The Extent of the Crisis

• More than 1.5 billion people today lack steady access to drinking water – that’s approximately one in every five people on the planet. (Source: United Nations Environment Program)
• Each year, approximately 250 million people worldwide fall ill due to water-borne disease. It is estimated that every 15 seconds, a child dies of water-related illness. (Source: World Health Organization)
• The water crisis is also devastating to wildlife. The world has lost more than half of its freshwater biodiversity since 1970 and 20% of all freshwater fish are now threatened. (Source: World Wildlife Fund)
• The worldwide demand for water went up six-fold between 1990 and 1995, rising at more than twice the rate of population growth. By 2025, projections say people will be using up to ¾ of the planet’s accessible freshwater supply. (Sources: World Meteorological Organization and United Nations World Water Development Report)
  
• Battles over water resources are increasingly a cause of local and border area conflicts. (Source: UNESCO Water Portal)
  
• In many parts of the world, water is not considered a right but is controlled entirely by for-profit corporations and so-called “water mafias.” (Source: BBC News)
  
• 40-80 million people have been displaced worldwide due to the building of dams. (Source: World Commission on Dams)
  
• Global population will soar to 8.1 billion people by 2030, which will require at least 14% more water just to grow enough food to feed us all. (Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations)
  
• Climate change is raising the stakes as drought affects more areas and, conversely, flooding damages freshwater resources. (Source: “Climate Change Heralds Thirsty Times Ahead,” New Scientist)
  

How Water is Being Used...and Lost

• The average person needs two quarts of water every day just to survive. (Source: American Red Cross)
• The typical American household uses 145 or more gallons of water daily. European household average half of that. The average African household uses about five gallons, about as much as an old-fashioned American toilet uses in a single flush. (Sources: American Water Works Association, Riverkeepers, Aqua-Africa.)
  
• Despite using less water, residents in developing nations pay on average 12 times more for water than people living in industrialized countries – and many cannot afford enough for basic sanitation and hydration. (Source: World Commission on Water for the 21st Century)
  
• Two billion people on earth rely primarily on wells for their water. (Source: “The Last Drop” by Michael Spector in The New Yorker of October 23, 2006)
  
• Out of 191 nations, 10 nations share 65% of the world’s annual water resources. (Source: Global Green USA)
  
• Farms and agriculture account for about 69% of all water use around the world. Another 23% is used to power industry. The remaining 7% goes to domestic use – daily drinking, washing and cooking. (Source: UNESCO)
  
• It is estimated that inefficient agricultural irrigation systems are losing more than 50% of their water through leakage. Leaking pipes also drain precious water from many cities. (Source: UNESCO Water Portal)
  
• The sun itself evaporates up to a trillion tons of water every day. (Source: The Freshwater Society)
  

The State of U.S. Rivers

• Forty percent of American rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming or aquatic life. Less than 2% of rivers in the U.S. are considered to be in pristine condition. (Sources: EPA and American Rivers)
  
• Seven million cases of mild infectious disease annually are credited to germs and parasites in U.S. drinking water. (Source: Natural Resources Defense Council)
  
• Thirty percent of the U.S.’s native freshwater species are threatened, endangered or in peril. (Source: American Rivers)
  
• The flow of the Colorado River is at its lowest level since measurements at Lee’s Ferry began 85 years ago. (Source: “The Perfect Drought” by Jon Gertner in the New York Times Magazine).
  

What's Being Done and Where to Learn More

The world water crisis is being tackled on multiple fronts, ranging from political and economic to environmental and scientific – and each of these elements will be necessary to tackling this complex puzzle on which all our survivals depend. From those focused on individual conservation to those fighting for government protections, from inventors dreaming up efficient new technologies to planners forging integrated water management program, there are passionate people all around the world looking for ways to improve the world’s health and sanitation, to save dying rivers and help a growing planet live within the means of our limited fresh water supplies.

Among numerous organizations with websites focused on the domestic and international water crisis are:

Waterkeeper Alliance: www.waterkeeper.org
American Rivers: www.americanrivers.org
Riverkeeper: www.riverkeeper.org
Living Rivers (Colorado Riverkeeper): www.livingrivers.org
Glen Canyon Institute: www.glencanyon.org
Clean Water Fund: www.cleanwaterfund.org
Natural Resources Defense Council Water Page: www.nrdc.org/water
United Nations Water For Life site: www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/
United Nations Environment Programme Freshwater Page: http://freshwater.unep.net/
Water Portal of UNESCO: www.unesco.org/water
Global Water: www.globalwater.org
Global Green: www.globalgreen.org/programs/water
Project Wet: Water Education For Teachers: www.projectwet.org
Pacific Institute/The World’s Water: www.worldwater.org
Water Conservation Portal: www.waterconserve.info

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