Water scarcity is a major issue that plagues numerous areas around the world. Now, In order to fully understand this issue, we must begin by defining what, exactly, water scarcity is. Water scarcity is defined as a lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. Essentially, this means that water scarcity occurs when more clean water is needed in an area than is actively created. This results in a decline of the total water supply, which, in some cases, may result in total depletion of water reserves.You may be wondering, ‘what exactly causes water scarcity?’. Well, water scarcity can be caused by a number of different factors. These factors include occurrences such as drought, pollution, class divides, war, overpopulation and overuse. In many cases, multiple of these factors may work together, depleting an area’s water reserves even more.

Water scarcity, while it may sound like a far off issue that only occurs in certain places, is actually a global issue. Numerous nationsaround the world are facing water scarcity right now, and the number is only growing. In fact, it is currently projected that by 2025, 2/3 of the world’s population will be facing direct water shortages of some kind. That, combined with the fact that water is essential for human life, truly shows how important of an issue this may become if no action is taken now.

Water is a key component of economies, large and small, all across the globe. This becomes evident in areas where water is scarce, as it is known to have a number of negative impacts on the local economy. One such example is through agriculture. Agricultural loss, is when farming is no longer possible or as efficient as it once was, meaning that less grown materials are available to be sold. Many nations greatly depend on revenue from farming, thus, water scarcity may be devastating to their economics. Economics also play a key role in solving water scarcity. When water scarcity occurs, the affected nation or area may follow a number of procedures to alleviate pressure on water resources such as importing water from other areas, or using desalination technologies. Both of these are very costly, and can significantly contribute to declining economic conditions in affected areas.

One such example of a global area plagued by water scarcity is the city of Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is a well developed, urban center near the southernmost point of the African continent. Africa is generally known for its intense periods of drought and its severe and devastating water shortages. Cape Town is no exception. In the past, its citizens, and those who lived in the surrounding areas, have relied on Cape Town’s massive reserves to keep them hydrated through periods of drought. Despite this, the reserve’s water levels are lowering every day and not enough water is being added back into the system to counterbalance the loss. This is leading to the eventual depletion of the reserves, as well as the widely feared ‘day zero.’Day zero is projected to occur in 2019 and is when reserves will reach a dangerous 13.5% capacity. At this time, taps will be turned off and the only way citizens of cape town will be able to get clean water is by waiting in government- lines at government distribution facilities. Despite day zero still being a year off, the city’s economics are already being greatly impacted in a number of ways. In an attempt to find a new water source, the government is funding an extensive drilling effort underground. This has cost the government significantly. Additionally, Cape Town’s economy is largely built upon tourism, and ever since news of the water crisis became global, tourism rates have dropped significantly. Because of this, the economy of the entire city has been dealt a massive blow, as tourism had previously supported nearly every facet of the city’s economy.

Furthermore, one local example is San Diego California in the United States. The entire state of California has struggled with drought for many of years due to a number of reasons such as lack of rainfall where it’s needed the most. 75% of the state of California’s demand for water is south of Sacramento, a city in the mid/north section of the state. Despite this, 75% of the state’s rainfall occurs NORTH of Sacramento. This disparity, combined with the generally desert like conditions of the state ensure water scarcity is nearly constant in certain areas, so much so, that san diego has been labelled one of the world’s top 10 water scarce cities. San Diego has attempted to alleviate this problem by importing water. This practice is used by many water scarce regions, and can be effective, although very expensive. As it stands now, the city of San Diego imports 95% of its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a group that provides water to many cities in the state. This strategy has provided them with ample water in recent years, however, this has proven to be incredibly expensive, and the price has only gone up. In the past 10 years, water prices have effectively DOUBLED. This massive increase has cost millions if not more. This proves that even attempting to solve water scarcity can significantly damage a city’s economy. Yet another location that has struggled with water scarcity is Israel, especially recently, as it has been in drought for 5 straight years. As drought continues, pressure on dwindling water supplies increases to an insatiable extent. In light of this, Israel has turned to desalination to increase their supply of water. Located south of Tel Aviv, the nation’s largest desalination plant is turning millions of gallons of salt water into clean water for consumption. This has been largely successful in helping sate demand, however, it has seriously cost the Israeli government, as desalination technology, especially on such a large scale, isn’t cheap.

Considering all of the possible solutions, it is clear that investment into desalination technology is the most promising method by which this crisis may be averted. Desalination is the process by which salt is removed from seawater to create clean, drinkable water.It has been very successful everywhere it has been implemented. Additionally, desalination technology is becoming more advanced and even more accessible as time goes on.This solution may be expensive, however, its cost will be significantly offset by its economic benefit. Desalination plants, between construction and day to day operation, can create thousands of jobs. This would seriously benefit local economies, especially after being affected by water scarcity and its associated costs.

Over all, water scarcity poses a major threat to the global community, especially in terms of economics. It has direct negative impacts such as agricultural losses, as well as more indirect costs, in terms of solutions, such as drilling, importing or desalination. In many areas around the globe It affects many areas around the globe such as Cape Town, San Diego and Israel, along with countless others. Cases like these are evidence enough that we must not wait to act upon these issues. With further investment into desalination technology, we can not only provide these areas with a clean, limitless source of water, but also with a significant, and much needed, economic boost.