overuse are among the most damaging, especially concerning ground water extraction. For ground water, once the pump is installed, the policy of many countries is to only constrain removal based on the cost of electricity, and in many cases subsidize electricity costs for agricultural uses, which damages incentives to conserve such resources. Additionally, many countries within Africa set the cost of water well below cost-recovery levels, thus discouraging efficient usage and threatening sustainability. Population growth Over the past century, the global population has more than doubled. Africa's population is notably the fastest growing in the world. It is expected to increase by roughly 50% over the next 18 years, growing from 1.2 billion people today to over 1.8 billion in 2035. In fact, Africa will account for nearly half of global population growth over the next two decades. There is also a simple but appreciable equation that, as population increases, so does water demand. At the same time, the water resources in African region are gradually diminishing due to the habitation in places that were previously water sources. As the population increases rapidly, there is urgent demands for improved health, quality of life, food security, and 'lubrication' of industrial growth, which also place severe constraints on the water available to achieve these goals. The growing population will only exacerbate the water scarcity crisis as more pressure is placed on the availability and access of water resources. "Today, 41% of the world's population lives in river basins that are under water stress". This raises a major concern as many regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered. Globally, about 55 percent of the world's population live in urban areas, and by 2030, there might be a 5 percent increase in this ratio. This is the same experience in Africa. Big cities like Lagos, Kinshasa and Nairobi have doubled their population within a fifteen years period. Although people are migrating into these urban cities, the availability of fresh water has stayed the same, or in some cases reduced, since water is a finite substance. The rising population in African cities creates a link to the imbalance between the supply of water and the demands in those cities. Aside urbanization contributing to the imbalance between the demand and supply of water, urbanization also causes an increase in water pollution. As a result of more people moving into cities,