Water and Water Supply

Centralized water supply dates back to 2500 BC. Ancient Egypt had complex engineering structures for the purpose. Yet to this day the percentage of the population enjoying centralized water supply on the African continent and in Asia, too, is very low.

In our country, at the time of the Revolution of 1917, only one third of the towns had running water laid on, and, then, as a rule, only in the central part of the town. In the pre-war period of industrial development running water reached millions of flats all over the country. Water supply of the systems are practically all in the western and central parts of European Russia, were destroyed during the war and had to be built anew.

Fresh water shortage was first mentioned soon after the end of the Second World War. The first to feel the stint was Europe. The problem came to many as a complete surprise, something in the nature of an unexpected “catastrophe”. This catastrophe, however, should have been foreseen, for it follows logically from the development of human life on our planet and of Man’s industrial activity.

In the absence of centralized water supply, a man can do with about 25 litres of water a day for his various personal needs. But in the modern city water consumption per person is much higher. An average of 300 to 500 litres of water is spent daily on household and sanitary needs per one inhabitant of a modern city. You can see this vastly exceeds the necessary minimum of 25 litres. Why the discrepancy (difference)? Not because people leave their taps open. Because water is so abundant nobody thinks twice about taking a shower, or a bath, using the washing machine, washing the car, etc. The volume of water consumption is indicative not only of the efficiency of the water supply but also of the population’s living standards.

One need in water is growing. Simultaneously, the globe’s population is growing. In the past century the consumption of water by the world’s largest cities, such as Paris, London, Berlin and Moscow, has grown 80 to 100 times. During the famous heat wave of 1972 Moscow “drank” almost 5,000,000 cubic metres of water a day. This staggering figure seems to confirm the immediacy of the water dearth problem. In actual fact, however, the problem consists not so much in where to get pure water but in how to deliver it to where people need it.