Global Water Shortage Problem

Water Scarcity Problem Of Water
Water is everyone in the world and this is the major reason why many individuals never think
about the limited supply of water. People presume that the water supply is infinite. The common
saying "you do not know what you have until it is gone" rings true. Never having to worry about
possessing fresh drinking water on a daily basis has caused many individuals to never question
where the water is coming from or how much water is left. Due to the simple fact that water
covers a majority of the earth, the realization that only a small percentage of this water supply is
drinkable is rarely realized. The distinction between freshwater and salt water is imperative to
understand. Humans cannot drink salt water due to its high levels of salinity. Freshwater is our
only source of drinkable water and unfortunately it is only a small percentage. With such a small
portion of the water supply being usable a dilemma presents itself; what happens when this small
percentage of useable water is exhausted. Unfortunately this water scarcity problem is difficult to
combat and therefore many individuals have pushed the problem aside for others to deal with later.
Although scholars have noted that water scarcity is a global issue and that efforts towards the
conservation of water are desperately needed, individual countries, specifically the United States,
have ignored the problem and if the US hopes to solve the issue before it becomes a catastrophe
they must recognize the need for laws and
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The Scarcity of Water Essay
The procurability of potable water per capita is scarce and is currently diminishing worldwide.
Scientific surveys estimate that the Earth's surface is relatively seventy–one percent water and
twenty–nine percent land. Unfortunately, a substantial amount of the seventy–one percent of water
is salty and non–potable. Only about one percent of the available seventy–one percent can only be
utilized for human consumption, without requiring initial desalinization. It has been predicted by
the United Nations that due to population growth and various other factors that the average person's
water supply will be limited by a third over the next twenty years. Strategists allege that future wars
will be waged over water because it is the most crucial...show more content...
Factors that provide to the production of goods and services include entrepreneurship, labor, capital,
and land–including water and other natural resources. As a result of the scarcity of water, some
cities and water suppliers can take advantage of the situation by afflicting excessive prices for it due
to the natural ramification of a shortage in economics. A shortage, which implies that the market
price is below equilibrium, is resolved through higher prices. The higher price would promote
profit–maximizing suppliers to increase quantity supplied. The higher price would also discourage
waste and encourage conservation, thereby reducing quantity demanded. Ultimately, if market
forces were able to resolve water scarcity, an equilibrium price and quantity would be reached.
However, putting a high price on water could cause it to simply redistribute from the conserving
poor to the wasteful wealthy. This will severely limit water away from the places where it is most
beneficial to society as a whole. Since market forces are not able to completely resolve the problem,
I believe that government and private sector intervention might be required as well.
One solution is to enact aggressive water conservation programs. For example, the local water
authority could pay homeowners to rip out their lawn and replace it with desert–friendly
landscaping. Doing this would reduce the amount of water required by our lawns by providing an
incentive

Jonathan Dalloo
Professor Lewis
Sociology 2201
December 12, 2016
The Paucity of Water and its Effect on Gender Inequality in India
Based on a research survey conducted by the United Nations it reveals that, "convenient access to
water and sanitation facilities increase privacy and reduce risk to women and girls of sexual
harassment ..." (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2005). Women
living at the beginning and middle points of the village have to trek for a considerable distance to
reach the stream, when compared to those who live at the bottom of the village near the stream.
Women are the primary stakeholders in the fight for clean water as sources such as many rivers
and wells are contaminated as they bear the burden and lack the freedoms that are necessary to
ensure equality not inequality. Women in India have limited access to resources and the ability to
express in the public sphere, which creates division of bearing the burden of responsibilities in
the fight against the shortage of water. In many rural areas in India, women have to walk a
distance of about 2.5 kilometers to reach up to the source of water. Women reach home carrying
heavy pots, not to rest but to do other household chores of cooking, cleaning, caring of children and
looking after livestock, and in the evening fetching water. Thus, a rural woman's life has become
sheer drudgery for lack of water. There are many key causes of thewater crisis that are due to: a
rapid growth

Water Inequality Around The World
Around the world there are many inequalities which can affect ones happiness, health and prosperity
in life. One inequality affecting peoples well–being is the inequality of water. Water inequality is a
result of many factors and indicators such as which has been impacted by multiple factors such as
pollution, high population rates, geographical barriers and climate change. A massive factor in the
inequalities of water is the pollution, up to 90% of waste water in developing countries flows
untreated into rivers, lakes and highly productive coastal zones, threatening health, food security and
access to safe drinking and bathing water. Another factor is high population rate, every year the
demand for water has been increasing. Due to the increased

Essay about The Global Water Shortage
One of the biggest problems in the world is water scarcity. Almost all countries suffer from it and
many of them cannot find the most effective solution to avoid this difficulty. The meaning of the
world water crisis is very easy to understand, but solving it is very difficult. The amount of world
water is limited, as the population is growing fast; the necessity of water use is growing even faster.
This essay will examine the water crisis specifically in China, because it is the country with the most
serious water shortage problems in the world. Also, this essay will suggest possible solutions on
solving these problems and evaluate them. Although to stop the water shortage problems is difficult
and costly, and takes a lot of...show more content...
So according to Zhao, Liu, and Deng (2005), agriculture exploits almost 70 percent of freshwater
available in China, and there is an expectation that this quantity will grow because of the increase of
world food production. Chinese people need a comprehensive scientific approach with long–term,
coordinated efforts to solve this serious problem. So the first possible solution is recycling water in
order to meet environmental needs, provide an additional source of water and have sustainable
development and a viable economy. For this approach the Chinese Government needs advanced
technologies that clean the water properly and also huge investment, so this would lead to having a
big impact on economic development of the country. However, according to Chang (2009), the
water which has been recycled is an essential resource of water for "non–potable"(not for drinking)
uses in China and this water can be used for flushing toilets, car washing, agricultural irrigation, fire
fighting, landscape irrigation, industrial processes and street washing. But one major disadvantage
of this approach is that after water recycling there is no proof of that this water is clean enough for
reusing it. For example, there might be quite an amount of pollutants, such as some chemicals,
bacteria, even heavy metals and organic compounds (Wang, 1989). So as consequences, there

Survey on Water Scarcity & Conservation
Survey on Water Scarcity & Conservation Water is becoming a limited natural resource in
the world. In an article published on National Geographic website about "Fresh Water Crisis" [1]
it has mentioned that out of the 70% of water which is covering the earth, only 2.5% is suitable
for drinking and just 1% of fresh water is easily accessible. In the same article the author talks
about how people are wasting this limited resource. The growing scarcity of water is due to the
rapid growth of population, rising demand for food and cash crops, increasing urbanization and
rising standard of living. On the other hand people are writing articles and papers about how to
solve this scarcity issue and all the resources presented about...show more content...
When analyzing the survey results of version 1 & 2 of the survey, it was noted that the Male
participation (67.5%) was higher than the Female participation (32.5%). Because of this turn up,
I could not come to conclusion on the effect of Gender. As for the 2nd Question (refer to Figure Q2)
on percentage of fresh water, it was very clear that in version 1 (blue) lots of people manage to get
near to the correct answer (5% or less) where else in version 2 (red) lots of people had the same
mind set as me to chose something big (50%–70%). This proves one thing; descriptive picture (refer
to Figure 1) does make a difference on how people respond to questions and with these picture
people will be more aware of the issue. When it comes to the question on Scarcity of Water (refer
to Figure Q3), version 1 (blue) responders most of them were saying it's a critical issue and
version 2 (red) responders results were scattered around the middle indicating that they were
unsure about the issue. Figure Q2Figure Q3 Question on Actions taken to conserve water (refer to
Figure Q4) indicated some interesting finding, which is almost 60% of the responders regardless
of the version; they did not take part in any movement towards conserving water. This result
implies that people are still not into conserving water and we need make people more aware about
it. Figure Q4Figure Q5 Final question (refer to Figure Q5) on "Can we do something

Causes Of Water Scarcity
The Global Water Institute stated that "approximately 700 million people in 43 countries are
currently suffering from water stress and scarcity in 2013", by 2025 2.8 billion people will face
water stress and scarcity (Hameeteman, 2013, p.3). The global water supply is approximately 2.5%
freshwater and 97.5% is saltwater (Hameeteman, 2013, p.4). Hence, it is crucial that the Earth's
population tries to manage the water stress and scarcity. There are many causes of water stress and
scarcity, for instance: overuse of water due to economic reasons, pollution of water, drought,
governmental access and policies, and many more. In Africa, many children and women are
responsible in collecting water, thus, traveling large distances to collect clean or unclean water. In
addition, sanitation facilities are inadequate causing "half the population" to suffer from waterborne
diseases (Hameeteman, 2013, p.6). As a result, unclean water and poor sanitation are a leading
cause of illness and death in this region. There are a few approaches to providing clean water to the
African population, for example: piped water, stand posts and wells. Moreover, poor sanitation can
be alleviated with pit latrines, urine diversion dry toilets and pour flush toilets (Septien, 2015).
However, such methods can be expensive. Hence, it is important to understand the household's
income and the economic situation of the country. Contrary, different strategies are needed to
provide clean water in the developed

Water Scarcity
Water
Water is a necessity for all life forms. However we exist in a world where clean water is
guaranteed to every person. It seems something so important would be supplied by the government
for its people. There's a lot of places that can't guarantee its own people the things needed to survive.
Living in the United states people don't think this is a prominent problem that exists. However
recently in Flint Michigan they had a water crisis that affected a massive amount of people who had
thought their water was perfectly fine. California's water shortage is another example of people even
in the 'first world' having problems with obtaining drinking water. These hardships are nowhere in
comparison to the hardships faced in other countries. The problem's root seems to be caused by the
people who need it most, humans. Water scarcity affects every continent on earth. According to the
World Health Organization "by 2025 half of the world will be living in water stressed areas". Water
Stressed areas are have less water supply than the demand. now a water stressed area; in 205
Californians cut water usage by 25% in efforts to lower demand. Most water was being used by
farmers, these cuts significantly hurt the agricultural field. In addition the drought costed the state
six million dollars as well as leading to several wildfires that burned 306,000 acres in 2016 . Western
australia has seen climate change hit them hard, already one of the driest inhabited continents they are

Speech On Water Scarcity
Good morning/afternoon I'm jade and today I am here to talk about how water scarcity is
affecting our world and how we can help fix it.There are many types of water scarcity from one
being economic scarcity. Economic scarcity is when you can not find water or when you do it is
to expensive. Another form of water scarcity is phycical scarcity Physical scarcity is when there
is water but you just do not have the resources to get it. There is also a overpopulation water
scarcity problem, this happens when there are to many people in the country to provide enough
clean, safe water for every one. The last form of water scarcity that I will cover today is drought
/ rainfall water scarcity. This happens when the country/ place is going through drought which means
everything is drying up and there is...show more content...
it also has a lot to do with the climate, evaporation rate, temperature and rainfall. These all link
together because when the climate is hot the evaporation rate goes up and the rainfall stops.
Another way water scarcity occurs is water contamination this is a huge problem especially when
the sewage system is not very good which it is not in the countries where water scarcity is a
problem. Conflict also has a big impact on the occurrence of water scarcity because when
countries are at war over the land it could be difficult to access water. Distance is another issue
when countries are a far distance away from water it will take longer to get water and you would
get less the longer the journey. Governmental Access is a massive issue. In quite a few countries,
specifically those with dictatorships, the use of water is oftenly strictly controlled by those in
power, causing a scarcity for those who may be located in those areas of the

Water Scarcity Essay
It is an essential resource for sustaining life as well as central to agriculture and rural development,
and is intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, climate change
adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion of natural resources that affect the
livelihoods of millions of people across the world. According to the World Bank, (2010) report,
water is a scarce resource with multiple interwoven uses that range from drinking water, energy,
irrigation, manufacturing things, transport of people and goods among others. The report further
states that, more than one–sixth of the Worlds' population does not have access to safe drinking
water, with 80% living in rural areas thus access to water cannot not be guaranteed globally.
Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water
usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the
world at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean
drinking water. Water scarcity involves water stress, water shortage or deficits, andwater crisis.
While the concept of water stress is relatively new, it is the difficulty of obtaining sources of fresh
water for use during a period of time,result in further depletion and deterioration of available water
resources. Water shortages may be caused by climate change, such as altered weather patterns
including droughts or

Water Scarcity Of Water Pollution
Many people oppose the idea of the seriousness of water pollution. Many argue that the water
supply for consumption is enough and that there will be no water shortage. "Peak Water" is a
term used for a global water shortage (The Environment), so people who consider that the water
supply is not going to end use this in their favor. They say that thinking that water is going to be
scarce In the future is silly, that people are being peak water alarmists, because there is enough
water for everyone, it's just that there needs to be a way to get to that water. The argument is that
water trapped underground and the developing of new ways and technologies to have the ocean
water go through a process of desalinization and become usable for people is the reason why there
will never be a water shortage. All of this would seem to make the fight for water pollution
pointless because if there are more ways to get to water then there would be no issues with fresh
water shortages. Other opposing arguments are that people do not have the money to prevent water
pollution from happening. In this case it would be farmers who have to use pesticides for some of
their crops. Most farmers would not have in mind that the pesticides they use will end up affecting
water supplies miles away, and even if they did they would not be able to purchase a system that
could contain the chemical runoff because they simply cannot afford it. The cost of having
something that can properly treat water pollution

Water Scarcity
Essay's topic: Water scarcity is one of the key environmental issue of our time. Identify some major
causes of water scarcity and describe two solutions.
Water plays an important role in developing and maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, water
scarcity is an increasing and widespread phenomenon in many countries in the world. Water
scarcity refers to either the lack of enough water or lack of access to safe water. The shortage of
water is turning out to be more pressing than prediction. This essay will identify some major causes
of water scarcity and specifically focus on the solutions of enhancing water stewardship and
protecting wetlands.
The first major cause of water scarcity is overpopulation. The rapid growth of population...show
more content...
Efficient and effective water management is necessary. Government and the authorities should be
responsible for protecting freshwater sources. In addition to that, new laws and regulations about
preserving water should be ratified by legislators and helpful methods for sustainable water use
should be promoted. Moreover, it is important for countries to expand co–operation with some
international organizations in order to take advantage of opportunities to improve water management
systems.
Protecting wetlands is another approach to halt the process of water shortage. Wetlands are an
important part of the national heritage. They provide human not only natural resources, but also
water resources. Therefore, programs and projects need to be established and encouraged to be
carried out in order to effectively protect wetlands. Besides that, all citizens can help protect wetlands
by supporting wetlands conservation initiatives.
Water scarcity has become a serious issue for the Earth. The rapidly increasingworld population and
water pollution have immensely contributed to the situation. There is an urgent need to solve this
problem by enhancing water management and preserving wetlands. If the solutions mentioned above
are taken into consideration and appropriately applied, water scarcity may be halted.
Reference: The Water Project, "Water scarcity: The importance of water & access" , <http:/
/thewaterproject.org/water_scarcity.php#.UTQPJTdIOuA>.
FAO

Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient water sources in a country or a region. It can affect 2.8
billion people around the world one month out of a year. More than 1.2 billion people around the
world lack access to clean drinking water.
According to the UN about 2.7 billion people across the globe will face water shortages by 2050 if
changes aren't put into place. That's nearly в…“ of the world's population and on top of that 2.5
billion will find it hard to find enough freshwater to meet their daily needs.
As the driest inhabited continent, Australia is definitely not immune to this and must make some
changes. So, how do people go about making changes and what are those changes?
Water scarcity can be caused by water pollution. Water pollution comes from many sources including
pesticides and fertilizers that wash away from farms, untreated and untested human wastewater, and
industrial waste. Even some groundwater isn't safe from pollutants because they can leak through
the ground to underground aquifers.
Another cause of water scarcity can be agriculture. Agriculture uses ~70% of the worlds freshwater,
and still some 60% of this water is wasted due to leaking irrigation systems, bad methods of use and
cultivation of crops that are too thirsty for where they are being grown. Also many countries that
produce large amounts of food– including India, China, Australia, Spain and the United States– are
getting close to their limits in terms of water resources. Added to the

Thesis Statement On Water Scarcity
Rough Draft
Thesis statement: The world is on its way for a water shortage. Water is considered as an essential
for human existence. We all can survive without food for some day but no one can live without
water at least two days. Human body consists of 70% percent of water and our globe is covered
by 69.9% percent of water. But unfortunately the useable fresh water is just 2.5% out of it. Water is
a social good, water is an economic good, water has ecological value and water has religious, moral
and cultural value.
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water – Loren Eisely, The Immense Journey Water
scarcity is a consequence of imbalances between resource...show more content...
Economic relations and resource management, 2. Ideology and culture including the way people
think about the environment and water rights, 3.political agents like the state, transnational actors
and organizations involved in water disputes and trade 4.the transnational social movements which
endorse and resist water privatization, and 5.the power relations which engender unequal access to
safe water (Bywater, 2008).
Till taught by pain, men really know not what good water's worth – Lord Byron, "Don Juan".
Reference List
п‚§Bywater, K. (2008). Globalization, privatization, and the crisis of sustainability: Examining the
global water crisis. Conference Papers –– American Sociological Association, 1.
п‚§Manzoor, K. P. (2011). The global water crisis: Issues and solutions. IUP Journal of
Infrastructure, 9(2), 34–43.
п‚§Solving the global water crisis moves beyond the technical feasibility stage.(2011). Trends
Magazine, (104), 19–24.
п‚§Priscoli, J. D. & Wolf, A. T. (2009). Managing and Transforming Water Conflicts: USA:
Cambridge University Press.
п‚§Hicks, J. Arii, K. Rothman, S. (2012). Taking sides: Selected articles for discussion. Singapore:
McGraw–Hill companies

Water Scarcity Essay
Year 7 Geography Report– Water in Our World
Water is a natural resource and is imperative for survival. All living things including human beings,
animals and vegetation need clean water to survive. Human beings require clean water to function
properly, water is used to grow crops, which provide food, wash clothes which maintains good
hygiene, and it is crucial that clean water is consumed. However, some countries struggle with an
issue called water scarcity. Water scarcity is the issue of not being able to supply the amount of
clean water necessary for the survival of the country's population. Water scarcity can occur in many
ways, by either a distinctive population, climate, political, or physical aspects. Lack of clean water
affects health, education, and poverty in several ways. Water scarcity can deteriorate good health
by increasing the chances of diseases being developed. It can also affect people's education, as
contaminated water can cause people to develop illnesses, which then results in people not being
able to attend school or other educational programs, affecting their overall education. Water scarcity
impacts poverty as people who are well–educated are more likely to receive jobs. If someone works,
they can afford to buy the necessities which enable them to live a healthy life and avoid poverty.
Access to clean water can change peoples' lives in unimaginable ways. Water scarcity is particularly
an issue in Indonesia and Australia. In Indonesia especially, the

Effects Of Water Scarcity
Climate change is arguably the greatest threat to humanity and the worst of it's effects are fast
approaching. It is the basis of a myriad of problems, one of which is water scarcity. As the world
population grows and the climate warms, demand for fresh water has surged–– with water scarcity
affecting more than 40 percent of the global population (United Nations, 2010). Conversely, the
world's fresh water supplies are dropping. Water is indispensable to biotic existence. While it aided
in humankind's creation, it can also aid in its downfall. Bearing these elements in mind, one can
consider the implications of this water crisis: What are the threats to its quality? Who will it affect?
Is water a right or a commodity? What are the social, economic, and political variables and how do
they connect? And ultimately, how can we fix this? Throughout my research I seek the answers to
these critical questions.
Water scarcity has a substantial impact on social welfare. Women are disproportionately affected
by the water crisis. It is common for women to bear the traditional responsibility for collecting
water in water scarce countries. Solving the water crisis is essential to empowering women. When
women have access to safe water they can pursue skills outside of these traditional roles that will
gain them greater independence and break a cycle of poverty. One such water scarce country is
Morocco, where 35 percent of the population will be below the absolute scarcity threshold of 500

What is the nature of water scarcity?
Water scarcity is the shortage of adequate accessible water resources. Water scarcity affects every
continent. Around 2.8 billion people around the world are affected by water scarcity at least one
month every year. Water scarcity involves water deficiency, water stress, and water disaster. Water
stress is known as trouble in finding sources of fresh water for use. Water shortages may be caused
by weather change, such as different weather patterns including droughts or floods, pollution,
increased human requests and the overuse of water. Water disasters are when the available filtered
and unpolluted water inside a region is less than that region's request. Physical water scarcity comes
from from insufficient natural water resources to supply a region's request, and economic water
scarcity comes from poor organization of the adequate available water resources.
Where is it occurring?
Yemen
Yemen is often in a weakened position to receive fresh water. The country has little natural fresh
water to use and relies heavily on water from other sources. Political life in the region often prevents
the people from receiving many necessities and water is the main one.
Libya
Libya is suffering from political problems and from the lack of water and other resources. Libya's
local resources have never been reliable, but the added stress of government change have acted to
cut off water for much of the country's population. Libya is also one of the main countries that goes
through a long period without fuel, food or water.
Jordan
Jordan is an unfortunate country where it is lacking the access to valuable natural resources. This
means they rely heavily on its own natural water resources, The Dead Sea and The Jordan River.
The increased amount of dry land and a growing population means that it will reduce the amount of
water supply.
The Western Sahara
The Western Sahara is home to thousands of Sahrawi refugees who suffer constant food and water
shortages due to the struggle for control between Morocco and Sahrawi tribal group. The conflict is
unlikely to end due to natural resources located in the area and the possibility of offshore oil, which
means people will go thirsty.
Djibouti

In the world today, water scarcity persists in being an unnerving issue. The world's supply of water
is diminishing and is further narrowed by pollution. Without measures taken to conserve our water,
there will be a global and chronic drought. As long as water is scarce, it is imperative to develop
proposals concerning water conservation and pollution. Although water is one of the most abundant
resources on the planet, we are not able to utilize the majority of it. Ninety–eight percent of water on
Earth is found in the oceans, while the remaining two percent of water is renewable. Although this
may be true, irrecoverable sources, such as glaciers and underground aquifers, trap nearly all
renewable water (Cooper, "Global" 2). In a final tally, less than one fourth of one percent of the water
on Earth is both renewable and recoverable. Even more frightening is the fact that this supply of
water is not only nominal but also polluted. By disregarding the fact that our supply of water is
finite, we are further limiting this supply by throwing pollution into the equation. Nevertheless, a
dwindling amount of freshwater is not the only concern. Pollution in aquatic environments
contributes to shifts in the Earth 's atmosphere–infamously known as climate change. To put this
phenomenon into perspective, the temperature of the ocean has gradually increased by 0.11 degrees
Celsius per decade from the years 1971 to 2010 (Weeks 12). By polluting Earth 's aquatic
environments, future

Water Pollution and Water Scarcity Essay
Water is essential for humans and organisms to live "Drinking water, "2008). Water covers most of
the world and makes up more of the world than land. Water comes from different sources. Water
may surround us but there are still shortages. Water allows us to live but it could be harmful to our
bodies when polluted. Humans and natural disasters can cause damage to the water supply It is
important to conserve water whenever possible ("Drinking Water, "2008). Oceans make up
two–thirds of the Earth ("Drinking Water,"2008). It is made up of saltwater. This water is not
useable for humans to drink or use for food. Even though it is not a water source for organisms or
humans to drink, it has it own importance in the world. It contains organism...show more content...
Water goes through a cycle called hydrological. Water comes from the atmosphere to the Earth
and continues to repeat the process. It uses energy from the sun and gravity to make the process
happen. The sun creates atmospheric vapor to the atmosphere and returns it to the Earth through
snow, ice and rain. Water is in form of atmospheric vapor for about 0.0001%. The Worlds water is
in from of vapor at some point. Most of the evaporation happens from the ocean. This creates a
cooling effect for the Earth's climate. It recycles many times during the year ("Drinking Water,
"2008). "There is no shortage of water on Earth," ("Drinking Water,"1998). As mention before,
only 3% is drinkable which causes water shortages in many countries. Every human body needs
around 20 to 50 liters of water each day for drinking, cooking and to bathe. There is over billions
and billions of people in the world. The world growing rate is increasing everyday, which means
centuries from now there probably be four to five billion more humans that need water.
Overgrowth and over population causes a red flag for water shortages. Water resources are scarce
and polluted. The more people that exist, the more scarce and polluted water resources become
("Drinking Water," 1998). Water shortages usually occur in the developing world ("Drinking Water,"
1998). There is such a fast rate of growth that sanitation systems are not built in enough time to
support the growth. In this case, people began

The Water Crisis and Solutions Essay
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy
percent of the earth's surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth's water is unsuitable for human
consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater
is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.
Freshwater is quite scarce, but it is even scarcer than one might think: about seventy percent of all
freshwater is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland and is unavailable to humans. Most
of the remainder is present as soil moisture or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater. It is
not economically feasible to extract this waster...show more content...
Instead of increasing the supply of water to meet demand, a more viable method of addressing the
water crisis is to manage consumption. The world population continues to grow, and trying to
increase the supply of water is risky at best and usually costs exorbitant amounts of money, making
this option available only to wealthy or economically developed countries. Therefore, controlling the
use of water in municipalities or having a national policy of water conservation would allow the
world's supply of freshwater to better sustain itself through rainfall and other methods. Conserving
water also saves energy, and energy is needed to treat, transport, and heat freshwater.
For water–saving programs to succeed, however, several things must be in place. The water saving
program implemented by the city of Zaragoza in Spain highlights some basic actions required for
such a program to succeed. Firstly, "rather than being a collection of fragmented, individual
initiatives, the setting up of the Zaragoza Water Commission allowed the effective coordination of
consultation, implementation and evaluation of different activities, with the aim of achieving a
common goal." (Water demand management, 2010) Secondly, the goal of reducing water use by all
types of consumers requires the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders. Working closely with
stakeholder representatives allows the identification of realistic and acceptable water

Global Water Shortage Problem

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