The stuff of life

The predicted global water shortages are so acute that water has been dubbed 'the petroleum for the next century'. E&T discovers that the problems of water supply and the technologies to improve it are increasingly the same for developed and developing countries. Last spring Barcelona began receiving emergency supplies of water from a fleet of tankers. A fatal combination of low rainfall, growing population and booming agriculture has put the city's water supplies under immense strain. Twenty-three million litres brought in by sea from France and Spain will be used to top up reservoirs until a new pipeline is ready to draw in water from other parts of the country. Cyprus similarly to Barcelona ordered tanker-borne water, this time from Greece, because its reservoirs are at their lowest for a century this year. Meanwhile, in the south east of America, millions of people are keeping their attention fixed on one particular body of water. Lake Lanier serves key parts of Georgia, Florida and Alabama, including a nuclear power station. The twin drivers of drought and population expansion have drastically reduced the amount of water available. The US Army has had to step in and ensure all three states share the meagre resources from Lake Lanier reasonably. Blogs such as www.atlantawatershortage.com have sprung up to give people daily updates on the drought. Millions of Americans are becoming experts on issues such as reservoir turnover-when cold water heats up and rises to the surface bringing sediment with it and making tap water discoloured and smelly. They might hold their nose, but have little choice but to drink it. Half-way round the world, Singapore may be a marvel of hi-tech ingenuity but its water security is precarious. Through a quirk of geology, it has nowhere to store rain water naturally so whatever water it needs mainly comes through pipes from neighbouring Malaysia. This makes the city state very vulnerable should the taps ever be turned off. Singapore needs around 1.3 billion litres a day, so a few shiploads simply won't do. When people think about water shortages, the image is of parched African nations, but, increasingly, developed countries too are facing up to problems of water supply and demand. What has caused planners an extra headache is something we've all seen every time we've filled up the carthe price of oil.