Environmental Impact on Water Resources



Environmental Impact on Water Resources

Executive Summary

The effects of global warming have been covering every aspect of life on earth. Along with the various other phenomenons, water resources have been seriously affected by the global warming and resulting climate changes (The Global Warming Overview, 2013). In addition to the global warming, various other factors such as human activities, presence of sediments, farming, disposal of chemicals and human wastes remain the major reasons for degrading the quality if water resources. However, global warming is the major responsible factor; the major water resource for the majority of world glaciers have been melting at an increased rate due to the increasing temperature, the precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, while the demand of water has been increasing due to the growth of population and hotter climate. The World will have to face extreme shortage of water and resulting cost challenges if the global warming is not effectively controlled. Some of the measures for controlling the shortage of water are to deploy the strategies of harvesting of rain water, diversions of water, storage of water in large reservoirs, and transfer of water among various basins.

Root Cause of Environmental Impact on Water Resources

Water resources have been facing serious threats all over the world over the past few decades. The major causes of impacting the water resources negatively are the change in climate, urban growth, deforestation and various landscape changes (Green Facts, 2001). The human activities on earth are largely responsible for degrading the environment and water resources. For example, too much soil is put in the rivers as a result of activities including farming, building roads, mining and clearing forests. These sediments not only affect the water but also harm the life in water (fish and plants); the capacity of ...