supply and
pipes
(about
20%
of
piped water
is
lost to
leakage)
wasteful
irrigation
systems
(installation
of
micro
irrigation
systems
could
be reduced
by
more than 40%
- some
10,000
cubic
hectometres
-
water
use
in
agriculture),
the excessive
consumption
of
each
one
of us (after
U.S.,
Russia and
Canada
are
the
fourth
largest
consumer
country
water
in the world,
with
1,174
meters
cubic
per
capita
and
year).
Water consumption in the watering of gardens
|
Annual precipitation trends |
|
 Apart from the changes in the average values of the precipitation is detected an increase in the frequency of episodes of rainfall (from 2 to 4% more), generally in zones in which averages have increased, but also in others which have declined or have not changed appreciably. As for the lack of precipitation, global surface areas experiencing severe drought has increased relatively little, although in some areas of Asia and Africa itself has been observed an increased frequency and intensity of droughts in recent decades . Other adverse weather phenomena such as tropical storms, tropical cyclones, storms, hail, tornadoes, etc., are difficult to study because of its rarity and high spatial variability. Some studies suggest a higher frequency in the North Pacific and parts of North America and Europe in recent decades, but are not conclusive as to identify trends stable long-term variation. |
|
