Engineering Inc. - January/February 2009 - (Page 6) maRkEt watCh Worldwide Opportunities Abound in Water Infrastructure By Joe Salimando C onsidering that 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is ocean and 65 percent of the average human’s body mass is composed of water, it’s easy to understand why water is at the heart of so many major domestic and global disputes. Nations everywhere are increasingly faced with critical decisions regarding adequate water supply, public demand and environmental impact. Consider these examples: Electricity—Water (steam) turns turbines; we need to burn more coal to boil more water to turn more turbines to make more power. But the American Water Works Association (AWWA) has asked Congress to rethink the current movement toward carbon capture and sequestration. Injecting carbon into the ground could help fix global warming. But AWWA doesn’t want the soot to affect underground aquifers. India vs. Pakistan— Among their many disputes, these two nations threatened last November to attack each other over access to water supplies following the expiration of the 1962 Indus Water Treaty. Global warming—The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world’s fresh water supply. All “show a drastic decline in water levels since 1997,” according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Consumption Concerns To understand the severity of these problems, we first must understand the broader picture: Increasing millions of people in China and India are gaining more access to high-protein meals (beef and chicken). Not surprisingly, it takes a lot more water to feed a meat eater than a vegetarian (because one must first raise crops to feed livestock). Some rule-of-thumb estimates: Acreage: It takes 0.75 to one acre of cultivated land to feed a vegetarian, compared with three to four acres to feed a meat eater. Water use: Seventy percent of global water use goes to irrigation (20 percent for industry, 10 percent for residential uses). Bottom line: More meat eaters (tens of millions more, potentially, in just a few years) mean more irrigated land. And more irrigation = more water use. Figure 1 demonstrates how global water consumption continues to outpace global population. Consider this data from the World Future Society (WFS), as noted in a recent article by Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute: n “One-hundred-seventy-five million Indians are fed with grain produced with water from irrigation wells that will soon run dry.” n In China, routine aquifer overuse has led the World Bank to predict “‘catastrophic consequences for future generations’ unless water use and supply can quickly be brought into balance.” The parade goes on. News service Asia Pulse reported in September that Australia will spend “an unprecedented $25 billion (U.S.) on new water infrastructure for cities over the next decade, in an effort to put an end to harsh water restrictions.” Booming Niches Engineering firms with water expertise have numerous niches to explore—and many don’t even have to leave U.S. soil to capitalize on them. (See Figure 2). A few examples: Replacement of water infrastructure: Most U.S. water infrastructure “dates back to the World War II era,” according to Water & Wastes Digest. Said Mark Halleman of Infrastructure Management Group: “If we don’t begin replacing some of that infrastructure today, you can only imagine the size of the capital investment that will be needed in 10, 20 or 30 years.” Pipe replacement: AWWA estimates the cost of replacing DEMAND FOR WATER IS RISING 1000 900 Relative Growth Rate 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1900 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 Figure 1 2010 2025 Year Global Population Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; German Ministry of Environment Global Water Consumption 6 ENGINEERING INC. JaNuaRy / FEbRuaRy 2009
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