Water Scarcity

Essay, Pages 3 (737 words)

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All of us thrive on necessities of life and our life comes to a standstill if we are unable to get any of these necessities, be it the basic requirement of drinking water. Imagine what situation it would be if you have to pay a huge amount for buying water; well I can, as we paid Rs.4000 last summer in order to get 5000 liters, water being a fundamental element for every activity.

Global Perspective

Being a victim of this issue and paying an enormous amount in order to get water for everyday activities, I want to raise awareness and talk about how we will be led to further scarcity if preventive measures are not taken now.

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In my essay, I have explored issues from a global perspective, national perspective coming from my home country India, where the issue of water shortage is at day-to-day rise and shared my personal perspective on it. After reading this essay, I hope people will become aware of various issues through which water is becoming scarce thus reducing water wastage.

Issues: Almost 700 million people in 43 areas experience problems relating insufficient water. An estimation of 1.8 billion people will be living in places with complete water scarcity by 2025. Over the years, many factors have contributed towards the problem of water scarcity but I would like to focus on the major issues of water pollution, over population and climate change, as I feel these factors contribute the maximum towards the scarcity of clean water.

Water Pollution:

70% of our planet is made up of water and only 3% of it is fresh, which is being misused or wasted.

Pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants are being released into water bodies making the water unfit to use and leading to diseases like cholera, typhoid, diarrhea etc.

Sewage is released into water bodies that have dangerous pathogens or disease-causing organisms. Now, this graph shows the degree to which various pollutants pollute the oceans. As we can see, sewage is responsible for 30% of waste, whereas industrial wastes, farm wastes, oil, litter, etc. are contributing their bit. Now, let us understand the situation of various countries to enhance our global perspective about water pollution:

Europe:

According to the study by European Water Industry, countries like Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and UK have a high proportion of water bodies having harmful residues. This information is from a federation of national associations of water services providing wastewater services to many countries and hence gives reliable information. Companies across Europe are spending huge sums on water treatment, which is an estimated annual investment of €24.4 million (Netherlands), €130 million (Germany), and €170 million (UK).

In my city, Hyderabad, according to a report by Telangana State Pollution board on 22 July 2019, water pollution levels in Hyderabad have increased due to immersion of hundreds of Ganesh idols. This data can be trusted as it is from a government board dealing with

Population:

According to the United Nations, the world population is approximately 7.7 billion thus leading to depletion of resources like water. Water scarcity affects almost one-fifth of the world's population. Due to over population, overconsumption and water wastage in households takes place, especially in developing countries where families are huge.

As we can see in this pie chart by the Water Research Foundation which funds and manages drinking water, wastewater, reuse, etc. and ensures improvement in water services, in 2016, 24% of water in a household was used for toilet which is maximum and remaining goes for other activities like showering, washing, leaks, etc. This research Foundation is a non-profit organization giving unbiased information.

Conclusion:

Based on the above information and evaluation, it is evident that there will be water scarcity in the future. If there were no preventative measures implemented soon, water scarcity would be inevitable. This issue has be solved immediately as water scarcity is a threat to humanity.

I have always felt it is an important issue. My research has made me understand the actual causes and consequences behind this problem. It strengthened my belief on how water scarcity may affect our future. This project has taught me a lot about the ongoing issue of water scarcity. I have developed my research and evaluation skills. It has taught me how to do analysis from different perspectives (global, national and personal) and find suitable solutions for this threat. In conclusion, I would like to say writing my individual project has enhanced my abilities and skills.