While you can live for about a month without food, you can’t survive more than a few days without water. Therefore, it seems shocking that 1.1 billion people, i.e. every sixth inhabitant of the Earth, don’t have access to clean water. Six children die every minute because of it. According to the UN, the situation will worsen. By 2025, nearly 2 billion people will not have enough to drink.
Key facts:
- 1.1 billion people, i.e. every sixth inhabitant of the Earth, don’t have access to clean water;
- two-thirds of the world population could be under “stress” by 2025;
- compared to today, five times as much land is likely to be under “extreme drought” by 2050;
- about 4.5 billion people globally – already live within 50km of an “impaired” water resource – one that is running dry, or polluted;
- over the past 40 years the world’s population has doubled and use of water has quadrupled;
What exactly is water scarcity?
At the beginning it is worth defining what we are talking about:
“Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. “
Many people don’t understand the seriousness of the situation, thinking about the abundant water resources that cover 71% of our planet. There is 1.36 billion km³ of water on Earth, but 97.5% is salt water, i.e oceans and sea. Most of the rest is trapped in glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland, in high mountains or is absorbed by the soil around the world.
Ultimately, only 1% of the water is actually available to the inhabitants of this planet.
However, the proportion of drinking water falls even lower, accounting for only 0.007% of the total volume of water on the planet!
To understand the seriousness of the situation, let’s look at the charts.
The barely visible blue fragment is water that is fit for human consumption.
This picture below can also help visualize it. If the entire container symbolized all the water on earth, the amount of fluid illustrates drinking water.
This is how we can use a little bit of water for ourselves from all its resources that exist on Earth. Moreover, water resources are distributed very unevenly. There are areas where there is too much water and there are areas where it is still lacking. These are regions where rainfall is very rare and water is very difficult to find there, of course we are talking about the desert.
Renewable internal freshwater resources flows refer to internal renewable resources (internal river flows and groundwater from rainfall) in the country, source: https://ourworldindata.org/
The average American consumes about 350 liters of water a day, which is more than four times more than an African. People living in the poorest areas in the world use only 5-10 liters a day, although the minimum daily dose of water is estimated at 20 liters.
That’s the equivalent of one toilet flush. It is terrifying how huge inequalities are between societies in access to something as basic as water, which is necessary for life. Moreover, the disproportions are not only between countries but also between groups in society. Women and girls are among the hardest hit. Poor and marginalized groups are on the frontline of any water scarcity crisis, impacting their ability to maintain good health, protect their families and earn a living. For many women and girls, water scarcity means more laborious, time-consuming water collection, putting them at increased risk of attack and often precluding them from education or work.
Below is a comparison of countries with the largest renewable freshwater resources per capita and its dramatically shrinking over the years:
Renewable internal freshwater resources flows refer to internal renewable resources (internal river flows and groundwater from rainfall) in the country, source: https://ourworldindata.org/
While in Iceland there are 481,967 m³ renewable freshwater resources per capita, in Sudan only 91m³ . It is about 5296 times less! it is unimaginable that there are such huge differences in access to something that is necessary for life.
Over the next decades, the world’s freshwater supplies will shrink while demand for it will increase dramatically due to the rapidly growing population. This poses a serious threat to humanity and surely, the future doesn’t look promising.
What do we use water for?
Chart showing the global consumption by major water use sectors.
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The largest water footprint is in agriculture. This varies depending on the type of food. The water footprints of meat and processed foods are much larger than those of plants. Developed countries consume significantly more of these water -intensive products than developing countries, contributing twice as much to the water footprint. What is more, wealthy countries use large amounts in inefficient ways. Places like the United States, Canada and Australia use valuable fresh water for luxuries such as long showers and watering lawns.
The industrial sector also makes a significant contribution to the water footprint. Probably every product we make uses water in some part of the manufacturing process. Process water use includes water used for purposes such as manufacturing, processing, washing, diluting, cooling or transporting a product. Some industries that use large amounts of water, such as food, paper, chemicals, and oil refining.
Of course some of the most important uses for water are at our homes. Domestic water use is water used for indoor and outdoor household purposes— all the things we do at home: drinking, preparing food, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, brushing your teeth, watering the yard and garden, and even washing the dog.
Get a snapshot of the impact of your daily lifestyle. The table below shows the water footprint for the given products.
As we can see, meat and processed products leave the largest water footprint. Lifestyle changes are needed to combat water scarcity. It is shocking that developing countries that consume the least water footprint products, mainly plant-based, suffer the most from water scarcity.
What are the main causes of water scarcity in the world?
While humanity has successfully exploited many of the world’s natural waterways – building dams, wells, extensive irrigation systems and other structures that have enabled civilizations to thrive – water systems are increasingly strained and some rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up.
Why is that?
- pollution – water pollution is an important issue. It comes from many sources, including pesticides and fertilizers, as well as contaminated human wastewater and industrial waste. As many contaminants can leach into the aquifer, groundwater isn’t safe either. Some impacts are immediate, while others may take several years to be recognized.
- overuse of water – it may be overused on people, animals, land, or any other number of things. It may also be used for recreational activities with no care about the effects that it may have on the world around them. In highly developed countries, the majority of society doesn’t manage water carefully, using it for recreational activities, such as filling their swimming pools and take long baths.
- agriculture – it uses around 65% of the world’s available fresh water, but much of it is wasted due to leaky irrigation systems, inefficient application methods and cultivation in unsuitable environments. This waste of water causes rivers, lakes and underground aquifers to dry up. In addition, as mentioned earlier, agriculture generates significant freshwater pollution – both through fertilizers and pesticides that affect both humans and other species.
- conflicts – if there is conflict over an area of land, it may be difficult to access the water that is located there. It may lead to the destruction of important local infrastructure that may cause disruptions to the water supply for many people.
- population growth – the human population has more than doubled in the last 50 years. This rapid growth – along with accompanying economic development and industrialization – has transformed aquatic ecosystems around the world and caused a massive loss of biodiversity. Concerns about water availability are increasing, a growing population needs food, shelter and clothing, putting additional pressure on fresh water through the production of commodities and energy.
As we can see in the graph above, population growth is like an exponential curve. Taking into account the change of people’s lifestyle to one in which they chase consumerism, meeting these needs of the population with the current economic policy may soon become impossible. This will cause conflict because people will fight among themselves for something as basic as water. Our planet is finite as well as its resources, we should remember that. Debilitating dependence on economic growth. | LinkedIn
- climate change – climate change is taking its toll here. Humans continue to pump more and more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This will cause weather and water patterns to change around the world. Droughts will become more common in some places, floods in others. Glaciers and snowpacks will disappear in some areas, affecting freshwater supplies to downstream communities. These changes will result in less water available for agriculture, industry and ecosystems around the world.
- governmental access – in some countries, specifically those with dictatorships, the use of water may be strictly controlled by those in power, causing a scarcity for those who may be located in those areas of the world. These governments use it as a source of control over those that they are governing, which can be an enormous problem. It is unacceptable to force certain political or economic actions by depriving society of something as basic as water.
- natural disasters – natural disasters like tsunamis, floods may also cause severe water shortages for the local population since important public infrastructure may be destroyed. The severe natural disaster may entirely collapse the local water supply. They may be exacerbated by climate change and thus changing weather patterns
- climate change – climate change is taking its toll here. Humans continue to pump more and more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This will cause weather and water patterns to change around the world. Droughts will become more common in some places, floods in others. Glaciers and snowpacks will disappear in some areas, affecting freshwater supplies to downstream communities. These changes will result in less water available for agriculture, industry and ecosystems around the world.
- governmental access – in some countries, specifically those with dictatorships, the use of water may be strictly controlled by those in power, causing a scarcity for those who may be located in those areas of the world. These governments use it as a source of control over those that they are governing, which can be an enormous problem. It is unacceptable to force certain political or economic actions by depriving society of something as basic as water.
- natural disasters – natural disasters like tsunamis, floods may also cause severe water shortages for the local population since important public infrastructure may be destroyed. The severe natural disaster may entirely collapse the local water supply. They may be exacerbated by climate change and thus changing weather patterns
What are the risks of water shortage?
Water scarcity has far-reaching consequences, not only can it cause dehydration, but also other consequent effects.
Water scarcity also affects:
- hunger – if there is no water that can be used to help water the crops, then you are going to have people that are going hungry;
- lack of education – the time-consuming need to carry heavy pots of water several kilometers every day to meet household needs, mainly by women and children require a lot of their time which should be spent at school;
- unemployment – the destitution of farmers who lose their lands or of the landless who lose their jobs because of lack of irrigation water;
- migration – water scarcity may also lead to migration waves. When large areas of land may no longer be suitable for living or farming because of water scarcity, millions of people may lose their livelihood. These people may be forced to migrate to other places to survive;
- loss of biodiversity – if regions suffer from severe water shortages, some animals may become extinct since they simply starve or die of thirst. Many plants may no longer be able to grow and reproduce in a sufficient manner, causing serious biodiversity loss;
- diseases – lack or pollution of water causes numerous health problems. If people don’t have clean water access, then they will be more likely to get diseases from the water. Whether people drink the water or use it for bathing, those diseases will get into the body. In a number of cases, people are likely to carry bacteria and infect others. It may lead to pandemics. Diarrhea also takes a great toll. The highest risk factors of development of diarrhoea disease are unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation. In 2017, almost 1.6 million people died from diarrhoea diseases globally.
Plot with linear regression.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, a huge number of people die due to the lack of water and the consequences that follow. There is a very strong correlation between death rate from malnutrition and share of the population with access to safely managed drinking water. The less access to safe water, the higher the death rate from malnutrition. This is a pressing problem in the region. The same is the case with regard to the death rate from diarrheal disease.
Aral Sea Disaster
Up until the third quarter of the 20th century it was the world’s fourth largest saline lake. It has now shrunk by more than 90 per cent of its size over fifty years ago, mainly because of the re-routing of its source rivers.
Already in the 1930s, the Soviet authorities decided that the waters of two rivers – the Amu Darya and Syr Darya – would be used to irrigate huge cotton plantations. Canals built en masse in river basins were supposed to supply water to the surrounding fields, but it soon turned out that this plan failed. The project was carried out against all hydrological principles, which prevented the water from reaching the plantation, but evaporated and soaked into the soil along the way. Rivers also stopped flowing to their natural outlet, which caused the Aral Sea to dry up. This example perfectly shows what an irrational economic man can lead to.
How to prevent water scarcity?
First of all, people should start saving water whenever it is possible. Small changes, such as taking quick showers instead of full baths or limiting the use of washing machines may make a significant difference. Saving water is associated with the need to develop certain habits.
Secondly, educating those who don’t deal with water scarcity on a daily basis is likely to help. They can get educated on how they can prevent the problem from becoming even worse in the future. Definitely, people should learn more about the world around them to better understand it.
Moreover, there are plenty of technologies available that allow us to recycle rainwater and other water that may be used at home. Not only does it help to prevent scarcity, but it can save you some money as well.
What is more, farming and irrigation are often huge culprits when it comes to water shortage. Because of that, we need to improve practices so that we don’t use as much water and those who are using water are using it to its fullest potential. It is also relevant that farmers reduce the use of chemicals for farming to ensure clean water and reduce the water shortage problem. Excessive levels of chemical fertilizers and pesticides leads to serious soil pollution.
Furthermore, improving the sewage systems in these areas is crucial. In this way, we can prevent water scarcity from becoming any worse. Without proper sanitation, the water in an area becomes ridden with disease and any number of other problems.
Last but not least is enhancing water distribution infrastructure. Many people worldwide, especially in poor developing countries, are still not connected to the public water infrastructure. Connecting these people to the public water supply may be a milestone.
Now let’s look at three technologies that are already helping to provide water in the most deprived areas:
- slingshot – an intelligent compressed steam distillation system powered by a Stirling engine, i.e. a water purifier the size of a small refrigerator, powered by any fuel source, including animal waste. The device uses less electricity than is required to power a hair dryer and can purify water from any source: from groundwater, seawater to sewage. One machine provides clean drinking water for three hundred people a day. The mission is to reach those most in need.
- water desalination – the demand for drinking water is growing, which is why more and more technologies are focused on obtaining drinking water from salt water. Desalination of water using solar energy seems to be an ideal solution in the face of the problem of burning fossil fuels and global warming, but this solution is still not very cost-effective.
- skysource – it is a special platform that can produce fresh water from clean air. Uses a patented method of condensing moisture in the air – when warm and cold air meet.
It is predicted that the problem of scarcity of clean water will continue to deepen. Half of the population could soon be left without drinking water. Therefore, we must unite our efforts and learn to use it more effectively. Devices such as Slingshot, Skysource and advanced water technologies are already helping to combat water scarcity in the driest areas, but they are still inefficient and cost-effective. They still need refinement. We must remember that the more water we consume, the greater our impact on the environment.
Takeaways:
- Nowadays, 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water. According to the UN, by 2025, the number will increase to 2 billion people.
- Only 0.007% of the total volume of water on the planet is drinking water.
- There are large disparities in access to water not only between countries but also between individual social groups – women and children in sub-Saharan Africa are mainly at risk.
- The main causes of water scarcity in the world are: pollution, inefficient agriculture, climate change, overuse of water, political instability and conflict.
- Water scarcity brings with it such threats as: dehydration, hunger, lack of education, reduction of biodiversity, migration, unemployment and various types of diseases.
- There is a very strong correlation between death rate from malnutrition, the death rate from diarrhoea disease and share of the population with access to safely managed drinking water.
- In order to fight water scarcity, societies should change their lifestyles and learn to manage water more economically. Moreover, it is necessary to use more efficient means of production. New technologies can also help.
Water Scarcity | Threats | WWF (worldwildlife.org)
Ludność. Wzrost liczby ludności świata, Encyklopedia PWN: źródło wiarygodnej i rzetelnej wiedzy
Slingshot Inventor Dean Kamen’s Revolutionary Clean Water Machine (coca-colacompany.com)
