Increasing Water Scarcity - Essay Example

Introduction The pace of population growth has remained strong during last fifty years or so and with this rapid increase in population, there may give rise to critical problems which mankind as a whole has to fight for the survival of its future generations. The current world population is over 6 billion and with historical growth trends in population, this number is going to rise sharply in next 50 years. It is therefore argued that the with the rise in population and climate change, the overall demand for water has increased in last fifty years. The overall shortage that has been created is not only hurting the individual customers but the agriculture as well as industrial sectors of an economy. (McCarthy 2003) This report will provide a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for overall increase in the demand for water from consumers, industries as well as agriculture sector. Apart from this, the report will also will provide a review of some of the researched solutions to the water scarcity and what steps can be taken to overcome this. 1.0 History of Water Scarcity Water is considered as essential for sustaining life and health of the individuals however, over the period of time, it is becoming scarce. It is argued that the worst affected areas due to water scarcity will be developing countries with less impressive physical infrastructure and technology and as such the overall consequences of the rise in water demand will be much severe for low income countries which are already facing tough conditions. It is really hard to actually trace back the history of water scarcity however, the overall supply of water started to decrease with the changes that took place in the climate. Over the last twenty five years, world population increased at great length thus it indirectly put lot of pressure on the existing water resources of the world. Further, the excessive use of water by the industrial sector also contributed towards the shortage of water and as such the overall scarcity of water emerged. 2.0 Causes of Water Shortage As discussed above that one of the important reasons for the increase in water shortage is the rapid increase in population. Higher population therefore has put strong pressures on the existing water stock to decline consistently due to lack of new discoveries for fresh water resources. Increasing population also caused the industrial activity to pick up in order to meet the increasing demand due to increase in population. Thus increase in the industrial activity caused water shortage because of higher water usage, higher water wastages including polluting the water and restricting its recycled use. What is also critical to note that the industrial sector still lacks the ability to properly discharge the water? Further, the agriculture use of water is subject to wastage as well as pollution also. Besides, the use of fertilizers as well as pesticides is also damaging the capacity of the soil to serve as the reservoir for holding freshwater. The following sections will discuss some of the above reasons in great details: 2.1 Industrial According to various resources, the overall 27% of the water resources are used by the industry. (UNESCO 2002). Such significant percentage of use therefore indicates that the industry is one of important high user of the water however; it is also one of the chief causes of its scarcity also. Developed and high income countries use more water for the industrial use as compared to the countries with low income levels. However, there is also an excessive usage of the water also in the industrial sector due to higher industrial activity. Industries such as textile and metals require lot of water to be consumed because of various chemical processes however; the overall water is excessively used. Industry is also considered as one of the main source of water pollution because of inadequate liquid discharge system. Many metals such as Mercury as well as coal traces are included in the water making it more pollutant to use. (WHO 2001) Mixing of dust with the water is another cause which makes water less desirable for consumption and hard to consumer. Apart from this, the overall discharge system in most of the industries is not good and as such discharged water is hard to recycle and use for other purposes. 2.2 Agriculture Agriculture is another important source of creating water scarcity because of the excessive usage as well as use of fertilizers and pesticides which effectively reduce the capability of soil to serve as good water reservoir. (Soto 2009) Due to lack of efficient technologies to manage the water discharge, most of the water used in agriculture is wasted. Some estimates indicate that only 40% of the water used for irrigation purposes actually contributes to food production whereas rest of 60% is wasted. (Rockström, Lannerstad and Falkenmark 2007). 2.3 Consumer Demand The demand from consumers is really high because water is traditionally a very low priced commodity. With such low and almost free use, water is also wasted by many thus increasing its overall demand. 3.0 Prevention In order to reduce the water shortage, it is argued that the more focus shall be on the reduction of the pollution. Efforts shall be taken to reduce pollution as well as reduce the over-use of water. This can be achieved through rationing of water for industrial as well as for agricultural purposes besides regulating its use for the domestic customers also. Further, Government shall also focus on increasing the price for using the water also as it will ensure responsible use of water. 4.0Conclusion In conclusion, water affects the normal life and it is extremely important that good care must be taken to rationalize its use. Over the period of time, there is a consistent increase in the world population thus putting a lot of pressure on the existing water resources of the world. Above all, there is also a consistent over-use of the existing water resources by industrial, agriculture as well as domestic users which is further creating stronger demand for water. It is believed that the water scarcity will be sever in developing and poor countries as compared to developed countries. 5.0 Recommendations In order to conserve the water, it is important that water use must be regulated through government owned utilities. The supply of water to industry and for agriculture purposes shall be adequately rationed according to output targets. It is most important that regulatory efforts shall be undertaken to punish those who contribute most to the water pollution. Government can charge higher taxes or water pollution tax on such firms so that they must contribute towards the efforts of government to reduce pollution and increase the supply of water. Further, It is also recommended that government should consider to increase the price of water also as the same will be able to increase the overall value of water thus rationalize its use specially by the consumers. Bibliography 1. McCarthy, Michael. "Water Scarcity Could Affect Billions: Is This the Biggest Crisis of All?" Common Dreams. 2003. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0305-05.htm (accessed May 11, 2010). 2. Rockström, Johan, Mats Lannerstad, and Malin Falkenmark. "Assessing the Water Challenge of a New Green Revolution in Developing Countries." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, no. 15 (2007): 6253-6260. 3. Soto, Evelyn. "Prof Explores Causes of Water Shortage." The Cornell Daily Sun. 2009. http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/11/02/prof-explores-causes-water-shortage (accessed May 11, 2010). 4. UNESCO. "WATER AND INDUSTRY." UNESCO. 2002. http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/facts_figures/water_industry.shtml (accessed May 11, 2010). 5. WHO. "Industrial pollution." WHO. 2001. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/industrypollution/en/index1.html (accessed May 11, 2010). Read More