The Quick Facts: Water is the Earth’s most abundant resource, but mounting pressures and misuse threaten water supplies. According to the United States government, at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013, even under non-drought conditions. These shortages can be attributed a combination of rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess. Families and individuals can help conserve and protect water supplies to secure water for now and the future.
When heading to the faucet in our homes, most of us unthinkingly expect water to flow. While recent water conservation efforts are taking hold or are sometimes mandated, most of us still take water for granted and do not think whether there is enough to go around. According to experts, global climate change is expected to further impact water resources, making awareness of and decisions on water use critical. If you think you will not be impacted, you might want to think again …and take action.
Availability of Water
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), water covers approximately 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, but less than one percent of that is available for human use. This small amount of water must be shared globally for agricultural, domestic, commercial, industrial, and environmental needs. Despite this small available amount, worldwide water consumption has tripled in the last 50 years.
Of course, timing, location, and reliability determine the potential value of water supplies. In addition, water quality affects the availability and use of the water. According to Marq de Villiers, author of the 2001 book Water Wars, there is enough water for every person on the planet. However, de Villiers says it is often in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the wrong amounts.
Water Pressures
While you likely do not think twice about getting water from the kitchen sink, one billion people do not have enough clean water to drink worldwide, and at least 2 billion people cannot rely on adequate water to drink, clean, and eat. Lack of water is blamed for many of the world’s most distressing crises: millions of deaths each year from disease, and malnutrition, chronic hunger — keeping children away from schools which offer hope of a better life.
These shortages might not be as far away from your kitchen as you might think. In the last five years, nearly every region of the United States has experienced water shortages. According to the U.S. government, at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013, even under non-drought conditions. These shortages can be attributed a combination of rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.
According to Sustain Lane, without steady supplies of fresh, drinkable water, our modern cities would quickly become unsanitary, disease-stricken, and less populated. In 2008, Sustain Lane measured cities’ water supplies. Of the 50 U.S. cities that were studied and ranked, the cities with the most endangered water supplies were Los Angels, CA; Tucson, AZ; Mesa, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; and Las Vegas, NV. Tied for first place for solid supplies of water are the Great Lakes cities of Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee, followed by Detroit and New Orleans. Lawn-watering sunbelt cities fared worse than east coast cities where few residents even have a lawn, much less water one.
Impacts on Water Supply from Climate Change
Besides mounting pressures from population, demand, and misuse, research suggests that certain aspects of our water resources are very sensitive to both climate change and to how we choose to manage our complex water systems. According to the Pacific Institute, a nonpartisan research institute, the scientific evidence that humans are changing the climate is increasingly compelling, and impacts, including those to water resources, now seem unavoidable. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.
Plants, animals, natural and managed ecosystems, and human settlements are sensitive to variations in the storage, flow, and quality of water at the land surface. These, in turn, are sensitive to climate change. Many changes in climates that will impact water resources and supplies are expected and some have already been observed, including: increasing temperatures, change in precipitation (both timing and intensity), change in frequency and duration of droughts, increase in sea level pushing saltwater inland to mix with and alter freshwater resources, changes in patterns and timing of regional precipitation (affecting snow pack and timing of snowmelt) and change in species distribution and ranges. All of the physical and ecological impacts of climate change will also cause social and economic costs and benefits.
There are some thoughts on the additional impacts of climate change on water impacts ≠ such as on human health (including disease), agriculture, forests, and coastal areas. However, researchers say more work needs to be done to assess impacts and to plan to reduce risks or adapt to changes to water resources. Overall, researchers point out that current laws and policies affecting water use, management, and development are often contradictory, inefficient, or not flexible to changing conditions.
What to Do Now: Help Conserve & Protect
Whether water is plentiful in one area and scarce in another, the message is timely and clear ≠ individuals, families, businesses, and all levels of government have the responsibility and ability to decrease per-person water use, which can help prepare for whatever water crisis lies ahead, short or long-term. Mounting pressures and misuse have called into question the reliability and availability of water supplies in the future. We need to increase awareness of people of all ages and provide appropriate incentives to conserve and protect water resources.
Families and individuals can help conserve and protect water supplies to secure water for now and the future. Starting at home, here are some actions to reduce per-person water consumption:
- take quick showers over baths (including children — switch them to showers as soon as possible)
- turn off the water while brushing teeth or shaving
- collect rain water and use it for indoor and outdoor plants
- organize a water conservation awareness day in your neighborhood
- replace water-guzzling gadgets with more efficient ones (i.e., water saving shower-head or toilet)
For more water conservation tips, see Real Mama’s article, “At Home Water Conservation.”
For other related Real Mama Articles, see:
Water Use and Conservation: Are We Water Wasters?
Water Worry: Is Your Tap Water Safe?
What is the Message in a Bottle (of Water)?
What’s Hot in 2007? The Earth
Solutions to Global Warming for the Reasonable Family
Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/safewater/sourcewater/ (US Environmental Protection Agency, “Source Water Protection”)
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/nj.htm (US Environmental Protection Agency, “New Jersey Drinking Water”)
http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/categories/water-supply (Sustain Lane — People-Powered Sustainability Guide, 2008 US City Rankings, Water Supply)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/02/water (The Observer, “Is Water the New Oil?” by Juliette Jowit, November 2, 2008; provides information and tips on reducing your water footprint)
http://www.pacinst.org/reports/national_assessment/natl_assessment_water.pdf (“Water: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the Water Resources of the United States,” The Report of the Water Sector Assessment Team of the National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of
Climate Variability and Change, by Peter H. Gleick, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, September 2000)
http://www.gcrio.org/CONSEQUENCES/spring95/Water.html (“America’s Water Supply: Status and Prospects for the Future,” by Kenneth D. Frederick, Consequences, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 1995)
http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/groundwater/src/supply.htm (Groundwater Primer, US Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 and Purdue University, May 8, 1998)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21494919/ (“Crisis Feared as U.S. water supplies dry up,” Associated Press, October 27, 2007)
http://www.alternet.org/water/81301/?page=entire (“The U.S. Nears the Limits of Its Water Supplies,” by Shiney Varghese, April 8, 2008).
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/supply.htm (US Environmental Protection Agency, “Water Supply and Use in the United States,” WaterSense program)
http://cals.arizona.edu/azwater/awr/septoct08/d3e32d12-7f00-0101-0097-9f67a5fe336e.html (“Needed: US Water Commission to Find Ways to Increase Water Supply,” Robert S. Lynch, Arizona Water Resource, September-October 2008, Volume 17, Number 1)
