Around the world, freshwater sources are shrinking as lake, river and aquifer levels are falling faster than can be replenished. In addition, the usefulness of water contained in these natural reservoirs is being compromised by pollution from industrial and household chemicals. It is estimated that worldwide water consumption doubles every 20 years, with predictions that demand will surpass supply within 30 years. That may be too optimistic. With all of these conditions persisting, it's no wonder that public concerned interest in our water resources and drinking water quality is exponentially rising.

Impact of Water Runoff

One explanation for falling water table levels is offered by Richard McGrath, director of codes and standards, Cement Association of Canada: "The increased use of hardscaping (impervious pavements) in our major urban areas allows the direct run-off of oil and other contaminants into the storm water system, preventing the recharging of groundwater levels and natural purification of the run-off water."

Storm water runoff that would normally seep through the porous ground must often find its own path across toxic paved areas. The resulting environmental waste water is re-routed to man-made runoff areas. Household ‘grey water’, the water waste from sinks and washing is increasingly contaminated with household chemicals. Now, this more toxic soup of water runoff either saturates the surrounding land or gets routed through community sewer systems to water treatment plants where industrial filtration attempts to make it drinkable. More can learned about this phenomenon in our article reviewing the importance of Karst conservation.

Disturbance of Natural Waterways

Another contributor to the depletion and contamination of our water sources is the fact that housing development is no longer limited to geographical locations with a ready source of water. Today, people routinely live in areas where water must be transported hundreds of miles from a distant water source. A great example of this is Las Vegas, NV where water is routed from hundreds of miles away and is recognized as the lifeline to it's survival. To accomplish this, the natural course of rivers gets rerouted without consideration for the long-term implications. Businesses have the ability to purchase the rights to divert water from a lake, river, aquifer, or other natural source further depleting reserves. Ultimately what occurs is that rivers and lakes that would normally be naturally replenished begin to dry up under the high demand of urban and residential growth. All the while, most residents are completely unaware that their valuable water resources are being increasingly contaminated while also slowly diminishing in availability.

We Need To Protect Our Water Supplies

Waters that were once generously replenished and filtered by nature are now being depleted and soiled by humans. This places a large percentage of the population at an increased risk from their drinking water as these once plentiful and pristine sources are becoming contaminated and scarce. For all of these reasons, it is increasingly important for individuals to monitor the water quality from their faucets and ensure they have a quality water filter at their disposal. Also, it's imperative that we become more proactive as a society in protecting our existing water supplies for future generations.