Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
India, poisoned by arsenic-contaminated well water over several
decades. In this case, the arsenic is naturally occurring. The situa-
tion repeatedly has been characterized as the worst such contami-
nation in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
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Moreover, India and Bangladesh are far from being the world's
only trouble spots.
“People aren't dying of thirst per se,” says Gleick. “They're
dying of water-related diseases because they don't have safe water.
“It's not as though all the excess water in Canada or Norway or
Iceland is of any assistance to the people in sub-Saharan Africa,”
adds Gleick. “It's too expensive to move water from one place to
another.”
Too bad. A town like Las Vegas, which has a typical rainfall of
about 4 inches a year,
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certainly could benefi t from the 450 inches
of rain that fall annually on Mount Waialeale, Hawaii.
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WATER FACTS
These fi gures come from the U.S. Geological Survey:*
One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.
One cubic foot of water (7.48 gallons) weighs 62.4 pounds.
One acre-foot of water (325,851.385 gallons) equals
43,450 cubic feet.
One inch of rain equals 17.4 million gallons of water per square
mile or 27,200 gallons (100 tons) per acre.
*USGS Water Science for Schools, “Water Properties,” http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/
waterproperties.html.
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United Nations Initiatives
The United Nations has led the charge and set ambitious goals for
clean water worldwide. In 1992, the United Nations designated
March 22 as World Water Day, providing one way that nations,
organizations, corporations, and individuals can highlight world
water issues and discuss solutions to the problems. Initiatives and
