The Water Crisis relies primarily on its distribution

Even though 2/3 of our Planet are covered by water, only 2.5% is non-salted fresh water.
And from this 2.5%, almost 70% is in the form of glaciers or permanent snow.
From the remaining water available, 65% is located in only 8 countries such as Brazil,
Canada and Russia. Large regions in Africa and Asia are left out with very little fresh-water
due to these geographical factors.

3900 children die every day in the World due to water-related

diseases.
According to the UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), more
than 3,900 children die every day from diseases such as malaria and diarrhea.
More than 60% of the World’s population suffers from water scarcity, and millions
have no other option than using polluted water to satisfy their needs.

In 2020, an additional 17% of fresh water will be required to

satisfy human needs
If consumption patterns remained unchanged as of now, in 12 years-time an
additional amount of more than 17% of current water available will be required. As
far as people have tap water readily available in their homes, they will assume that
water handiness is something obvious and natural. Average daily consumption per
capita in the USA and Japan is around 350 liters: in Europe around 200 liters: as
for African countries, it barely reaches 10-20 liters on average per capita

As far as we pay for the water we consume, we can use it as we

wish.
In industrialized countries water tariffs have been increasing dramatically over the
past years, trying to control the supply and demand for this resource. As people
pay for it, they can use it without discrimination. Additionally, most of the disposed
water is currently treated and purified to make it available again for consumption.
Anyway, there is no connection between water available in Industrialized Countries
than in under-developed ones (say, Africa). If we stop consumption in Europe
doesn’t mean that African people will have more fresh water available.

Desalination plants can rapidly overcome water scarcity.

Currently there are more than 13,000 desalination plants over the World that
account for more than 1% of the total fresh water available. In places where no
water was available whatsoever, now they have become net exporters like in Saudi
Arabia. Governments should pursue high investments in R&D to make water
distillation more efficient and implement plants in shore lines.
Countries can depend on rainfall to get more water supply
Most storm water is not used for human consumption, and is left out to run off back
into the oceans. Some countries have implemented different systems to retain
water in urban areas and make it available as fresh water.

(In countries where rainfall is extremely minimal, possibly only a few mm a year, this is
completely unworkable. They simply can't rely on rainfall as there is not enough of it.9

A health crisis

The water crisis is a health crisis. Access to safe water and sanitation means
opportunity for improved health and the ability to help fight disease. Access to safe
water means improved health for women and girls who no longer have to delay
finding a place to go. It means reduced child and maternal mortality rates. It means
increased dignity and reduced psychological stress for girls and women. It means
reduced physical injury from constant lifting and carrying heavy loads of water. And
it means reduced risk of rape, sexual assault and increased safety as women and
girls do not have to go to remote and dangerous places to relieve themselves.

A children's and education crisis

Children are often responsible for collecting water to help their families. This takes
time away from school and play. Access to safe water and sanitation changes this.
Reductions in time spent collecting water have been found to increase school
attendance. Access to safe water gives children time to play and opportunity for a
bright future.

An economic crisis

Time spent gathering water or seeking safe sanitation accounts for billions in lost
economic opportunities. Access to safe water and sanitation turns time spent into
time saved, giving families more time to pursue education and work opportunities
that will help break the cycle of poverty.

The Water Shortage Myth

The two main environmental news stories of the past year or so have been the twin
impending disasters of global warming and water shortages. There is a scientific
consensus that global warming is occurring, and many governments (including,
belatedly, the Bush Administration) have taken steps to address the problem.

But the more pressing issue is water; people can live with global warming (and
have been for some time), but people cannot live without water.
While drinking water is the most obvious need, everything around us takes water to
produce, from food to telephones to tires. Not only is agriculture dependent on
water [the U.S. Geological Survey estimates it takes about 1,300 gallons of water
to grow a hamburger] but so is virtually every industry. Even energy production
needs water, in hydroelectric dams and nuclear reactor cooling towers.

Demand soars

The barrage of news reports warn of a dire water shortage, and provide sobering
statistics:

 The global demand for water has tripled over the last 50 years, while water tables are
falling in many of the world's most populated countries, including the United States,
China, and India.
 Many of the world's great rivers are a fraction of the size they once were, and some
have dried up completely.
 Earth's lakes are vanishing at an alarming rate; the Aral Sea, for example, is less than a
quarter its original size. Nevada's Lake Mead is half its original capacity; a recent study
concluded that there is a 50/50 chance that the lake will be gone in less than fifteen
years.

It's true that there is cause for alarm, but to understand the problem people need to
read behind the headlines to understand one little fact: There is no water shortage.

Our planet is not running out of water, nor is it losing water. There's about 360
quintillion gallons of water on the planet, and it's not going anywhere except in a
circle. Earth's hydrologic cycle is a closed system, and the process is as old as
time: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, and so on. In fact, there
is probably more liquid water on Earth than there was just a few decades ago, due
in part to global warming and melting polar ice caps.

The problems
No, there is plenty of water. The problem is that the vast majority of Earth's water is
contained in the oceans as saltwater, and must be desalinated before it can be used
for drinking or farming.
Large-scale desalination can be done, but it is expensive.

But nor is the world running out of freshwater, either. There's plenty of freshwater
on our blue globe; it is not raining any less these days than it did millennia ago. As
with any other resource, there are of course regional shortages, and they are
getting worse. But the real problems are availability and transport; moving the
freshwater from where it is plentiful (such as Canada, South America, and Russia)
to where it is scarce (such as the Middle East, India, and Africa). Water is heavy
and costly to transport, and those who can afford it will always have water.

Water, not global warming, is likely to be the greatest environmental challenge

facing the world in the coming decades and centuries.

To find solutions, it's important to understand the problem. Water is never really
"wasted." It simply moves from one place to another. If you let your faucet drip all
day, that's clean water going back into the system, the water isn't "lost." What is
lost is usefulness, money, and energy, because it takes energy to purify and
distribute the water.

Water conservation is very important, but not because there is a shortage of water;
it is the ultimate renewable resource. As with any resource, the issue is getting it to
those who need it.