Billie Jo Richardson
Chloe Raught
Mrs. Maisner
Water Conference PSA
7 November 2011

How do regions react to having unsanitary water compared to having no water at all?

Between two million and five million people die internationally every year due to preventable water-related diseases. One in every five people have no access to safe drinking water. Every fifteen seconds a child dies because safe water is not available. Preventable diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid kill people every day because of their unsanitary water.
Regions all over the world are suffering due a lack of clean water. For instance, half the population of Nigeria has no clean water at all. Other places like Mali in West Africa only have access to a river polluted and unsanitary; however it is the only water available. Additionally, floods that occur, such as in the Zambezi River Basin in Southern Africa, pollute the small amount of clean water existing. Consequently, that water is unavailable.
On the other hand, some regions have little or no water to begin with. Depleted water supplies in places such as the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas are being used faster than they can be replaced. Ninety-five percent of the fresh water in the United States is underground. Other regions, such as Catalonia and other cities in Europe are exploiting ground water at unsustainable rates. Specifically in Catalonia, water shortages in that particular area are affecting four and a half million of their people.
Overall, unsanitary water and lack thereof harm people all over the world. It causes disease and death; however these things can be reduced, given the proper awareness, technology and actions. Conserving and distributing water evenly can prevent water shortages.
In general, having unsanitary water or an inadequate amount of water is potentially the same because both are unavailable and harmful to everybody in the surrounding region.

Works Cited

Kirby, Alex. "BBC News | World | World Water Crisis." BBC News - Home. 2 June 2000. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2000/world_water_crisis/default.stm>.