Address to the Nation: Water Crisis

[Alduria]

ADDRESS TO THE NATION - ON THE ALDURIAN WATER CRISIS

My fellow Aldurians,

When we founded this nation not too long ago, we knew there were great challenges and perils ahead of us. We have toiled to build a country in an unforgiving terrain, and we have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

However, there are significant challenges that lay ahead, and these strike right at the heart of our survival as a country.

One of these challenges is our access to safe and clean water for the needs of our people.

The Central Water Commission was created to ensure that our people had safe and clean water to drink. It is also their duty to help secure the water we need for our industry, agriculture, and other economic activities. The Commission has reported to the Government that the consumption of water has increased at a rate that was not previously expected. Our reservoirs across the country are seeing the lowest water levels in our nation's history. In some areas of the country, local reservoirs have dried up.

The Central Water Commission has also delivered a report using its newly created "CWC forecasting system" to model water supply and demand in Alduria. The report has found that we have been overexploiting our few potable water resources at a national level and would continue to do so for the next thirty years unless we make serious and drastic changes before then. 

The report also has found that our wastewater treatment system is in an appalling condition, even as we continually build and bring online new aqueducts and water recycling plants. The report has concluded that nearly a quarter of the country’s wastewater treatment facilities were in a critical state, with another quarter listed as high risk. They found that half of tested facilities didn’t meet the established national water quality standards, an increase of more than 100% from levels two years ago.

Even more alarming is the fact that Aldurians use a lot of water: 235 litres per person daily.

Our high per-capita usage rates are also, partly, a function of high levels of water that leaks into the ground from our plumbing systems. Our economy also has a high reliance on water-intensive industries. More concerning, is that we have become overly dependent on the surface water that has been processed, cleaned, and stored in our 91 reservoirs across the country.

The problem we face is critical.

There is blame to share for this problem: the national government has not been investing as it should in the development and maintenance of crucial water infrastructure, and state and local governments have not managed demand effectively. Our efforts to clean up the heavily polluted Nouradin river have only just begun, and it will take decades before we can safely consume the water from the river for our crops, industry, and people. Many of the projects that are underway to build a high-quality water distribution system are only beginning, and we will not be able to begin to see the fruit of these investments for a decade or more.

Just moments ago, I met with the Prime Minister, the Secretary of Interior, and the different heads of government agencies, including the Chairman of the Central Water Commission. We have convened experts from around Micras to aid us in delivering solutions to this crisis.

Our approach will include aggressive conservation strategies, with direct grants to cities and states that want to build better plumbing and water storage solutions.

Our approach will also include ways to agressively increase our supply of water, recycle and treat our wastewater, and bring the water system in our country into balance.

However, many of these solutions are not enough. We need to implement all the strategies identified in the research by experts and government agencies, along with a series of aggressive stop-gap measures to address the current crisis.

The future of Alduria's water sector is uncertain. Nobody can be sure how much rain will fall over the coming decade. But what is clear is that the country is living beyond its water resources. Each day that passes, with each leaky tap and broken pipe, the problem is becoming more difficult, and more expensive, to fix.

As fo today, all Aldurian states will be in an official state of drought.

All Aldurians will collect their water from regionally established centralized water centers, each serving roughly the same amount of Aldurians.

I have ordered that the allocation of water earmarked for agriculture be throttled, allowing more to flow to Aldurian families in both the cities and the rural areas.

Our farmers and manufacturers have also agreed to divert additional water stored for agricultural and commercial purposes to supply cities and villages.

I have also ordered the Central Water Commission to increase water rates to ensure that the price of water reflects its scarcity. The funds from these higher water rates will be earmarked towards speeding up the construction of crucial water infrastructure, implement a new water-pressure system across the country, and improve our capacity to treat and recycle water.

I have also instructed the strong enforcement of prohibitions on heavy water users. I have instructed government officials to prohibit the use of municipal water for swimming pools, lawns, and similar non-essential uses. We have also sped up and approved large project in Punta Santiago, Susa, Alkhiva, Narbonne, and Amapola to install new water-pressure systems that we expect will save roughly 18 percent of overall local water consumption. These projects are expected to begin operation in less than two years.

Technical fixes and regulatory controls implemented by the government are important to curb water consumption, but reaching the levels of conservation we need is not possible without large-scale cooperation by a wide swath of residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.

It doesn’t matter how much technical expertise we've got, we must all actually stand back and understand the system more broadly. For the government, this means using data more effectively to prompt citizens, businesses, and industry to save water.

All state and local governments have been instructed to publish weekly updates on regional reservoir levels and water consumption. In Punta Santiago, Amol, Susa, and Narbonne, we will pilot a new program that will use electronic boards on freeways and prominent areas to notify citizens of how many days of local water supply are left.

There is still more work to do. This Government will not rest until we have tackled this crisis and established a comprehensive national strategy, in coordination with state and local governments, to conserve water and ensure that our infrastructure is operating smoothly.

In coming days, citizens will be able to request the Central Water Commission do a water audit of your home or business. With these audits, you will be able to find out where you can improve your home's water infrastructure, identify and fix leaks, and reduce water consumption. Government aid will be available to those who are poor to ensure that they can also have access to water for their lives.

We cannot remain silent about this.

Each Aldurian must do their patriotic duty - reduce your water consumption. Tackle all the leaks in your home or business. Install new taps and fixtures that conserve water. Collect your rainwater. And above all, make sure that your neighbor is not wanting, lest we all perish.

This is time for action, and I will keep you informed of new tools and initiatives to tackle this crisis.

Alduria endures, and it's all because of the perseverance and courage of its people.

Thank you, and good night.