Freshwater Supply and Use: Historical and Modern Perspectives
From Science Online
Overview
Fresh water is one of the most important natural resources, but it is greatly overused. While most people in the industrialized world do not struggle with this problem as much, it still creates a great deal of hardship in areas scarce of freshwater supplies.
Humans in Western civilizations vastly overuse freshwater for luxury purposes when other nations have drastic needs for freshwater. People in industrialized nations are responsible for overuses such as unneeded toilet water waste and laundry water use. Although these processes are demands in the Western world, the efficiency of such processes is a lot less than is possible with current technologies.
Even excluding wasted water, much of the crisis is still caused by humans. A great deal of the problem in developing nations is caused by freshwater supplies not being too scarce but rather being contaminated. In many instances, not enough government protection or planning goes into the the preservation of freshwater supplies.
Afflicted Regions
This problem occurs mostly in arid, developing, nations. That is one of the main issues-it only affects those that need it the most. While the countries of the industrialized world are not greatly affected, the problem remains in poorer regions. While there is enough freshwater worldwide to satisfy the needs and thirsts of everyone, it is very unevenly distributed. Countries with tropical rainforest receive great amounts of rain water annually while other nations receive almost none. It is estimated that nearly 30% of people currently live in watersheds with water surplus, while 20% live in marginally vulnerable watersheds, 6% are under stress from water availability, and 44% suffer from water scarcity. (Alcamo, Doll, Kaspar and Siebert, p.3)
Water Use
The average per capita water use varies greatly depending on the country. In the United States, a great deal of water is wasted due to inefficiencies and luxury purposes. People in the Industrialized West usually flush away an average of 50 liters each day for the sole purpose of flushing the toilet. (Moszynski, p.1) However, worldwide use stacks up like this: 69% of freshwater goes to agricultural usage, 25% goes towards industrial use, and the rest towards individual water use. (Cunningham and Saigo, p. 432) This indicates a drastic departure from historic uses of water. Before the age of industrialization and crop irrigation, the majority of freshwater used was used for drinking and individual use.
Western Waste
Future Threats
Some of the possible threats to water availability include population growth, economic use and the changing climate. Currently an enormous amount of the global population lives of of water that is not being replenished. It is predicted that as of 2025, 3 billion people will face chronic water shortage. (Pearce, p. 34) Global warming is likely to cause sever water consequences by relocating traditional water patterns especially in the tropics. (Rind, Rosenz, Weig and Stieglitz, p. 73)
While projections of water availability appear bleak, two trends concerning the projections of water availability include over estimating future water demand and the amount of water necessary seems to drop. (Gleick, p. 293)
The Cost
One solution to the global water shortage crisis would require substantial price increases across all market segments. This would provide the funds needed to develop the infrastructure necessary to develop the water supply capability. (Olmstead, p. 25) Water prices have long been subsidized and/or regulated. This may have led to some of the current water supply problems because of the inadequate investment in service extension. (Olmstead, p. 33) Significant price increases for water may be unavoidable but there would be economic benefits in reduced healthcare costs if clean water supply was available. (Olmstead, p. 24)
The Government's Role
The laws protecting water heavily depend upon the the country, as most of the laws are federal rather than international laws. In the United States,the Clean Water Act is designed to protect the freshwater sources that Americans withdraw water from. This law made it illegal for people to discharge banned pollutants into water sources. Under this law, the EPA can enforce pollutant level requirements in order to keep the water in the United States safe for the environment as well as for human withdrawal. However, the protection status in less industrialized nations is much more limited. Also in the United States, comprehensive studies are made in order to assess the water availability issue-such as the National Assessment of Water Availability and Use program. (Alley, p. 1)
Water Availability
Even though there is plenty of water on earth to fulfill everyone's needs, the uneven distribution has caused a major problem for some. The problem is seemingly getting worse. Over the last century, human use of water has been increasing twice as fast as the population has been increasing. (Cunningham and Saigo, p. 430) As the water use increases, water availability decreases. Due to increasing industrial and economic needs, the average water needs are increasing at a rapid rate.
References
Gleick, P.H. (2003). Water Use. Annual Reviews-Environmental Resources. 275-314.
Rind, D., Rosenzweig, C., & Steglitz, M. The role of moisture transport between ground
and atmosphere in global change. Goddard Space Flight Center, 22, Retrieved 4/16/07,
Alley, B. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from www.usgs.gov Web site:
http://www.usgs.gov/budget/2006/docs/wateravail021405.pdf.
Alcamo, J., Doll, P., Kaspar, F., & Siebert, S. (1997) Global change and global scenarios
of water use and availability: An application of WaterGAP 1.0. Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kansas, Germany, 1-47.
Pearce, F. (August 2004). Water: An Imminent Global Crisis. Geographical, 76,
Retrieved April 16, 2007, from http://www.geographical.co.uk
Moszynski, P. (Novenber 11, 2006). Worldwide water crisis is a "silent emergency". British Medical
Journal, 333, Retrieved April 16, 2007, from http://www.bmj.com
Olmstead, S. (2003, December). What's price got to do with it. Environment, 45,
Retrieved April 14, 2007, from http://
Cunningham, W.P., & Saigo, B.W. (2001). Environmental science: A global concern. New York City: McGraw Hill.
