3. Impact of water shortage
Freshwater Availability
• Fresh water is distributed unevenly across the world
• Calculating fresh water availability of a country:
total water resources (m3)
total population
•Different levels of fresh water availability:
• water security : > 2,500 m3
- a situation in which the country has adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need
• water vulnerability : 1,701 to 2,500 m3
- a situation in which the country is at risk in obtaining adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need.
• water stress : 1,001 and 1,700 m3
- a situation in which the water resources in a country are insufficient for its needs.
• water scarcity : < 1,000 m3
- a situation in which there is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand in the country.
Impacts of water shortage on people:
Domestic
o Increased difficulty in collecting water in Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
Mostly women & children had to travel long distances to get water
Time wasted on travelling far distances to collect water could have been spent on working(for women) or going to school (for children)
Insufficient water for entire household
Drinking unclean water can cause water-borne diseases such as cholera, and sometimes even death.
o Water rationing
Water is made available only at certain times of the day e.g. Singapore in April 1963 water supply was cut off for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week.
People had to queue to collect water for their daily use
Inconvenient for elderly people & pregnant women
Economic
o Reduced agricultural yields (total amount of crops grown) in LDCs
Farmers’ livelihood under threat
Insufficient food supply to feed entire population, may lead to starvation
Lower food exports decreases economic revenue for the country
o Increased cost of industrial production (cost of producing & manufacturing goods)
Limited water supply → higher power price → higher production cost
Power plants use a lot of water to cool parts of the generators. When there is water shortage, power plants have to cut power production or shut down for a few days. The cut in power production will cause an increase in the price of power & will in turn increase the cost of production in other industries.
Limited water supply → higher water price → higher production cost
Companies which produce soft drinks use a lot of water in their production. Besides being the main ingredient, water is also used in other parts of the process such as rinsing, cleaning, heating & cooling.
An increase in the water prices will lead to higher production costs.
Political
o Conflict over water supply
Local scale
Conflicts between farmers & factories over the use of common water resource, such as, groundwater or lake, e.g. India
National or Global scale
Conflicts arise when countries tap into the same water resource such as a river.
One country’s use of the resource could reduce the amount available to another country, e.g. the Mekong River.
Click here to see an interactive on the political conflict over the River Nile
https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/saving-the-nile/index.html
Where is the River Nile located?
What is the water in the River Nile use for?
Why did the conflict arise?
Who are affected?
How can the issue be resolved?
Water Rationing in Singapore in 1963
Impact of water shortage on agriculture in India
Political - conflict over water supply e.g. Mekong
Updates:
Look at this article on "2 billion people drinking contaminated water: WHO"
Posted 13 Apr 2017 08:43
Where is the place mentioned in the article facing water shortage?
Why is clean water not available?
What is the impacts of water shortage?
Who are the people affected?
When did this occur?
How can this problem be managed?
"Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio,Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma,"
Maria Neira, who head's WHO's public health department
Using solar power to desalinate water. Will this be solution for water shortage in Kenya?
https://youtu.be/P9I0CJSHd1E
