Andrew Benedek, Straits Times 21 Jun 08;
LIFE on earth would not be possible without water.
For human beings, water plays a role in almost every aspect of life, two of them critical to survival.
First, we need water to quench our thirst and, almost as importantly, we need copious amounts of it to grow our food.
Interestingly though, our behaviour towards water as a species is either one of great reverence - sacred rivers and versions of baptismal or holy water exist in most religions - or one of total disregard of its value.
Today perhaps more than ever, we are coming to a crossroad: We either learn to respect water as the stuff of life and then learn to manage its use better or we will face increasingly severe food shortages and pandemics as a consequence of our current profligate ways.
I am optimistic that solutions can and will be found.
Throughout history, we tried to either avoid damage from floods or tidal waves or tried to improve the quantity or quality of the water available to us.
The fact that some 6.3 billion of us are living on the earth today is testimony to the fact that somehow we have managed to find solutions to the problems of each era.
In the 1800s, humanity started to use fossil fuels on a larger scale and with that came our ability to transport food and water.
That, in turn, allowed the human population to increase as never before.
Soon, the beginnings of microbiology allowed us to understand water-borne diseases.
The first of the major water treatment inventions of modern man, water disinfection by chlorine, was introduced to the world in 1850. The flush toilet was also introduced to the world.
Both inventions were made in London which then had a cholera epidemic.
The flush toilet was implemented rapidly, keeping the cities cleaner. But rivers, lakes and oceans became more and more polluted over time.
It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that a few cities and industries began to recognise that the discharge of sewage directly into streams was causing health problems.
It led to the construction of the first sewage facilities. But it was only during the second half of the 20th century that most cities and towns got that technology.
Still, most industries were allowed to discharge their waste untreated until the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire and many people died of mercury poisoning in Japan.
To end that, by 1970, all new plants had to have an approved waste water system before they could be built.
Today, the developed world is focused on finding solutions to more subtle - but serious - concerns, such as the presence of potentially carcinogenic compounds, human hormones or pharmaceuticals in water.
While solutions exist, they are still not widely implemented due to a lack of agreement on the necessity to do so.
The developing world, in the meantime, has been primarily putting its emphasis on the economic growth needed to catch up with developed countries and pollution control has been a secondary concern.
Safe - or disinfected - drinking water is still not available to 1.1 billion people in the world, and 2.6 billion people lack any kind of sewage treatment.
Fortunately, many developing countries, like China and India, are now doing much better economically and they are beginning to catch up in water treatment as well.
The level of sanitation in the developing world, however, is still a great danger to all of us.
As an example, a new type of E. coli bacteria was formed in Costa Rica due to poor sanitation during the 1960s.
Thirty years later, this bacteria showed up in the potable water supply of a small Canadian town called Walkerton where thousands developed bloody diarrhoea and seven died.
In the short term, our biggest danger is the spreading of a 'superbug', such as this mutant E. coli, especially a chlorine-resistant one.
Treatment methods such as membrane technology should protect people if already installed but, unfortunately, at this time, there are still many plants needing improvement for this type of an eventuality.
But the biggest issue right now, and for many years to come, is the shortage of water.
Many factors are acting in concert to make the current situation dangerous.
First, we have the continuing growth in population. By 2050, the earth may need to support nine billion people versus the current 6.3 billion.
Second, each year, the consumption of water per person is growing as developing nations increasingly adopt the more affluent lifestyle of the developed world.
Third, both the growth in population as well as the increase in affluence is occurring in relatively water-short areas.
Fourth, global warming is predicted to significantly reduce the availability of water for human use.
Fifth, many of the most critical agricultural areas of the world use groundwater in excess of replenishment, meaning that sooner or later, we will run out of water for irrigation.
So, we have here the ingredients of a perfect storm.
Unless something is changed, we will not have sufficient water for the burgeoning population and we will be unable to feed a large segment of humanity.
Fortunately, excellent solutions already exist for supplying water to people even when natural circumstances are stacked against a country.
Singapore is by far the best example of what can be done. Singapore has very little renewable water resources; it is listed by the World Bank as the 165th country out of 173 in the amount of water available per capita.
In spite, or perhaps because, of it, Singapore leads the world in virtually every aspect of water management.
In particular, Singapore has pioneered direct water re-use to the point that when the current plants are completed, more than 20 per cent of the nation's water needs can be met by the recycling of water so pure that it meets or exceeds virtually any current and even probable future standards.
Singapore was also one of the first countries outside of the Middle East to demonstrate membrane-based sea water desalination at an affordable cost.
All in all, Singapore is prepared for the water-short future to come.
Singapore is also acting responsibly as a world leader by hosting next week's Singapore International Water Week and sharing its knowledge openly with the world.
On the basis of Singapore's example, it is easy to see that providing water for people can be done provided the management skills and necessary money are available.
The amount of money needed to improve water systems globally is large, but it is significantly less than the approximately US$100 billion (S$137billion) spent annually by consumers on bottled water.
And, if done for even the earth's poorest, everyone's life would be better for it.
Dr Benedek is the winner of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew water prize.
