Water Resource Challenges - Essay Example

Water Resource ChallengesProvide at least three freshwater and three ocean water resource challenges by filling in the following table. Then, respond to the question that follows:Freshwater Resource ChallengeDescriptionHuman activitiesBathing, washing inside the fresh water bodies.Sewage delugeHuman and animal wastes from bust pipes mixing with fresh water.EutrophicationFarming fertilizers in farms near rivers and lakes.Ocean Water Resource ChallengeDescriptionFloodingDuring floods or tornadoes.

Oil SpillsOil tankers and ship spillage.EutrophicationWaste from industries.Sewage deluge Sewage is comprised of both human and animal wastes. According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), around 90% of sewage is released into fresh water bodies in the developing countries (United Nations Environment Programme 70). This pollutes the fresh water supply areas and hence renders the water unsafe for human consumption. This is a very high percentage and is deemed a health hazard. The developing countries have water supply problems and majority of them especially those in the rural areas and slums depend on the rivers and other fresh water supply resources to curb the shortage.

Pollution of that water by sewage renders the water unsafe and hence they have to walk hundreds of miles in search for another fresh water source. This problem burdens women whose reproductive roles including looking for water to complete her chores. The other problem resulting from the sewage is the exposure of those residents to water-borne diseases like dysentery, diarrhea among others. The problems strain not only the family in terms of having to constantly seek medical care but also the government in having to provide the medicine and treatment to those individuals whose cannot afford to pay medical fee.

Statistics indicate that these some of these individuals even succumb to the water-borne diseases hence denting the family income or family dynamics (United Nations Environment Programme 71). The sewage menace is a human problem as it is caused by negligence and ignorance of not only the government but also the residents themselves. The governments have failed to take up the responsibility of repairing the sewage pipes that are leaking or have burst. In some areas like slums, there is no sewer system and hence when rain comes, the flowing water washes the excretions to these fresh water resources and the cycle is repeated over and over.

Works CitedUnited Nations Environment Programme. Unep 2010 Annual Report. Geneva: UNEP/ Earthprint. 2011.