The fight for water | DW Documentary
Climate change is causing temperatures to rise. Extreme weather events and droughts are increasing. Springs and wells are drying up. And everyone needs more water. The battles for control over precious water reserves have begun.
In some countries, water has always been available in abundance - and is wasted carelessly every day. But the climate crisis is changing that. Because the climate is warming, everyone needs more water than ever: for drinking, agriculture and industry. Water is the new gold.
In many countries, the distribution battles for precious water reserves have already begun. In Mendocino, California, there is no longer enough water to flush the toilets. And in Germany, regional drinking water supplies collapse in hot weather. Groundwater levels have dropped to record lows in many places. Will we still have enough drinking water in the future? What happens when our water disappears?
This is a three-part documentary series:
Part 1: The fight for water - • The fight for water | ...
Part 2: What happens when our water dries up? - • What happens when our ...
Part 3: Who owns water? - • Who owns water? | DW D...
Series playlist: • Thirst: When Our Water...
#documentary #dwdocumentary #water
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Disneyland literally uses millions of gallons of water a day for their little theme parks, rich people used thousands of gallons to keep their 2 acred lands in California nice and green as they leave those properties vacant year round. Sue corporations and rich people for mishandling water during a crisis
Ofc its not gonna happen they are gonna feed the rest of us recycled and used water so we get even more sick and take even more drugs and develop even more side effects and die before we even get to our pensions
Absolutely!
Every industry that sells unnecessary goods does the same. They don't even care about their own life. Money has blinded them.
Do your homework mate. I'm no defender of the rich, but the primary culprit is ridiculously irresponsible agricultural practices. Disneyland is not even a drop in the bucket in comparison.
It’s not only California, bud.
Water is far more precious than gold. We can live without gold but we can never live without water
Well it's good that there is plenty of water then huh? Maybe not where the liberals want to live but there is plenty of water same as always.
an individual doesn't but a society does
wow, you truly are a "Brilliant Mind"
Really? If I offered you 1kg of gold or 1 liter of water, which one yould you take?
@@gregorslana7723 right now I'd take the gold but if I was in a desert with no water the gold is just a rock to me
This is literally why I’m going back to school and I’m going for water waste management thanks to these documentaries. I’ve been watching water docs for about a month now and I’m 24, I’m happy to say I finally know what I want to go to school for and this helped me figure that out.
Hurry up! Good luck!
That great! Good luck to you and we need more people like you. I hope you can help this dilemma.
with all the medications in the waste water... thats going to be vastly challenging i bet.
Going to school based on ignorance.
The University of Tube 👻
DW is like I going to school and learn without having to pay tuition. I appreciate DW for your extremely positive contributions. Germany 🇩🇪 I love you.
Thank you for watching! We're glad you like our content.
Water has always been "gold" No-one can live without it
The funny thing is, there have been wars for gold, oil, and even spices, but nobody actually *needs* those things.
@@gregbors8364 all of those things have an imaginary value put on them. Gold is just a mineral and so are diamonds, spices are plants. The oil industry is pure evil that is destroying the environment for profit. Certain people decided these things would be "valuable" in order to put in place a system they knew they could manipulate in order to hoard wealth, and that is what they've done and continue to do.
@@gregbors8364 an individual doesn't but a society does
Trump he can live whit out water.. He is super man.🤣🤣👍
@@gregbors8364 Much of the unrest in hte Near East is caused by quarrels about the distribution of water.
I live in a timber county in rural Georgia. There is green mold on the rocks in the forest. Huge thunderstorms almost every other day this summer. Our deep water well has sweet clear water. I am very grateful.
I'm in north Georgia . A few years ago it started getting wetter and wetter. Sometimes rains off and on for days. The ground stays soggy. The winters are warmer and wetter. The climate has changed. We're getting someone else's water! Too much. I'm sick to death of this climate change, but I'd rather get too much than not enough. This place is turning into a rain forest. Sheesh.
@@SteffiReitsch feels the same here in Scotland, warmer and wetter.
Tennessee has sweet water too. I remember when we would visit my aunt in Tennessee my brother acne immediately cleared up drinking that water and it was always Soo hydrating
You must be a child of God!
when california runs out were gonna sweep across your lands and drink all of your water
DW is the best. Thank you DW
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.
The documentary paints a stark picture of the growing water crisis fueled by climate change. It's a wake-up call for all of us to cherish this precious resource and work towards sustainable solutions. Thank you for shedding light on this critical issue.
Hello, would you like to check out my documentary channel?
"When politics is dictated by the fight for water, then god help us". When this happens you can forget about morals and ethics. It will be survival of the fittest till no one is left.
It reminds me of Mad Max, Rango or the book of Eli.
Australia already sells water. They have done that for decades.
As soon as the trucks stop, and the reservoirs are empty, there will be a brief shock among the populace and then the panic sets it. God help us indeed. 😐
Coming soon to the western US. As things stand, California will be left with zero water from the Colorado River after lake mead reaches dead pool, but las Vegas will then be able to guzzle down every drop that flows into the lake with their new drain pipe. The Hoover dam, because water cannot flow through the dam at dead pool, will then be preventing California from getting any Colorado River water. This is going to get nasty.
Reality has come to life,water is more vital than gold
Silver is a main conpotant for cleaning water ,no silver no clean water
@@williambaker6622 component *
Is water more important than Bitcoin?🤔
Tree plantation, Water conservation methods, rainfall water harvesting, storing water in man made lakes etc. 🙏😭 Water conservation methods World-wide action plans required 🙏😭
And here I'm from Indonesia been complaining about months constant rain, I will appreciated rain and clean water from now on
Being Australian and having lived through droughts all my life, I have the greatest respect for water. I spent 4 years in Western Europe and could not believe the wastage of this precious resource!! Is this perhaps a lesson? City dwellers particularly use water without thinking. Using all the underground water without replenishing it will ultimately have huge repercussions on the globe.
we live in the driest continent on earth... the grey water is a good start.... yes the droughts and floods in NSW are unpleasant (to put it lightly.. they freak me a f out!!) ... but then again the NSW government hasn't built more dams in years it seems (and with a steadily growing population you'd think that resources would increase as well... you'd think) droughts around the country... followed by floods... bushfires as they don't cut the huge amount of growth back... rabbits removed so the undergrowth again makes trouble for bushfire fuel.... the desal plants i thought were a terrible waste of money I've read are producing some water(not sure if that justifies the 1.8 billion spent on the one in south Australia though..) .. i always wondered why they never (years ago) built a pipeline from the ord river scheme as apparently that has enough after for the entire continent... not sure why they stopped at the snowy river scheme as that was a great thing....
& Albert: Wow , your thoughts are so profound and full potential, you blokes are the pinnacle, You can see the mud through the dry, dead bushland and Australia, and its imported vinegar's thankyou for your patience and compliance while getting fucked. Here's a unique thought, this country is having all of its resources extracted by locust and undesirable from without, so how about we use it whilst we can from within. Take 60 minute+ showers and leave it running whilst you dry, take your deodorant and hairspray OUTSIDE and aim it directly up, scorch and salt your earth, the next gen wont be Australians so what in the fucks it matter? If our so called 'leaders' want cake... Australia is already gone, Australians are going extinct, so we may as well use it all before the other imports rob us of it explicitly or implicitly. One day they'll all understand.
As an American I can tell you we are the biggest at being ungrateful. We consume and waste so much
@@albertbresca8904 The government wasted so much money on insane mandates and dubious vaccines, yet they did nothing to increase the underground storage capacity during this flood season; a season that may never occur again.
Have you watched Greening The Desert?
I live on the driest continent on earth. Something that really blows me away is the lack of consideration for the environment in Australia. The government allows cattle grazers to clear fell (govt. leased) land with bulldozers. I went to go fishing one year and the water hole (about 5km (3 mile) long and 300m across) was totally full of rocks, sand and gravel washed down from upstream. No attention is given to the preservation nor to the existence of micro-climates nor to erosion. All large fish, saw-sharks, rays etc have vanished while netting for fish is still permitted at the river mouths. There is no wisdom here. Excellent doco!
Damn. Sorry to hear that. I saw a documentary that due to mining and farming boreholes are now dry in Oz. Hopefully your government acts soon
That's an outright lie, cattle farmers don't fell trees at all. So tired of the bull dribbled by people like you.
Stop voting for right wing governments. We need progressive policy and policy makers if humanity is to survive. but that will never happen, because people vote based on really petty issues and no one thinks their world is about to end as they know it.
Good observation.
Aussies gotta have their barby
I live in Singapore and we don’t have water in the past (water used to be mainly imported from Malaysia and we still do today to a lesser extend) so we decided to be self sufficient since independence by allocating precious land as reservoirs and built water desalination plants and recycle our waste water. Now we are fully self sufficient if required but because desalination is expensive, we are still importing water from Malaysia. It’s important to be self sufficient not only for climate change but for our country cannot rely on others for such an important resource as it would compromise our country’s sovereignty should we unfortunately go to war one day with our Neighbours where they can threaten to cut off our water supply and we would be at their mercy if we are not water self sufficient. Therefore, I see this problem to be a common threat to countries in the future where wars will be waged for water rights.
I'm in a town southeast morocco now, and I'm really living this experience!! Hopefully I'm staying here just a night with a friend who lives here he is telling me that he is living this difficulties 1mounth and a half since the main river they pretend in is dry! And this makes me feel and live this issue seriously it's a bad thing !
oddly, in america, the mississippi river also was extremely dry this year. where is all of this water going? it can't evaporate i to outer space.
Even here in Japan, we sometimes suffer from water shortage. We, at the individual level, may already be too late. The top leaders of each country need to talk more seriously about water issues. And we must do it soon.
That's the problem all they do is talk
All of those public bath houses will need to close down :(
Many of these problems have been allowed to occur due to poor government policy and corporate corruption. Let's be honest. These problems were very predictable and I foresee more and more self made 'crisees'.
Really in Japan?
@@widodoakrom3938 Really really
Welcome to Zimbabwe. Most people have been living without drinking water for years now. Very informative and enlightening Doc
Lucky for us in Malaysia... we have plenty of water all year round! Water is not a problem...
@@thamtinmeng7063 yes too much water is also problem. You will face more severe floods and landslides that will make your place inhabitable due to climate change.
Very bad gov..
I remember Captain Planet warned us about this in the 90's 🤷♂️
Vegas acting like they are making a difference after abusing the resource is the toughest part of the story. Thank you DW for doing something the US news won't
Imagine when you wake up in the morning you can't find anything flow anymore from your tap water. You only have three days... A very important documentary.
I have three water catchment barrels catching rain off my roof. I could add more.
This is eye opening. Germany is one of the last places in the world I would expect there to be a water shortage. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere
Like dwanye forge said in GTA 4 „Expect the Unexpected and you will be pleasently suprised“
Its actually crazy how our rivers are drying up right now. The lakes in my home town are so shallow its scary - i am living here for 30 years now and as far as i can remember, i could never see the bottom of these lakes. Now, in just a few weeks, you can walk over them. Water-features are just hanging about, being damaged as they where never intended to be out in the open. And still, idiots here sprinkle water in to their gardens. But right now, our priority seems to be sending weapons to the ukraine, angering a nation armed with thousands of nuclear warheads and investing 100 billion in to our military - where at the same time, our health care goes up in price because we couldnt afford 3 billion euros. These tards at the top are pissing me off. And in all this, we still have to wait years for weed to be legal because of reasons. Fukk this world.
Even in the Netherlands there are water problems. It's not that's the water is not there, the rivers are unusable because of the pollution.
Germany, over the last year, has been one of the most poorly managed nations in the world. So bad it looks like sabotage in terms of energy and resource management.
Just get outside and whatch the Rhine river
I'm from Aruba and we don't have freshwater sources, we desalinate the surrounding ocean to make it safe for drinking.
So glad I live in Canada where we have the most freshwater in the world. Now if only we could make Canadians appreciate that fact and not squander it.
Water has been the new gold for over a decade. People just don't realize it because they're used to always having it.
Water has always been more valuable then gold
I believe the water war is already starting. I read the comments on the news and documentaries about this, and people are saying get rid of the golf courses, swimming pools and fountains. Also, the lush green lawns.
People are mentioning California as a water hog. That they're taking a lot of the water.
Not new gold New oil
@@carolynmorris7303 Water wars have never stopped.
I must congratulate DW for this excellent documentary on water. Water scarcity was previously limited to the Middle East and some regions in Africa but now due to persistent droughts even US, Europe, Australia, Asia and even Canada are no better. Climate change has altered the rainfall patterns and we all need to change our lifestyles. Reminds me of a very popular song "We need to wake up, we need to wise up.....on KZhead. We need to raise awareness about water scarcity by changing our lifestyles to limit our water footprint. Thank you DW. Love you lots ❤️🥰
I agree! Major props to you DW for yet another excellent, relevant, timely, in-depth, well-researched, and well-presented report. "Ausgezeuchnet!" ⚡️😎
Water-consciousness, awareness. A very important project to be added to what we start to teach our children, (and grown-ups) especially in the well-to-do neighborhoods; where we still have the luxury of water abundance. Becoming aware of how much we just let our faucets running during dishwashing, tooth-brushing (instead of just turning on and off and on at the in-between times), and pre-running for our shower (to get to the right temperature before stepping in). Sprinkler-systems (when I see an important amount just run off in the gutter).
Australia already had it's annual rainfall this year, and that was by March. People near Sydney are getting sick of being flooded every few months. No water scarcity issue here 🇦🇺
Marie Varenya rightly said. The flash floods of August 2021 which struck Europe particularly Germany should serve as an eye opener for all. Not only do we need to use water in moderation but we need to limit our carbon footprint as well. Either we change our lifestyles or the Malthusian theory will take its toll.
@@ivangamer8022 absolutely and we can blame alot of that on religion, stopping birth control and abortions and controlling women time to end the imaginary sky daddy.
I'm from the Netherlands. We are basically one gigantic river delta. 1/3 of us is even below sea level. Last place you'd expect water shortages... And yep, even here droughts are more and more common. Less and less rain. Every summer regulations for agricultural irrigation with ground water. There was even talk of regulating the amount of water used by companies this summer.
The mass movement of water from verdant areas to deserts and cities, accelerates the process of desertification. The place the water is moved to remains a desert and the area that it is taken from begins to become first a drought and then a desert.
Just plant more and more trees. More varied vegetation will atract water without any doubt, but it takes years if you do not have woods. It's like the world problem of the Amazon forests or the destroyed corals around Australia under the sea, etcetera. It's not only California, but the entire world.
Thank you for presenting this critically important report. All living things depend on clean water, clean air, and fertile soil. Whenever I drive through a suburban area, with sprawling lawns in any part of our country, I feel stupefied: high maintenance, high water consumption, zero life-sustaining yield.
Agreed, do anything you can to encourage natural landscaping which needs less water. It is impacting many areas and humanity needs to prepare. This needs to be shared internationally and on social media.
As I am sitting and watching my lawn turn brown, my eyes fall on the neighbours' lawn. Their garden is a lush green. That has to be stopped.
@@achim8239 That neighbor will think you to be lazy for not watering your lawn. If you explain the issue to him, what will he say?
I wonder if anyone considers long-term sustainable management, taking weather variables into the plans? And who the H deserves to whine about their almond crop in a arid climate? They're nuts.
Where I live my lawn stays green all the time, except during the Winter freeze. All by rain water. If there comes a time when we don't get enough rainwater to keep my lawn green I will landscape appropately for the climate. I refuse to waste water on my lawn when others don't even have enough to drink!
Just came back from a trip from the Danube, which is a natural boundary between Bulgaria and Romania. I can confirm that the level has went so low that not even ferries can operate. It hasn't rained for months according to locals and the Danube islands look so desertic...
Yet the Danubw river is a major and mighty rivers of Europe
Go to any state in the great lakes and we have plenty of water 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Living in Scotland it's hard to comprehend having drought.
Understandably digging the well deeper would be expensive.. but closing it off or capping it off sounds ridiculous!!
Rhine at an all time low, England in drought, set France on fire and tinder dry, Spain having 40C plus and rationing power - this summer really is a peak into our futures.
I am from the valleys and forests of central India and we currently have more than sufficient amount of water here. But things indeed are changing, I personally have seen that many of our small rivulets and streams have started drying up completely during summers, and excessive rains during monsoon leading to flood like conditions.
India is rapidly industrializing and building a massive number of coal power plants.
@@jeffk464 sorry but what country are you from..?
India planted millions of trees and have run river rejuvenation and rally for rivers campaigns. Also working on river linking to better utilize the rivers. India is massively increasing renewable energy and electrifying its entire railway network, great incentives for electric cars, solar water heaters, low cost LED lights and much more. Rain water harvesting is mandatory in many states. In addition, we need to switch to vegetarian diets to save water.
@@kirankedlaya3180 As a delhite, I beg to differ...
@@utkarshchoudhary3870 Facts don't lie. So, you can have your opinions contrary to the facts. Your free will.
Holy crap! I live in Fort Bragg, CA, which is just 7 miles north of Mendocino township, and I had no idea fresh water was being trucked into Mendocino County. That explains why my water bill doubled in August from $30 to $60.
My bill is $128 monthly.
I do not understand why the engineers do not build desalination plants everywhere, since we are surrounded by oceans full of water. I know that I have seen the engineering designs on the internet, yet they are never built. Especially in California, where the entire state is bordered by a big beautiful ocean. It's astounding that there is such a simple solution, yet nobody builds the plants.
if they fix the problem...then they wouldn't have a job anymore or a way to take/spend more of our tax money. just like not finding a cure to cancer or whatever else. they need sick people and they need us kept in fear. why didn't they promote healthy lifestyles during the pandemic? they locked out the gyms and gave free donuts for the shot instead. lol
Because desalination is expensive
Here in Singapore, we are already self sufficient in water supply via 3 methods of desalination, water conservation by recycling our used water to turn them drinkable again and the accumulation of rainwater in our reservoirs. Back in those days where climate change was unheard of, we have already started the water sufficiency journey because our country was reliant on Malaysia for water supply and they constantly had the idea that if we did anything they are displeased, they can always turn our tap off. It made the Singapore PM then very concern as we were sorely reliant on Malaysia for our water supply and any water stoppage are national knee bending events. Our PM sought to fix our water sufficiency issues to remove the reliance on Malaysia. We remembered the Malaysians taunting us so hard when our leaders introduced the water recycling or NEWater plan as Singaporeans being so desperate they need to drink recycled pee or sewage water. That’s the kind of reaction they gave to us for our approach. Today, we are definitely thanking the Malaysians for their constant threat to turn the tap off because we are now more ready than many countries in managing water issues cause by climate change with a sustainable approach.
It's so easy to talk when your country only has 5 million people and a more tropical climate. So tell us, why do you get almost everything else imported then? Tell us folks why Singapore import 90% of food? Self sufficient in water but dependent on everything else. California, Nevada, and Arizona has 50 million people, in a mostly desert climate, of course water is going to be an issue. That's 10 times more people than your little country. Do you think it's easier to maintain a flow of water for 5 million in a tropic climate or 50 million in a desert climate?
@@DroneStrike1776 we have a plan to get 30% of our food supply grown in Singapore by the year 2030, we call them 30 by 30 plan. The main reasons for not having 100% self sufficiency in the past is due to our governmental policy to get high value jobs for the people as our land is scarce and agriculture jobs are not well paying in the past. Currently, due to high tech farming, we can grow food indoor in buildings to improve on food security in the tiny land of ours. Some of our fishes, prawns and vegetables supplies are all growth indoor in Singapore now. It can actually avoid the climate issues that is plaguing the world today. Our country can maintain good food security thru the imports of food stuff from all over the world + our current 30% home growth food source, there is more cushion for food security for our future. At this moment, we are still planning for future water sufficiency and not resting on our laurels yet. Our country should be more concern about our population of 5 million and our future plan allows for future population expansion as well.
@@DroneStrike1776 Dude chill, they were relating how their situation has improved compared to their own past scarcity, no need to get so defensive.
@@nat3816 so do you plan to host your own solar industry too ? And the mines too ? I am being sarcastic to illustrate the fact that all of those measures are short terms runaway schemes.
@@mhcbon4606 we have plans for renewable energy but we don’t have the means to install more solar panels to power our country as land is scarce, so the alternative is to host solar panels in different countries like Australia or tap into Vietnam’s solar resources for renewable options. We mainly uses natural gas for energy. The current options are importing gases from Indonesia and Malaysia through a pipeline and we also imports liquefied natural gas from Australia, US, Qatar and Angola among other countries. There is not a lot of self sufficiency in these areas due to our small size and our people’s only options are to earn the money to afford all we need.
People seemed to have forgotten that South Africa Cape Town HAS actually gone through a complete drought where there is little to no water for months. And Cape Town isn't some middle of nowhere city either! It's a fairly famous tourist location and comparable to some first world country city.
It’s in Africa.
So what that's it in Africa,what are you implying
@@MetaphysicalExplorations A lack of water in Aftica isn’t a rare occurrence.
DW do us a favour and post links to the other parts when released on the first in a series, thanks!
More valuable than gold. Every living thing needs it to survive. We can live without gold.
As our mountain springs are drying up in Bhutan, we have been working on reviving them. The documentary is wonderful and thoughtful for all of us!
@gilda bra what immigration? This is ONE planet. "Countries" are made up in wars where politicians draw imaginary lines on a map. What immigration? :D
@gilda bra Bhutan doesn't have an overpopulation problem. They're actually underpopulated
How do you "revive" a spring?
@gilda bra bs
@F. Friedrich Kling Hauss Gee, that seem like an eco friendly solution, but it has one major flaw. The planet is warming up. Ask yourself where does rain come from. That's right, it evaporates from surface water on the planet into the atmosphere. Now consider this. If the population grows and depletes the ground water faster than it can be replenished then what?
what was shocking is that the fastest growing US cities are in the desert. Kindof points to what their priorities are.
"Freedom"? Is that the right answer?
What makes economic sense does not make ecological sense.
@@schechter01 Economical sense will not matter anymore when the planet can no longer support life due to human behaviour. Maybe the rich and powerful might be able to escape to the moon or space in time; leaving Earth and however survives the dying planet to carry on making economical sense. I am sure that will work.
@@WolfgangVonKempelen838 maybe. imean, wtf do I know about dry places where everyone carries a gun in their underwear. people are weird.
@@wantstocomment7092 And it is getting worse I'm afraid Sir
As I'm watching this video I can't help but continuously commenting. The measuring of groundwater levels fluctuates just like the tides.
hard to believe so many place around the world are losing water where i live the water levels keep getting higher and higher last 10 years its went up many feet some places have to close since the ground water level is so high they are flooding basments lake michigan water level has rose so high we are starting to lose our coast lines houses are falling in the lake
People need to view this documentary. 60 years ago while brushing my teeth my mother (may she Rest In Peace) told me to turn the water off while brushing. She said the day will come and there won’t be any water for brushing your teeth. I remember thinking here we go again. Just like eat your food and don’t take any more than you can eat. There are people starving. I thought where does she get these crazy ideas. I would never have guessed she could be right but I practiced what she said. Got upset to myself when I saw wastefulness. Now it’s water. It’s real and places that have water shortages are continuing to build and grow their communities. Everyone needs to view this documentary.
I explained this to my roommates who like to leave the tap on while using the bathroom or brushing or washing the dishes. No one listens. One day there will be nothing and I hope they will remember what I said
not in australia (at the moment..) record flooding and rains.... mind you we built desal plants years back when a drought finished... billions spent... wasted ... plants totally useless....
DW Documentary never disappoints. Quality content as usual
@Concerned Citizen the sheeple will believe anything the talking teleprompter tells them xDDDDDD
@@TheMwowner1 Well I'm 49 and have seen the change, its not really a matter of belief when its in your face. Back when Al Gore made his movie it was more of an abstract idea, now its pretty damn real.
@@jeffk464 Tell 'em, Jeff.
@@TheMwowner1 Which part of the world are you from? Europe?
Except it's trash and complete fear-mongering garbage. I recommend any native USA citizen, who is over 30 years old, and STILL doesn't know about 70 year old clowd bustyng technology, get their spit together. Said technology has been stolen, censored, and bogarted by the Pentagon for MULTIPLE GENERATIONS. It creates gentle, harmonious, rain that solves most droughts swiftly.
Thank you for the information
I think it's kinda funny how the 1st part of south parks streaming wars special was basically talking about this..
Water is the key to life. Without water, there is nothing.
soon, there is nothing. Less then 0.5% of all the water on earh is zweet water.
People should be required to have a license in order to have children.
Water and Air... Apparently so much of them available, but also so much threatened by us, humans ...
Thumbnail asks "Is water the new gold?" No, DW clickbait writers, gold is gold and water has always been more important.
@@BridgesDontFly Yup. Right after intelligence tests are mandated for posting comments on KZhead.
There will be a time one of the most expensive product will be water
The Salton Sea is not a good example. It was a dry lakebed until 1905, when the Colorado River broke though an irrigation canal and flowed for two years before it was fixed. It is highly saline but an excellent stop for migrating birds.
Water has always been worth more then gold for people who know how life works..
Same with clean air, soil, and wild food sources.
Never a dull moment with DW. Very refreshing and educative doc. If all well DW, Media would have lived to it purpose. You guys have raised the bar too high for others to keep pace with. Mamamia Kudos
love this channel..finally some real "news'
Hello, Victor! Thanks a lot for watching and for your positive feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to comment and are glad you like our content!
@@DWDocumentary I am certain there was not a single sniff of sarcasm in victor's comment.
DW, please let us know how many parts are in these series??
@DW Documentary, please let us know how many parts are there in this series on water??
Very informative and eye opening documentary. We are living in uncertain and challenging times, Thanks for sharing.
But I think that they should have emphasis more on agricultural use of water since that is by far (USA is 80% of water use). Needs to only grow what each area naturally will grow).
Sheep.
Do you have a Spotify version of your documentaries?
30 years ago there were scientists saying this was coming. Saying that no one warned of these issues 30 years ago is a selective choice to ignore the warnings that were given.
We went on holiday to Elba/Italy and they had only salt water in the taps and toilet. They don't use important water for flushing.
That's actually pretty smart.
does the use of sea water for the flush cause any extra-corrosion for the pipes?
Here in Malaysia, we always get rains. But we are definately not sitting on gold mine. We experienced great flood early this year and many suffered from getting access to clean water. It was awful time for us. I definately appreciate water more now.
Yeah it can be drought in clean water too tho.
Now maybe we can selling float to them.haha Alhamdulillah 🤲
And we will have water rationing after one month without rain. I am not exaggerating.
Wow! I have a whole new respect for water. My level of ignorance to this issue was beyond comprehension. I’ve heard and known of water shortages, but never understood how, when we are surrounded by water. I knew some about pottable water and filtration…I had zero idea that there were places in the USA that had water being trucked in. Water bottling companies can’t be helping. They aren’t making water, they’re redistributing it in plastic bottles. It’s sitting and waiting to be consumed…in plastic. The bottles are their business.
It's not about if fixing climate change were easy, rather it's about if it were _immediately profitable._ That's the state of things.
I’m surprised DW documentaries are free on KZhead the quality is amazing I can literally watch all the documentaries and be satisfied
How many ads did you skip...not free.
You guys ended the story with the Salton Sea in California and how it used to be a huge vacation area. What you didn't mention was until 1905 it was a dry lake bed, with nothing around. In 1905 they made a mistake with canals that were coming off the Colorado river that took two years to fix. The damage they did let a huge amount of water spill out into the dry lake bed and create the Salton Sea from what was a dry lake bed. Everybody partied why it lasted but now the Salton Sea is going back to being a dry lake bed.
Also it was never fresh water...
Interesting never knew that
You are right and wrong at the same time. Right because what you know is the information most people have heard or read, and wrong because the history, geology and hydrology of the Salton Basin goes back a good 10,000 years, long before the "accident" in 1905. From 1824 to 1904, Colorado River flows flooded the Salton Basin no fewer than eight times. For example, an 1840 flood created a salt lake three quarters of a mile long and a half a mile wide and, in June 1891, another outpouring of Colorado River water created a lake 30 miles long, 10 miles wide. It is uncertain as to how many times water has filled the Basin over the centuries but human intervention is responsible for inundating the basin only once.
@@marmac83 it was fresh water
An example of why DW Tv is NOT credible.
you need to start building desalination stations about 3 unit to refill those water reserviors
Water is real gold. Because without water we can't survive
When the lights go out, when water scarcity drives you away from your home, when food is not enough anymore, we will see how civilised the human race is indeed. Spoiler alert! Civilisation needs the above 3 things to exist.....
Lights going out won't break civilization. You better damn believe water scarcity or starvation will though XD
Former environmental lawyer here. We are not going to "sue" or "reform" our way out of this crisis. Our current (at least in the US) legal system does not provide the tools needed to do that. Our environmental laws are designed (at best) to maintain the status quo - not improve or permanently protect ecosystems - or (at worst) allow corporations to gradually pollute and destroy ecosystems with only minor fines (that take years/decades to secure via litigation) when those corps go too far. This is what happens when capitalist countries pass environmental laws - ultimately they serve private property and profit, not environmental protection. (And they care nothing about the environments of other countries that US corps pollute in order to avoid the restrictions back home.) (TLDR:) Former enviro lawyer here. Ruling class has rigged the legal system of every capitalist country to serve profit and private property, not enviro protection. If you want to fundamentally change that, the solution will not be at the ballot box or with a lawsuit (ruling class would never allow that!), but on the streets via revolution. Either dust off those guillotines or get ready for a waterless cyberdystopia!
Absolutely True!!!!!
Facts
Sounds terrific. We can build the guillotines & sharpen 'em up. Once the revolutionary vanguard starts killing designated environmental offenders, they won't stop there. People will be rounded up & decapitated just for questioning or arguing against the vanguard party's platform. Chaos will ensue, which will inevitably spawn an iron-fisted dictator who after assembling his army will crack down on the vanguard party's massacring & forcibly impose order. Yes, water scarcity is a serious problem. No sensible person is saying otherwise. But if you argue for revolution then you obviously haven't learned about real revolutions. Look into 18th-century France & early 20th-century Russia.
Your whole comment doesn't make any sense. For example, the USSR wasn't capitalist, but yet it dried the entire Aral sea to increase its production of cotton. Even the USA never did something as damaging, even in modern times The problem is not the type of economic system, but overconsumption. The government can't implement new laws if people aren't willing to change their consumption behaviors and lifestyle. Lastly, companies don't consume water just for fun. They consume water to provide consumers something they want to purchase. Things will thus only change when everyone will change their lifestyle. Just as another example, a few years ago, promoters built a 3rd (yes, a 3rd one...) golf court in my town. Since the region is quite humid, they didn't invest into a sprinkler system... and the variety of grass they planted didn't survive more than 2 years. What do you think happened? Golfers didn't like that golf course because the grass wasn't perfectly green, and as there weren't enough consumers, it eventually gone bankrupt. In short, the same thing would happen to all other golf courts in my town if people stopped playing golf all together, or they could keep existing, but people would need to accept to play on non-green grass. If the second option is fine for consumers, golf courts would actually end up making more profits, as their operating costs would decrease. This is a perfect example to show that companies don't consume water just for fun as it is in general a cost increase.
@@PG-3462 So capitalism IS the problem
As a Michigander ive always appreciated my situation in regards to water. If you know, you know
In Pakistan, what I’ve noticed is that during summer there’s too much water in the river and then during winter the water is it lowest. It cause erosion and the widening of river banks which effects rice fields and homes in villages
Well done and I am frightened for folks that live in the south West that still do not grasp what is ahead for crops and everyday life without water. This is an absolute emergency yet they are selling new homes at a breakneck speed and not telling buyers what is ahead for them. So irresponsible. No one will believe until the water actually runs out, sad.
It drives me nuts seeing people still buying huge overkill gas guzzling trucks for personal use. People who don't own a boat, or a trailer of any kind - they just want a big truck. Please people... Buy the most fuel efficient vehicle that suits your lifestyle, and for the love of god - strongly consider EVs if you can afford them.
Hey , two things certain for United States : colapse of its Ponzy economic system and climate change choking its natural resource :water
Sad but true, I know someone who moved to Vegas, I told them that this is looking to be a problem, but she went anyway. God be with everyone in these parts of the world, and the people who will suffer from mass migration
“People miss the well when the water goes dry “
you are worried about the idiots buying houses in a desert? get your priorities straight.... its like buying a EV and thinking you are saving the world. idiots
DW you guys make some really great docs, always well presented and not sensationalized. Thank you.
Ex US Marine Engineer, Moses West had invented and Patented his "Atmospheric air to water, machine." That's right! Let me repeat. Air to Water, machine. We can never run out of water again, because water is only the fusion of two gases, Hydrogen and Oxygen. So, fuse those two gases, and you have water.
This is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in quite some time regarding the water crisis. It’s getting to the point where we need to be shouting it from every rooftop because no one seems to be listening. I live in UT and everyone here has green grass and they still water their lawns during the middle of the day during the summer. It’s incredibly frustrating to see. It should be outlawed- I’ve been saying for years they need to do some sort of compensation program so people can xeriscape their lawns- and what do you know? Las Vegas started doing it! I had no clue until I watched this!! I turned to my husband and was like omg!! What did I just say?! (Because I had just mentioned that very thing to him recently). All in all, great video:) Sobering.. but great!
I live near a lake in Ohio. I haven’t watered my lawn for over 20 years. I let nature water it. I quit watering because of costs and I don’t care if I don’t have a perfect lawn.
Here in Israel we recycle about 80% of the water we use, but there is still a lot more that can be done to save water.ie. shorter showers, eliminating spas, private pools and baths, reducing grassed areas and waste in Industry and Agriculture especially looking at changing over to crops needing a lot less water. Israel has come up with very inventive ways of accessing new sources including extracting drinking water from air. A huge amount of drinking water now comes from a system of Desalination Plants along the coast which while 'guaranteeing' a constant source of drinking water for a growing population, demand huge amounts of electricity.
I SERIOUSLY hope more countries start doing all of these things. Unfortunately, I doubt that they will. 😓 RUS is too busy destroying everything (and UKR). Sri Lanka is having a full on political meltdown. U.S. is going through the 1.6 "Chump" disaster, along with MASSIVE increases in crime (and droughts). France has infernos. China is a disaster. Japan is in trouble... There are some complications. 😕
@@Novastar.SaberCombat Take Water away and all the rest is a walk in the park....priorities matter.
No wonder. We in singapore are following your lead. We have new water.
.....and by stealing water in the Golan Heights and from the Palestinians living in the West Bank!
@@Redbaron9495 Both belong to Israel. If you attack a Country and lose ....sometimes you lose.
We used the drew in to grow to getting water 💧 to eat and drink for 4.000 yrs in Vietnam 🇻🇳
Are these datasets available in the Google Earth engine platform
Excellent documentary DW - very well presented. This should be required watching for every single politician and business leader in the world. They can't keep kicking this can down the road - our civilization is truly at risk, now. My heart goes out to the gentleman associated with the GRACE mission. I can only imagine how frustrating and demoralizing it must be to literally be able to see what's coming, to warn those in charge, and have them dismiss you outright. They've been doing that to climate scientists for years, decades. Now, we are in the age of consequences, and it's becoming painfully clear they weren't just a bunch of "alarmists." We SHOULD be, we NEED to be alarmed. No water, no life - PERIOD. Time is running out.
JEAN PAUL SARTE HAD IT RIGHT. MAN ONLY ADMITS HE HAS A PROBLEM WHEN THAT PROBLEM HAS ALREADY BECOME SO SEVERE THAT RECOVERY IS DIFFICULT AND RARELY IN FULL.
Amazing Documentary DW❤️❤️❤️. But is so Scary😱😱😱
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
Around 45% of potable water in Italy is lost through aging pipes. In contrast, Singapore has effectively addressed this issue, with a mere 2 or 3% wastage thanks to proactive leak detection and immediate repairs. It's a practice that all governments should consider before allocating significant funds to desalination projects.
In 1998, my geology professor said that the biggest problem desert communities have is that when the aquifers empty before having sufficient replacement, the stone around them collapses. Now water CANNOT replenish them. It's a bit late now to notice decades of mismanagement without a plan to reverse it. Also - WHY was anyone farming in a desert? Any one wanting to raise a crop ought to consider harvesting and exporting energy - or consider the usefulness of condensers, like those Luke's uncle used on Tatooine. Or how about a career in water reclamation and restoration? Or am I preaching to the stagnantly ignorant?
I have been railing against growing cotton and alfalfa in the desert for years. They’re still doing it
@@Starfish2145 AND ALMONDS!! One of the thirstiest trees. Yeah, they need certain conditions, but can't these folks find alternative plants, like dwarf tree with fewer leaves? Alfalfa turns to dust without constant irrigation, and I can't imagine cotton being viable there at all. Then there's the greedy real estate axholes. I remember when retirees were all about moving to AZ for air quality - then whining because their lawns won't stay green without constant watering. They used to p/me/o the most. I predict that if ever the winds change, there'll be dreadful rainstorms that will force people off the land - the water won't have anywhere to go. Nor will some of the people.
I believe that is time to forbid grass lawns for good in the west. It’s such a waste. Shady trees 🌳 would be a great alternative for they provide shade, retain water when it rains and help with soil erosion. Of course in the beginning of their growth they require water, but once they grow up their roots go deeper and need less water. 🖖
The species of tree matters too. Some species can deal with hotter and drier conditions
Lawns are a waste of time, effort and expense, far beyond water usage. They are literally a fad. The average home did not used to have a lawn, because there was no point. But since the rich started having them, then the common folk decided they had to have them too, then it became an ordinance or 'home value' issue, and now people who DON'T want a lawn, and all the work and expense that go into it, are literally FORCED to maintain one. People are hopelessly stupid. Solve one problem and they'll go create another one to replace it, and for a stupid, vain reason that amounts to just being in vogue.
Nah just ban mass immigration
@@jameseverett4976 Ban lawns is a great start because it's not needed !!!
Yes 👍 and native cover plants help rebuild the native plant and insect population while being drought resistant. White sage is literally endangered 🥲💀 plant tons of that and others like it instead
Well, 20 years of monitoring how long does it take to resolve a issue??to take action.
Comment to Cloudy Boyy: I am so happy to learn from you that all of their water usage was in the past. Thank God they're not doing it presently. So evidently according to your text they're not doing it anymore and I am grateful for that. I did try to post under your comment but it said the resource was exhausted.
Humanity is doomed yet few people care
@@ivangamer8022 Oh look, the Professor has spoken! ALL IS SOLVED! LMAO. Shut up fool.
@@ivangamer8022 and in "developed" countries we use more resources than all third world countries. Everyone sucks in this story. And rather than build things sustainably and educate people in developing countries, encourage them to have fewer children etc... they continue to do things the same stupid shi**y way over and over again. It's absolute madness.
@@ivangamer8022 ok ivan
Should have kept population steady at 500 million
As I sat in my nursery in Merritt Island Fla , my uncle Frank strolled up to my potting table and said " One day water will be worth more than gold " and then looked straight at me and said , Maybe in your lifetime . I stopped using overhead Irrigation and went to drip . That was 40 yrs ago and have been a big advocate for drip rather than overhead and know the future looks dim and their is no time for debates those days are long gone . If its not all hands on deck soon we wont get another chance . Toast to life on the edge of a razor . No room for error ...
Excellent documentary
After seeing the F.lint, Michigan and Jackson, Miss water crises, I have increased respect for our Water systems. I've learned to conserve and Not to waste it by running it unnecessarily. When I was a home owner one thing I stopped doing was Watering the Lawn. I had neighbours who would water for an Hour and the concrete walkway/ steps too. So many North Americans are still obsessed with having a Golf Green Lawn----who cares? I fear Pure / uncontaminated water will be the battle ground of privilege between the "Haves" and "Have Nots". We must Never Privatize Water.
Living in Central Canada with our abundance of fresh water, rivers and lakes, it's so hard to watch people that struggle securing water for everyday living. It costs me ~35 dollars CA/month for water and sewer and tbh the amount I can use before going over is insane... even when we had small children, a big garden, lawn and were using much more we still never even came close to going over. Building in deserts is a huge issue and needs to be addressed in the states especially. As for whole countries running low it's time to start looking at humanities survival into the future realistically instead of every decision coming up against the, 'What's it going to cost?" question.
In the U.S profits matter
True. My dad always stressed over the fact that Oregon State was sending water down to California and Nevada because someday there won't be any left for Oregon residents. Unfortunately, people who are greedy and all about profit, ie: large corporations, have ruined our planet. There is another document on KZhead that talks about Bolivia, ( I think), where the 3rd world countries poor people's wells have run dry because the coca cola plant has decimated the underground water aquifer. It might have been Peru. It is worth watching. Cheers.
We (CANADA) have *world's largest supply of clean water* (actually 20% of world's supply) In 50 years (or less) I am certain *_USA will attack us_* for this water
I live in SK, Canada, and I had a similar thought, about being surrounded by fresh water, rivers, lakes. And I agree about building in desserts. I don't really understand why desert states like California are trying to be non-desert states.
Canada is gonna be the target
I live in eastern Tennessee, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains where it's hilly, and with a very moderate climate yeararound. We've experienced only a brief period in June of excessive heat........ I have a deep well and also a spring which has been flowing since before 1805 when this property became a county seat of government. I'm now seeing the spring at the lowest level since I've been here, 22 years now......... and the nearby creek has also dried up again this summer, it comes from a dedicated watershed of maybe less than a thousand acres. Other changes I've noticed around here are the increased growth and greening of all the vegetation, throughout the summer, changes in the bug populations, fewer 'lightning bugs' and new nuisance bugs requiring the wearing of a head mask, also quicker drying of the soil surface........ all these I'm watching as possible indications of further water shortages down the line....... To me, it appears that exponential population growth could be the villain, but, ironically, that's what our wealthier classes seem to feed off of, using the exponential growth of our money supply....... Hmmmmm............. But the wealthy are the only ones who can do anything........ they have the money and the power......... Hmmmmm......
Summers are usually dryer and warmer than winters, sometimes hotter than normal, sometimes cooler. Depending where you live.
Don't come here AZ has our own problems🤪
In a democracy, the voters have the power..........Hmmmmmmm🤔 In theory......
Population growth? How about climate change? How about wasteful misuse of natural resources? It's always somebody else at fault for you Americans, huh?
“very moderate climate”….. for now……
Thanks
I live in San Luis Obispo which is just a few miles from Avila Beach. I've lived here since 1988 and almost every year has been very dry , but we've got lots of Vineyards sucking up our ground water? I don't understand why this is okay? We're going to need a Desalination plant soon.
One of the things that I liked about this documentary is that they have not talked about any "possible" solution to this problem. If they had then people would not have taken this very seriously. It really is a very serious issue. Especially in the third world or developing countries. In Pakistan, you don't need to be a scientist to see these changes. People in almost every city are facing a dire water crisis.
A solution but chaos. Motivate ur people you can do this brothe Pakistan will prevail!!!
That's today's problam raja they just talk about problems and manipulate us by using the problems for their own sake. The solution is first we have to plant a tree, I am from 🇪🇹and we started this things, we called it green legacy planting 25 billion trees in 4 years and we plant 25 billions. We have to do the same things all over the world The rich are busy by polluting the air and producing in wrong way. They never brough
More rain, that's the only solution. There are less and less rain around the world and that is the main issue. Global warming is the problem.
@@miodragsavic7350 yeah we need to planting trees to get constant rain and to control climatic change.
The point you make reflects a sad status of the human race.
I live in a small western town in mountains . So grateful for our rivers and well water
Shhhh!!
I will say this don't take it for granted the things that we take for granted that like water is going to be like having money resources going to be the new money not just the water food as well too this affects a lot of things you can't grow crops that means half of the population is going to start yeah we are serious trouble here everywhere
I don't need to see the mountains to be thankful of them.
Let me tell you something about our current situation in Afghanistan 10 years ago we had wells that is approximately 20 m deep and there was water nonstop and now after digging 45 meters we can reach to water only for hours and then need to wait several hours to have water back in the well ..😢
Living in New Mexico, the idea of running out of water seems very real and scary. Even water conservation doesn't seem to help.
Every household must collect rainwater during winter. That is common many places and gives water for drinking when purified.
has not rained in my area for 8 weeks
Yes ☝️👀 even if you don't drink it, its good for cooking, gardening and getting clean as is 👏😌.
@@cryptocrusader6078 Then the region must collect what comes down. 8 monts sounds like desert. Good luck, from Norway in heat wave.
@@kamilareeder1493 There are Berky and many filters that makes rainwater more pure than anything, but yes agree, rainwater is useable for other things than drinking👌
@@beam3819 I've heard the filtration can be quite expensive 🤷♂️🥲☝️. Im native American and I grew up in East San Diego. Sadly no one has a filter to this day. High key, if the state gave a cool subsidy or tax break for installing them and collecting rain water. The native reservations would be a pretty significant source of support. Those are some areas and people that feel the pinch in the water supply bad. The Arizona reservations are worse i imagine. How dyou collect rain water when there is no rain 🤷♂️😭😂😅
When cities use water most of it is recycled. However when you use water for irrigation it is really consumed. As Mr Powell said build large reservoirs would not be a good long term solution. When ground water is used and not allowed to replenish, yes even using personal catchment systems the aquifers will never recharge. Just because you can pump water it does not mean you should pump water. In California the land is subsiding because of the ground water being extracted. Now this land is no longer has the ability to store water. This is blamed on climate change but really it is because we are harvesting more water than can practically be sustained. Blaming climate change for this is like blaming match manufacturers for a rash in houses burning down. Sigh why do we always try to blame something complex.
GREED.
When water is used for irrigation it is indirectly consumed by humans everywhere it’s a whole of community problem that needs everybody to chip in not just farmers.
Pretty naïve to say climate change has nothing to do with it at the same time
@@Bikes0420 Yes it does have something to do with it. However how much of this is anthropomorphic? You do of course realize that the river Thames has frozen in the past as well as the canals of the Netherlands. There have been no formal debates on climate change. We wish to make fundamental changes to society as it has evolved over the past 600 generations because we, in all our infinite wisdom know the "right way" to do things. I tire of the narrative that the aristocracy is trying to throw at us and the gullibility of the people listening to the ideology and narratives. Sigh
@@reginald6045 I am aware of that. Do the research and you find that 75% of the water is used to irrigate fields that would lie dormant and 20% for cities.drinking and sanitation needs. This all results in grey water being treated and put back to into the water system. Not so with irrigation. I am just quoting what Mr Powell said all these years back. You can go ahead and put your head in the sand and continue down this path. It is the very definition of insanity.
30:19 Imagine living next to a reservoir that's drying out but still having a pool. Peak narcissism.
?...
Concrete gardens adds to higher temperature. Another dumb idea. Grass and shrubs also help cool and clean the air.
I always laugh when I hear these southwestern water officials talk about conservation. Right after the media packs up and leaves they go back inside the building and sign off on a new batch of will-serve letters to be issued to the latest housing development. The only constant in the southwest (besides years long droughts) is the primacy of interests of big land owners and builders. It’s always been that way in California, Arizona, etc. where the major political players are in the agriculture and real estate industries. The only long term solution is land conservation, not water conservation.
Wrong. Concentrate all climate funds and resources on desalination. Problem solved.