Overpopulation is a huge reason why South Africa is dealing with water scarcity now. The population rate increased so much due to the advance needs of growing sufficient food to feed the increased population. As the Globalist article states “about 4 million strong metro area population is expected to run out of water completely by mid-April 2018” (The Globalist). The author also states “the government began emergency water rationing in February 2018, limiting use to 50 liters per person per day (The Globalist). This citation goes along with the cause because the more and more people there is in the country the more liters you will need. The more people there is in a country the more resources you will need to survive.
With a lot of people in one country, no one will get enough water to drink throughout the entire day. South Africa today gets 50 liters per person each day compared to the United States that gets 300-380 liters per person each day. Climate change is another reason why South Africa is going through water scarcity. As Jenny Griffin states “there is a high rate of disease which places poor people at more risk and has very little rain with non-safe drinking water due to problems in different communities” (Climate System Emergency Institute). This citation mean that climate change could worsen the water scarcity as time passes on and this could cause people to die faster. Extreme weather cause droughts and lack of rainfall.
Pollution is another huge reason why South Africa is going through water scarcity. All the water that is polluted all must go to waste because it’s contaminated and if humans drink it then they will catch different diseases and other things. As News24 states “the Environment and Conservation Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it was estimated that in five years, almost 80% of the country’s fresh water resources would be so badly polluted that no process of purification available in the country would be able to clean it sufficiently to make it fit for human or animal consumption” (News24).
This citation means that pollution has made a disaster to their water. As News24 states “Water affects every single part of our daily lives and without it we cannot survive. We cannot eat, and we will be left in a country made barren by pollution” (News24). This citation states that it is hard to live without water and water is a mandatory thing in your life to survive. Some solutions on how to help stop water scarcity in South Africa are improving sewage systems, recycling, supporting clean water initiatives, and lastly raise money to donate to the water project so they can build wells for South Africans that need clean water.
As Rinkesh states “recycling water is a technology that would allow them to recycle rainwater and other water that you may be using in your home” (Conserve Energy Future). This citation proves that recycling water doesn’t prevent water scarcity, but it can save you some money too. Improving sewage systems help you clean drinking water. The water will become ridden with disease and any problems. Supporting clean water creativities are programs sited around the world that are observing to transport clean water to zones that need it. You may need to consider donating your time, skills, finances, or anything you can to get clean water.
Spreading awareness to the public first is the only way we can start raising money to make an impacting change. In conclusion, this is how South Africa is being affected by Water Scarcity. Pollution, overpopulation, and climate change are all huge reasons why South Africa is going through this huge problem. There are many several ways on how to solve water scarcity, but the government must put in effort too. As William Ashworth states “Children of a culture born in a water rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it”. This quote touched me a lot because it is true; people nowadays don’t care about the world.
You should not disrespect water scarcity because you never know when you will be in the same position. Water scarcity has already affected every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month of every year. More than 1.2 billion people have lack access to clean drinking water. I believe that South Africa is going through something real serious that will take a while to solve. I believe that the government is not putting as much effort as needed to help solve the problem.
Overpopulation is a very huge problem in South Africa that is making them run out of water faster. I believe other countries should donate water to South Africa because you never know when you will go through the same problem. Once you are going through that same problem then no one is going to want to donate water to your country. There are many countries today that can help donate to different organization. I believe everyone should come along and help each other. This is a message to everyone Don’t waste water! Save it for the future generation therefore HELP SAVE WATER AND SAVE LIVES.