The document discusses the global water crisis. It notes that water is a precious resource required for survival but that there is a severe shortage around the world. Billions of people lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation. This causes health and economic issues. The main causes of the crisis are climate change, overextraction of groundwater, inefficient use, and pollution. Solutions proposed include sustainable water management, agriculture reforms, reducing usage, and treating wastewater. The crisis threatens to reach "day zero" in some areas if not addressed urgently through concrete action to achieve access to water for all.

1. GLOBAL WATER CRISIS
ABHIJITH RAJEEV
SENECA COLLEGE

2. WATER
• One of the most PRECIOUS RESOURCE on earth
• Required for the SURVIVAL of every living being
• Severe SHORTAGE felt around the world
Fig 1. Earth’s water (Pacific Water)

3. WATER CRISIS
• Water essential for life.
• Yet Water scarcity affects 4 of 10 people (WHO).
• 2.1 billion people –lack access to safely managed drinking
water services. (WHO/UNICEF 2017)
• 4.5 billion people – lack safely managed sanitation services.
(WHO/UNICEF 2017)
• 85,000 children under-15 die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe
water sanitation and hygiene facilities every year. (UNICEF)

4. HOW ACCESS TO WATER BENEFITS US
• HEALTH:
• Access to clean and safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) –
reduce health risk exposure.
• Most efficient way to curb child deaths.
• Prevents water borne diseases.
• EDUCATION:
• No access to clean water at home
• Children share burden of collecting water
• Less time spend in education
• Overall development of health - improve learning outcomes.
Fig 2. Women and
children walk long to
collect water,
(Courtesy The Hindu)

5. • WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:
• Women and Girls
• Mostly responsible for finding water
• Collectively women and children spend 200 million hours every day – in
collecting water.
• Productive use of that time in education or work.
• Dropout of school
• No access to clean water, toilets or sanitary supplies.
• Difficult especially during menstruation.
• ECONOMIC WELL BEING
• Access to clean water at home
• Less time spent in collection of water and more time for income
generating activities
• Reduced health care expenses.

6. REASONS FOR THE CRISIS
• CLIMATE CHANGE
• Rise in global temperature-increased desertification of areas
• Drying up of water sources and erratic rains
• Existing climate change scenario-by 2030 water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places will displace between 24 million
and 700 million people. (UNCCD)
• UNSUSTAINABLE EXTRACTION OF GROUND WATER
• 30% of earth's fresh water – lies deep underground in aquifers.
• Extracted for daily use at dangerous levels
• Need to shift usage patterns sustainably
• AGRICULTURE (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture)
• The largest water consumer globally.
• Accounting for 69% of annual water withdrawals.
• INEFFICIENT UTILISATION
• Imprudent use of existing water resource
• Especially for daily activities
• WATER POLLUTION
• Contamination of water sources – reduces the already dwindling freshwater sources
• Discharge of untreated domestic sewage and industrial waste water into lakes, rivers, sea, ocean.

7. WAYS TO TACKLE THE CRISIS
• CLIMATE CHANGE - Needs immediate steps to decrease the levels of rise in global temperature
• Reduction in carbon dioxide levels to control green house effect
• Increasing forest cover
• EFFECTIVE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT – Sustainable management of the hidden resource
• Maintaining quality of groundwater and preventing its pollution
• AGRICULTURE – Use of Micro irrigation techniques or drip irrigation
• For effective utilisation of water for maximum productivity
• INEFFICIENT UTILISATION – Recycle and reuse of water
• Reduction in the per day usage – especially for daily activities
• E.g. shower water can be used for watering the kitchen garden
• WATER POLLUTION - Proper treatment of industrial effluents and domestic sewage before
releasing into water source
• Management of use of fertilisers and pesticides - to prevent their runoff into water bodies.
Fig 3. Drip Irrigation,
(DOMIS)

8. DAY ZERO
• Reference to the day when-
• Water levels are very low and dams run dry
• Municipal taps are closed
• Water supplied at communal collection points
• CAPE TOWN IN SOUTH AFRICA
• CHENNAI IN INDIA
• Two cities that averted the dangers of Day Zero.
• Drastic measures taken
• Water use restricted to daily 50 litres per person per day.
• Still the crisis looms over us
• Need urgent steps to tackle water crisis
Fig 4. Possible distribution
of allotted water for
activities, Independent
Online

9. • Over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high
water stress (UN, 2018)
• Water is a scarce resource
• Necessary to take concrete action – To achieve the
target of SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL OF
UNIVERSAL AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SAFE AND
AFFORDABLE DRINKING WATER FOR ALL BY 2030.

10. THANK
YOU

11. SOURCES
• “Dry Days: A Seven part Series on Water Scarcity in South India." 28 April 2017. The Hindu. 16 November
2019.
• “Global Water Crisis: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help." n.d. World Water. 16 November 2019.
• Jacobs, Yasmine. "7 Things you Need to Know About #Dayzero." 10 January 2018. Independent Online. 17
November 2019.
• Mahr, Krista. “How Cape Town was Saved from Running Out of Water." 4 may 2018. The Guardian. 17
November 2019.
• Schleifer, Leah. "7 Reasons We're Facing a Global Water Crisis." 24 August 2017. World Resources Institute.
16 November 2019.
• “SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation." n.d. United Nations. 17 November 2019.
• Trivedi, Ayushi and Chertock, Marlena. “Responding to Day Zero Equitably: Water Crisis Lessons from Cape
Town and Chennai." 31 October 2019. World Resources Institute. 17 November 2019.
• “UN Water." n.d. United Nations. 16 November 2019.
• “Water." n.d. United Nations. 16 November 2019.
• “Water Distribution." n.d. Pacific Community Water Sanitation Program. 16 November 2019.
• “Why Water." n.d. Water.org. 16 November 2019.