The State of Water Resources Around the World and Future Challenges in the United States

The world has a total of 1.4 billion cubic kilometers of water, but almost 98% of this is saline. Of this limited fresh water, more than half is permanently locked away in ice or exists as deep fossil water which is not, at present, economically reachable. Demand for fresh water has increased eightfold since the beginning of the 20th century. It will double again by 2050. Historically, about 20% of the earth’s land surface experiences drought at any one time. This has now risen to 28%, and is set to rise to 35% by 2020. Over the last 10 years, areas affected by the most severe droughts have risen from 1% to 3% of the planet’s landmass.

Today, 80% of all disease and more than a third of the deaths that occur in developing countries are caused by contaminated water. The situation is always worse in the teaming slums and shantytowns that grow up on the edge of great cities, often as a result of migration from rural areas. History has confirmed that a lack of clean water can not only cause health problems such as diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera, but also leads to mass migrations and failed governments and that is the subject of my talk. Groundwater professional engineers will benefit by focusing their expertise in the areas of surface water management, storage, and treatment and reuse, in addition to protecting our groundwater supplies, as this expertise will be in great demand in the United States and abroad in the years to come.