Numbers Of Unsafe Water Crisis

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Around 90% of diarrhea cases, which kill some 2.2 million people every year, are caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene. 

Over 50% of malnutrition cases globally are associated with diarrhea or intestinal worm infections. 

Over half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from illnesses linked to contaminated water. 

Almost 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, and an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. South Asia (around 221 million) and sub-Saharan Africa (330 million) have the highest proportion of people living without basic sanitation. 

Ninety percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries is untreated. Eighty percent of all marine pollution originates on land – most of it wastewater – damaging coral reefs and fishing grounds. 

People in developed countries generate five times more wastewater per person than those in developing countries, but treat over 90% of their wastewater, compared to only a few percent in developing countries. 

Agriculture accounts for 70 to 90% of all water consumed, mainly for irrigation, but large amounts return to rivers as run-off; nearly half of all organic matter in wastewater comes from agriculture. 

Industrial wastes, pesticides from agriculture, and tailings from mining also create serious health risks and threats to water resources, costing billions of dollars to monitor, much more to clean. 

Use of bottled water is increasing, but it takes three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. In the USA alone, an additional 17 million barrels of oil per year are used to make plastic containers. Worldwide, 200 billion liters of bottled water are produced every year, creating an enormous problem of how used plastic bottles could be disposed of. 

Wastewater generates methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2). It also generates nitrous oxide, which is 310 times more powerful than CO2. 

It is estimated that, in just a decade, wastewater-linked emissions of methane will rise by 25% and that of nitrous oxide, by 50%. 

Increased flooding, as a result of climate change, can overwhelm ageing sewage infrastructure in cities and towns. 

 

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