Water is a really important resource that everyone needs in order to live and survive. Yet, clean and fresh water is becoming a much more limited resource, especially as severe droughts are beginning to happen across the world.
Without water, a lot of people can become ill, which can then result in death.
Even though around 70% of the world is made up of water, many parts of the world still don’t have access to clean water.
Therefore, conserving water is really important as it helps to protect the environment and makes more people able to have clean fresh water all around the world.
In this article, we will be focusing on why water conservation is important, and some things everyone can do to help.
Why Should We Be Saving Water?
On average, studies have revealed that every person around 140 liters of water every day. However, these studies also show that water deficits are predicted to start occurring by 2080.
As a result, everyone needs to start cutting down and conserving how much water they use. Therefore, we need to start using our water a lot more wisely and creating a lot less water waste.
Wildlife And Ecosystems
By using less water, we allow more water to remain in nature to help let ecosystems thrive.
Therefore, habitats, especially wetland habitats for animals such as fish, water voles, herons and otters are allowed to thrive. This is really important during drought periods, which normally occur in the hot summer months.
Aquatic wildlife need water in order to survive. Therefore, if all the water dries up more aquatic species could face extinction, and humans will have a tougher job of finding new homes for them, where they will be safe.
Crops
Also for any gardeners out there, they will know the importance that water has in making all their flowers, fruits and vegetables grow. However, if they are living in an area where there is drought, then their produce isn’t going to grow.
Growing your own food is a great way to become suitable at home, however, with water shortages this makes this idea much more difficult to complete. Thus, without water, people could go hungry as their crops can’t grow.
Saves Money And Energy
In addition to that, by conserving water, you will be saving money. This is because you will be using less water, therefore you will be charged less.
You will also be considering the amount of energy that you use as well. Energy is needed to heat, pump and filter the water that goes around your home.
A study found that around 7% of the energy used in Californian homes is used to transfer water around the home. Therefore, the less water you use, the less energy that is required, so your carbon footprint is also reduced.
Why Is Conversation So Important?
Conservation is extremely important as it protects the environment and the natural reoccurrence the earth has to offer. In addition, conversation goes hand in hand with preservation.
By conserving the natural resources we are protecting the environment from any harmful activity which then affects nature and animals.
By converting water, we are then reducing air and water pollution due to the limited amount of energy used. While also preserving and maintaining landscapes, and wildlife.
Not only do we need to conserve water, but there has also been an emphasis on conserving forests that are usually cut down for logging purposes.
Thus, by conserving forests, we are preventing deforestation. As a result, by conserving water, we are preserving wetlands and preventing worldwide droughts which have a knock on effect on other elements in our everyday lives.
Saving Water In Your Kitchen
As you can see, saving water is really important, and there are many ways you can save water at home. By saving water around your home including the kitchen, then if everyone does this then it will have a bigger impact overall.
When it comes to saving water in your kitchen, there are a couple of simple things that you can do. Which are the following:
Washing Up Bowls
Instead of filling up your sink, fill up a washing up bowl that sits inside your sink instead. By using a washing up bowl, you will be reducing the amount of water that you will need to use.
This is because washing up bowls are slightly smaller than your sink, therefore they require less water. It may seem simple, but you could save a lot of water by just using this simple trick.
Lids
When you are using a saucepan and boiling water, remember to use a lid on top of your saucepan. The lid will help you to reduce a large amount of that water, which is normally lost as the water is heated.
Therefore, the water will be heated, turn into steam and then the steam will hit the lid. Once the stream reaches the lid, it will then become condensation and the water will drip back into the saucepan. Thus, less water evaporates over time as you cook.
Full Loads
When it comes to using washing machines or dishwashers, you only want to put them on when you have a full load, otherwise, you will be using unnecessary water to wash a small amount of clothing or plates etc.
In addition to that, be aware of what settings your washing machines or dishwashers are on. Try to use eco-settings where possible, as this will help you to save even more water.
Cold Water
To save water for your tap to go cold, put a large bottle of water in the fridge. Research has shown that a lot of people waste 10 liters of water every day waiting for their taps to go cold before using.
Saving Water In Your Bathroom
Not only can you save water in the kitchen, but the bathroom is one of the places where you use the most water. Therefore, there are ways to help you conserve a lot more water.
Brushing Your Teeth
When you are brushing your teeth, you should turn off the tap. This is because if you leave the tap running, you could be wasting up to 6 liters of water every miniature that the tap remains running.
Flushing The Toilet
Your toilet uses a lot of water every time that you flush it. Therefore, you need to consider how much you are flushing your toilet. You may want to follow the old saying ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down’.
By not flushing your toilet every time you use it, it will give you a lot of water, especially if you live in a household with a lot of people.
However, understandably not everyone wants to do that, therefore you may want to consider purchasing a dual flush toilet. These are much more water efficient, and will only use the right amount of water that is needed.
Install A Cistern
Studies have shown that if you install a cistern displacement device, you could start saving around 5,000 liters of water every year. This is a lot of water that could make a massive difference if a lot more people start using them.
You can often find these devices at the majority of water companies. Also, they are normally free or very cheap to purchase.
Use A Shower
If you can, you should try to use a shower a lot more than you use the bath. To fill a bath up to the top, will use 80 liters of water. While, when you use a shower, you will only be using between 6 and 45 liters of water.
However, this number will vary, depending on how long your showers are. Yet, on average they will save you a lot more water, than filling up your bathtub every time. This is quite important if you have a large family, and you are taking baths at all.
Alongside this, showers and water efficient taps will not only use less water, but they also use much less energy. Less energy is needed to heat the water up to the correct temperature.
Therefore, you will end up using less water and energy, thus you will have to spend less on bills while your carbon footprint is reducing as well.
Dripping Taps
There is nothing more annoying than a dripping tap. However, a dripping tap can waste around 15 liters of water every day. Thus, it is really important that you fix any dripping taps in your home.
Saving Water In Your Backyard
As we mentioned above, water is a really important part of any backyard, especially if you are growing your own produce. Flowers, fruit, veg and grass all require water to stay healthy and grow.
Therefore, it is easy to waste water in your garden, however by following these simple tips you will be able to save a lot more water in your garden.
Sprinklers
A lot of us like to see our grass as green as possible, however, by using sprinklers to water your backyard can waste a lot of water. There is nothing wrong with your grass turning brown due to a lack of water, it will become green again once it rains.
Your grass will always recover, yet wanting it to remain green is for aesthetic purposes only. Yet, sprinklers can use up to 1,000 liters of water every hour, which also wastes water just to keep your grass green.
Catch Rainwater
When it rains, use this to your advantage. Collect rainwater by using large containers or water butts to collect as much rainwater as possible.
You can then use this water in a vanity of ways around your yard. You can use this water to water your plants and even to wash your windows or car. There is no reason why you can’t use rainwater in your backyard, as it is free water that doesn’t cost you anything.
Bark And Mulch
When you add water to your garden, it can evaporate really quickly, which then means you need to water your yard a lot more frequently.
As a result, to reduce the evaporation that is happening in your garden, applying a layer of bark or mulch can reduce this issue by 75%. Therefore, you will have to water your yard a lot less often and the ground will stay moist for much longer.
Types Of Plants
Think about the type of plants that you are planting in your yard. Obviously, you don’t have to be restricted to only planting a certain type of plants, but consider drought resistant plants.
These types of plants require much less water in order to stay alive. Therefore, you can get away with watering them much less than you would other species of plants.
Final Thoughts
Water conservation is extremely important as a large amount of water goes to waste every day. There Is only a limited amount of water on the earth, and with the amount we are wasting every day, this has a serious knock on effect on other elements in our world.
Such as causing world widespread drought, which then also affects animal ecosystems, and causes crop failures, thus a food shortage could then become a serious issue.
Water is a really important part of everyone’s life, therefore we all need to do our bit to converse and waste as little water as possible.
In this article, we have given you all the information that you need to understand why water conversation is so important. In addition, you also know what you can do at home to waste as little water as possible.
It is time to start conserving water, so that water related issues don’t become a serious problem in the future.
Hi, my name is Mike Noren and I am an activist for saving water. In the USA alone, we waste almost 900 billion gallons of water every year. To put that into perspective, that equates to the yearly household water use of around 11 million homes!
We waste water in so many ways, like leaving the faucet on while we brush our teeth, bathing instead of showering, and watering our lawns more than we need to.
Through my site, you'll learn more about droughts and their effects on society, how to collect rainwater and use it in your everyday life, and how much water you really need to be using a day. Remember that saving water will also save money on your water bill, so why not give it a go and help me Save The Drop!
