MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT

A          The history of human civilisation is entwined with the history of the ways we have

            learned to manipulate water resources. As towns gradually expanded, water was

            brought from increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering

            efforts such as dams and aqueducts. At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major

            systems, with an innovative layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the

            occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of

            the industrial world today. 

B          During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 20th and 21th

            centuries, the demand tor water rose dramatically. Unprecedented construction of

            tens of thousands of monumental engineering projects designed to control floods,

            protect clean water supplies, and provide water tor irrigation and hydropower

            brought great benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Food production has kept

            pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation

            systems that make possible the growth of 50 % of the World's food. Nearly one fifth

            of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by turbines spun by the power

            of tailing water. 

C          Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, halt of the world's

            population still suffers, with water services interior to those available to the ancient

            Greeks and Romans. As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in

            December 2002 , more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water:

            some two and a half billion do not have adequate sanitation services. Preventable

            water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and

            the latest evidence suggests that we are falling behind in efforts to solve these

            problems.

D          The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardising human health.

            Tens of millions of people have been forced to move from their homes - often with

            little warning or compensation - to make way tor the reservoirs behind dams. More

            than 30 % of all freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because

            dams and water withdrawals have destroyed the free-flowing river ecosystems

            where they thrive. Certain irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce

            agricultural productivity. Groundwater aquifers* are being pumped down faster than

            they are naturally replenished in parts of India, China, the USA and elsewhere. And

            disputes over shared water resources have led to violence and continue to raise

            local, national and even international tensions.

E          At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about

            water is beginning to change. The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of

            basic human and environmental needs as top priority- ensuring 'some for all,'

            instead of 'more for some'. Some water experts are now demanding that existing

            infrastructure be used in smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is

            increasingly considered the option of last, not first, resort. This shift in philosophy

            has not been universally accepted, and it comes with strong opposition from some

            established water organisations. Nevertheless, it may be the only way to address

            successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone with clean water to drink,

            adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable water-related illness. 

F          Fortunately - and unexpectedly - the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as

            some predicted. As a result, the pressure to build new water infrastructures has

            diminished over the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and

            economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at

            which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lakes has slowed. And in a

            few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen. 

G          What explains this remarkable turn of events? Three factors: people have figured out

            how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for

            water use. Throughout the first three-quarters of the 25th century, the quantity of

            freshwater consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water

            withdrawals increased tenfold while the population quadrupled. But since 1982, the

            amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of

            new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry. In 1966, for

            instance, Japan used approximately 15 million gallons* of water to produce $2

            million of commercial output; by 1990 this had dropped to 4.0 million gallons (even

            accounting for inflation) - almost a quadrupling of water productivity. In the USA

            water withdrawals have fallen by more than 30 % from their peak in 1982

H          On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have

            to be built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not

            been met. But such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more

            accountability to local people and their environment than in the past. And even in

            regions where new projects seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands

            with fewer resources, respecting ecological criteria and to a smaller budget. 

List of Headings

i       Scientists' call for a revision of policy

ii      An explanation for reduced water use 

iii     How a global challenge was met 

iv     Irrigation systems fall into disuse 

v      Environmental effects 

vi     The financial cost of recent technological improvements

vii    The relevance to health

viii    Addressing the concern over increasing populations

ix     A surprising downward trend in demand for water

x     The need to raise standards

xi     A description of ancient water supplies

Paragrpah D