Everyone needs water. A man can stay alive and survive after not being able to eat food for a straight 5 to 7 days, but a man cannot stay alive without water for more than two days. This gives people an idea about how important water is for survival. Additionally, humans use water to fend for themselves, in almost every aspect of their lives. Now, that would be enough to say that water is indeed a necessity, regardless whether a community lives in an urban or a rural area.
According to an exploratory study conducted by a group of natural science researchers, water requirements of people living in rural communities are relatively higher compared with the water requirements of those living in urban and developed communities (Segli et al. 6). For that, there were several factors considered. The occupation of the community members, for example, would be a major deciding factor in determining a particular community’s water requirement.
A significant percentage of people living in rural areas make a living through the help of agriculture. It is in rural and less developed areas where people can plant fruit-bearing plants and trees, raise and domesticate animals, and then sell them for a handsome fee. Agriculture has been a common business in rural areas for more than a hundred years.
Even though about 75 percent of the earth is water, only about 2.75 percent is fresh water. And then what’s more limiting is the fact that 2.05 percent of that 2.75 percent fresh water is stored inside glaciers and ice caps. So, it turns out that the world, with the over 7 billion thirsty people in it has nothing but 0.7 percent of fresh water to drink.
Clean-Drinking Water
The most common problem that rural community-dwellers encounter is the lack of sources of clean drinking water. It’s entirely normal for humans to follow their instincts and so they will drink water whenever they’re thirsty. But what if there is no clean water to drink in the first place? In a range of studies conducted about the water conditions in communities with a scarcity in clean drinking water supply, researchers have identified that people usually resort to drinking unclean water just to quench their thirst. That would surely offer a short term effect of alleviating their thirst. However, people would face higher risks of developing water-borne diseases such as amoebiasis, diarrhea, bacterial and viral infections, and even cancer (Smith et al. 3).
According to the latest statistics, about 1.1 billion people of the 7 billion people in this planet do not and cannot have access to clean drinking waters and just over 2 million people every year die from the diseases and other complications brought about by these poor water sanitation practices. A significant percentage of such population comes from continental Africa. Africa presents a big landmass with only a few rivers and the surrounding ocean as the main sources of water.
Irrigational Water
It turns out that people living in rural communities have generally higher water requirements for drinking and everyday usage because most of these people’s occupation involves planting crops and raising livestock. Agriculture undeniably requires a lot of water in the form of irrigation. Without a stable water source, the farmers’ crops and their livestock would surely be affected (Krasner et al. 8). This is just another one of the most common problems that rural community members face. Just like humans, plants and domesticated animals also need water to survive, especially in tropical countries where it could not rain for a whole month.
Conclusion
Lack of clean drinking water and irrigation water are just two of the different types of issues faced by rural community members. Now, it is a good thing that the number of studies and researches exposing these needs as well as the public’s overall awareness about the topic are increasing.
Works Cited
Krasner, S., Mcguire, M., Jacangelo, J., Patania, N., Reagan K. & Aieta, E. “The Occurrence of Disinfection by products in U.S. Drinking Water.” Journal of American Water Works Association. 1989. Print. June 2012.
Segli, S., Rose, J., Haas, N., & Gerba, C. “Modeling the Risk from Giardia and Viruses in Drinking Water.” Journal of American Water Works Association. 1991. Print. June 2012.
Smith, A., Rich, C., Bates, M., Goeden, H., Picciotto, I., Duggan, H., Wood, R., Kosnett, M., & Smith, M. ”Cancer Risks from Arsenic in Drinking Water.” Environ Health Perspect. 1992. Print. June 2012.
