On February 17, 2009, Craig Pittman reported in the Saint Petersburg Times that the city of Tampa, Florida, is suffering a severe water shortage. Not enough fresh water is available to meet demand. Droughts have been common since 2007, and the Hillsborough River, Tampa's main water supply at the time of Pittman's report was 80 percent below normal. In March of 2011, the city remained under a water-use restriction. Residents were allowed to water their lawns only twice per week. The list of restrictions is lengthy, but violators are fined and must appear in court. The Howard F. Curren water recycling plant alleviates the burden a little, but it is not a complete solution to the problem.
Tampa by far is not the only city in the United States facing water shortages. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), at least 1,100 counties in the United States will face water shortages by 2050. The NRDC says global warming will worsen the growing trend. A map of future projections shows Texas, the southwest states and middle central states as having the greatest water shortages.
According to the World Water Council (WWC), in 2011 the world is in a potable water crisis, largely due to tripling of the human population during the 20th century coupled with rapid industrialization and urbanization. Demographers project the world population will grow by another 50 percent in the next 60 years. As industrialization and urbanization increase, so will water demands, and the takeover of the water supply by the human population will greatly impact aquatic ecosystems as well as the amount of water available for agriculture and industry. WWC data, maps and charts indicate northern Africa, Arabic nations and the western United States as the most stressed in water demands. The WWC says the supply shortage should be countered with far better management of available resources, including a shift in the kinds of food we consume to foods that can be produced with less water.
Privatization -- control of the water supply by private corporations -- has been proposed by some as a solution to the shortage problem. Researchers Anitha Sampath et al looked at case studies of privatization in diverse countries, including Canada, India and Bolivia. All the case studies had negative outcomes with privatization, with the water supplies in each case eventually reverting back to the governments of those countries. The study concludes that privatization is a bad idea that does not solve the problem, and that water conservation management and accountability by local governments is important.