Water Shotage Around the World Essay Example

Water Shotage Around the World Essay Example Water Shotage Around the World Essay Water Shotage Around the World Essay Humans consume water, discard it, poison it and waste it without considering the consequences. Supplying enough water in the right quantity, at the right time and in the right place has always been a concern. All of life depends on water. It is as important to life as air, food and sunlight. For this reason water has always played an important role in civilizations throughout history. People can live for days without food but will not survive for very long without water. The problem with water is that there is the same amount now as there was in pre-historic times and no way to make anymore of it.As the citizens of Chennai have been witnessing over the past few years, the city is still in the grip of an acute water shortage. Two of the rain-fed lakes that meet the citys needs- Poondi and Red hills- have severely depleted storage owing to the failure of the southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon last year and a third, sholavaram, is dry. Tanker trucks pressed into service by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and those run by private operators are trying to meet the peoples daily needs, at least partially.The people of chennai get 35 liters of water per capita in the best of times. The poor, the majority of them living in slums, are the worst- affected. They depend entirely on the water supply systems. Groundwater is the citys major water source now; It is drawn mainly from the well-fields in the Araniyar- Kortakaiyar basin and the aquifer between tiruvanmiyur and Muttukadu along the coast of south Chennai. Groundwater extraction is reaching its limits. According to the Central Groundwater Board, 80% of Chennais groundwater has been depleted and any further exploration could lead to salt water ingression.The assured yield from groundwater sources is estimated at 190 million liters per day (mld); of this, 158 mld has been tapped already. During the past century, the World population has tripled, and water use has increased six- fold. These changes have come at great environmental cost: half the wetlands have disappeared during the twentieth century; some rivers dont reach the sea and twenty percent of the freshwater fish are endangered. These environmental consequences also entail social and economic costs.While agriculture uses more and more water every year, to meet the food demands of a growing population, other users are competing for the same water: more people means more energy required and more hydropower. Especially in the western world, industrialization has had serious and often negative effects n water quality; currently global markets move the most polluting industries to the developing countries, usually near cities where population growth and illegal settlements already put a lot of pressure on water resources.In 2020, 60% of the Worlds population will be urban, a concentration that makes urban water infrastructure development an extremely urgent issue. These are but one of the factors influe ncing the worlds water resources, complicated by the fact that they are interlinked, and cant be approached separately. The projections are grim: around the world over the next twenty years, the average supply of water per person is expected to drop by a third and it already is in short supply.The United States projects that by the middle of the next century, at least two billion people in sixty countries- depending on factors such as population growth and climate change – will be seriously short of water. In the meantime, the water quality will worsen due to pollution and rising temperatures. Growing populations, wastage of water, inefficient irrigation and pollution exert pressure on this resource. Pollution and wastage are the primary threats to this resource, both of which we as human beings are responsible for.Water shortage and degradation is a growing concern for many countries including the United States. Drinking water protection is a big responsibility that involves government, business and individuals. Everyone has an important role in trying to protect the supply of water. Water is a vital necessity that all people need in order to survive. Without water, people could only go a few days to a few months before having serious health problems or even death. One of the major concerns regarding water is if there will be enough water for the demand within the next 25 to 50 years.With the help of agencies, scientists and experts, we as people may see that there will be a shortage of water in the years to come. Today in the world the leading cause of the water shortage is the rising demand for water for the industries and agriculture (George, 1). On the earth today there is no more freshwater than there was 2,000 years ago. Then the population was 3% of what it is today (Knight, 1). In 31 countries around the world that contains near a half a billion people face water shortage with the most severe being in the Middle East and Africa.By the year 2025 it is estimated that another 17 countries will be added to that list. Some researchers believe that also be the year 2025, 35% or 2. 8 billion people will face shortage. There are different reasons and causes of what continues to cause a shortage of water. Some of the water is being contaminated with pollutants. Agriculture is the biggest polluter in which the pollutants come from the fertilizers and pesticides used on the crops. The industries and municipal pollutions are also a factor. In some countries 90 to 9