Eng417 Environmental And Sustainability: Alternative Assessment Answers

Background

The residents of a large inland city have experienced drought for several years, and as a result water is scarce. There is no green grass, larger plants are struggling to survive, cars have not been washed for many years and people are wondering if it will ever rain again. Water from the city’s reservoir has been extended by mixing it with water pumped from underground aquifers, but this water has a high mineral content and is unpalatable to drink, so it can only be used in limited quantities.

Task

Investigate alternative sources of water supply, noting that these sources may have to continue providing water for the foreseeable future.

To explore alternative water sources further, students will be allocated to one of the following interest groups:

• Cloud-based and mainframe IT system maintenance manager
• Local Council elected member
• Swimming pool operator
• Abattoir (slaughterhouse) operator
• Environmentalist/green activist
• Rural resident (needs large amounts of water for fruit trees and grass)
• City resident (lives in an apartment and has no garden)
• Stockbroker trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX, Sydney, NSW)
• Aboriginal Land Traditional Owner under the provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 No. 110, 1993.

Alternative Water Sources

Water is an essential commodity and a vital need in households, firms and industries. For this reason, water scarcity is a chronic crisis for the city. Therefore, the city has to find alternative sources of water supply for use in households and industries. Given that the city is inland, the best alternative source of water supply for it will be sourcing the water from nearby cities that are not affected by the water scarcity problem (Bardford and Everitt, 2012). Primarily, this can be achieved by building a cross-city/country pipeline to help channel water from regions that have plenty of water to the water scarce city.

Mainly, this alternative source of water will utilize the principle of gravity to channel surplus water from regions that receive high rainfall. In turn, it will help solve the water shortage problem in the city. However, it is worth noting that this measure will require a large scale water transfer system and the water received may be stored in a reservoir (Bardford and Everitt, 2012). From there, it can be channeled to households and firms.

 By and large, this method may spur the interest of environmentalists and green activists in the city where the water is sourced. Excessive importation of water may lead to depletion of its water resources. Therefore, the water must be used sparingly. The city must also ensure that it puts in place water conservation policies and measures in the region to ensure that the water received is used guardedly (Wikstrom, 2012). Thus the city government must sensitize its residents to use less water and even recycle to reduce wastage.

References

Bardford,V. and Everitt, L. (2012). Eight radical solutions for the water shortage. [Online] BBC News. Available at:  https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17600062.[Accessed 4 Sept 2017]

Wikstrom, J. (2012). 6 Solutions to the Water Shortage Crisis. [Online] Triple Pundit. Available at:  https://www.triplepundit.com/2015/06/innovative-solutions-water-shortage-crisis/.[Accessed 4 Sept 2017]