Essay on Water Scarcity - Essays for Class 9

Introduction

Earth is known as a blue planet and today we are writing essays on the scarcity of water. Both are a bit contradictory but true. Although there is a lot of water on earth but very little to drink; a famous line of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Marine’ ‘Water-water everywhere but not a single drop to drink’ fits well. Which means there was water all around but was an ocean, which is salty in taste. The sailor in the poem was thirsty but was unable to drink the water around him. There are only 2 to 3% of freshwater sources on earth and the remaining is seawater.

Causes of Water Scarcity

There are different reasons behind water scarcity and I have mentioned them below:

• Global Warming: It is one of the major reasons for many problems like pollution, a rise in temperature, water scarcity, etc. Due to global warming, the icebergs are continuously melting due to the increase in temperature. These icebergs are melting into the sea and as a result, the salty water is increasing day by day instead of freshwater sources.
• Climate Change: There is a drastic decrease in the percentage of rainfall these days, which has directly affected our water bodies. Rain is one of the best sources of freshwater. We harvest rainwater and use it in multiple ways but due to the change in climate sometimes we face drought whereas sometimes we also face floods.
• Reduced Ground Water: Due to the increased population and excess extraction of groundwater many water bodies like well, lakes have dried. Their number is decreasing day-by-day. At first, it was seen in urban areas but now a day’s villages are also facing this issue. And if groundwater is available somewhere it is polluted.
• Pollution: We don’t care much about our rivers and lakes that is because we throw our waste in rivers. The very first thing is there is no water and what so ever is available we have polluted it. The very best example is the Yamuna River. It is nothing more than a drain now.

How to Overcome Water Scarcity

Our government has developed many plans for water conservation as I have mentioned some of them below:

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: For the conservation of rainwater and proving fresh water to everyone. To conduct various camps to teach people the importance of water.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana: This is made for protecting the dying water bodies like wells, ponds, etc which also focus on the groundwater management system.
• Jal Jeevan Mission: This scheme is to focus on water availability in the urban and local areas. And they also focus on the management of household wastewater for agricultural purposes.
• Interlinking the Rivers: There is some Plateau river that dries in summers as a result people in that area face a lot of water scarcity. They are especially found in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, etc. So, to avoid drying these rivers there is a plan of interlinking the rivers. With the help of these rivers across the nation are interlinking and this has also reduced the water scarcity in summers in some special areas.
  
• Water ATM: Nowadays these water ATMs are quite famous; they will give you a liter or a glass of water as per your requirement. These machines are customized in such a way that they won’t let extra water to fall. This helps to reduce the wastage of water, especially on the railway stations and public areas.
• Rain Water Basins: Nowadays the government is concentrating on harvesting rainwater and big basins are made in villages and outer areas to save rainwater. These water basins are helpful in many ways. They increase the groundwater; they are also helpful in agriculture and in many other ways.

Conclusion

It is not only the government to bring such policies, but we should also follow some important measures and should not wastewater. Use if needed otherwise just off the tap and focus on saving water. Otherwise soon there will be a day when we will keep water in our safety lockers.