http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4655&Itemid=195
The Coming Water Crisis for Asia
Written by Our Correspondent
Tuesday, 03 July 2012
Singapore gets it right on water
A four-year study says the biggest problem for cities is simple leaky
pipes
Singapore, only 710 square kilometers in size and the most densely
populated country on the planet, has managed the remarkable goal of becoming
almost 100 percent self-reliant for water, according to a new study by the
Asian Development Bank.
Previously dependent almost entirely for its water on Malaysia across the
Causeway, with which it sometimes has maintained less-than-cordial relations,
“Singapore faced the enormous challenge of water scarcity and vulnerability as
its population grew rapidly after it obtained independence in 1965,” according
to the ADB report, Good Practices in Urban Water Management.
In that, the city state has lessons for the rest of Asia, which faces
serious water problems almost everywhere, according to the report, a four-year
effort by the ADB and the Institute of Water Policy at Lee Kuan Yew School of
Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
Although the report doesn’t note it, Kuan Yew, then the head of the
Singaporean government, set out to eliminate as much as possible the country’s
dependency on Malaysia in case of strife. The country adopted an integrated
approach to water management that took more than 40 years to complete.
“Singapore’s ability to manage its water supply, using it wisely to
support its economic activities to become a city with a high standard of living
is impressive,” the report continues. Since 2003, Singapore succeeded in using
innovation to enlarge its water supply.
The island republic turned wastewater into high-grade reclaimed water and
produced the end product on a large scale to enhance self-sufficiency, renaming
wastewater “used water” to reflect its value for reuse. Its seawater
reclamation is one of the world’s most advanced, although it remains expensive.
Other countries struggling with water scarcity and pollution have begun
to look to Singapore’s experience for solutions. And they are crucial. Many
cities face the same problems, including the sources and uses of raw water, the
large proportion of water loss in distribution networks, intermittent supply
and the quality of tap water.
In some cities, the report notes, excessive groundwater use has caused
serious environmental problems, including rapid depletion of groundwater,
deterioration of water quality and land subsidence. Many cities suffer from
inadequate sewerage networks and wastewater treatment systems while a large
majority still depends on septic tanks and other on-site sanitation facilities.
As a result, pollution loads in freshwater bodies and groundwater sources have
increased substantially.
In addition, heavy seasonal rains and frequent cyclones have led to
massive flooding across Southeast Asia, particularly in Pakistan and Thailand,
affecting more than 8 million people.
(Then there is the problem of sanitation. See attached graphic here.)
Overall, as the region passes through a period of rapid urbanization and
population growth, by 2050, more than half of the population will be living in
towns and cities, roughly twice the current population, meaning that “the
demands on water, land, and ecosystems as resources pose tremendous challenges
in the delivery of commodities like food, energy, and water for municipal and
industrial purposes.
Delivery of sustainable water supply and sanitation services thus has
become a crucial issue. Although more than 2 billion people have gained access
to improved water sources since 1990, it is unlikely that the world will meet
its sanitation targets set in the Millennium Development Goal. Some 605 million
people are expected to be without improved drinking water sources, and 2.4
billion will not have access to improved sanitation facilities, the ADB report
notes.
On a wider scale, the lack of availability of fresh water has led to a US
National Intelligence Estimate on water security completed in 2010 that says
that bbeyond 2022, the use of water as a weapon of war or a tool of terrorism
will become more likely, particularly in South Asia, the Middle East and North
Africa.
The report says floods, scarce and poor quality water, combined with
poverty, social tension, poor leadership and weak governments can be expected
to contribute to instability that could lead the failure of numerous states,
with upstream nations, more powerful than their downstream neighbors due to
geography possibly limiting access to water for political reasons and that
countries will regulate internal supplies to suppress separatist movements and
dissident populations.
“The task of reaching the unserved and delivering water and sanitation
services to those who are covered, may only grow more challenging,” the ADB
report notes. “Many parts of Asia and the Pacific region are in a water crisis.
Accessible freshwater in the region has become scarce. Annual per capita water
endowments have been declining at alarming rates indicating water stress. The
gap between demand and supply is widening.”
The fact is that 29 billion cubic meters of water is lost each year in
the region simply because of leakages in substandard water systems– enough to
fill more than 11 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, causing Asia’s water
utilities to lose more than $9 billion in revenue each year.
By examining water utilities in Asia – in Bangkok, Colombo, Jamshedpur,
India; Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Phnom Penh, Shenzhen, and Singapore -- the report
concludes that a low rate of water leakage, called “unaccounted for water,” is
critical. As much as 60 percent of water is lost to leakages in some Asian
water systems, the report notes. Loss of less than 20 percent is a realizable
goal. Phnom Penh managed to bring its lost water rate down to just 6 percent in
2008.
The study identifies seven universal themes to serve as a model for
replication by water utilities: corporatization for better accountability;
economic sustainability; unaccounted-for-water reduction; holistic approach to
manage water resources including water supply and wastewater management; staff
productivity; collaborative engagement amongst government, utilities and
society; and inclusive approach to addressing the needs of the urban poor.
The campaign “will put huge pressures on service providers’ ability to
manage available water resources effectively,” the report notes. “There are
questions about the equity and quality of services, and many utilities suffer
from chronic mismanagement and poor governance. Financing also remains a
problem, mainly because the poor performances of these utilities attract little
money. There is an absence of comprehensive analyses of urban water management
systems in the developing world.
“Concrete strategies for utilities to translate good principles into
practice are often missing in discussions on water governance. Few positive
models of urban water management have been identified and valuable lessons and
experiences often are not shared.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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