Drought mitigation strategies are regional and /or countrywide plans to deal with prolonged drought. Without water there is no existence. One of the reasons we wouldn’t survive living on another planet is because of lack of water there. Insufficient precipitation means higher costs of farming and eventually reduced amount of crops. That in turn, will cause higher import of food. We already rely on imported oil. How bad it will be if we start to rely on imported food. Low water supply to urban areas will cause increased health and social problems of the population. That’s why authorities of almost all countries implement different strategies to overcome drought.
The first issue of supplying water is where it is supposed to come from. Are there any rivers, or lakes in the area? Is the water contamination a problem? Are the water treatment plants working efficient enough to provide drinking water to the population? those are some of the questions that need to be addressed before implementing any water shortage solutions.
There are several options to increase water supply and to prepare for water shortages. First is to build reservoirs large enough to supply a small town. Many large cities have several of them. Also water dams and canals are build to regulate water flow in different areas. Often, there are so called water towers placed in cities to relieve immediate water shortage.
In most states in the US there are water restrictions on commercial as well as residential water usage. Excessive watering lawns led to imposing fines and creating watering schedules for many neighborhoods. Many residents started landscaping their yards with water thrifty plants and reduce the size of their lawns in response to raising water bills.
Water shortages have a heavy impact on farming. many farmers reduce their crop sizes due to lack of water. They also implement more efficient farming techniques, like crop rotation and planting water dependent crops.
Another drought mitigation strategy is to increase precipitation by cloud seeding. Cloud seeding is inducing rain by spraying clouds with chemicals like silver iodine to cause condensation. Also desalination of sea water is becoming more popular, especially in middle eastern countries. However, it is very costly and relies heavily on energy supply.
As drought in so many parts of the world worsens, countries have to come up with solutions that will help sustain life in those areas. There has to be a mutual effort to not only restrict, but also protect water if it is supposed to last for other generations.
