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 Our world is affected by continuous changes. Economies grow, populations thrive and more services develop and at the same time as a consequence water demand increases, although there is only a fixed amount of water supply available.

The gap between water supply and water demand has many consequences on people and players on different scale.

The conflicts between transboundary water sources are still relevant today and have affected the water supplies of many regions. In the Middle East, Israel, Jordan and Palestine have been disputing over the Jordan River Basin, causing political conflicts and international tensions as the bordering countries have experienced rising water demand, especially in Israel with its rising industrialisation and private uses of water. A similar issue can be seen on another international scale. The gap between supply and demand of the River Nile basin has, in the past decades, caused political disputes between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The increasing demand for water has caused a high likelihood of creating water and food scarcity in Egypt, and the government has had plans to build major dams for water storage, but this would however cause major droughts and water scarcity downstream, where Sudan and Ethiopia would have then suffered by the same issues. This caused conflicts between the nations involved which have had to reach deals to end disputes.

Many consumers in developing countries such as China are experiencing issues of water security. The Beijing- Tianjin region is affected by an increasing water demand but the supplies are very limited as most of the water of the country is present in the western regions. This was due to a fast rate of domestic water use, and this has meant that new channels and dams have had to be build to supply the rich and industrialised Beijing with the water supplies of the Western regions.  The increasing gap would cause eastern regions to become water insecure, affecting farming and water supplies and consequently, with limited water the industries would not be able to function and the economy would be heavily affected. However the channelization and dam construction for western water sources may leave many farming communities deprived of their water source, casing water scarcity and the decline of the farming industry and therefore increase the scarcity of food supplies.

In MEDCs the consequence of an increasing gap would mean that the costs of water and related products would become more expensive and potentially make water a privilege rather than a human right. With an increasing demand, governments may have to be forced to apply regulations that restrict the use of water for public purposes. With the gap increasing, more pressure will be put to limit water to be  used for swimming pools, fountains etc. and metres may be applied making people pay more if they consume more than they should. They could also use short term cuts for water, allowing water supplies to be used only in specific times in a day.

The increasing gap in developed countries may also make water a privilege as many TNC’s and companies may make water sources a privatised good. In this way private companies will decide how to distribute water and at what costs, causing issues with populations and possibly internal political conflicts and economic instabilities.

NGO’s and other companies such as HSBC and the World’s Bank are also players that will be affected by an increasing gap in water supply and demand. These companies will be involved in making new plans to distribute water equally and organise schemes that would promote technologies in order to improve water use and water technologies in developing countries to reduce waste and give rural communities the control of their own water sources.

The concern about the safety of our water supplies and its relationship with the growing demand rises every day. The consequences of this gap have been shown in this article to be various, and involving social, economic and environmental aspects. Water is the reason why there is life and it is therefore important that the management of this resource is well planned to reduce the risk of potentially dangerous consequences.

Image credits: https://tribune.com.pk/story/388254/demand-and-supply-gap-water-shortage-at-barrages-hits-low-point/