Safe Water for the Aral Sea Area: Could it get Any Worse?

Abstract

The environmental adversities around the Aral Sea in Central Asia have been the subject of recent research. Attempts at sustainable provision of palatable drinking water in low chemical and microbial contaminants for the 4 million people in the two countries around the Aral littoral have been largely unsuccessful. In the last few years, severe drought has further depleted the amount of available water. This shortage has negatively impacted on agriculture, and accentuated the out migration of people. An appeal is made to assist the local population in this arid area to cope with the acute and chronic deterioration of water security.