Scientists in Finland and the UK have built a computer model that visualises what water is doing underground in real time. They hope the new technology will help water companies extract groundwater sustainably and give a voice to people like farmers, who rely on the groundwater for their livelihoods.
Niko Putkinen, a senior scientist at the Geological Survey of Finland, and Holger Kessler, from the British Geological Survey, explain how the system works.
These Moroccans are turning foggy days into a solution to their water crisis
Dar Si Hmad opened a water school, where young boys and girls learn about the fundamentals of water management, irrigation and sustainability.
And community members say they're happy to now have the opportunity to send their kids to school instead of sending them to get water.
“My kids think about nothing but their studies,” says Nsoda Bokhilfa. “They don’t have to think about getting water.” Read More
Only a few other countries, most of them war-torn places like Syria and Gaza, have experienced similar reversals in providing clean water to cities. And while the causes of Pakistan’s water crisis are complex, the country’s political instability has played a key part. Pakistan is urbanizing at a rapid rate of over 3 percent annually—the highest rate in South Asia. The causes of this fast-moving urbanization are deeply troubling, with climate change and the fight against Muslim extremists acting as key drivers. Given this ever-quickening tide, Pakistan’s cities have had trouble providing basic services, including housing and water, to new urban residents.
But the problem is worse in the water sector because rampant corruption and mismanagement keeps prices high and coverage rates low. Because Pakistan’s cities can’t keep up with growing water demand from new residents, many urban-dwellers are forced to buy water from private tanker trucks. Read More
Welcome to the Young Water Leaders Berlin Event which connects current leaders with future leaders to ensure a water-secure world for today’s and future generations.
Young Water Leaders was launched in September 2017 to connect current leaders with future leaders.
Young Water Leaders Berlin is the first major event to bring current and future leaders together to build a water-secure world.
~Robert Brears, Author of Urban Water Security (Wiley), Founder of Mitidaption, Mark and Focus, and Young Water Leaders . Read More
A Landmark California Plan Puts Floodplains Back in Business — Water Deeply
SOMETHING MONUMENTAL HAPPENED on August 25 in California water management that received almost no media attention: It became official policy to reconnect the state’s major rivers with their floodplains.
The action by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, an obscure panel appointed by the governor, clears the way for the state to embrace projects that allow floods to recharge groundwater. This could include projects like breaching levees, building setback levees and creating flood bypass structures so rivers can inundate historic floodplains for the first time in a century.
In short, it means rivers must no longer be confined within levees as a standard practice.
The result could be not only reduced flood risk, but reviving severely depleted groundwater aquifers, restoring wildlife habitat and improving the capabilities of existing water storage reservoirs.
The state calls these “multibenefit” flood-control projects, said Mike Mierzwa, chief of the office of flood planning at the California Department of Water Resources. They’re a major focus of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, a massive policy document the board adopted at its August 25 meeting.
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Tariq said that to understand water security there is a need to understand water scarcity. He explained, “The global yardstick for water scarcity is that if you have 1,700 cubic metres per person, per year then you are in a very comfortable water regime.”
He added that the moment this amount reduces, you start getting into water stress situations, water shortages and water scarcity.
“Plant the water, as the best place to store water is underground”
“The surplus water available for Pakistan doesn’t last for more than 30 days.” He elaborated that for the rest of the 335 days, Pakistan is in a semi-drought or drought-like condition.
The PWP CEO said that for an arid country like Pakistan there is a need to have 40% surface water storage. However, he deplored that the country has only 7% storage to counter the problem. He added that this is also reducing due to sedimentation, which leaves a big question mark on the country’s water security. More