This paper explores the relevant problem of growing demand for water resources and issues with water management in conservation and reuse policies and reviews the global situation with the water crisis. The article by Dougherty (2014) focuses on the rising issue of water supply and explores the cycle of water use in modern society. The author states that despite all water on Earth being a finite resource circulating here since the existence of dinosaurs, the actual source and its quality are hard to determine. Overall, the article suggests that the California drought in 2014 indicates insufficient water management policies on water conservation and reuse.
Furthermore, the article written by Walters (2022) explores the core issues in California’s water crisis. According to Walters (2022), the issue requires decisive action to deal with the rising problem of water resources management. On the contrary, the state discusses the creation of a blue ribbon commission that will provide restructuration recommendations for the agencies focused on water management. Creating another commission will cause a shift in the Department of Water Resources but will have no effect on addressing the issue of growing water demand. The article suggests that due to climate change and the state’s excessive focus on the political aspects of the problem, California is at significant risk of facing another water crisis.
However, water management and dependence problems are not solely experienced In California. According to Sottimano and Samman (2022), the fall of the flow of the Euphrates River significantly affected all three vital sectors of agriculture, electricity production, and domestic consumption in Syria. The all-time low fall of the water level caused a drastic increase in fodder prices, endangering the whole farming industry. The authors point that the fall of the water levels was caused by continuous mismanagement, economic growth, increased water use, and climate change. The fact that in distant locations of Syria and California, the water-related issues are associated with similar reasons emphasizes the global pattern of water resources being endangered by climate change and economic growth.
Lastly, after determining that water crisis is simultaneously experienced in many locations around the globe, it might be helpful to consider the relevant methods of overcoming water management problems. The article written by Lakshmi (2022), focuses on the use of the desalination method to overcome water scarcity. In Southern India, desalination plants were initially set in the 1990s but soon were closed due to high maintenance and operations costs. According to Lakshmi (2022), currently, desalination plants help manage the water crisis in conditions of massive droughts; more desalination plants can help meet the growing demand for the water supply. Thus, even though the use of desalination plants can cause harm to the environment, it allows the states an opportunity to promptly address the water crisis in drought conditions until the development of more environmentally-safe options.
In conclusion, this paper explored the problem of the growing demand for water resources and issues with water management. The paper identified the common patterns in the global water crisis issues. Climate change, economic growth, and urbanization all contribute to increasing demand for water resources everywhere around the globe, regardless of location. Therefore, addressing the issue through developing new water management strategies and methods requires significant knowledge of other disciplines, including politics, economy, and other social sciences, geography, geology, physics, and other environmental studies.
References
Dougherty, E. (2014). A simple question: Where does your water come from? Earth island Journal, 29(2), 16-17.
Lakshmi, I. (2022). Pioneering desalination to stave off water crisis. The Hindu. Web.
Sottimano, A., & Samman, N. (2022). Syria has a water crisis. And it’s not going away. Atlantic Council. Web.
Walters, D. (2022). Water crisis demands action, not a new commission. CalMatters. Web.