Governments need to upgrade infrastructure, so those who have free supply will need to pay, say experts
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 27 Jun 09;
WATER has long been considered a free commodity. But this has to change if the world is to avert the impending water crisis and make clean water available to an ever-expanding population.
The first hurdle: people will have to get used to the idea of paying for water, said experts at the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), which ended yesterday.
The event, attended by 10,000 people, including 300 ministers, mayors, government officials and industry leaders, saw speakers highlighting water supply issues and solutions.
Rapid industrialisation, population growth in urban cities and the effects of climate change are likely to cause a drastic decline in the quality and supply of drinking water, said Mr Fehied Fahad Al Shareef, governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, a utilities company based in Saudi Arabia.
According to the United Nations and World Health Organisation, water consumption has doubled worldwide since 1950, with 1.1 billion people now with no access to clean drinking water.
By 2025, the agencies expect that half of the world's population will lack access to drinking water.
To improve such standards in the long term, both governments and private sector firms will have to pump money into new infrastructure, added Mr James Adams, World Bank's vice-president for East Asia and Pacific region.
Many governments are investing in public infrastructure to stimulate an economic rebound, he noted.
According to World Bank data, more than US$15 million (S$22 million) will be invested this year by developing countries in new infrastructure, including the water sector.
But these investments will mean that citizens in many developing countries, who now have free access to water, will have to pay for it.
New infrastructure aside, leakages in present water distribution systems was another concern, said Oxford University's Professor Michael Rouse, an expert on water governance and regulation issues.
Professor Tommy Koh, chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies, noted that in most parts of Asia, the water problem could be due to poor governance and management practices rather than absolute shortages.
In some cities such as New Delhi and Manila, for example, up to half of the water supply is lost in ageing distribution networks, as well as through other factors such as corruption and theft.
It is a problem that Mr Thomas Searle, president of global consulting firm CH2M Hill, refers to as the 'silent tsunami'.
'In terms of the level of water losses that take place each day around the world, it is a tsunami - yet you never see any public discussion about it,' he said.
Another concern is water wastage in some industries.
Up to 70 per cent of water being used today is pumped into the agricultural sector, said Professor Benedito Braga, director of the Brazilian National Water Agency.
About 70,000 litres of water is used to produce 1kg of beef, for example; in rice production, as much as 2,000 litres of water is used per hectare of rice produced.
More efficient technology and better water management practices in the sector could help reduce the amount of water wasted, he said.
Addressing the issue of sustainability in future cities will call for redrawing the traditional boundaries between industries, noted Lord Ronald Oxburgh, president of the British Carbon Capture and Storage Association.
'As populations grow, which at the moment is at a rate of 1,000 people per minute, this is going to create needs for water, food and energy.'
'We cannot talk about water without looking at energy, food and waste supplies.'
