A two-fer!

Ironic and thrifty, all at once!

[D]iscussions at this year’s World Water Forum have turned around the question of how best to supply water to the poor. Will large dams and centralized irrigation systems be most effective in bridging the global water divide? Or are soft, decentralized approaches such as rainwater harvesting and muscle-powered treadle pumps a better way to reduce water poverty?

The Turkish police have now come up with a surprising quick fix to resolve these vexing problems: water cannons!

[...]

In a conversation with Turkey’s state media agency that was picked up by Reuters, the police explained that water cannons were the cheapest way of responding to the demands of protestors. Normally, we learn, they use 13-14 tons of water to disperse a crowd, at a price of $235. In comparison, they would have to spend $7,350 to achieve the same goal with teargas bombs.

(via internationalrivers.org)