The term ‘scarcity’ means the state of being scarce or in short supply. So, water scarcity means there is an absolute water shortage where the level of availability of water doesn’t meet certain defined minimum requirements. Let’s have a look at some important water scarcity facts:
- Out of all of the water on this planet, the amount of water fit for our consumption is less than 1 percent – how shocking is that
- It depends on water conservation, use and quality for a country to be able to meet demands
- Water scarcity now affects one in three people globally
- 20 percent of the world’s population has to walk every day an average of 3.5 miles to get drinking water
- If you could put all the world’s water into a gallon jug, then the freshwater available for use would equal about one tablespoon
Effects of the water crisis
We can divide the effects of water scarcity into 4 broad areas and they are – Health, Hunger, Education, and Poverty. Here are some of the effects of the water crisis:
- We have seen the dispersion of conditions and diseases such as diarrhea and trachoma due to inaccessible to water of good quality. Water scarcity is also a threat to mental health. Depression, anxiety and related issues are sometimes associated with the struggles of insufficient water availability – the constant worry and stress.
- Water can be used in order to help water the crops or else eventually multiple people will go hungry. Animals will also die, as a result. In short, it will cause starvation as a whole for both people and animals in a particular area.
- Children are either too sick to go to school, or they are working to help get water to the home and the family. They deserve the education they need. Unfortunately, water scarcity makes it more difficult for people to get an education.
- There is no way to clean food, dishes, or people without access to clean water. People aren’t given access to proper sanitation.
- Lastly, people are often stuck in poverty while dealing with water scarcity. They need resources in order to be able to thrive. Instead, they are just barely surviving through these difficult times.
Solutions
We can use solar energy to disinfect biologically contaminated water. There are a few types of solar powered disinfection. The first one is a solar panel to generate electricity, to boil water. Then we can use heat from the sun. It’s also possible to use UVA radiation and UV thermal.
We can educate those who aren’t dealing with water scarcity. Then there are plenty of technologies to recycle rainwater. It doesn’t only help to prevent scarcity but also can save you some money as well.
There are organizations situated all over the world looking to gather clean water. If we can donate to these organizations, either with our time, our skills, or our finances, then we might be able to support clean water initiatives.
We all know that clean drinking water starts with a good sewage system. If we improve the sewage system then this might prevent water scarcity from becoming any worse. Also, it will reduce disease or any number of other problems.
Economic water scarcity
It happens when there is a lack of investment in the water infrastructure or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand for water in areas. These areas the population can’t afford to use an adequate source of water. So, let us explain some reasons why our planet lacks water.
Water is a necessity for all life on earth. Some even predict it to be the new oil of the future, but the question remains why isn’t there enough for everyone. Even though our planet consists of 70% of water, we can only use an extremely small amount of it as drinking water. So much of the World’s water supply is salty ocean water and a few percent is frozen.
What little remains is still sufficiently safe for everyone, but unfortunately, it’s distribution is pretty unfair. Around 700 million people in the world do not have access to clean water. In some areas, people have to walk miles to collect water and carry it home. While in another part of the world people simply turns on the tap to use more than 100 liters per day.
Then comes policy at government level who allow this condition to persist. We have seen in some countries the use of water strictly controlled by those in power. This causes a scarcity for those who may be located in those areas of the world.
Economic water scarcity is considered by far the most disturbing form of water scarcity. It’s almost entirely a lack of compassion. However, there are ways we can address this issue and effectively but time is against us.