ABSTRACT
Although water on Earth is abundant in quantity and vast in distribution, it still imposes problems in many regions. Around 1.2 billion people live in areas of physical water scarcity, 0.5 billion are approaching this situation, and another 1.6 billion face economic water shortage where countries lack necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers (FAO, 2007). In other words, as much as 3.3 billion people, accounting for 50% of the world population, have water shortage problems. By 2020, water use in the world is expected to increase by 40%, and 17% more water for food production (Palaniappan and Gleick, 2008). Water pollution has worsened the difculties experienced in regions with water shortages. Water shortages not only create many problems and inconveniences in daily activities but also affect lifestyles and cultural development. At Chungungo, Chile, each villager lives on 13 L of water per day, delivered by trucks once a week. In the northwest plateau of China, it is said that people take only three baths in their lifetimes: when they are born, when they are married, and when they die. Indeed, water is a luxury for many people in many regions.
