Safe Water Adaptability: An Approach to Combat Water Scarcity

Abstract

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science. Please check back later for the full article. Water scarcity is a significant global concern affecting every continent. Safe water crises mainly occur due to climate change, increasing global population, and urbanization. Safe water crises are more distressing in climate hot spots such as coastal areas, areas with low rainfall, and urban areas. Bangladesh, a developing country, is experiencing the problem of water crisis in both coastal and urban areas. Safe water adaptability can be an integrative approach to mitigate water scarcity in these areas. Adaptability measures include surface and groundwater resources monitoring, use of natural and artificial water storage, and providing technical training in safe water management to local community members. These measures can help to combat the safe water crisis across the globe. Safe water adaptability measures can be classified into four different dimensions known as SIPE (i.e., socioeconomic, institutional, physiochemical, and environmental) based on both primary and secondary indicators. The SIPE approach measures the adaptability index by scoring the primary and secondary indicators and categorizes them as low to high in the adaptive community. This new approach will offer information and guidelines for the government, policymakers, and researchers to combat the water scarcity problem. Although the proposed approach is applicable in the context of Bangladesh, this strategy can also be used in any part of the globe by customizing the secondary indicators and considering the type of local problem in order to provide safe water for people in the community. Initiated at a micro level, the SIPE approach can become an integral part of national policies related to access to safe water, especially for drinking and irrigation purposes.