Water
Shortage
Water
shortage is not simply found in the developing world.”More than one in six
people or, 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, while
2.6 billion people lack sanitation” (Water Crisis). In addition, 3900 children die
from water borne diseases every day. Changes in lifestyle have been causing the
per capita use to increase. Aside from this, the global population has also
been increasing steadily as well (Water Crisis).These factors have caused the
proportion of water for human use to increase.
Both the temporal and spatial variations in
the availability of water make the water available for consumption scarce. As a
result, the supply of water for food and industrial processes is now decreasing
(Water Crisis).The increasing water consumption of humans also causes a lot of
problems in other aspects of life. One example is that it also reduces the
water that is available for agricultural and industrial developments. Aside
from this, the scarcity of water also affects the aquatic ecosystems and all
species dependent on this balance. This causes the environmental balances to be
disturbed (Water Crisis).”The problem of water crises is now a very serious
one. According to the World Bank, 80 countries now experience shortages in
water. This problem threatens both human health and national economies” (Global
Water Shortage Looms In New Century). However, water problems nowadays are
becoming serious both at the national and international levels (Global Water
Shortage Looms In New Century).
According
to The Water Project, “The problem of water scarcity is a growing one. As more
people put ever increasing demands on limited supplies, the cost and effort to
build or even maintain access to water will increase. And water's importance to
political and social stability will only grow with the crisis” (Water Scarcity:
The Importance of Water & Access).The main cause of the increasing concern
for the water problems is the continuous increase in the population of the
world. This increase in population also increases the water demands of
industrial and agricultural aspects. The world - wide demand for water is
already doubling every twenty one years, according to the World Bank. The
current water supply cannot keep up anymore with the increasing demand (Global
Water Shortage Looms In New Century). However, the growth in population is not
the only factor that affects the increase of demand for water. The rising
standards of living can also be associated with this greater usage in water. An
example of this is the decreasing amount of grain in diets (Global Water
Shortage Looms In New Century). According to an article in CBS News, the
Americans are the biggest water consumers in the world. Their average
consumption just after taking a shower, using the bathroom, brushing their
teeth, and having a cup of coffee is already more than 30 gallons of water.
After these, they still do a lot of activities that also consumes water. At the
end of the day, their average water consumption is already 150 gallons
(Strassmann, 2012). In order to compare how big the water consumption of
America is, the average water consumption of big countries was also determined.
The United Kingdom only uses a quarter of America’s water consumption. Their
average water consumption is only 40 gallons of water a day. On the other hand,
China only uses about 22 gallons a day. In other poor countries such as Kenya,
the people use only 13 gallons of water a day (Strassmann, 2012). According to
an article in Natural News, thirty six states in the United States of America
are expected to have problems regarding water shortages in the next five years,
as estimated by the United States government.The reason that they are looking at this issue
is the rising temperatures and droughts in the country. This causes the
available freshwater supplies to decrease. They are also taking into
consideration the increase in the population in the United States (Gutierrez,
2008).ost Americans are not aware of this major problem that is now arising in
the United States. Some of their states such as California, New Mexico, and
Texas, already have problems regarding water shortage. Another problem is that
the Southern part of the United States is currently experiencing extreme
drought. Some countries are already relying on underground, non renewable
supplies (Gordy, 2011).
One
of the solutions that can be implemented is the process of sea water
desalination. The main purpose of a desalination plant is to part saline water
into two streams. The first one is called the fresh water stream which is
composed of a low concentration of dissolved salts. The other one is called the
brine stream. This is also called the concentrate because it contains the
remaining dissolved salts. Desalination has been called the Holy Grail of water
supply. This is because it can offer us unlimited supply of potable water from
oceans and other sources of water (Heather Cooley).There have also been
research which proves the potential of the desalination of treated wastewater,
which is applicable for use in industry. This may help in reducing industry’s
demand for public water. Also, this will be a great help to the environment
because it will reduce the amount of treated wastewater. Some areas in the
world which already employ desalination for public use are found in the Middle
East, North Africa, the Caribbean, Southern Europe, China, USA, and Singapore
(Dubai to build mega-desalination and power plant, 2007).
Group members:
Haji Sultan AlQubaisi
Sultan AlMahri
Abudalrahman AlHosani
Haji Sultan AlQubaisi
Sultan AlMahri
Abudalrahman AlHosani
