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1. 99% of local households of the Maldivian population rely on rainwater for their drinking supply and use groundwater for other things. Rainwater is renewable. Groundwater is replenishable because it takes a period of time to be replaced. They also use desalination even though it is expensive, and it is renewable.
2. The Maldives' freshwater supply is susceptible to damage from a tsunami because much of the groundwater lies below sea level. When the tsunami floods the islands, the seawater contaminates the groundwater supplys which is what the population uses as freshwater.
3. Following the tsunami, agricultural factors such as fertilizers and manure could infiltrate the freshwater supplies and increase nutrient levels. Another factor that could increase nutrient levels is wastewater.When I first read this question I thought increased nutrient levels would be a good thing, but in this case the increased nutrient levels is not a good thing and could potentially be toxic.
4. Water is becoming more scarce as the years go on. The growing population of the world and our increased use of water is not helping matters. In 2000, the percentage of people living with chronic water scarcity was 3.7%. In 2050, it is projected that the percentage of people living with chronic water scarcity will be 17.8%. That is a massive jump in just 50 years. That is almost 1/5 of the world living with water scarcity...and that is scary. The Maldives, just like other impoverished places, does not have enough money to easily access water. They mostly use rainwater and groundwater even though it can become contaminated so easily and it isnt reliable. Many people think that because they are islands that they are surrounded by water. But this is seawater and it needs to be desalinated which takes a lot of money to do, money that only the resorts have. It is not that there isnt enough water to go around, it is just that only the rich can easily access the water.
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