Feedback from the experts panel of group n° 127

Our video:

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Our paper:

What difference of consumption is there between the countries of the world? Which sector consumes most water?

In the developed countries, water is over consumed, just like the United States, which use 600 litters of water per day and per inhabitant. In the countries of the South, water is rare: in Sub-Saharan Africa, an inhabitant consumes 10 litters of water per day. Water is not accessible for one man on three.

The agriculture consumes 3/4 of the world volume of water for the irrigation of the cultures but there are many ways to reduce this consumption for example by get back the water of rains, assemble irrigation, take into account the hydric state of grounds and weather conditions.

What are the existing processes of economy of water?

Everyone knows that water will be soon a rare commodity. That is why, there already exist campaigns that explains how we can help save water daily: for example, having shower is preferred has having baths, doing the washing dishes with your hangs instead of using the machines when there is not too much dishes.

Also, it already exist systems that retrieve the rain water that can be used to wash your bicycle or your car, or every task that does not need clean water.

There are aerators with flow restrictors that enable to reduce the flow of water until 58% for some without changing performance. They can be used for shower and tap.

There exist a lot of things created with the aim to save water, but there are not used by everyone or not accessible for everybody.

What can we expect of a system of reducing the consumption of water in the long run?

First of all, a system of reducing the consumption of water can save money and therefore reduce the energy bill. These systems are also a way for people to limit their pollution (waste of water for instance) and allow everybody to handle more carefully this rare commodity essential for each human being. It is said that we are wasting around 20% to 30% of water a day because of defective equipment. Finally, the most important interest for saving water is to allow the human being to live longer, to prosper from generation in generation. That is why it is essential to consider these problems today.

Virtual water: The waste you don’t see

Beyond all the consumption of water we can see every day (showers, household appliances), the water is highly used for many products of our everyday life. First, agriculture needs a lot of water in order to grow all cereals, fruits and vegetables. For example, it takes 1,600 cubic meters of water on average to produce only one metric ton of wheat. But food is not only a resource that needs a lot of water. In fact almost every product requires water to be made even those we wouldn’t think about. For instance, clothes. Indeed a single pair of shoes requires on average 8000 liters of water to be produced. So we can wonder if the reduction of the water consumption should also be achieved through the decrease of virtual water.