Dying of thirst
The Japanese must learn to consume less water or they might soon have to do without it altogether. This is the warning has been issued by the National Land Agency in Japan. Following an unusually dry monsoon the Land of the Rising Sun is reeling under what is being described as the worst spells of drought ever.
Japanese meteorologists are seriously perturbed, not only because of the country has been hit by this sudden dry phase,They fear that this year's drought may reflect a long term trend. In a Paper published recently, the Agency has come up with some chilling facts regarding the future of Japan's water resources. During a dry spell the water resources fall by around a third, from 430 to 290 billion tonnes, says the Paper.
And, while the present crisis was triggered off by insufficient rains, sustained depletion of groundwater has been mainly caused by soaring water consumption. Between 1965 and 1991, the average water consumption per person nearly doubled, from 169 litres to more than 300 litres. The advent of modern household utilities like flush toilets and washing machines only worsened the situation.
The indiscriminate pumping of groundwater took its toll, leading to an alarming drop in the water table. As a result, the Japanese have to stop drawing water from the ground if they are to save their country from disaster.
The government is convinced that Japan can solve its aqua problems only by building more dams. The environmentalist lobby, however, is not ready to accept this theory. The conservationists believe that Japan's mountainous islands are already choked with thousands of dams. Takamasu Ishii, head of the hydrological section at Japan's Geological Survey openly expresses his skepticism," The construction companies, politicians and elite bureaucrats--all three elements are conspiring to stuff Japan with dams,". Environmentalists declare that what is truly needed is proper management of water to ensure better recycling and conservation .
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