The world is faced with a growing number of complex and interconnected challenges. Water is among the top 5 global risks in terms of impacts, which would be far reaching beyond socio-economic challenges, impacting livelihoods and wellbeing of the people.
As freshwater resources and population densities are unevenly distributed across the world, some regions and countries are already water scarce. Water scarcity is expected to intensify in regions like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which has 6% of the global population, but only 1% of the world’s freshwater resources. Climate change adds to this complexity as it is leading to rainfall uncertainty and extended droughts periods, mostly in arid areas.
Increasing water scarcity is now recognized as a major cause of conflict, social unrest and migration and at the same time water is increasingly considered as an instrument for international cooperation to achieve sustainable development. Tapping and assessing sustainably every available option in water-scarce areas is needed as pressure continues to build on limited water resources.
The stark fact is that conventional water provisioning approaches relying on snowfall, rainfall and river runoff are not enough to meet growing freshwater demand in water-scarce areas. Water-scarce countries need a radical re-think of water resource planning and management that includes the creative exploitation of a growing set of viable but unconventional water resources for food production, livelihoods, ecosystems, climate change adaption, and sustainable development. Unconventional water resources are generated as a by-product of specialized processes; need suitable pre-use treatment; require pertinent on-farm management when used for irrigation; or result from a special technology to collect/access water.
Author(s): Manzoor Qadir, Vladimir Smakhtin, Sasha Koo-Oshima, Edeltraud Guenther
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 304
City: Cham
Foreword
Contents
Editors and Contributors
Part I Setting the Scene
1 Global Water Scarcity and Unconventional Water Resources
1.1 Water Scarcity: Evolution of Concepts
1.2 Water-Scarcity Trends
1.3 Responding to Water Scarcity with Unconventional Water Resources
1.4 Unconventional Water Resources and Water-Related SDGs
1.5 Key Features of the Book
References
Part II Harvesting Water from Air and on the Ground
2 Rain Enhancement Through Cloud Seeding
2.1 Introduction
2.2 History
2.3 Status
2.4 Technological Interventions
2.4.1 Seeding Materials
2.4.2 Transport and Dispersion
2.4.3 Seeding Strategies
2.4.4 Seeding Operation
2.4.5 Response and Impacts of Cloud Seeding
2.5 Could-Seeding Conditions
2.6 Economics
2.7 Redistribution and “Negative Enhancement” of Precipitation
2.8 Environmental Issues
2.9 Planning Rain Enhancement Projects
2.10 Conclusions
References
3 Fog Harvesting
3.1 Introduction
3.2 History
3.3 Technological Interventions
3.3.1 Testing Feasibility: Standard Fog Collectors
3.3.2 Operating Projects: Large Fog Collectors
3.3.3 Considering Efficiency: The CloudFisher
3.3.4 Exploring Designs: Alternative Collectors
3.4 Status
3.5 Major Barriers and Response Options
3.6 Conclusions
References
4 Micro-catchment Rainwater Harvesting
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Types and Uses of MIWH
4.2.1 Household Systems
4.2.2 Farm and Landscape Systems
4.3 Applications in Dry Environments
4.3.1 Contour Ridges/bunds for the Restoration of Degraded Rangelands
4.3.2 Management of Small Water Harvesting Reservoirs
4.4 Challenges and Potential Response Options
4.4.1 Climate Uncertainties and Storage Cost
4.4.2 Modernization and Technical Capacity
4.4.3 Upstream–Downstream Conflicts
4.4.4 Payment for Environmental Services
4.5 Conclusions
References
Part III Tapping Offshore and Onshore Deep Groundwater
5 Offshore Freshened Groundwater in Continental Shelf Environments
5.1 Introduction
5.2 History of Offshore Freshened Groundwater Discovery and Utilization
5.3 Occurrence, Distribution, and Volume Estimates of Offshore Freshened Groundwater
5.4 Comparison with Onshore Fresh and Brackish Water Resources
5.5 Mechanisms of Emplacement
5.6 Recent Developments in Offshore Freshened Groundwater Exploration
5.7 Development of Offshore Freshened Groundwater
5.8 Discussion
5.9 Conclusions
References
6 Continental Brackish Groundwater Resources
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Occurrence and Volume Estimates
6.3 Geochemistry
6.4 Timing and Mechanisms of Brackish Water Emplacement
6.5 Geophysical Exploration Methods for Brackish Water Resources
6.6 Discussion
6.7 Conclusions
References
Part IV Reusing Used Water
7 Municipal Wastewater
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Technological Interventions
7.3 History
7.4 Status
7.5 Major Barriers and Response Options
7.5.1 Major Barriers
7.5.2 Response Options
7.6 Conclusions
References
8 Agricultural Subsurface Drainage Water
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Technological Interventions
8.2.1 Design Basics of Drainage Water Reuse
8.2.2 Irrigation Strategies for Reuse of Saline Drainage Water
8.3 Historical Perspective: Drainage Water Reuse Studies and Farmer Practices
8.3.1 Research Studies Conducted in the San Joaquin Valley of California
8.3.2 Tree Crops
8.3.3 Research Results with Salt-Tolerant Forages
8.3.4 Research Results with Drainage Water on Halophytes
8.3.5 Farmer Experiences with Use of Saline Waters Worldwide
8.4 Design Capabilities of Transient State Models
8.5 Monitoring Methodology for Use of Saline Drainage Waters
8.6 Drainage Water Reuse and Disposal Issues: Major Barriers and Responses by Stakeholders
8.7 Conclusions
References
Part V Moving Water Physically
9 Water Transportation via Icebergs Towing
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Technological Interventions
9.3 History
9.4 Research Status
9.5 Trade-offs
9.6 Conclusions
References
10 Ballast Water
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Technological Interventions
10.2.1 Ballast Water Isolation
10.2.2 Ballast Water Exchange
10.2.3 Ballast Water Treatment Methods
10.3 History
10.3.1 Development
10.3.2 Progress
10.4 State-of-the-Art
10.4.1 Onboard Treatment
10.4.2 Onshore Treatment Facilities
10.5 Major Barriers and Response Options
10.6 Conclusions
References
Part VI Developing New Water
11 Desalinated Water
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Technological Interventions
11.2.1 Thermal Desalination
11.2.2 Membrane Desalination
11.2.3 Comparison of Alternative Desalination Technologies
11.3 History
11.4 Status
11.5 Major Barriers and Response Options
11.5.1 Cost of Water Production
11.5.2 Power Use
11.5.3 Concentrate Management
11.5.4 Institutional Challenges
11.6 Conclusions
References
Part VII Promoting the Enabling Environment
12 Governance of Unconventional Water Resources
12.1 Introduction
12.1.1 What is Governance?
12.1.2 The Role of sovereignty
12.2 Overall Principles to Guide the Development of UWRs
12.2.1 Good neighborliness and no Significant Harm
12.2.2 Protection of the environment and the precautionary approach
12.2.3 The equitable and reasonable use principle and intergenerational equity
12.3 Sovereign Rights and UWR
12.3.1 Harvesting water from the atmosphere
12.3.2 Deep groundwater
12.3.3 Reusing water
12.3.4 Moving water physically
12.3.5 Desalinated water
12.4 Developing a Domestic Governance Regime
12.5 Conclusion
References
13 Economics and Innovative Financing Mechanisms in a Circular Economy
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Market Opportunities for Water Reuse in the Circular Economy
13.2.1 Who Pays for Water Reuse?
13.3 Environmental Benefits and Non-action Cost in Water Reuse
13.3.1 Monetary Valuation of Non-action Cost
13.4 Economic Incentives to Promote Water Reuse
13.5 Conclusions
References
14 The Future of Unconventional Water Resources
References
