Water Security: emerging global issues of 21 st century and challenges for water professionals Ramesh Kanwar Professor and Chair Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

Humanity's Top Ten Problems for the Next 50 Years Energy Water Food Environment Poverty Terrorism & War Disease Education Democracy Population Compiled by Dr. R. E. Smalley University Professor, Rice University 1996 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Discoverer of the C60 “buckyball” molecule Developer of carbon nanotubes

Millennium Development Goals Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development

Millennium Development Goals How many of the Millennium Development Goals are related to water?

Ladish, 2005 Global Challenges: Climate Change

Ladish, 2005 Increased Green House Gases

Ladish, 2005 Increasing Population to Feed

Ladish, 2005 Aging Populations and Gender issues

SOCIAL JUSTICE – Challenge between “have’s” and “have-not’s” Can we apply this philosophy to water???

Major Challenges and Issues for the 21 st Century Challenges of 2050: Water Availability and Water Quality Key Questions for Water Professionals/Society? Can we provide clean drinking water to 9 billion people in 2050? Will we be able to produce enough food to feed 9 billion people in 2050? Currently 80% of all global water use is in agriculture. What will be the use of water in agriculture in 2050?

Major Challenges and Issues for the 21 st Century Challenges of 2050: Water Availability and Water Quality Can we meet all water needs of developed and developing economies of the world in 2050 (including energy and industry)? Are we training water engineers and other water professionals to solve the problems of 2050? Very few students taking courses on water economics, water policies, water law, and water conflicts. CONSERVATION!! CONSERVATION!! SOUND WATER POLICIES NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED!!

Major Challenges/Issues for the 21 st Century Cont… Climate Change/Global Warming: More than 200 million people could be permanently displaced by 2050 due to rising sea levels; shift in cropping systems over landscape. Overuse of Rivers and Groundwater Aquifers: Major rivers are drying up and do not deliver water to oceans – Dead Sea, Aral Sea, Yellow River, Ganges River, Colorado River etc. are good examples. Groundwater aquifers are being pumped dry. Water Quality: Going to be the major issue by 2050 if something is not done. More people will die from poor quality water than lack of food. About 1.2 billion people become sick every year due to poor quality drinking water and several million die.

Major Challenges/Issues for the 21 st Century Cont… Water Conflicts/Trans-boundary Issues: Future wars could be over water. Water Policies for Freshwater Scarcity: Could lead to reduction of agricultural capacity in some regions. Must grow 'more crop per drop’. Subsidies, local politics, and policies leading to inefficiencies. Water can not be free for all. Marketing forces need a place. Access to Safe and Sufficient water for Basic Human Needs: Will effect human health and economic development. Today nearly 3 billion people live without basic sanitation;

Major Challenges/Issues for the 21 st Century Cont… Ecosystems: Provide food chain of many birds and fish, and other aquatic life and must be supported Water & Cities: By 2030, over 60% of the world's population will be living in urban areas. The urban water crisis can only be met by good water conservation practices and avoiding wasteful use of water. Water and Energy: Even now, some 2 billion people do not have access to a reliable supply of electricity and what will happen in 2050.

21 st Century Water Challenges Climate Change/Global Warming Rising sea levels Change in evapotranspiration? Change in cropping patterns Others?

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Supplies Not enough available water for human use Not enough water to meet demands of growing economies (irrigation, industry, drinking water) Depletion of groundwater and lowering of water table

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Supplies Wasteful use of already developed water supplies Increasing costs of developing new water supplies Non-uniform distribution of water resources among and within countries

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Quality Single largest threat to human health and food security Water pollution from industrial, municipal and agriculture Majority of drinking water supplies in the developing world are contaminated

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Quality Water borne disease increasing – pesticides, heavy metals, and pathogens Food safety: fresh vegetables, fresh meat – washed with poor quality water In 2025, more people will die from drinking contaminated water rather than lack of food if some thing not done soon???

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Quality Degradation of water-related ecosystems – human sustainability at risk Degradation of soils in irrigated areas – salinity level increasing

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Quality and Livestock Drinking water quality Nitrate/nitrite causes “blue baby” disease Newborn babies essentially suffocate Surface water Ammonia > 2 mg/L Kills Fish Phosphate > 0.05 mg/L promotes excess algae growth which leads to fish Kills Eutophication BOD depletes oxygen which causes fish kills Hypoxia

Major Water Quality Issue: WORLD HYPOXIC ZONES

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Quality and Agriculture in General 60% N and 25% P from European agiculture to North Sea Significant levels flowing into the Adriatic Sea Hypoxia in Gulf of Mexico – due to nutrient pollution from agriculture Eutrophication problems in Lake Erie

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Conflicts/Trans-boundary Issues Population growth Demand for water already increased by 900% and will continue to increase Good drinking water supplies limited Water supply/rainfall inadequate in many areas

Trans-boundary basins In 2002, there were 263 trans-boundary basins compared to 214 in Africa: 59 - Asia: 58 - Europe: 73 - Latin America and the Caribbean: 61 - North America: 17 - Oceania: 1 19 basins involve five or more different countries: The Danube River basin is shared by 18 riparian nations. Five basins are shared between 9 and 11 countries. Thirteen basins have between 5 and 8 riparian nations.

Trans-boundary basins cont…. Selected Examples of Rivers & Lakes with five or more nations: - Danube 18 nations - Congo 11 - Nile 10 - Amazon 8 - Aral sea 6 - Ganges 6 - Jordan 6 - Mekong 6 - Tigris 6 - Will require good water policies and water treaties between countries

Water Conflicts The Texas Panhandle Alabama and Florida VS Georgia in the USA India/Pakistan; India/Bangladesh Within India between states (serious situation) China/India; China/Nepal; China/Vietnam South Africa The middle east – Israel/Syria – Egypt/Sudan

Water Conflicts Main Example for this Course

21 st Century Water Challenges Water Policies for Freshwater Scarcity Urban population growth Increased income Political pressure from farmers Political pressure from industry Water pricing

21 st Century Water Challenges Safe & Sufficient water for Basic Human Needs Groundwater pollution Disease control Urban population growth Increased sanitary needs

21 st Century Water Challenges Ecosystems and Sustainability Ecosystems services Carbon sequestration Pollination Flood control Prevention of soil erosion Biodiversity Natural amenities

21 st Century Water Challenges Water and Cities Supply of fresh water Competition for water input Treatment options Waste from treatment Delivery/mangement/pricing Sewage disposal Storm water run-off Other run-off Use of waste water

21 st Century Water Challenges Water and Energy Pumping (electricity) Water treatment/desalinization Hydroelectric plants Med-Dead --- Red-Dead

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation Conserving water in existing systems through water management, incentives and policy reforms

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation More efficient use Improving crop productivity per unit of water and land through integrated water management and agricultural research and policy efforts for rainfed and irrigated agriculture (agriculture uses 70-80% of water)

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation More efficient use Improved infrastructure Increasing the supply of water for irrigation, domestic, and industrial purposes through investment in infrastructure

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation More efficient use Improved infrastructure Enlightened policies Water pricing Use quotas Energy pricing Water law

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation More efficient use Improved infrastructure Enlightened policies Research ( Science and Technology) Water conservation/water management practices Water harvesting --- reservoirs, groundwater recharge, watershed management Better and efficient irrigation systems; Recycling of waste water; Protection of water quality

21 st Century Water Solutions Conservation More efficient use Improved infrastructure Enlightened policies Research ( Science and Technology) Education

Opportunities for Agricultural and Biological Engineers Design innovative sustainable irrigation systems of 21 st century Redesign of landscape water management systems to protect the health of diverse ecosystems Develop water conservation technologies Develop technologies and systems to protect and clean degraded water supplies Develop hydrologic models for water resources management and help develop effective water policies Engagement of agricultural and biological engineers in policy Develop innovative curricula to address 21 st water issues Develop global partnerships to solve global water problems Take the social agenda to educate people on water conservation and eliminate wasteful use of water