COVID-19 and water

[LONDONER]

Those living in the UK will know that we have had the hottest Spring since recorded began and virtually no rain, not in the South at least.

With COVID-19 still making the rounds and most people frantically washing their hands umpteen times a day, I wonder how many turn off the tap while you are washing your hands? Or do you leave it running?  The same goes for the shower.  How many of you leave it running while you soap up?

At the beginning of the year, Thames Water in the South ran a series of double page spreads in the national newspapers saying that if we continue to use water at the rate we are using it, we would run out of water in 25 years.

Those of us who live in advanced countries seem to take it for granted that when we turn on a tap we will have an infinite supply of clean, potable water and give hardly a thought that there are millions of people in the world who don’t have that luxury and a luxury it is. 

First of all, it’s not infinite but finite.  You could survive without gas or electricity but without water, life is impossible.

So, TURN OFF THE TAP! 

[InbetweenDreams]

Many places west of the Mississippi River don't get a whole lot of water, many places like Los Angeles have their water pumped in hundreds of miles away, all it takes is a issue with the power or the water supply and millions could be without water... Another reason not to live in the desert. For those unfamiliar with the Southwestern US, it is all desert and very dry.

Fortunately for us, we've only had a well pump go out.....Well drilling is not cheap.

[LONDONER]

Many places west of the Mississippi River don't get a whole lot of water, many places like Los Angeles have their water pumped in hundreds of miles away, all it takes is a issue with the power or the water supply and millions could be without water... Another reason not to live in the desert. For those unfamiliar with the Southwestern US, it is all desert and very dry.

Fortunately for us, we've only had a well pump go out.....Well drilling is not cheap.

So you are more than aware of what it's about.

[InbetweenDreams]

There are certainly places in the US and presumably in the UK that could be at risk or water shortages if not contamination. Here in the Southeastern US, we do tend to get a lot of rain, so we're probably ok but there can still be droughts. Just have to be aware of your situation.

@LONDONER do you think the UK will run out of water in 25 years?

[LONDONER]

There are certainly places in the US and presumably in the UK that could be at risk or water shortages if not contamination. Here in the Southeastern US, we do tend to get a lot of rain, so we're probably ok but there can still be droughts. Just have to be aware of your situation.

@LONDONER do you think the UK will run out of water in 25 years?

I won't be here in 25 years but yes, there is that possibility if the population continues to grow and we continue to use water as if it were an infinite resource.  Add to that climate change and it's the scenario for a disasterous situatiion.

[Chase]

Let's also not forget that there are places like Flint where the water supply is undrinkable.

[Pyromancer]

Science in the News is a group of Harvard graduate students whose purpose is to make science more understandable to non-scientists.  This excerpt is from their blog.  It goes on to discuss the effects of a future water shortage on agriculture. and food production. It goes without saying that we need to conserve water, but we also need to do what we can to combat climate change.  

By 2071, nearly half of the 204 fresh water basins in the United States may not be able to meet the monthly water demand. These model projections, recently published in the journal Earth’s Future, are just one preliminary component of the upcoming Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment expected to be published next year. In 1974, congress required that this assessment of US renewable resources be published every 10 years.
Conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, the research describes two causes for the projected shortages. The first is that the U.S. will simply have more people. Despite that the average American is using less water, population growth is still expected to increase water demand across most of the country.
Second, the water supply itself is expected to decrease. Projected climate change affects both rain patterns and temperatures. While rainfall is expected to increase in some parts of the US, the southern Great Plains and parts of the South won’t be so lucky. The water basins rely on rainfall to feed the rivers and tributaries that flow into them. Separately, more water will evaporate from reservoirs and streams as the climate gets warmer, further chipping away at the water supply. Around 50 years from now, many U.S. regions may see water supplies reduced by a third of their current size, while demand continues to increase.

[InbetweenDreams]

If there was cost effective means to desalinate water, you could simply use ocean water I suppose.

[LONDONER]

Science in the News is a group of Harvard graduate students whose purpose is to make science more understandable to non-scientists.  This excerpt is from their blog.  It goes on to discuss the effects of a future water shortage on agriculture. and food production. It goes without saying that we need to conserve water, but we also need to do what we can to combat climate change.  

By 2071, nearly half of the 204 fresh water basins in the United States may not be able to meet the monthly water demand. These model projections, recently published in the journal Earth’s Future, are just one preliminary component of the upcoming Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment expected to be published next year. In 1974, congress required that this assessment of US renewable resources be published every 10 years.
Conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, the research describes two causes for the projected shortages. The first is that the U.S. will simply have more people. Despite that the average American is using less water, population growth is still expected to increase water demand across most of the country.
Second, the water supply itself is expected to decrease. Projected climate change affects both rain patterns and temperatures. While rainfall is expected to increase in some parts of the US, the southern Great Plains and parts of the South won’t be so lucky. The water basins rely on rainfall to feed the rivers and tributaries that flow into them. Separately, more water will evaporate from reservoirs and streams as the climate gets warmer, further chipping away at the water supply. Around 50 years from now, many U.S. regions may see water supplies reduced by a third of their current size, while demand continues to increase.

Thanks for that Pyromancer.   I have quoted that on another forum to which I contribute

[marshlander]

It's amazing how much more frugal one becomes when water from a tap is not necessarily a given. I have to walk 200-300 yards to fill my 5l drinking water container which I then decant into glass lemonade bottles immediately on return. Water for washing comes from the cold water tank in the boat that I can only fill after I have connected four hosepipes together and run them from a standpipe in the farmyard. My hand washing water sits in a bowl after the first washing of the day and gets a few uses during the day. Friends who live off the grid generally have a cool washing up system using three or four bowls - one for washing up and the others for successively less soapy rinsing. My toilet is also off-grid and I carry the full container every week to empty and clean at a sanitation point outside the building from which I collect my drinking water. I'm looking into installing a composting system so that weekly trips to slop out are no longer necessary. I'm coming up to nine years living this way.

I'm about a hundred miles north of London on a river in East Anglia and I fear the lack of rain is going to cause huge problems before the year is out.