Fresh Water in the 21st Century

**wkllaw** · 19 Aug 07,, 21:12

Imagine 10 billion people picking up a glass of water at the same time and drinking it. While the world does not have a population of 10 billion yet, in a few years time it is expected to reach that mark and may well be facing a water crises. Director Sanjeev Chatterjee’s film, One Water, highlights the problems that will face the world when the supply of fresh water dries up.

The film, which won the Eco Vision 2007 award in Palermo earlier this year, highlights the problems faced by nations due to contamination or lack of water. The film highlights the importance of water in the world, and the contradictions between nations that lack basic supply of clean water and the ones that don’t lack. “The idea for the film evolved from a speech made at the UN which declared that if the 20th Century wars were fought over oil, the 21st Century wars will be fought over clean water. That made us think about the condition of fresh water supply in the water,” says Chatterjee, who screened the film at Gorky Sadan on Friday.

The film, which took him five years to make, however is not the first film to be made by Chatterjee, who is also the Vice Dean of the School of Communication at the University of Miami. The Hindu College alumni who has made films like Pure Chutney, Bittersweet and Dirty Laundry on the Indian diaspora, made his first documentary on water for Doordarshan two decades ago. For One Water, he travelled across India, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Turkey, Denmark and the US, for the film journeys from the high mountains where the only source of livelihood is transporting slabs of ice to the nearby towns, to the lowland villages of the Sunderbans where people suffer from arsenic poisoning. It shows the difference in attitudes among cultures where water is found in abundance and where people need to travel for miles to get a pitcher of water. This contrast is especially seen in the desert regions of Rajasthan and Las Vegas. While the latter has abundant water supplies, every drop is precious in the former.

“The film is an effort to make people realise what is going to happen to us fresh water supply runs out. There is already talk of privatisation of water resources, so what is going to happen to the poor if that happens?” Chatterjee asks.

Water, the most important thing to humans. There has been some cases of water privatisation like Stockton, California. Looks like we need conservation and maybe I should start investing in desalination technology. Any comments on fresh water in the future.

**glyn** · 19 Aug 07,, 21:25

Thanks to Mother Nature some countries get too much and others hardly any. Have you ever had to drink desalinated water? I didn't find the taste agreeable but for some places that's all they can get. Transporting it from countries with an abundance of good fresh water to those that lack it is a possibility, but I don't know how costly the exercise would be.

**wkllaw** · 19 Aug 07,, 21:42

I'm not sure, but there are supposedly reports of the world's water supply shrinking and I'm sure of the population increasing.

Well, I believe that desalination will be in our future, there's a limit to what conservation can do, the technology is improving hence the price of the technology is getting cheaper and then for some places is the transportation cost, but the future is a long time off.

**glyn** · 19 Aug 07,, 22:10

But wouldn't it be nice to export water to the oil producing countries?

That could be a profitable enterprise and give the water-rich countries a chance to claw back some of the money they spent in importing oil.

**gunnut** · 20 Aug 07,, 02:10

Originally Posted by glyn

But wouldn't it be nice to export water to the oil producing countries?

That could be a profitable enterprise and give the water-rich countries a chance to claw back some of the money they spent in importing oil.

The British Empire did something like that.

Opium for tea.

**bonehead** · 20 Aug 07,, 03:35

Now would be the time to stop polluting our own fresh water supplies, but hey, that won't be done untill it is PROFITABLE to do so.

**~~tanglhh~~** · 28 Aug 07,, 13:11

Singapore realised the importance of fresh water and has successfully recycled used water a few years ago. We are also trying to desalinese meanwhile and hopefully if we succeed, then I supposed my government is able to provide fresh water to all the people in our country in future.

**entropy** · 28 Aug 07,, 13:49

Originally Posted by glyn

Thanks to Mother Nature some countries get too much and others hardly any. Have you ever had to drink desalinated water? I didn't find the taste agreeable but for some places that's all they can get. Transporting it from countries with an abundance of good fresh water to those that lack it is a possibility, but I don't know how costly the exercise would be.

You added mineral supplements to it? It's dangerous to drink pure H2O.

**omon** · 28 Aug 07,, 14:02

all water contains minerals, unless you distille it, when it is pure it will desolve minerals in your body.

**~~tanglhh~~** · 29 Aug 07,, 20:33

Hi Entropy!

I have not tasted distilled water yet but have been drinking regularly now with our recycled water. Our recycled water derives from treating used water and then send to reservoirs through connected water pipes to let it blend with natural water before arriving to our ordinary people water taps.

In a way, I am really thankful to our government for looking ahead with the problems of natural water for the people!

Regards!

Tang Loy Heng

**dundonrl** · 29 Aug 07,, 21:09

Originally Posted by glyn

Thanks to Mother Nature some countries get too much and others hardly any. Have you ever had to drink desalinated water? I didn't find the taste agreeable but for some places that's all they can get. Transporting it from countries with an abundance of good fresh water to those that lack it is a possibility, but I don't know how costly the exercise would be.

I've drank plenty of desalinated water, using both a 7 stage evaporator and for the last 4 years a reverse osmosis system.. tastes just fine with both of them..

**~~brokensickle~~** · 29 Aug 07,, 21:17

Originally Posted by glyn

But wouldn't it be nice to export water to the oil producing countries?

That could be a profitable enterprise and give the water-rich countries a chance to claw back some of the money they spent in importing oil.

Good idea from one old fart to another.

Ivan

**~~brokensickle~~** · 29 Aug 07,, 21:59

Originally Posted by wkllaw

Water, the most important thing to humans. There has been some cases of water privatisation like Stockton, California. Looks like we need conservation and maybe I should start investing in desalination technology. Any comments on fresh water in the future.

I would like to build one unit of a passive desalinization plant that I have an idea for but lack the time and money in funding as I have two jobs and am in the middle of raising my family.

I don't want to devulge the plans to the revolutionary idea until I know that I have found someone trustworthy to help fund it and not just steal the idea from me. But I am willing to take a chance at finding honest interested investors who will be able to share the success and profit to a larger degree after some legal agreements are completed.

The idea is much more simple, easier to clean and elegant than the reverse osmosis, 'RO' Units used now. And it could be put in more advantageous and cheaper locations than coastside units.

Make my life easier and somewhat more profitable and I could possibly Increase your Bottomline dramatically while giving more fresh water to a thirsty world.

Ivan the inventor

**Canmoore** · 29 Aug 07,, 23:33

As a Canadian, I know that my country has a great deal of Fresh Water. However, I am 100% do not agree with shipping water from hear to other countries. Our large bodies of water are at there lowest levels in recorded history, and we still do not fully understand why. removing water from our smaller bodies of water would only disrupt or destroy sensitive local ecosystems.

However, I feel that Ice Burgs are open game. A ship/system should be developed that is capable of catching and carrying an Ice Burg.. then melting it into fresh water in a holding tank..

**~~Feanor~~** · 30 Aug 07,, 03:04

Think nature. Since humans are part of nature, that means that on a major scale there is no such thing as unnatural. When there is less resources available then needed then the weakest die off. This won't necessarily come in the form of literal water shortages, but rather lowered birth rates. And the weakest isn't necessarily militarily, but you can certainly expect some big upheavals in the next 100 years, and I definetly don't want to be living in Western Europe during this time.