ENV 733b () / 2025-2026

Global Threats to Freshwater

The world’s freshwater systems are under mounting stress. Inefficient water use in agriculture, industry, and energy production has depleted rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers, intensifying water scarcity and imperiling food and energy security. Climate change compounds these pressures, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where declining precipitation and rising temperatures are amplifying inequities in access to safe drinking water. The quality of freshwater is also at risk.  Land-use conversion, manufacturing, mining, and urban runoff are driving salinization of riverine ecosystems and introducing legacy and emerging contaminants into groundwater on which millions depend for their daily needs.  This seminar examines the natural and human drivers of  freshwater depletion, flow alteration, and degradation, while also exploring established and innovative approaches to mitigate these challenges.