Despite being vital for nature and for our development and survival, water is a natural resource that, in recent decades, has been subjected to strong processes of contamination in aquifers and other bodies of water, as well as overexploitation. Spain is one of the countries with the highest levels of water overexploitation in Europe, where agriculture is one of the activities with the highest demand for water (more than 75%). Although the direct consumption of water by humans represents a small fraction, the water that we use in the domestic environment and that we need to live requires certain levels of quality, which are currently in serious danger.
If you want to learn about the problem of overexploitation of water, its causes, consequences and solutions possible, continue reading this article by Green Ecologist, because here we will focus on explaining what causes the overexploitation of aquifers, how it affects us and how to avoid it. For this, the theoretical knowledge is accompanied by clarifying examples of overexploitation of fresh water and important actions to reduce this phenomenon of anthropic origin.
The indiscriminate extraction of water resources, above the recharge levels of the aquifers is what we know as overexploitation of fresh water. Why do we say fresh water? Because the water reserves that we exploit are underground and these, as explained in our article on What are groundwater, are freshwater.
According to a report by Friends of the Earth Europe (2011), in Europe 45% of the water extracted goes to the energy sector, 22% to agriculture (although in some countries, such as Spain, this figure rises to almost 80%), 21% corresponds to the public water supply and 12% to the industrial sector.
A example of overexploitation of water It is the hot spring of Fuencaliente, in Huéscar (Granada). This body of groundwater dried up as a result of its overexploitation. Among the causes, the proliferation of illegal wells in the area and the lack of control over irrigation systems stand out. Among the solutions, the number of hectares allowed for irrigated cultivation was limited, controls on wells were increased, and limits were established for the water to be extracted in the permitted areas.
We recommend you read this other article about the Overexploitation of natural resources: causes and consequences.
What causes overexploitation of water? Here we summarize some of the causes of overexploitation of fresh water:
After knowing what the abuse of the extraction of water resources is and some of its main causes, more questions arise, such as: what consequences does the overexploitation of groundwater generate? O well, How does overexploitation of water affect us?
The environmental impact derived from the practices of intensive exploitation of water resources takes decades to manifest, making it difficult to manage water reserves in terms of sustainability. Some consequences of overexploitation of aquifers are:
Finally, we want to indicate some aspects about how to avoid overexploitation of water. The best solution is to establish responsible and sustainable consumption practices for water resources. Between the actions to reduce overexploitation of water and end this problem highlight:
These are some ideas to end the overexploitation of water, but more possible solutions or small gestures can be given by the different administrations, governments and even by each person at the individual level to improve this environmental problem. After having learned all this about the overexploitation of water, we advise you to continue reading these other articles on the Causes and consequences of water pollution, Solutions to water pollution and How to avoid water pollution.
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