Water conflicts

• improvements in sanitaion, health and general welfare
• decrease in water borne diseases (e.g. cholera)
• lower medical costs
• healthier, better educated, more productive workforce - girls benefit in particular
• supports growing industries and agriculture

• over-abstraction is leading to conflicts between users
• local farmers are having to dig deep wells and buy bottled water (more expensive)
• increased usage without infrastructure improvements and investments lead to polluted water sourses
• polluted water leads to human health impacts i.e. diseases - cholera
• polluted water leads to eutrophication and damage to marine life

• increased diversion and control of rivers - some run dry or at lower levels having consequences for ecosystems (e.g. River Colorado)
• marshland and wetlands drying out as water is diverted to human supply (e.g. Gulf of California)
• dam construction impacts on ecosystems - changing river flows, landscape, temperature and siltation

• snow precipitation in mountains regions leads to snowpack water reserves released in the late spring
• increased snow melt
• climate change can reduce snowpack reserves
• e.g. Andes, Himalayas, Rockies

• rainfall is determined by global atmospheric circulation
• tropical areas experiencing recurring drought
• El Nino and La Nina can cause variations in rainfall e.g. California and Australia
• temperature affects evaporation rates e.g. 65% is lost in California from evapotranspiration
• rain shadow effect on leeward side of mountains
• climate change is exacerbating drought in some regions e.g. North America

• over abstraction
• wasteful irrigation
• conflict over transboundary resources
• tourism
• urbanisation
• dams
• deforestation interferring with the water cycle
• virtual water se
• population stress
• pollution of water supplies in industrialisation
• sewage (industrial effluent)

• level of economic development - impacts use for industry, agriculture & domestic
• cost/affordability
• domestic water distribution system
• efficiency of irrigation system, wastage
• campaigns to encourage sustainable use
• conflicting uses especially where there is transboundary supply
• population growth

• has been shrinking since the 1960's due to the Soviet government diverting water from the rivers Amu Darya & Syr Darya for irrigation & agriculture
• by 2007, it has declined in size by 10% of original size

Socio-economic & environmental impacts:

• shrinkage of wetlands & lakes by up to 85%
• habitat loss
• localised climate change
• desertification - leaving dust filled with pesticides & toxins spreading due to sand storm killing vegetation & respiratory diseases

Players involved in the abstraction / crisis:

• former Soviet government: communist leaders began the irrigation scheme to develop cotton farming to create jobs for millions of farmers
• fishing community: left many fishermen unemployed
• local residents: health problems caused from wind blown salt & dust; drinking water has become polluted from fertilisers & industry waste

Causes of local climate change:

• reduced evaporation & condensation meaning less water for cloud formation leading to precipitation
• dust interfers with the water cycle and cloud formation

• large source for irrigation water in the USA
• the source for the river is the Rockies
• flows through 7 states

Who are the stakeholders?

• US & Mexican farmers; federal governments; locals; tourists; environmentalists

Conflict created:

• Colorado Compact - some areas are allocated less water struggling to meet their demand
• popn. using the water is increasing so increasing demand lowering supply

The Colorado Compact:

• 1922, it divided the river up into 2 basins: upper and lower
• the US states were allocated shared rights
• 1944, Mexico was allocated more

Impacts of the regulation of the river:

• gives regular all-year water to cities i.e Las Vegas (tourism)
• less silt carried by water reducing the temp causing extinction of fish
• shrinking sand banks - habitat loss, loss of tourism (rafting)
• dams & reservoirs built to control flooding & store water e.g. Hoover Dam

Causes of environmental problems:

• changes in agriculture & a piecemeal approach to regulating the river system
• irrigation & drought are leading to increasing salinity levels
• fertilisers washing off into the rivers leading to eutrophication
• over abstraction of groundwater reducing amount of available water
• irrigation is rasing the water table causing water logging
• overcropping/overfarming leadig to poor soil structure & acidification

Environmental impacts of increased water use:

• dam construction impacts on ecosystems - changing river flow, temperature, siltation and landscape

• needs management due to the increase in popn. & declining rainfall
• surplus in the east, deficit in the west; El Nino-drought (unpredictability)
• human pressures: farming, domestic use from 2mn population, groundwater extraction increasing by 4% a year
• management: redistribute water to drier west regions via dams
• environmental problems: natural floodplains no longer flood, 50-80% of fish species are now extinct, increase salinity, eutrophication, soil degration, loss of ecosystems

• South is rich in resources, north is not
• Water conservation, improved irrigation, pollution treatment & eviro protection is part of the plansSourh

Environmental risks:

• reduced water in the River Yangtze
• ecosystems change
• less dilution / more concentration of pollutants from industry waste

Socio-economic & political risks:

• less water in the south & east - hold back development
• increased dominace of the Beijing-Tianjing region (tension)
• displacement of people by flooding reservoires - CONFLICT!

Benefits:

• electricity generated could save 50mn tonnes of coal a year
• will supply water to a region responsible for 22% of China's GDP
• flood protection could save lives & cut the financial losses created by flood damage

Costs:

• 1.9mn people will be displaced from homes & lose their land
• dam failure, earthquakes, heavy rain pose serious safety risks
• ecological impacts on wildlife & habitats; heritage sites would be lost
• sediment could damage the turbines, raising water levels & reducing soil fertility downstream

• in New South Wales, Australia
• diverting water so it can be used by the power stations to create electricity (& HEP), irrigation, domestic use
• 16 dams, 7 powerstations, network of tunnels, pipelines & aqueducts
• people benefit from increased domestic supply & irrigation for farmers
• environmental issues: flooding to form storage lakes destroy valuable habitats
• salinisation problems