Is there a water crisis coming?

Water connects every aspect of life. Access to safe water and sanitation contributes to improved health and helps prevent the spread of infectious disease, reducing mortality rates. As we continue to face the COVID pandemic, now more than ever access to safe water is critical to the health of families around the world.

The United Nations' FAO states that by 2025, 1.9 billion people will live in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under stress conditions.

Safe water and sanitation can quickly turn problems into opportunities – empowering people with time for school and work, and contributing to improved health for women, children, and families.

The water crisis is an emerging crisis on a global scale, affecting more people than the ongoing pandemic:

• 785 million people, or 1 in 9, lack access to safe water

• 1.1 billion people lack access of any kind of water

• 2 billion people, or 1 in 3, lack water sanitation access

• 2.4 billion people suffer from the contamination of water and poor sanitation

• 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity for at least one month in a year

• Every 2 minutes a child dies from a water-related disease

• Contamination of water can lead to deadly diarrheal diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever, and other waterborne diseases causing 80% of illnesses around the world.

So, what are the contributing factors to our global water crisis?

Water supply shortage:
Water is the underlying tenuous balance of safe water supply, but controllable factors such as the management and distribution of the water supply itself contribute to further scarcity.

A United Nations report focuses on issues of governance as the core of the water crisis, saying "There is enough water for everyone" and "Water insufficiency is often due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both human capacity and physical infrastructure."

It has also been claimed, primarily by economists, that the water situation has occurred because of a lack of property rights, government regulations and subsidies in the water sector, causing prices to be too low and consumption too high, making a point for water privatisation.

Water pollution:
Water pollution typically occurs as a result of human activities in a manner that negatively affects its legitimate use.

Lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater become polluted when contaminants are introduced into these waters. The causes of water pollution include a wide range of chemicals and pathogens as well as physical parameters. Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. Heat can also be a pollutant, and this is called thermal pollution. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.

Water pollution can also lead to water-borne diseases for people using polluted water for drinking, bathing, washing or irrigation.

Technological solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). Effective control of urban runoff includes reducing speed and quantity of flow.

Climate change:
Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close connections between the climate and hydrological cycle.

Rising temperatures will increase evaporation and lead to increases in precipitation. Both droughts and floods may become more frequent in different regions at different times, and dramatic changes in snowfall and snow melt are expected in mountainous areas. Higher temperatures will also affect water quality in ways that are not well understood.

Climate change could also mean an increase in demand for farm irrigation, garden sprinklers, and perhaps even swimming pools.

There is now ample evidence that increased hydrologic variability and change in climate has and will continue have a profound impact on the water sector through the hydrologic cycle, water availability, water demand, and water allocation at the global, regional, basin, and local levels.

The World Bank adds that climate change could profoundly alter future patterns of both water availability and use, thereby increasing levels of water stress and insecurity, both at the global scale and in sectors that depend on water.

However, whilst climate change will continue to be a key factor in water supply, the effects of changes in population on water scarcity were found to be about four times more important than changes in water availability because of long-term climate change.

Overuse and depletion:
Groundwater is the largest source of usable, fresh water in the world. In many parts of the world, especially where surface water supplies are not available, domestic, agricultural, and industrial water needs can only be met by using the water beneath the ground.

The U.S. Geological Survey compares the water stored in the ground to money kept in a bank account. If the money is withdrawn at a faster rate than new money is deposited, there will eventually be account-supply problems. Pumping water out of the ground at a faster rate than it is replenished over the long-term causes similar problems.

The water crisis in the US
There is already an underlying household water crisis affecting millions of people in the United States, people living in poor neighbourhoods often lack access to running water and plumbing.

Ongoing research has shown that for the past two decades, water and sanitation problems have disproportionately affected low-income and non-white households in the country.

The researchers examined how many people lacked complete plumbing — meaning access to hot and cold water, a sink with a faucet, and a bath or shower — and how many lacked clean water, indicated by violations of or noncompliance with water regulations.

Between 2014 and 2018, almost 500,000 households did not have complete plumbing. In 2020, 1,165 community water systems were not of adequate quality, and more than 21,000 facilities that discharged directly into US waters posed a severe level of environmental threat.

These water hardships seem to cluster in certain regions, such as Puerto Rico, Appalachia and the Intermountain West. The crisis is disproportionately associated with older, poorer, less-educated people, and populations with higher numbers of people with Indigenous or other non-white backgrounds, the authors say.

Farmers in California destroying own crops because there’s not enough water to keep them alive
The American west is drying out as the region faces an unprecedented drought. Few places are as devastated as the Klamath Basin. Straddling the border between California and Oregon, the watershed spans 12,000 square miles.

Today’s water crisis in this region stems from decisions made over a century ago. In 1906, the Bureau of Reclamation drained wetlands to create farmland, disrupting the careful balance of water needed to sustain others in the basin.

In recent years, lake levels have dipped below federally mandated levels and further endangered the ecosystem, and in May, the Bureau of Reclamation shut off the primary canal that diverts irrigation water leaving farmers without a water supply for the first time since irrigation began in 1907.

Farmers are now having to destroy their own crops as there’s not enough water to sustain them. Eventually, a lack of water and fallowed crops will be a problem that impacts what produce you'll find at your grocery store.

Water crisis in the UK:
UK could also face water shortages by 2050 if action is not taken to conserve supplies Whilst water management in the UK is being overhauled in response to climate change, by 2050 parts of the country living under severe water stress.

The Environment Agency is urging consumers to be more water aware and use water wisely. It said water leakage needs to be dramatically reduced and it isn't ruling out the possibility that water bills could rise. "It's very clear that the country as a whole needs to pay for the environment that we want and we may all have to step up, including customers, for clean and plentiful water.”

Climate change means more extremes of weather, but the Environment Agency said we don't have enough infrastructure in place to store water from heavier wetter winters for the drier summers we are now experiencing.

Chew Valley Lake is one of the UK's largest reservoirs supplying water to nearly a million people in Bristol and Somerset. But in a drought scenario and without action, there could be shortages in the region within 15 years.

'Great British Rain Paradox': Public unaware of UK's water scarcity
The findings of a recent survey warn that 72% of the British public believe the UK has enough water to meet daily demands. However, the public remains largely unaware of the risks that population growth and climate change will have on water supplies.

Currently, daily household water usage on a per person basis is 143 litres. In comparison, per person water usage in the 1960s was around 85 litres. The Environment Agency has warned that around 3,435 million extra litres of water could be required each day, if not action is taken to improve water usage between 2025 and 2050.

However the report also reveals that water consumption ranks below other environmental considerations for members of the public wishing to live more sustainably.

According to the survey, 10% of the public consider water consumption a key environmental consideration. This ranks below plastic pollution (39%), energy consumption (22%), generation of food waste (16%), and carbon footprints (11%).

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of England’s Environment Agency, said: “People might wonder how a country with such a reputation for rain like the UK could reach a tipping point where demand for water outstrips supply in just 25 years. But this may become a reality if we don’t take action to save water now.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic, however, has raised the appreciation of water use in the UK.

The report found that 83% now appreciate access to clean water to wash their hands. Having been placed in lockdown, 82% now appreciate the natural world more, while 76% are more aware of the impact that they have on the natural environment. With 69% of respondents claiming to be more concerned about the environment and sustainability, the report calls on the public to reduce water usage on a daily basis.

The Southeast of England is facing the greatest pressure on public water supplies. Unsustainable water abstraction processes and infrastructure, compounded by climate change and population growth, will result in parts of southern England running out of water within 20 years.

The National Audit Office (NAO) to the UK Government, in its latest water supply and demand management report, warned that the amount of water available for abstraction nationally each day will fall more than one billion litres by 2045.

This figure consists of 600 million litres per day lost to drier weather, and the current overconsumption of around 480 million litres per day. The NAO claims this is equivalent to 7% of the country’s total annual water supply.

Corporate contributors to the water crisis:

How Water Gets Polluted by Fast Fashion
A report from Water Witness International (WWI) suggests popular fast fashion brands may be causing pollution that has turned some African rivers blue or as alkaline as bleach.

The report focuses on polluted rivers in Lesotho, southern Africa, and Tanzania to highlight the risks posed as global brands increasingly source garments from African contractors, drawn in by low labour costs and tax breaks. In Lesotho in south-eastern Africa, studies have found that a river dyed blue by jeans manufacturing and samples of the Msimbazi River in Tanzania has a pH as high as 12.

Nick Hepworth, the main author of the report, said: “I collected some samples, which burned my hands, and the concentration of the river water was as strong as bleach.” Hexavalent chromium is used in older and cheaper black dyes and is a toxic metal. Hepworth said that they found the chemical in some rivers at five times the level considered safe. This poses a major problem for communities near factories that rely on these water sources.

Global brands could compel better practices, but their presence in Africa has done little to reduce pollution, water hoarding by contracting factories, or even ensure adequate water and sanitation for factory workers.

Untreated industrial waste from textile mills is directly discharged into rivers and thousands of people use it as domestic water. There is no choice but to use polluted river water to wash clothes, water the garden or water the cattle.

Some of the world’s largest fashion brands are linked to dangerous levels of toxins in African rivers. The report found that about 50 high-street brands of clothing came from African countries, including ASOS, Zara, and Primark, but they did not directly link pollution to any company’s supply chain.

Other environmental reports and investigative documentaries have revealed that the problem is not restricted to Africa. Fast fashion manufacturers across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh – all of whom supply western fashion brands – have all been linked to similar levels of pollution across their respective water supplies.

How Pepsi and Coke make millions bottling tap water, as residents face shutoffs
It’s a good time to be in the water business: as the coronavirus outbreak spread in the US, bottled water sales increased 57% over the same period last year. During the panic-buying peak of the pandemic, apart from products like toilet paper and hand sanitiser, Americans were panic-buying bottled water – even though there was no actual shortage of safe drinking water and that hoarding bottled water simply isn’t necessary for most people.

What’s more, most bottled water sold in the US comes from the same municipal sources that supply tap water – a fact probably unknown to most consumers. The business model is hugely profitable. The cost to buy municipal water is exceedingly low – and once bottled, the mark-up can be about 133 times greater.

Coca-Cola makes Dasani – the company’s well-known bottled water that generated more than $1billion in US sales last year - at the company’s Detroit plant by purchasing, treating, and bottling municipal water before selling it at a significant mark-up to consumers. Pepsi bottles its Aquafina water brand in Detroit the same way.

Despite the obvious moral issues of selling tap water at criminally inflated prices, it also seems that these corporate giants receive far more lenient treatment than consumers when it comes to paying their water bills.

In Detroit, whose policy before the coronavirus crisis called for shutting off water to residents if they fall $150 behind in their water bills, 2,800 homes were estimated to be without running water at the start of the pandemic.

But the drink giants in Detroit also racked up tens of thousands of dollars of past due water bills that went unpaid for months and not once was their access to water shut off.

Turning off residents’ water supply can create unsanitary conditions and lead to the transmission of Hepatitis A, Influenza, and over course exacerbate the current COVID pandemic. People don’t just need water to cook and bathe, but to practice basic virus-fighting hygiene.

Paying twice for bottled water: People whose water gets shut off because they can’t afford their bill may have no choice but to buy bottled water that comes from the same source that feeds their tap. They may be obtaining bottled water from companies that have been behind on their water bills but didn’t face a shutoff, and whose business depends on access to publicly funded water systems.

And it’s not just in Detroit: Coca-Cola and Pepsi get water from other major cities, including Phoenix and Denver, with a history of shutting off water to residents.

So, which countries have the most fresh water?...

1. Brazil
Brazil has the highest volume of renewable freshwater resources, totalling approximately 8,233 cubic kilometres. The freshwater in Brazil accounts for approximately 12% of the world’s freshwater resources. The Amazon Region in Brazil contains over 70% of the total fresh water in Brazil. Despite having numerous freshwater resources, one of the most populous regions in Brazil, Sao Paulo, faces severe drought. Access to freshwater by poor neighbourhoods in urban areas remains a challenge in Brazil.

2. Russia
The renewable freshwater bodies in Russia include rivers, lakes, and man-made reservoirs. Lake Baikal, the largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, is in Russia. Baikal holds up to approximately 1/5 of fresh water in the world. The lake was formed on a rift. However, the lake’s volume has been gradually reducing due to climate change. Baikal harbours a large population of seals. In total, Russia has 4,508 cubic kilometres of freshwater resources.

3. United States
The volume of renewable freshwater resources in the US is approximately 3,069 cubic kilometres. Most of the freshwater resources in the country are surface water. Approximately 77% of the fresh water is surface water and 23% is underground. Majority of freshwater bodies in the United States are lakes. Other fresh water sources are rivers, ponds, and reservoirs. There are thousands of lakes in the US, including the world-famous Great Lakes.

4. Canada
The volume of renewable fresh water in Canada is approximately 2,902 cubic kilometres. Most of Canada’s fresh water is found in its diverse river system and lakes. Besides, the fresh water is mostly underground, in small ponds or in glaciers. The underground water is mostly non-renewable. The fresh water in Canadian lakes provides drinking water for over 8 million people and supports a quarter of agriculture in the country.

5. China
China has the 5th highest volume of renewable freshwater resources in the world. It has approximately 2,840 cubic kilometres of fresh water. Poyang Lake which is situated in Jiangxi Province is the largest freshwater lake in China. Xin, Xiu, and Gan Rivers all empty their waters into the lake. The volume of the lake keeps fluctuating depending on seasons.