Water is probably the most important substance for living creatures in our world after air we have to breathe. Our whole life is based on water, and water is a component of almost every living being, humans, animals and plants. Drinking water for humans has to be clean and fresh for health reasons.

Because of overpopulation, global warming and industrialization and higher living standards of their country people need increasingly more fresh water, not only as drinking water but also for irrigation and for their whole economy.  In contrast, poor communities in developing countries often don’t even have clean drinking water.

Now we are coming to a point that there are not enough fresh water supplies any more for most countries. Lakes and rivers are often overused and can even get empty as consequence. If rivers flow through several countries, each nation is tempted to extract as much river water as possible with the result that bitter arguments and even war can occur.

This situation can only get worse in the future, particularly due to climate change, and people in increasing numbers will be affected. Many of them are then tempted to migrate to countries with more fresh water resources, or stronger nations could try to occupy weaker nations to get hold of part of  their water.

It is high time and may not yet be too late to prevent looming disasters arising from this unsatisfactory situation. I think there are some ideas and concepts that should be tried as outlined below. I would be happy to help anybody with providing more ideas and concepts including preparing a detailed plan as described on my web page World Problems .


Ideas and concepts for solving the problem

1. Build floating desalination plants

There are many large cities in need of huge quantities of clean drinking water, positioned on or near the coastlines of our globe and with little access to enough clean underground or surface water. The land around cities is usually scarce and needed for more housing or production of food. A large desalination plant for producing clean drinking water for the population may occupy too much space but can perhaps be built either on an artificial island (if the coastal sea water is shallow) or as a rather simple and robust structure floating on the water. The design would probably be different from usual desalination plants. The electricity for running the plant could be supplied mainly from solar power stations, established somewhere on marginal land. (Electricity can be sent more easily over longer distances than water.) Wave energy could be added where practicable.

2. Plant more trees in upstream areas of rivers

People need underground water from wells or even more surface water, e.g. from rivers or lakes, not only for household and drinking but also for irrigation and industry. Stable and sufficient water flow in rivers is dependent on consistent water supply particularly in upstream areas. This can be better ensured by planting a large number of trees here, since trees shade the ground, their roots act as a sponge and release groundwater only slowly. They also often have a cooling and balancing effect on the weather with more clouds in the sky over forests and more rain than in bare country.

3. Seed clouds in upstream areas of rivers

This would have two positive effects, namely

a)   Immediate rain and therefore more water supply for creeks and rivers.

b)   Cooling of this region and thereby more snow fall in mountain areas, the melting snow providing water supply later.
 

4. Recreate meander courses of rivers

Many rivers have been straightened in the past with the result that their currents run faster and their water flows are more irregular during the year with often too little water content in dry periods. I suggest recreating the original meander course of rivers where practical and not too costly. This would balance the water flow by slowing down the current and holding back a larger portion of water for a longer time with a positive effect on drier periods. The water would usually also largely clean itself during its longer journey and be so more suitable for drinking.

5. Preserve existing wetlands and create new ones

Wetlands are very useful insofar that they also have a balancing effect on the climate and the water supply over the year. They act as a water reservoir and water-cleaning medium.

In addition, they are also important as refuge for a large variety of water plants and animals. Preserving existing wetlands is usually cheaper, but creating new wetlands where suitable and where not too much effort is involved should always be considered.

6. Provide water filters for poor communities
As mentioned before, poor communities in developing countries often don't have clean drinking water. Technique could provide the answer by establishing simple but effective filter systems, powered with wind or solar energy, one system for each community of certain size. Trained people from the community have to operate and maintain the system.

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