We have designed this information pack about the world and water so you can learn about water availability across the planet, and learn about some of the issues facing countries today.
The average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water a day. This takes into account cooking, cleaning, washing and flushing. Using this much water every day is not sustainable and we are not the only ones with a water scarcity problem. According to the BBC 2/5 of world population already faces water shortages, and 1.1 billion people in the developing world do not have access to a minimal amount of clean water.
People in rich countries use ten times more water than people in poor countries. Even in poor countries the rich can use as much as several hundreds of litres of water a day, and the poor have access to as little as 20 litres per person per day.
Water isn’t running out – the water cycle is continuous, but with the increasing population there are more of us to share the water supply. The graphs below show population and rainfall for the world, divided into continents. You can see how the areas of large population, don't always get the largest amount of rainfall.
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| Global population by Continents | Global Rainfall by Continents |
Facts and Figures about the global water situation
Climate Change will mean that some areas will become drier, whilst others are wetter. Deserts can grow and lakes can shrink, floods and droughts will become more common. Combining this unpredictable change in climate with the increasing population, means we have to look after our water sources more carefully.
Desalination turns salt water from oceans into clean drinking water – but this process uses lots of energy, so can worsen the effects of climate change.
The amount of water we use in the UK is not sustainable, we have to use less on a daily basis to ensure our supply doesn’t run out. Water consumption is also linked to climate change - because treating, pumping and heating water produces carbon dioxide – which is a greenhouse gas.
Water Saving Tips
But the situation is not as scary or helpless as it sounds above. There are lots of things you can do right now to help the situation and save water. When you make water savings, the impact is immediate – likewise, when you waste water, the water supply in reserve has already been reduced.
• When you brush your teeth, turn the tap off in between rinses. This can save as much as six litres of water a minute – which is about 24 litres of water a day – that’s 168 litres of water a week!
• Encourage your family to fill a plastic bottle with water and put it in the fridge. This way when you want a cold glass of water you can simply open the fridge rather than running the tap until the water runs cold.
• Encourage your family to put a water butt in the garden. This is a big barrel which catches the rainfall from the roof of your house when it rains. You can then help to water the garden using this water rather than a hosepipe. You can also clean cars and windows with this water.
• If you have plants in your house, why not use the water left over from your bed side drink to feed them, rather than pouring your drink down the sink and then using more water to feed the plant.
• Try to take short showers rather than baths. Why not see if you can have a shower in under 4 minutes? The average shower uses about 15 litres of water a minute, so by showering for more than 6 minutes you actually use more water than in a bath (80 litres). The water in your shower uses energy to heat up and therefore adds money to your energy bill, therefore keeping your shower short saves money and water.
• Keep an eye out for dripping taps and tell an adult if you see any. A dripping tap can waste as much as 15 litres per day.
• Ask your family if you have a dual flush toilet or not. If you don’t have a dual flush encourage them to fill a one litre plastic bottle with water or rice, and then get an adult to pop it in the back of the toilet. This means that every time you flush the toilet you will be wasting that much less water! If you do already have one in the toilet ‘well done’! If you have a dual flush toilet – even better!