My Water Footprint

     I find it interesting how much water a person can use daily. Being an American, I was not surprised to see that my water usage was much higher than the global average (1243 cubic meters, or 899 gallons per day). When looking at my specific results, I consume just under the US average of 1802 gallons per day. For me, I calculated on watercalculator.org that my personal usage in a single dormitory room was roughly 1602 gallons per day. Honestly, I found these results to be quite shocking. Particularly, I live in a low-emissions and sustainable dormitory in Carlisle, PA. I estimated that my average water consumption would have been lower than the average, but not as high as it turned out to be. 

A view of the High Street Resident Hall at Dickinson College (Source)

    When looking at water usage from a more global perspective, it is no surprise that the United States holds a clear lead over most of the countries in my region of focus (the north African countries). The Water Footprint Assessment Tool describes how the USA consumes 820000 million cubic meters of water annually. In comparison, a country like Egypt, with a population of about 1/3 of the USA, uses about 95000 million cubic meters per year of water. This is just over 2 times less water usage by a country with a massive population center and economy in the North African region. 

    Another interesting aspect to look at is the internal and external water footprint effects that are produced by these countries compared to the United States. The United States, for example, has an 80%-20% internal-external water footprint. Places in the north African region, where climatic conditions are much more arid and dry, produce larger external water footprints as many of their resources (like food, water, and other materials) come from outside of their borders. Algeria for example has a 51% external footprint while Lybia has a 65% external footprint on their water usage. 

Note how most of the population of Egypt can shape the path of the Nile river and its delta. (Source)

    Thinking about these factors, the water usage differences between the USA and North African region produce some implications that I find to be particularly interesting to study. Specifically, the political structures of these countries (as we have discussed in our class focused on the International Politics of the Middle East and North Africa) will likely be strained as a result of the increased reliance of some countries in the MENA region on importing resources and water from outside of their borders. As other factors like desertification and the salination of rivers and deltas in the region (for many countries like Egypt) continue to strain the amount of water that countries whose populations are exploding, instability will likely increase as the countries in the region begin to turn to look at their neighbors and the international community for assistance.

    I am researching desertification and water security in Egypt (and the implications that can arise with its neighbors). A key focus in my research is the focus of the country's population being heavily centered within the Nile River valley or delta region. With other countries upstream of the Nile facing similar water security issues with an increasing population and varied climate, it will quite likely cause Egypt to unintentionally increase its external water footprint as it struggles to subsist on the water of the Nile (If you're interested in reading more about this, see the (GERD on Google or check out this link).