Socioeconomic inequality as the biggest problem behind water shortages in urban areas

Socioeconomic inequality as the biggest problem behind water shortages in urban areas

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in news

Context: Swimming pools and manicured lawns — rich communities’ extravagant choices are leaving too little water for the poor

More on the News:

• Extravagant habits of the wealthy elite, like swimming pools, well-maintained lawns and regularly washed cars, are depriving poorer communities of basic water access, a new study has found.
• Socioeconomic inequalities could be driving urban water crises as much as factors like climate change or population growth in cities.
• The richest 13.7 per cent of people used more than 51 per cent of the water consumed by the entire city, the study found. Informal dwellers and lower-income households together constitute about 61.5 per cent of Cape Town’s population but consume 27.3 per cent of the city’s water.
• The elite households in Cape Town used 2,161 litres of water per day, according to the study. The water consumption of upper-middle-income households reached about 78 litres per day. On the other hand, lower-income families use only 178 litres per day and informal households consume 41 litres a day.
• The crisis could worsen still as the gap between the rich and the poor widens in many parts of the world, the study said.
• The researchers also said increased use of private boreholes in times of shortage by the richest citizens substantially depleted groundwater resources.
• About 2.4 billion people worldwide living in cities could face water shortages in 2050, up from 933 million people in 2016, according to a United Nations report.
• The study confirms the only way to preserve available water resources is by altering privileged lifestyles, limiting water use for amenities and redistributing income and water resources more equally.
• Reorienting current water management and drought adaptation policies towards new political-economic paradigms to prevent overconsumption and inequalities was also suggested by the study.