Is water in danger of becoming a scarce resource?

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   backporchstoriesposted 11 years ago

   With the record sweeping heat spreading thoughout the US and drying the land at a fast pace, do you feel confident in your water supply?  Some cities are on the verge of rationing water consumption, that have never gone through this step in the past.  How is the water in your area and do you even think about it?  Though there are those out there working feverishly to better our water and keep it clean, but what about supply?  Should we be concerned now!?  How quickly can land like America, become a dessert?

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      Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think there's anything wrong with the water supply in America. Except for the fact that it is controlled by a selected few.
      It's more about control over people than it would be anything else.
      Only to the extent that the total water supply is owned and controlled by a select few.
      There's plenty of water.
      No. But, people should be concerned about those who control the water ways which deliver water.
      It's unlikely.

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   2uesdayposted 11 years ago

   Hose pipe bans happen in the UK, which may seem odd to the rest of the world as we are famous for rain. Usually it is a regional ban just until the reservoirs rise to a certain level. There are plans here to connect up areas so that those with plenty of water can help other areas out if they need it. Water is though an expensive item to transport and it is a good idea to restrict wasteful ways of using water and conserve it for the important things. It is ridiculous that we use water purified to a quality fit to drink for things like washing cars and  filling toilet cisterns. 
   
   If I could have a house built that collected rain water and also collected and used grey water for the tasks it is suitable for, I would feel a sense of achievement.

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      backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My father used to have a rain barrell system that caught all the water from the gutters when it rained.

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         backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Here in Kentucky the land is full of rock and boulders  and very hilly so watering cornfields is almost impossible and farmers rely on rain.  Already this years crop is burning and there is no reversing the damage.  I really have no idea if any farmers are restricted on use of water or not, but the farmer who works on the land we live on is at a loss!  Our weather is hotter and drier than this time last year.

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      recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The water purity issue is a huge con trick that has increased the cost of water delivery by 40 or 50 times.  The water companies pulled this trick when they were privatised to dramatically increase their revenues.  Then they installed long sea outfalls so that they could charge high proces to pump highly toxic waste out beyond the legal limits to pollute the seas around the UK.
      
      I know because I helped build both systems.

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         backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         And I thought the US was bad!

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            Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            The U.S. is bad. The U.S. government has leveraged America 100x what it can payback, if not more.
            
            The continuing spending in this Nation is completely out of control. Congress and the President refuse to put a budget on the table to curb spending. The Dim-witted Democrats think taxes can solve the problem and it's simply nothing more than lies. Taxation is NEVER going to fix the problem.
            
            The problem stems from government inability to reign in spending which is putting pressure on the U.S. dollar. However, if any idiot knows history, then they would know that the U.S. dollar is a joke. It's an IOU. The U.S. Government gets charged the full value of each denomination, while paying to have the bills printed at a very, very low cost. It averages out to about $.05 a bill. But, that doesn't matter what denomination is printed. So, it pays $.05 to print $100 bill, and the Government has to pay back $100 bill, on top of paying to print the bills + whatever interest the Federal Reserve Bank decides on. There's no laws to reign in the Federal Reserve Bank with regards to interest charged.
            
            The U.S. Constitution states that only Gold or Silver can be used to pay any debt. Every time the Country wants to spend money it has to by borrowing money from the Federal Reserve Bank, which is owned and operated by a Community of World Banks.
            
            If the U.S. honestly did something about producing growth in America, like I don't know- equality and equal rights?, then just maybe America could end it's relations with the Federal Reserve Bank, because they would have an Economic status which built a surplus instead of building debt.

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               backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Very interesting political view I never thought about.  I was more worried about how to afford water to haul to my well and will it someday not be there to haul, yet alone the quality of the water.  But yet there is this resource that the world depends upon and it is used to manipulate and make money!  Suppose it is hard for humanity to stay "above water" on this one!

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                  Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Hey backporchstories,
                  
                  Don't look at me wrong. I don't want you to get that I am bashing the Democrats in that post. I am not. The methodology of Democrats is all screwed up and has been for decades. The methodology of the Republicans is no better. The Republicans are the idiots who want to give more power to corporations and strip away civil liberties.
                  
                  Prime example: Just because the government fell down on the job with 9/11 or if you believe conspiracy theories, had a hand in it.
                  
                  Either way, civil liberties have been lost. The Patriot Act put into place by Bush and now RE-SIGNED by a Democrat, should show how government is purposely stripping people's rights, for MORE control over society. It's all being done, supposedly for safety and security, but in truth, the government has been ineffective and inefficient since it's inception.

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                     backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Not looking at you bad at all....really, I had not looked at the political side of the manipulation of this resource.  Found it interesting to ponder!  Thanks!

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                        Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        You're welcome.

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   RoxiMposted 11 years ago

   In some areas of the U.S., it has actually become illegal to collect rainwater for your own use. I suppose the logic behind this is that collecting rainwater is diverting it from streams and rivers. Where I live, we have well water -- no purification needed. We still collect rainwater for our garden, and do not water our lawn or wash our cars. I have lived in places where the well water was no longer safe to drink because of contaminants, such as fertilizer, animal feces, and pesticide, leaching into it. In other areas of West Virginia, run-off from mountaintop removal has made groundwater highly toxic, even flammable.  I believe that water will become even more precious and more rationed as we use up the ancient aquifers and pollute our groundwater to the point that only the rich can afford safe drinking water.

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      backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your story sounds a lot like your neighbor state of Kentucky.  Wonder how much mining has to do with the toxic water from the mountaintop or if that is industries filth?

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         RoxiMposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Another perspective related to industry is my father's: His water is undrinkable, and often not enough for his needs. Other homes in the area have water buffaloes provided by the coal mining company. Why? Because the longwall mining in PA has destroyed the water table and many wells are either dried up or poisoned. My dad's water is okay for bathing (although it's green), but he can't drink it. Is government going to fix this? No. Is industry? No. I don't know what the answer is, but I know that water will become a bigger issue in the coming years.

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            Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I'll agree that it will be a problem in the future, if it is left unchecked by the  society of whatever country. This is going to be a global problem eventually if seriously not dealt with. There are already 7 Billion people on the planet, so many are living in poverty and/or homeless.
            
            Rationing of water is a ridiculous thing to do when honest industry could deal with the problem and most likely cheaply.
            
            But, to do so is to educate citizens better. However, if politicians actually wanted an educated populace then it would be doing something about it, but they are not.
            
            And the reason they are not is because an uneducated person is easier to manipulate.

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            backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It is amazing to hear of all these views from different areas.  The mining does have its negative effect on the environment and the locals are the ones to suffer first.

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   NathanielZhuposted 11 years ago

   There is no such thing as a limited water supply on Earth. Water is recycled. The dinosaur piss a million years ago is now in your mouth and stomach.
   More specifically however is the amount of drinkable water which may decrease due to the population of animals/humans drinking it.
   
   But I'm pretty sure there's no need to worry about the amount of fresh water because that is also recycled and treated. That water in your faucet was once in a toilet. The only thing you're wasting when you leave on a faucet is money.
   If somehow we run out of fresh water, we can always build huge disthillers to convert salt water into morre fresh water.
   
   http://astf.tk

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   ftclickposted 11 years ago

   Yes, there is a problem or as somebody mentioned a mini monopoly in charge.  You also have population increases, The largest percentage of immigrants are from Asia now, not latin America. Look at China's population issues and we know about our droughts. I had a house in AZ that charged $100/mo for not using water since the pipe was there. Water is scare in Nevada too. And of all places Georgia has a problem.

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      NathanielZhuposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The scarcity of water is a problem of who controls it, not of the supply itself.
      We have all the necessary technology and the supply of salt water to extract near unlimited amounts of freshwater.

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         needmoretimeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I read something along the lines of 1/10 the required water for a poulation of 7billion. New atheist here. Now, bye.

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   Greekgeekposted 11 years ago

   About .4% of all water on earth is (a) freshwater and (b) not locked in polar icecaps. 98% of all water is saltwater in the ocean, which is expensive to turn into usable water. So, to me, water already is a scarce resource.
   
   If we can come up with cheaper technologies to turn ocean water to water for irrigation, that will help some areas, but areas like India and South America may have trouble with pumping water up to the higher-altitude areas that used to depend entirely on glaciers for their water supply.
   
   Chile's already having to make contingency plans due to their glaciers melting. In the short-term, that's more water, but their glaciers are currently not being replenished at the rate they're melting.
   
   The American southwest has been much, much drier in the past, and it may again face long droughts in the future. Ditto for many parts of the world.

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      MazioCreateposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your info about available water is spot on and it is already a very scarce commodity, depending on where you live.  For the previous 10 years, the state of Queensland in Austrlalia experienced devasting drought.  Many cities in the south east of the state, in particular the capital were on Level 6 water restrictions - water use only within the house, no outside watering. The dam levels dropped to 19%.  It was releaved last February with torrential rainfall and flooding. Feast or famine!  Even though dam levels are still over the 90% capactity there are still restrictions on water use. Water wise behaviours need to be the catch phrase and taught in every school and community.

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         backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for your reply.  Some people here are only able to answer according to what they have experienced.  This issue is really a world issue!

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      recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The figures you give are accurate but misleading a little I think.  The percentage of fresh water will always be the same as it is the retained part of the natural cycle of evaporation and deposition, it can always be increased by retaining more in the part of the cycle between deposition (rain) and its evaporation or return to the sea.
      
      Water will never be in short supply generally, only in its management and distribution - and so it is all about control not climate.
      
      Our governments have failed totally in creating adequate water supplies and delivery and in ensuring large scale habitation does not occur in flood plain areas - so we get short of water and then when it rains it floods.  If planning and expenditure were for the people instead of making money for a handful of scumbags there would be no problems like this;  also if the money spent on devestating those parts of the world that have resources we want to live our 'superior' lifestyles were paid toward improving those places instead - they would be living better than us by now.

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   Tusitala Tomposted 11 years ago

   Water won't become a scarce resource unless the world's oceans dry up.  what we're talking about here is fresh water, water without it sea-salt content.
   
   I'm told that a huge percentage of our fresh water is used in industry.  If this is true, then changes in industrial use should take place to minimize this.
   
   Recycling fresh water is another way we can keep what little supply of fresh we have circulating.  There are filtering techniques now which can even turn effluent back into pure, clear, beautiful and healthy drinking water.  This costs money of course, but it can be done.
   
   Sea water can be turned into fresh, non-salt water.  Once again, this costs money.   We have a plant lying idle here in Sydney because our damns are topped almost to overflowing.
   
   But certainly the biggest waste of water in my opinion in the city in which I live is the enormous amount of rain water which just washes down gutters, stormwater drains and creeks and into our harbour.  trillions of gallons can go in just a few days of downpour.  This, often as not, while our major dams catchment area is getting little or no rain at all.
   
   If we do run seriously short on water - I'm talking overall - not just in isolated pockets - then it'll be because we've let it happen through our own short sightedness.

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   productreviewmeposted 11 years ago

   hopefully not, but with global warming, seems like the tides are rising...

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      kiwi galposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Mmmm global warming or could it be the earth is heating up from the inside after all isn't the world called the ring of fire cause under us all is a huge  volcano.

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