Global Water Shortage Because the earth is covered in water, the risk of a global water shortage seems unlikely. Roughly 97% of the world’s water, however, is saltwater, which means it can’t be used for drinking, cooking, or agriculture. The remaining 3% of freshwater is not exactly easy to access. Scientists estimate that approximately 66% of the freshwater supply is located in glaciers, ice sheets, and not yet discovered underground reservoirs.
Research indicates that over 1 billion people in the world live with conditions of water shortage on a daily basis and an additional 4 billion live with water scarcity at least one month every year. Water shortage has become such a widespread problem that it is now listed as one of the top 3 global problems, along with terrorism and climate change. This issue can be found across a wide range of geographic locations, including: places where water is naturally scarce, like the desert; places where consumption is double the amount of available water, like in overpopulated cities; and places with a high use of irrigation for agriculture, like in the plains area of the US.
Causes Of Water ShortageWater shortages around the world are caused by the act of using more water than that which is available. This problem is exacerbated by global climate change, which results in changing weather patterns and temperatures, and urbanization, which increases the demand on already short supplies. These changes affect the amount of rainfall and rate of water evaporation that occurs within a region, which means that the water replacement rate slows down.
Desalination with nuclear reactors generates drinking water in Desalination with nuclear reactors generates drinking water in places where it is scarce places where it is scarce
One-fifth of the world's population has no access to drinking water, and given the expected population growth there will soon be a higher deficit. One solution to this problem is water desalination, a technique that extracts salt from seawater and produces fresh water.
It can generate much more fresh water than what is being currently produced, and also it is more affordable
At present most desalination plants use fossil fuels, and to a lesser degree clean energy. For some time now nuclear energy has been used for desalination processes; however, the potential of nuclear energy is enormous. It can generate much more fresh water than what is being currently produced, and also it is more affordable and does not release greenhouse effect gasses.
With population growth, it will be necessary to set up large-scale desalination projects. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), these projects need large quantities of energy which can only be obtained from nuclear reactors.
The areas that are most affected by the shortage of fresh water are arid and semi-arid areas in Asia and North Africa. In 2002, according to a UNESCO report, the deficit of drinking water in the world was around 230 billion cubic meters/year, and this amount was expected to rise to 2,000 billion by 2025. In fact, a report from the World Economic Forum published in 2015 highlighted the problem and indicated that the lack of fresh water could be the great global threat for the next decade.
According to this report, there are approximately 19,000 desalination plants throughout the world, providing water to municipal and industrial users. Almost half of the global installed desalination capacity is in the Middle East, followed by the European Union with 13%, the United States with 9% and North Africa with 8.5%. Seawater is the most common feed water, since it provides approximately 60% of the installed capacity. Brackish water makes up for about 20%.
Desalination technologies and differences in cost
Most desalination techniques involve a process known as reverse osmosis, where pressure is applied to seawater forcing it through a semipermeable membrane to extract the salt. A second process known as multi-stage desalination uses a steam-based procedure to filter salt and other minerals. The latter is less profitable than osmosis, even though it produces purer water. There are some hybrid plants that use elements from both methods.
Any process that produces fresh water requires a lot of energy, which raises costs. The cost of water varies significantly in different areas of the world. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it is estimated that tap water costs an average of $2 per 1,000 gallons. However, the desalination project at Coquina Coast in Florida calculates the cost at $6.27 - 7.74 per 1,000 gallons.
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