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Commentary: Believing in free water and Father Christmas

Posted by: Maven on March 6, 2010 at 5:31 am

From Global Water Intelligence, this commentary (h/t to Aguanomics):

“There seems to be a widespread belief that water – like oil – is running out, and that this is the cause of the global water crisis. Of course it is wrong – water is endlessly renewable, and we currently use only a tiny fraction of what is available, but it does beg the question, what is this global water crisis that people seem to talk about?

I have been thinking about this as we pull together our mammoth Global Water Market 2011 report for publication next month. Although the core of the report is 50 in-depth country profiles which look at the unique challenges and opportunities in each country, it does give an interesting overview of the world, and my job has been to write some essays about the general themes.

The conclusion that I have come to is that this sense of a “water crisis” is really about the political realisation in many parts of the world that we cannot continue to live as if water availability were not a restraint on our activities. It is a bit like coming to terms with the fact that Santa Claus does not exist.

For years, politicians and engineers have worked to create the illusion that abundant water is part of nature’s bounty, wherever in the world it is required. It was easier to maintain the pretence of plentiful water in the past. In the US, for example, large dams and water transfer projects could be financed through federal government borrowing, paid off through taxation over the decades, and hardly noticed by the general populace. In the Middle East, governments turned to thermal desalination plants, but generally avoided passing on the cost to the customer. In India, the illusion of cheap and plentiful water was created by the provision of free electricity to pump groundwater. … “


Continue reading this commentary from Global Water Intelligence by clicking here.

March 6, 2010 · Filed Under International Water Issues

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