Not All Wet

If there is no water, there is no life. The moon is a sterile desert because there is no water in it.

It is to be noted that it was water that determined the location of human settlements and as Herodotus once said, "Egypt is the 'Gift of the Nile' ". Without the Nile, the eminent Egyptian Civilization that has etched an indelible mark in history would never have developed. Scientists all over the world have described water as a remarkably fascinating fluid which is versatile and beneficial to mankind in numerous aspects.

The question is, what is potable water? Well, Wikipedia defines potable water as water of ample quantity that can be served as drinking water or in other words, water which is fit for the consumption of humans and animals. The issue of access to potable water is of utmost importance. In developed countries, people may not put a great deal of thought into the source of their water. In many First World nations, citizens can turn on a tap for fresh, potable water which may even be enriched with substances like fluoride for health purposes. However, in countries that are still plodding their way towards progress or are still ensnared in the clutches of poverty, especially Africa, an enormous portion of the population still does not have access to safe drinking water.

According to a recent report by the Leadership for Environment and Development, by the year 2025, 52 nations comprising half the world's population, will have a severe shortage of potable water. This devastating news brings to an even more appalling surmise - in the next 25 years, some 3 billion people will be facing water shortages!

People do not give much thought to drinking water, especially the people staying in countries that are abound with a rich supply of water. Whenever the thought of potable water pops up in our minds, we depict fresh water flowing out from our taps, naturally potable water gushing out from pristine springs or water treated and transformed into different forms such as mineral water, flavored water or even carbonated water. This is the outcome of an urbanized life like ours, where we are all so engrossed in keeping up with the Joneses, but never pause to ponder about the little things that actually hold paramount significance in our life. It seems that the only time people truly think of drinking water is during camping trips, whereby there is a shortage of drinking water supply. Most people in many countries across the globe such as Iraq and Pakistan do not have access to drinkable water. What do they have to drink then? Well, to survive under this dire condition, they have no other alternatives but to drink whatever they can get their hands on!

As aforementioned, a vast majority of people from countries such as Pakistan, China, India and Africa, have no access to good drinking water. In Pakistan, for example, the vast majority of the country's 135 million inhabitants do not have access to drinkable water. Pakistan's attempt to raise the living standards of its citizens has meant that economic development has largely taken precedence over environmental issues. Unchecked use of hazardous chemicals, vehicle emissions, and industrial activity has contributed to a number of environmental and health hazards, chief among them being water pollution. Much of the country suffers from a lack of potable water due to industrial waste and agricultural runoff that contaminates drinking water supplies.

Another instance is dry Northern China where the water table is dropping one meter per year due to over pumping. Some Chinese rivers are so polluted with heavy metals that they cannot even be used for production of drinkable water. Due to inadequate investment in supply and treatment infrastructure, even where water is not scarce, it is rarely clean. Also to 600 million people have water supplies that are contaminated by animal and human waste. Pan Yue, the deputy head of the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), China's environmental ministry, has called the shortage and its associated problems 'the bottleneck constraining economic growth'. China does not have the resources to sustain the rapid economic growth it aspires to. What is more, the nation's current policies make future sustainability even less likely. From this dilemma the China citizens and leaders are encountering, we can comprehend that potable water does play a pivotal role in keeping up with demands of a country progressing, for how can a country grow if its citizens are not well or are inflicted with fatal diseases and maladies? In short health is indeed wealth.

Poverty and high population growth in various countries also contribute to the lack of potable water. Due to water shortage, most people in these countries are forces to use unclean water for their everyday needs such as farming, livestock and ultimately, drinking. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, only 32 percent of the Iraqi population has access to clean drinking water, and only 19 percent has access to a good sewage system. Vulnerable groups, such as internally displaced people (IDPs), have had no choice but to drink from rivers. Anbar province, where Fallujah is located, and Baghdad are the most affected areas for water supply, according to recent reports released by local and international NGOs. On the 18th of February 2007, an article regarding the severe shortage of water in Iraq was published. In this particular report, an Iraqi woman named Umm Muhammas Jalal shared her story with the world; she told the journalist on how she has to walk to a river 7km away every day from her temporary home in displacement camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, 70km west of the capital, Baghdad. Due to the severe water shortage she and many others make the daily trip to the river to collect water for all their needs. Her children are ill with diarrhea as the water in the river is contaminated and polluted, but they do not have any choice because that is the only way to survive. For much of the population, their only water source is the nearby river or pond, rain water bastion or water source used by humans and animals.

It is imperative that countries facing crucial water shortage seek out new and cheaper ways to provide safe drinking water for their people. Some experts have looked at inexpensive desalination techniques, ones that could be employed on a mass scale. To be sure, this precious commodity, the very lifeblood of humans, is getting scarcer and scarcer every day. Governments need to take immediate action and look into this matter seriously.

Most of us who take our daily supply of water for granted, may not take cognizance of the significance of water. We need to realize that many have perished from the face of Earth through the lack of water and many countries have plunged horrendously to the very bottom of the pit due to the shortage of water.

Military men know that the most effective way of subduing any city of fortress is to cut its water supply.

Water is a God-given grace - let us be thankful for it.

FRESH WATER CRISIS