When the Rivers Run Dry

When the Rivers Run Dry (2006) is a survey of the world’s water crisis by Fred Pearce. For his research, Pearce canvassed more than thirty countries to assess the political, ecological, and historical factors that have led to a mismanagement of water. The book is information-heavy, broken up into ten sections of thirty-four short chapters. Pearce is a writer at the London-based New Scientist magazine and focuses on global environmental issues.

In the first section, “When the Rivers Run Dry…The Crops Fail,” Pearce educates the reader about the amount of water it takes to fuel our daily lives. According to Pearce, humans use the most water to produce food. It takes 250 to 650 gallons to grow just one pound of rice, 3,000 gallons to produce the meat for one hamburger, and 400 gallons to make a pound of sugar. By comparison, humans use just a gallon and a half of water a day for drinking, washing, and toilet use.

In the same section, Pearce outlines illogical water importation and exportation practices. He explains the concept of “virtual water,” which is the water contained in imported and exported products. An example is grain grown in California and exported to China. The world uses the equivalent to twenty Nile Rivers per year in virtual water. In general, the Western economy utilizes the most virtual water. The U.S. is the biggest exporter of virtual water, while Japan and the EU are the biggest importers. Countries like Iran, Egypt, and Algeria are short of water of any kind.



Pearce proceeds to a case study of the Rio Grande River in Texas. The river, which used to supply abundant water to farms and cities in its watershed, has been severely abused since the 1950s. In 2001, the river got so low that a sandbar formed across it. The town of El Paso, which once employed thousands of migrant farm workers, cannot sustain its farming economy any longer because of the lack of water. This is similar to the abuse of the Yellow River in China. In 1972, it did not have enough water to reach the ocean, which caused an overflow of silt upstream. A portion of China’s wheat and corn are produced in Shandong, which is at the very end of the river – another example of illogical water management.

In a section titled, “When the Rivers Run Dry…We Mine Our Children’s Water,” Pearce next gives an overview of the severe water problems facing other countries. In India, underwater aquifers are being drained at an alarming rate without replacing their water. India has no choice but to use underground water for consumption because its groundwater is contaminated by arsenic and sulfur. In western Asia, the Aral Sea dried up in 2014. It used to be one of the largest lakes in the world until the Soviet Union started diverting water from it in the 1960s. Similarly, Africa’s Lake Chad shrank by almost 95 percent between 1963 and 1968 because of overuse.

Another problem, Pearce explains, is the misuse of dams. Dams are used to divert the waters of a lake or river for drinking water or to generate energy. Although the use of dams helped to establish ancient civilizations, the modern creation of dams is often a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The monetary and ecological costs of creating a dam often outweigh the profits of building one. An example is the disruption of fish spawning, which can lead to a decrease in fish reproduction. The creation of dams also leads to the dissolution of wetlands, which can lead to more flooding instead of less.



The most daunting problem outlined by Pearce is the threat of wars over water. The world’s first modern water war was fought in 1967 between Israel and Palestine. The conflict began when Israel diverted the Jordan River at the Sea of Galilee. After the war, Israel seized control over the river’s headwaters. Since access to water is controlled by dams in modern times, countries with the most power end up having the most access to water, creating yet more inequality.

In the final sections of the book, Pearce switches to a more pragmatic, if not optimistic, tone. In a section called, “When the Rivers Run Dry…We Go Looking for New Water,” he outlines ideas and solutions for water management. The majority of the world’s usable water is confined to just six countries – China, Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Canada. Other countries need to find a way to access this water or manage their own water properly. There have been plans to move water south from Canada to the U.S. in order to replace the water being drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer. In India, a river interlinking project has been proposed which would redistribute the waters from all of India’s rivers in a more sustainable way.

Other solutions and experiments are being tried. In Europe, Singapore, and Mexico, sewage water is recycled. Some countries have tried capturing and even “manufacturing” dew, while other countries, such as India and China, have tried “harvesting” fog in an attempt to capitalize on the atmospheric water. Another solution, although not very sustainable, is desalination of ocean water, which is used in places such as Saudi Arabia. The process, however, requires huge amounts of energy.



Throughout the book, Pearce reiterates that there is enough water to sustain everyone on the planet, it just isn’t distributed or managed properly. He uses the example of Los Angeles, which receives half of the water it needs to sustain itself in one year from rainwater but doesn’t use the water. He also calls for a cap on the “virtual water” trade and to replace modern farming methods with traditional ones. Ultimately, Pearce thinks we can solve our water problems with a revolution that mirrors the “green” revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.