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The Twin Dilemma for Cities
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ore and more people are choosing to live in cities. With more than half of humanity urbanized, there is an urgent need to take an integrated and holistic view of the supply and demand for water in Cities. While many cities, particularly in developing countries, are facing acute scarcity in providing clean safe water, urban managers are daunted by the complex task of sanitation - managing the wastewater generated by cities, so that harmless, clean water is returned to the natural water cycle. 
Do you have any suggestions or additions to make on the above information? Please send an email to Hari Srinivas at hsrinivas@gdrc.org
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A round the world, 884 million people do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion are without adequate sanitation facilities. |
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D iarrhoea causes 2.5 million deaths/year, accounting for around 21% of all-cause mortality for children under five years old in developing countries (Kosek, 2003). This is equivalent to one child dying every twelve seconds, or a jumbo jet full of children crashing every 90 minutes. |
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U p to 30% of fresh water supplies are lost due to leakage in developed countries, and in some major cities, losses can run as high as 40% to 70%. |
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A person living in Sub-Saharan Africa uses about 10-20 (2.6-5.26 gallons) litres of water a day; on average, a Canadian uses 326 litres (86 gallons) a day. |
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T he average amount of water needed to produce one kilogramme of potatoes is 1000 litres, wheat is 1450 litres and rice is 3450 litres. Agriculture accounts for over 80% of the world's water consumption. |
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L ack of safe water and sanitation costs sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year. |
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T he UN suggests that each person needs 20-50 litres of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning. The daily drinking water requirement per person is 2-4 litres, but it takes 2 000 to 5 000 litres of water to produce one person's daily food. |