(a) Suggest reasons for the differences in water consumption for the countries shown. (10)
The graph shows great variation in water use between the five countries presented, which has been
divided into domestic water use, agricultural water use and industrial water use. These differences
can be explained in terms of the development status of the country—this will show which sector is
dominant in the country’s economy and therefore determine the agricultural and industrial water
use—for example a LEDC is likely to have the greatest agricultural water use and a lower industrial
use until industrialisation has occurred. Another key factor in influencing water use—domestic in
particular— is lifestyle, which will impact upon the consumption of water use in daily life.
The USA shows the highest domestic water use at just under 250 cubic metres per year. This is the
result of a number of human factors, most prominently, lifestyle. In the South West, there is a
distinct ‘sunbelt’ lifestyle that accompanies the sunny climate and minimal precipitation and is
centred on luxury and recreation. As a result, there is an expectation that swimming pools, irrigated
golf courses and gardens are part of the ‘sunbelt’ lifestyle in spite of the dry conditions. This is a
great factor in contributing to domestic consumption because everything requires water in order to
stay green. Furthermore, the inefficient system of open pipeline water transport that is used in the
Colorado area means that a large volume of water is lost to evapotranspiration, therefore
contributing to greater water usage.
In comparison, Ghana has a very small domestic water use at approximately 50 cubic metres per
year. This is likely to be largely due to lifestyle factors, which mean that life is not very energy
intensive and consequently isn’t dependent on large quantities of water. However, more
importantly is the fact that water is scarcer and therefore more difficult and expensive to obtain,
particularly in a country affected by poverty and where 1/3 of the population live on less than 1$ per
day.
In terms of agricultural water use, Egypt shows the greatest consumption at over 750 cubic metres
per year—around 16 times as much as Ghana uses. In Egypt, the agricultural sector in Egypt has
experienced major intensification. This is due in part to the hot climate, meaning that massive
volumes of water are required to grow crops—for example, in Sudan, one of Egypt’s neighbouring
countries, desert temperatures can reach up to 50°C and in a 22,000 acre state of the art farm, 8
million gallons of Nile water are used every day in order to cultivate Alfalfa crops in 102 crop circles
each 1 km in diameter. Moreover, in order to maximise the milk yield from their 25,000 Friesian
cows, one farm has used air conditioning to reduce the temperature by 20 degrees. These examples
demonstrate the high water use for agriculture that has undergone massive intensification that is
even greater due to the fact that it is occurring is desert conditions.
Similarly, the USA has a high agricultural use due to the use of irrigation for crop cultivation as in the
South West area where massive population growth from 23 million in 1970 to over 48 million in
2008 has resulted in an increased food demand and consequently the need for greater agricultural
production. As a result, a highly unsustainable practice of heavy irrigation has been expanded to
ensure growth occurs even in desert regions with minimal precipitation. The USA also shows a high
industrial usage of water together with Germany that stands at over 450 cubic metres per year,
which shows the fact that more economically developed countries are more industrialised and their
industries are focused predominantly on industrial production compared with LEDCs whose
economies are more based around agriculture.
Another key factor to be considered in the variations between the countries is the availability of
water and the supply of water, which is directly responsible for the overall consumption. In
, comparing Germany and Ghana for example, it can be seen that Germany’s temperature climate
means precipitation occurs much more frequently and is more predictable whereas Ghana’s rainfall
is much more scare and irregular. Additionally, provision of water infrastructure may affect the
availability and also, as in the USA where inefficient systems and open pipelines affected by
evapotranspiration result in large amounts of wastage—in this way adding to consumption.
Overall, there can be seen to be many reasons for variations within domestic, agricultural and
industrial water usage, in particular between MEDCs such as the USA and LEDCs such as Ghana.
Comparing these countries in addition to Egypt, which is dominated by agricultural water use, clearly
shows the differences in lifestyle and economy that affect water use in the three sectors and show
the impact of agricultural industrialisation in a desert region. Also to be considered is the availability
of water as a result of physical causes as well as human causes that may mean water transport
infrastructure is inefficient or non-existent.
