Water has grown in significance as a component of all nations’ development processes.
Safe drinking water is not only crucial for our health, but it is also a prerequisite for further advancements in agriculture, industry, and energy.
The provision of safe drinking water is one of four key water challenges that have been identified based on recent investigations.
The United Nations Development Programme said in 2006 that 700 million people, or 11% of the world’s population, had water stress.
This is a result of numerous problems of water supply in rural areas.
The majority of them reside in North Africa and the Middle East.
The analysis predicts that by 2025, more than 3 billion people—roughly 40% of the world’s population—will reside in water-stressed regions, with China and India accounting for the majority of this significant rise.
Food production and our capacity to feed the world’s expanding population have been hampered by the water supply issue.
Future global tension and possibly conflict related to water supply constraints and pollution are something we may anticipate.
There have been and will continue to be conflicts over water in the Middle East (e.g., the Euphrates and Tigris River war between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; the Jordan River war between Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories); Africa (e.g., the Nile River war between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan); Central Asia (e.g., the Aral Sea war between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan), and south Asia (Ganges River conflict between India and Pakistan).
A water crisis occurs when a community does not have access to adequate drinkable water, which causes drought, starvation, and fatalities.
Nowadays, having access to clean drinking water has become a luxury for those who live in rural areas, drought-stricken places, and the African continent.
People have been spotted hunting for it by trekking for miles and spending the entire day doing so.
Even if they contract it, they will still have to battle the waterborne illnesses that result from it.
When people must fight to obtain even the most basic essentials, economic progress suffers.
We’ll talk about some of the issues with rural water supply today.
Clean water and access to food are some of the simplest things that we can take for granted each and every day. In places like Africa, these can be some of the hardest resources to attain if you live in a rural area. ~ Marcus Samuelsson
Table of Contents
Problems of Water Supply in Rural Areas
The following are some of the problems of water supply in rural areas
1. Water Pollution
Due to inadequate sanitation and a lack of waste treatment plants, the majority of water sources in rural regions are highly contaminated.
The clean drinking water that is currently available is being negatively impacted by the overall levels of global pollution; over time, this harm will worsen.
2. Overdraft of Groundwater
Our agricultural sectors use groundwater excessively, which reduces yields and wastes water.
Crops use more than 70% of our water, and the majority of it is squandered owing to leaking pipes and inadequate irrigation methods.
3. Abuse and Excessive Usage of Water
This causes additional water to be wasted and squandered needlessly, which further exacerbates the situation. The production of just one hamburger uses 630 liters of water!
4. Disease
Due to improper water treatment and recycling, a sizable portion of the available groundwater in the worst-affected regions of the world is teeming with disease.
5. Climate Change
Rainfall is moving further south in both hemispheres as a result of climate change, which is altering how water evaporates and where it falls.
The rainfall pattern in many areas of the world today has been substantially changed by global warming. In the past, the typical monsoon season in the mid-east lasted 45 days.
With each monsoon having less intense rain, this figure has already dropped to 22 days.
6. Mismanagement
A needless daily loss of safe, clean water as well as overuse in areas that don’t need as much water is caused by improper training and instruction.
Despite having a large population and varied geography and climate, many rural areas and countries lack a thorough water policy.
There are no adequate norms available for the use of surface water and groundwater by various industries and states.
7. Human Habitations
Large river ecosystems have been steadily destroyed as a result of the construction of dams, other hydroelectric projects, and water diversion for irrigation.
8. Corruption
Clearly put. Some of the people with the authority to assist those in need simply don’t care.
9. Institutional Gaps
Because these nations lack organizations to provide guidance on water treatment and management, there is mismanagement and waste.
10. Lack of Infrastructure
Poor areas frequently lack the resources or education necessary to implement appropriate infrastructures like waste treatment and recycling plants.
11. Groundwater Loss
Global groundwater reserves are being lost as a result of climate change, population growth, and economic development. Also, groundwater can be lost through groundwater contamination.
12. Exploitation of Groundwater
Groundwater exploitation is a result of irrigation, growing urbanization, and excessive groundwater use by soft drink producers like Coca-Cola.
India utilizes more groundwater than any other nation in the world, and because of this, aquifers are drying out faster.
Groundwater consumption for irrigation as a whole has increased from 30% in the 1980s to around 60% in the present.
13. Unutilized Resources
The hydrology of the river basins is impacted by the improper use of river basins, catchments, and watersheds for the conservation of water and soil.
14. Unfair Water Prices
Extremely high prices are frequently required in areas of extreme poverty to acquire pure water. Those without money are forced to drink from puddles or holes on the wayside.
Conclusion
Donations from charitable organizations, government financing, and raising awareness of the water situation make it easier to conserve these resources.
Additionally, it is necessary for these rural communities to adopt newer technologies for water recycling, conservation, and consumption.
Recommendations
- Top 11 Effects of Water Pollution on Aquatic Life
. - 10 Ways to Prevent Water Scarcity
. - Top 14 Causes of Water Scarcity Globally
. - 16 causes of water pollution in Africa, Effects, and Solutions
. - Top 16 Causes of Water Pollution in Nigeria
. - 10 Water Treatment Companies in Lagos, Nigeria
A passion-driven environmentalist by heart. Lead content writer at EnvironmentGo.
I strive to educate the public about the environment and its problems.
It has always been about nature, we ought to protect not destroy.