Monday, March 20, 2023

World Water Day 2023

Fresh water: a diminishing global resource. (Source: National Geographic)

Global Reality in 2023 from Pure Water for the World:

  • 1 in 4 people on our planet lacks reliable access to safely managed drinking water.
  • Waterborne illnesses continue to be a leading cause of death, with an estimated 829,000 people dying each year from water-related diarrheal illnesses.

Drinking water: something that’s easy to assume is always available. Yes, a few American cities have viciously caused their citizens to be denied this essential need, such as Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi. However, most of us in the US don’t give drinking water a second thought. The unfortunate fact is that one quarter of the world’s population lack safe drinking water. 

This week is the United Nations’ World Water Day, March 23. The official website describes the global situation:

“Dysfunction throughout the water cycle is undermining progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, disasters to peace. … Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centres, farms and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled.”


Catastrophes Cause Water Crises

Wars, earthquakes, overcrowded cities, and many other misfortunes result in a lack of safe water for drinking and all other purposes. Although it’s been over a month since the earthquake in Turkey, clean water remains a serious problem for the huge number of people whose homes and cities were reduced to rubble. Relief efforts have brought drinking water to some areas; others are still in great need, such as the province of Hatay (source). Relief organizations include the Planet Water Foundation:

“Planet Water Foundation, a leading non-profit organization focused on providing access to clean, safe water, is deploying 12 of its disaster response water filtration systems in Türkiye as the country continues calls for global support to provide drinking water to earthquake damaged communities.”

 

Water was airlifted to Turkish earthquake survivors. (source)

The war in Ukraine has caused severe disruption of the supplies of safe water for the battle-ground cities. While some damage to water resources is a side-effect of the fighting, Russian invaders are also inflicting intentional damage on water resources as well as on other infrastructure. Some consequences of the fighting: “flooding of large areas due to dam breaches, pollution from untreated waste water spills, dumped ammunition, an increase in mine water levels, and a significant decline in the quantity and quality of water for drinking and agricultural purposes.” (Source: https://phys.org/news/2023-03-war-ukraine-threatens-freshwater-resources.html)

In Ukraine: collecting drinking water from a distribution point (source: NYT)

Climate Change and Water Supplies

“Climate change is already affecting water access for people around the world, causing more severe droughts and floods. Increasing global temperatures are one of the main contributors to this problem. Climate change impacts the water cycle by influencing when, where, and how much precipitation falls. It also leads to more severe weather events over time. Increasing global temperatures cause water to evaporate in larger amounts, which will lead to higher levels of atmospheric water vapor and more frequent, heavy, and intense rains in the coming years.” (Source: National Geographic)

 Blog post © 2023 mae sander. Photos as credited.
Shared with Elizabeth’s weekly blog party.

19 comments:

  1. Great post, important information. It is sad 1 in 4 people lack reliable drinking water. Thanks for sharing! Take care, enjoy your day! Have a wonderful new week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think this is a very important post. Too many people do not realize the dangerous situation that the world is in right now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are SO blessed to have clean drinking water in the USA. I know of several organizations that specifically work to provide clean drinking straws to other countries.
    Happy Tea day,
    Kate

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think many people in California do give drinking water a second and probably a third thought since we had (and still have despite the heavy rains)such an awful and long drought. But yes, far too many people think clean drinking water is guaranteed when it is not and so many people have to go without it. I also think water is not an endless resource as it is also rightfully implied in your last paragraph.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We are on a well, and we don't drink out water. Even though we treat our water, it's hard to control the amount of iron bacteria in it. It's fine to wash with because it is treated but putting it into our bodies is something else we don't want to risk. And when it comes to water, another issue is how bottled water is taken from one place and sold by the big companies who bottle it. Those big companies make the money on water that belongs to the people who live in the area where the water is taken. Water is so complicated, isn't it? Thanks for this interesting and thought provoking post Mae. Happy T day and happy spring to you also. hugs-Erika

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've been visiting CA since the 80s and everyone in the LA area has a big jug of water they buy from a local supplier. Not sure how long it lasts them, but I know water is NOT something to waste. I remember I was told to NOT take a shower, but to take a bath in about six inches of water. They take their water seriously in CA and I am SO lucky to be able to turn my tap on and get clean drinking water. I refuse to pay for something (bottled water) I have to pay for at home (tap water).

    I was shocked to read about the various statistics and reasons why some places do NOT have clean drinking water. I know several organizations have tried to get clean drinking water to places like Africa. Thanks for sharing this with us for T this week, dear Mae. always fun to see what you come up with for T.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's pretty horrifying to realize that 25% of the world's population lacks access to clean water -- thanks for all this information (and I appreciated having the links to your sources).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, we take too many things for granted.
    We need such days, also toilet day etc. Most forget about those "other people" who are denied the essential things.
    And especially water can get difficult. When traveling the Outback we always had 45 l of water with us and it was some job to always have it fresh. Having water does not mean it´s drinkable...

    ReplyDelete
  9. So important to focus on this important resource which we often take for granted. We are so lucky where we live but things can change at the drop of a hat as you have pointed out. Thanks for sharing this, Mae. Happy T-day and hugz

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful post, water is so important, and it is a scandal in this day and age that people still don't have access to clean and safe water. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  11. Important information. Clean water access should be protected. Happy T Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Water is the Gold of the future... and that time is coming faster than we think... Happy T day! Hugs! deb

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such an important post. Thank you.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Really good post. I agree with Divers and Sundry. Clean water access should be protected. Happy T Day

    ReplyDelete
  15. We are certainly blessed with our water here. I am sorry to say I take it for granted.
    Thanks for your post. Happy T Day.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It’s disturbing, and what Russia is doing is infuriating.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Our naturalist group book club is reading A Thirsty Land which takes on water problems in my home state of Texas. It's well-researched but very readable.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is one of your best posts. Many years ago, on a debate team I was on the subject of water came up. I said then that the battle we will fight in the future will be over water. It comes true before my eyes every day. Again, a most excellent post.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Shocking figures! A really interesting post and worrying at the same time. Belated T Day wishes, hugs, Chrisx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting. Please include a link to your current blog so that I can read your blog and share more of what you are thinking. Your google-blog-ID may not link to a blog hosted at another site, so please let me know who you REALLY are!