Water Scarcity Facts Australia
Water scarcity or water crisis or water shortage is the deficiency of adequate water resources that can meet the water demands for a particular region.
Water scarcity facts australia. However an area which has a limited supply of. The statistics show that this is the reality for over 650 million people who do not have access to clean safe water. Can you imagine going through your daily routine without clean water. Water scarcity is a persistent and growing issue for farms across australia.
It seems as though many people do not understand or care about the scarcity and vulnerability of our precious water resource. People are struggling to access the clean water they need for drinking cooking bathing hand washing and growing their food. Access to affordable water is necessary for farms to remain competitive in an increasingly globalised food and commodity market. Water scarcity can mean scarcity in availability due to physical shortage or scarcity in access due to the failure of institutions to ensure a regular supply or due to a lack of adequate infrastructure.
Water scarcity already affects every continent. According to the ceo water mandate water scarcity can be defined as the shortage in the physical volume of water in a given region whereas water stress can is defined as the ability or lack thereof to access and meet the necessary human demand for water. It s a reality now facing the residents of broken hill. For example an arid region such as sudan which gets little to no rainfall and has no aquifers or surface water would be experiencing water scarcity due to the sheer lack of volume.
From central australia to sub saharan africa and asia s teeming megacities water is scarce. Australia is a country on the brink of a water crisis. Whenever there is a lack of access to potable and fresh water for drinking and sanitation the situation means that the water is scarce. Understanding why water is scarce and where the water goes will be crucial to keeping australia s taps flowing as its population grows.
Water restrictions have been enacted in many cities and regions in australia which is the earth s driest inhabited continent in response to chronic water shortages resulting from the widespread drought. In time we all will including our asian neighbours unless we confront and plan for our water insecure future. Water use has been growing globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century and an increasing number of regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered especially in arid regions. No one cares about water until the taps run dry.
According to the ceo water mandate water scarcity can be defined as the shortage in the physical volume of water in a given region whereas water stress can is defined as the ability or lack thereof to access and meet the necessary human demand for water. Water scarcity is defined as a water deficiency or a lack of safe water supplies. Recent droughts have heavily reduced dryland farming production and the overall volume of water that can be allocated to irrigation. With the world facing a 40 water shortfall by 2030 threatening australia s food and water security kellie tranter calls on the abbott government to urgently address the need for investment in water research and development.
In the last several years australia has been faced with a dire water crisis which is threatening communities across the country.