You Thought You Were Safe From Water Scarcity. Here's The Bigger Picture.

 

A YOUNG BOY FILLS A PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE WITH POLLUTED WATER, PROVIDED BY KENYA CLIMATE INNOVATION CENTER

4 billion people are living under conditions of severe water scarcity for at least 1 month out of the year. That's according to a report made by ScienceAdvances, which also states that nearly half that number live in countries like India and China. But the number who face those same troubles in first-world countries like the United States and the United Kingdom is much lower. What happened here?

Counterarguments would claim that the water scarcity crisis does not threaten communities outside of its current reach. People who live in first-world countries never seem to come up short regarding access to fresh water. We can run our showers and taps as long as we like. 

But the reach of the water scarcity crisis grows every day. Areas in France, Germany, and other western European nations see shortages, and stress affects the west coast of the United States, as well.

For example, in the United States, we're beginning to see rising prices on water across the board. Between 2010 and 2018, water bills in America rose by at least 27% as reported by the Guardian. It's not just an issue for third-world countries that the first-world gets to sleep on. Water scarcity is on the up, both abroad and at home.

“A water emergency threatens every corner of our country. The scale of this crisis demands nothing short of a fundamental transformation of our water systems. Water should never be treated as commodity or a luxury for the benefit of the wealthy,” said water justice advocate Mary Grant from Food and Water Watch, as quoted from the Guardian.

While third-world countries are getting hit a lot worse by water scarcity than first-world countries, water scarcity is actually an issue for citizens all over the globe. Places of high water scarcity get the most coverage from the media. We think it might not be a big deal right now, or it isn't going to affect us. According to the Guardian, "the water poverty crisis is likely to get much worse, with bills in many cities becoming unaffordable for the majority of America’s poor over the next decade."

This is a problem that we need to deal with, because it isn't going away. The situation in these third-world countries paints a horrific picture of what life could become for other places when water runs dry. It's time that the water scarcity crisis becomes an issue for every country because it is in all of our futures.

RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN FACED THE HIGHEST RISE IN WATER BILLS BETWEEN 2010 AND 2018, ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN'S ANALYSIS

The same report from ScienceAdvances mentions scarcity levels are high in areas with a high population density, a presence of over-irrigated agriculture, or low natural water availability. Arid regions worldwide, such as Africa, face the worst of this issue.

Freshwater is one of the building blocks of human life. When water becomes scarce, communities can't get water to drink, wash themselves, or farm. And global water scarcity, at the current consumption rate, is going to get worse.

Water scarcity in communities can be measured in two ways, according to the National Library of Medicine. Water scarcity can come as "shortage (impacts due to low availability per capita) and stress (impacts due to high consumption relative to availability)."

Water scarcity is can occur in countries with adequate water resources, as reported by the website unicef.org. This is because of several factors, including but not limited to: "collapsed infrastructure and distribution systems, contamination, conflict, and poor management of resources." 

It's hard to imagine that water can become scarce due to misuse. Some countries have come to blows over it. For the first-world, two countries declaring war on each other over water is so improbable it sounds like a bad nightmare. But in third-world countries, mostly in northern Africa, the threats to water scarcity are real and concrete. 

According to Global Citizen, the water scarcity crisis also inspires violence in stressed areas. When water becomes scarce, humans fight over it. For example, "communities surrounding Lake Chad... have been exposed to violence between those in need of water and those who are unwilling to compromise." People are suffering not only over lack of access but also the conflicts because of that scarcity

The article continues; "The violence has also led to mass displacement, with the United Nations reporting the destruction of villages caught in the middle of the dispute." Children born into poor communities in third-world nations are dealing with the crisis for months at a time. The water they drink, if they can find it at all amidst conflict and mass displacement, is often unsanitary and contaminated with waterborne diseases. 

MAP OF WATER SCARCITY TRAJECTORY ARCHETYPES, PROVIDED BY SCIENCEADVANCES

What you see above is a map of how water stress and shortage are showing themselves across the world. Notice the areas of water scarcity in third-world regions such as the Middle East and Africa, and compare that to first-world countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. 

There is still a clear difference in what areas of the world have access to water. Most importantly, we see environmental factors like population growth, agriculture, and pollution becoming some of the biggest reasons that waters run dry.

THOUSANDS OF INDIANS DIE EACH YEAR AS THEY HAVE NO ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER, PROVIDED BY THE BBC

In the last 50 years, the world's population has doubled. The World Wildlife Fund reports that "with its accompanying economic development and industrialization, this growth has transformed water ecosystems worldwide and resulted in a massive loss of biodiversity." The organization also reports that "41% of the world’s population lives in river basins that are under water stress."

As freshwater use increases, water availability decreases, all while the population keeps increasing. Newborns need food, shelter, and clothing, increasing demand for commodities and energy, which puts even more pressure on freshwater sources.

Some of the world's worst water stress comes from agriculture, according to the World Wildlife Fund; "agriculture uses 70% of the world’s accessible freshwater, but some 60% of this is wasted due to leaky irrigation systems, inefficient application methods as well as the cultivation of crops that are too thirsty for the environment in which they are grown."

The 60% of the water that's going to waste isn't doing anything to help the fact that freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers are drying out around the world. Major food producers like China, Australia, Spain, India, and the United States are exhausting their water resources during food production.

And agriculture is also a direct cause of water pollution, which connects back to water scarcity. Fertilizers and pesticides – which negatively affect humans and other species – wash away from farms and go on to pollute water sources, contaminating them with harmful materials. Pollutants can even leak into groundwater.

The World Wildlife Fund reports that "some effects of pollution are immediate, such as when harmful bacteria from human waste contaminate water and make it unfit to drink or swim in. In other instances—such as toxic substances from industrial processes—it may take years to build up in the environment and food chain before their effects are fully recognized."

I hope you understand a little more about how communities in Africa, India, China, and other third-world countries fail to receive the same access to water that first-world countries enjoy. We must take action before the future that the third-world lives in becomes the future for us all.