Water Resources

Water is life. Water resources are water that is used for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. For all these activities fresh water is required. Out of the total water in the world, only 2.5% of the water is fresh water. Most of the fresh water is frozen in glaciers and Polar ice caps. Only a small fraction of the fresh water can be used by humans for their needs. Water shortage has become a problem all over the world. Access to safe, dependable and sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities is a basic need and a human right. Water resource problem has resulted due to a mixture of climatic change and poor resource management. Although the water crisis is most marked in developing countries, the developed world is also facing major environmental problems and human health consequences due to diminishing water resource. Economic prosperity does not automatically mean plenty of water. Lack of adequate water has affected not only the undeveloped but also the developed countries. A report in Geneva on World Water Week reveals that "some of the world's wealthiest cities - such as Houston or Sydney - are using more water than can be replenished"(BBC news, Geneva)

Detailed description of the problem of water resource:

We need water for our basic sustenance such as drinking without which we cannot live. We also need water for a variety of needs such as cooking, washing and sanitation. Besides this, water is also required in irrigation. We are facing a water crisis in the world. There has been an increase in the demand for safe water due to rise of the world's population and rising living standards and this has led to over utilization of the natural water resources. . "The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2003, approximately 1.1 billion people had no access to safe water and 2.4 billion had no basic sanitation"(AMREF). Water problem is caused when there is not enough water for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. One of the major causes of water problem is the rising population. According to UN estimates by 2050 there will be an additional 3 billion people in the world. Thus, demand for water will increase further. Rapid Urbanization has led to the requirement of more water to individuals and to process the concentrations of wastewater generated in the urban areas. Water quality and the guarantee of making quality water available to all regardless of income or social status is one of the most pressing problems of the world.

The problem of water resource is amplified by wasteful use of scarce water resources. Competition in water is growing. Groundwater is pumped up from aquifers to meet this demand. Due to this, many aquifers have dried up and the level of groundwater has fallen .Depletion of water resources is caused by water pollution and ageing water infrastructure. Water pollution consists of unfavorable affects on water which makes the water unusable. Water pollution causes major changes in water quality and the ecological condition in water. Pollution in water consists of a wide variety of chemicals, pathogens and altering the physical chemistry of water. . Exposure to oil pollutants can alter the ecology of aquatic habitats and the physiology of aquatic organisms. Water resources is also affected by Stalinization resulting from discharge of saline agricultural and mining drainage water to river systems and the increased rate of natural discharge of saline groundwater to surface water resources in irrigated and non irrigated areas.

Major rivers which were fresh before have become saline and unusable for human and livestock consumption and other uses. Besides this, climatic change has resulted in shrinking of the glaciers and decreased rainfall, which are significant sources of water. For example, Europe is becoming drier due to shrinking of the Alpine Glaciers Nonliving and living factors that contribute to or are affected: Human beings are the chief contributors to the water resource problem in the world. Non living factors that cause water pollution can be due to industrial wastes such as heavy metals, resin pellets, organic toxins, oils, nutrients, discharges from power stations and silt bearing runoff from agriculture, deforestation and construction sites. Other non living factors that contribute to the problem are untreated sewage causing solid and organic wastes which usually goes to the rivers, without proper treatment. This causes organic and water pollution which affects the quality of water. River pollution can potentially affect other human communities who rely on the river for various purposes. Climatic changes resulting in shrinking of glaciers has affected the amount of rainfall and thereby reducing the fresh water resources.

Living factors that contribute to the problem are increase in plant growth and decay in waters. Increased water pollution causes Eutrophication, which involve the chemical nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus discharged by industrial wastes, to increase to an unacceptable level in the water. It also results in such excessive plant growth and decay that it results in depletion of oxygen in water and severe reductions in water quality. This affects and fish and other animals and causes their depletion, which is an important source of food for many animals including humans. Human beings have further contributed to the problem by the extraction of ground water in some coastal areas, which has proceeded to the point where intrusion of saline seawater into aquifers has degraded the quality of the water resource.

Positive or negative human impacts:

Human impacts on water resources have both a positive and negative effect Positive impact: Humans have realized the impact of lack of water resources and the consequent environmental damage caused by human activities. Therefore, in order to rectify the damage artificial wetlands, artificial lakes meant to create wildlife habitat have been built Fish ladders around dams, and water releases from reservoirs timed to help fish spawn have also been built in some places. Negative impact: A negative impact caused by humans is due to extraction of water for agricultural, domestic and industrial use which has left many of our rivers, streams and wetlands divested of water. This has affected the ecosystem and caused a decline in water quality. In some places discharge from saline water from agriculture into the river system has made the rivers saline and unusable for consumption. All these factors affect the water and damage the water resources and the ecosystem

Uncontrolled drainage to lessen seasonal flooding of agricultural land and discharge from agricultural has also had a negative impact on wetlands. Another negative impact is when the land use in catchments areas is changed. Due to this, the way the