Water crisis: 80% of the problem we have due to water scarcity is due to lack of administration, obsolete legislation, and lack of investment in infrastructure.
A water crisis requires an analysis beyond climate change. The study of basins, groundwater and water shared between countries is essential to address this problem that affects us all.
Water scarcity crisis due to climate change? It is just one out of many factors. Nearly 2.6 billion people in the world experience high levels of water stress, mainly in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Northern Africa; in Latin America: Chile and Mexico; and in Europe: Greece and Spain, as we see in the following map:
While the water cycle keeps us alive, we are now dealing with rising temperatures and reduced precipitation.
The availability of water on the surface will decrease every day. The fact that it does not rain enough, makes the problem worse due to the increase in temperature, but the implications of climate change in surface waters are not the root of the problem. 80% of the problem we have due to water scarcity is the result of bad administration.
Obsolete legislation and lack of investment in water infrastructure are some of the factors that have led to poor water management, which has been evidenced by the intensity of the drought that is hitting Mexico and South Africa.
These are some data from the National Water Commission (Conagua) on the impact of water scarcity in Mexico:
- Over 50% of the country’s municipalities (1,255) face some degree of drought.
- This is three times higher than that recorded in 2020.
- 25% of the states (total of seven) have the greatest effects of drought, from moderate to exceptional.
Water infrastructure is a vital issue around the world. More than a third of the water supply in South Africa is lost due to aging and leaking infrastructure. The public water network plays an important role in achieving higher levels of economic growth and social improvement.