SPECIAL FEATURE PIPE DREAM
From ancient Rome to contemporary Cape Town, safe water piped into the home is the best innovation of all time. We should never take it for granted By Howard Hudson, OPEC Fund
W ater, the fundamental element, flows through us and all around us. It makes up more than half of our bloodstream, covers over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and has driven human development for millennia. As far back as 5,000 years ago noria water wheels transformed agriculture in ancient Egypt, turning the country into the breadbasket of the Middle East. Then came the qanat in ancient Persia, with almost 30,000 of these underground channels connecting aquifers with farm and city water supplies. But the most elegant innovation of all saw fresh water piped straight into people’s homes. Aqueducts became a
symbol of the might and munificence of imperial Rome: Around 200 of these structures supplied fresh water to public baths, fountains and private homes all the way from Britannia to Bithynia in the northwest of Asia Minor. Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain marks the end of an aqueduct first “tapped” more than 2,000 years ago. Fast forward to the present day and Pakistan’s Mohmand multipurpose dam, co-financed by the OPEC Fund, will soon live up to its name – providing not only hydropower, but also irrigation, flood control and water storage, including drinking water for millions of people in the downstream city of Peshawar. However, water, or rather the lack thereof, remains a fundamental problem for much of humanity. More than two billion people lack access to safe drinking water, particularly in rural areas, according to UN-Water, the United Nations agency working on water and sanitation issues. A further 3.5 billion people worldwide live without modern sanitation, mainly in overcrowded cities. That’s more than the populations of China, India and the USA combined.
Sanae Okamoto
Beyond development priorities, water is also a defining feature of many humanitarian disasters. Sanae Okamoto, Senior Researcher at the United Nations University in the Netherlands, explains: “When storms or floods hit, we of course focus on saving lives. But after the initial emergency many victims will need shelter for weeks or even months. That must include Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities – because people still need to use the toilet every five to six hours! More so in fact, as many people develop diarrhea or other diseases when exposed to unsafe water, which is the last thing you need, but an unfortunate fact of survival.” Further layers of vulnerability can be seen through a gender lens. “Floods and storms are chaotic and women and girls risk violations of their privacy and dignity, including sexual assault,” warns Okamoto. “But the risk of staying put can be equally terrible. If females fear shelters, they may decide not to leave their homes – which means some die needlessly when disasters strike.” Sanae Okamoto is a Senior Researcher at the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU- MERIT) in the Netherlands. With a PhD in Psychology from Maastricht University she specializes in climate resilience, mental health and well-being.
The noria water wheels of Hama on the Orontes River in Syria, and (right) the Roman Aqueduct of Segovia in Spain
Photo: Juan Enrique del Barrio/Shutterstock
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