Environmentalists believe that in the near future, the population of a number of regions of the planet may face a real problem associated with a lack of clean water. The world experience that has been accumulated to date makes it possible to assert that humanity is able to cope with this threat. But this will require uniting the efforts of all countries.
A technical approach to solving the water problem
To remove the problem of providing the inhabitants of the Earth with water resources, it is necessary to radically revise the ways and means of using the hydrosphere, use water resources more economically and carefully protect water bodies from pollution, which is most often associated with human economic activities.
Scientists identify hydrological-geographical and technical methods for solving the water problem.
The primary technical task is to reduce the volume of wastewater discharge into reservoirs and the introduction of recycling water supply at enterprises, built on closed cycles. A number of industrial enterprises and public utilities are faced with the urgent task of using part of the runoff for irrigation of cultivated areas after appropriate treatment. Such technologies are being developed very actively today.
One way to overcome the scarcity of water suitable for drinking and cooking is to introduce a water conservation regime. For this purpose, domestic and industrial water consumption control systems are being developed, which can significantly reduce unreasonable water consumption. Such control systems help not only save valuable resources, but also reduce the financial costs of the population for this type of utilities.
The most technologically advanced states are developing new ways of doing business and production methods that make it possible to get rid of technical water consumption or at least reduce the consumption of water resources. An example is the transition from water cooling systems to air cooling, as well as the introduction of a method for melting metals without blast furnaces and open hearths, invented in Japan.
Hydrological and geographical methods
Hydrological and geographical methods consist in managing the circulation of water resources on the scale of entire regions and in purposefully changing the water balance of large areas of land. At the same time, we are not talking about an absolute increase in the volume of water resources.
The goal of this approach is to reproduce water by maintaining a steady flow, creating groundwater reserves, increasing the proportion of soil moisture through the use of flood waters and natural glaciers.
Hydrologists are developing methods for regulating the flow of large rivers. Measures are also planned for the accumulation of moisture in underground wells, which may eventually turn into large reservoirs. It is quite possible to drain waste and thoroughly purified industrial water into such tanks.
The advantage of this method is that with it the water, passing through the soil layers, is additionally purified. In areas where a stable snow cover has been observed for a long period, snow retention works are possible, which also make it possible to resolve the issue of water availability.
