Water Scarcity Essay

Chi Huynh

English 1B, Section 19

Professor Silva

7 April 2014

Water Scarcity: Is Water The New Oil?

When water demand is quickly outgrowing water supply, what happens next? Many people question the definition of water scarcity and how it is measured. Although there is no consensus on how water scarcity can be defined and measured, the most common measure of water scarcity is the ‘water stress index’ or ‘Falkenmark indicator’. The water stress index is defined by the scarcity of renewable water that is available per person every year compared to the amount of water resources available the the population of region. The Global Water Forum indicates that “if the amount of renewable water in a country is below 1,700 m3 per person per year, that country is said to be experiencing water stress; below 1,000 m3 it is said to be experiencing water scarcity; and below 500 m3, absolute water scarcity” (Global Water Forum). Water scarcity is becoming more apparent not only in third world countries, but also worldwide. “About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. Though it seems abundant, just 1% of world’s water is fresh (not salty) and available (not frozen). And that mighty 1% is under threat” (World Wild Life). There is about 196 countries in the world today and if 60 countries experience water scarcity, about 31% of the world is in danger. As our human population rapidly grows, so does our thirst for water and other resources. If the baby boom generation does not take halt to the threat of water scarcity, the next generation will have no where to turn for a natural source of usable water. Our ecosystems can no longer keep thriving and feeding a growing population due to water systems becoming overly stressed.

Water systems are b...

... middle of paper ...

...on the planet. Seawater desalination could be the saviour for many, but it does come with impacts that we need to minimise.” Wastewater reclamation should be viewed as an adjunct to desalination. The processing costs for seawater reverse osmosis have dropped in real terms by about a factor of five in the last 20 years. This is largely due to better and more standardised reverse osmosis membranes and the energy savings due to energy recovery devices. A large seawater reverse osmosis plant can produce 1,0001 of water for £0.30-0.60 (US$0.5-l) - less than the price of 11 of bottled water. Water shortages will be the worlds largest threat at our current consumption rate. Governments must make it a priority to improve environmental effectiveness of policies and economic efficiency to reduce water pollution from agricultural systems and improve water resource efficiency.