Is There A Water Shortage - 1269 Words

Have you ever wondered how much of the Earth’s water is drinkable? Well, the surface of the Earth is made up of 70% water. 97% of that water is saline, meaning salt water, which is found in oceans and seas. The last 3% is freshwater which humans need to survive and that number is going down. In the U.S., droughts, floods, and climate changes are rapidly going up. It is suggested that by the next 10 years one of many regions in the U.S. is going to face a water shortage. Over the last four years, Californians have gotten a big wake-up call, as drought forces them to reconsider water as a scarce commodity. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region s water supplier, delivered 15% less water to cities in the greater†¦show more content†¦Less snowpack means less snow to melt and refill the state s reservoirs with fresh water people can use (Kincaid). In Colorado, officials told the Government Accountability Office they re keeping an eye on the effects of fracking on the state s water supply. Using water for fracking could contribute to local shortages in the drought-prone state, which only gets 12-16 inches of precipitation every year. Also in the West, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the populations of Nevada and Arizona will more than double between 2000 and 2030. However, those two states get some of the nation s lowest amounts of precipitation, so more people will be vying to use water resources that already aren t plentiful (Kincaid). While any given person may not be directly causing these water issues, everyone plays a role in how much drinkable water there is in the US. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the average American used 88 gallons of water per day in 2010. The entire human population in America uses 27,400 million gallons per day around the house, for stuff like preparing food, washing clothes, flushing toilets, and watering lawns (Kincaid). So, what can the government and citizens of the U.S. do to solve this problem? The Administration at the White House has announced a new water innovation strategy to help maintain and reserve water in the U.S. The first strategy calls for boosting water sustainability and long-term water security by increasing use of water