The Future of Freshwater: Part III

The supply and demand of freshwater is becoming more imbalanced over time. One day freshwater could become traded like oil if our current tends do not change. In Part II, we highlighted the issues causing an imbalance of freshwater. Part III is finding the answer to bring freshwater's supply and demand back to equilibrium. Acheiving an equilibrium is possible though pumping, filtration, genetically modified foods, desalination, and raising prices.

Pumping

An easy solution to increased demand is to adjust the supply. In water's case, that would mean pumping more ground water so it is available to meet demand. For this to become possible, transmission pipes would have to be built in areas with excess water, or by aquifers, that would run to areas with higher demands for water.

Pumping is not very economical because of two issues. One is that transmission pipes would carry very high costs. The other, is that areas with excess surface water typically do not have excess water. They simply have excess surface water that should be allocated to ground water.

Filtration

Filtration could be a small scale solution to increased water demands. Filtration systems are already used in disaster areas. Mobile filter systems are like miniature water treatment plants that filter polluted water in areas that do not have access to clean water, like after a natural disaster. These systems are normally run by solar power and are a great short-term solution.

House filters also quickly renew polluted water back into usable water. According to the Water Resources Management Project, household filters help to protect people living in rural areas from hazards and diseases resulting from water pollution.

Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of Planning and International Cooperation said, "Yemen faces many problems in supplying its people, especially those in rural areas, with safe and clean drinking water. Such simple techniques can help the government to solve this problem in some areas suffering from water scarcity."

Filtration can solve some basic issues within the imbalance of freshwater's supply and demand by providing efficient short-term relief, as well as providing clean water to areas stricken by water pollution.

Genetically modified foods

Altering plant DNA and creating genetically modified (GM) seeds that will produce plants that require less water is a viable solution. GM seeds are currently used in many farm fields today and research is continually being done to try to modify seeds even further. For instance, the USDA has found soybeans that will wilt slower, so they will be more productive in drier climates.

According to Voice of America, which is funded by the US government, "Scientists are working on other plants that either use less water or use it better, or both. For example, companies like Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta have been developing corn with reduced water needs. Monsanto expects to be ready in a few years to market its first corn seeds genetically engineered to resist drought."

The changes that can be done to plant seeds is incredible. Tel Aviv University has discovered that a specific gene controls a plant's hydrotropism, which direct the roots to grow toward water. That gene can be multiplied or added to other seeds to help plants survive in drier climates. GM seeds could reduce irrigation use which accounts for nearly 70% of the US water use.

Desalination

Desalination is the process of taking salt out of seawater, resulting in freshwater. It speeds up the water cycle and eventually increases our supply of fresh water. Desalination changes our potential water supply so oceans are suitable for use. There are many pros and cons to desalination.

The costs are higher than other solutions. According to the Texas Water Development Board, the average cost to desalinate brackish (low salt content) water is $400-$950 per acre-foot while it is $800-$1,400 per acre-foot to desalinate seawater (high salt content). Brackish water can be found underground near areas with salt water. Brackish water has less salt content than seawater, but higher than freshwater. In addition, desalination typically requires 2,500 to 12,000 kWh per acre-foot of freshwater produced according to Water Desalination International.

The efficiency of desalination is often criticized as well. For each 100 gallons of seawater input, anywhere from 15-50 gallons of freshwater is output. The rest is a brine solution that has extremely high salt content and can cause ecological problems if not dealt with correctly. The total dissolved solids (tds) range from 5 to 500 ppm in desalinated water, which meets state requirements across the US.

Desalination is widely used around the world. Desalination plants are very common among Middle Eastern countries and are even present in the US in some coastal states. The long-term impact is not totally known for desalination, but it can definitely solve the problem of freshwater supply by increasing it to almost infinite numbers.

Raising prices

When supply and demand becomes imbalanced for any tangible item, raising the price will lower demand. This is true in freshwater's case as well. By raising the price of water, people will use less. According to the USGS, raising the price of water will lower demand and raise additional income that can be used to find new sources of water or build new water-storage facilities.

Besides raising the price of water, rebates could be used to reward people who consume less water. By reducing the price of water by giving monetary incentives to do so, water demand would decrease.

Changing the price of water has been brought up globally as well. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, China has purposed a water price increase of 40%-48% to help control its rising demand. China's Ministry of Water Resources reported that Beijing and many other cities have usable water supplies of one third or less than the current usage rates.

The future

The future of freshwater's supply and demand will be changing regardless of what actions are done. Water could become so scarce that it is traded like oil and irrigation systems will be obsolete. On the other hand, freshwater might be better taken care of, and not wasted as much. Technology has allowed for the supply to grow, but it is a responsibility of everyone to not take water for granted because Earth does not have an endless supply.

Read more about freshwater, agriculture, and farmland at Farmland Forecast (http://farmlandforecast.colvin-co.com/).