CarlsbadDesalinationPlant

"W at er
scar ci t y
t h r eat en s
econ om i c
an d soci al
gai n s an d i s a
p ot en t f u el
f or w ar s an d
con f l i ct s"

On December 14, 2015, l ast year, a

desal inat ion pl ant opened in Carl sbad, San
Diego. It is presumed t o be t he nat ion's
l argest ocean desal inat ion pl ant .
The cost t o buil d t he pl ant was one bil l ion
dol l ars and t he const ruct ion was init iat ed in
2012.
Each day, t he pl ant wil l t urn sal t wat er f rom
t he Pacif ic Ocean int o 50 mil l ion gal l ons of
f resh, drinkabl e wat er.
2 gal l ons of seawat er woul d be equival ent t o
1 gal l on of f resh wat er. It provides 7% of San
Diego?s wat er demand. It 's est imat ed t hat t he
wat er bil l wil l rise $5 t o cover t he cost of
running a desal inat ion pl ant (Fikes,2015).

- Ban Ki-M oon

w aterscarcit y2018.weebly.com
/references.htm l

If you woul d l ike t o l earn more

about Wat er Scarcit y or l ook at our
resources you can f ind t hem on
our websit e.

WATERSCARCITY
MIGUELANGELMOLINA| THIENTHAI|
JOSEDELAROSA| GISELLETHIRAKUL

What IsWater Scarcity?WhyIsIt AProblem?

Water scarcity is lack of fresh water to meet a certain demand in a region. This is
a problem because it can pose as a conflict for future wars, which has already
happened, and it can wipe out wildlife species.

Causes
Many factors contribute to water scarcity.
These factors are...
-

High Population Growth

Rising Demand
Pollution
Poor Water Management
Climate Change

(Moon, 2011)

NewSolutions
More desalination plants can help ease the
water scarcity in some regions. Desalination
plants are large projects which cost millions
of dollars, which can result in a higher water
bill. It is possible to desalinate 75% of
Earth?s saltwater into drinkable water but
the cost is unbearable. Overall, the cost of
desalination is too expensive which leaves
us with a less efficient solution, save water.

Current Solutions
The U.S government currently helps
farmers prevent drought: reducing amount
of water being evaporated, storing water
in ditches, regularly monitoring soil
moisture, and rotating crops to allow water
in soil to increase (Rodger, 1996).

HealthImpacts
Water is the key to all living things and is the
main source that makes our body. Water
scarcity does not affect your health directly,
but lack of water in the human body causes
diarrhea, dehydration, and eventually death
(Charity Water, 2011).

What CanI Do?

Many things can be done to help ease this
problem, you can save water by doing
even the simplest things which benefit you
and the world!
Such as:
-

Repair leaks
If you drop ice cubes, give them to a
plant
Water your plants in the morning
Rainwater Harvesting

For more tips, visit our website!

Environmental Impacts
The lack of water can dramatically change
the environment and everything in it.
Wildlife in the sea will most likely die,
lakes won?t be receiving enough water to
support organisms living in them. Drought
can cause death for many living organism.
If one species collapses, so do the other
ones and so on (NASA,2015)

ShiftingBaseline
On June, 2000, California had no issues
relating to drought. That is the baseline.
Now in 2016, according to DroughtMonitor
, California is in an exceptional drought,
which means its in a unusual drought.
Many people believe that California has
always been in a drought and that, that is
the norm. A shifting baseline is a change
that people don't notice. Many believe that
California has forever been in a drought .
When in 1950's this did not exist and it has
become normal for us to hear the word
'water shortages'.