WATER SCARCITY

We live in a planet which 70% of its surface are consist of water. Water is an essential part of our live that we couldnt live without. But, nowadays water starts to become scarce. Water scarcity is now become an issue for our life and there are some facts about water scarcity that we have to know so we can be part of efforts to conserve and protect the resource. There are some facts about water scarcity that we should know. Water scarcity occurs even in areas where there is plenty of rainfall or freshwater and it affects one in three people on every continent of the globe. Almost one fifth of the world's populations (about 1.2 billion people) live in areas where the water is physically scarce. Africa experienced the worst water scarcity in the world where 25% of the population faces chronic water stress, yet over half of the water used for agriculture never reaches the crops. Indonesia, which 70% of its surface contains water, also facing water scarcity. Water scarcity in Indonesia ranks fifth among the rich-water countries after Brazil, Russia, China, and Canada. Water Scarcity divided into two types that are Physical Scarcity and Economical Scarcity. Physical scarcity is the situation where there is not enough water to meet all demands, including that needed for ecosystem to function effectively. Arid regions frequently suffer from physical water scarcity. Economical Scarcity is a type of water scarcity caused by a lack of investment in water or insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand for water. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include a lack of infrastructure, with people often having to fetch water from rivers or lakes for domestic and agricultural uses. Large parts of Africa suffer from economic water scarcity; developing water infrastructure there could therefore help to reduce poverty. There many things that causes water scarcity. Causes of water scarcity vary from natural causes to human causes. The natural causes are climate change, rainfall decrease, and

drought. Human causes are demand over stripping supply, population growth, water quality, land use, pollution of water sources, and improper water resource management. Water scarcity also gives people many impacts for their daily life. It forces people to rely on unsafe sources of drinking water. It also means they cannot bathe or clean their clothes or homes properly. Poor water quality can increase the risk of such diarrheal diseases as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery, and other water-borne infections. Water scarcity can lead to diseases such as trachoma (an eye infection that can lead to blindness), plague and typhus. It also can increase the number of people who dead by dehydration. Water scarcity encourages people to store water in their homes. This can increase the risk of household water contamination and provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes - which are carriers of dengue fever, malaria and other diseases. The problem of water scarcity is a growing one. If we dont overcome it immediately, it will be dangerous for our life. There are some ways to prevent and overcome water scarcity. Firstly Countries must conserve water, pollute less, manage supply and demand, and slow population growth. Then, we can do rain water harvesting. Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer. It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation, as well as other typical uses. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses and local institutions can make an important contribution to the availability of drinking water. The third way is doing wastewater recycling. It allows communities to become less dependent on groundwater and surface water sources and can decrease the diversion of water from sensitive ecosystems. And the last but not least is making a good watershed management. Watershed management is the process of creating and implementing plans, programs, and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal, and human communities within a watershed boundary. As the conclusion, water is an essential resource but one in three people around the world experience water scarcity. The problem is getting worse as cities and populations grow, and the needs for water increase. Water scarcity can impact our daily life and health, so, it urges everyone to be part of efforts to conserve and protect the resource.