One in three people worldwide does not have access to a toilet. Around 2.3 billion people lack access to even basic sanitation services, forcing them to either practice open defecation or use pit latrines and buckets. Fecal contamination in the water supply is a major cause of deadly waterborne diseases such as hepatitis A, norovirus and E. coli. Annually, 1.6 million people die from waterborne diseases. Of the 5 million people that become ill from bad water, most are children. Water privatization causes harm. When corporations site water bottling operations in developing countries like India and Bolivia, they significantly deplete supplies needed by local farmers. In the U.S., when a struggling public water or electricity utility sells their rights to a private corporation, household water and sewer services typically become, respectively, 59 percent and 63 percent more costly. In the U.S., 2.1 trillion gallons of clean water is lost each year due to poor infrastructure, including old, leaky pipes and broken water mains. David Le France, CEO of the American Water Works Association, estimates that repairing America’s water infrastructure will be a trilliondollar program. Due to divided efforts in governmental decision making, adequate policies and budgeting are often difficult to come by.
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Often, water burdens fall upon women, some of whom walk four miles a day just to fetch water that is likely contaminated. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, it takes about six hours to carry a 44-pound container of water from a source that often has the potential to make them sick, according to the Global Water Institute. One-third of the world’s largest aquifers are water-stressed. Underground aquifers are naturally replenished through rainfall and surface water, but a deficit occurs when more water is pumped out than
replenished. Eight of the biggest aquifers, including those in Saudi Arabia, northwestern India and Pakistan, are not being replenished at all. Meeting the United Nations’ sustainable development goals for the water crisis will cost $114 billion per year. Attaining these critical goals will be timeconsuming, expensive and may face political division. Yet the cost of not doing so is also high. Addressing healthcare needs due to water-related diseases and poor sanitation costs $260 billion globally each year. Water scarcity is real. To ignore it or to assume that it is only a problem of the
developing world is to be blind to the reality that the rest of the world is experiencing. Excessive water consumption and poor water management are factors that can be controlled. Supporting clean water initiatives will certainly help the movement against the global water crisis. Finally, educating ourselves and raising awareness is a task we should all take on. Jeremiah Castelo is the founder of World WaterReserve.com, which publishes information on water scarcity and purification methods. This article is excerpted and reprinted with permission.
Water Scarcity Solutions
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Save Water Limit the use of water and of washing machines. Take short showers instead of full baths. Educate Empower people to help by showing them how to prevent and mitigate water scarcity problems now and in the future.
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Recycle Water Learn about and employ available technologies to recycle rainwater and other water used at home.
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Support Water Conservation Allocate money and time to help water conservation efforts around the world. Improve Farming Practices Farming and irrigation practices and technologies need to become more efficient.
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Use Fewer Chemicals in Farming To ensure clean water and reduce water shortages, farmers need to decrease their use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which leads to groundwater pollution.
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Improve Sewage Systems Improving sewage systems in underserved areas will help to provide clean drinking water and prevent disease and water scarcity.
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Better Water Distribution Infrastructure To prevent severe water shortages in times of drought, efforts are needed to connect poor people in developing countries to public water supplies.
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Support Clean Water Initiatives Donate money, time and skills to organizations worldwide that are working to bring clean water to areas that don’t have it. Source: Conserve Energy Future at Conserve-Energy-Future.com.
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