A burst pipe pumping desalinated water into Riyadh raises concerns over a potential water crisis. Without a supplemental source, the city is heavily reliant on desalinated water pipes to carry water for its more than 4 million residents.
Water Generating Systems’ atmospheric water harvester technology would provide supplemental relief in the event of an emergency.
The current state of South Africa’s water crisis may serve as a warning of dry years to come. Lower than normal rainfall totals have left much of the country parched and residents thirsty. In one town, residents line the main street with empty buckets at night to mark places in line to wait for water trucks the following day.
Read more here: South Africa: Drought Leads to Failed Crops, Water Shortages
California lawmakers have looked ‘Down Under’ for potential solutions to the state’s water crisis. Australia is an expert on the topic, having endured a 13-year drought that ended in 2010. During that time, the country made revamped its water policies to cut back water use, find more sustainable water resources and build an efficient infrastructure.
Read more here: Lawmakers look Down Under to help state get over the drought
Nevada is entering its fifth year of drought. Over the last year, experts – dubbed the Nevada Drought Forum – have analyzed the water crisis and have offered recommendations to improve the state’s policies surrounding water management.
The recommendations included educating the public on the importance of conservation efforts, continued research on state water data and developing a long-term plan for water recycling and drought management.
Read more here: New drought report could be state water-policy road map
In India, experts warn that some regions may need to be evacuated by 2025 due to the severity of the ongoing water crisis. Groundwater is depleting at an alarming rate. With increased population in urban settings, the need for fresh water is growing without the infrastructure to support the growth.
Read more here: Bengaluru may have to be evacuated in a decade if water crisis persists
Around the world, the water crisis is worsening. Groundwater aquifers, which supply many people with potable water for human consumption and agriculture, are being depleted much faster than they are being replenished.
USA Today recently published a series on the groundwater depletion, looking at the global crisis with stories from around the world. The series includes research from NASA’s GRACE satellites, led by Professor Jay Famiglietti of the University of California, Irvine and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Read more here: Pumped Dry
In his new book, “Back to the Well: Rethinking the Future of Water,” author Marq de Villiers re-thinks the world’s water crisis. Separating the crisis into two problem areas, water shortages caused by drought and shortages caused by contamination, de Villiers argues that the shortages should be solved at a local level with local solutions.
One example is Windhoek, Namibia, where officials orchestrated the first operation to recycle the city’s wastewater into drinking water.
Read more here: Water problems need local solutions
Minnesota explorer Ann Bancroft is bringing attention to the global water crisis by trekking 1,600 miles across the globe. The expedition will take her and her team through countries in desperate need of water, including: India, Israel, South Africa and Chile. The goal of the expedition is to draw attention to ‘highlight water’s central role in life.’
Read more here: Minnesota explorer Ann Bancroft tackling water crisis. First stop: India
The recent water crisis has brought national attention to a global problem. The world is running out of water.
Bruce Henderson, Environment Reporter for The Charlotte Observer, Jay Famiglietti, Senior Water Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Professor of Earth System Science at the University of California – Irvine, and Ira Flatow, Host of Science Friday discuss the global water crisis.
Listen here: The Global Water Crisis
Nairobi is suffering from a water crisis. Kenya’s capital city has had population surge leading to more residential and commercial developments, and turning the city into a concrete metropolis. Unfortunately, poor planning has left residents susceptible to a water crisis.
El Nino has brought heavy rains to the parched city but, without the proper infrastructure to collect the rainwater (i.e. underground aquifers, reservoirs), the water is being routed through the sewers along with wastewater, pollution and sewage.
Read more here: When property boom drowns city in thirst
