Useable Water
- Most of the water in our globe is sea water, which is generally not useful.
- Around 3% of water in the world is useable fresh water.
- 70% of all fresh water is rendered unusable as it is frozen in glaciers.
- Water shortages refer to fresh water.
- Water is used mainly for food production.
- However, large amounts of water are also used to make products such as clothing.
Water Shortages
- Water shortages occur in areas where people have at an occasional lack of clean water.
- More than three billion people live in such areas.
Physical Water Shortage
- Physical water shortage, or water stress, refers to a situation where renewable water resources are insufficient to meet the needs of a region's population.
Economic Water Shortage
- Economic water shortage refers to a situation where renewable water resources would be sufficient but are too expensive to mobilise.
Fresh Water
- A renewable but scarce natural resource that is unevenly distributed around the globe.
- Fresh water is vital for survival and thus very valuable.
- Fresh water is renewable as evaporating sea water condenses and rains down onto land.
- There are also non-renewable supplies of fresh water such as underground reservoirs.
- Some countries like Finland have an abundance of fresh water.
- Other communities struggle to find fresh water and can even enter conflict over it.
Dirty Water
- Dirty water is a huge problem for countries that cannot afford the infrastructure for sanitization.
- Dirty water causes 80% of diseases in developing countries.
- Can lead to diseases such as diarrhea which is one of the leading causes of child mortality.
Causes of Water Shortage
- Natural reasons (uneven distribution of rain)
- Polluted drinking water
- Water waste
- Wasteful irrigation
- Drought
- Climate Change
- Distance from water sources
- Lack of plumbing
- Logging forests, which causes reduced rainfall
- Population growth and increased consumption
- Agriculture and increased water use
- Uneven rainfall
- Uneven rainy seasons
Consequences of Water Shortages
- Eventually without any water people cannot live.
- Diseases, conflicts and poverty.
- Getting fresh water takes time and can lead to poverty.
- Getting fresh water may be a job given to children leading to missing out on education.
- Water shortages affect biodiversity and natural ecosystems.
- They can cause the destruction of wetlands.
- Groundwater overuse can lead to land subsidence.
Water Consumption
- The amount of water a household, industry or sector uses.
- Can also be applied to products, as in the amount of water used to achieve the final product.
- Includes virtual water (all the water used during the life cycle of products).
Fresh Water in Finland
- Finland has no scarcity of freshwater as it is abundant.
- Producing, purifying and distributing it takes a lot of energy.
- An average Finns' water footprint is about 4000 liters a day.