Water Scarcity
Don’t you just love that tall glass of water? To many of us reading this, water seems like something we never have to think twice about. For millions of people around the globe, however, water availability is not something you can just assume. From Texas to Bangladesh millions struggle every day to find enough water for their families and businesses. But what is water scarcity and what are its impacts?
What is Water Scarcity?
If you were to look at Earth from Outer Space, you would be hard pressed to think any term like “water scarcity” could exist. We’re a giant blue marble of water floating around in space. However, as many of us learn in high school science classes, only 0.5% of all Earth’s water is freshwater that is accessible by humans. What a bummer.
For our purposes today, we will define water scarcity as “the condition wherein demand for water by all sectors, including the environment, cannot be satisfied fully due to the impact of water use on supply or quality of water” (Jones). Three things are important to note in this definition:
The first thing we must consider is that water is demanded by more than just human mouths. All industries rely on water in some way for their manufacturing process or resources. Stepping away from this human-centric perspective, however, the natural systems and more than human world surrounding us need water just as much. Water is essential to life, and resultingly, demand for water is seemingly infinite. Yet while demand may be infinite, our supply is finite.
This brings us to our second consideration. Since our supply of water is limited, the way we extract and use this resource impacts the quantity left for us to use. Typically, the water we consume comes from surface sources like rivers, lakes, and glaciers, or from underground reservoirs (called groundwater). Predominately dry climates severely lacking in surface water typically turn to groundwater to supply their populations; however, groundwater is not renewable, and once it has been used it is gone. Water is scarce. There is a fixed supply of it. The way we distribute it impacts human health, and this distribution process is often guided by the hand of corporate and political interests.
Finally, our third consideration of the water scarcity definition should be that water quality matters just as much as water quantity when defining if water is “scarce”. According to a recent study, “80% of all illnesses in developing countries are attributed to unsafe drinking water and the spread of waterborne diseases” (Abedin). Pathogens, unsafe mineral composition, and high salinity (saltiness) found in water can have disastrous effects on human health. Just because freshwater is available does not mean that it is safe for human consumption.
Climate change has done nothing but exacerbate the existing issues pertaining to water scarcity. Because of climate change, regions around the world have been seeing increases in sea level and dramatic weather events like hurricanes, floods, and droughts (Abedin). As the polar ice caps melt, all the stored freshwater leaks out into the salty ocean surrounding it, reducing the overall supply of freshwater on the planet. Violent storms cause massive damage to local infrastructures that distribute water to communities, cutting thousands off from a safe water supply (Abedin). Droughts have been proven to increase the salinity of rivers in the southern US to potentially dangerous levels for human consumption (Jones). Our actions have caused climate change which has in turn threatened the water supply. We bear not only the responsibility of the havoc this will cause to the human race, but to the more than human world as well.
Why should we care?
It goes without saying that without water, we die. In wealthier parts of the world, it is easy to take the presence of water for granted, but in parts of the world with less infrastructure and access to clean water, water procurement is an ever-present issue (Abedin). People need clean, fresh water to survive. Without clean water available, sickness runs rampant in communities and damage people’s livelihoods. There are also multiple recent studies that show water scarcity as a major destabilizing force.
Waterborne disease is a serious issue. Areas without proper water infrastructure and cleanliness face a massive amount of cases for dysentery, diarrhea, skin infections, pneumonia, and ear nose and throat infections to name a few. 24% of all deaths in the country of Bangladesh are caused by waterborne disease.
We need to be taking these statistics seriously and recognize that broad consequences of waterborne disease. Widespread disease and death stall a person’s ability to work, learn, and live a happy life. The mental strain caused by the hopelessness of the situation is draining. How can we expect people to be able to better their lives and the lives of those they care for if they are constantly plagued by sickness, depression, and anxiety?
Another formidable threat to public health in water scarce communities is increasing conflict due to limited resources. It is not a new phenomenon for people and communities to fight over natural resources. As a journal states, “higher levels of discontent should convey a higher likelihood of violence” (Doring). The unequal sharing of a vital resource is bound to stir up conflict as people do what they must to keep their loved one’s alive.
However, conflict is not only seen between members of a community, but conflict can also happen between two states fighting over the same aquifer or river. Water is not bound by borders, leading to conflict in who controls the source and how they maintain cleanliness. Examples can be found across the Middle East and parts of Africa where especially dry regions wage wars over access to water supplies (Doring). As climate change brings about more change across the globe, limiting freshwater accessibility, and as population and human demand continue to grow, we cannot help but see a rise in conflict globally over this natural resource.
Destabilization in “developing” countries is not a problem we can ignore as “other”. Klare addresses the conflicts over water scarcity within a nation than can destabilize governments and cause social chaos. Klare also acknowledges how water conflicts can expand across national borders over dominance over a river, lake, or ground water. Increased fighting and chaos will create global destabilization and economic downturns. Water scarcity is not confined to far away countries. It exists here in the US and economic implications are in store for us due to the increasingly globalized world.
What do we do?
“Water Scarcity” carries the weight of sustainability, chemistry, health, and political ramifications along with it. To speak of water is to speak of a person’s capability to live. On our current course, we are headed towards even greater instances of displacement, sickness, and suffering. Solutions need to be sought after from the individual level to the international.
To address waterborne diseases, it is not good enough to just inform the public of the dangers of dirty water. They already know. According to a study in Bangladesh, “More than 90% of the respondents in Durgabati village mentioned that they are suffering from dysentery as well as skin diseases due to the use of contaminated water for drinking” (Jones). People are not stupid. They know they are consuming water that will make them sick, but they have no other alternatives. They have no access to clean freshwater, yet they must drink water in order to survive. Efforts to improve the lives of people in water scarce areas needs to focus on obtaining infrastructure to support local communities in water gathering.
Action must also be taken to curb the violence and interstate conflict in water scarce regions. According to Doring, less conflict was seen in states with greater state control over water availability. Equitable distribution of water is vital for curtailing water-based conflict. Internationally, wars and conflict lead to increased migration and displacement of peoples. The UN and countries need to contemplate how to best address the issue of water scarcity and how to protect the rights of their people.
At the end of the day, however, it is important to understand the nexus of the issue of water scarcity lies in climate change, our economic system, and massive population growth. To find sustainable water plans coincides with overall sustainably of our planet. It is also important that we acknowledge that water is not just for human use. Humans are one small part of the greater whole of earth. The more than human world requires water as much as we. In our efforts we must keep in mind the system of the planet and recognize that without one part of the system, it all falls apart.
