Water Scarcity

Research Report

Al Anoud
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Methods.........................................................................................................................................3
Results............................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................7
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................................8

Table of Figures
Figure 1: Questions used to conduct the survey and the interview................................................4
Figure 2: Results of question 1........................................................................................................5
Figure 3: Results of the questions...................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Water scarcity is the term used to describe the deficiency in water supply. It is also
referred to as the deficiency of potable and safe water to be used by individuals for drinking and
daily usage. Even though water covers up to 71% (Piani, 2021) of the Earth surface, people still
experience and suffer water deficiency due to the improper usage of water sources. As the
Earth’s population grows day by day reaching about 7.9 billion in 2022 (“World population
clock”, n.d.) and due to the rise of environmental problems that are affected by the ghost of
global warming, access to water sources is fading.

Global researches proved that around 785 million people lack access to potable water
(“UNICEF, WHO”, 2019). In addition to hundreds of reported deaths due to the lack of clean
drinking water and the usage of dirty water as a drinking source. Poor water hygiene and
sanitation along with water contamination, over 800 children die every day around the world
(“UNICEF, WHO”, 2019). A wide range of individuals are affected by the unavailability of water
supply and especially children, since they are more vulnerable to diseases caught from the usage
of dirty water.

As Sylvia A. Earle once quoted that: “No water, no life. No blue, no green”. This quote
summarizes the importance of water for the well-being of humans. Access to fresh potable
water is a milestone in stepping towards a better life, a life of hygiene, sanitation, less
contamination and thus better health. In addition to that water aside from being the drop that
brings everything to life, it also helps in vegetation and so people who have access to clean
water will have access to food. Everyone on this planet deserves to have access to his basic
needs of water and food supply. People should not worry about any water-related issues or
diseases.

In this manner, we decided to conduct a research studying the freshman and

sophomore students at TAMU Qatar community. Being a part of this place, we would like to
know to what extent are the students aware of the water scarcity problem arising all over the
world? In addition to check what are the main reasons behind scarcity? Moreover, what are the
consequences of water scarcity and how could they help in reducing the impacts of the
problem?

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Methods

Many methods could be used to conduct a research about a specific topic. The most
frequently used research methods by researchers are participants observation, surveys,
interviews, focus groups, experimental procedures and many others.

To conduct our research regarding the knowledge of TAMUQ community about the
water scarcity and its root causes. We decided to use two of the above-mentioned types of
research methods which are conducting a survey on a number of participants from the TAMU
community and to interview some of them.

Our survey was conducted on 10 participants from the TAMU community from different
generation university students. The survey which was conducted on these participants was
distributed among them via email.

Ethical approval from the university and our professor was required to be able to
conduct such surveys on our students and community.

The conducted survey was a google form to be filled by the participants. It included only
five multiple choice questions. This would not pressurize the participants, since the number of
questions is very little. Usually, students get frustrated and anxious dealing with lengthy surveys.

The questions enlisted in the survey were as follows:

1. Does your house suffer from water shortage?

2. How is the quality of water you receive at home? (Regarding color, odor and taste) Rate
from 1 to 5 (1 as being the worst quality of water and 5 being the best quality of water)
3. Whom do you think is responsible for the scarcity of water all over the world?
4. What human activities are involved in scarcity of water sources?
5. How can human change their behaviors to decrease water consumption?

The following figures are screenshots of the survey delivered to the participants:

Figure 1: Questions used to conduct the survey and the interview

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 Moreover, an interview will be done with one participant that is randomly chosen to be
interviewed at the university library. The interview took place face to face and not online.
Interviewing the person enables the interviewer to record observations by observing the
interactions and gestures of the person he is interviewing. The same questions mentioned in the
survey were to be asked to the interviewed student.

After collecting the whole data, the results will be graphed and later analyzed to conclude from
the results.

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Results

After collecting the Data from the different participants. The results were put into circular
graphs for each question as shown below.

Figure 2: Results of question 1

Based on the result I got from conducting the survey on students from the TAMU Qatar
community. We can infer that most of the interviewed students do not suffer from scarcity at
their houses and their knowledge about the topic is shy. This does not disregard the fact that
many other Qatari citizens may suffer from this problem. But further research must be done to
confirm this hypothesis. In addition to that, the survey conducted shows that the quality of
water at the student’s home is of good quality. Regarding the causes of this problem and the
ways to solve it, the community has narrow knowledge of scarcity, but must be aware of it.
Everyone must be educated about the problems facing the world as a whole. The results of the
survey are represented in the below circular diagram.

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 Figure 3: Results of the questions

Moreover, regarding the interview done with one TAMUQ student at the library. The answers of
the student were very close to those answers provided by the students who done the survey.
and I advised the student to read more about the problem facing the world as whole.

PAGE 6
Conclusion

Finally, the primary objective behind this research was to know if the TAMU Qatar
community is aware of the environmental issues surrounding the entire world. Results of this
research showed that the surveyed community does not suffer from water scarcity, so they are
not much aware of the water scarcity problem. The main reasons behind water scarcity are the
improper usage of water resources by humans and industries. They must get educated more
about all the environmental issues and their consequences, and should use water wisely not to
reach the issue of scarcity at their place.

Acknowledgements

The completion of this research paper would not have been possible without the
participation of the sophomore and freshman students at the TAMU Qatar. In addition to the
assistance of my professor whom guided us through different stages to complete the report
perfectly.

Thankyou

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References

[1] Conserve energy future. 2016. “Causes, Effects and Solutions of Water Scarcity.” Conserve
Energy Future. December 25, 2016. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-
effects-solutions-of-water-scarcity.php.

[2] John Snow, cholera, the Broad Street pump; Waterborne diseases then and now. (n.d.).
PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7150208/

[3] News. (n.d.). WHO | World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news

[4] Piani, L. (2021, February 11). Why is there water on earth? The

Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-is-there-water-on-earth-153931

[‌ 5] UN-water. (n.d.). Facebook - Inicia sesión o

regístrate. https://es-la.facebook.com/UnitedNationsWater/photos/since-1900-more-than-11-
million-people-have-died-as-a-consequence-of-drought-and/10154604235132109/

[6] UNESCO. 2015. “Water Scarcity and Quality.” UNESCO. January 8, 2015.
https://en.unesco.org/themes/water-security/hydrology/water-scarcity-and-quality.

[7] “What Is Water Scarcity? | East Central University Online.” n.d. ECU Online.
https://online.ecok.edu/program-resources/what-is-water-scarcity/.

[8] World population clock: 7.9 billion people (2021). (n.d.). World meter - real time world
statistics. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

[9] 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water – UNICEF, WHO. (2019, June
18). WHO | World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/18-06-2019-
1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who

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