The Stream, August 25: Water Shortages Worsen in Pakistan

Water Supply
Water shortages are worsening in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, where residents are protesting to get water access at least once a week, the Associated Press reported. Drought, population growth and inadequate infrastructure are all contributing to the problem, as current water supplies are sufficient for just half of the city’s demands.

Water delivery drivers in Gaza have become essential as the area’s water infrastructure has been destroyed in the ongoing conflict, which now threatens the delivery drivers themselves, AFP reported. Many drivers have quit to avoid airstrikes, leaving those that remain with growing workloads.

Climate change will force cities to think differently about how they secure and supply water to residents, much like past turning points that led to the creation of water treatment plants and sewage treatment plants, according to a new book by a University of California, Berkeley professor, Public Radio International reported. The book discusses topics like water conservation, runoff management, desalination and water recycling.

Amazon
Communities living in the Amazon do not have access to many basic services such as clean water and education, compromising efforts to conserve the forest ecosystem and the biodiversity it contains, Reuters reported. In Brazil, a new study of social conditions in the Amazon region found that it consistently scored below the national average in terms of social progress.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek