Global Water resources

Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. Uses of water
include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Virtually all of these
human uses require fresh water.

%97 of water on the Earth is salt water, leaving only 3% as fresh water of which slightly over two thirds
is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen fresh water is mainly found as
groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.

Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of clean, fresh water is steadily decreasing.
Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world and as the world population continues
to rise, so too does the water demand. Awareness of the global importance of preserving water for
ecosystem services has only recently emerged as, during the 21st century, more than half the world’s
wetlands have been lost along with their valuable environmental services. Biodiversity-rich freshwater
ecosystems are currently declining faster than marine or land ecosystems. The framework for allocating
water resources to water users (where such a framework exists) is known as water rights.

Sources of fresh water

Surface water
Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally replenished by
precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans, evaporation, and sub-surface seepage.

Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its watershed, the total
quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors. These factors
include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs, the permeability of the soil beneath
these storage bodies, the runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of the precipitation
and local evaporation rates. All of these factors also affect the proportions of water lost.

Human activities can have a large and sometimes devastating impact on these factors. Humans often
increase storage capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often
increase runoff quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing stream flow.

The total quantity of water available at any given time is an important consideration. Some human water
users have an intermittent need for water.

Distribution of river water

The distribution of renewable river water across the Earth's surface is very uneven,
Percent of world total Renewable river water (km³) Continent or region
9.20 4,000 Sub-Saharan Africa
0.32 140 Middle East and North Africa
6.70 2,900 Europe
30.6 13,300 Asia (excluding Middle East)
1.01 440 Australia
14.9 6,500 Oceania

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17.9 7,800 North America
27.6 12,000 South America

there can be huge variations. For example, as much as a quarter of Australia's limited renewable fresh
water supply is found in almost uninhabited Cape York Peninsula. Also, even in well-watered continents,
there are areas that are extremely short of water, such as Texas in North America, whose renewable water
supply totals only 26 km³ in an area of 695,622 km², or South Africa, with only 44 km³ in 1,221,037 km².
The areas of greatest concentration of renewable water are:
The Amazon and Orinoco Basins (a total of 6,500 km³ or 15 percent of global runoff)
East Asia
Yangtze Basin - 1,000 km³
South and Southeast Asia, with a total of 8,000 km³ or 18 percent of global runoff
Brahmaputra Basin - 900 km³
Irrawaddy Basin - 500 km³
Mekong Basin - 450 km³
Canada, with over 10 percent of world's river water and large numbers in lakes
Mackenzie River - over 250 km³
Yukon River - over 150 km³
Siberia
Yenisey - over 5% of world's fresh water in basin - second largest after the Amazon
Ob River - over 500 km²
Lena River - over 450 km²
New Guinea
Fly and Sepik Rivers - total over 300 km³ in only about 150,000 km² of basin area.

Under river flow

Throughout the course of the river, the total volume of water transported downstream will often be a
combination of the visible free water flow together with a substantial contribution flowing through sub-
surface rocks and gravels that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic zone. For many
rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic
zone often forms a dynamic interface between surface water and true ground-water receiving water from
the ground water when aquifers are fully charged and contributing water to ground-water when ground
waters are depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas where pot-holes and underground rivers
are common.

Ground water

Sub-surface water, or groundwater, is fresh water located in the pore space of soil and rocks. It is also
water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table. Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction
between sub-surface water that is closely associated with surface water and deep sub-surface water in an
aquifer (sometimes called "fossil water.

Sub-surface water can be thought of in the same terms as surface water: inputs, outputs and storage. The
critical difference is that due to its slow rate of turnover, sub-surface water storage is generally much
larger compared to inputs than it is for surface water. This difference makes it easy for humans to use
sub-surface water unsustainably for a long time without severe consequences. Nevertheless, over the long
term the average rate of seepage above a sub-surface water source is the upper bound for average
consumption of water from that source.

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Desalination

Desalination is an artificial process by which saline water (generally sea water) is converted to fresh
water. The most common desalination processes are distillation and reverse osmosis. Desalination is
currently expensive compared to most alternative sources of water, and only a very small fraction of total
human use is satisfied by desalination. It is only economically practical for high-valued uses (such as
household and industrial uses) in arid areas. The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.

Frozen water

An iceberg as seen from Newfoundland Several schemes have been proposed to make use of icebergs as a
water source, however to date this has only been done for novelty purposes. Glacier runoff is considered
to be surface water.The Himalayas, which are often called "The Roof of the World", contain some of the
most extensive and rough high altitude areas on Earth as well as the greatest area of glaciers and
permafrost outside of the poles. Ten of Asia’s largest rivers flow from there, and more than a billion
people’s livelihoods depend on them. To complicate matters, temperatures are rising more rapidly here
than the global average. In Nepal the temperature has risen with 0.6 degree over the last decade, whereas
the global warming has been around 0.7 over the last hundred years

Estimate of global water distribution

Percent Percent of Water volume, in Water volume, in Water source

of freshwater cubic kilometers cubic miles
total
water
96.54 -- 1,338,000,000 321,000,000 Oceans, Seas, & Bays
1.74 68.7 24,064,000 5,773,000 Ice caps, Glaciers, &
Permanent Snow
1.69 -- 23,400,000 5,614,000 Ground water
0.76 30.1 10,530,000 2,526,000 Fresh
0.94 -- 12,870,000 3,088,000 Saline
0.001 0.05 16,500 3,959 Soil Moisture
0.022 0.86 300,000 71,970 Ground Ice &
Permafrost
0.013 -- 176,400 42,320 Lakes
0.007 0.26 91,000 21,830 Fresh
0.006 -- 85,400 20,490 Saline
0.001 0.04 12,900 3,095 Atmosphere
0.0008 0.03 11,470 2,752 Swamp Water
0.0002 0.006 2,120 509 Rivers
0.0001 0.003 1,120 269 Biological Water
Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick
(editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford
University Press, New York).

Uses of fresh water

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Uses of fresh water can be categorized as consumptive and non-consumptive (sometimes called
"renewable"). A use of water is consumptive if that water is not immediately available for another use.
Losses to sub-surface seepage and evaporation are considered consumptive, as is water incorporated into
a product (such as farm produce). Water that can be treated and returned as surface water, such as sewage,
is generally considered non-consumptive if that water can be put to additional use.

Agricultural
A farm in Ontario It is estimated that 69% of worldwide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of
irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable. In some areas of the world irrigation is necessary to grow any
crop at all, in other areas it permits more profitable crops to be grown or enhances crop yield. Various
irrigation methods involve different trade-offs between crop yield, water consumption and capital cost of
equipment and structures. Irrigation methods such as furrow and overhead sprinkler irrigation are usually
less expensive but are also typically less efficient, because much of the water evaporates, runs off or
drains below the root zone. Other irrigation methods considered to be more efficient include drip or
trickle irrigation, surge irrigation, and some types of sprinkler systems where the sprinklers are operated
near ground level. These types of systems, while more expensive, usually offer greater potential to
minimize runoff, drainage and evaporation. Any system that is improperly managed can be wasteful, all
methods have the potential for high efficiencies under suitable conditions, appropriate irrigation timing
and management. One issue that is often insufficiently considered is salinization of sub-surface
water.Aquaculture is a small but growing agricultural use of water. Freshwater commercial fisheries may
also be considered as agricultural uses of water, but have generally been assigned a lower priority than
irrigation (see Aral Sea and Pyramid Lake.As global populations grow, and as demand for food increases
in a world with a fixed water supply, there are efforts underway to learn how to produce more food with
less water, through improvements in irrigation, methods, and technologies, agricultural water
management, crop types, and water monitoring.

Industrial
It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water use is industrial. Major industrial users include power
plants, which use water for cooling or as a power source (i.e. hydroelectric plants), ore and oil refineries,
which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent.The
portion of industrial water usage that is consumptive varies widely, but as a whole is lower than
agricultural use.Water is used in power generation. Hydroelectricity is electricity obtained from
hydropower. Hydroelectric power comes from water driving a water turbine connected to a generator.
Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. The energy is supplied by the sun.
Heat from the sun evaporates water, which condenses as rain in higher altitudes, from where it flows
down.Pressurized water is used in water blasting and water jet cutters. Also, very high pressure water
guns are used for precise cutting. It works very well, is relatively safe, and is not harmful to the
environment. It is also used in the cooling of machinery to prevent over-heating, or prevent saw blades
from over-heating.Water is also used in many industrial processes and machines, such as the steam
turbine and heat exchanger, in addition to its use as a chemical solvent. Discharge of untreated water from
industrial uses is pollution. Pollution includes discharged solutes (chemical pollution) and discharged
coolant water (thermal pollution). Industry requires pure water for many applications and utilizes a
variety of purification techniques both in water supply and discharge.

Household

Drinking water It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for household purposes. These include
drinking water, bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening. Basic household water requirements have
been estimated by Peter Gleick at around 50 liters per person per day, excluding water for gardens.

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Drinking water is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or used without risk
of immediate or long term harm. Such water is commonly called potable water. In most developed
countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard even
though only a very small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation.

Water stress

Best estimate of the share of people in developing countries with access to drinking water 1970–2000.
The concept of water stress is relatively simple: According to the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, it applies to situations where there is not enough water for all uses, whether agricultural,
industrial or domestic. Defining thresholds for stress in terms of available water per capita is more
complex, however, entailing assumptions about water use and its efficiency. Nevertheless, it has been
proposed that when annual per capita renewable freshwater availability is less than 1,700 cubic meters,
countries begin to experience periodic or regular water stress. Below 1,000 cubic meters, water scarcity
begins to hamper economic development and human health and well-being.

Population growth

In 2000, the world population was 6.2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will be an additional
3.5 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that already suffer water stress. Thus,
water demand will increase unless there are corresponding increases in water conservation and recycling
of this vital resource.

Expansion of business activity

Business activity ranging from industrialization to services such as tourism and entertainment continues
to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water services including both supply and sanitation,
which can lead to more pressure on water resources and natural ecosystems.

Rapid urbanization

The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells and septic tanks that work well in low-
density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas. Urbanization requires significant
investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver water to individuals and to process the
concentrations of wastewater – both from individuals and from business. These polluted and
contaminated waters must be treated or they pose unacceptable public health risks.

In 60% of European cities with more than 100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a faster rate than
it can be replenished. Even if some water remains available, it costs more and more to capture it.

Climate change

Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world because of the close
connections between the climate and hydrological cycle. Rising temperatures will increase evaporation
and lead to increases in precipitation, though there will be regional variations in rainfall. Overall, the
global supply of freshwater will increase. Both droughts and floods may become more frequent in
different regions at different times, and dramatic changes in snowfall and snowmelt are expected in
mountainous areas. Higher temperatures will also affect water quality in ways that are not well
understood. Possible impacts include increased eutrophication. Climate change could also mean an
increase in demand for farm irrigation, garden sprinklers, and perhaps even swimming pools

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 Depletion of aquifers

Due to the expanding human population, competition for water is growing such that many of the worlds
major aquifers are becoming depleted. This is due both for direct human consumption as well as
agricultural irrigation by groundwater. Millions of pumps of all sizes are currently extracting groundwater
throughout the world. Irrigation in dry areas such as northern China and India is supplied by groundwater,
and is being extracted at an unsustainable rate. Cities that have experienced aquifer drops between 10 to
50 meters include Mexico City, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing, Madras and Shanghai.

Pollution and water protection

Water pollution is one of the main concerns of the world today. The governments of many countries have
striven to find solutions to reduce this problem. Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most
widespread, especially in underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters;
this method of sewage disposal is the most common method in underdeveloped countries, but also is
prevalent in quasi-developed countries such as China, India and Iran. Sewage, sludge, garbage, and even
toxic pollutants are all dumped into the water. Even if sewage is treated, problems still arise. Treated
sewage forms sludge, which may be placed in landfills, spread out on land, incinerated or dumped at sea.]
In addition to sewage, nonpoint source pollution such as agricultural runoff is a significant source of
pollution in some parts of the world, along with urban storm water runoff and chemical wastes dumped
by industries and governments.

Freshwater Withdrawal by Country and Sector

The use of water varies greatly from country to country and from region to region. Data on water use by
regions and by different economic sectors are among the most sought after in the water resources area.
Ironically, these data are often the least reliable and most inconsistent of all water-resources information.
The following table presents The World’s Water 2006 update of the data available on total freshwater
withdrawals by country in cubic kilometers per year and cubic meters per person per year, using national
population estimates from approximately the year of withdrawal. The table also gives the breakdown of
that water use by the domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors, in both percentage of total water use
and cubic meters per person per year. The data sources are also explicitly identified.

“Withdrawal” typically refers to water taken from a water source for use. It does not refer to water
“consumed” in that use. The domestic sector typically includes household and municipal uses as well as
commercial and governmental water use. The industrial sector includes water used for power plant
cooling and industrial production. The agricultural sector includes water for irrigation and livestock.

In 2003, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published a comprehensive update
of its water use estimates in the Aqua stat dataset, and it has continued to provide new and updated
numbers. As a result, new estimates of water use by country are available, as are new estimates of the sect
oral breakdown. An advantage of the Aqua stat dataset is that it provides what appears to be a consistent
set of information, but users should be very careful to understand which numbers are measured and which
are only calculated

2005 Agricultural Industrial Domes Agricultural Industrial Domestic Per Total

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 Capita
Withdra Freshwater
Population Use Use tic Use Use Use Use wal Withdrawal
m3/p/ (m^3/p/
(millions) m3/p/yr m3/p/yr yr (%) (%) (%) yr) (km^3/yr) Year Region & Country

AFRICA
32.85 120 24 41 65 13 22 185 6.07 2000 Algeria
15.94 13 4 5 60 17 23 22 0.35 2000 Angola
8.44 7 4 5 45 23 32 15 0.13 2001 Benin
1.77 44 19 44 41 18 41 107 0.19 2000 Botswana
13.23 52 1 8 86 1 13 60 0.80 2000 Burkina Faso
7.55 30 2 6 77 6 17 38 0.29 2000 Burundi
16.32 45 5 11 74 8 18 61 0.99 2000 Cameroon
0.51 36 1 3 91 2 7 39 0.02 2000 Cape Verde
Central African
4.04 0 1 6 4 16 80 7 0.03 2000 Republic
9.75 20 0 4 83 0 17 24 0.23 2000 Chad
0.80 6 1 6 47 5 48 13 0.01 1999 Comoros
Congo, Democratic
Republic (formerly
57.55 2 1 3 31 17 53 6 0.36 2000 Zaire)
4.00 1 2 4 12 29 59 8 0.03 2000 Congo, Republic of
18.15 33 6 12 65 12 24 51 0.93 2000 Cote D'Ivoire
0.79 4 0 21 16 0 84 25 0.02 2000 Djibouti
74.03 793 55 70 86 6 8 923 68.30 2000 Egypt
0.50 2 35 183 1 16 83 220 0.11 2000 Equatorial Guinea
4.40 66 0 2 97 0 3 68 0.30 2000 Eritrea
77.43 67 0 4 94 0 6 72 5.56 2002 Ethiopia
1.38 37 7 43 42 8 50 87 0.12 2000 Gabon
1.52 13 2 5 65 12 23 20 0.03 2000 Gambia
22.11 29 4 11 66 10 24 44 0.98 2000 Ghana
9.40 144 4 12 90 2 8 161 1.51 2000 Guinea
1.59 93 6 15 82 5 13 113 0.18 2000 Guinea-Bissau
34.26 29 3 14 64 6 30 46 1.58 2000 Kenya
1.80 6 11 11 20 40 40 28 0.05 2000 Lesotho
3.28 18 6 9 55 18 27 34 0.11 2000 Liberia
5.85 606 22 102 83 3 14 730 4.27 2000 Libya
18.61 769 13 23 96 2 3 804 14.96 2000 Madagascar
12.88 63 4 12 80 5 15 78 1.01 2000 Malawi
13.52 436 5 44 90 1 9 484 6.55 2000 Mali
3.07 489 16 49 88 3 9 554 1.70 2000 Mauritania
1.25 294 69 124 60 14 25 488 0.61 2000 Mauritius
31.48 348 12 40 87 3 10 400 12.60 2000 Morocco
19.79 28 1 4 87 2 11 32 0.63 2000 Mozambique
2.03 105 7 35 71 5 24 148 0.3 2000 Namibia
13.96 149 0 6 95 0 4 156 2.18 2000 Niger
131.53 42 6 13 69 10 21 61 8.01 2000 Nigeria
9.04 11 1 4 68 8 24 17 0.15 2000 Rwanda
11.66 177 6 8 93 3 4 190 2.22 2002 Senegal
5.53 63 2 4 92 3 5 69 0.38 2000 Sierra Leone
8.23 398 0 2 100 0 0 400 3.29 2000 Somalia
47.43 166 16 82 63 6 31 264 12.50 2000 South Africa
36.23 996 7 27 97 1 3 1,030 37.32 2000 Sudan
1.03 979 10 20 97 1 2 1,010 1.04 2000 Swaziland
38.33 120 0 14 89 0 10 135 5.18 2000 Tanzania

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6.15 12 1 15 45 2 53 28 0.17 2000 Togo
10.10 214 10 37 82 4 14 261 2.64 2000 Tunisia
28.82 4 2 4 40 17 43 10 0.30 2002 Uganda
11.67 113 10 25 76 7 17 149 1.74 2000 Zambia
13.01 256 23 45 79 7 14 324 4.21 2002 Zimbabwe

NORTH AND
CENTRAL
AMERICA
Antigua and
0.08 13 13 38 20 20 60 63 0.005 1990 Barbuda
0.27 73 147 111 22 44 33 333 0.09 2000 Barbados
0.27 111 406 39 20 73 7 556 0.15 2000 Belize
32.27 163 952 271 12 69 20 1,386 44.72 1996 Canada
4.33 331 106 182 53 17 29 619 2.68 2000 Costa Rica
11.27 500 89 138 69 12 19 728 8.20 2000 Cuba
0.08 - - - 213 0.02 1996 Dominica
Dominican
8.90 252 7 122 66 2 32 381 3.39 2000 Republic
6.88 111 29 46 59 16 25 186 1.28 2000 El Salvador
12.60 128 21 10 80 13 6 160 2.01 2000 Guatemala
8.53 110 1 5 94 1 5 116 0.99 2000 Haiti
7.21 95 14 10 80 12 8 119 0.86 2000 Honduras
2.65 76 26 53 49 17 34 155 0.41 2000 Jamaica
107.03 564 40 127 77 5 17 731 78.22 2000 Mexico
5.49 197 5 36 83 2 15 237 1.30 2000 Nicaragua
3.23 72 13 170 28 5 67 254 0.82 2000 Panama
0.16 - - - 81 0.01 1997 St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the
0.12 - - - 83 0.01 1995 Grenadines
Trinidad and
1.31 13 62 161 6 26 68 237 0.31 2000 Tobago
United States of
298.21 660 736 203 41 46 13 1,600 477.00 2000 America

SOUTH
AMERICA
38.75 558 71 128 74 9 17 753 29.19 2000 Argentina
9.18 127 11 21 81 7 13 157 1.44 2000 Bolivia
186.41 196 57 65 62 18 20 318 59.30 2000 Brazil
16.30 489 194 87 64 25 11 770 12.55 2000 Chile
45.60 108 9 118 46 4 50 235 10.71 2000 Colombia
13.23 1055 68 160 82 5 12 1,283 16.98 2000 Ecuador
0.75 2143 19 37 98 1 2 2,187 1.64 2000 Guyana
6.16 56 6 16 71 8 20 80 0.49 2000 Paraguay
27.97 587 73 60 82 10 8 720 20.13 2000 Peru
0.45 1379 43 67 93 3 4 1,489 0.67 2000 Suriname
3.46 878 10 22 96 1 2 910 3.15 2000 Uruguay
26.75 149 22 19 47 7 6 313 8.37 2000 Venezuela

ASIA
29.86 765 0 14 98 0 2 779 23.26 2000 Afghanistan
3.02 642 43 293 66 4 30 977 2.95 2000 Armenia
8.41 1385 567 99 68 28 5 2,051 17.25 2000 Azerbaijan
0.73 233 12 163 57 3 40 411 0.30 2000 Bahrain
141.82 538 4 18 96 1 3 560 79.40 2000 Bangladesh
2.16 187 2 10 94 1 5 199 0.43 2000 Bhutan

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0.37 nd nd nd 243 0.09 1994 Brunei
14.07 284 0 3 98 0 1 290 4.08 2000 Cambodia
1,323.35 281 107 27 68 26 7 415 549.76 2000 China
0.84 179 4 68 71 1 27 250 0.21 2000 Cyprus
4.47 477 170 161 59 21 20 808 3.61 2000 Georgia
1,103.37 506 32 47 86 5 8 585 645.84 2000 India
222.78 339 3 30 91 1 8 372 82.78 2000 Indonesia
69.52 953 24 71 91 2 7 1,048 72.88 2000 Iran
28.81 1367 68 47 92 5 3 1,482 42.70 2000 Iraq
6.73 189 20 94 62 7 31 305 2.05 2000 Israel
128.09 431 123 136 62 18 20 690 88.43 2000 Japan
5.70 133 8 37 75 4 21 177 1.01 2000 Jordan
14.83 1930 390 40 82 17 2 2,360 35.00 2000 Kazakhstan
Korea Democratic
22.49 220 101 80 55 25 20 401 9.02 2000 People's Republic
47.82 186 64 139 48 16 36 389 18.59 2000 Korea Rep
2.69 86 3 73 52 2 45 164 0.44 2000 Kuwait
5.26 1797 59 60 94 3 3 1,916 10.08 2000 Kyrgyz Republic
5.92 457 29 22 90 6 4 507 3.00 2000 Laos
3.58 257 2 126 67 1 33 385 1.38 2000 Lebanon
25.35 221 75 60 62 21 17 356 9.02 2000 Malaysia
0.33 0 0 9 0 2 98 9 0.003 1987 Maldives
2.65 86 45 34 52 27 20 166 0.44 2000 Mongolia
50.52 646 4 8 98 1 1 658 33.23 2000 Myanmar
27.13 362 2 11 96 1 3 375 10.18 2000 Nepal
2.57 476 11 38 90 2 7 529 1.36 2000 Oman
157.94 1030 22 21 96 2 2 1,072 169.39 2000 Pakistan
83.05 254 32 57 74 9 17 343 28.52 2000 Philippines
0.81 257 10 86 72 3 24 358 0.29 2000 Qatar
24.57 628 8 69 89 1 10 705 17.32 2000 Saudi Arabia
4.33 2 22 20 4 51 45 44 0.19 1975 Singapore
20.74 579 15 14 95 2 2 608 12.61 2000 Sri Lanka
19.04 994 19 34 95 2 3 1,048 19.95 2000 Syria
6.51 1683 86 68 92 5 4 1,837 11.96 2000 Tajikistan
64.23 1225 32 32 95 2 2 1,288 82.75 2000 Thailand
73.19 404 59 80 74 11 15 544 39.78 2001 Turkey
4.83 4978 39 86 98 1 2 5,104 24.65 2000 Turkmenistan
United Arab
4.50 349 44 118 68 9 23 511 2.30 2000 Emirates
26.59 2045 45 104 93 2 5 2,194 58.34 2000 Uzbekistan
84.24 577 205 66 68 24 8 847 71.39 2000 Vietnam
20.98 301 2 13 95 1 4 316 6.63 2000 Yemen

EUROPE
3.13 339 61 146 62 11 27 546 1.71 2000 Albania
8.19 4 286 157 1 64 35 448 3.67 1999 Austria
9.76 86 134 67 30 47 23 286 2.79 2000 Belarus
10.42 9 610 95 1 85 13 714 7.44 1998 Belgium
Bosnia and
3.91 Herzegovina
7.73 168 700 27 19 78 3 895 6.92 2003 Bulgaria
4.55 Croatia
10.22 4 107 76 2 57 41 187 1.91 2002 Czech Republic
5.43 52 32 40 42 26 32 123 0.67 2002 Denmark
1.33 52 418 591 5 39 56 1,060 1.41 2002 Estonia

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5.25 12 371 61 3 84 14 444 2.33 1999 Finland
60.50 54 408 86 10 74 16 548 33.16 2000 France
82.69 91 312 57 20 68 12 460 38.01 2001 Germany
11.12 630 25 128 81 3 16 782 8.70 1997 Greece
10.10 668 1222 192 32 59 9 2,082 21.03 2001 Hungary
0.30 1 373 193 0 66 34 567 0.17 2003 Iceland
4.15 0 220 64 0 77 23 284 1.18 1994 Ireland
58.09 326 265 131 45 37 18 723 41.98 1998 Italy
2.31 13 35 59 12 33 55 108 0.25 2003 Latvia
3.43 64 149 758 7 15 78 971 3.33 2003 Lithuania
0.47 16 55 51 13 45 42 121 0.06 1999 Luxembourg
2.03 1,118 2.27 2000 Macedonia
0.40 13 0 37 25 1 74 50 0.02 2000 Malta
4.21 181 316 55 33 58 10 549 2.31 2000 Moldova
16.30 184 326 33 34 60 6 544 8.86 2001 Netherlands
4.62 54 347 118 10 67 23 519 2.40 1996 Norway
38.53 25 240 40 8 79 13 304 11.73 2002 Poland
10.50 827 128 101 78 12 10 1,056 11.09 1998 Portugal
21.71 171 103 26 57 34 9 299 6.50 2003 Romania
143.20 95 340 100 18 63 19 535 76.68 2000 Russian Federation
Serbia and
10.50 Montenegro
5.40 193 1.04 2003 Slovakia
1.97 457 0.90 2002 Slovenia
43.06 588 160 116 68 19 13 864 37.22 2002 Spain
9.04 26 161 109 9 54 37 296 2.68 2002 Sweden
7.25 7 257 84 2 74 24 348 2.52 2002 Switzerland
46.48 424 286 98 52 35 12 807 37.53 2000 Ukraine
59.67 6 148 43 3 75 22 197 11.75 1994 United Kingdom

OCEANIA
20.16 898 120 176 75 10 15 1,193 24.06 2000 Australia
0.85 58 12 12 71 14 14 82 0.07 2000 Fiji
4.03 220 50 251 42 9 48 524 2.11 2000 New Zealand
5.89 0 7 9 1 43 56 17 0.10 1987 Papua New Guinea
0.48 0 0 0 40 20 40 1987 Solomon Islands

Water Resources Engineering

Water resources engineering is the study and management of equipment, facilities and techniques that are
used to manage and preserve life’s most plentiful resource. In addition to assessing how and the best ways
in which to control water as it pertains to water-related activities – such as irrigation, waste disposal and
canal development – water resource engineers are also frequently involved in water management to
ensure that it’s safe to drink both for humans, plants and animal usage. As previously referenced, surface
water makes up about 71% of the planet, which is the equivalent of roughly 326 million cubic miles. At
the same time, though, only about 3% of the world’s water is fresh, according to the Bureau of
Reclamation. And of this total, 2.5% of it is out of reach, contained in the soil, polar ice caps, the
.atmosphere and glaciers or too polluted to use safely

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Water Resource Engineering is a specific kind of civil engineering that involves the design of new
systems and equipment that help manage human water resources. Some of the areas Water Resource
.Engineers touch on are water treatment facilities, underground wells, and natural springs

Water Resource Engineers develop new equipment and systems for water resource management facilities.
The systems that Water Resource Engineers create ensure that citizens are provided with a continuous
supply of clean, uncontaminated water for drinking, living, and recreational purposes. Water Resource
Engineers not only design these water management systems, but often oversee the construction and
maintenance of these systems as well. An increasing population and continuous need for more water
.stimulates this fast-growing industry

Water Resource Engineers must create new equipment and systems to increase the effectiveness and
efficiency of water treatment and aquatic resource management. A typical workday involves the analysis
of data from relevant areas, then designing new or improved facilities to enhance the cleansing effects of
the water treatment system. A Water Resource Engineer must take budgetary constraints, government
regulations, and other factors into consideration when designing these systems. A Water Resource
Engineer may then oversee the construction and implementation of these systems to ensure that they are
.properly assembled. After completion, they may manage the maintenance of these systems

The importance of water resources engineering

Resources, by their very nature, are finite. There are only a small handful that are naturally renewable –
such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass. While water may be renewable in terms of the many different
ways it can be used and reused, it’s not as abundant as it once was, which many earth scientists and
.climatologists point to as a function of climate change

The Bureau of Reclamation provides some perspective as to just how limited this resource is in terms of
usability, despite its vastness. If the world’s water supply were roughly 26 gallons, the amount of
freshwater available for safe usage would be the equivalent to 0.003 liters. That’s equal to roughly a half-
.teaspoon

Water resource engineers may be charged with developing new systems or processes for private or
government entities that can preserve freshwater sources and find new ones. This may require the
assistance of civil engineers involved as well, designing water purification methods through desalination
or creating new equipment for contaminant transport when water is used for irrigation purposes.
Understanding what works and what doesn’t when it comes to water resource management is often a
combined effort and may involve a number of different analyses, including hydrologic, which is the study
of the water cycle and directions in which it flows, which may be influenced by weather and other
.environmental forces

Water resource engineers may be tasked with the awesome responsibility of ensuring that the planning
and management of available water supply are adequately leveraged and remain safe to use for as long as

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possible. They may also be involved in water treatment so that the quality of water is improved upon for
.various end uses, whether that’s recreationally, commercially or industrially

Water Resources Management (WRM) is the process of planning, developing, and managing water
resources, in terms of both water quantity and quality, across all water uses. ... Water resource
.management also entails managing water-related risks, including floods, drought, and contamination

Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the global population. Water-related disasters account for 70%
of all deaths related to natural disasters. The World Bank helps countries ensure sustainability of water
.use, build climate resilience and strengthen integrated management

Today, most countries are placing unprecedented pressure on water resources. The global population is
growing fast, and estimates show that with current practices, the world will face a 40% shortfall between
forecast demand and available supply of water by 2030. Furthermore, chronic water scarcity, hydrological
uncertainty, and extreme weather events (floods and droughts) are perceived as some of the biggest
threats to global prosperity and stability. Acknowledgment of the role that water scarcity and drought are
.playing in aggravating fragility and conflict is increasing

Feeding 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 60% increase in agricultural production, (which consumes
70% of the resource today), and a 15% increase in water withdrawals. Besides this increasing demand, the
resource is already scarce in many parts of the world. Estimates indicate that 40% of the world population
live in water scarce areas, and approximately ¼ of world’s GDP is exposed to this challenge. By 2025,
about 1.8 billion people will be living in regions or countries with absolute water scarcity. Water security
.is a major – and often growing –challenge for many countries today

Climate change will worsen the situation by altering hydrological cycles, making water more
unpredictable and increasing the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts. The roughly 1 billion
people living in monsoonal basins and the 500 million people living in deltas are especially vulnerable.
Flood damages are estimated in $120 billion per year (only from property damage), and droughts pose,
.among others, constraints to the rural poor, highly dependent on rainfall variability for subsistence

The fragmentation of this resource also constrains water security. There are 276 transboundary basins,
shared by 148 countries, which account for 60% of the global freshwater flow. Similarly, 300 aquifers
systems are transboundary in nature, meaning 2 billion people worldwide are dependent on groundwater.
The challenges of fragmentation are often replicated at the national scale, meaning cooperation is needed
to achieve optimal water resources management and development solutions for all riparians. To deal with
these complex and interlinked water challenges, countries will need to improve the way they manage their
.water resources and associated services

To strengthen water security against this backdrop of increasing demand, water scarcity, growing
uncertainty, greater extremes, and fragmentation challenges, clients will need to invest in institutional
strengthening, information management, and (natural and man-made) infrastructure development.
Institutional tools such as legal and regulatory frameworks, water pricing, and incentives are needed to
better allocate, regulate, and conserve water resources. Information systems are needed for resource
monitoring, decision making under uncertainty, systems analyses, and hydro-meteorological forecast and
warning. Investments in innovative technologies for enhancing productivity, conserving and protecting
resources, recycling storm water and wastewater, and developing non-conventional water sources should
be explored in addition to seeking opportunities for enhanced water storage, including aquifer recharge

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and recovery. Ensuring the rapid dissemination and appropriate adaptation or application of these
.advances will be a key to strengthening global water security

STRATEGY
The World Bank is committed to assisting countries meet their economic growth and poverty reduction
targets based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Particularly, water resource management is
tackled in SDG 6.5, but other SDGs and targets require water resource management for their
achievement. Accordingly, the Bank has a major interest in helping countries achieve water security
.through sound and robust water resource management

.Water security is the goal of water resources management

For a rapidly growing and urbanizing global population, against a backdrop of increasing climatic and
non-climatic uncertainties, it is not possible to 'predict and plan' a single path to water security. To
strengthen water security, we need to build capacity, adaptability, and resilience for the future planning
.and management of water resources

Water Resources Management (WRM)

is the process of planning, developing, and managing water resources, in terms of both water quantity and
quality, across all water uses. It includes the institutions, infrastructure, incentives, and information
systems that support and guide water management. Water resources management seeks to harness the
benefits of water by ensuring there is sufficient water of adequate quality for drinking water and
sanitation services, food production, energy generation, inland water transport, and water-based
recreational, as well as sustaining healthy water-dependent ecosystems and protecting the aesthetic and
spiritual values of lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Water resource management also entails managing water-
related risks, including floods, drought, and contamination. The complexity of relationships between
water and households, economies, and ecosystems, requires integrated management that accounts for the
.synergies and tradeoffs of water's great number uses and values

Water security is achieved when water's productive potential is leveraged and its destructive
.potential is managed
Water security differs from concepts of food security or energy security because the challenge is not only
one of securing adequate resource provision – but also of mitigating the hazards that water presents where
it is not well managed. Water security reflects the actions that can or have been taken to ensure
sustainable water resource use, to deliver reliable water services, and to manage and mitigate water-
related risks. Water security suggests a dynamic construct that goes beyond single-issue goals such as
water scarcity, pollution, or access to water and sanitation, to think more broadly about societies'
expectations, choices, and achievements with respect to water management. It is a dynamic policy goal,
which changes as societies' values and economic well-being evolve, and as exposure to and societies'
.tolerance of water-related risks change. It must contend with issues of equity

The Water Security and Integrated Water Resources Management Global Solutions Group (GSG)
supports
the Bank's analytical, advisory, and operational engagements to help clients achieve their goals of water
security. Achieving water security in the context of growing water scarcity, greater unpredictability,
degrading water quality and aquatic ecosystems, and more frequent droughts and floods, will require a
more integrated and longer-term approach to water management. Key areas of focus will be ensuring
sustainability of water resources, building climate resilience, and strengthening integrated management to
achieve the Global Practice's (GP) goals and the SDGs. The GSG will work with a multiple GPs and
Cross Cutting Solutions Areas (CCSAs) directly through water resources management or multi-sectoral
.projects and indirectly through agriculture, energy, environment, climate, or urban projects

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 Water Resource Management: Working to Improve Water Security

Water is essential for life, but humanity faces complex challenges associated with increased demand,
variable supply, widespread pollution, and water-related disasters. Climate change and population growth
are expected to put additional pressure on water resources. To support the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
:response and recovery the World Bank Group work to
enhance economic growth by improving bulk water supplies for health, sanitation, and the economy; )i(
and by encouraging associated job creation; and
promote more sustainable management and use of water resources in economic stimulus packages )ii(
.and other relief efforts through improvements in water governance

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