What is expected to happen to water availability as the population increases?

As the population increases, the demand for water typically rises due to factors such as increased agricultural needs, expanded industrial usage, and greater domestic consumption. With more people requiring water for drinking, sanitation, food production, and other uses, the existing water resources can become strained. This heightened demand can lead to lower water availability per capita, especially in areas where water sources are already limited or over-exploited.

Moreover, an increased population can also lead to over-extraction of groundwater and greater consumption of surface water bodies, which exacerbates the issue of reduced availability. In many regions, this has resulted in lowered water tables and dry rivers, further confirming that increased population can result in significantly less water available for both the ecosystem and human use.

While the other options suggest different outcomes, the scenario of enhanced pollution, stagnant water availability, or an increase in water availability do not take into account the direct relationship between population growth and resource demand, which often leads to decreased availability in the context of limited water supply and environmental sustainability.