Ask A Scientist© Weather Archive

name         Grant
status       student
age          13

Question -   If we continue our current water consumption rate how
long will it take for the world to run out of accesable fresh water?

Dear Grant-
We should never completely run out of fresh water, as long as itcontinues to rain and snow. Precipitation continually replenishes the water
supply.

   If we continue to use fresh water faster than it is replenished by
precipitation, we may have to augment the supply, or reduce usage to match
the natural repenishment rate. Augmentation could be accomplished by several
methods, such as sea water desalinization, or melting of the polar ice caps.
These methods would be very expensive by today's standards, and transporting
the fresh water to where it is needed would increase the expense.

Wendell Bechtold, meteorologist
Forecaster, National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office, St. Louis, MO
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