Water Scarcity
Students will distinguish between water scarcity and water stress
Students will explain the effect of water stress on people
Students will describe the work of NGO’s in addressing water scarcity issues
Water scarcity and water stress are related terms used to describe different levels of the availability and
access to water resources.
Water stress refers to a situation when annual water supplies drop below 1700 cubic metres per person.
Water stress occurs when there is not enough water available for all demands. A country with less than 1700
cubic metres of renewable fresh water per capita (per person) is under water stress.
Water scarcity refers to a situation when annual water supplies drop below 1000 cubic metres per person.
Water scarcity occurs when the demand for water is far greater than the available supply. Water is needed for
drinking as well as to cook food, to bathe, to wash dishes and clothes, and to flush toilets.
Ideally, each individual needs one cubic metre (1000 litres) of drinking water per year, about 100 cubic metres
for other personal needs, and 1000 cubic metres to grow all the food that he or she consumes.
Water facts
● In hot conditions, a person can survive up to three weeks without food but only
two or three days without water.
● Over 880 million people use unclean drinking water.
Task:
Name three countries experiencing extreme water stress and three countries experiencing no water stress.
At present around 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water. By 2025, it is
estimated that two billion people will be living in regions where there is not enough
water.
Problems:
● Where people live and water availability
● Water used for agriculture
● Polluted/unclean water
● Lack of water in rural areas (so people move to city - water refugees)
The water carriers
People who do not have water at home have to travel to get water.
Water is very heavy and difficult to carry. The burden of this
water-fetching usually falls on women, who carry the heavy load on
their head or back. For some people, the trip to a water supply and
back can take hours each day. The average distance that women in
Africa and Asia walk to collect water is six kilometres. The average
weight they carry on their heads is about 20 kilograms — the usual
weight of a suitcase taken on a flight. The World Health Organization
estimates that over 40 billion work hours are lost each year in Africa
alone, just collecting drinking water.
TASK From the graph;
1. State the proportion of women who collect and carry water in Africa.
2. State the proportion of children who collect and carry water in Africa.
3. Suggest reasons why a larger proportion of women and girls collect and
carry water than men and boys.
4. Discuss with another student how this would affect a woman's health,
education, family life and food production.
Unsustainable use of water has resulted in stressed water systems, the drying up of lakes, aquifers and
rivers, and the disappearance of over a half of the world’s wetlands.
There are two main types of water scarcity — physical and economic.
Economic water scarcity results from a lack of investment in water-related infrastructure.
Physical water scarcity refers to when water is not abundant enough to meet all demands.
TASK: Use the map to answer these questions;.
1. Describe the areas affected by little or no water scarcity.
2. Explain why these areas might have little or no water scarcity.
3. Describe the regions most affected by economic water scarcity.
4. Why do you think these regions are likely to be affected by this type of water?
Uneven distribution of water resources occurs naturally. Due to factors such as latitude, altitude,
ocean currents, distance from the sea, geology and topography. Places that receive less rainfall
are more likely to suffer from water vulnerability or water scarcity.
There is also a range of human uses that contribute to water vulnerability and water scarcity.
Human Causes of uneven distribution of water
● Population - Over 40 per cent of the world’s population live in river basins that are under
stress, and this is likely to increase as the world’s population increases.
● Agriculture - Agriculture consumes around 70 per cent of the world’s accessible fresh water.
Due to inefficiencies and leaky irrigation systems much of this water is wasted. Many
irrigation systems draw on groundwater to supplement supplies. Fertiliser and pesticides to
help crops grow and to reduce pests make their way into local waterways, this can further
reduce the amount of potable fresh water available.
● Energy production - Every year about 15% of the world’s fresh water (580 billion cubic
metres) is used in energy production. Water is used to cool thermal power plants, in drilling
and refining processes, and rivers can be diverted for hydro-electric schemes.
● Climate change - Climate change is expected to drastically modify weather patterns, and
result in an increasing number of droughts and floods in particular areas.
● Ownership - There is concern regarding the sale of long-term water rights to investors along
with the sale of land in some African countries such as Mali and Sudan. This jeopardises
water access for local farmers, traditional water users and downstream users.
Cape Town: Day Zero
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/04/back-from-the-brink-how-cape-town-cracked-its-water-crisis (11 mins)
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-44170561 (3 mins)
As you watch the videos answer the following questions;
1. What are some ways people in Cape Town saved water
2. What is Day zero? And what would happen on that day?
3. Who do you think has been most affected by the water restrictions (people of townships or wealthy people)
Samaritan's Purse is an NGO that ACC partners with through supporting schools and missions trips for
secondary students, it also works around the world to provide clean water.
Clean water transforms communities
Example of project:
● Drilling for Water in South Sudan
● Samaritan's Purse Biosand Water Filter
Answer the questions in your exercise book:
1. What are some ways Samaritan's Purse helps to provide fresh, clean drinking water for
communities?
2. Draw a diagram of a biosand filter.
Water in the World II
Canvas Lesson 3 Quiz
