Dec. 21 - Opinion: The era of cheap water is over‏

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http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281038

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David

Opinion: The era of cheap water is over

Dec 18, 2009 by Donald Appel Mexico City's water shortage could be the future of all big cities of the world if nothing is done to halt the irresponsible and foolish use of our natural resources. How's your water? The lack of water is a problem worldwide, But for a large city, it's a tragic situation. Mexico City, the largest city in the world, over twenty million people, has a chronic water shortage. Many parts of the city occasionally are without water. I live in an area that would be considered the upper east side of New York; many large apartment buildings, tall Skyscrapers, and middle-to-upper-class homes, and the water situation is acute At times we do not know if today we can take a shower or flush our toilets. One of the resources one has in this situation is to buy water by the tank truck load, but it has been found that some of that water is contaminated with E-colon and feces. The other alternative is buy containers of water form the corner grocer. none of these a satisfactory solution. It is ironic when you consider that Mexico City was founded in a large lake, in fact, without a huge water drainage system, Mexico City would be a huge lake again. One of my neighbors, a long time resident of Mexico told me that the annual rain fall is three times the annual requirements for the city, but very little of this annual rain fall is stored. I can believe his account since during the rainy season I witness it to rain every day for several hours. Mexico is a tropical city and has only two seasons: a six month rainy season and a six month dry season. battelle org The original city of Mexico as created by the Mayans Vote up this image! Yet no one in a modern country or city needs to be without water. All the water we use is recoverable. There are efficient and inexpensive systems available to recycle water but this will require a whole new system for storing and distributing water and new technology. Nature does it. How many times has the water on this earth been recycled by nature? There is no new water coming to us from outer space. Unfortunately, our cause of shortage is the way we think of all natural resources, as if it is a free gift from the universe and that it is unlimited and we don't want to pay for. One of the main problems in the Federal District is leakage from its antiquated water system and the recent drought. The cause of the rupturing of pipes is due to the sinking of the city, the result of over exploiting the aquifer that is under the city. In the last century the city center has sunk 7.5 meters (27.6 ft,). Another part of the problem is, the water system in Mexico is government owned and highly subsidizing Over one billion a year is spent by the Mexican government subsidizing the water supply and sanitation system. In the Federal District the cost is roughly $125 per person (World Bank, 1992) but Only $0.10 is collected per cubic meter of water in the Federal District. It costs $1.00 per cubic meter (3.38 cubic ft.) to supply water in the Federal District; this results in terribly underfunding for the repairs that need to be done to the system In the United States, Phoenix collects about $0.25 per cubic meter (World Bank, 1992). Urban water districts in Southern California purchase imported water at about $0.33 per cubic meter (1994 prices), and residential rates vary from about $0.22 at the Irvine Ranch Water District, which has access to local ground water, to about $0.46 per cubic meter for the City of San Diego, which imports nearly all its water. Luis acosta A child walks close to a measuring pile at the lake reservoir, in Villa Victoria, outside of Mexico City, on April 7, 2009. Authorities reported on Tuesday this will be one of the most serious water shortages in recent memory. Vote up this image! Almost seventy-two percent of the city's water supply comes from the Mexico City Aquifer, which underlies the metropolitan area and which is being substantially over-exploited. Ground water levels have been declining over the course of the past century, resulting in regional land subsidence. This subsidence which has lowered the city center area by an average of 7.5 meters, exacerbates the flood-prone conditions of the city and has damaged the infrastructure,including water and sewer lines. Mexico City suffers from uncontrolled growth and over centralization For historical and political reasons, Mexico government is very centralized, in spite of efforts made by the government in recent years to move towards decentralization. Consequently, government services and industrial development are concentrated in Mexico City. Forty-five percent of the country's industrial activity and 38 percent of its gross national product are located there. The city houses nearly all government offices, international businesses, cultural activities, and the most important universities and research institutions. Rapid growth over the past 50 years has been characterized both by planned urban and residential areas for the middle and upper class, and by unplanned and illegal land appropriations by immigrants to the peripheral areas. Over time, government authorities have intervened in these irregular settlements to supply urban services, including water supply; although, the services remain inadequate for long periods of time. I think we can can take note of Mexico City's plight, this could be the plight of many Urban areas. There is not an unlimited supply of natural resources. To long we have treated natural resources, as might be stated in the form of a Balance Sheet, as income, not as Capital, which it is. We have spent and spent what nature has given us like a drunken sailor and now the Balance Sheet is nearly bankrupt. As the world population has increased, we abused our supply. As a Balance Sheet will show, there is no "free ride" We are going to have to act as responsible people and take responsibility for what we have done. The day of cheap water, and cheap everything is over and we need to step up to the plate and do that we need to do in order to survive. Maybe our standard of living will need to take a step back and also to use the technology that we have in order make it possible for future generations to enjoy all the good things that our generation has enjoyed. No longer can we afford use only "capitalism's" philosophy of "greed, exploitation and profit." we need to do what we need to do an to "pay the piper" This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com

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