International Safety Projects

Global Access to Energy and Fresh Water

Water shortages, unreliable water supplies, and poor water quality have been considered in recent years to be major obstacles to sustainable development and poverty alleviation that require urgent attention.

Over 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. In such areas, water shortages are increasingly limiting development options.

Up to 14.6 million children die yearly because of water shortages or exposure to water-related diseases.

It is predicted that by 2025, about half of the world’s population – some 3.5 billion people – will live in areas facing serious water shortages.

Argonne's Role

Argonne National Laboratory is taking a leading role in helping developing countries develop their own individually tailored Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) plans.

Argonne has active water-related projects that include river basin management, groundwater management, desalination, energy planning (including cogeneration of water and power), detailed hydropower evaluation, water policy and regulation, and computer modeling.

The Argonne IWRM working group teams with water professionals around the world to lead the assessment of various water needs and related infrastructure requirements, planning, and training within the framework of broader integrated water resource management plan development and implementation efforts.

Argonne Capabilities

General Water Modeling and Data Analysis

• Groundwater and surface water modeling for site disposal activities
• Analyses of flow patterns, behavior, and quality for water basins, including dams
• Satellite, remote sensing, and isotopic techniques for watershed analyses
• Numerical modeling and simulation of groundwater systems
• Groundwater and aquifer assessment and development using unique well drilling methods

Capacity Building in Water Desalination and Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation

• Planning, design of, and training in water desalination and wastewater treatment and recycling
• Unique software tools for economic analyses of cogeneration plants (desalination and power)
• Energy calculations and assessment for coupled energy/water systems
• Integrated water resource management planning and education

Energy Planning and Analysis

• Market supply and demand analyses using Argonne computer models and tools
• Energy and power technology assessment and implementation
• Energy for water assessment and planning
• Modeling interdependent relationships between water and energy

Water resource management regulatory and policy issues

• National and region-specific policy making
• Environmental considerations
• Water system security considerations

For additional information on the Argonne IWRM working group, please visit http://www.aiwrm.anl.gov.

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Last Modified: Fri, February 8, 2013 11:27 AM