Feature Stories

Along the banks of the Danube River, Vienna, Austria.

Along the banks of the Danube River, Vienna, Austria.
(Photo credit: R. Quevenco/IAEA)

World Water Day 2002

Of all the water on earth, only 2.5 per cent is freshwater, the rest is salty. Of this freshwater, most is frozen in icecaps, present as soil moisture, or inaccessible in deep underground aquifers, leaving less than 1 per cent accessible for use.

Sustainable human development depends on the availability of freshwater. It is estimated that more than one third of the global food production is based on irrigation, a significant portion of which may rely of unsustainable groundwater sources. Despite progress in the last two decades to improve access to safe drinking water, some 1.1 billion people today go without. Areas of water scarcity and stress are increasing, particularly in North Africa and West Asia. In the next two decades, total water demand is expected to increase by 40 per cent. By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may live in countries with moderate or severe water shortages.

The United Nations has declared 2003 the International Year for Freshwater-a year "to raise awareness and galvanize action to better manage and protect this crucial resource". Read UN press release

The IAEA is one of several UN agencies working to improve access to freshwater around the world. The Agency applies nuclear and isotopic techniques to improve water management practices, to study soil conditions and the effects of pollution on soils and water systems, and to breed plant varieties able to grow in poor soil conditions. The Agency also provides technical assistance to those Member States interested in pursuing the use of nuclear energy for desalinating seawater-an option for providing freshwater. Support and technical assistance for these and other water-related activities are provided through the Agencies technical co-operation programme.

Regional Isotope Hydrology Project in Africa

Water resources in semi-arid areas of southern and eastern Africa are under increasing pressure as service is extended to rural populations and land use shifts to more intensive production crops and livestock. As millions are being invested in water systems to meet these demands and competition among water users grows, information about groundwater resources is becoming increasingly more important. A seven-country regional project has been set up in Africa to explore the use of a wide range of isotopic techniques to address issues facing water managers in the region. The combined efforts of the IAEA, national and local governments, and scientists have yielded impressive results.

In Uganda, the water supply for the town of Wobulenzi was recently upgraded, but the long-term yield of the aquifer and its vulnerability to pollution from the rapidly growing town were unknown. As part of the regional project, isotope and conventional techniques were used to locate important recharge areas and assess recharge areas in the water catchment for Wobulenzi. Using these techniques, the project team was able to locate the areas with the most active recharge and is now working with local authorities to develop guidelines to protect these areas from overuse and pollution.

In Tanzania, nitrate levels detected in the Makutupora Basin well field has raised concerns over the safety of the water supply for the city of Dodoma. The regional project team assess the potential sources of nitrate into the groundwater and tracked its movement through the underground aquifer. The initial results suggest that a growing human population coupled with changing land use and agricultural patterns may be responsible for rising nitrate levels. Further work is now planned to determine protection zones in the aquifer's recharge areas that will be required to safeguard the Dodoma water supply.

This regional project is but one example of the important contribution that nuclear and isotope techniques are making to the global effort to protect and preserve freshwater resources for today and tomorrow. During the International Year for Freshwater, the IAEA will strive with its partners to share the results of such work at important international venues, such as the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan and the International Symposium on Isotope Hydrology and Integrated Water Resources Management in Vienna, Austria.