Final answer:
Population growth places immense pressure on water resources, leading to groundwater aquifer depletion and saltwater intrusion, and exacerbating water stress, especially in arid and densely populated regions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The escalating population growth exerts a tremendous demand on the world's water resources. As groundwater aquifers are replenished much slower than the rate at which human consumption is occurring, the imbalance threatens future water supply security. This excessive dependence on groundwater can lead to issues such as groundwater mining, with the water table dropping significantly, causing saltwater intrusion, pollution direction changes, and land subsidence with associated sinkholes. Furthermore, water stress is intensely felt in areas with low precipitation, dense populations, or both, and climate change may exacerbate this crisis by altering precipitation patterns and accelerating glacier melting, which also contributes to rising sea levels and more intense saltwater intrusion.