As droughts become more prevalent, and the population density of urban America continues to rise, the problem of sourcing clean reliable drinking water becomes ever more concerning. According to the EPA, there are 36 states containing areas that are facing active water shortage.
This is important to understand, especially in states like Arizona, who are confronted by structural water deficits. This is characterized by the fact that these areas have higher water related expenditures than they can off-set by current revenues. Primarily, these are places that have insufficient regional water resources and are required to transfer significant amounts of water to sustain the local population, agriculture, and industry.
In addition to the concern of sourcing water, there is also the issue of treating and transporting the water in a way that is sanitary and complies with our expectations of affordability. An article in the New York Times reports that “more than 20 percent of America’s water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act over the last five years”. The costs associated with redeveloping these inadequate water treatment systems will only cause the price of accessing water to go up. With this in mind, it is increasingly important that people are mindful of their water consumption, and actively pursue safe reliable drinking water.
Source: Climate change, water and food security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]