Water: Where will it come from in 2050?

[Michaelangelica]

A little domestic air-water-harvester being marketed.

The company, Element Four, has developed a WaterMill that uses electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.

Yellows and Blues | Share - Learn - Green
Companies' website:-
Home | Element Four

The WaterMill provides you with:

* clean, fresh water for drinking and cooking
* up to 12 liters (13 US quarts) of water per day

"up to "
It also will not work with humidity less than 30%

Can anyone work out (or ring) and see how much it costs?
It is 3 foot wide!
So probably won't be cheap.
still for areas like humid, dry Sydney it could be a godsend if it were cheap enough. (eventually)
It's online shop is not up which is a bit suss.

[Michaelangelica]

The Water Wars have started!

Pipeline essential for Melbourne: MP
14/11/2008 3:26:00 PM. |

Melbourne could run out of water in 2010 if the Senate blocks construction of a pipeline to carry water from the Murray-Darling Basin to the city, Victorian Water Minister Tim Holding says.

Pipeline essential for Melbourne: MP > National > LIVENEWS.com.au

The Victorian Labor Government is insistent on building a pipeline from the Goulburn River across the Great Dividing Range to Sugarloaf Reservoir. This pipe is known as the North South Pipeline (NS Pipeline). The 75 billion litres of water in the NS Pipeline will leave the Murray Darling Basin to support Melbourne’s consumption. In Northern Victoria, the removal of the water will have drastic and detrimental effects on the farming areas, the social fabric of the region, the environment.

Essentially this pipeline will remove billions of litres of water from the Dry North affecting the Goulburn and Murray Rivers and many rural communities. This has been done without consultation and without mandate by an unelected Premier whose government's draconian style has alienated 100,000's of people in country Victoria at a time of extreme drought and suffering.

Victorian Government draining the Murray-Darling Basin

Coalition water spokesman Greg Hunt said on the eve of a meeting of Murray-Darling Basin ministers in Canberra today that he would pursue changes to the bill to stop construction of the controversial pipeline.

"This is a project in violation of the intent of the entire water plan," he said. "It'll take water away from stressed farmers and from stressed rivers."

The 70km pipeline from the Murray-Darling Basin's Goulburn River to Melbourne was the scene of fresh confrontations yesterday. Liberal MP Fran Bailey, whose electorate of McEwen takes in the Goulburn Valley, said police yesterday arrested local property owners who refused access to land resumed for the project.

The Brumby Government wants the pipeline built to secure Melbourne's water supplies, and argues that the water it takes from the Goulburn River will be more than offset by the savings made by upgrading infrastructure.

Ms Bailey said the Murray-Darling system was already over-extracted.

She said she would test federal Labor's commitment to protecting the basin by introducing a private member's bill to ban the pipeline.

The real action, however, will be in the upper house, where the Coalition has the numbers to amend Government legislation if supported by just one of the seven crossbench senators.

Labor, with only 32 of the 76 seats, requires the support of the five Greens senators, Family First's Steve Fielding and independent Nick Xenophon.

The Government is amending the Water Act 2007 to legislate a pact on the basin's management that it signed with the Murray-Darling states in July.

Greens senator Rachel Siewert said her party was already committed to amending the act to stop the Victorian pipeline, and would be approaching the Coalition and crossbench senators on how to achieve that end. "No further water should be allocated out of the basin," Senator Siewert said.

Senate's bombshell plan to block Melbourne water pipeline | The Australian

Perhaps the pipeline could/should be used to pump desalinated water FROM Melbourne back into the rivers?

[Michaelangelica]

Separating Out Urine Makes For Highly Efficient Waste Water Treatment

ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2008) — The Novaquatis urine source separation project at Eawag has developed a highly efficient wastewater treatment plan.
. . .
While the Eawag researchers’ approach may sound straightforward, there is no guarantee that it can be implemented in practice

Separating Out Urine Makes For Highly Efficient Waste Water Treatment

Over 97 percent of the Earth's water -- seawater and brackish groundwater -- is too salty to use for drinking water or agriculture. Interest in desalination has grown in the U.S. as some regions face water shortages and contention over existing freshwater supplies. Though desalination still generates less than 0.4 percent of the water used in the U.S., the nation's capacity to desalinate water grew by around 40 percent between 2000 and 2005, and plants now exist in every state. Most use a method called reverse osmosis, which pushes water through a membrane to separate out most of the salts.

Desalination Can Boost US Water Supplies, But Environmental Research Needed

This sounds interesting.
I am not sure I fully understand it though

“Our plants work on the principle of membrane distillation,” explains Koschikowski.
This can best be explained by the principle of a Gore-Tex jacket, in which the membrane prevents rainwater from penetrating through to the skin.
At the same time, water vapor formed inside the jacket by perspiration is passed through to the outside.
“In our plant, the salty water is heated up and guided along a micro-porous, water-repellent membrane.
Cold drinking water flows along the other side of the membrane. The steam pressure gradient resulting from the temperature difference causes part of the salt water to evaporate and pass through the membrane.
The salt is left behind, and the water vapor condenses as it cools on the other side.
It leaves us with clean, germ-free water,” says Koschikowski.

The researchers have so far built two different systems, both with their own energy supply. “Our compact system for about 120 liters of fresh water per day consists of six square meters of thermal solar collectors, a small photovoltaic module to power a pump, and the desalination module itself,” explains Koschikowski. In the dual-circuit system, on the other hand, several desalination modules are connected in parallel, enabling several cubic meters of water to be treated every day.

Fresh Water For The World's Poorest
The source looses in translation too.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Research News 1-2008-Topic 3
What's this?
Fraunhofer IST - Services

[Michaelangelica]

Thre is apolitical osmosis(?) seeping into this question
look at
Dying for A Drink - TIME

The Politics of Water in Central Asia - Photo Essays - TIME

[Michaelangelica]

Thre is apolitical osmosis(?) seeping into this question
look at
Dying for A Drink - TIME

The Politics of Water in Central Asia - Photo Essays - TIME

Even between States in the same country:-
Permaculture discussion forum • View topic - How can the Murray Darling System be saved for ever?

[Michaelangelica]

Silent Cartoon - Home Page

[Michaelangelica]

A water warning

Nov 19th 2008
From The World in 2009 print edition
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of Nestlé, argues that water shortage is an even more urgent problem than climate change

The rise in the price of basic food has had devastating effects on the most vulnerable—the poor who spend up to two-thirds of their income on food. Some of the measures taken in response, such as export restrictions, have been highly counter-productive. In 2009 the world needs to reflect on the underlying causes of the food crisis and start addressing structural factors, in particular the link to biofuels and water.

Frank Rijsberman, from the Sri Lanka-based International Water Management Institute, gave warning in 2003 that if current trends continued, the livelihoods of one-third of the world’s population could be affected by water scarcity by 2025:

A water warning | The Economist

[Racoon]

On the Space Station they recycle piss.


Space Station's Urine Recycling Unit Passes Test: Discovery News

The urine processor makes up a section of the $154 million water recycling system that was delivered to the space station by Endeavour. The machine is crucial to providing drinking water for the space station's crew, which is supposed to double to six members next year.

Samples of the processed urine, sweat and condensation will be tested on Earth before astronauts can start drinking the purified water next year.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Racoon

On the Space Station they recycle piss.


Space Station's Urine Recycling Unit Passes Test: Discovery News

But they don't trust that Russian stuff?

Samples of the processed urine, sweat and condensation will be tested on Earth before astronauts can start drinking the purified water next year.

But are you taking the piss?
Correx Archives - Taking the Piss

Water: forgotten in the food crisis
Friday, 12 December 2008
By Colin Chartres

Australia is not the only country in the world whose economy and environment are threatened by water shortages, as currently experienced in the Murray–Darling Basin.

It is very likely that current water shortages are the result of climate change and give us a window into the future, when water scarcity and resulting food insecurity will be the norm for many countries unless we act now to overcome them.

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opini...2-18577-2.html

[Michaelangelica]

3D map could save Australia's water
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
CSIRO


CSIRO is building a three-dimensional computer model of Australia’s ground surface topography at scales never seen before.

3D map could save Australia's water*(ScienceAlert)

Climate change and water from the sea
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
By Brian Sadler

Forty years ago a change in atmospheric circulation occurred, un-noticed. Rain-bearing systems of the south-west of Western Australia moved pole-wards. This change would delay the start of winter rains, reduce the incidence of wet winters, increase the incidence of low-rainfall winters and reduce rainfall intensities
. . .
.However, the critical test for widespread use of seawater is whether or not it is truly carbon-neutral and supported by renewable energy development,

Climate change and water from the sea*(ScienceAlert)
The State of Florida USA has over 130 de-sal plants including the biggest in the USA.
.
Australia, the second driest Continent (After Antarctica) has about 2-3 de-sal plants- under construction.