User:Gwej/sandbox

** All edits are for the Water Security Article**

Sentence added to Lead Section

The areas of the world that are most likely to have water insecurity are places with low rainfall, places with rapid population growth in a freshwater scarce area, and areas with international competition over a water source.

Sentences added to the Background Section of Water Security Article

Water security is achieved when there is enough water for everyone in a region and the water supply is not at risk of disappearing.

Sentence added to beginning of International Competition

International competition over water can arise when one country starts drawing more water from a shared water source. This is often the most efficient route to getting needed water, but in the long term can cause conflict if water is overdrafted.

New Section: United States Domestic Water Security Policy

The United States currently does not have a cohesive domestic water security policy. Water security is projected to be a problem in the future since future population growth will most likely occur in areas that are currently water stressed. Ensuring that the United States remains water secure will require policies that will ensure fair distribution of existing water sources, protecting water sources from becoming depleted, maintaining good wastewater disposal, and maintaining existing water infrastructure. Currently there are no national limits for US groundwater or surface water withdrawal. If limits are imposed, the people most impacted will be the largest water withdrawers from a water source. In 2005, 31% of US water use was for irrigation, 49% was thermoelectric power, public supply 11%, public supply, industrial was 4%, aquaculture 2%, domestic 1%, and livestock less than 1%.

The lack of current national water policy is effective in regions of the United States where there is a lot of water but not effective in regions of water scarcity. In the future, a national water security policy may have to be implemented to move water from regions that are water rich to regions that are water scarce. If new policies are implemented, the major stakeholders will be individual states (both water rich and water poor states), farmers, power companies, and other industries that use a substantial amount of water (such as mining and oil and gas).

Threats to Water Security (probably a new section)

The most common threat to water security is water scarcity. There can be several causes to water scarcity including low rainfall, climate change, high population density, and overallocation of a water source. An example of periodic water scarcity in the United States is droughts in California. Another category of threats to water security is environmental threats. These include contaminates such as biohazards (biological substances that can harm humans), climate change and natural disasters. Contaminants can enter a water source naturally through flooding. Contaminants can also be a problem if a population switches their water supply from surface water to groundwater. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires can damage man-made structures such as dams and fill waterways with debris. Other threats to water security include terrorism and radiation due to a nuclear accident.

Sentences added to the end of the Blue Peace Section

Blue Peace is part of a larger trend of viewing water as a human right rather than a market commodity. When water is viewed as a human right, it empowers people in water stressed areas to manage their water sources effectively. Part of having effective management of water is ensuring that all socioeconomic groups of people in a region have adequate access to water, not just certain people.