Background

Water scarcity has proven to be a growing issue in Africa with more than 75% of Africa being classified as “arid” or “semi-arid”. On average, Africa is in a state defined as “water stress”, with the average person obtaining around only 1,500 cubic meters of water per year. The continent is slowly declining to a state of “water scarcity”, which is less than 1,000 cubic meters of water per person per year.

http://www.probeinternational.org/beijing-water/peak-water-limits-resource

There are many reasons as to why there is an insufficient amount of water in Africa. About ¾ of Africa being classified as arid or semi-arid, indicating that evaporation may exceed precipitation in the long term. In other words, the water currently in Africa is disappearing faster than it is replenishing itself. A key contributing factor to this slow precipitation rate has to do with a large geographical feature in Northern Africa, the Atlas Mountains. These mountains lie on the north coast, and end up isolating North Africa from the moist Mediterranean air that would otherwise offer a large amount of precipitation.  

Another rather obvious factor to the little amount of water is the large population of Africa. The population lies just over one billion people; which is a huge number for the water stressed continent. Africa’s population is growing, while at the same time water is diminishing, making the average amount of water per person decrease significantly. Also, with the large amount of people living in Africa, only about 10% of those people have access to abundant river water, which is the main source of water in Africa.

The water crisis in Africa is growing to be a very big reason for concern. More than 60% of the countries globally in which basic human water needs are not met are located in Africa (34 out of the 55 countries). This statistic really shows how significant this problem is in Africa when looking at water scarcity on a global scale, and therefore it is important that the water crisis in Africa be deeply looked at, and efforts be put forward to propose and act on a solution.

Causes and Effects

The main problems concerning water scarcity in Africa are the diseases from the unclean drinking water, dehydration, the lack of sanitation, and agricultural problems (not enough water for irrigation). Many of these problems tie in to each other which creates one major problem.

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Typhoid is a serious waterborne illness that is caused by the salmonella typhi bacteria, and is passed through the urine or feces of an infected person. This is a serious issue in Africa because it is mainly due to their lack of sanitation. Once the bacteria have entered the bloodstream, it rapidly multiplies and affects almost every system in the body. Symptoms of typhoid usually appear 10 to 14 days after infection and can range from mild to severe. This disease is usually seen in less-industrialized countries that are lacking in the drinking water and sanitation department. In addition to typhoid, the E. coli bacteria can be found in a lot of the water. This bacteria can be especially deadly because it causes diarrhea. According to the United Nations, more than 5,000 children (mostly under the age of five) die each year due to lack of sanitation and improved drinking water. Africa’s lack of sanitation also puts adolescent women at risk. They are unable to afford even the simplest sanitary pad during their menstruation period, and often resort to using old, dirty rags as an alternative. 

     Another problem brought about by water scarcity is dehydration. Water scarcity results in many people dying of dehydration. Dehydration can occur when your body does not have as much water and fluids as it should. In many countries around the world this is not a major concern because of the widespread supply of sanitary water. But in many African countries it is a growing problem. Dehydration is the second leading cause of death in children under five in the world and is responsible for 1.9 million deaths a year. Those are staggering numbers for something that seems so preventable. Diarrhea is one of the major causes of dehydration. Death due to diarrhea represents 17% of deaths among children under five out of a total of 11 million deaths annually in this age category. Diarrhea is mainly caused by infection of bacteria which causes food poisoning and viral infections. Typhoid as discussed earlier is another major illness which can also cause diarrhea. With the small supply of clean water available to the people, many drink unsanitary water which can lead to diarrhea and in the end dehydration.

The last issue is concerning agriculture and farming. Many parts of Africa, especially South Africa have a very low amount of rainfall each year, causing drought and many other problems with their crops and farming. South Africa’s average yearly rainfall in 60% of the country is a mere 500mm, which is the bare minimum needed for dry land farming. Another 21% of the country only receives less than 200mm. Without enough water to even irrigate to other crop fields, there is no way for the residents to grow enough crops to harvest for food, which can also cause malnutrition.

Global Perspectives

There are many global perspectives on solving such a large problem like this. Water conflicts can arise in water stressed areas among local communities and countries, because sharing a very limited and essential resource is very difficult for so many people to do. The lack of adequate legal instruments is a greater burden on already difficult situations. The United States, United Nations and many other countries have started government funded organizations to work on ideas for helping many areas in Africa by supplying appropriate resources to begin improvement while restoring substantial living environments for the people who are suffering.
    The United States is one of the many countries that feels it should do something to help solve this crisis. The U.S. Government provides assistance to 47 countries in Africa, and USAID , a major funding organization, operates 23 bilateral missions on the continent. The United States has been attempting to create a larger focus on providing humanitarian relief to Africa.

The United States has suggested many possible solutions in order to prevent water scarcity like wells and reservoirs. Since the expense of these solutions have to been taken into consideration some solution have to be thrown out. But one possible solution which seems to be rather inexpensive is a rainwater catchment system  that is based on collection of rainwater and gravity flow pressure principles. The United States sends millions of dollars in relief and believes that more programs around the world should be founded. With help of other economic powers around the world the U.S. feels this task will be much easier.

The FAO’s Water Resources Development and Management Service is an example of a U.S. organization working towards providing a great focus on Africa. The FAO, which has been working for years on a solution to this conflict, believes that water can be saved by increasing the use of irrigated crop by about one third, with only 12% more water. The FAO has been developing methods of improving agriculture and water management in an attempt to enhance agricultural production.

    The United Nation has, along with the United States, been working towards finding some solution to resolve this problem. The U.N. has been trying to alert other countries that most of the world humanitarian emergencies in Africa. They have adopted a numerous amount of government funded organizations to inform others this crisis. The main goal of these organizations is to spread the word of this crisis so more can be done to provide aid.

The United Nations has developed a partnership called UN-Water which works around the world, mainly in Africa, to bring water and water-related issues to the top of its political agenda. The UN believes that focusing on supplying the knowledge, expertise and investment in areas deprived of water is the first and most important step to improving this problem.

Another group, the H2O Africa Foundation was formed to spread awareness of the water crisis that is occurring. H2O Africa believes that gathering the support to first clean the water that is available to Africans now is the most important key to solving this problem. H2O Africa believes that the people suffering through this crisis need water immediately and that building wells and reservoirs is not action that should take place. Once enough clean water is available, education and industrial development should be provided next. All of these organizations can have a lasting impact on which solutions are chosen to be used to resolve this conflict.

Potential Solutions

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     With those perspectives coming from many different global organizations, a numerous amount of potential solutions have been brought up to resolve this crisis.

Potential Solution #1

Desalination is the process of removing the salt from water making it drinkable (Merriam-Webster). This is done in desalination plants and is incredibly expensive (Edwards Aquifer Website). To build a single plant it would cost millions of dollars, but the upside would be that Africa would never run out of water because it would be taking it from the ocean. The next biggest drawback to this potential solution is that the water would have to be delivered. Getting the water to the people would be expensive, and delivery to people who live in the center of the continent or more remote locations would be even more expensive. So, in addition to having to pay the millions of dollars to put the plant up in the first place, money would also be needed to actually acquire the water making this method very impractical. Because of the impracticality, desalination should be used but not exclusively and not very much. Because this method is so expensive it should be used only as a last resort or only if all other water is unavailable.

http://www.i4at.org/surv/raincat.htm

Potential Solution #2

As stated earlier in the global perspectives section, the Rainwater Catchment System is a possible method for this conflict. This system is based on rainwater and gravity flow pressure principles and has lots of positives with it. It is relatively inexpensive, which is a major upside to any potential solution. This solution can also be installed or expanded on a 'pay as you build' basis which means that, as the money is acquired, more can be built. The money is not needed as one lump sum. This system is also very reliable because the rain will come, filling the tank. Another upside is that it is easy to keep clean, and keeping the water pH would be very easy to test and maintain. Because it is such a flexible system, the container can be sized to fit the location or the amount of people that would be accessing the water from it. A very important aspect of this solution is that no power is needed. This is beneficial to many because in many places there is no electricity or the electricity is sparse. Fortunately, the rainwater catchment system requires no electricity. Finally, what makes this solution stand out is that, because it is fully above ground, maintenance would be very easy and cheaper to make.

How the systems works is the water is collected from a roof through a series of gutters. The gutters then funnel the water into a standpipe that can hold 150 gallons. Once the standpipe reaches 150 gallons the water will flow into a large water drum, around 900 gallons, where it is stored. If the water exceeds the 1,150 gallons (150 in the standpipe and 900 in the large drum) the overflow will run off into two 300 gallons barrels. And finally, if the 300 gallons overflows the water will just simply run into the local sewer. Having over 1,700 gallons of storage available may seem excessive to some but, because of the efficiency of the system, during heavy rainfalls over 1,500 gallons can be collected in just one hour. If only one inch of rain falls (given that the roof is 25 by 40 feet) an astounding 400 gallons of water can be collected.

Some downsides to this solution are that the large tanks can be very difficult to handle. With a system this large it takes up more space than a well would. For this system to be effective it requires a large roof and a tank that can hold around 900 gallons of water. This can be a minor problem because there will only be a limited number of rainwater catchment systems available. Sanitation is another thing that has to be put into consideration. In order for the system to be effective the gutters used would require constant maintenance and cleaning. Also, there is the risk that this system won’t meet the local building code requirements for it to be a primary water source.



http://www.wcu.edu/5000.asp

Potential Solution #3

Reservoirs are similar to rainwater catchment systems in that the rain will fill them but are different structurally. Reservoirs can be as simple as a large, water-holding bowl in the ground or it can be made from a kit above ground. Reservoirs could be the least expensive water storage available but it would not be very safe to drink, which would defeat the purpose. Having a hand-dug reservoir would indeed do the job of collecting and holding water, however it would be just as unsanitary as the rivers and the puddles that provide water currently. Because it would have no protection, animals would be able to get into the water and bacteria and disease would soon make the water undrinkable. The reservoir from a kit is very simple to assemble and would keep the water free from contamination. These reservoirs are able to hold between 2,500 to 10,000 gallons depending on the size that has been purchased. These reservoirs would also have a lid that kept out animals, bacteria and disease, making the water much safer. To buy a reservoir that would hold 2,500 gallons it would cost over nine thousand dollars. The only way that a reservoir, hand dug or kit, would be effective is if it was filled with water. To fill the reservoirs, a well would be needed but once it has been filled in the rain will add to the total amount of water in the reservoir. That is the biggest downside because Africa does not get enough rain to fill a reservoir on its own and to fill it by using a well would defeat the purpose. However, a big upside that reservoirs bring to the table is the ability to give food as well as water by putting fish in the water.  

http://thewaterproject.org/sponsor-a-well-in-africa.asp

Potential Solution #4

The average cost to provide a well for an African community is $5,100. From this five thousand dollars a hand pump can be created that can last up to 15 years; constantly being refilled as rain recharges the groundwater. Assuming that the wells are placed strategically, one single pump up to 700 people would be able to access the water this may well include schools and even hospitals. To have one well per community, the countries of Africa would be in better shape but in order to really help cure the water crisis one well would have to be made for at least every 700 people. This would allow every person access to clean water and it could be much more affordable. Machine drills would be very helpful to use to create bigger capacity wells. They are able to reach maximum depth of 200 feet, whereas a hand dug well can only reach as maximum depth of 60 feet. Not only would the machine drill dig deeper but it would also dig much faster, completing a well in one to two days. If a machine drill were unavailable it would still be incredibly beneficial to have the hand dug well. The biggest downside to the machine drill is that it takes 4 weeks to train a crew to work the machiner. This is a small downside in comparison the potential downsides of hand dug wells, which include: contamination, collapses, and rocks. Whether the well is hand dug or machine dug the well will have to be regularly maintained. The worst and most unavoidable problem with all wells is the fact that during hot and dry weather the wells will dry up. Even with these problems, wells are the best choice to resolve the water crisis in Africa because they meet the peoples needs: they provide clean easy-to-access water that is cheap.

Solution Discussion

     Of the many water organizations dedicated to helping countries in need (specifically Africa), at least half of them have part of their program focused on improving, repairing, or installing new wells to help the people of Africa. One organization, Water Wells For Africa, installs merry-go-round style wells near schools that also provide water for nearby communities and families. Along with installing and maintaining the wells, they have also developed a low cost, easy to use filtration and purifying system. Their purifying system involves putting water into clear plastic water bottles and leaving them in the sun for at least six hours of direct sunlight or two days of cloudy weather. However, this method will not work if the water is murky, as the UV rays will not be able to get through to the deadly microbes.
     To fix this problem, Kurt Dahlin, the CEO and president of WWFA, developed another method to filter the water: the TRUSTED Water Filter. This filter involves cutting the bottom off of a plastic water bottle, and inverting it to make a funnel. The bottom of the funnel is then filled with a layer of cotton, a layer of pea-sized bits of charcoal (with any white ash being rinsed off), and another layer of cotton with a small stone on top to keep the charcoal from floating. Murky water is then poured through the filter into another clear plastic bottle, and miraculously comes out crystal clear. The water in these clear plastic bottles can then be purified using the solar method. The cost for the wells that Water Wells for Africa installs to start the process are a mere 4,000 dollars each, which is considerably less than wells from different organizations. The filter and purification systems are also very low cost, as they use materials that can be found in most rural African Villages. WWFA takes donations through PayPal and checks on their website, but also have another way of raising money. Ralph’s Grocery Corporation has partnered with WWFA, and has vowed that any person who registers with Ralph’s Community Contribution will give 4% of every purchase at a Ralph’s store to the WWFA Organization. Ralph’s Grocery Corporation include stores such as Fred Meyers, Krogers, and just plain Ralph’s stores. Also, because WWFA is a non-profit organization, any donation made to them is tax deductible. This solution, especially with this organization, is the clearly the best solution because of the people it will help, how inexpensive their methods are, and how easy it is to donate to their cause.

Conclusion

     Although desalination works very well and provides and endless supply of water, the building of the plant, desalination, and delivery are too expensive to be seriously considered to provide water for an entire continent. Similarly, reservoirs are great ways to collect and hold water but because they are unsanitary, too expensive, and will be very hard to actually fill with water they are not a viable solution to the problem. In contrast, wells are affordable and can support many people. They can also be made within a day and it would be very easy to teach native Africans to do the job, enabling them to continue without support from the outside.

     Rainwater catchment systems could be very helpful in fighting the water issue in Africa. This is because they are cheap and collect a large amount of water even when given short amounts of rainfall. However, it would be implausible to assume that an entire community would be able to live off of water provided by just these, and that is why they should be used in addition to wells. In order to make sure the water is clean, all of the water should be treated with the sanitation filter. The filter ensures that all water will be safe to drink and because it is so inexpensive and easy to make it is very practical to have all water sanitized this way. This issue of curing water scarcity in Africa quickly and efficiently is important to the United States and the World because it is our money and our labor that is going to help Africa out of this crisis, and the sooner we are done donating our funds and time, the sooner we will be back to living our normal lives.

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