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Limited resource[edit]
Fresh water is a renewable and variable, but finite natural
resource. Fresh water
can only be replenished through the process of the water cycle,
in which water
from seas, lakes, forests, land, rivers, and
reservoirs evaporates, forms clouds, and
returns as precipitation. Locally however, if more fresh water
is consumed through
human activities than is naturally restored, this may result in
reduced fresh water
availability from surface and underground sources and can cause
serious damage to
surrounding and associated environments.
Fresh water withdrawal[edit]
Fresh water withdrawal is the quantity of water removed from
available sources for
use in any purpose, excluding evaporation losses. ater drawn off
is not
necessarily entirely consumed and some portion may be returned
for further use
downstream.
Causes of limited fresh water[edit]
!here are many causes of the apparent decrease[citation
needed ] in our fresh water
supply. "rincipal amongst these is the increase in population
through increasing
life expectancy, the increase in per capita water use and the
desire of many people
to live in warm climates that have naturally low levels of fresh
water resources.[citation needed ] #limate change is
also likely to change the availability and distribution
of fresh water across the planet$
%&f global warming continues to melt glaciers in the polar
regions, as expected, the
supply of fresh water may actually decrease. First, fresh water
from the melting
glaciers will mingle with salt water in the oceans and become
too salty to drink.
'econd, the increased ocean volume will cause sea levels to
rise, contaminating
freshwater sources along coastal regions with seawater(.[)*]
!he orld +ank adds that the response by freshwater
ecosystems to a changing
climate can be described in terms of three interrelated
components$ water quality,
water quantity or volume, and water timing. change in one often
leads to shifts inthe others as well.[)-] ater
pollution and subsequent eutrophication also reduces
the availability of fresh water .[)]
lso, there is an uneven distribution of fresh water. hile some
countries have an
abundant supply of fresh water, others do not have as much.
For
example, #anada has /01 of the world2s fresh water supply,
while &ndia has only
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cyclehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoirshttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=9https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-16http://water.worldbank.org/water/publications/water-and-climate-change-understanding-risks-and-making-climate-smart-investment-decisihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophicationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cyclehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoirshttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=9https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_changehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-16http://water.worldbank.org/water/publications/water-and-climate-change-understanding-risks-and-making-climate-smart-investment-decisihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-17https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pollutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophicationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-18https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=8
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)01 of the world2s fresh water supply, even though &ndia2s
population is more than
30 times larger than that of #anada. reason for the uneven
distribution of fresh
water supply may be the differences in climate. For example, in
some countries in
frica, the frequent lack of rain has led to insufficient water
supply for irrigation.
!his has affected agriculture and has led to a shortage of food
for the people.[)4]
Fresh water in the future[edit]
5any areas of the world are already experiencing stress on water
availability. 6ue
to the accelerated pace of population growth and an increase in
the amount of
water a single person uses, it is expected that this situation
will continue to get
worse. shortage of water in the future would be detrimental to
the human
population as it would affect everything from sanitation,
to overall health and the
production of grain.[/0]
Choices in the use of fresh water[edit]
ith one in eight people in the world not having access to safe
water [/)] it is
important to use this resource in a prudent manner. 5aking the
best use of water on
a local basis probably provides the best solution. Local
communities need to plan
their use of fresh water and should be made aware of how certain
crops and
animals use water.
s a guide the following tables provide some indicators.
!able ) 7ecommended basic water requirements for human needs
8per person9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-19https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=11https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-20https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-21https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-19https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=11https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-20https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresh_water&action=edit§ion=12https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water#cite_note-21
