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Water supply on Earth is finite, and its growing demand is out-distancing supply, creating water conflict.
The demand for water is increasing because of three reasons:
Population growth is also increasing the demand for water. However, it isn't proportional. Currently, human water use is increasing at double the rate of our population growth. Many major aquifers, from where we get much of our freshwater, are dramatically shrinking.
IN CONTEXT
Consider the Ogallala Aquifer in the midwestern United States. Water is being used much faster than it can be recharged. The map below shows that the darker red, yellow, and orange patches indicate where the aquifer has been decreasing.
Ogallala supports almost 5.5 million hectares of agricultural land, or about one third of the groundwater used for irrigation in the United States, while also providing drinking water to at least 2.3 million people. Since 1940, the water table in that area has declined around 300 feet.
The chart below breaks down the demand of water into its various uses. Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater taken from streams and rivers. Industry utilizes 19% of all freshwater available, and households use the remaining 11%.
Around the world, many people cannot afford or even access clean drinking water. At least one billion people don't have access to it. At least one fifth of the world's population lives in locations with physical scarcity of safe drinking water.
Like food shortages, water shortages are often a result of distribution problems. Other causes can generally be a dry climate, periodic drought, or overpopulation exceeding local water supply.
EXAMPLE
In 2014, California had the worst drought in 1,200 years, putting numerous towns and cities into water shortages. Many farmers lost large portions of their crops, which impacted the rest of the United States because California provides a large portion of the country's food.EXAMPLE
Another water shortage is occurring in India's capital, New Delhi. New Delhi's per capita availability of fresh water is greater than that of Paris, yet New Delhi cannot always provide reliable freshwater. This is primarily a distribution issue, as New Delhi's poor distribution network results in a lot of water that is unaccounted for.There are strategies to improve water supply and demand issues. These solutions include:
Source: THIS TUTORIAL WAS AUTHORED BY JENSEN MORGAN FOR SOPHIA LEARNING. PLEASE SEE OUR TERMS OF USE.