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https://water.org/our-impact/ethiopia/

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SEATTLE - It has been recognized that poor economic management and inadequate infrastructure to harness one of the most abundant resources on the earth has plunged the world into a situation of perpetual water scarcity. As it stands, approximately 750 million people around the world do not have access to clean water.

This situation prompted world leaders to develop the sixth Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) which seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

At the 2016 World Water day, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for bold action to address water inequality. Highlighted are some of the bold, innovative clean water solutions that organizations are developing in order to ensure the sixth SDG is met.

Waste to Water Solutions
Systems which recycle human waste and sewage to water are already operational. The Treehugger blog reports of one such system installed on the island of Pulau Seringat in Singapore. The system generates approximately 2500 gallons of water using a three-step process to convert sewage to water.

Seattle Engineering firm, Janicki, developed an Omniprocesser that converts human waste directly to clean water. The safety of the water was confirmed by billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates, who drank it and affirmed that he would happily drink it every day.

Desalination
Approximately 99 percent of the water on earth is not drinkable. Desalination is the solution to purifying sea water or salt water for human consumption.

Uptake of the technology has largely been limited by the high costs of the desalination process. However, arid countries are finding that it is a necessary solution.

According to the International Desalination Association, the largest desalination plant in the world in Saudi Arabia produces 273 million gallons of drinking water per day while in Israel, a quarter of the nation's water supply is generated from desalination.

Personal Filter Straws
These are handy small-scale technologies that allow individuals to drink water from just about any source with the exception of salt water.

The technology works by passing water through an extremely fine medium which traps dirt and bacteria within its pores producing clean and drinkable water.

The personal filter straws remove up to 99 percent of bacteria and contaminants in water.

Harvesting Fog
This is one water harvesting technique that is not new to mankind. In the Andes for example, the Inca Empire generated water from harvesting fog from the cloud forests in the Andes by building fog fences above the rain line. The Inca's then condensed the fog into usable water.

The practice is still alive and well in Chile and has received a technology boost from the Mechanical Engineering Department of MIT. There are now modern fog fences which collect water for agricultural and drinking water use.

Harvesting water from thin air
Eole is a company that is literally making water out of thin air. Modern Technology now allows for atmospheric water to be harvested from very dry regions around the globe. In the United Arab Emirates for example, Eole has installed atmospheric water generating turbines that harvest up to 16 gallons of fresh water from the atmosphere per hour.

The company has also developed home and office atmospheric water generators that are capable of providing seven gallons of clean water every day.

Bicycle Water Purifiers
When you combine a bicycle and a water purifier you obtain a simple technology through which people in remote villages can access clean water. This is what Nippon Basic, a Japanese organization had in mind when they developed the bicycle water purifiers.

Water can be harnessed directly from the source and cleaned as a cyclist peddles. The water passes through a system of micro-filtration membranes before it is stored in a container.

Solar Stills
Solar stills have the dual capacity to desalinate and decontaminate water.

The simple solution involves harnessing the power of the sun to distill water in order to generate portable, clean water. It was originally developed for military and survivalist usage where holes were dug into the ground and covered with a sheet of plastic.

Aquamante is a company that develops refined small-scale solar stills that come in portable packages and are capable of distilling water from a variety of sources. In conditions of adequate sunlight, the Aquamante solar stills can produce two liters of clean water a day.

Rainwater Harvesting
Accumulating rainwater from surfaces on which it falls and subsequently storing it is a practice that has been carried out by humans for centuries.

It is a useful way of reducing reliance on municipal water supply systems and providing water in remote rural areas that may not be connected to conventional water supply.

Smart Irrigation Controllers
This is a technology that improves water use efficiencies of irrigation systems, by enabling owners to create an efficient water schedule to keep plants healthy and remotely control their systems using smart devices.

It is particularly useful in water stressed areas where it enables the conservation of the limited water resources.

Plumbers Without Borders
Following the Haitian earthquakes in 2010 local Seattle plumbers and members of the Northwest Washington and Cascade Chapters of IAPMO announced the formation of Plumbers Without Borders.

The volunteer-driven initiative provides organizations committed to increasing safe water and sanitation with plumbers and mechanical trade persons to improve their operations.

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10 Clean Water Solutions For Developing Countries - BORGEN

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SEATTLE - It has been recognized that poor economic management and inadequate infrastructure to harness one of the most abundant resources on the earth has plunged the world into a situation of perpetual water scarcity. As it stands, approximately 750 million people around the world do not have access to clean water.

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I've done this

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Haze hangs over Taihu on an early summer day. The northern edge of China's third largest freshwater lake by now should be choked with green slime. Instead, recent downpours have disrupted algal growth. Like a cancer patient in remission, Taihu is enjoying a brief respite from its illness, a flashback to a time before industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and sewage knocked its ecology out of balance.

This blush of health won't last. Once temperatures climb here in eastern China's muggy Jiangsu Province, a nasty blue-green alga will bloom. The cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa, produces toxins that can damage the liver, intestines, and nervous system. In May 2007, a massive Microcystis bloom overwhelmed a waterworks that supplies Wuxi city on Taihu's northern shore, leaving more than 2 million people without drinking water for a week.

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The notorious episode transformed Taihu into a poster child for the environmental consequences of China's rapid economic growth.Â "There are more and more conflicts in China over environmental problems," says Zhu Guangwei, a biochemist at Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS), which operates a research station at Taihu. Knowing that water shortages could potentially spark violent protests, government officials vowed to clean up Taihu's mess.

Four years later, a campaign to restore Taihu is showing results. To cut down on pollution and the massive influx of nitrogen and phosphorous-to algae, the equivalent of raw meat to piranhas-authorities forced hundreds of small chemical and manufacturing plants near Taihu to close or relocate to northern Jiangsu. They also instituted strict monitoring of effluents from those factories permitted to stay. The province has erected sewage treatment facilities on Taihu's tributaries and is dredging tributary mouths to remove nutrient-rich sediments. As a result, nutrient concentrations in the lake's water column are beginning to taper off. "Water quality is no longer deteriorating," says NIGLAS ecologist Qin Boqiang.

Restoring Taihu to a truly healthy state, however, will be a steeper challenge. Money is not an issue:

Success at Taihu could have a global payoff, as cyanobacterial blooms are increasing throughout the world.

The central government, through its Ministry of Environmental Protection, plans to allot $155 million over the next 5 years to clean up Taihu. The ministry is now drafting a work plan. But the challenge, says Qin, will be to pinpoint sources of nitrogen and phosphorous to better stem their flow into the lake.

Success at Taihu could have a global payoff. Cyanobacterial blooms are increasing worldwide, notes Hans Paerl, a marine biologist at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who conducts research at Taihu. From Lake Erie and Lake Okeechobee in the United States to Lake Victoria in Africa and Japan's largest lakes, Biwa and Kasimagaura, algal blooms are a serious threat to drinking water supplies and the ecological and economic sustainability of large freshwater ecosystems, Paerl says. "Taihu serves as a looking glass for these other lakes," he says.In the United States alone, harmful cyanobacterial blooms inflict about $2 billion a year in losses from water unfit for recreation, drinking, or agriculture, according to Paerl.

Taihu today is a far cry from the idyllic nature spot of the 1980s hit song "Taihu Beauty," which extolled its "white sails above the water, green reeds along the water, fish and shrimp below the water." Algal blooms rarely struck back then. But the shallow lake-its deepest spot is only 3 meters-is prone to eutrophication, or nutrient buildup. Starting in the 1980s, Taihu's ecosystem began to shift from one dominated by diatoms, a benign kind of phytoplankton, to one in which cyanobacteria reign supreme. By the late 1990s Microcystis blooms were a regular summer phenomenon.

Alarmed for good reason, local authorities a decade ago set out to rebalance Taihu's ecosystem. As diatoms faded, macrophytes such as lotuses and water chestnuts had also begun to lose ground.

'Decaying algae has a very strong smell, like decaying fish,' says one Chinese ecologist.

Provincial water managers cultivated and reintroduced marcophytes. "They thought it would clean the lake," says Qin, because floating macrophytes impede wind-driven algae from clumping together. In research to support the reintroduction, NIGLAS scientists curtained off small sections of lake and seeded them with macrophytes; the plants flourished. Outside the experimental boundaries, however, the attempt at a natural antidote failed. "When the water is polluted, macrophytes don't grow well," says Qin. "We understood that we have to clean the lake first."

Before that lesson could sink in, the 2007 drinking water emergency thrust Taihu into the national spotlight. At the time, Wuxi was drawing 80 percent of its drinking water from the lake. That May the algal mats were so thick, and the bloom so pervasive, that masses sunk to the bottom and rotted. "Decaying algae has a very strong smell, like dead fish," says Qin. Wuxi residents complained that their tap water stank. Wuxi's waterworks could not cope with the sheer amount of putrid algae sucked into the intake. An attempt to flush the lake with water diverted from the Yangtze River backfired; it forced even more algae into the intake, says Qin.

The crisis was a wakeup call. One immediate fix was to extend Wuxi's water intake pipe from just offshore, where prevailing winds tend to sweep the pea-green algal mats, to the center of the lake. To wean itself off its Taihu dependency, Wuxi now pumps in half of its drinking water from the Yangtze. And the Jiangsu government launched measures, such as moving chemical plants, to reduce nutrient loading.

Local authorities are eager to do more -but major gains may only come from a clearer picture of the sources of nutrients washing into Taihu.

Scientists say that they need more basic data in order to restore the lake.

"We need to have basic data in order to restore the lake," says Qin. In Taihu tributaries and the more than 100 canals that feed into the lake, "water quality is quite bad," according to Zhu. Nitrogen spikes in the spring, after tea farmers cover plots in manure. Chemical fertilizers too are to blame. Twenty years ago, fertilizer was expensive and China possessed little equipment to apply it, says Zhu. Now, he says, "farmers in Jiangsu are rich. They can afford to use large amounts of chemical fertilizers."

Agriculture is not the only source of nitrogen. NIGLAS's Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research recently found that about a quarter of Taihu's nitrogen inputs come from the atmosphere, most likely from vehicle emissions, Qin says.

A few dozen meters offshore, an instrument-filled hut sits just above Taihu's turbid waters. With support from the grassroots Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network, NIGLAS last year built this $150,000 lab-on-a-lake to continuously measure nutrient concentrations, levels of carbon dioxide and methane wafting from the lake, and other parameters. "Before, we had to stand on a platform in the lake and manually take measurements-not safe in a thunderstorm," says Qin. Now data streams to shore via a wireless network.

As Taihu's pollution picture becomes more refined, local authorities are mulling whether to create a buffer zone along the shore several hundred meters in width, where farm fields and villages would be converted into wetlands and parks. In densely populated and wealthy Jiangsu, a relocation program would cost a fortune, Qin says. But it would give the embattled lake some breathing space. "Any step in this direction will be helpful," says Paerl, "even if it only treats a fraction of the nutrient inputs."

Other elements of the cleanup plan include further improving sanitation in the countryside and offering tax incentives to try to shift the region's industrial profile from one dominated by chemical companies to one centered on renewable energy and Internet technologies. "Treating urban wastewater and reducing inputs from the major rivers draining into Taihu," says Paerl, "will be key to solving the lake's excess nutrient input problems."

A winning strategy may require both quick fixes like dredging and dogged long-term efforts to curtail nutrient loading, says Steven Wilhelm, a microbiologist with University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who was at Taihu last month for fieldwork. "It's not going to be easy," he says.

Zhu for one is optimistic. In the next 5 to 10 years, he says, "we'll see a big improvement." He anticipates that both the area of Microcystis blooms and their duration will steadily shrink. But to eliminate the blooms-and restore Taihu's natural order-will take decades more.

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On Lake Taihu, China Moves To Battle Massive Algae Blooms

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For two decades, the once-scenic Lake Taihu in eastern China has been choked with devastating algae blooms that have threatened drinking water for millions. Now, in a move that could provide lessons for other huge lakes worldwide, China is taking steps to restore Taihu's ecological balance.

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Lake Karachay, Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia

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Lake Karachay, Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia

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Lake Karachay, Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia

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A picturesque lake has been the inspiration of plenty of family vacations and weekend getaways. Just imagine it: nature, serenity, and peace. Oh, and radiation. Lots and lots of radiation. Enough radiation to kill you within a few hours of exposure. That's if you were ill-informed enough to plan a trip to Lake Karachay, anyway. This Russian lake is considered the most polluted place on the planet. And, no, it is definitely not a place you should have on your travel wish list.

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The Radioactive Lake Karachay Is The World's Most Polluted Place

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A picturesque lake has been the inspiration of plenty of family vacations and weekend getaways. Just imagine it: nature, serenity, and peace. Oh, and radiation. Lots and lots of radiation. Enough radiation to kill you within a few hours of exposure. That's if you were ill-informed enough to plan a trip to Lake Karachay, anyway.

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Mexico City is facing a water crisis, with one in five citizens lacking access to reliable tap water. Many people only receive water once a week from a truck they must pay to deliver the water to the designated area and even then they have to wait in line for hours, sometimes overnight, out of fear the truck will run out of the water.

The poorest areas are not serviced by these expensive trucks and individuals must walk long distances to get water for their families. Mexico City's water crisis is worsening as temperatures increase, droughts get longer and more frequent, aquifer water levels continue to drop and a lack of funds prevents solutions from being implemented.

However, while many people in the city lack clean water, the city also has a problem with floodings. This represents the paradox of water crisis in Mexico.

Water Sources in the City

A significant portion of the city's water comes from underground aquifers. Water-impervious surfaces such as concrete and asphalt prevent water from filtering through the ground to the depleted aquifers. Mexico City continues to draw water from this finite resource while increased development inhibits rainwater from replenishing the water level, raising concerns about the future availability of water.

Because local water sources are insufficient to supply Mexico City's large population of 21 million, about 40 percent of water is brought into the city from remote locations. There are over 8,000 miles of pipes designed to transport this water. Forty percent of the water that needs to be supplied is lost as a result of leaking pipes or theft. Even with these supplementary water sources, Mexico City struggles to consistently supply all its citizens with tap water. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure designed at capturing rainwater and recycling waste water.

The Paradox of Water Crisis in Mexico

The paradox of Mexico City's water crisis is that the same population facing a water shortage is also plagued with periodic flooding. Situated 1.5 miles above the sea level, the city was originally settled by the Aztecs in the 14th century on an island in the middle of a system of lakes. As the population grew, some of these lakes were filled, and eventually, the Aztecs were conquered by the Spanish and any remaining lakes were drained.

In addition, as the aquifers are depleted to supply the city with water, the ground compresses and the city sinks up to nine inches a year in some regions. This combination makes Mexico City prone to flooding during summer storms.

Solutions to the Problem

In order to address this problem, multiple projects have been proposed. Parks have been designed in key areas to allow rainwater to seep into the ground and replenish the aquifer while minimizing flood risk. Other efforts focus on reducing the impact of development and improving wastewater management to increase local water availability. For example, some roadways built on top of what used to be river beds have been altered to incorporate linear parks aimed at treating runoff.

Sustainable projects like these are increasingly common as the future of water availability becomes a greater concern. However, to truly address Mexico City's water crisis the government will have to significantly invest in new infrastructure aimed at collecting rainwater and recycling waste water. Relying on a depleted aquifer and water imported from remote sources is not a long-term solution and locals will continue to suffer the paradox of water crisis in Mexico, the situation in which they lack access to reliable water sources while also being at risk of debilitating floods.

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The Paradox of Water Crisis in Mexico | The Borgen Project

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This text speaks about Mexico City. This city is facing a water crisis, with one in five citizens lacking access to reliable tap water. Many people only receive water once a week from a truck they must pay to deliver to their area, and even then they have to wait in line for hours, sometimes overnight, out of fear the truck will run out of water.

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Nearly half the population of Madagascar lives in severe poverty.

The number of people in urban areas is growing at around twice the rate of the rest of the world, compounding challenges already caused by a lack of sufficient water and sanitation services.

Two thirds of people in the capital Antananarivo live in informal settlements, none of the city's waste is treated effectively and only a small area has sewers. This has a huge impact on the health, safety and dignity of those living in low-income communities.

Nationally, at least a quarter of all deaths of children under five in urban areas are caused by water-related diseases.
What are we doing to help?
We have formed long-term partnerships with the national water utility, the national government and local communities to create innovative, affordable and financially viable water and sanitation services.

Partnering for healthy cities - increasing water access in Madagascar

Where we work in Madagascar

Key activities in Madagascar

Water and Development Alliance partnership

WSUP is implementing a major urban water and sanitation project under the Water & Development Alliance, a partnership between USAID and The Coca Cola Foundation.

The project will benefit more than 450,000 people in the cities of Antananarivo, Mahajanga, and Toliara, with a particularfocus on building the capacity of national institutions and local communities to effectively deliver and manage water and sanitation services.
Video: June 2019 - The Leak Squad: preserving Antananarivo's most precious resource Blog: April 2018 - Improving access to water and sanitation services for 450,000 Malagasy people

Improving access to water

We're working with the national water utility JIRAMA to support and build its capacity in several ways, and our partnership enables residents in informal settlements to have access to safe, reliable and affordable water. We support JIRAMA by investing in schemes which provide additional water supply, help it manage its pipe network better, and provide targeted support to its low-income community unit.

We help local communities establish water user groups, liaise with JIRAMA, and agree delegated management contracts with the Commune office so that they can benefit from improved water supply.
Blog: Oct 2017 - Partnering for healthier cities - increasing water access in Madagascar

Strengthening sanitation and hygiene practices in institutions

We've helped encourage stronger hygiene and sanitation practices at public institutions, including schools, by helping develop a certification process which has inspired them to improve their systems. We're also working with head teachers and education leaders so their institutions can achieve the necessary criteria.
Blog: May 2018 - Empowering adolescent girls through user-centred design

Improving unsewered sanitation services

We are improving unsewered sanitation services by introducing new sanitation products to the market, strengthening the supply chain, emptying services and ensuring that the waste is safely disposed of, as well as building decentralized treatment sites which produce biogas.

Thanks to WSUP, JIRAMA has been able to stabilise operations and increase water supply to low-income communities in two major cities in Madagascar: Antananarivo and Mahajanga.

To find out how you can support our work in Madagascar, please contact us at partnerships@wsup.com or call us on +44 (0)20 7822 1867.

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The number of people in urban areas is growing at around twice the rate of the rest of the world, compounding challenges already caused by a lack of sufficient water and sanitation services. Two thirds of people in the capital Antananarivo live in informal settlements, none of the city's waste is treated effectively and only a small area has sewers.

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In November 2018 , the first turbine of the Rogun hydropower plant went into operation. On September 9, 2019 , the second turbine will be commissioned in honor of Tajikistan's Independence Day.

Tashkent has kept quiet - a break from the country's past strident opposition to the dam project. Relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan significantly improved after the death of Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's first president, in 2016. In March 2018, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the new Uzbek leader, made a historic visit to Dushanbe, meeting his counterpart President Emomali Rakhmon. After signing 27 agreements between two countries, Mirziyoyev announced: "We (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) have no remaining unresolved issues."

How long can this bonhomie truly last? The diplomacy surrounding water between the two countries has hit a positive streak, but the core issue nonetheless remains: it is not clear how Uzbekistan will cope with less water flowing from Tajikistan after the construction of the Rogun dam is completed.

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Water Mismanagement in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a double landlocked and semi-arid country. The nation has less than 10 percent arable lands concentrated in river valleys and oases while the rest is covered by deserts and mountains. While Uzbekistan is among the top countries in water withdrawal per capita, the country has few internal freshwater resources. Uzbekistan was ranked at out of 180 listed nations, having 531.25 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater resources per capita. Given its geography, Uzbekistan is dependent on neighboring countries for a huge share of the water it consumes. Meanwhile, in the face of global climate change, the Uzbek leadership has not been successful in implementing more sustainable management of the water resources it does have.

Uzbekistan's economy continues to rely heavily on cotton, which is a very water intensive crop. Uzbekistan's cotton fields are largely irrigated by inefficient and outdated canal networks constructed in the Soviet period. According to the UNDP in Uzbekistan , out of 3.7 million hectares of irrigated land served by the Uzbek Association of Water Consumers (AWC), 1.28 million hectares were used for cotton in 2016. Uzbekistan's old irrigation system is reportedly the cause of 30-60 percent losses in available water supplies.

The Uzbek government is also facing another challenge which puts pressure on its water resources: a growing population. Uzbekistan's fertility rate is 2.5; the population grows by almost a half million people every year. Almost half of Uzbekistan's population lives in cities. The other half, in rural areas, has limited access to clean water for basic personal hygiene and sanitation.

Mirziyoyev has spoken several times about improving the living conditions in rural areas, and the necessity to build more apartment complexes in cities. As a result, there is a construction boom in all of Uzbekistan's major cities and some rural areas as well. The urbanization rate will likely pick up in the coming years as a result. Utility services will have to cope with higher demand for water supplies in the future. At present, utility services for energy and water are provided by public monopoly agencies, which are notoriously inefficient in providing water supplies and collecting bills.
A Middle Eastern Model of Sustainable Water Usage
Uzbekistan can learn a lot from Israel's experience in water management. Israel has been successful in developing sustainable water management given harsh conditions and limited resources. In global rank, is placed at 172th position out of 180 listed nations, having 91.29 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater resources per capita in 2014. Uzbekistan, as noted above, ranks at 152nd in that same measure and Tashkent arguably has much better relations with its neighbors than Israel does. A vast area of Israel has a drier climate and less precipitation during winter than Uzbekistan.

But Israel, unlike Uzbekistan, has successfully modernized its irrigation techniques to mitigate its water scarcity issues. Seth Siegel, author of the best-selling book Let There Be Water , noted that Netafim, an Israeli company which manufactures drop irrigation technology, says the technique "saves 25%-75% pumped water compared to flood, on average."

Siegel continued: "So, the farmer uses less water, fertilizer and sometimes pesticides, and is happy. suffer less chemical pollution. The crops yield more (about 15%, say Netafim and some experts) and food prices drop, so the consumer is happy."

By applying these technologies, Uzbekistan could ease the burden on water resources drawn from of the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Tashkent could also tackle the problem of salinization of soil, which is threatening Uzbek agriculture.

Israel's technological and agricultural progress was possible due to business opportunities ensured by the government. The private sector is very important for a number of reasons, primarily innovation and motivation to maximize results while minimizing costs. New ideas often come from the private sector. Furthermore, the motivation of businesses to maximize profits also means they try to minimize expenses and waste.

The Uzbek government has a role to play in allowing the space needed for private sector innovation and providing adequate guarantees for investors, thereby drawing them into sustainable development initiatives in the country. Sustainable development in the water sector can go hand-in-hand with job creation and attention to the environment, two other key priority areas. People in rural areas, like in the Aral region, need jobs and the region itself needs environmental rehabilitation. The government needs to understand this dynamic and link protecting the environment with the creation of 21st century jobs.
Conclusion
Mirziyoyev realizes that more needs to be done to address the country's water challenges before they become a permanent crisis. Mirziyoyev's positive official agenda brings hope for greater regional cooperation. Border demarcation and demining, the opening of more checkpoints to increase trade and people flows, increasing the number and routes of transport logistics, liberalization of the visa regime, and creation of new Silk Way visa regime between the Central Asian countries all underscore Uzbekistan's push for regional cooperation.

In 20th century Europe, coal and steel mines were one of the main sources of conflicts between Germany and France. Fortunately, unlike in Europe, there has not been any armed conflict in the Central Asian region over water, although Uzbekistan's first president made military threats in the past. At present, it may seem that Tashkent and Dushanbe have "no remaining unresolved issues," but the fundamental problem of water mismanagement in Uzbekistan remains. Given climate change, water will increasingly become a scarce resource in the region in the not so-distant future. And the odds of conflict in Central Asia, while appearing low in light of the recent explosion of regional cooperation efforts, are far from zero.

Tashkent can lead the Central Asian republics in deepening cooperation on the management of water resources on a more sustainable and lasting basis. Perhaps in the future, a Central Asian supranational organization managing water, based on the experience of the European Community of Coal and Steel, the precursor organization of today's European Union, will become a forum to mitigate water disputes in the region. In the meantime, Uzbekistan has to change its outdated water management systems by implementing new reforms and adopting modern technologies.
Aziz Egamov is a graduate student at Georgetown University. He specializes in the energy and geopolitics of Eurasia.

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In November 2018 , the first turbine of the Rogun hydropower plant went into operation. On September 9, 2019 , the second turbine will be commissioned in honor of Tajikistan's Independence Day. Tashkent has kept quiet - a break from the country's past strident opposition to the dam project.

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One of Chennai's biggest reservoirs, Chembarambakkam Lake, is now a cracked, windswept mud flat. There are swarms of insects as big as hummingbirds, stray goats nibbling at dust-coated shrubs and what look like a few water buffalo - but no water. A massive pipe that's supposed to carry water into the city is empty.

There are similarly parched scenes at Chennai's three other main reservoirs. This city of nearly 10 million - India's sixth largest - has almost run out of water. Municipal taps work only a few hours a week. Trains are arriving every few days with emergency water supplies. Residents who can afford it buy truckloads of water from private tankers that carry it from bore wells - deep, narrow wells typically equipped with a pump - drilled farther and farther out into the countryside, way beyond the city limits.

But Chennai got 755 millimeters (about 30 inches) of rain last year. That's more than London typically gets. So how did this happen?
No flow zones
At his cramped office near Chennai's seafront, Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmental activist, unfurls a map of Chennai's reservoirs and its car factories. The city is India's Detroit - an auto industry hub. He traces his finger around the circumference of a reservoir, and then farther out, to all the wetlands surrounding it.

"A reservoir is not just a pot. It has a catchment, and how you use or abuse the catchment also determines how healthy your reservoir is going to be," Jayaraman explains. The catchment is the surrounding area where rainfall can flow into the reservoir.

That's the problem at Chembarambakkam Lake, he says.

"Around it, we've had intense development. So just [uphill from the reservoir] sits a very large special economic zone for automotive components and automobiles," he says.

That special zone houses a Hyundai automotive plant at Irungattukottai, an area that used to be part of the lake's catchment area. The factory uses rain and groundwater - for cooling machinery, washing vehicles and mixing with paint - that would otherwise flow into the reservoir.
Urban sprawl
On the other side of Chembarambakkam Lake is what used to be a farming area. It's called Senneer Kuppam, which means "place with pure water" in the local Tamil language.

This is where, for generations, Vincent Prasad's family grew eggplants and sunflowers. They used to irrigate them with ample water from a shallow well, dug by hand. As recently as 10 to 15 years ago, Prasad says he had to dig just 10 feet down to reach water. Now his neighbors have had to drill 80 to 100 feet down to strike water, he says. But renting a drilling rig is too expensive for him.

His father ended up abandoning agriculture and working in a factory. Prasad, now 39, has done the same. And as Chennai expands beyond its city limits, a superhighway has just been built through their once-sleepy village.

Farmers are selling their land for development - or, during the current water crisis, becoming water merchants.

"All my neighbors are drilling deep bore wells. It's an investment!" Prasad says. "You make more money selling your water than using it to irrigate crops."
More and more bore wells
This summer, Prasad joined a neighborhood group, comprised mostly of tenants who are petitioning the Indian government to stop landowners from drilling bore wells and protect the community's access to water. Those who can afford it drill bore wells that drain the aquifer, a porous area underground where water naturally accumulates. Those who cannot afford to drill, or don't own land, have had the taps in their homes run dry.

"They are selling our water to private companies and hotels. So we don't have any water at all. I can't take a bath," says Virmala, 32, a lawyer who goes by one name. She skips showers so she can bathe her 2-month-old daughter.

She says the water shortage has turned neighbors against one another. As water becomes scarce, protests have erupted.

"We are all angry, but the government doesn't support us. It supports the rich people who buy this water," says Prasad. "Because it's our water from here that's keeping the city of Chennai alive."

Meanwhile, what was once lush farmland has now become a dusty jam of giant tanker trucks. Locals took NPR correspondents on a driving tour of 29 new bore wells in the village of Senneer Kuppam, with hundreds of water tankers lined up alongside them. It takes just 15 minutes for a tanker to fill up and get back on the highway.

The "place of pure water" is draining fast.
Mother Nature or mismanagement?
Chennai's water shortage, and the unrest it has unleashed, were avoidable, says Srinivasan Janakarajan, president of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies. He says Chennai's water shortage is not caused primarily by climate change, though that could indeed make matters worse.

"When somebody says, 'Sorry, you don't get rainfall. It's nature's fury,' I just cannot take it!" says an exasperated Janakarajan.

The problem is not Mother Nature, he says. It's unchecked urban growth, lack of reservoir maintenance, and overextraction of groundwater by public authorities and private landowners through bore wells.

Other environment experts say Chennai is a perfect example of how those things, exacerbated by climate change, can morph into a climate emergency. This is the type of water crisis that's becoming more frequent in the world's megacities.

"If you look at cities like Phoenix or Chennai or Cape Town, they're where land use and climate change will collide. So climate change and its effects will only worsen what has already been made worse by what we call development - the pattern of urbanization," says Jayaraman, the local activist.

Chennai gets most of its rain during the northeast monsoon season from October to January, though it also gets some showers in the southwest monsoon from June to September. In 2015, the city suffered deadly floods. But last year's monsoon was unexpectedly weak. Precipitation in Chennai has always been erratic. Overall, the city gets plenty of rain, but it has to conserve it better to last through the dry spells, Janakarajan says.

"Chennai is endowed with fantastic reservoirs, but they're encroached upon [by urbanization], clogged and silted up. The catchment areas are disappearing. There's no periodic maintenance," he says. "I'm not saying climate change is a fiction. It's science; it's happening. But for all our mismanagement, all our inefficiency, please don't hide behind climate change."

Janakarajan and many others accuse city and state officials of prioritizing growth and industry over residents' water supply. NPR contacted Chennai's water board, its chief engineer and the office of the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, whose capital is Chennai. Officials declined or did not respond to repeated requests over a two-week period for an interview.

The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (his position is similar to a U.S. state governor), has accused the media of "creating an illusion" of water scarcity based on "some stray incidents" but says the situation is under control. The state's high court has nevertheless ordered his administration to submit a report explaining steps it has taken to mitigate the shortage.
Harvesting rainwater
In 2003, the state government did take action. Lawmakers passed the Tamil Nadu Groundwater Development and Management Act. It sought to regulate the numbers and locations of private bore wells by requiring landowners to apply for permits before drilling. It also mandated rainwater harvesting at all buildings. But the law was never really enforced and was repealed by an ordinance in 2013. The government has promised new legislation to replace it, but six years on, nothing has been passed.

In advance of that 2003 law, Tamil Nadu also commissioned Chennai's Rain Centre, a nonprofit organization inaugurated by the then-chief minister, to teach people how to harvest rain.

"Catch rain. It's free! That's our slogan," says Sekhar Raghavan, its affable 72-year-old founder and director.

The exterior of Raghavan's office building is outfitted with drainage pipes. They run from the building's roof, down into an underground cistern to store rainwater. He gives tours and rainwater demonstrations and was hosting a delegation of Australian diplomats and Canadian students on the day NPR visited.

But 16 years ago, when the state government first required residents to "catch rain," Raghavan says it was a tough sell. Not many people were willing to invest in drain pipes and tanks.

"Nobody bothered about this! Now they have realized, there's no water to buy. So I get 20 to 25 calls every day," he says.

People are desperate for advice, he says, on how to avoid buying water from expensive private tanker firms and how to collect it for free.

"This is a wake-up call for all of us," Raghavan says. "Future droughts, future floods - they're only going to get more severe, because the city is developing, and getting more and more built up."

"We have to change our habits right now," he says.
NPR producer Sushmita Pathak contributed to this report.

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The Water Crisis In Chennai, India: Who's To Blame And How Do You Fix It?

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One of Chennai's biggest reservoirs, Chembarambakkam Lake, is now a cracked, windswept mud flat. There are swarms of insects as big as hummingbirds, stray goats nibbling at dust-coated shrubs and what look like a few water buffalo - but no water. A massive pipe that's supposed to carry water into the city is empty.

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Amazon Rainforest, Codajás - State of Amazonas, Brazil

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Amazon Rainforest, Codajás - State of Amazonas, Brazil

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Amazon Rainforest, Codajás - State of Amazonas, Brazil

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The Sarno is the most polluted river in Italy. A toilet. The situation is aggravated by large-scale dumping of untreated agricultural and industrial waste into the river. Additionally, the area is also tormented by frequent flooding and mudslides; in the last 20 years, the banks have ruptured two or three times a year, causing spill-over of polluted waters into the adjacent countryside with all the risk to public health that that implies. The manmade drainage canals and sewers along the length of the river, meant to handle run-off from rainwater by channeling it into the river, are also frequently clogged with debris and even cemented over in some places, thus increasing the flood risk even more.
The Sarno river is in the Campania region of Italy (of which Naples is the capital city). It rises from the slopes of Mt. Sarno near the town that also bears that name. On its way to empty into the gulf of Naples near the Rovigliano Rock, between Castellammare di Stabia and Torre Annunziata, the river passes through the Campanian provinces of Salerno, Avellino and Naples. The Sarno is 24 km long, and the Sarno basin (that is, the area drained by the river and its tributaries) covers 500 sq. km, an area confined by the Picenti mountain range, the Salerno range, the Lattari range, and the Somma-Vesuvius volcano. That area is densely populated, containing 750,000 inhabitants.

Pollution levels "evolve" along the length of the Sarno. At the source, near Mt. Sarno itself, the river is still in a rather natural state (though "pristine" in an area of 750,000 people is perhaps stretching the description a bit). Flowers grow on the banks and fish swim in the waters. As it is channeled through the town of Sarno, itself, at the foot of the Picenti range, it is still a pleasant little stream (photo, right). A few kilometers farther along, however, at the confluence with the Cavajola river (flowing from its source near Cava dei Tirreni) and the Solofana river (from the mountains in the province of Avellino), the pollution picks up and is visible. There are dumps along the banks. By the time you get to Scafati, there is chemical foam in the water.

So, is there any good news? Maybe. The plan is to clean up the entire the length of the river plus the tributaries for a grand total of 170 km of waterway. The result would be a Sarno Park and would fit into the entire environmental campaign to protect the area, which, for example, now also includes the Vesuvius National Park right next door. Dredging has already begun to clear away an estimated 1,200,000 cubic meters of refuse from the water. (Imagine a cube one football field on a side. Now, fill it with refuse. Now, empty it.) Part of the plan involves incentives for the 500 small factories along the Sarno to stop dumping. ("Please stop dumping" signs are probably not going to do the trick.) The happy-happy politicos predict a two-year project, after which time we will be able to frolic in the pure waters of the sea near the mouth of the river. They must be kidding, but any start is welcome.add: August 2011 updates from 2014: to urban portal
new marina opened near the mouth the Sarno; also see this related Green Schooner item, and this one.
Well, seven years have passed and I have not yet frolicked in the pure waters of the sea near the mouth of the Sarno. I guess these things take time. It wouldn't be the first time they have tried to do something about the river. The image on the right is from a much less crowded and polluted time in Neapolitan history. The painting is by Giovanni Serritelli (1810-1860) and is in the San Martino National Museum in Naples. It is entitled "Straightening the Course of the Sarno at Scafati." It shows the festivities at the opening of the new, straightened river on September 19, 1858 (propitious, indeed; that is the feast day of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples). The scene is the culmination of years of work to "fix" the river. The work was primarily aimed at shortening the length of the river; they cut it in half by eliminating the many small turns and "oxbows." This had a threefold effect: (1) it got rid of the stagnant pools of still water and swamps along the river that were breeding grounds for insects; (2) the Bourbons were planning to move their main munitions factory to that area and a "tighter" river would increase the hydraulic energy available to mills in the factory; (3) it provided a straighter and faster route for such munitions to reach the open sea and the fleet.

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The Sarno is the most polluted river in Italy. A toilet. The situation is aggravated by large-scale dumping of untreated agricultural and industrial waste into the river. Additionally, the area is also tormented by frequent flooding and mudslides; in the last 20 years, the banks have ruptured two or three times a year, causing spill-over of polluted waters into the adjacent countryside with all the risk to public health that that implies.

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I've done this

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The Yangtze River spans 6,300km from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the West of China all the way to Shanghai on the eastern coast. As the longest river in China, it flows through very varied landscapes, both in terms of nature and economy.ghlighted in the CWR & MEP-FECO's joint brief,

The development of the nine provinces and two municipalities that form the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), is of national strategic importance as hi "Water-nomics of the Yangtze River Economic Belt: Strategies & recommendations for green development along the river".

The joint brief shows the YREB contributes to around 42% of China's GDP and is important for both the nation's food & energy security.

The brief also notes that the region produces 81% of the country's chemical fibres, 59% of cloth, 58% of chemical pesticides, 51% of fertilizers and 48% of cement.

To access the full brief, please cl

The YREB is strategically important to China; but is home to various polluting industries...

Such dominance across industries has come at significant environmental costs.

Pollution from agriculture, chemical production and other dirty industrial processes (such as textile dyeing & finishing) is threatening the water quality and the river's ecosystem.

In March 2016, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Chen Jining, addressed three key challenges for the Yangtze River in terms of environment and ecological protection:

1. Lack of holistic protection of the whole river basin and worsening ecosystem degradation;

2. Significant amount of pollution discharge putting great pressure on drinking water safety; and

3. Conflicts between ecological protection and development are prominent in some areas, and eutrophication persists in key lakes.

Yangtze River: overall improvement but severe pollution in tributaries

As shown in the newly released 2015 State of Environment Review, water quality of Yangtze can be summarised as follows:

Monitored points with Grade I-III water quality improved slightly by 1.5% to 89.4%;

This was largely from improving Grade IV-V which dropped from 8.8% to 7.4%; but

Grade V+ water bodies still stood at 3.1%, same as 2013 and 2014.

This likely explains why the 'Water Ten' Plan and other policies have emphasized tackling heavily polluted "black and odorous water". Better technologies, more investment & time are all necessary in the "War on Water Pollution".

Looking over a longer period of time, say the past decade, the overall water quality of the Yangtze is slowly improving despite some fluctuations as shown in the chart below. The blue colour indicates water meeting Grade I-III quality: in 2014 this was 88.1%, 1.5% lower than that 2013, but still higher than previous years. The percentage of river sections in Grade V+ was the lowest at 3.1%.

All Grade V & V+ water found in the Yangtze are in the tributaries but not the mainstream

It is worth noting here that the pollution status in the mainstream of the Yangtze River differs to that in its tributaries as shown in the chart below.

According to the MEP's monitoring sites, all monitored Grade V+ water is driven by pollution in the tributaries. A deeper look shows that the Yangtze mainstream not only has no Grade V+ water, but has no Grade V water.

Mainstream of Yangtze is less polluted with no Grade V & V+ water ...
... Grade V & V+ water only in its tributaries

According to the 13th Five Year Plan, by 2020, the water quality in the mainstream of the Yangtze is expected to meet at least the Grade III level. Since the current percentage is already 97.6%, it doesn't seem to be a too far-fetched target.

But what about the tributaries where the Grade V+ water persist?

>30 billion tonnes of wastewater flowing into the rivers & lakes along the Yangtze

If we only look at the 11 provinces & municipalities in the YREB, as per the joint brief, together they "represent 43% (or 30.8 billion tonnes) of the total national wastewater discharge...in 2014". The brief has the three regions of the YREB, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Middle Reaches and the Upper Reaches accounting for 40%, 36% and 24% of the YREB's total wastewater discharge, respectively.

Not surprising then are the tighter deadlines in the Water Ten for the YRD.

That said, we should not be complacent about pollution from the Middle & Upper Reaches. The brief warns that the rate of wastewater discharge in the Upper Reaches is growing at a faster rate than that at the delta. This is clearly shown in a chart from the brief reproduced below:

Pollution discharged upstream can also be carried downstream. Looking at the entire river basin area from the source to the sea is thus warranted. This is an area larger than the YREB and the amount of wastewater discharged is also greater.

Discharge has been steadily increasing over the past decade: already surpassing 30 billion tonnes in 2006 and growing to 33.9 billion tonnes in 2014, according to the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission. Also worth noting is that in 2014, 80.8% of total wastewater was discharged into the mainstream of the Yangtze; the major tributaries; and the Tai, Poyang & Dongting Lakes - all part of the Yangtze River's water system.

Industrial sources account for >half of wastewater discharge

Industrial sources account for over half of this wastewater discharged, but its share has dropped from 69% in 2005 to 58% in 2014.

This reflects the shift in the economy towards more services and higher value-added industries. Industry mixes along the river are discussed in more detail in "Water-nomics: Trade-offs along the Yangtze".

Contamination of drinking water sources & seeping into soil

Clearly, pollution anywhere along the river poses a significant threat to drinking water sources. According to the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, of the 329 drinking water resources monitored, only 193 of them or 59% met relevant water quality standards all year round.

Only 193 of the 329 drinking water resources monitored met the relevant water quality standards all year round

Yangtze River Water Resources Commission

Naturally, this is worrying for the 584 million people living in the YREB, whose water supply is reliant predominantly on the Yangtze River and other interlinked water systems.

As a result, the MEP recently announced it will check and clean up all city-level centralised drinking water sources in the YREB by the end of 2017.

Finally, pollutants discharged into the water can also either seep into sediment or soil, leading to groundwater pollution and soil contamination. In the newly issued ' Soil Ten Plan ', most of the provinces singled out are either in the YREB or along other major rivers such as the Yellow or Pearl River.

Find out more on the industries and regions impacted by this plan in our Soil Ten Review.

Hazardous heavy metal pollution can threaten food safety & security

Caixin's 2011 expose of rice contaminated with heavy metals in several parts of China, including Hunan and Hubei in the YREB has thrust the heavy metal contamination and food safety under the spotlight.

According to the CWR-MEP FECO joint brief, the YREB "has a disproportionately high heavy metals discharge, especially in Cadmium (63%), Arsenic (62%) and Lead (59%)" as per the chart below.

"YREB has a disproportionately high heavy metals discharge"
"there are food security implications given the magnitude of other agriculture production along the Yangtze River, and limited arable land across the country"

CWR-MEP FECO joint brief

Levels are worrying as YREB produces ~65% of China's rice

Hunan and Hubei, the two Middle Reaches provinces, account for a lion's share of the YREB's discharge of Cadmium, Arsenic, Lead at 69%, 71% and 63% respectively. At the national level, Hunan alone accounted for 38% of Cadmium, 33% of Arsenic, 30% of Lead and 20% of Mercury emissions.

These levels are worrying as the YREB produces around 65% of China's rice, and Hunan and Hubei together alone, produce over a fifth of China's rice production. This clearly poses a threat to the food safety of one of China's key staples.

A holistic Mountain-to-Sea approach for the Yangtze

Pollution upstream can spread & bring risks downstream...
...can new financing instruments/mechanisms combat this?

It is imperative to tackle water pollution from mountaintop to the sea. Pollution happening upstream can spread and bring risks downstream.

But the upstream regions cannot tackle the pollution issues alone: they need to grow their economy, plus they also need financing for technological upgrades & innovation in pollution prevention & control.

Meanwhile, downstream provinces want secure and safe water supplies.

Is it possible to establish a new kind of "eco-compensation" to link up these needs? Can new financing instruments be developed to cover costs? We have already seen some pilot cases in Jiangsu and Shanghai, but more need to be done. Take a look at some macro strategies laid out in the CWR-MEP FECO brief here.

Water-nomics: Trade-offs Along The Yangtze - With significant economic, water use and pollution disparities along the Yangtze River, China Water Risk & the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, publish a joint brief to explore strategies to find the right development mix. Check out some of the key findings in this review

2015 State of Environment Report Review - China says overall environment quality has worsened in 2015 with groundwater deteriorating for the fifth year straight. It's mixed news for rivers but lakes & reservoirs see marked improvement. Get the latest pollution status updates from the newly released 2015 State Of Environment Report

China's Soil Ten - With close to a fifth of China's farmland surveyed polluted, the Soil Ten Plan could not come sooner. Find out what's in store for China's "Hateful Eight" polluting industries and get the distilled version of the 231 actions in China Water Risk's Soil Ten review

Heavy Metals & Agriculture - Check out China Water Risk's overview of the status of heavy metals discharge into wastewater, priority provinces, overlap with agriculture sown lands, crops exposed and industries targeted for clean-up

8 Things You Should Know: Rice & Water - How much of water & farmlands are used to grow rice in China? What about exposure to Cadmium, Mercury, Lead & Arsenic? Can China ensure rice security? Here are 8 things you should know about rice & water in China

China Water Risk special report: "China's Long March To Safe Drinking Water"

Drinking Water Safety Faces "The Big Test" - In wake of the upcoming 'Water Pollution Prevention & Control Action Plan' China Water Risk & chinadialogue investigated the true status of China's urban and rural drinking water

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Yangtze Flows: Pollution & Heavy Metals - China Water Risk

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Areas along the Yangtze River dominate Chinese production but at what cost? With Grade V+ water in its tributaries, rapid growth in upstream wastewater plus concerns over a disproportionately large share of the nation's heavy metals discharge, can the Yangtze River Economic Belt still flourish?

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Citarum, Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia

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Citarum, Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia

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Citarum, Bandung City, West Java, Indonesia

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I've Done this

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CIGADO, INDONESIA--Dedi Rahmat glanced over his shoulder toward the west and quickly decided he had time for one more run on the river. Nodding toward his long canoe tied to a bush at the bottom of the steep bank, Rahmat agreed to take me down this stretch of the Upper Citarum River. It was, I figured, the best way to get a lens on one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

Rahmat is one of hundreds of scavengers who ply the river, gathering plastic bottles and aluminum cans for recycling. When he came to Bandung in the early 1970s to work at an embroidery mill, the river, he says, ran clean and clear. As the textile industry grew, Rahmat watched the water grow darker and dirtier by the year with wastewater from the factories. Today, he says, he feels guilty about his old job and what the textile mills have done to the river.

Some estimate there are more than 2,000 industrial facilities, including 200 textile mills and garment factories, concentrated in the Citarum River Valley in the Bandung region. For decades, the Indonesian government has permitted factories to flush untreated wastewater into canals leading to the river, as long as the effluent didn't contain certain chemicals deemed too hazardous. In May, the Indonesian High Court, ruling in a lawsuit brought by Greenpeace Indonesia and community organizations ruled to suspend, cancel, and revoke government decrees allowing legal dumping by three of Indonesia's largest factories-PT Kahatex, PT Insan Sandan Internusa and PT Five Star Textile. The factories have appealed the ruling, arguing that without their wastewater dumping permits, they will be forced to close and put tens of thousands of people out of work. The case is currently pending before the Indonesian Supreme Court.

The Indonesian government, meanwhile, blames the vast majority of the pollution on the region's residents, who dump their household trash and flush raw sewage into the river. Many of the smaller villages lining the Citarum River have no public garbage collection or landfills, leaving people to choose between burning their waste or throwing it into the river.

On the day I went down the river with Rahmat, it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit. A nauseating stench filled the air. The banks were choked with garbage and trash and the sludgy water looked like motor oil. In places, the river was actually bubbling, like a witch's brew. Styrofoam food containers, plastic water bottles, clothing, cans, broken toys, cardboard boxes, and garbage bags accumulated at points in the river, piling up and matting together so tightly that I could-and did-walk across the trash without punching through to the water.

Rahmat paddled through the islands of floating trash, using a long pole with a net to snag anything he thought he could sell. "I'm afraid of what's in the water," he said, "but I'm poor. So what can I do?"

At spillages emptying into the river, the fast-running black water was slick with chemicals and dyes. When Greenpeace tested water samples near major textile mills in 2012, the environmental group found persistent environmental contaminants and toxic chemicals known to be toxic to aquatic life and potentially harmful to humans. A 2013 Asian Development Bank report documented extensive pollution, finding that by most measures, the river was horribly polluted. The ADB report, for instance, found fecal coliform bacteria-possibly from human sewage and agricultural manure-at 5,000 times the allowable level in some places.

The Citarum River flows for about 186 miles from the mountains of southern Java to the Java Sea, providing irrigation and drinking water for more than 25 million people, including residents of Jakarta. For years, numerous environmental groups have included the Citarum River on their annual lists of most polluted bodies of water, pronouncing the water quality poor for most of its length. The Asian Development Bank committed in 2008 to provide Indonesia with a $500 million, multi-year loan to finance clean-up and restoration of the river, though the efforts have been focused primarily on the West Tarum Canal and Citarum River near Jakarta.

When I visited the Upper Citarum River in January and February 2016, there was no sign of clean up. The fish are largely gone and fishermen and the elderly, like Rahmat, scavenge trash to buy food. Skin irritations and diseases are common. Factory effluent is pumped into the same canals that irrigate the rice paddies. On days when the dyes are heavy, water in the rice paddies turns black or navy blue. Farmers complain of stunted crops; rice deemed not fit for human consumption is fed to the cattle.

I met Dedi Rahmat near a railroad trestle where young boys were jumping into the river 15 feet below to swim. We pushed off and Rahmat plowed through the middle of the trash islands, leaning out of the boat to scoop up plastics and aluminum. Every now and then, when the canoe got stuck in a particularly thick pile, Rahmat used the pole end of his trash-catching net to push the canoe backwards and free. The sun was going down when we turned to paddle back up the river with a boat full of trash.

In this part of the world, so close to the Equator, twilight vanishes in an instant. Darkness quickly follows sunset, then the night belongs to the bats--thousands of them, swooping low over the river and skimming along the surface. Even after it was too dark to see the bats, we could hear the whooshing of their wings. The oars sliced through the water in rhythm and from loudspeakers on unseen minarets, evening calls to prayer echoed across the valley. All day, I had been focused on the sights and the smells of the river, but now, in the pitch dark, it was the symphony of whooshing wings, slapping oars, and the adhan that defined the river and has stayed with me still.

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The Death of the Citarum River: Indonesia's Most Toxic Waterway

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CIGADO, INDONESIA--Dedi Rahmat glanced over his shoulder toward the west and quickly decided he had time for one more run on the river. Nodding toward his long canoe tied to a bush at the bottom of the steep bank, Rahmat agreed to take me down this stretch of the Upper Citarum River.

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I've done this

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This story appears in the July 2017 issue ofNational Geographic magazine.

When we look at a landscape, we tend to think of it as a static space. But it's always changing. This is especially true on the North China Plain. From imperial times to the Maoist period to the recent reform phase, humans have tried to control the environment. The landscape retains traces of this struggle, making it a register of the past.

The first part of this ongoing project looked at China's coal industry and the effect it's had on the country. Since 2011 I've been working on the second part: following the Yellow River across northern China, documenting the roles that economic, political, and environmental policies play in this ever evolving story.

A sizable portion of China's population and heavy industry-and about 40 percent of its farmland-are on the North China Plain. Yet the region has less than 10 percent of the country's water. The control of water is a key part of governance; policy has a real impact on Chinese land and lives, but due to the country's size, what happens here will have consequences globally as well.

China has plenty of environmental regulations, but they're seldom prioritized or enforced. Officials are rewarded for economically advancing the areas they represent, so they have plenty of incentives to put short-term economic gains ahead of longer term environmental goals.

To depict this landscape panoramically-in the spirit of classical Chinese landscape paintings-I use a large-format lens and medium-format film. I want to convey the river's vital place in culture and history and, in a dreamlike way, show why it's a base of economic power. It's been a source of life for thousands of years, and today it sustains some 200 million people on the North China Plain. But its degradation exposes the dark side of China's rise.

By focusing on the dissonance in this fragile landscape, I hope to show that the price of our material desires comes at a great environmental cost.

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This story appears in the July 2017 issue ofNational Geographic magazine. When we look at a landscape, we tend to think of it as a static space. But it's always changing. This is especially true on the North China Plain. From imperial times to the Maoist period to the recent reform phase, humans have tried to control the environment.

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Here is a look at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to tainted drinking water that contained lead and other toxins.

Facts

Flint once thrived as the home of the nation's largest General Motors plant. The city's economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized.

In 2011, the state of Michigan took over Flint's finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit.

In order to reduce the water fund shortfall, the city announced that a new pipeline would be built to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. In 2014, while the pipeline was under construction, the city turned to the Flint River as a water source. Soon after the switch, residents reported changes to the water's color, smell and taste.

Tests in 2015 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Virginia Tech indicated dangerous levels of lead in the water at residents' homes.

Lead consumption can affect the heart, kidneys and nerves. Health effects of lead exposure in children include impaired cognition, behavioral disorders, hearing problems and delayed puberty.

A class-action lawsuit charged that the state wasn't treating the water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. As a result, the water was eroding the iron water mains, turning the water brown. Additionally, about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead and because the water wasn't properly treated, lead began leaching into the water supply, in addition to the iron.

Overall, more than a dozen lawsuits, including several additional class-action suits, were filed against Michigan and the city of Flint, as well as various state and city officials and employees involved in the decision to switch the source of the drinking water and those responsible for monitoring water quality. The range of remedies sought included monetary compensation for lead poisoning and refunds for water bills.

Timeline

March 22, 2012 - Genesee County announces a new pipeline is being designed to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. The plan is to reduce costs by switching the city's water supplier from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA).

April 16, 2013 - On the city council's recommendation, Andy Dillon, the state treasurer, authorizes Flint to make the switch to Flint River water.

April 25, 2014 - The switch to water from the Flint River takes place.

September 5, 2014 - Flint issues another boil water advisory after a positive test for total coliform bacteria. The presence of this type of bacteria is a warning sign that E. coli or other disease-causing organisms may be contaminating the water. City officials tell residents they will flush the pipes and add more chlorine to the water. After four days, residents are told they can safely resume drinking water from the tap.

October 1, 2014 - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issues a governor's briefing paper outlining possible causes for the contamination issues. Among the problems are leaking valves and aging cast iron pipes susceptible to a buildup of bacteria. The MDEQ concludes flushing the system and increasing chlorine in the water will limit the number of boil water advisories in the future.

October 2014 - The General Motors plant in Flint stops using the city's water due to concerns about high levels of chlorine corroding engine parts. The company strikes a deal with a neighboring township to purchase water from Lake Huron in lieu of using water from the Flint River. The switch is anticipated to cost the city $400,000.

January 2, 2015 - The city warns residents the water contains byproducts of disinfectants that may cause health issues including an increased risk for cancer over time. The water is deemed safe for the general population, but the elderly and parents of young children are cautioned to consult with their doctors.

January 12, 2015 - The DWSD offers to reconnect the city with Lake Huron water, waiving a $4 million fee to restore service. City officials decline, citing concerns water rates could go up more than $12 million each year, even with the reconnection fee waiver.

January 21, 2015 - Residents tote jugs of discolored water to a community forum. The Detroit Free Press reports children are developing rashes and suffering from mysterious illnesses.

February 2015 - The MDEQ notes some "hiccups" in the transition, including a buildup of TTHM, a cancer-causing byproduct of chlorine and organic matter. In a background paper submitted to Governor Rick Snyder, the MDEQ states that elevated TTHM levels are not an immediate health emergency because the risk of disease increases only after years of consumption. Snyder announces a $2 million dollar grant to fix problems in the pipes and sewers.

February 26, 2015 - The EPA notifies the MDEQ it has detected dangerous levels of lead in the water at the home of Flint resident Lee-Anne Walters. A mother of four, she had first contacted the EPA with concerns about dark sediment in her tap water possibly making her children sick. Testing revealed that her water had 104 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, nearly seven times greater than the EPA limit of 15 ppb.

March 18, 2015 - Walters follows up with the EPA after another test indicates the lead level in her water is 397 ppb.

March 23, 2015 - Flint City Council members vote 7-1 to stop using river water and to reconnect with Detroit. However, state-appointed emergency manager Jerry Ambrose overrules the vote, calling it "incomprehensible," claiming that costs would skyrocket and that "water from Detroit is no safer than water from Flint."

July 13, 2015 - After the EPA memo is leaked by the ACLU, a spokesman for the MDEQ tells Michigan Public Radio, "Anyone who is concerned about lead in the drinking water in Flint can relax." He explains initial testing on 170 homes indicates that the problem is not widespread.

July 22, 2015 - Snyder's chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, emails the Department of Community Health in response to reports by the ACLU and on public radio. "I'm frustrated by the water issue in Flint. I really don't think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. Now they are concerned and rightfully so about the lead level studies they are receiving from DEQ [MDEQ] samples. Can you take a moment out of your impossible schedule to personally take a look at this?"

August 17, 2015 - The MDEQ orders Flint to optimize corrosion control treatment in the water supply after state testing from the first six months of 2015 reveals elevated lead levels.

September 8, 2015 - A team from Virginia Tech that conducted a water quality study issues a preliminary report indicating 40% of Flint homes have elevated lead levels.

September 9, 2015 - The EPA announces it will assist Flint in developing a corrosion control treatment for the water. The next day, MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel tells the Flint Journal the city needs to upgrade its infrastructure, but he also expresses skepticism about the Virginia Tech study.

September 11, 2015 - After concluding that Flint water is 19 times more corrosive than Detroit water, Virginia Tech recommends the state declare that the water is not safe for drinking or cooking. The river water is corroding old pipes and lead is leaching into the water, according to the study.

September 24, 2015 - A research team led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Hurley Medical Center, releases a study revealing the number of children with elevated lead levels in their blood nearly doubled after the city switched its water source. In neighborhoods with the most severe contamination problems, testing showed lead levels tripled.

October 2, 2015 - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reviews the data from Hurley Medical Center and verifies the findings. The state begins testing drinking water in schools and distributing free water filters.

October 8, 2015 - The MDEQ announces three Flint schools tested positive for dangerous lead levels in the water. Snyder says the city will discontinue using Flint River water.

October 15, 2015 - Snyder signs a spending bill appropriating $9.35 million to help Flint reconnect with Detroit for water and provide health services for residents.

November 4, 2015 - The EPA publishes a final, redacted version of its report on high lead levels in three Flint homes, including Walters' residence.

November 13, 2015 - Residents file a federal class action lawsuit claiming 14 state and city officials, including Snyder, knowingly exposed Flint residents to toxic water.

December 14, 2015 - Flint declares a state of emergency.

January 5, 2016 - Snyder declares a state of emergency in Genesee County. A spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Detroit tells CNN that a federal investigation is underway.

January 12, 2016 - The Michigan National Guard is mobilized to help distribute bottled water.

January 16, 2016 - The president declines to declare a disaster in Flint. Instead, he authorizes $5 million in aid, declaring a state of emergency in the city. The state of emergency allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to step in.

January 21, 2016 - The EPA criticizes the state's slow response to the crisis and expresses concerns about the construction of the new pipeline to Lake Huron. The EPA says it will begin testing the water and publishing the results on a government website.

January 27, 2016 - A new federal lawsuit is filed in Detroit against the state, alleging the violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act.

March 17, 2016 - Snyder testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

March 31, 2016 - Attorneys, including some with the NAACP, file a class action lawsuit against Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, PC, the state of Michigan, Snyder and others. Plaintiffs seek damages for those affected by the water crisis.

April 25, 2016 - Five hundred and fourteen residents and former residents of Flint file a class action lawsuit against the EPA. The plaintiffs allege negligence and demand more than $220 million in damages for the EPA's role in the water crisis.

May 4, 2016 - Obama visits Flint to hear first-hand how residents have endured the city's water crisis and to highlight federal assistance to state and local agencies.

May 4, 2016 - Glasgow reaches a deal with prosecutors contingent on his cooperating as a witness in the investigation. Glasgow gives a plea of no contest to willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor, and the felony charge of tampering with evidence is dismissed. He is released on personal bond following the plea agreement.

June 22, 2016 - Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette files civil lawsuits against two companies for their alleged role in the Flint water crisis. Veolia North America is charged with negligence, fraud and public nuisance. Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN) is charged with negligence and public nuisance.

July 29, 2016 - Six current and former state workers are charged as the criminal investigation continues.

October 18, 2016 - The ACLU of Michigan files a class action lawsuit against school districts in Flint for exposing students to tainted water and inadequately testing children for learning disabilities that may have been caused by ingesting lead.

November 10, 2016 - The state of Michigan and city of Flint are ordered to deliver bottled water to homes where the government hasn't checked to ensure that filters are working properly.

December 20, 2016 -Four officials - two of Flint's former emergency managers, who reported directly to the governor, and two water plant officials - are charged with felonies of false pretenses and conspiracy. They are accused of misleading the Michigan Department of Treasury into getting millions in bonds and then misused the money to finance the construction of a new pipeline, forcing Flint's drinking water source to be switched to the Flint River.

January 24, 2017 - The MDEQ reports that lead levels in the city's water tested below the federal limit, according to recent six-month study.

January 30, 2017 - A $722 million class action lawsuit is filed against the EPA on behalf of more than 1,700 residents impacted by the water crisis.

February 17, 2017 - The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issues a report: "The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint." According to the 129-page report, "deeply embedded institutional, systemic and historical racism" indirectly contributed to the ill-fated decision to tap the Flint River for drinking water as a cost-saving measure.

March 17, 2017 - The EPA announces that it has awarded $100 million to Flint for drinking water infrastructure upgrades.

March 28, 2017 - A federal judge approves a $97 million settlement, in which the state of Michigan agrees to replace lead and galvanized steel water lines in the Flint. The state will cover the cost of replacing water lines, the pipes that connect household plumbing to the main distribution pipe running beneath the street, for at least 18,000 Flint households by 2020.

June 14, 2017 - The Michigan Attorney General's Office announces that several state officials have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a Legionnaires' outbreak between June 2014 and November 2015 that killed at least 12 people.

October 12, 2017 - The House Oversight Committee sends a letter to Snyder requesting clarification regarding his sworn testimony that he did not learn about an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease in Flint until 2016. Questions about the accuracy of the governor's statement are rooted in court testimony by one of his aides, who said he told Snyder about the outbreak in December 2015.

April 6, 2018 - Snyder announces the end of a free bottled water program in Flint, claiming the water quality has been restored. The program was part of a $450 million state and federal aid package. The state had been handing out bottled water and filters at several distribution points across the city and will stop once the current supply runs out.

August 20, 2018 - A judge rules that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal trial for one of the officials charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Legionnaires Disease outbreak. Nick Lyon, the state's Health and Human Services director, allegedly failed to "to alert the public about a Legionnaires' outbreak in Genesee County when he had noticed that another outbreak was foreseeable and...conducting an investigation of the Legionnaires' outbreak in a grossly negligent manner."

April 18, 2019 - US Judge Linda V. Parker rules that Flint residents can proceed with lawsuits against the federal government in connection with the city's water crisis.

May 2019 - Snyder's cellphone and hard drive are seized by authorities in connection to the Flint investigation. More than 65 other current or former officials also have their cellphones or other information seized.

June 4, 2019 - Mayor Karen Weaver issues a statement in response to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler's claim that Flint water is safe to drink. "My feelings regarding if and when I will declare the water safe for residents to drink have not changed. The medical community and scientific community will both have to be in agreement, after a period of testing over time, that the water is safe to drink before I ever declare it safe."

July 3, 2019 - Snyder turns down an offer to become a Harvard senior research fellow amid a backlash over the potential appointment.

October 10, 2019 - The EPA proposes its first major revision in two decades of federal regulations on lead in drinking water, in response to the crisis in Flint and other cities. The proposed lead and copper rule would change the requirements that local water systems must meet for testing and, if lead content is above allowable levels, the procedures to replace lead service lines from their networks.

October 7, 2020 - Residents of Flint file a civil lawsuit against three investment banks. According to the complaint, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company in 2014 "underwrote the bond sale that financed and enabled Flint's participation in the Karegnondi Water Authority" pipeline. The banks "knew that a necessary element of the plan was the use of raw, untreated Flint River water as an interim drinking water source, which would expose Flint's residents and water users to lead-poisoning and legionella bacteria."

January 13, 2021 - Snyder and former Flint Public Works director Howard Croft are each charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty.

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virginia polytechnic institute and state university

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Here is a look at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to tainted drinking water that contained lead and other toxins. Flint once thrived as the home of the nation's largest General Motors plant. The city's economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized.

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Toxic Waste in the Ganges River | BBC Earth

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Bram Janssen/AP

In January 2018, when officials in Cape Town announced that the city of 4 million people was three months away from running out of municipal water, the world was stunned. Labelled "Day Zero" by local officials and brought on by three consecutive years of anemic rainfall, April 12, 2018, was to be the date of the largest drought-induced municipal water failure in modern history.

Photos of parched-earth dams and residents lining up to collect spring water splashed across news sites. The city's contingency plan called for the entire population to collect its water-a maximum of a two-minute-shower's-worth a day per person-from 200 centralized water centers, each serving the population equivalent of an MLS soccer stadium.

Then April 12th came and went, and news of the crisis evaporated.

One year on, Cape Town has apparently made it through the worst of a historic drought without turning off the taps, although the water supply is still tenuous. How the city managed to evade disaster-a combination of water conservation and efficiency measures, smarter use of data, and a little help from Mother Nature-serves as a largely hopeful precedent for cities globally facing increasing risk of extreme environmental events. Still, serious challenges in establishing a resilient and sustainable water supply system for Cape Town remain.

90 critical days

The countdown to Day Zero was 90 days. So what did Cape Town do to beat it? Unsurprisingly, it was not a silver bullet but a barrage of efforts that averted disaster. One big boost came in February 2018, when the national government throttled allocation of water in the region earmarked for agriculture, allowing more to flow to urban residents. The same month, farmers also agreed to divert additional water stored for agricultural purposes to the city.

However, the city's conservation efforts were as important, and more remarkable. Cape Town's government ramped up water tariffs and enforcement of prohibitions on heavy users, prohibiting use of municipal water for swimming pools, lawns, and similar non-essential uses. The city's government also implemented a new water-pressure system in January, saving roughly 10 percent of overall municipal water consumption.

The effect was stunning. Cape Town's municipal water-use levels historically oscillate throughout the year, showing up on a graph as a standing wave pattern with troughs coinciding with wet winters, and peaks mirroring the dry summer months when people rely more on taps for water. Like an ocean wave crashing onto shore, this wave pattern fizzled out as Cape Town implemented drought restrictions, cutting its peak usage by more than half in three years.

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The January 2018 announcement alone galvanized a 30-percent drop in residential consumption after a steady but slower decline in earlier stages of the drought, according to City of Cape Town statistics.

A city changes its habits

Technical fixes and regulatory controls implemented by the municipality were important to curbing water consumption, but reaching such levels of conservation would not have been possible without large-scale cooperation by a wide swath of residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.

"It doesn't matter how much technical expertise you've got, but you actually have to stand back and understand the system more broadly," notes Gina Ziervogel of the University of Cape Town, who has researched the crisis. For the city, this meant using data more effectively to prompt people to save water.

Starting in 2017, the municipality had begun ratcheting up its drought-awareness campaign, publishing weekly updates on regional dam levels and water consumption and using electronic boards on freeways to notify drivers of how many days of water supply Cape Town had left. Then, in January 2018 and with Day Zero looming, the city got more aggressive. In addition to announcing its Day Zero countdown, the city launched a city-wide water map to show water consumption on a household level, allowing people to compare their consumption to their neighbors and the rest of the city.

Heightened outreach regarding the crisis prompted wide discussion: The municipality's weekly water report became a regular topic at social gathenings and on the radio. Governmental and civic organizations published water-saving techniques, and people traded tips on social media. In an unusual turn of events, techniques used in the poor, water-strapped township areas gained traction in wealthier areas.

Prompted by new water-use tariffs, businesses also began increased efforts to communicate the need to save water to customers and employees. Bathroom signs explaining "If it's yellow, let it mellow..." became ubiquitous in restaurants and bars, while startup and corporate types initiated "dirty shirt" challenges to see who could go the most days without washing their work shirt.

Crisis averted (for now)

By the end of March 2018, the emergency efforts had provided a small additional buffer in the city's water reserves, allowing city officials to push back Day Zero beyond the upcoming rainy season. In June 2018, the region saw average rainfall for the first time in four years. With the rain, dam levels rose, and officials were able to call off Day Zero indefinitely.

Cape Town's multi-pronged effort to stave off Day Zero succeeded. Still, the challenges to achieving water security persist. Although dam levels are above the lows experienced during the drought, they remain below pre-drought years and currently stand at 50 percent of capacity. Meanwhile, daily water use for the city has crept higher over the past year.

Furthermore, disparities in access to water in Cape Town continue to be related to extreme economic inequality, which generally runs along the racial lines established during South Africa's colonial and apartheid eras. For a large proportion of Cape Town's poor citizens, whose only normal access to water is a communal tap, Day Zero remains a constant reality. Combine this with a complex political climate and historical distrust of state policies, and it is easy to understand that a sustained unified effort to conserve water is fraught with tension.

Cape Town is making a longer-term effort to diversify its water resources, but that too is prompting concerns. Projects to desalinate ocean water and tap the aquifer beneath the city have proven far more expensive than initially thought, and have also faced questions about their environmental impacts on local ecosystems and overall sustainability. An increase in private wells drilled by wealthier households has added pressure to the future availability of this source. Although plans for both desalination and groundwater extraction are progressing, neither alone will solve Cape Town's water issues.

For now, the city and its residents are still enduring moderate drought conditions. Urban water restrictions remain in place, although less strict than before, and the legacy of the drought can still be seen all around Cape Town. Many businesses continue to remind customers to restrict their usage in signs taped to bathroom mirrors and above toilets. That's probably just as well-water-scarcity issues are not likely to go anywhere, considering the increased risks of drought caused by climate change and population growth.

As for other cities facing similar resource crises: Ziervogel advises "to make sure you've got those relationships and partnerships in place so that when a crisis hits you can actually draw on those partnerships."

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A Year After 'Day Zero,' Cape Town's Drought Is Over, But Water Challenges Remain

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In January 2018, when officials in Cape Town announced that the city of 4 million people was three months away from running out of municipal water, the world was stunned. Labelled "Day Zero" by local officials and brought on by three consecutive years of anemic rainfall, April 12, 2018, was to be the date of the largest drought-induced municipal water failure in modern history.