“…Wars of the next century will be about water,” Ismail Serageldin, the Vice President of the World Bank, laments in the year 1995. The situation of water maintenance remains prominently hidden in today’s societal construct; humans survive on plentiful supplies of water, so why does this issue need confrontation? To begin, aquatic abundance, sanitation, and proper sanitary methods became lacking years ago, and the problem expands as it continues unobstructed; testimonies, statistics, and impactful facts support this assertion. As an aforesaid statement shows, battles break forth as this predicament grows. Actual conflicts display the damage that this unresolved problem leaves in its path. However, solutions appear readily reachable from desalination, recycling, and water-conserving appliances: the three methods of eradicating this crisis. Mere bandages became applied to this situation before, but this situation rallies for aggressive action to prevent an ever-worsening global catastrophe.

Across the globe, sanitation, water cleanliness, and scarcities of water oppress the worldwide population. Sara Aase’s February 2009 NewsBank Popular Periodicals article, “WATER WORRIES,” renders an account from Obi. Obi—who attends Highview Middle School in New Brighton, Minnesota—encounters a startling reality as he travels to Nigeria. He says, “When I’m there, we walk a few miles to the stream and back to get water. When we get back, we have to boil the water before we can use it. It’s a struggle.” Certainly, this sanitary setback illustrates that individuals want this security—to cook and to clean and to shower and to survive—from usable water. According to the aforementioned NewsBank Popular Periodicals document by Sara Aase, “WATER WORRIES,” the United Nations states that one billion people lack clean drinking water. When this issue tethers to contamination, this disaster worsens as populations defend themselves against water-related conditions like that of malaria, intestinal parasites, and cholera. Individuals fear for their personal safety as the aforementioned diseases deteriorate an already dire situation. Meanwhile, water scarcity lingers as another concern. “Water Wars: Myth or Reality?” developed into a 2003 Student Resource Center essay by Jessica Blitt where the Environmental Change and Security Project issued the following statement concerning water: “From a global perspective, it is renewable and abundant; in regional settings, however, it is often finite, poorly distributed, and subject to the control of one nation or group.” Individuals desire their ability to exist, so it becomes pertinent that this natural right survives. All the while, worldwide water shortages, healthful practices, and cleanliness surface as enormous issues that plague this earthly populace.

Due to these complications, conflicts erupt because of this daunting disaster. The state of South Carolina sued their northern neighbor, North Carolina, in order to prevent the state from acquiring water from the Catawba River; this information nests in the NewsBank Popular Periodicals article, “WATER WORRIES,” by Sara Aase. This incident exhibits the ever-mounting tensions that this tragedy brings. Another example from the NewsBank Popular Periodicals article by Sara Aase, “WATER WORRIES,” depicts a predicament in Las Vegas: the city applied for the privilege of acquiring water in Nevada and Utah, and nearby farmers feared for the outcome. In the words of Heather Cooley, a senior research associate for the hydrological Pacific Institute, “Farmers and ranchers in those areas are concerned that the amount [Las Vegas] is proposing to take is just not there.” While this community experiences concern over its water supplies, many people also desire to have the life-preserving resource of water. Such emergencies likely escalate to violence, however. “WATER WORRIES,” the NewsBank Popular Periodicals article by Sara Aase, depicts recent clashes. From 2004 to 2006, battles between Somalia and Ethiopia regarded water wells; 250 people died during these skirmishes. All due to water, lives became claimed; likewise, many individuals wish to avoid deadly clashes concerning water if possible. Accordingly, these contentions depict harsh realities of water-related warfare.

Despite the strife, solutions remain readily available. To start with, desalination communicates itself as a solution to this calamity. “Water Wars: Myth or Reality?” became a Student Resource Center document by Jessica Blitt, and this thesis indicates a surprising detail concerning this process. The World Resources Institute indicates that for average expenses of $1.00-1.50, one cubic meter, or 1,000 liters, of sea water becomes converted to functional fresh water; the Pacific Institute indicates that humans of average activity levels—who reside in moderate climates—require only 55 daily liters of waters for cooking, for cleaning, for bathing, for drinking, for living. Therefore, one individual could survive for more than two weeks with this economical water supply. Alongside desalination, recycling persists as a viable option. By refusing to recycle, one refuses to prevent a practice that pollutes water. A 2009 NewsBank Popular Periodicals article by Kathiann Kowalski, “BEYOND THIRST,” affirms this argument; Meena Palaniappan of the Pacific Institute decrees, “When poor sanitation and other practices pollute water, less is available for basic needs.” This statement develops into an apparent message: this negligence prevents an individual from accessing a life-sustaining resource. Lastly, water-preserving machines turn into important tools when averting this growing cataclysm. In Sara Aase’s NewsBank Popular Periodicals document, “WATER WORRIES,” Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute offers the following explanation: “Well, cutting water use helps everyone on the planet because it keeps more water in the environment and saves the energy used to process water.” Thus, employing water-conserving gadgetry likely allows everyone to exploit water for their individual requirements. Amongst the three abovementioned preferences, water management appears as a valuable way to preserve an invaluable human need.

Even with the given information, criticism can follow. Complaints like “Why should I care?” denote a complacency that becomes contributive to this difficulty. Jessica Blitt’s Student Resource Center essay “Water Wars: Myth or Reality?” displays the World Resources Institute’s explanation: “At least 3.5 billion people—or 48 percent of the world’s projected population—will live in water-stressed river basins.” Surely, individuals would rather reside in an area where water-stress becomes nonexistent. In addition, this circumstance will become ever-aggravated in the coming years: the NewsBank Popular Periodicals essay by Sara Aase, “WATER WORRIES,” brings an ominous foretelling. “In the poorest countries, 1 billion people can’t get clean drinking water. If nothing is done, that number will jump to 5 billion within 17 years,” the United Nations states. Naturally, this apocalyptic forecast represents the current call for preserving water on a global scale. Once more, Sara Aase’s NewsBank Popular Periodicals article, “WATER WORRIES,” shows that if households pay for every gallon of water they employ, conserving water results in saving money; the general public would enjoy keeping money instead of paying unnecessary expenditures. As a result, the reasons above encourage everyone to participate in the movement toward water preservation.

While water maintenance abides as an omnipresent predicament, action becomes valuable when ameliorating this devastation. The scarcity of water and its absent cleanliness cause societal dilapidation; the dangers of water-related war and its ever-escalating conflicts cause societal dilapidation. Nevertheless, thoughts of resolution develop into realities; desalination, recycling, and water-conserving appliances will assist this conservation. By investing in any of the aforesaid methods, anyone can help to promote water preservation, and anyone can help to halt this international crisis.