Water Shortage

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Much of U.S. Could See a Water Shortage
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer

(AP) -- An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.

Across America, the picture is critically clear - the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.

The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.

"Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the Denver-based American Water Works Association.

Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination and stricter controls on development.

"We've hit a remarkable moment," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency."

The price tag for ensuring a reliable water supply could be staggering. Experts estimate that just upgrading pipes to handle new supplies could cost the nation $300 billion over 30 years.

"Unfortunately, there's just not going to be any more cheap water," said Randy Brown, Pompano Beach's utilities director.

It's not just America's problem - it's global.

Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.

The U.S. used more than 148 trillion gallons of water in 2000, the latest figures available from the U.S. Geological Survey. That includes residential, commercial, agriculture, manufacturing and every other use - almost 500,000 gallons per person.

Coastal states like Florida and California face a water crisis not only from increased demand, but also from rising temperatures that are causing glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. Higher temperatures mean more water lost to evaporation. And rising seas could push saltwater into underground sources of freshwater.

For the rest of the article:
http://www.physorg.com/news112629864.html

Subject: Re: Water Shortage Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:20 am

I think this more of problem than most people think it is. I'm glad they are mentioning places other than Georgia in the article. There's a lot of things going on right now, but when it comes down to it, water is as important as air we breathe.

We had three days of steady rain last week, just enough to turn the grass green again, but my spring fed well is still about 3 foot shy of where it was last spring, before we started watering the garden. (Which, in case anyone misses this, means that the springs that feed my well have gone dry as well. There were 7 springs going into the well. I know that the paths could have simply changed, but they haven't in the last 30 yrs, and there has been a lot of construction in the area during that time, and none this summer.) Anyway, things are going to get worse before they get better, but guess what.........

harp

WE WILL SURVIVE :) harp

Guest

Yes, you are right, Corin, we will survive!

I didn't realize until I read this article how dire the water situation is, globally.

I once looked up instructions for turning salt water into fresh water in case you were stranded on the ocean. All you needed was a bottle, a rubber band and some plastic, but I don't remember the specifics. It had to do with evaporation, using the sun.....I'm going to go see if I can find it.....

Subject: Re: Water Shortage Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:33 am

Now if we can turn salt water into fresh water ourselves with a bottle. rubber band, and plastic then why can't our gubberment do this? Not that I would rely on them in the event of an emergency, but many people will.

Guest

It's too cheap, Spring. If it doesn't cost a gazillion dollars, why bother? lol...I couldn't find the thing I was looking for yet, but I found this:

Solar distillation plants have already been around for a number of decades, first being used in the 1950´s, mainly for the desalination of sea water. Large collecting areas supplied whole villages and industrial plants. These developments sadly came to a halt as a result of the enormously lowered prices for energy derived from oil and atomic power.
Since 1985, Wilfried Rosendahl has been further developing solar distillation on Gran Canaria. His success is viewed as a sensation by experts. By using his process it is possible to produce drinking water economically, from small units as well as large ones. The price of water produced from a medium sized unit (>1 m³/d) is less than 3 Euro per cubic metre!

The principle is amazingly simple. Untreated water like sea water or contaminated water is added to an upper channel in controlled amounts. From there it drips over wicks and a black coloured absorber fleece through the collector. A part evaporates from the energy of the sun and the steam condenses under the glass cover. The condensation runs into the condensation channel. The remaining untreated water is collected in front of it and diverted out of the side of the collector. Both the untreated water channel and the condensation channel have supply points on the sides. Since there are no moving parts the whole system requires almost no maintenance.

Although this seems simple today, the development process required solutions to numerous problems. A result was the use of stainless steel for all components that were in contact with water, use in sea water or brackish water required a special alloy. Different textiles were tested for their suitability as an absorber fleece. The important factor is good capillary characteristics with water content as low as possible, also resistance to rotting. A special dye was developed for the colouring. UV resistance is a must. Resistance to salt water and capillary characteristics are further requirements, coupled with non-toxicity, these proved to be a problem in the first months of operation, where many of the dyes tested emitted toxic fumes, which entered the drinking water along with the condensation. There were similar problems involved in sealing the covering plate and other sealants used in the construction process. It is easy to see why such test series take a number of years to complete.

The longevity and safety of the collectors can now be taken to be over 20 years. The intake of untreated water must be performed in such doses that around 50 % evaporates and 50 % remains as brine. A larger amount of untreated water results in unnecessary heat loss and therefore poor performance. Not enough untreated water leads to salt crusting and drying-out, also poor performance.
In order to get to grips with these problems a guided electronic control system was developed, with controls a solenoid valve.

If sea water is used as untreated water then the brine can be converted to sea salt. This enables sea salt production to be used as an additional source of income. Otherwise, the brine must be transferred back to sea, which poses no environmental problems whatsoever. It is also possible to establish a seepage well. When obtaining sea water from a site on the coast it may be possible to use a well as source. This has the advantage of filtering the water to a certain extent.
The processing of fresh water is mostly used in smaller, family-friendly plants, for producing mineral and germ free drinking water. The waste water from the collectors can be used here for watering plants or other uses. In the Caribbean the Solasia de Puerto Rico company has purchased a licence and offers distillation collectors as an alternative to the electric steam distillation plants, which consume plenty of energy. The product is also in the process of being marketed in other countries as well. A company in Sicily plans to hire out finished plants in order to make the investment more affordable to less well off customers.

Drinking water related health aspects also play an economic role, also in the home. Avoidable CO2 emissions and the contribution to environmental protection are both relevant here.

The quality of the water in the collectors has been awarded a gold medal from the American Water Quality Association. A certified laboratory regularly tests the quality of water from a collector group in Sicily.

An example of a laboratory test from 27.04.2000 confirms the good quality of the produced drinking water. Considering the fact that the untreated water used was the Mediterranean harbour water of the poorest quality, with all impurities and waste water from ships and boats it proofs the capacity of solar distillation. The reason for this is UV solar purification, which takes place in the collector. The high operating temperature, over 80°C, also has a hygienic effect. The extremely low conductance of less than 3.5 mS (Microsiemens) shows the high degree of distillation. This means that the product can also be used for technical or chemical purposes in the field of industry, and everywhere where distilled water is required. The price of 3,00 Euro per m³ surely guarantees it an interesting market.

Larger plants and water plants are also suitable for flat collectors. They are simple to install in standard large collectors. This means a reduction in the number of collectors needed, as well as a cost reduction. The result is water prices well below 3,00 Euro per m³. Of course, the local climate plays a role in calculations here, together with labour costs.

Collector fields work with no external energy sources, like the individual units. The central electronic controls are supplied by a single solar cell; the pumps for the untreated water are also driven by photo-voltaic energy. In comparison, the Revers-Osmosis process needs some 10 kW/h per cubic metre. The solar process also helps to avoid the immense costs for possible expansions and extensions to power plants or the laying or reinforcement of power cables.

Subject: Re: Water Shortage Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:07 am

Or to bottle up the Iceberg's.... most of it is fresh water!

Subject: Re: Water Shortage Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:09 am

LittleFire that is funny because I have actually heard that suggested on some talk show. Not so far fetched.

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