The amount of water on planet Earth has not changed since it began. However fresh water sources have changed. Fresh water being the only water drinkable for humanity has become more valuable as the population has risen. It is predicted that fresh water resources will be over taxed in the next few years, cleary a solution is in order.

The Facts: During the summer and fall of 2007 the state of Goergia ran out of water. According to an abc report the fresh water supply for the nation is dwindleing and this says nothing for the problems of the rest of the world. The U.N. estimates that between 1 billion and 2 billion people in the world do not have adequate drinking water sources.

 "The World Bank reports that 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world — more than 2 billion people — have no access to clean water or sanitation. In this context, we cannot expect water conflicts to always be amenably resolved." - Global Water Shortage Looms in New Century College of Agriculture and Life Sceinces University of Arizona

Global Climate change is also partially responsible for fresh water shortages changing climates cause higher than average rain falls in some areas as well as longer seasonal droughts in other areas. 

Legislation has been brought forward in both California and Arizona to limit draining of the Colorado river. However the Colorado river also supplies water for New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and the state of Colorado. As well as the many tributaries along the route that are drained for water, so the same amount of water is taken regardless of which state lays claim.

According to the Great Lakes Directory article writer Lester Brown water tables around the world are dropping. Places like Iran, Mexico, and Yemen are facing major depletion of aquafiers and other sources of ground water. Population growth in these areas is higher than average creating higher demand for shrinking resources.

Solutions: One solution might be to genetically engineer ourselves to drink sea water- however this seems far fetched and impractical. A more practical solution would be as suggested by Terra Daily (a planetary watch dog news paper) reusing water at a higher ration- including waste water, brackish well water, and sea water for cooling major power plants instead of fresh water. A study done in the mid 90's concluded that waste water that was treated again in a water treatment plant was generally cleaner than water taken from local sources like lakes and streams- and more effcient to clean and re-use. But, public outcry banned this practice so the treated waste water was returned to water supplies and treatment plants continued taking dirty water from lakes and streams. This practice cleaned up the rivers and lakes but leaves questions of effcieny and practicality.  

Other Links of Interest:

"The U.S. Water Shortage" A blogg by a conservationist

" Plans for Conservation"  of water in U.S. by Department of Energy

"The Pacific Institute" Website devoted to water conservation- very flashy little backed up data

"Water Conservation Tips" Common sense tips to save on water.

Just a note- Arizona, Nevada, and Utah are dessert areas- There Should Not Be Golf Courses in the Dessert!!!! save them for Scotland and Ireland- Where it rains.