A Proposal to Reduce Water Scarcity Problem in New Orleans Town

INTRODUCTION

Problem

Water rationing and inadequate periodic supply of fresh and clean water for human consumption has been a significant issue in the town. Water is essential in the sustenance of life; however, the authorities mandated to perform the function of dispensing water to the people have failed the estate owners who are expected to assure their tenant of efficient supply of the clean water. Inhabitants of the town have suffered a lot in pursuit for water since at the time the available water is usually little to meet the demand of the populous city. If no immediate and long-term solution is provided to the issue, the town and state owners are at the brims of huge financial cost losses since people tend to migrate to cities where they get all year round water supply.

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Solution

To advance water supply in the town the municipality should consider the construction of a large reservoir for water resources in New Orleans to store waters from natural hydrological systems such as rivers and lakes. The town can also partially invest in wastewater treatment of all domestic wastewaters collected from the sewers, which can supplement at the time of water shortage in the town. The solution to the problem lies in our hand.

Objective

The research aimed to facilitate the improvement of water supply by the provision of long-term solutions to the water management authorities in town so that the residents can have been satisfied with the town provision of essential services.

Background of the Study

Water is life; the statement means that water is required in every activity that humans undertake and also is a necessity in the human body. The demand and supply imbalance of water in the town has hampered the run of economic activities since the hospitals, schools, and industries are forced to reduce their operations or even close down due to lack of adequate supply of water (Cosgrove and Loucks 4831). Moreover, women and children are forced to stay back at home and check for the periodic water supplies under the rationing schedule hence women's gender role is reduced to the home setting. The costs of water shortage are detrimental, to avoid the repercussions, the town residents prefer to move to the neighboring states where there is an adequate supply of water. Stats from 5 property and housing agencies indicate the following; At least ten people vacate houses and move to neighborhoods in a month, three flats rented as a hospital have been closed, five apartments with hotels and guest houses have been shut (Cosgrove and Loucks 4825). Furthermore, a survey done in the town by non-profit private organization indicates that 75% of the residents are disturbed with the town water scarcity.

Data Sources

The data for the proposal was obtained from secondary sources, which includes records from property management agencies, water audit reports, and publications on water shortage. Equally, the plan is made from interviews with water engineers, open-ended questionnaires water management staffs and weekly observations of water supply trends in the town.

Scope and Limitation

The study on the water crisis in New Orleans provides the basic framework from where the authorities, policymakers, and investors will draw knowledge from to help solve the issue in the future. The paper investigates on a problem that has hampered the town for quite a period and moved further to provide the solution that will cut the cost the residents, the federal government and business firms endure at the epoch of water shortage. Nevertheless, the research limits its knowledge on the provision of the solution to water challenges without checking the impacts of natural climatic changes on global water regimes.

DISCUSSION

Methods

Since it was established that the water scarcity in the estate is rampant, which affects the agricultural activities and other industrious processes, the municipal water engineering expert advocated for the construction of reservoirs to collect and store rivers waters as well as rain waters (Yang and French 93). The storage capacity of the pools is approximated to be about 1.5 109 m3 that will assure the people a constant water supply throughout the year. The aggregate water reservoirs will be located in the river basin where the river waters will be diverted into the pool and hence water will be supplied from the dam through pipes to meet the demands of the people. The storage tanks will be designed to have the inner wall and outer wall, stable foundation and floor, inlet and an outlet. The town will be economically productive as the general revenues earned here in the US from reservoirs water production amount to almost US$ 265 109 annually. Hence, water supply restoration project initiated in the New Orleans area, people will prefer relocating from other urban centers to this town. Currently, people affected with water scarcity will have more water supplies run their hospitals, schools, farms, and homesteads to meet the daily demands.

Moreover, the town can erect wastewater treatment plants to enhance water conservation, which will provide safe water for other activities such as agriculture, and domestic washing but not for consumption (Wang et al. 120). At least five home wastewater treatment plants will serve the function of production of a thousand gallons of water used daily in secondary water uses in the town thus; conserve the vast amount of fresh water required.

Scheduling

The rampancy of water shortage has adversely hit the town for last six months, we as the residents of urban center expect that the project will be fulfilled as soon as possible, a period that does not exceed next eight months. The architectural work of construction should be provided to the state's engineers who will accomplish the job with the help of other professions in planning and development. Long projects usually take a periodic time, but people of the town want to see the initialization of the plans to anticipate the issue. The projects should be done in phases whereby the water stakeholders can design the floor and then start varying the heights of the tanks up to the targeted dimensions. Moreover, within eight months, the water and sanitation board should have begun activities in at least 2 out of 5 wastewater treatment plants. Finally, within a three-year period of water shall be trickling freely in taps at homes, hospitals, and hotels after the implementation of the entire project whereas the wastewaters are purified in treatment plants.

Materials and Equipment

The materials to be purchased include brinks of size 23cm by 11cm by 7cm, sand, stones, cement, and iron rods. The concrete mix ratio should be of 1:3:6 proportion while the cement should be water resistant. Other material necessities include adhesives, chalk, and paints. Most of the equipment required for construction will be acquired from the contractor who will be monitoring the operations (Akbar et al. 82). However, the quantity of the materials may vary due to unexpected losses which might affect the operational costs.

Cost

According to the construction estimates of a reservoir tank, a 400m3 tanks volume costs the US $ 1.2 million (Akbar et al. 82). When we evaluate with our proposed 1.5 109 m3 volume tank, the cost approximates to almost US $ 0.45 trillion. Since the project will be done in phases, and each phase completion marks the increment in revenues collected; the idea seems a long-term breakthrough if the plan is implemented. It's expected that the federal government will finance the project to its competition. For the wastewater treatment plants, the water and sanitation board should fund its activities from returns collected monthly on water utility bills.

CONCLUSION

If the water crisis issue is not solved, New Orleans town might endure substantial financial losses in the future than it is now. The town might lack investors willing to come to invest in the town as their businesses will stand-still for lack of water required in the operations. Residents of the town and its suburbs can relocate to new areas since water shortage implies to poor sanitation thus poor health status of the town. It is, therefore, necessary for the area federal government to finance and water management authorities to finance the construction of a reservoir and waste treatment plant to reinstate a proper water supply in New Orleans.

GLOSSARY

Stakeholders: are people with a bigger share of something

Concrete: a synonym for cement, a material mixed with sand and stones to make up masonry

Water Crisis/scarcity: A situation whereby a place experiences in adequate supply of water

Reservoir/ Dam: A naturally occurring/ artificially constructed depression purposed to store water

Works Cited

Akbar, Farid et al. "A Case Study On Water Storage Tank Design, Construction, Operation And Assessment In District Kalat, Balochistan." Civil and Environmental Research 6.4 (2014): 81-84. Print.

Cosgrove, William J., and Daniel P. Loucks. "Water Management: Current And Future Challenges And Research...