Water Scarcity Around The Globe New Hope, Pennsylvania — February 2021 Honors Environmental Science The Ganges River, or Ganga, is a Ganges River Pollution trans-boundary river in Asia which How does the pollution of the Ganges River in flows through India and Bangladesh. Today, the river flows through well-populated regions of India, providing water to the India relate to Hinduism’ religion The 2,525 km river rises in the western millions of people living in these regions. The India is well-known for its exotic culture that Himalayas in the Indian state of river is also used for fishing, irrigation, and always reminds people of the beautiful Uttarakhand, and flows south and east bathing, and it is worshiped in the Hindu traditional costume, various religious cultures, through the Gangetic Plain of North religion as the Mother Ganga. However, from amazing ancient buildings and so on. It is hard India into Bangladesh, where it empties Hindus’ perspective, science and religion seemed to be contradictory sometimes. “Ganga to believe that their water scarcity issue had into the Bay of Bengal. Because of its geographical benefits, more than 500 is our mother — drinking her water is our fate,” been so serious that the government should said Jairam Bhai, a 65-year-old food seller who million people depend on Ganges as take care of it as soon as possible, or it would held two small jugs as he waited to pour into their main source of water. threaten uncountable families. The river in the the river. “If you have faith, you are photo above is called the Ganges River. It had The Ganges River has become one of safe.“Water scarcity in India is expected to lost its original appearance and turned into a the planet’s most polluted rivers. It is worsen as the overall population is expected to brown river with garbage floating on it - full of urban sewage, animal waste, increase to 1.6 billion by 2050,” according to The Water Project website. “To that end, global people even wade through the “garbage pesticides, fertilizers, industrial metals water scarcity is expected to become a leading water” or take a bath in it. and rivulets of ashes from cremated bodies. "The Ganges is living proof that cause of national political conflict in the future, Water scarcity in India has been getting worse and the prognosis for India is no different.” antibiotic-resistant bacteria are almost for the past few decades because of a variety Because of the deep-rooted religious belief and of reasons. Lack of governmental regulations everywhere. its wide influences, even though the technical and overpopulation contribute to the difficulties had been solved, it would be problems. Overpopulation is one of the most The river offers powerful insight into the extremely hard to let the citizens pay attention prevalence and spread of drug-resistant serious issues in India for a long period of to this serious water scarcity issue. infections, one of the world’s most pressing time. India is set to surpass China as the public health problems.” Introduced by New world's most populous nation by as early as York times. 2024. What’s more, India’s largest cities have India is the home of several religions, but centralized sewage systems, complete with Hinduism is practiced by 80 percent of the underground pipes, pumping stations, and population. The water from the Ganges River treatment plants. These systems are expensive is considered holy by both Hindus and Buddhists. They believe that the water from to build and to operate, requiring this river can wash off sins and remove their uninterrupted power, skilled operators, and pain, and they even pour the ashes of the dead extensive maintenance and so on. As a result, into the river in order to protect the souls of most of the sewage would be directly dumped the dead, and accelerate Moksha (freedom By Maria Sun into rivers, lakes, and ponds. However, the from the endless cycle of transmigration into water problem is also intertwined with a state of bliss). Hindus believe drinking Indians’ religious beliefs. “We don’t follow water from the Ganges brings good luck, and bacteria, we don’t think about it,” said Jagdish that taking shower in the river or immersing their belongings brings purity. These Vaishnav, a 30-year-old English teacher who practices or rituals may help people feel said he swam and drank the water, where tons spiritually clean, but the pollution of the of raw sewage can be seen flowing into the water afflicts thousands with diarrhea, river. cholera, dysentery, and even typhoid each year. When people try to introduce the potential threat from a science perspective, the Hindus seem to mainly focus on the spiritual support from their mother river. “It cannot be said, it is to be felt,” said an Indian citizen who was interviewed by a VICE News reporter. ” No Downfall Brings Groundwater Depletion: The Story of Oasis Mobile California’s When surface water supplies are low, Home Park groundwater is drilled to make up the shortfall. A large aquifer under the Downfall A community of roughly 1,900 Central Valley is rapidly depleting residents, located on Torres In the last decade we have seen because they have been taking more Martinez Indigenous land, Oasis is the United States struggle to water out then they can put back in. home to low-income people. Many supply enough water to dry highly Once aquifers are depleted, the state will are farmworkers and undocumented. populated areas in the west like have no backup supplies to surface California. When there are more water. problems than solutions for water Many residents use bottled water for shortages, we start to see people Agriculture: Most of the water in drinking and cooking. But for struggle. From decreased shower California is used for farming, which, as showers, dishwashing and brushing time to increase in wildfires, many we mentioned already, produces and their teeth, they still depend on the California residents have been exports a huge amount of the country's tap. Residents usually leave the severely affected. If this goes on food. Farmers have been drilling shower with red eyes and clumps of with no real action taken, groundwater to compensate for surface hair falling out. California won’t be the only ones supply shortages. who will start to feel the effects of water scarcity. If you enjoy Figure 2: California Farm In August 2019, water monitoring detected arsenic in the park’s almonds, artichokes, olives, groundwater supply at nearly 10 pistachios, pomegranates, raisins times the legal limit. The or walnuts, be ready to say Environmental Protection Agency goodbye to all those exclusively cited, fined and ordered the park’s California grown foods. Not to owner to provide an alternative mention California grows up to supply of drinking water for 70% of the country’s greens. It Increased Population: When violating the Safe Drinking Water takes a lot of water to feed the California faced a major drought in the Act. whole country and a lot of the late 1970s, they were able to come back world. From taking five gallons of from it but back then they had fewer water to grow one singular walnut than 20 million people living in the In late May, the EPA declared the to 1,800 gallons of water for a state. Now nearly 40 million live there. water safe again but residents single pound of beef. This isn’t just remained suspicious of the tap a California issue, this is a global water. One resident said it issue. What are the Effects? sometimes came out “oily, like . butter.” After months of complaints, Damage: When Famers relentlessly the Leadership Counsel for Justice How Did This Happen? pump groundwater to irrigate their and Accountability, conducted its crops. The clays compress, roads, own tests and detected high levels of Climate Change: California bridges, and irrigation canals crack, arsenic in Oasis’s water, over eight relies heavily on snowpack each causing extensive and expensive times the legal limit. That prompted winter to resupply surface water damage. The research shows that in another EPA investigation. streams and lakes. Because of high some places the ground is sinking nearly temperatures these past winters, two inches each month. Today the arsenic problem due to climate change, snowpack continues. Even though California is at an all time low. Climate Workers Are Being Laid Off: law states that water is a right, the change has also caused increased Since farmers are unable to water their story of Oasis just shows how levels of water vapour in the crops due to the dry weather, some are difficult it is to ensure clean drinking atmosphere which makes water leaving acres of farmland unplanted and water for everyone. availability less predictable. This laborers are either losing their jobs or led to dry regions like Califnoria to facing a reduction in hours because of face more severe drought the drought. conditions than the usual geography would experience. Pollution: Excessive pumping also jeopardizes water quality, as pollutants Figure 1: Map of drought severity over accumulate in groundwater and the time clays release arsenic. It is estimated one million Californians lack clean drinking water, generally those who live in impoverished rural communities with BY ELIZABETH SULLIVAN-CROWLEY small water systems and limited budgets. Arizona in Crisis: Day Zero Not everything is bleak According to Leslie Meyers, the manager of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Is Approaching as Fast as the for Arizona residents, given office in Phoenix, “‘Farms use as much as State’s Population is that an agreement was reached 8 feet [of water] per acre per year’” and “‘Three homes might use 1 acre-foot.” Increasing between representatives of Arizona is allocated 2.8 million acre-feet different states and Native of water from the Colorado River every When you think of Arizona, American groups to sustain the year and 70% of that is used by farmers beautiful and stunning water levels of nearby Lake across the state.