Water

Are we really running out of water?

Boys from Nalepo Primary School carry water collected in plastic bottles and cans as they walk back to their school in the semi-arid Kajiado County, south of Kenya's capital Nairobi, June 12, 2012. The school depends on students to fetch water before coming to class, and drought conditions have forced enrolment at the school to decrease as people migrate looking for greener pastures, headteacher Benjamin said. The lack of water disrupts lessons as students struggle to catch up with their classmates after fetching water, and lose their concentration when the water shortage deprives them of food. By 2025, two-thirds of people worldwide are expected to face water shortages as businesses, agriculture and growing populations compete for the ever more precious commodity. Picture taken June 12, 2012. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (KENYA - Tags: EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY) - RTR358IT

Boys in carry water collected in plastic bottles Image: REUTERS/Noor Khamis

Kate Brauman
Lead Scientist Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota
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An example of a more detailed and localized measure of freshwater scarcity risk that uses data from dry seasons and dry years. Blue areas have the lowest areas of risk because they use less than five percent of their annually renewable water. The darkest areas use more than 100 percent of their renewable freshwater because they tap groundwater that isn’t replenished
Image: The Conversation
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WaterSustainable Development
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