Clean Water:
The Politics of Water
THE POLITICS OF WATER
Because water is so important to human civilization, control over water
is a very controversial issue. Governments frequently fight about who
has the right to use water and who owns certain water sources.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
In order for people to have access to clean water, governments need to
provide basic water infrastructure . Clean water access can be divided
into two types of water infrastructure: drinking water and sewage.i
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Drinking water infrastructure includes the reservoirs, filtration systems,
and pipes that turn unsafe water into clean water, filter it, and bring the
water to private homes.
Water infrastructure is important
because
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Sewage infrastructure
includes the pipes and disposal plants used to carry
dirty water and sewage out of private homes.
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In the developed world, water infrastructure is
available to all citizens, which means that everyone
has access to clean water and sanitation. But, in the
developing and underdeveloped world, most people
do not have access to water infrastructure because
the government does not have the financial and
technical resources to provide water infrastructure.
In order to bring clean water to the developing and
underdeveloped world, water infrastructure
projects, such as pipes, water treatment plants, and
sewage disposal plants, must be built and
maintained.ii
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Water Security
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Nations need a guaranteed access to fresh water or
else they run the risk of total collapse. Without
clean water, people are unable to drink, bathe, grow
food, or manufacture anything. If a nation is cut off
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Photo by: Pierre Holtz
Infrastructure: the basic physical and organizational facility components to operate a society successfully
from water, it is in very serious trouble. That is why governments, especially in hot and dry areas of
the world, are desperately trying to ensure their water security.
In other words, governments want to make sure
that they have a guaranteed supply of water and
that no threatening neighbors can turn off the
tap. This issue is difficult because many rivers
flow through multiple countries and most major
rivers today have dams constructed across
them. A nation which feels like it is being cut off
from water may go to war to ensure its survival,
and so the UN has an interest in this issue.iii As
climate change makes water even scarcer, this
could become a worsening issue.
For example, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
originate in the mountains of eastern Turkey
and flow through Syria and Iraq to the Persian
Gulf. All three nations depend on these rivers to
provide water and without them they would be
arid deserts.
Turkey has built numerous dams along both rivers in its territory to produce electricity and to
create lakes to store water.iv This means that less water flows through Syria and Iraq who also need
the water. If people in Turkey pollute the rivers, that pollution flows down through Syria and Iraq.
Although this scenario is unlikely, Turkey could easily shut off all water to Syria and Iraq and these
countries would have no way of getting the water they need.v
This is just one example. All over the world, countries are worried that rivers will dry up, or that
people upstream will pollute the water. Water is so important and the countries that suffer the most
from lack of water are those who are the poorest and least able to cope with even more
disadvantages.
It is possible to desalinate water, but this process is very expensive. Not many countries can afford
to build and maintain desalination plants on their own. A few rich Middle Eastern countries have
built desalination plants to turn seawater into fresh water, but they have the money to pay for these
expensive projects.vi
Dams: large structures built across rivers to block the flow of water. The blocked water forms a lake which
can store millions of gallons, and small holes in the dam allow water to pass through. When water flows
through these holes, they spin machines which create electricity. Dams are used to create lakes to provide
clean electricity.
Desalination: the process where the salt is removed from seawater, turning into drinkable fresh water.
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The water security problem is very serious. Nations like the United States, Canada and countries in
Europe are not worried about their water security because they have many lakes and rivers, and
there is a lot of rain. But countries in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia, and in the Pacific Ocean
are very worried about water security. These places are hot and dry, without much rain. The
majority of the world’s people live in these countries, and most of them live in poverty. They worry
that without UN help they could very well be facing critical water shortages which threaten their
very existence.vii
Photo Credit: Holtz, Pierre. “Unsafe Drinking Water.” http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unsafe_drinking_water_01.jpg
UNESCO. Water Portal Newsletter No 100. http://www.unesco.org/water/news/newsletter/100.shtml
Photo Credit: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122365133
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Michel, David, and Amit Pandyat. The Stimson Center. Troubled Waters: Climate Change, Hydropolitics and Transboundary Resources. Washington DC: Henry L. Stimpson Center, 2007. Web. 16 Jun
2011.
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Photo Credit: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122365133
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Michel, David, and Amit Pandyat. The Stimson Center. Troubled Waters: Climate Change, Hydropolitics and Transboundary Resources. Washington DC: Henry L. Stimpson Center, 2007. Web. 16 Jun
2011.
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Photo Credit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5269296.stm#graphic
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