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Dayana Ciani-Obregon

Dr. Santosh Khadka

English 113B

3 November 2019

Global Freshwater Crisis

Did you know that there are only a few years left before we completely run out of fresh

water? Climate change​ is any significant long-term ​change​ in the expected patterns of average

weather of a region, or the whole Earth, over a significant period of time. ​Climate change​ is

about abnormal variations to the ​climate​, and the effects of these variations on other parts of the

Earth. Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of

water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people

around the world for at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack

access to clean drinking water. Immediate action must be taken to pass a global initiative that

will address global warming, if definitive measures are not instituted in the next two years,

billions of people globally will face fresh water shortages in the next twenty five years.

Global climate change is the average temperature of the planet. The main reasons why

scientists are concerned about the earth's global climate changing it’s because the plan is

warming up fast and faster. Now why is it a problem if the earth warms up to fast? In an article

by News Sky, called What Will Happen As The World Gets Warmer, it states that “If the world

temperature rises by two degrees, mountain glaciers and rivers will start to disappear and

mountainous regions will see more landslides, as the permafrost that held them together melts

away.”If the temperature increases by two degrees, rivers will start to disappear meaning no
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more fresh drinkable water. It also explains that “If the world's temperature rises by three to four

degrees, millions of people will begin to flee coastal areas, cities will begin to vanish and some

will become islands.” Since everything is melting, cities will disappear causing them do become

island. Lastly it says that, “If the world's temperature increases by six degrees, rainforests will be

deserts and massive numbers of migrants will flock to the few parts of the world they see as

inhabitable, resulting in racial conflict and civil war.” Global climate change is the average

climate of the planet, if the temperature keeps raising it can cause harm to the planet, water will

start to disappear having less and less water every year, and causing endless conflict between

countries.

Water scarcity is a lack of ​d​r​inkable​ ​water​ available in a given area. It mostly affects ​arid

and deserted areas, and places where the water is too ​polluted​ to drink. Global climate change

and water scarcity are connected, as the earth gets warmer and warmer water starts to dry up

leaving no fresh available water. Water scarcity is happening all over the world from Cape

Town, South America, to São Paulo, Brazil, to Los Angeles, California. In an article published

by ACS Chemistry for Life called How Science Can Help Tackle Global Water Scarcity it states,

“Supplying the world’s growing population with clean water has long been a challenge. Many

places simply don’t have abundant freshwater, or they lack the infrastructure needed to deliver

drinkable water to residents.” Having clean water has always been a challenge, now with global

warming and it has become a bigger problem. Since the world is becoming warmer and warmer,

water starts to dry up causing less water and more droughts.

Water scarcity in California always seems to be an issue, since we are always in a

drought. Seeing that California is part of the United States, you would think that having fresh
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water would not be an issue. In an article by the New York Times, called Why California’s

Water Crisis is So Difficult to Solve It, it shows

Martha Sanchez’s son Emmanuel at home in Bakersfield, California Ms. Sanchez’s

family has received notices not to use the water from the taps. Bakerfield, California is a known

area in California and for them to be telling their residences to not use their tap water just shows

how water scarcity and climate change come to play. Also in the article by the New York Times,

Martha Sanchez the mother of the boy who is in the picture above states that, “​I remember being

surprised that even in California, people lived without reliable access to water.” With the United
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States being one of the world's most powerful countries they still have ongoing water issues,

water droughts and lack of freshwater going on.

Water Scarcity in Cape Town, South Africa. In January 2018 officials from Cape Town

announced that the city of four million people were about three months from running out of fresh

water. In an article published by Citylab called Cape Town’s Day Zero Water Crisis, One Year

Later it states “Cape Town has apparently made it through the worst of a historic drought without

turning off the taps, although the water supply is still tenuous.” The picture shows how the lack

of water in Cape Town, South Africa has affected and has dried out

The article goes on and says, “ The effect was stunning. Cape Town’s municipal water-use levels

historically oscillate throughout the year, showing up on a graph as a standing wave pattern with

troughs coinciding with wet winters, and peaks mirroring the dry summer months when people
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rely more on taps for water.” The crisis that is happening in Cape Town, South Africa is a prime

example of water scarcity. Climate change is affecting the drought crisis all over the world,

causing a lack of water, fresh water, and water resources.

Water Scarcity in Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the largest cities is suffering from a very large

drought. The Cantareira reservoir system is down 7.1% of it capacity and it could dry up by July

if the rain does not increase. In an article published by the Times called, São Paulo: A Megacity

Without Water it states, “ The Cantareira reservoirs, which supply water to over 9 million

residents, were operating at 12% capacity in October. The water level has fallen so low that large

parts of the surface of the reservoirs are dried mud.” This picture shows how the very little water

there is left in Sao Paulo is not fresh water, bits that there is left.
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The article also states that “In the south of the city lies the Billings reservoir, which holds 20%

more water than the Cantareira. Environmentalists point out that this could be a better source of

water for the city, but it is polluted.” Climate change and water scarcity in the city of Sao Paulo

has not only left them in a drought but it also has polluted their reservoir. What Can we do to

stop these droughts and lack of water from happening?

Droughts, lack of water, no more freshwater? Climate change and water scarcity are there

solutions to solve these problems from happening? How do we save the amount of fresh water

we have? In the article by World Water Reserve ​called ​9 Viable Water Scarcity Solutions for the 21st

Century it gives nine reasons, ​improved infrastructure, groundwater recharge/aquifer storage and

recovery,​ ​pollution and contamination control,​ water conservation / drought mitigation, ​rainwater

harvesting, water credit, research and technology, support clean water initiatives, increase

awareness and education. These are the nine main topics that the article talks about there many

other different solutions that can help solve this problem. There are multiple organizations that

focus on climate change for example water.org, Blood: Water, Planet Water Foundation and

many many more that are fighting to make a bigger change and stop water scarcity and climate

change.

In conclusion, climate change and water scarcity is an ongoing issue. It has affected many

cities all over the world and will continue to affect many if we do not stop and do something.

There are many different solutions and different actions we can take to help prevent this shortage

of water but we have to start now before it ends up ruining the earth.
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Works Cited

“How Science Can Help Tackle Global Water Scarcity.” ​American Chemical Society,​

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2016/march/how-science-can-help-t

ackle-global-water-scarcity.html.

Singh, Balbir. “9 Viable Water Scarcity Solutions for the 21st Century.” ​World Water Reserve,​ 6

Oct. 2019,

https://worldwaterreserve.com/water-crisis/water-scarcity-solutions-for-the-21st-century/​.

Cowan, Jill. “Why California's Water Crisis Is So Difficult to Solve.” ​The New York Times,​ The

New York Times, 21 May 2019,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/us/california-drinking-water.html​.

Gerberg, Jon. “São Paulo: A Megacity Without Water.” ​Time,​ Time, 13 Oct. 2015,

https://time.com/4054262/drought-brazil-video/​.

Alexander @clbalexander Feed Christian Alexander. “A Year After 'Day Zero,' Cape Town's

Drought Is Over, But Water Challenges Remain.” ​CityLab​, 12 Apr. 2019,

https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/04/cape-town-water-conservation-south-africa-droug

ht/587011/.