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Relationship between water and people
Domestic use (e.g., washing, cooking)
Recreational use (e.g., water sports, fishing)
Agricultural use (e.g., wet rice cultivation, livestock rearing)
Industrial use (e.g. hydropower, as a cleaning agent in wafer fabrication)
A quick check on your water footprint - click on the link below:
https://waterfootprint.org/en/resources/interactive-tools/personal-water-footprint-calculator/
The following is mine. Is my water footprint high? What do you think is the main contributor to my water footprint?
Water Stress in Singapore
https://graphics.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/Interactives/2018/10/water-challenge/index.html
How different is water usage different from Singapore as compared to the one in South Africa?
https://sites.google.com/site/tshintshaintranet/warchive/campaigns/stop-water-inequality
Domestic use of water in Singapore
https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/st_20161120_xnew_2754503.jpg
Human activities often cause water pollution for various reasons.
Rubbish thrown into drains which flow into waterway and the sea..
Factories may release toxic chemicals in the sea to save costs.
No proper systems to treat wastewater.
Accumulated waste in landfills that leak into the water stores.
Water pollution occurs when harmful substances enter water bodies and cause water quality to fall and less clean water to be used. One third of rivers in Africa and Asia are already affected by water pollution, even though they are a source of water for millions of people.
Fertilizer washed into river can affect the water quality and river ecosystem.
Water Crisis
What is to be blamed for the decline in the water level in Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Tonle Sap in Cambodia?
Station readings at the lake recorded a level of just 3.86m on 31 Aug, 2021 which is nearly 1m lower than in 2020 and about half the normal average at this time of the year. Upstream dams, constructed along the upper Mekong river in Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and China - where the river is known as Lancang - withholding water are a contributing factor to the lower levels of flow into the lake.
Data from the Mekong Dam Monitor, an online platform that tracks indicators in the Mekong basin, shows that more than 12 billion cubic metres of water have been held back by 45 upstream dams since early July. Climate change is also creating havoc with the timing and intensity of the monsoon season, further disrupting the natural behaviours of the lake system and decimating agriculture in Cambodia.
What are the impacts of declining water level?
Environmental and Ecological impacts
Increase in storage, reduced rainfall volume and timing of the monsoon rains affecting the volume and timing of the reverse flows into the Tonle Sap. Increased fishing pressures, pollution, reduced sediment transport and barriers to fish migration, poses an existential threat to the Lower Mekong River ecosystems.
Social impacts
Millions of people rely on the Tonle Sap lake for their livelihoods and survival. The situation has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishing is no longer the viable income-earner it once was, with locals forced to move to urban areas for low-paying and notoriously difficult construction work. At the same time, migrant workers who normally do construction jobs in neighbouring Thailand have been forced to return to their local communities, only to find that the situation is desperate. Illegal fishing and the grabbing of land around flooded forest areas are compounding the problems.
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/tonle-sap-cambodia-mekong-low-water-level-dams-2161036
How does water shortage affects food security?
The drought in Madagascar since 2018 has resulted in food shortage. Can you recall what is water deficit? Low input (rain) vs high output (evaporation)
The high demand for water in Koh Samui has also resulted in water shortage. What do you think cause this?
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