Drying Lakes: A Review on The Health Conditions and Restoration Strategies

Abstract

Great salt lakes around the world are drying at a rapid rate. The drying salt lakes give rise to health and socio-economic concerns for the population in the surrounding region. The respective governments undertook various measures to address the concerns relating to the drying of salt lakes. This research aims to assess the strategies towards increasing the water level of saltwater lakes in the case of Lake Urmia and the Aral Sea. Additionally to investigate the health impacts of the decreased water level on the surrounding population in the case of the Aral Sea. A comprehensive case study was conducted on the publications relating to the assessment of health conditions and restoration strategies implemented towards the Aral Sea and Lake Urmia. Research publications and official reports in English and Russian Languages were considered for this research. Based on the studies, it was found that the drying of lakes might not be the cause for the health disorders in the Aral region. The restoration strategy of the salt lakes was found to be a viable option only if sustenance of the restored lake can be promised.

Popular Abstract

Great salt lakes are massive reservoirs of saline water. These lakes are endorheic, and the outflow is only through evaporation. The decline of these salt lakes takes place when the amount of outflow exceeds the inflow. The changes in these lakes is a natural phenomenon, spanning over thousands of years, however, these lakes have been drying up rapidly since the 19th century. Drying of the lake gives rise to several socio-economic and health-related concerns.

The common conception is that the restoration of drying lakes will help improve the health and economic conditions. This thesis assesses such common conception from a critical standpoint, trying to find a correlation between the drying salt lakes and the prevailing diseases and gauging the expense to benefit ratio of implementing restoration programmes. The critical cases of the Aral Sea and Lake Urmia were selected for the assessment.

The drying of salt lakes exposes the salt-rich bottom to the surface, which are then spread around by the prevailing strong winds called dust storms. There is speculation that the drying of the lake is the cause of several health diseases. The population residing near the Aral Sea are suffering from diseases and the six prominent diseases, i.e., Respiratory Disorder, Psychological Disorder, Nervous System Disorder, Reproductive Health, Malignant Neoplasm and various cases of Disabilities have been considered in this report. Numerous cross-sectional and case-controlled studies are performed on the population of the Aral Sea to find the correlation between the dust storms and diseases. The studies reveal a healthy lung condition among the average population of children. Among the analysis of reported diseases and disabilities, there was no solid evidence found to show an undeniable connection to the dust storms. On the other hand, perilous pollutants such as DDT, PCB, POC’s were amalgamated to the lake through agriculture and industrial waste disposal. These pollutants also play a prominent role in causing the observed diseases and the dust storms provide a medium for the spreading of these pollutants. Therefore, the actual cause of the health issues is the pollutants added through anthropogenic activities. Thus, one could conclude that the dust storms are a natural phenomenon and they have no significant effects on human health.

The ever-growing population, the increasing demand for water and agriculture centred economy seems to be the customary combination for the desiccation of great salt lakes. The diversion of the tributaries for domestic, industrial and irrigation purposes results in the reduction of inflow to the salt lakes. The shrinking of the salt lakes is the consequence of such activities. The Aral Sea and Lake Urmia are examples of such a predicament. These three salt lakes serve as an ideal example because their respective governments had a contrasting approach towards the identical problem of drying salt lake. The Northern Aral Sea was restored by controlling the water withdrawal from tributary rivers under the Kazakhstan government, the Southern Aral Sea was left without serious plans of restoration and the dry lake beds were used for oil and mineral extraction under the Uzbekistan government and the Lake Urmia is in the process of restoration by water transfer activities from neighbouring water sources under the Iranian government. Assessing from three different perspectives, we can conclude that restoration is a viable option when the economic conditions are stable and when the sustenance of the restored lake can be promised. With the economy being dependant on the water, the restored lake could potentially face a fate similar to the current conditions. Therefore, making investments on diversifying the economy assures a more dependable future.

• author: Anchita, Anchita
• supervisor: Kamshat Tussupova; Peder Hjorth; Ivan Radelyuk
• organization: Division of Water Resources Engineering
• course: VVRM01 20191
• year: 2019
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Drying Lakes, Water level, Health Impacts, Large Aral Sea, Small Aral Sea, Lake Urmia, Restoration of Lake
• publication/series: TVVR 19/5013
• report number: 19/5013
• ISSN: 1101-9824
• language: English
• additional info: Examiner: Rolf Larsson
• id: 8998029
• date added to LUP: 2019-11-26 11:17:35
• date last changed: 2019-11-27 10:01:56