Kayla Park
Water scarcity has been an issue for centuries and it has gotten worse over the years. Water scarcity can happen for many reasons. For example, water pollution. Water pollution can be caused for many reasons such as pesticides, fertilizer, untreated human wastewater, and industrial waste. Groundwaters aren’t safe either, as most toxic pollutants can find their way down to the groundwater. Some effects of the toxic pollutants are so severe that it makes it impossible for the water to be drunk and swam in.
Most agriculture uses 70% of the world’s accessible freshwater, but 60% of it is waste because of leaky pipes, and the crops being too thirsty for the environment in which it has been planted in. These wasteful uses are drying up our lakes, rivers, and groundwaters. Many countries that produce immense amounts of food like India, US, China, Australia, and Spain are slowly reaching their water resource limits. Because agriculture uses so much pesticides and fertilizers, they also contribute a considerable amount to water pollution.
Population growth is also another reason for water scarcity. In the last 50 years the human population has had a significant growth, reproduction wise. This rapid growth along with our industrial growth has made a huge decrease in biodiversity. Concerns about our water availability continue to grow as freshwater is continuously being used at an unsustainable amount. As the human population continues to grow, it causes us to use even more freshwater to grow crops, causing the water pollution to continuously grow at an unstoppable rate.
Water scarcity has caused a huge impact on wildlife. Most of the wetlands have been destroyed since the 1900s. Some of the most productive wetlands make home for a lot of mammals, birds, fish, and insects. Wetlands also provide the cultivation of rice. They also provide benefits to humanity like water filtrations, storm protection and flood control. However, the water scarcity has caused multiple freshwaters to become salty due to the excessive pollution. Because of the water scarcity it has caused food shortages which leads to infant mortality rates to rise and decrease life expectancy in nearby populations.