World Water Crisis Source 3

UN Highlights World Water Crisis

In many regions of the world, water is being used up faster than it is being naturally replaced. Around the world agriculture uses over 80% of available water, and incredibly 60% of this water is wasted. It is lost to canals that leak, evaporation, and mismanagement. The problem is not that there is not enough water in the world, the problem is that the water that we do have is mismanaged.

In many poorer regions, people must carry their water to their homes, and therefore they use less water. Families that must walk to get water have less time to do other things, like go to school.

Two million tons of waste is disposed into fresh water each day. This is a major factor in the spread of waterborne disease. In Asia, about 35% of waste water is treated, 14% in Latin America, and almost none in Africa.

Many waterborne diseases like diarrhea, typhoid, and cholera are accountable for 80% of illnesses and deaths in the developing world. A majority of the people who die are children, every eight seconds a child dies from waterborne diseases, about 15 million children each year.

1- What is being done to help treat the people with waterborne diseases?

2- How does the water crisis affect people in Europe and America?

3- How is wastewater properly disposed of?

4- Why are two million tons of waste dumped each day?