Only 3% of water is accessible to humans.
The construction of dams, diversions and canals has proliferated over the last fifty years, affecting 60% of the world’s largest rivers.
Water is becoming the new liquid gold, the most precious commodity that will mark the future.
Drinking water in the world suitable for human consumption represents only 3% of the total, of which only 1% is accessible, as the remaining 2% is underground or frozen in glaciers, being the remaining 97% salt water.
70% of the available fresh water is used in agriculture, with large losses derived from inefficient irrigation systems, which can reach up to 60% of the water used.
Currently 20% of the world’s population does not have access to drinking water, it is estimated that within two years 66% of the population will have supply problems. It is estimated that at least 3 billion people will suffer from problems derived from water scarcity in the not too distant future.
During our history, conflicts caused by the fight over natural resources have become widespread, in most cases generated by the most powerful countries, trying to become the owners of said resources, wood , oil, gold, coal.
Water, due to its scarcity, can become a matter of national security for many countries, and an essential issue for most governments.
El incremento de la población mundial, que alcanza los 7 mil millones de habitantes, plantea un gran desafío en la forma en la cual suministrar el agua necesaria, para una población con una demanda de casi 64 mil millones de metros cúbicos anuales.
La escasez de agua, provoca perdidas ecológicas enormes, provoca la extinción de plantas y animales, e incrementa la desertización de los suelos, los riesgos de incendios e indirectamente fomenta el aumento de la temperatura.
Las tensiones sociales, y gubernamentales derivadas de la escasez de agua, pueden producir un aumento de las tensiones geopolíticas y el incremento de los conflictos entre naciones.
La falta de agua se ha convertido en uno de los problemas centrales de este siglo, el incremento poblacional, el crecimiento industrial y la modificación de los ecosistemas, así como la falta de tecnología innovadora pueden agravar el problema y el acceso a la misma mundialmente.
Water is an essential natural resource for human, animal and plant life. It is necessary for survival, development and health. However, water is a limited resource and is becoming increasingly scarce.
Increasing demand for water, climate change and pollution are putting freshwater supplies at risk. According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water-scarce areas by 2025.
Faced with this situation, many countries are adopting different measures, which include promoting research into new methods of water purification, restructuring their supply networks in order to be able to divert water from some areas of the world to others. country, the installation of large wastewater and salt or brackish water treatment centers, and even increasing research related to the existence of groundwater that could exist under their lands.
However, in some countries the effects of climate change, in the form of torrential rains, can lead to the opposite, potentially flooding small valleys and saturating water infrastructure, which could even collapse due to excess capacity.
The extreme climatic conditions derived from climate change will be a challenge in the coming years as far as water is concerned, being in many cases necessary to discover or install systems that allow the transfer of water resources from one country to another, as is currently done with natural gas for example.
The effects of climate change may force humanity to collaborate reliably to try to lose the least number of lives due to extreme phenomena that will become more numerous and frequent, sharing the vital surplus resources of some countries for the good of the others.
In this context, water is currently becoming an increasingly valuable resource. It is known as the “new liquid gold” because its value is increasing rapidly.
The rising value of water is having a significant impact on the global economy, allowing companies that control the water supply to make more money. At the same time, countries that have abundant water resources are in an advantageous position from which they obtain juicy returns, however, the increase in the value of water is also generating new conflicts, causing countries to compete for access to fresh water, which could lead to armed conflicts in the future.
Search and implement ways to recover water from the increasingly heavy rainfall, by installing water collection systems in the homes themselves, implement wastewater treatment systems, especially in the areas most stressed by its scarcity, the treatment of sea water, especially in coastal cities and towns or relatively close to the sea, but above all having water distribution infrastructures without losses or breaks, carrying out permanent maintenance on them, are some of the measures that could alleviate the need for this essential liquid for life in the coming years.
Water recovery and transportation are complex tasks that require careful planning. It is important to consider all the factors involved to ensure that water is recovered efficiently and sustainably and brought to the areas most in need safely and effectively.
In some countries such as India, using a combination of technologies, including desalination, rainwater recovery and wastewater treatment, they are providing water to rural areas, in Africa and Latin America, similar projects such as Water for the World and Agua Segura are providing water to rural communities using a combination of different techniques, demonstrating the possibility of recovering water, treating it to convert it into drinking water, and distributing it effectively where it is needed.
