The Middle Eastern parts of Africa are not only having unrest in society due to politics, but there is also outburst from the people on the water crisis. Egypt was given the rights to all of the Nile's water after a treaty was signed between the country and Britain that announced Egypt's independence. However, throughout the years, as more countries in the Nile River's location became independent, the river's water was split up, yet a large majority still remained in Egypt's rights. One key term to the new treaty was that any water projects upstream had to be approved by Egypt.
This is the problem facing the area today. Ethiopia has been building the Grand Renaissance Dam, which is said to be completed by 2017. As water in the region is not used resourcefully, the river has been dramatically losing water. For this reason, Egypt has not approved the new dam, but Ethiopia has begun construction anyways, and other upstream countries are on Ethiopia's side.
This is a large problem for Egypt, in which 97% of people in the country live along the Nile. Egypt's main sources of income are agriculture and tourism, both of which demand large amounts of water. With Egypt's political problems being as they are, the water crisis had been ignored, and now the region must face the consequences.
As the months go by we will see Egypt's reactions to the possibility of even more water loss caused by the dam. Will they act forcibly or try to compromise with the upstream countries?

If I told you to think about a water crisis, the United States may be the last thing you would think of. However, the citizens of Detroit wouldn't. In the last few months, thousands of people living in the city have had their water cut off. The city is one of the poorest in our country, and yet they also have one of the highest costs of water. 

So, what happens when citizens can't afford the water? It gets cut off. What happens when those people no longer have access to water? Outbreaks. 

Water riots, something that one would expect to see in countries like Egypt, have been taking place in our very own country. People can't clean themselves, flush toilets, or even cook. Many of these families without water are ones that have children. This is causing huge health concerns in the city. Some people who have come out of surgery recently can't even clean bandages or wounds. 

Not only is this a concern of health, but it's a debate of whether water is a right or a privilege. The United Nations stated that the scene in Detroit is, "a violation of the human right to water and other international rights." However, some people in Detroit disagree. The people who can still pay for water have seen a raise in the water bills to as much as $20 to help compensate for the loss of water users and also some have had problems with neighbors stealing water.

Water is the basis of life. Water is essential to life. Many people take that for granted, however. My blog will put into perspective just how important water is and how we impact water, whether it be quality or water levels.

People use water everyday no matter their location. Over-consumption can cause droughts, and cause entire ecosystems to struggle and compete over water resources. People also use unique technology to help conserve water or even completely change regions. An example of this would be how Egypt has constructed waterways that will support their growing population that has spread farther away from the Nile and into the desert land. Along with this system Egypt created, they have also recently looked into ways that will help conserve water such as grey-water recycling systems, new irrigation techniques, and even new plants that are genetically modified to use less water. Water also has an impact on natural tendencies, such as Florida's rising amount of groundwater causing sinkholes and interrupting the ecosystems in the area. 

There are many resources that I would look to for information, such as government articles on plans to conserve and use water efficiently, international organizations such as UN water, and various other sites that would depend on the specific topic of my posts.