Assessing the feasibility of different techniques for providing fresh water to arid regions of the world - Essay Example

The average water usage in the US is highest while Mozambique records the lowest water consumption per day. The goal has been the provision of secure and equitable access for all people and to ensure that water infrastructure and service delivery in standardized especially for the poor people (Conca, 2006, p, 164). These objectives are yet to be achieved because of population growth. Currently, provision of adequate water for the developing countries is a problem leading to the outbreak of water related diseases.

The contaminants associated with water quality have diverse health effects as such it is not easy to make conclusive health based assessment of the situation. The problem may be severe like food poisoning or mild like dental fluorosis. (Gary, 1994, p. 39). The volume of water accessible by the population in the developing countries is significantly lower compared to that of developed country. In some cases, it is less than a third of the consumption of the developed countries. The volume of water consumed by Americans is 600 litres per day; Europeans consume 250 litres while Africans consume 30 litres.

The volume of fresh water calculated from fresh water sources is approximated at 125 045km3. Despite the volume of fresh water, available supply of the fresh water to the population is not sufficient enough to meet their demand. Fresh water bodies Currently many of fresh water of lakes are facing degradation and volume reduction as a result of the global climate change. Many African nations cannot provide for the population safe water for domestic use. Piped water for the poor is still a dream, and at times, conflict arises as a result of water accessibility.

In the sub-Saharan Africa, nomadic and pastoral communities fight over water sources leading to death and destruction of properties (De Villiers, 1999, p.105). The government of the country cannot supply the inhabitants with clean water, and infrastructure to those areas is poor. Flooding has two effects, which are, by the time of occurrence or duration. On health floods have two effects namely direct and indirect effects. Direct effects include changes in stream flow velocity which may carry boulders fallen trees resulting in drowning, injuries and contact with respiratory water borne diseases such as hypothermia and cardiac arrest(Galloway, 2009, p.179). Contact with polluted water will result in disease outbreak such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.

In the Sub Saharan Africa, there are no fresh water bodies because the underground limning is salty leading to dissolving of the salt. The water source, therefore, cannot be used effectively without desalination Desalination Desalination is the most appropriate method of collecting fresh water in the arid areas, but has one main challenge namely the cost of the operation. Desalination can be used to change the water quality because; it involves the use of technology to obtain fresh water from the salt water offered by the underground sources in the arid areas(Green, 2003 p. 34). Some of the best technology that could be used in the process includes the use of reverse osmosis and the use of other chemicals in extraction of the salts.

Reverse osmosis uses membrane technology, which allows water molecules to sip through while blocking salt ions. There are other filters like he porcelain filters that can also be employed with ease. Some of