Water is a vital necessity for human life. Nowadays, the world is facing a serious problem like water shortage. British chief scientist John Beddington (2010) stated that if the population growth rate increases in the next decade, drinking water shortages will become an urgent problem for all humanity. Unfortunately, the lack of drinking water has negative effects on people's health and can lead to international conflicts. Due to water scarcity people are using water from unsafe sources. It also means that people cannot properly wash and clean their clothes and homes. It is obvious that poor water quality and violation of sanitary standards can cause serious diseases. Furthermore, today there is competition for water between countries, urban and rural areas, and between different industries in some regions. Therefore, problems related to water scarcity in the world could turn into political problems. To avoid future problems, scientists suggest many solutions. However, most of them have numerous drawbacks and are not effective in preventing the spread of the disaster. Water recycling, seawater desalination and increasing the price of water are believed to be the most effective solutions. This essay will compare the advantages and disadvantages of these three most effective solutions and provide examples of Singapore's long-term water policy. Like many thirsty countries, Singapore also has a large population density. However, due to the high levels of gross domestic product, they could afford to solve this problem. It is easy to evaluate solutions by looking at Singapore's National Water Strategy, because it includes these techniques and has achieved some practical results. Today agricultural use of fresh water is 70%, I... middle of paper... .onitor.com/world_news/asia/singapore-opens-fifth-and-largest-sembcorp-newater-plant- 29777.html (accessed December 22, 2010).7. Hyland, P and B. Miles. 2008. Water shortages in Queensland: are businesses ready to meet the challenge?. International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development 7(2): 155-156. Academic Search Premier http://www.ebscohost.com/ (accessed October 27, 2010).8. Stockholm International Water Institute. and Statistics. http://www.siwi.org/sa/node.asp?node=159 (accessed November 20, 2010).9. Shankari. U. 2010. PUB calls for tenders for the second desalination plant. http://www.greensingapore.com/Singlenews.aspx?DirID=87&rec_code=611948 (accessed January 2, 2011).10. Suhaimi. D. 2010. There is no need to renew the water pact. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_519620.html (accessed January 5, 2010).