one solution is rain harvesting.
We not just talking buts for gardening but full system turn to drinking water, toilet flushing showers.
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting
http://www.oas.org/DSD/publications/...ea59e/ch10.htm
Quote:
Advantages· Rainwater harvesting provides a source of water at the point where it is needed. It is owner operated and managed.
· It provides an essential reserve in times of emergency and/or breakdown of public water supply systems, particularly during natural disasters.
· The construction of a rooftop rainwater catchment system is simple, and local people can easily be trained to build one, minimizing its cost.
· The technology is flexible. The systems can be built to meet almost any requirements. Poor households can start with a single small tank and add more when they can afford them.
· It can improve the engineering of building foundations when cisterns are built as part of the substructure of the buildings, as in the case of mandatory cisterns.
· The physical and chemical properties of rainwater may be superior to those of groundwater or surface waters that may have been subjected to pollution, sometimes from unknown sources.
· Running costs are low.
· Construction, operation, and maintenance are not labor-intensive.
Disadvantages· The success of rainfall harvesting depends upon the frequency and amount of rainfall; therefore, it is not a dependable water source in times of dry weather or prolonged drought.
· Low storage capacities will limit rainwater harvesting so that the system may not be able to provide water in a low rainfall period. Increased storage capacities add to construction and operating costs and may make the technology economically unfeasible, unless it is subsidized by government.
· Leakage from cisterns can cause the deterioration of load bearing slopes.
· Cisterns and storage tanks can be unsafe for small children if proper access protection is not provided.
· Possible contamination of water may result from animal wastes and vegetable matter.
· Where treatment of the water prior to potable use is infrequent, due to a lack of adequate resources or knowledge, health risks may result; further, cisterns can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
· Rainfall harvesting systems increase construction costs and may have an adverse effect on home ownership. Systems may add 30% to 40% to the cost of a building.
· Rainfall harvesting systems may reduce revenues to public utilities.
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We could always filtration dirty waste water back to drink water like they do in space station although people will YUK wont do that.
this link if click top left & right got quite few alternatives.
http://www.oas.org/DSD/publications/....htm#TopOfPage
I always felt we backward nation water from paths go into gutters which got to the sea. A road system which runs to underground storage tanks.
http://www.oas.org/DSD/publications/....htm#TopOfPage
We got snow in scotland yet nowbody thought sending trucks bring it back down south dump it in storage.