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Water Conservation – How to Conserve Water
Water is the most valuable resource in the world. Without water, there won’t be any life on Earth. While two thirds of the Earth is covered with water, only a small percentage of it is fresh water – fit for consumption by humans and most land dwelling creatures. Not surprisingly, in these modern times of burgeoning population, when the human race is itself contributing to environmental destruction and destabilization, it is imperative that each one of us are conscious of this limited resource and take steps to use it judiciously. Water conservation is something that should be taken seriously by one and all.
One way to conserve water is to make changes to each of our lifestyles so as to significantly reduce our water footprint. The water footprint of an individual is defined as the ” total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual.”
For example, the following is a chart detailing the amount of water needed to produce different food items.
| Food Products | Amount of water consumed (Litres) |
|---|---|
| Beef 1 Kg | 16000 |
| Rice 1 Kg | 3000 |
| Wheat 1 Kg | 1350 |
| Milk 1 Litre | 1000 |
| Maize 1 Kg | 900 |
| Coffee 1 cup | 140 |
The data in the above table indicates the amount of water needed to produce 1 KG or 1 litre of the respective food product.
Good Magazine has pictorially represented the water footprint of our daily life as we normally lead, and how we can make changes to our lifestyle so as to reduce our water footprint. Click on the image below to view the pictorial representation.
Amount of water used by an individual for daily tasks and the water footprint of most common food items
From the preceding image, one can infer the following – Each one of us can contribute our mite in conserving water by :
- Embracing a vegetarian diet instead of eating non-vegetarian foods. Poultry and meat products have a very large water footprint.
- When thirsty, drink plain water instead of reaching out for aerated drinks such as Coke or Pepsi.
- Drink Tea instead of Coffee as producing coffee consumes over 4 times more water than producing the same amount of tea.
- Buy and use only Energy Star home appliances.
- Convert all the faucets in your home to low-flow faucets which will help save nearly 250 litres of water each day.