How to get prepared to handle Drinking Water-related concerns in the coming future?

Safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.

"Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes - one for peace and one for science. - John F. Kennedy"

Facts

In 2017, 5.3 billion people used safely managed drinking-water services – that is, they used improved water sources located on-premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. The remaining 2.2 billion people without safely managed services in 2017 included:

• 70% of the global population, 5.3 billion people, had safely-managed drinking water in 2017, but 844 million people still lacked even basic drinking water.

• 39% of the global population, 2.9 billion people, had safe sanitation in 2017, but 2.3 billion people still lacked basic sanitation. 892 million people practised open defecation.

• 80% of wastewater goes into waterways without adequate treatment.

• Water stress affects more than 2 billion people, with this figure projected to increase.

• 80% of countries have laid the foundations for integrated water resources management.

• The world has lost 70 % of its natural wetlands over the last century.

Challenges

Lack of drinking water: The biggest problem that happens when you have water scarcity is that people are not able to get fresh, clean drinking water. The human body can hardly survive so long without water, and a lack of drinking water can result in a number of other problems, which we discuss below.

Hunger: If there is no water that can be used to help water the crops, then you are going to have people that are going hungry. Animals will also die, which will impact directly to the eco system. Water scarcity, in short, causes starvation to occur en masse for both people and animals that are located in the area.

Diseases: If you don’t have clean water access, then you will be more likely to get diseases from the water that you do have. Whether you’re drinking the water or using it for bathing, those diseases will get into the body.

Sanitation Issues: Since we need water for several tasks of our daily life, without having access to clean water for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing, it usually results in unhygienic conditions for people.

Migration: Water scarcity may also lead to migration waves. When large areas of land may no longer be suitable for living or farming because of water scarcity, millions of people may lose their livelihood due to that. These people may be forced to migrate to other places to survive.

Loss of Biodiversity: If regions suffer from severe water shortages, some animals may become extinct since they simply starve or die of thirst. Many plants may no longer be able to grow and reproduce in a sufficient manner causing serious biodiversity loss.

Solutions

Re-use of wastewater, to recover water, nutrients, or energy, is becoming an important strategy. Increasingly countries are using wastewater for irrigation – in developing countries, this represents 7% of irrigated land. While this practice if done inappropriately poses health risks, safe management of wastewater can yield multiple benefits, including increased food production.

• Clean drinking water starts with a good sewage system. Without proper sanitation, the water in an area becomes ridden with disease and any number of other problems. By improving the sewage systems in these areas, we can prevent water scarcity from becoming any worse.

• There are plenty of technologies available that allow you to recycle rainwater and other water that you may be used in your home. Consider learning about how you can recycle water.

• We should protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

• Implementation of integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.

• There has been a lot of work in the world of water conservation, but there is also a lot that needs to be done to ensure that the rest of the world can conserve water.