case study: china’s south north transfer project
Project began in 2003 and involves building 3 canals to run across the eastern, middle and western parts of China and link the country’s 4 main rivers.
| Benefits | Costs |
| § Transfer 44.8 billion m3 per year
§ Central government to pay 60% of the cost § Water conservation, improved irrigation, pollution treatment and environmental protection § Will supply big cities like Beijing
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§ Significant ecological and environmental impacts along the waterways
§ Resettlement of people will be needed § Declining water quality § Will cost $62 billion § Will take 50 years to complete § Untreated city wastewater is being mixed with agricultural run off § Pollution of river at alarming levels § Huia River is polluted § Yellow river water undrinkable |
desalination
- This is the removal of excess salt and minerals from water
- Produces freshwater suitable for consumption or irrigation
- Desalination was a technological success that failed to deliver in economic and environmental terms
- Many countries that use it are well off, technologically developed and increasingly water stressed.
- In the ME Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait use cheap energy to distil fresh water from sea water
- In the USA, California and Florida use reverse osmosis membrane technology to filter from brackish water and rivers. Spain, China, Australia and Israel starting to use this technology.
- Cost is difficult to calculate as subsidies always used.
- Cheaper processing and larger plants make it cheaper, but process uses a lot of energy so rising oil costs increase the prices
- Concentrated brine is a by-product – possible ecological effects.
- In developing countries ore intermediate technology is more appropriate:
- Water collection e.g. catching rainwater or building small
- Wells built by NGOs e.g. Water
- Using plastic or glass bottles filled with contaminated water exposed to the sun for 6 hours destroys micro-organisms.
With the majority of desalination plants extracting water directly through open water intakes in the ocean, there is a direct impact on marine life. Fish and other marine organisms are killed on the intake screens (impingement); organisms small enough to pass through, such as plankton, fish eggs, and larvae, are killed during processing of the salt water (entrainment). The impacts on the marine environment, even for a single desalination plant, may be subject to daily, seasonal, annual, and even decadal variation, and are likely to be species- and site-specific.
Privatisation
- The UK
- Water supply was privatised in 1989.
- There are over 20 companies that supply water across England and wales.
- It is regulated by Ofwat.
- Veolia and Suez are two French companies that supply 2/3 of global private water which is 7% of the global water supply. This is expected to increase to 17% by 2025.
- Agua del Tunari took over water supply in Cochabamba in 1999.
- Prices were raised for infrastructural development and there was a 16% profit margin
- Locals couldn’t afford the water which was 20% of their wages.
- They rioted for four days.
- 1 death and 170 injures.
- The Bolivian government cancelled Agua del Tunari’s contract.
- Riots against the privatisation of water supply has also happened in Peru, Panama and Brazil.