WATER CRISIS

DENISE GARCIA
RWS 1301
12/04/2015

WATER PRESENT SITUATION.

Water is one resource from which life

depends entirely. Two thirds of the
earths surface are covered by water
and about 75% of the human body
consists of water.
Society has become indifferent to this
miracle of life. Rivers, seas and
oceans have been exploded,
mistreated and contaminated.
Most freshwater resources are either
unreachable or too polluted, leaving
less than 1% of the worlds freshwater
or 0.003% of all Earths water,
accessible for human consumption.

MAIN REASONS FOR Population

DROUGHT
Climate change

Growth

CLIMATE CHANGE
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?
The Earth is getting warmer due to the
constant increase of gases getting
trapped to the atmosphere, mainly
burning fossils fuels (greenhouse
gases). These warmer temperatures
are causing many changes all around
the world. These changes are
happening because, the Earths air,
water and land are directly linked to
the climate. These changes are being
done by humanity and they are
happening fast.
As the earths temperature rises, we
can expect a great impact in fresh
water. As temperature increases,
evaporation increases, sometimes

HOW CLIMATE
CHANGE AFFECTS
WATER RESOURCES
Less Precipitation
Higher temperatures
mean more evaporation
Glaciers melting at an
unprecedented rate.
More than 50% of the
worlds freshwater comes
from mountain runoff.

POPULATIO
N GROWTH
Population growth is one of the main problems the
Earth is suffering from right now. The
consequences to this effect are:
1. Land abuse and loss of productivity
2. Depletion of necessary natural resources and
conflict over obtaining new resources
3. Inability to grow enough food. Leading to hunger
4. Social, economic and security crises.
5. Harm to wild Nature

The massive growth in the human population through the 20 th

century has had made more impact on biodiversity than any other
single factor
-Sir David King, science advisor to the UK government.

HOW IS POPULATION
GROWTH AFFECTING OUR
WATER RESOURCES
A report in November 2009 by the 2030 Water Resources Group suggests that
by 2030, in some developing regions in the world, water demand will exceed
supply by 50%
The planet is in the midst os what the United Nations is calling Global Water
Crisis
We are consuming fresh water at least 10 times faster than it is being
replenished in many regions including the U.S. Acording to the World Resources
Institute.

Consequences of loss of fresh water due to overpopulation.

1. Increased Emergence of New Epidemics and Pandemics: Every three
seconds a young child dies. In more cases from infectious diseases. No clean
water supply
2. Depletion of Natural Resources: Each person needs a third more land to
supply his/her needs than the planet can supply. Irrigation, daily water
consumption, drinking water.
3. Species Extinction: Scientists warn that within a few decades, at least half
of all plant and animal species on Earth will be extinct as a result of human
overpopulation.

El PASO
WATER
El Paso is an arid region, where water supply
SITUATION
has not been a ensured in many decades.
Adding to the already natural behavior of a
desert where water is not easily found, the
citys water resources have also been affected
for climate change and population growth.
El Paso water supply depends on water being
bought from other places and bringing it to the
city by pipelines.
For more than 100 years the main resources of
water for the region had been the Elephant
Butte Dam and Hueco Bolson aquifer. Today
these two resources find themselves being
compromised, losing more than three feet
annually.

Elephant Butte Dam

Hueco Bolson
Mesilla Bolson
Dell City
Desalinization Plant

SOLUTIONS
The main solution is on us, as citizens. Being
responsible about our actions and the effects
these could have in the community and
environment.
These are some solutions that can be taken at
home.

Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth- this
can save 6 liters of water per minute.

Place cistern displacement device in your toilet

cistern to reduce the volume of water used in
each flush.

Take shorter showers

Always use full loads in your washing mashine

and dishwasher

Fix a dripping tap.

Invest in water efficient goods.

SOURCES
rewilding.org/rewild/ourprograms/population-growth
http://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/blog/late
st-blog-posts/item/279-how-do-climatechange-and-population-growth-affect-ou
r-water-supply?.
html
http://
www.gracelinks.org/2380/the-impact-of
-climate-change-on-water-resources
https://
www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/popdat/ST20
15.shtm