Editorial: Energy woes linked to water!

Last Saturday, March 22, was World Water Day and this year the theme is “Water and Energy”, drawing international attention to the fact that water is an energy issue and energy is a water issue.

The two are closely interlinked and interdependent -- it takes a great deal of energy to supply water, and a great deal of water to supply energy. With demand rising for both resources and increasing challenges from climate change, water scarcity can threaten the long-term viability of energy projects and hinder development.

This fact is visible and coterminous to the energy problem engulfing the nation when it reared its ugly head back in 1997!

The Day’s celebration was instituted in 1993 by the UN General Assembly following recommendations in 1992 by the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

Energy Production requires a reliable, abundant, and predictable source of water -- a resource that is already in short supply throughout the world. Water is used in electricity or power generation, primarily for cooling thermal power plants; in the extraction, transport and processing of fuels; and, increasingly, in irrigation to grow biomass feedstock crops.

Each resource faces rising demands and constraints in many regions as a consequence of economic and population growth as well as climate change, which will intensify the susceptibility of water and energy to one another.

UN Water notes that this demand will grow as the world’s population reaches 9 billion, requiring a 50 percent increase in agricultural production and a 15 percent increase in already-strained water withdrawals.

With two-thirds of the world’s population -- or 5 billion people -- urbanised by 2030, cities in developing countries will be under tremendous pressure to meet the demand for food, energy, and water services. By 2035, the world’s energy consumption will increase by 35 percent, which in turn will increase water consumption by 85 percent, according to the International Energy Agency.

Against this background, countries cannot meet global energy goals of extending access to the poor, increasing efficiency and expanding without water. The water energy interrelationship is critical to building resilient as well as efficient clean-energy systems.

Failing to anticipate water constraints in energy investments can increase risks and costs for energy projects. In addition, water service is fraught with challenges like lack of flow to certain suburbs, lack of potable water in many communities while water-bodies are increasingly threatened by activities of small-scale miners.

This Paper believes the Day should afford every Ghanaian the space to reflect on the resource and how it is linked to our present energy problems, as well as for household consumption purposes