Critical worldwide shortages could lead to water wars

Most of the world’s population takes water for granted, just like air — two life-sustaining substances. After all, the human body is nearly two-thirds water.

But a Hindustan Times blogger said that in India right now, as in many other places around the globe, drinkable water has become such a “precious commodity” that it’s dragging the world into “water wars.”

Climate change is drying up lakes and rivers almost everywhere. In Australia, an unprecedented heat wave brought on massive wildfires and critical water shortages.

As water grows scarce, more countries are building dams on rivers to hog most of the water for themselves, depriving the nations downstream. Already, Egypt has threatened to bomb the Grand Renaissance Dam upstream on the Nile River in Ethiopia.

And as the Earth’s population crossed the 7 billion mark last year, more water sources are so polluted that drinking it can kill you. Government and private estimates indicate that tens of thousands of children die each day from contaminated water.

By most estimates, half the world’s people live in places where clean water is not easily available. Bangalore, India, once had 400 lakes in its vicinity. Now, only 40 are left, and all are polluted.

Hence the fights. One of the biggest areas of conflict is the India-Pakistan-China nexus. Multiple rivers intertwine the countries, and all three are building dams to keep much of the water for themselves.

China has built more dams than any other nation, making numerous countries angry because Chinese rivers flow into many adjacent states. And yet, even with 14 downstream border states, China refuses to agree to any water treaties. Now China has approved plans to build 54 more dams on rivers, many of which serve as the lifeblood of neighboring states.

In China’s north, “desertification” is turning vast areas into dust bowls. So the government is trying to divert 6 trillion gallons of water per year from the Yangtze River to reclaim the area, worrying people in other parts of China who rely on the Yangtze for their water.

In Iran, farmers in one region destroyed a water-pump station that was carrying water away from their area to the city of Yazd.

A recent NASA study warned of an “alarming rate of decrease in total water storage” in Iraq’s “Tigris and Euphrates river basins, which currently have the second fastest rate of groundwater storage loss on Earth, after India.” The report warned that water scarcity could become another cause of conflict.

Egypt’s military threats against Ethiopia begin to make sense when you realize that Egypt’s 84 million people draw 95 percent of their water from the Nile River. A common saying is that without the Nile there is no Egypt.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently held a hearing on water shortages and other threats in Central Asia.

In Sri Lanka this month, the Daily News wrote: “We can live many days without food, but without water it is about three days.” Still, “we can’t seem to get the right water to the right people at the right time. … More people have access to cell phones than safe water.”

With ever-rising temperatures, more water evaporates and returns to the ground as rain. But most of it falls into the oceans. That’s one reason sea levels are rising worldwide, threatening vast coastal areas.

But that leaves the world with an expensive but straightforward solution to the water-shortage problem everywhere. Build desalination plants, as Australia, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other well-off, water-stressed states are already doing.

Soon enough, whichever country starts marketing these critically important plants worldwide will make a lot of money and grow to be seen as a savior for millions of the world’s people.

Joel Brinkley is the Hearst professional in residence at Stanford University.

8 Comments on "Critical worldwide shortages could lead to water wars"

yellowcanoe on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 4:44 am 



Desalination is a viable solution for providing water for domestic use but it is too expensive for agriculture. The article doesn’t discuss North America but drought and depleting aquifers are becoming a problem in the American midwest. This will lead to pressure for water diversions from areas that have good water resources, namely Canada and Alaska. Export of water to the US is a hugely unpopular idea in Canada but if your closest neighbour and ally is short of water can you really continue to say no?

Stilgar on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 6:50 am 



We burn FF,
Raising CO2 levels,
Increasing temperatures & evaporation,
Reducing fresh water supplies,
Leading to the need for desalination,
Increasing energy demand,
Requiring more burning of FF.

J-Gav on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 10:54 am 



“More people have access to cellphones than to safe water.”
Says a lot about how messed up our priorities have become.

Kenz300 on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 11:49 am 



Too many people and too few resources……….

Around the world we have a food crisis, a water crisis, a Climate Change crisis, a financial crisis, a declining fish stocks crisis and an OVER POPULATION CRISIS.

Every problem is made harder to solve with the worlds ever growing population.

The worlds poorest people are having the most children. They have not yet figured out the connection between their poverty and family size.

Access to family planning services needs to be available to all that want it.

rollin on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 12:48 pm 



I know here in the US most of the fresh water is used by agriculture and industry, not individuals or families.

India should be doing a better job, they are an advanced country with a large industrial and commercial base. Maybe their priorities are mixed up.

“With ever-rising temperatures, more water evaporates and returns to the ground as rain. But most of it falls into the oceans. That’s one reason sea levels are rising worldwide, threatening vast coastal areas.” I don’t believe that is much of a factor in sea level rise, too small a volume.

BillT on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 3:46 pm 



India’s ‘sacred cows’ (70 million of them) consume more water than is needed by the entire population of India. Over 1 gallon per person per day.

Water shortages are relevant in many cases. But even the places with water may not have any drinkable water soon.

Feemer on Sat, 23rd Nov 2013 7:23 pm 



Well maybe water shortages will reign in our population, be it from reduced crop yields or direct dehydration. This is a huge issue though. I live in Colorado in the mountains and every year there is less and less snow, and snow doesn’t even last through summer anymore. Very scary. The Colorado river also supplies some 40 million people with water, but is rapidly drying up. Conserve water where you can.

Norm on Sun, 24th Nov 2013 11:48 am 



Water wars have been around a long time. Water balloons, water weenies, super.soakers, and water slides. Wham-O was one of the main arms.suppliers. Most of the soldiers were just 8 – 15 years of age.