The Water Supply Lab
Most of the planet is water, yet fresh supplies are scarce and unevenly spread. Explore who uses water and where the shortages bite, then compare how Singapore and rural India make their supplies last.
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Water, but not to spare 💧
Water covers most of the planet, but only a tiny fraction is **fresh** and usable, and it is spread very **unevenly**. Some countries have plenty; others face **water scarcity**. This module looks at how water supply and demand vary around the world, the problems this causes, and how water can be managed **sustainably**.
The language of water 🔑
Four ideas run through the topic:
Who uses the most water? 🌾
Globally, which sector uses the most fresh water?
- Agriculture, mainly for irrigating crops
- Domestic use in homes
- Leisure and sport
- Generating electricity for lighting
Match each term to its meaning 🔗
- Water scarcity
- Desalination
- NEWater
- Rainwater harvesting
- When demand for water is greater than the supply
- Making fresh water by removing salt from seawater
- Recycling treated wastewater, used in Singapore
- Collecting and storing rainwater locally, used in Rajasthan
Different countries, different problems ⚖️
Water use and water problems differ with a country's level of development.
The UK's water problems 🚰
Select the TWO water problems that the UK faces.
- Water is plentiful in the north and west but most needed in the drier south-east
- Ageing pipes that leak large amounts of water
- Almost no access to any safe drinking water
- Year-round extreme drought across the whole country
Making supplies last 🌊
Where water is scarce, technology can help: **desalination** removes salt from seawater, but it is **expensive** and uses a lot of **energy**. **Sustainable management** makes supplies last. Two contrasting examples: in the developed world, **Singapore** recycles treated wastewater into clean **NEWater**; in emerging India, the **Wakel River Basin** in Rajasthan uses local **rainwater harvesting** and small dams to store water for the dry season.
Complete the summary 🧩
When demand for water is greater than supply, there is water _____. Globally, most fresh water is used by _____. Making fresh water by removing salt from seawater is called _____. In the developed world, Singapore recycles wastewater into _____, while in Rajasthan, India, local rainwater _____ stores water for the dry season.
Plot the rising demand 📈
An interactive activity.
Manage a water shortage 🏜️
An interactive activity.
What is desalination? 🧂
What does desalination do?
- Removes salt from seawater to make it drinkable
- Stores rainwater in a reservoir
- Cleans polluted river water with filters
- Pipes water from a wetter region
Spot the true statements 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Compare the two countries ✍️
An interactive activity.