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World Water Day 2011 themed on ”Water for Cities”

WorldTuesday 22 March is World Water Day. Designated by a UN General Assembly resolution and celebrated since 1993, each year World Water Day highlights a specific theme related to the impacts of water and water supply on human wellbeing. 

The theme in 2011 is ”Water for Cities”. For the first time in human history more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Infrastructure investments have not kept up pace with the rate of urbanisation, with water and wastewater systems in particular showing considerable underinvestment.

The Water for Cities theme aims to draw international attention to the impacts of rapid urban population growth, industrialisation, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. Events around the world will provide a forum for discussions on the increasing urban need for clean water and sanitation, rising levels of pollution from human settlements and industry, risks posed by climate change, overconsumption of water resources, and the situation of the poor in cities.

World Water Day encourages governments, organizations, communities and individuals to address these challenges.

Mexico City – water treatment challenges in a metropolis

In 1950, Mexico was the home of 26 million people. Water was part of the natural resources of this vast country. Today, Mexico’s population is approximately 112 million, and the country is struggling to provide enough water for everyone. The fact that population and industry are heavily concentrated on regions with little water adds to the challenges the country is facing. Water scarcity and on the other hand heavy rains and flooding put a toll on Mexico’s water infrastructure.

The population of the Mexico City metropolitan area has doubled to nearly 20 million people in a mere 35 years. Water supply has not been able to keep up the pace. Challenges affect all areas of water supply. ”There is not enough clean water in Mexico City and the number of water related problems is high”, says Tuomas Rinne, Managing Director of Kemira de México.

“Deteriorated pipelines sometimes fail to supply water – and when they do work, the water might not be drinkable. Groundwater consumption is very high. In the valley of Mexico, overconsumption of groundwater has even caused the ground to collapse and sink, leading to problems” says Rinne.

Dozens of new municipal waste water treatment plants have, however, been built in the country during recent years with more under construction. One of the world’s largest wastewater treatment plants, Atotonilco, is being built outside the capital. The treatment plant will start operations in 2012 with chemical treatment process. This billion-dollar investment increases the share of treated wastewater in the metropolitan area immediately from less than 10 percent to about 60 percent, according to the country’s water management authority CONAGUA’s calculations. 

Mexico’s largest drinking water plant in Cutzamala has been using Kemira’s water treatment chemicals for over five years. The plant uses 35,000 tons of Kemira’s aluminium sulfate in a year. ”Understanding of customer’s needs combined with local expertise makes it possible to tackle the water treatment challenges at hand”, says Tuomas Rinne.

Clean water is a prerequisite for life

At Kemira we are employing our own water competence and research contribution to create new solutions to increase water efficiency. A key role in this is played by water chemistry. Every day, water purified with Kemira’s products is used by almost 300 million people for drinking and washing up. The majority of these people live in urban areas.

Clean water is a basic requirement for life, yet almost 1 billion people live in areas with poor access to clean water and almost 3 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation.

Water scarcity and purification needs are increased by issues including the following:

  • The world’s population will exceed 7 billion in 2011.
  • In Africa and Asia the urban population will double between 2000 and 2030.
  • Up to 97% of the world’s usable freshwater resources are inconveniently located underground and only accessible by digging and pumping.
  • The world’s water resources are distributed very unevenly.
  • A lack of safe water and sanitation in cities leads to malaria, cholera and diarrhea.

>> Learn more about the World Water Day
>> Test your knowledge on water in Kemira’s WaterWizard

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