Rethinking Water Scarcity: The Role of Storage

Water scarcity, in its simplest sense, can be defined as a shortage in the availability of freshwater relative to demand. Freshwater shortages directly affect food security, access to safe drinking water, hygiene and public health, and environmental well-being. Water scarcity can also retard economic development and promote civil strife. Robust measures of water scarcity are therefore required to inform water policy and help allocate resources to mitigate these effects.