Biofuels are enormous consumers of water, says Jim Matheson, a general partner at Flagship Ventures, a venture capital firm in Cambridge, MA. And water is not always abundant where it's most needed. "So, increasingly you're going to see water as a scarce resource. I think it's going to drive not just economics but also a lot of geopolitical dynamics. So, we're trying to find technologies that can allow us to plug into this enormous value chain."
In the same vein, the State of Pennsylvania has just announced the approval of $72 million in low-interest loans to support water infrastructure projects.
Regardless of whether you ascribe to global warming or not, it is a reality that the water resources of a number of countries, especially in drought-ridden Africa, are running short. In fact, British counter-terrorism experts are concerned about future 'water wars' between countries left drought-ridden by climate change. One researcher, Marc Levy at Columbia University has analyzed data to show that when rainfall is significantly below normal, the risk of a low-level conflict escalating to a full-scale civil war approximately doubles in the following year. An example?
As Barcelona runs out of water, Spain has been forced to consider importing water from France by boat. It is the latest example of the growing struggle for water around the world – the "water wars".
Barcelona and the surrounding region are suffering the worst drought in decades. There are several possible solutions, including diverting a river, and desalinating water. But the city looks like it will ship water from the French port of Marseilles.
Of course, as with many other topics of this variety, there are people in opposition: "People will not fight over water," says Mark Zeitoun, from the London School of Economics' Centre for Environmental Policy and Governance in the UK. "But that's not to say water shortages will not contributing to existing tensions."
'Water wars' becoming an issue again
The threat of "water wars" has reared its ugly head again, thanks to comments made earlier this month by Ohio Lt.-Gov. Lee Fisher during an economic development summit in Toledo.
Fisher told the crowd he believed the Great Lakes region could be less than a decade away from selling water to other states, or even other countries in need.
"I think it's fair to say that we're going to see in the next decade states and other countries looking for ways to get access to our fresh water supply, and we're going to have to make some tough decisions about whether we want that to happen and, if so, how," Fisher said.
The comment sent off alarm bells in communities all around the Great Lakes, many of whom are worried about the effects taking large amounts of water from the supply will have on the quality of drinking water, and the potential damage to ecosystems in the region.
Following the backlash, Fisher was forced to clarify his remarks, saying that he misspoke.
Diverting the Brahmaputra - start of the Water Wars?
The reason for China's intransigence on Tibet is simple. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always referred to Tibet as China's Water Tower and considers it key to sustaining China's northwest in water, revitalising its deserts and the Yellow River itself, as well as being crucial to its Himalayan Strategy.
To guarantee China's water needs, Beijing's excessive and often disastrous policies seriously endanger the survival of hundreds of millions in countries downstream on trans-national rivers that rise in Tibet. One such plan is the unsustainable diversion of a river's flow into north western China. That river is the Yarlung Tsangbo, that when crossing the Indian border, becomes the Brahmaputra.
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The project
The aim is to divert 200B m3 (roughly 33 per cent) of the Brahmaputra's flow into China each year. That 33 per cent uses outdated 1990s data and flawed design philosophy used in the Three Gorges Dam and as then ignores local and international expert advice. Initial proposals include the Soviet practice of PNEs (peaceful nuclear explosions) to blast the tunnels.
At twice the capacity of Three Gorge's the 40GW pumped storage facility will be the world's largest hydroelectric facility. The dam at Shoumatan Point will back up water that will plunge 2,000m through 15km of tunnels near Dagmo and discharge through 26 of the world's biggest turbines into a tributary rejoining the riverbed and reservoir of the storage dam north of Medog. The waters flow will be cut from 200km to 21km.
Pumped storage systems will return water from the storage dam to the holding dam at specific rates. After diverting the original 33 per cent, the volume of returned water determines residual river flow from the holding dam. Authorities refuse to confirm any residual flow rate.
Sacrilege
The site is the Great Bend of the Yalung Tsangpo where it flows around Mount Namcha Barwa on its final run south into India. One of the last pristine regions of the world, it is the world's most spectacular, and deepest canyon. The Great Bend, known also as Pemakö, is home of the Goddess Dorjee Pagmo, the Protecting Deity of Tibet and revered by all Tibetans. During filling and then commissioning the wild river will be no more.
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