A global crisis of water quality looms

Water Quality, Exposure and Health, 2015

Water is a crucial part of human life. Everincreasing population coupled with changing life styles is constantly increasing the demand for water. Today, populations require more water with higher quality standards than before, and it is becoming more difficult to satisfy these demands without altering the balance of nature. Anthropogenic stresses and natural phenomenon are playing critical roles during the supply of sufficient quantities of water with required quality. Consequently, previously unused resources are being considered for use; advanced treatment methods are being implemented to satisfy the quality requirements, and reuse of wastewaters is becoming a significant factor in many parts of the world. While trying to satisfy this supplydemand cycle, resource managers and decision makers are facing other challenges, which, in essence, are re-defining our whole understanding for water resources management. Health concerns related to water quality are being the primary issue all around the world, and the direction of research is now shifting towards understanding the complex interactions that water quality imposes on human health.

Water is the most crucial material for human survival, after air. Without water, life would not be possible. It is important to know how much water is available to us and how much water is polluted. We need to monitor pollutants vigorously, both at point and non-point sources, using advanced analytical techniques that can monitor ultra trace amounts of contaminants. Water reclamation is an absolute necessity today because we have contaminated our surface water, and even groundwater in some cases, to a point that it is not clean enough for drinking or cooking. Most importantly, we have to use water judiciously and reclaim water that is contaminated. This book provides information on various global water challenges and solutions. We face many water challenges in terms of availability, quality, and sustainability (Chapter 1). There is an urgent need to find ways to make water more sustainable. To achieve this objective, we will have to address scientific, technical, economic, and social issues. Chapters 2 and 3 raise our awareness of water issues, as well as the impact of climate change. Water challenges, including sanitation issues in Central America, South America, and Africa, are covered in Chapters 4, 5, and 6. Water pollution in various rivers in India is encompassed in Chapters 7, 8, and 9. The currently implemented solutions are discussed in some detail. Water scarcity in the Middle East provides an interesting study in that part of the world (Chapter 10). The impact of firefighting foams on water in Japan is discussed at some length in Chapter 11. Overcoming the water treatment challenges in various European countries is covered in Chapters 12, 13, and 14. Chapter 15 discusses the role of immobilized microorganisms and aggregates in wastewater treatment. Reducing the effect of drought on soil in northeast Brazil is covered in Chapter 16. Promoting biodiversity through the maintenance of healthy wetlands can provide beneficial and sustainable ecosystems; however, it can also have adverse consequences on human health (see Chapter 17 for a study in Australia). Nanotechnology solutions to global water challenges are provided in Chapter 18. As a result of their exceptional adsorptive capacity for water contaminants, grapheme based nanomaterials have emerged as a subject of significant importance in the area of membrane filtration and water treatment. Global fresh water is finite, and its supply is severely strained by competing forces of an expanding world population on the one hand, and alterations in the water cycle as a result of climate change on the other (Chapter 19).

KnE Life Sciences, 2017

Water sustainability needs an integrated approach to meet the water need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need of water. It includes water security and water scarcity. The water demand is increasing every year, while the planet’s capacity to sustain increasing demands for water is challenged. The main global water problems fall into three categories. The first is too much of it, secondly is too little of it and thirdly, it is too dirty. The first category is due to extensive flooding, the second category is due to serious drought and the third category is due to pollution and misuse of water which needs water quality management. Nowadays, there are 1.2 × 109 people live in areas of water scarcity and 2.6 billion people in global are lacking safe water supply. There are (6 to 8) × 106humans being are killed each year from water-related disasters and disease. In Indonesia, there is about 37 × 106 people lack access to safe water d...

TheScientificWorldJournal, 2014

Water Quality - New Perspectives [Working Title]

Water is a blessing and reason forsurvival on earth for human beings. Without water, it is not difficult to live on earth, but it is impossible. Water fulfills domestic, drinking, agricultural, and industrial requirements and makes everything useful for us. Unfortunately, rapid increase in population, unplanned agriculture practices, and industrial sector have become a serious issues for environment and for future needs. Water will be a very important issue for next generations to face. Safe water access up to 50−100 liters per day for drinking and sanitation is a right of every human being, recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2010. Approximately, six billion people may suffer from scarcity of clean water by 2050. The agriculture sector is the largest consumer of freshwater around 70% followed by industry and domestic of 19 and 11%, respectively. The global demand for water is gradually increasing by 1% per year. Global demand for water is predicted to increase...

2009

Keywords: high-quality water, global and regional freshwater resources, global patterns, governance agencies, private sector involvement, global social movements, expansion of international law, global water values.

2005

Water plays a key role in the development and functioning of society by serving as a basic resource for activities such as irrigation, livestock production, fisheries, aquaculture, and hydroelectric power. Adequate water use in house-holds, businesses and manufacturing is a prerequisite of economic growth. Since many of the world's diseases are waterborne, we need clean water and sanitation for reducing the incidence of these diseases. And, most significantly, water provides habitat and sustenance for a rich diversity of plant and animal species that make up aquatic and riparian ecosystems, providing the basis for many of the goods and services received by society. Society is forcing unprecedented changes on global water resources through worldwide abstraction and pollution of water. Society also has a pervasive indirect impact because anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are causing long-term global changes in weather extremes and climate. Changes in the global water system a...

Sokoto State University 1st International Conference on Education (SSU1stICE), 2016

Water is one of the substances essential to life. It is regarded as a universal solvent primarily due to its biological, chemical, physical and radiological properties. The water-food interrelationship is equally important as the approach to safe drinking water is of priority to human health. This paper explains the concept of water, water quality and in relation to human security. It review the stages of water treatment, the risk of using untreated water and the significance of treating water for a healthy life. It also discusses the economic and social needs for water as a measure in eradicating poverty and supporting economic development. Water problems hinder the ability of a nation to produce food and generate energy, posing a risk to global food markets and hobbling economic growth, also demographic and economic pressures resulting in the loss of human security.

Much has been written and discussed in recent years on the water crisis and the belief that the world may run out of water in the foreseeable future. The main issue, however, is not physical scarcity of water but poor management. It is primarily a crisis due to mismanagement. An important result of such poor management practices has been the continual deterioration of water quality on a global basis. The main emphasis in the past and present has been on water quantity management, including allocation. Managing water quality is still not receiving adequate attention, because it is significantly more complex, difficult and expensive compared with water quantity management. Much has been written and said about how the world is facing a water crisis because of the physical scarcity of this resource, and how the present situation can only get worse in the coming years. In fact, numerous books and papers have been published during the past decade about this so-called water crisis due to physical scarcity. The media regularly carry frightening stories as to what the world will do when " it runs out of water " , as if water was a non-renewable resource like oil, and " water wars ". Without question, the water crisis has captured the attention of the media and a good section of the general public, as well as numerous water professionals. However, scientific and rational analyses of all the available data indicate that the world is not facing a crisis because of physical scarcities of water, but that it is indeed facing a crisis arising from continued poor management of its water resources. From the United States to the United Arab Emirates, and throughout the continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America, past and existing water management practices and processes have left, and continue to leave much to be desired, and in all countries there is significant room for improvement. If this could be achieved, the world's water needs for all activities can be successfully met on a long-term basis. We already possess sufficient knowledge, technology, management expertise and capacity to ensure that the current water situation can be significantly improved. However, continuation of the current business-as-usual management practices will undoubtedly give rise to serious water