Peak Water
Peak water is a term used to describe the cycle of water usage and replenishment. Peak water occurs when population uses as much water as the nature can replenish.
Subsequently, when people start using more water than nature can replenish, society and economy suffers from the shortage of water. Resources that are scarce become expensive and increased cost of such resources is reflected in the increased prices for products and services that demand water. Also, shortages of water trigger shortages of food since water is needed for producing crops. Consequently, shortages of food lead to the rising cost of food. Therefore, peak water is linked to the peak food. Peak water signifies a point in exploiting water supplies when there is a risk of developing water scarcity as a result of unsustainable use of water supplies (NASA, n.d.). In areas where water use exceeds availability of this resource, economic, social, and environmental problems occur. I believe that developers should be allowed to build on sites where they cannot guarantee 100 years of water availability.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, developers invest their own resources in construction of building and commercial facilities. Therefore, it is their responsibility to calculate possible risks in order to justify whether the investment is worth the risk. Secondly, it is hardly possible to create a model of climate change so accurate that it will predict where the water will be scarce in 100 years. Hidden benefit of building on sites where water supplies are not guaranteed long-term is that developers will be better motivated to look for solutions and invest in innovations that allow purification or replenishing of water resources. Thirdly, in countries like US where government takes active steps in preventing contamination, ensuring sustainable water use and sufficient water supplies for future generations, risks of exhausting water supplies are relatively low (Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2008).
