The planet’s water resources are renewable, and for some reason humanity believes that this source is inexhaustible. But it’s not like that. The depletion of these resources consists in a decrease in water reserves and in some places on the Earth it is most acute. Water for drinking and technical purposes is becoming increasingly inaccessible to some countries or their regions.
The reason for this is, in most cases, human activity.
The reasons
The occurrence of depletion of water resources is due to a number of factors:
Conventionally, the causes of depletion of water resources can be divided into natural and anthropogenic.
The former do not have a global impact on water reserves and quality, as they are episodic, local in nature. These include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters.
Anthropogenic factors should be considered in more detail. These include:
The latter is related not only to the depletion of water resources, but also heavily pollutes the waters of the world’s oceans.
Pollution of the world’s oceans
The level of pollution in the seas is increasing every year in the world. Its sources are mainly:
Domestic and industrial effluents are discharged in large quantities into water bodies, sometimes even in an untreated form. It happens regularly and everywhere.
The most dangerous are oil pollution that enters the water by washing tanks for transporting and storing oil. Also, in the event of an accident at oil wells, tankers, oil pipelines, oil leakage has a detrimental effect on all marine life in the affected area.
Radioactive contamination can occur as a result of nuclear tests or accidents on submarines and ships, the course of which is provided by the operation of nuclear reactors. Unfortunately, this type of pollution of the seas and oceans is characterized by the accumulation of radioactive substances in the tissues of living organisms along food chains.
Consequences of water depletion
Surface and underground waters are depleted largely due to human activities, which often take unreasonably more than can be taken without negative consequences.
In places of active water intake and drainage of groundwater, there is a violation of their well-established relationship with surface waters. It leads to:
The depletion of surface waters associated with their irrational and intensive use leads to:
In the end, all of these consequences negatively affect not only the environment, but also the person himself. The lack of water sources of adequate quality will affect his health and may force him to relocate from an unfavorable area for life.
Solutions
We need to work together to solve the problem of water depletion. People, cities, countries should remember the importance of preserving these resources today, otherwise tomorrow the water shortage will affect everyone.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to move in two parallel ways: to use water resources wisely and to protect them strictly.
Rational consumption of water resources includes:
- Preventive measures to prevent pollution and depletion of water;
- Application of the scientific base in the use of surface and ground waters;
- Measures related to the economical use of water resources.
Water protection measures should be guided by the following principles:
The most effective measures to combat water depletion are preventive measures. For surface waters, these will be the introduction of waste-free production technologies, as well as high-quality treatment of discharged waters.
With regard to groundwater, it is necessary:
- Properly choose places for the construction of various objects;
- Control the level of groundwater;
- Isolate hotspots and keep contaminants out of the water.
Depletion of water resources is a global problem. It affects every state in one way or another. Therefore, the development, implementation and observance of legislative measures in matters of environmental protection are a priority.
Every inhabitant of the planet must understand the danger of the thoughtless use of such a valuable resource as water, which means that you need to start saving and protecting it by your own example.
