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The Problem Of The Water Crisis

Decent Essays

To address something as complex as the water crisis, one must first examine the current condition of the problem. Currently, the water crisis is being driven by three things. First, many governments in Africa are not interested in investing in nationwide plumbing. That is either because they are not able to afford the cost of laying the info structure or they can afford it but feel no need to invest that much. Even if a country can afford to install plumbing, generally, plumbing is only installed in urban areas and has little to no effect on those living in rural Africa. Second, many large companies buy out water rights and use them to dump toxic chemicals with no oversight. The result is that there is less water considered drinkable. Furthermore, this can ruin long time water sources for people that may be nowhere near the business. Third, some companies who buy out water rights sell the water back to the people. Often times, they charge outrageous prices that the majority of citizens cannot afford. As a result, previously free water is now double the average income per day. In an effort to address the problem, a lot of nonprofits have formed for the express purpose of helping increase water accessibility. To do this, almost all of these companies dig wells. Unskilled groups use dug wells or driven wells which are subject to contamination and ineffective during a drought. More skilled groups use drilled wells which are less subject to contamination and work in all

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