⟵ The Crisis
⟵ Women and Children Poverty and the Economy ⟶
Environment
A lack of clean water does not just harm humans. It also harms animals and ecosystems. Whether the cause for this harm is water scarcity or pollution, animals die as their habitats, which rely on clean water, are destroyed. These organisms also rely on water sources to live.
Vulnerable Ecosystems
70 percent of the world is covered in water, but only three percent of it is freshwater — water we use every day. Two-thirds of all the freshwater is unusable, leaving both humans and animals alike in a scramble to survive with limited resources of life’s main necessity. Humans, either in a search for safe water to use or to supply the world’s growing economy, end up placing increasing levels of stress upon every ecosystem they encounter.
The Aral Sea, also known as the gem of central Asia, is evidence of this. Once the world’s fourth largest freshwater lake, this body of water has since lost upwards of 22,394 square miles of area in only 30 years because of irrigation. The saline levels of the lake are on par with that of the oceans, and the water is also extremely polluted. The land that the lake once covered is polluted, as well.
Wetlands
Wetlands, for example, have been decreasing in size since the 1900s. This ecosystem is home to a multitude of species and even serves as nurseries for these creatures. However, wetlands are drying up, to the point where they are no longer naturally capable of supporting any water. In America alone, over 6,000 plant and animal species depend on wetlands to survive; as wetlands keep disappearing, so will the range of species that populate this ecosystem. Freshwater wetlands are often used as farming-grounds for rice, a diet staple for half of the world’s population. Because Earth’s wetlands are continuing to disappear, more ecosystems will continue to be plundered to support humanity’s growing population.
Acid Rain
While clean water and forests may not initially seem to be related, acid rain, coming from polluted water, has caused a number of forests to rot. Acid rain deprives soil of essential nutrients, and it makes it difficult for trees to take in water. Acid rain also harms trees' leaves and needles. When forests are hurt, so are the animals that live within them.
Acid rain also harms lakes, streams, and rivers. The acidic and toxic water kills crayfish, clam, and fish populations.
Dead Zones
There are currently over 400 dead zones worldwide: places where there is not enough oxygen in the environment to support life. The Baltic Sea is currently home to the world’s largest dead zone. The biggest factor in the creation of these zones is nutrient pollution. These nutrients come from industrial and municipal wastewater runoff and even industrial agriculture. The influx of nutrient pollutants released into the water lead to quickly-spreading algal blooms that block the water’s access to necessary oxygen. The spreading algae blooms in the Baltic are the byproduct of this same pollution.
Another major problem is the organic matter, often coming from water pollution, in the water that depletes the oxygen supply too quickly to be stabilized. The matter can come from algal blooms, animal carcasses, or even untreated sewage. As the matter decomposes, it drains the oxygen supply, leaving the environment unable to support life and unable to be used because of its impurity.
These dead zones are present in millions of square kilometers across the oceans, especially in coasts like the Gulf of Mexico and bodies of water like the Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea. Aquatic life is greatly threatened by this lack of clean, oxygen-filled water. Fish populations like pike and perch are decreasing in these areas, and their reproduction rates are slowing.
Oil Spills
Unclean water also has adverse effects on the rest of the animal kingdom. Oil spills, most notable are the marine spills, are regarded as the worst type of pollution to befall our planet. These oil spills disrupt the food chain by poisoning prey and predators alike, causing an imbalance between both parties affected.
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010 was considered the largest oil spill to take place. It affected over 8,000 marine organisms and scientists and researchers today still don’t know the full effects of this spill. Before the Deepwater Horizon tragedy was the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989. 250,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled into the Gulf of Alaska, impacting over 1,300 miles of coastline. Over 250,000 creatures were killed.