Water crisis looms, TT twiddling thumbs

In Trinidad, we seldom worry about water supply since this is treated as a free good. We are fortunate to have a long rainy season and rivers with sufficient capacity to be dammed. The regular rains also recharge ground water supplies so that we have not yet reached a crisis situation. With the destruction of vegetation generally and on hillsides particularly, it is just a matter of time until we experience an oncoming crisis. In Tobago, the supply situation is more critical because the dams are silted up and ground water sources are scarce although the latest technology may improve this situation. In the world at large, water is a precious commodity and it is acknowledged that the “water crisis lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet.” Anthony Browne of The Times of London advises that a crisis is slowly engulfing much of the developing world and even parts of the developed world. Water shortages are increasingly common and “water wars” have resulted.

Bangladesh warned that the livelihood of 100 million of its citizens is threatened after India announced plans to divert water from its major rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra, to irrigate its drought prone interior. Under the massive river-linking scheme, 53 rivers, including up to one third of the flow of the mighty Brahmaputra, would be diverted to southern and eastern India. Bangladesh’s water Minister has appealed to the United Nations for help. He stated: “Without this water we cannot survive. It could affect the whole of Bangladesh and be disastrous. The north of Bangladesh is already drying out after the Ganges was dammed by India in 1976.” However, the Indian Government cannot ignore its water problem. The availability of water in India has halved over the past 25 years from 25,000 cubic metres per person per year in 1974 to 2,200 cubic metres per person per year now. At current usage rates, it is predicted that Delhi will run out of groundwater by 2015. In our islands a few months of dry weather each year precipitates bush fires, low reserves in our reservoirs, rationing of water, and related official calls for reduction in water usage until the commencement of the rainy season, at which time the impending crisis subsides.  In China however, hot weather has left 4.3 million people without enough drinking water and ruined more than 4.3 million hectares of farmland.

The Yellow River, known as the mother of Chinese civilisation, has been reduced to an insignificant muddy slough by fifteen years of drought and high extraction from farms and factories. It is now running at its lowest on record. In the dry north-east of the country shortages are likely to hit hardest, with a dry climate and rapid industrialisation pushing up demand rapidly. A water crisis is facing Europe too and they even turned to prayers. Water companies in Britain warn that supplies will be insufficient to supply the one million houses that the government wants to build in the south-east of Britain. Changing weather patterns in Switzerland were evidenced by the experience of the hottest summer this year in two centuries. As a result tankers were instrumental in supplying villages with drinking water. In France, Germany and Austria half the crops may be lost. Factors responsible for the water crisis include rising populations, changing weather patterns and increasing industrialisation. The World Water Development Report produced by 23 UN agencies, says the world “is facing a serious water crisis. All the signs suggest that it is getting worse and will continue to do so.” 

The prediction is that population growth, industrialisation and climate change will increase demand and reduce supply such that the quantity available per person will drop by a third by 2020. The result could be environmental destruction, hunger and death. Poor water supply is already the worst killer in the world, with 250 million cases of water-borne diseases a year. There are 2.2 million water-related deaths a year, twice as many as those who die of malaria. Most of these deaths are under five. Agriculture is heavily dependent on water supply for successful production of adequate supplies. With a world population that is expected to grow by 3 billion by 2050, combined with an increasing dependence on irrigation in developing countries, and an increasing demand for agricultural land, wetlands will increasingly be drained for agriculture, forest lands cleared and rivers diverted.

In the Himalayas in the north of India there are conflicts between village farmers and hotels. Three five-star hotels opened for tourists to share the scenery, and the local government diverted water from the streams that served the villagers to serve the tourists. The result was four dry months annually. Child mortality rose due to consumption of dirty water, while crop reduction of rice and vegetables promoted malnutrition. Are we even considering these issues in Trinidad and Tobago?
(TO BE CONTINUED)

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