Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Safe Drop to Drink

It’s an ugly part of the rising tide of poverty among a global population that continues to explode, particularly is less developed regions… regardless of the contraction of food and fertilizer in the global supply chain. Add in the consequences of unchecked global climate change, and the suffering reaches unheard of magnitudes. That back and forth between flooding and perilous heat and drought is challenging. As my home in California has succumbed to serious drenching from atmospheric rivers, people everywhere are dying from a lack of that life-giving resource.

Start in Eastern Africa: “A United Nations report estimates that 43,000 people died amid the longest drought on record in Somalia last year, half of whom were probably children… It is the first official death toll issued for the drought that is withering large parts of the Horn of Africa… At least 18,000 people are forecast to die in the first six months of this year… ‘The current crisis is far from over,’ says the report, which was released Monday by the World Health Organization and the U.N. children’s agency and was carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine… Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya are facing a sixth consecutive failed rainy season while rising global food prices complicate the hunger crisis.” Associated Press, March 23rd.

But when you look at the lack of water, particularly “safe drinking water,” the devastation is truly monumental worldwide. “A [U.N.] report issued on the eve of the first major U.N. conference on water in more than 45 years says 26% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to safe drinking water and 46% lacks access to basic sanitation.

“The U.N. World Water Development Report 2023, released Tuesday [3/22], painted a stark picture of the huge gap that needs to be filled to meet United Nations goals to ensure all people have access to clean water and sanitation by 2030… Richard Connor, editor in chief of the report, told a news conference that the estimated cost of meeting the goals is between $600 billion and $1 trillion a year… According to the report, water use has been increasing globally by roughly 1% per year over the last 40 years ‘and is expected to grow at a similar rate through to 2050, driven by a combination of population growth, socio-economic development and changing consumption patterns’…

“Connor said the growing demand is happening in developing countries and emerging economies where it is fueled by industrial growth and rapid population increase in cities… With agriculture using 70% of all water globally, Connor said, irrigation for crops has to be more efficient — as it is in some countries that now use drip irrigation, which saves water. ‘That allows water to be available to cities,’ he said.

“As a result of climate change, the report said, ‘seasonal water scarcity will increase in regions where it is currently abundant — such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America — and worsen in regions where water is already in short supply, such as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa.’.. On average, ‘10% of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress’ — and up to 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month a year, according to the report issued by UNESCO… Since 2000, floods in the tropics have quadrupled while floods in the north mid-latitudes have increased 2.5-fold, the report said…

“As for water pollution, Connor said, the biggest source of the pollution is untreated wastewater… ‘Globally, 80% of wastewater is released to the environment without any treatment,’ he said, ‘and in many developing countries it’s pretty much 99%.’ ’ Think access to safe drinking water is a problem only for underdeveloped countries? Think again.

“More than 46 million people in the U.S. live with water insecurity—either no running water or water that may be unsafe to drink. Experts say at least $18.4 billion is needed over the next 10 years to bring water security to more people, although the Environmental Protection Agency and American Water Works Association estimates it would cost close to fully $1 trillion to replace and repair the U.S.’ aging infrastructure.

“People are likely familiar with the water crises in Jackson and Flint, Michigan. In the former, flooding last summer overwhelmed the main water plant, and nearly 200,000 residents woke up to a boil water advisory; reports showed that high levels of lead in the city’s drinking water were ignored for years. In the latter, toxic levels of lead in the water system—the result of aging, corroded pipes—sickened 100,000 residents and killed more than a dozen. But issues like this are happening all over the country in places like Tallulah, Louisiana; Grapeland, Texas; and parts of New Hampshire, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico, where residents also don’t have safe running water—their stories simply haven’t made national headlines…

“According to water accessibility nonprofit DigDeep, there are 2.2 million people in the U.S. without running water inside their homes—no sinks, bathtubs, or toilets… An additional 44 million Americans may have indoor plumbing, but their water systems have been in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act. Another 43 million Americans who rely on well water are threatened by record droughts caused by climate change. One of the country’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead, fed by the Colorado River, is so low that soon it may not have enough water for the 40 million people in the Southwest who rely on it [even after recent rains]. In fact, in early January, the city of Scottsdale, Arizona, which gets water from the Colorado River, announced it was cutting off an entire region from the municipal water supply; now dry, the Rio Verde Foothills had received its water from this city system for decades.

“DigDeep calls ‘the water gap’ a ‘crisis’ with an economic impact in the billions each year. Time lost at work or school hauling water: $846 million; physical health impacts: $762 million; water purchase costs: $291 million; mental health impacts: $218 million; and the GDP impact from lost productivity: $924 million. Per household, water insecurity costs $15,800 a year, a price tag that’s often more than the annual income.” Cari Shane writing for the March 17th FastCompany.com. Take a good look at the above picture. It’s an active outhouse, draining you know where, in rural Louisiana. Today.

I’m Peter Dekom, and when politicians tell us that we do not have the money to fix what we need even for basic access to potable water, even in the United States, I wonder if they might be willing to trade their bathrooms for the American version shown above.