Water conservation: An eye opener

Did you know that approximately 3% of the Earth's water is freshwater? Of this 3%. only 0.014% is readily available water in rivers, lakes and streams (Lenntech, 2014). Did you also know that the United States of America uses around 400 billion gallons of water a day (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).

                                                Source: National Association of Conservation Districts, 2008)

It suddenly becomes clearer that in the near future, the Earth will no longer be able to sustain our extreme demands for water. Despite some efforts to try and reduce global water usage, the rapidly growing population have caused the demand for this precious liquid to soar. As global tensions continue to rise, many people are starting to argue that water will soon surpass oil as the worlds  scarcest vital resource (Solomon, 2010).

The situation does not seem to be getting any better. With global warming changing worldwide weather patterns, researchers have predicted that a minute 2 degree Celsius rise in average global temperature would lead to a US$ 100billion cost each year. This is due to the fact that fresh water for irrigation and drinking will be much harder to collect (World Water Development Report, 2012).

Source: (UN Water, 2010)

Since 70% of freshwater is used for irrigation of crops, it is going to be the most heavily affected by a severe water shortage. The lack of water for irrigation can bring about a more serious problem; starvation. 

                                         Source: (YIS blogs, 2012)

As a result, many conservationists have come up with creative and new ideas in order to save this precious liquid.

References

Blogs.yis.ac.jp, (2012). What is Environmental Sustainability? | maya's blog.. [online] Available at: http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/15brauerm/2012/11/22/what-is-environmental-sustainability/ [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Lenntech.com, (2014). Water quantity FAQ. [online] Available at: http://www.lenntech.com/water quantity-faq.htm [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

National Association of Conservation Districts, (2014). 2008 Stewardship Logo and Images - National Association of Conservation Districts. [online] Available at: http://209.239.35.63/stewardship/2008/downloads/logos.phtml [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

NPR.org, (2010). Will The Next War Be Fought Over Water?. [online] Available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122195532 [Accessed 28 May. 2014].


Pardes, O. (2010). Breakdown of Freshwater Use | SimCenter | www.WRSC.org. [online] Wrsc.org. Available at: http://www.wrsc.org/attach_image/breakdown-freshwater-use [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Unwater.org, (2014). UN Water: Statistics. [online] Available at: http://www.unwater.org/statistics/en/ [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Water.epa.gov, (2014). Water Trivia Facts | Drinking Water | US EPA. [online] Available at: http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm [Accessed 28 May. 2014].

Water Management Issues in Malaysia

Management issues of water in Malaysia.

Lack of future water supply management: The water management system in Malaysia is designed in such a way that the supply system of the water only provides sufficient amount of water for the the demand. With regards to the long run sustainability eventually the demand will take over the supply to a point where there will be no more water left to keep up with its high demand. The costs for water treatment facilities to be produced according to the demand immediately is too expensive and it would also be quite time consuming. During that period there would be a lack of water due to this bad management of resources (WWF Malaysia, 2014).


Institutional issues: Several agencies have jurisdiction over different parts of the water management system. According to the World Wildlife Federation (2014), this can cause conflicting interests and goals which are damaging to the management as a whole though this can be solved easily with  the help of a central agency.

High rates of water wastage: The World Wildlife Federation (2014) states that statistically, Malaysia has one of the highest water wastage rates in the word with regards to the agriculture, domestic and industrial sector.

                                       Source: (Mid-Day News, 2013)

High rates of Non-revenue Water: 40% of treated water is lost through leakages before it even reaches the people. Due to this reason, there is a need for a lot of dams which proves to be a waste of resources. The 40% of water that is lost can be easily reduced with the help of proper maintenance checks and repairs of the specific parts (WWF Malaysia, 2014).  

                                         Source: (Lowflo, 2014)

Privatisation of the water sector: The government is currently planning on privatizing the water supply  in each state. Due to the lack of transparency and accountability shown in past cases, this can be a bad decision by the higher level management (WWF Malaysia, 2014).

                                        Source: (Vandana, 2002)
                                
Legislation: The current laws relating to water are not updated to suit the modern times.The government has taken steps to improve this with their Water Industry Service Act and their National Water Services Commissions Act but these are not enough to help the distribution and treatment of the water supply (WWF Malaysia, 2014).


Water pollution: There is a considerably low amount of clean water in Malaysia. This amount of water is not sufficient for the whole population and its demand. The cost of treating polluted water is too expensive and the process takes too much time. Hence, this is not a feasible solution (WWF Malaysia, 2014).

                                  Source: (Adams, 2013)

Low water rates: The World Wildlife Federation (2014) says that Malaysia is a country that has one of the lowest water rates in the world. This causes the people to overuse the water for their own needs because they do not value its importance.

                                                       Source: (Malaysiakini, 2010)

Inefficient agricultural water use: Around 70% of Malaysia's total water consumption is used for agricultural purposes. Unfortunately, the irrigation systems are only around a 50% efficiency rate. In addition to that, irrigation water is not recycled.

References

Adams, M. (2014). 'Organic' from China exposed: The shocking truth about 'organic' foods grown in the world's worst environmental cesspool. [online] NaturalNews. Available at: http://www.naturalnews.com/039195_organic_foods_china_pollution_nightmare.html# [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

Lowflo.ie, (2014). Leak Detection - Lowflo.ie. [online] Available at: http://www.lowflo.ie/ [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

Malaysiakini.com, (2010). Henti program Tabung Budi atau hilang lesen air. [online] Available at: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/148967 [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

Mid-day.com, (2013). Mumbaikars celebrate Holi with gusto. [online] Available at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbaikars-celebrate-holi-with-gusto/206046 [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

Shiva, V. (2014). Water is Life - Water Privatization Conflicts. [online] Academic.evergreen.edu. Available at: http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/vanovedr/ [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

WWF Malaysia, (2014). Issues. [online] Available at: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater_main/freshwater_sustainable_water_use/projects_sustainability_of_malaysia_s_water_resources_utilisation/smwru_issues/ [Accessed 29 May. 2014].

Technology and how it helps save water.

Clean water! 

We often take it for granted as we are blessed with a never ending supply of clean water in Malaysia. However some of these statistics may just change your mind about the importance of water.

A staggering 3 million or more people die each year due to water and sanitation related causes. Adding on, nearly 99% of these deaths take place in developing countries.

MH370 went missing recently? Imagine this then; the lack of clean drinking water or proper sanitation kills children at the rate of a jumbo jet crashing every four hours.

Still not alarmed? 783 million people lack access to a suitable and adequate water source. That is approximately one in nine people (Water.org, 2014)!

You may now be wondering, "What could possibly done to stop this problem?"
Well, some of the most effective ways to combat water shortage is with the use of technology.

In this modern era , its hard to find something that isn't technologically related. You would think that with all this technology, someone somewhere would have built a never ending well of clean water for the world to enjoy, but no! With billions of dollars spent annually for technological progress, its about time we use this modern technology and resources to save water and also provide clean water for people.

However, some progress regarding this matter has been made. The first one being the invention of the
"Water Billboard" in Peru.

This video will further provide you with information regarding this project. 

.

Source: (Peru: UTEC - Portable Water Generator, 2013) 

Another great example of technology being used to help with water shortage is the Unicef Tap Project.

Here's another video to give you all a bit more knowledge on how this works. 

Source: (UNICEF USA, 2014)

Source: (UNICEF, 2011)

Hence, using technology to help cope with the problem of water scarcity proves to be a feasible and much needed solution for the future.

References

Perú: UTEC - Potable Water Generator. (2013). [video] iBlueSkyTV.

UNICEF | Tap Project. (2011). [video] UNICEF.

UNICEF Tap Project: Go Without Your Phone To Give Clean Water to Kids. (2014). [video] UNICEF USA.

Water.org, (2014). Water Facts: Water. [online] Available at: http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/ [Accessed 29 May. 2014].