Let’s know more about it…

Did you know that only 2.5% of all the water in the world is fresh water ? And that only 1% is accessible, by accessible, I mean water trapped in glaciers & snow fields. We only have real access to 0.0007% of the planet’s water. That’s all we have to feed and fuel over 6.8 billion people. The lack of clean water is a plague that affects 1.8 billion people every year.

A water crisis is when there is not enough potable water for population, which in turn leads to drought, famine and death. Today safe drinking water has become a luxury for people living in drought-hit regions & the African subcontinent. People can be seen walking miles and spending entire day searching for water. Even if they get it, they have to fight with the waterborne diseases arising from it. Economic development suffers when basic necessities are not met, and people take it for granted and do not understand the importance of water conservation.

Clean water & access to food are some of the simplest things that we take granted each and every day. In places like Africa, these can be some of the hardest resources to attain if you live in rural areas ~ Marcus Samuelsson.

Major causes 👇

1] Water Pollution : Most of water resources are terribly polluted in rural areas due to poor sanitation and lack of waste treatment plants. Overall levels of global pollutants are having a negative effect on the drinking water that is currently clean; as time goes on, this damage will be exacerbated.

2] Ground water over drafting : The excessive use of ground water in our agricultural industries is leading to diminished yield and wasted water. Over 70% of our water is used to grow crops and most of it is wasted due to leaky pipes and poor watering techniques.

3] Overuse & Misuse of water : This leads to more water being wasted and squandered for pointless reasons and leads to further escalations of the crisis. One single hamburger takes 630 gallons of water to produce!

4] Disease : A large quantity of the available groundwater in the worst affected parts of the world is ridden with disease due to lack of proper water treatment and recycling.

5] Mismanagement : Improper training and education lead to a needless waste of safe, clean water everyday as well as overuse in areas that don’t require so much water. Despite being a populous country, with diverse geography and climate, India doesn’t have a comprehensive water policy. There are no proper guidelines available for the usage of surface water and groundwater by different sectors and different states.

6] Human settlements : Construction of dams other hydroelectric projects and water diversion for irrigation has led to systematically destroying large river ecosystems.

7] Groundwater exploitation : In addition to irrigation, groundwater exploitation has also resulted from rapid urbanisation as well as extreme groundwater usage by soft drink companies such as coca-cola. India uses more groundwater than any other country in the world, and its exploitation has causes accelerated drying of aquifers. The total groundwater used for irrigation has risen from 30% in the 1980s to nearly 60% today.

IMPACTS :

1] Death : All life needs water, every 90 seconds, a child dies from water related diseases.

2] Disease : Waterborne disease is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. Water related diseases affects more than 1.5 billion people each year.

3] Warfare : Regional conflicts have arisen due to the loss of safe water resources.

4] Lack of irrigation : Without water, farmers can’t grow any crops, which leads to death of nearly 1 million people every year.

5] Lack of sanitation : This leads to disease and causes countless health issues.

6] Lack of hygiene : 1/3 of the world’s population lives without access to a toilet. This leads to diseases and kills nearly 1 million people each year.

7] Agricultural problem : No water means no crops. Previous regions with a good amount of water have seen a decline in groundwater and without water, they can’t grow crops.

8] Poor education : Most schools in the worst affected areas do not have a toilet or safe drinking water for students, which leaves students dehydrated and mentally incapable of achieving well in schools.

9] Poor healthcare : Most hospitals and clinics operate without access to safe water, leaving them unable to help people safely.

10] Societal impact : Improvements in society are halted due to a constant need to find water, 5-6 hours everyday is spent looking for water on average. Collectively, women and children spend 125 million hours everyday for collecting water.

Methods of conserving the water resources

1) Charities

2) Funding

3) Spreading the messages

4) New technologies

5) Improved irrigation

6) Water pricing

7) Energy efficient desalination plants

8) Rainwater harvesting

9) Address pollution

10) Awareness

References

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/

http://leddris.aegean.gr/ses-parameters/302-water-exploitation.html#:~:text=Overexploitation%20of%20water%20resources%20leads,of%20forest%20water%20bodies%20etc.http://leddris.aegean.gr/ses-parameters/302-water-exploitation.html#:~:text=Overexploitation%20of%20water%20resources%20leads,of%20forest%20water%20bodies%20etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_of_natural_resourceshttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_of_natural_resources

‘A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty man’. This quote truly defines the importance of water conservation in today’s world.

– Akshada Ravindra Gole

Student, KES Shroff College.