Northern China has eight regions of aquifer overdraft, while the water table under Beijing dropped 37 meters over the last 40 years. The land under Bangkok has actually sunk due to overpumping. And the Nile River, the Ganges, and the Yellow River in China, like the Colorado in the U.S., are so dammed and diverted that the waters do not reach the sea. Cities and industrial zones are now in direct competition for water with industrial agriculture. Babies are drinking Coke and Pepsi.
Some countries are near war over water.
Namibia and Botswana are arguing about diversions of the Okavango River. Israel, Jordan and other mid-East countries are also arguing. And Turkey opposes Kurdish independence, precisely because Kurds live in the mountains, where the water is. More than five million people, mostly children, die every year from bad drinking water. The effects on wildlife and biodiversity is beyond tragic.