Taking Steps to Restrict Unnecessary Water Use - Essay Example

Introduction

With the many areas battling drought, conserving water is eminent even in the areas having abundant water. Statistics say that the demand for fresh water around the earth keeps rising and in two decades to come, there could be even a 40% increase in demand (PortaPotty.net 1). Of all the water supply sources in the earth, only 1% of it is freshwater (PortaPotty.net 1). 97% is salty, and 2% is held up in icebergs (PortaPotty.net 1). The need for fresh water gets mostly propelled by the world’s population which is shooting up rapidly and at the same time industrial, municipal, and agricultural organizations claiming a portion of this water (PortaPotty.net 3). Reports are in fact saying that the increase in population may cause 5.3 billion people to suffer from water shortages by 2025 (PortaPotty.net 3). A sustainable water conservation system is possible only if we regulate and control the much water we consume on a daily basis.

Arguments for the solution

Taking steps to restrict unnecessary water use is a cost-effective measure plus it keeps supply levels stable. It is possible to regulate water consumption because, for example, a person in Ethiopia manages to use just 4 gallons of water per day whereas an individual in the US uses up to 152 gallons per day (PortaPotty.net 4). That shows that people in the US are major water consumers and wasters of water. To prove that, by 2009, ‘water-stress’ conditions got reported in over 40 states in the US (Eartheasy 2). To save water substantially, everyone in the world has to play their part in monitoring and reducing their overall water spending. Human activities are the primary cause of excess water shortage in the world, however, only they, can prevent the dangerous predicted water situation likely to befall the world. The world’s water day – March 22 – plays a great role in creating awareness to individuals around the world on the need to consuming water limitedly. Such awareness is the key to persuading people to take an interest in how they use water. There are several things people all over the world can do to limit water usage both in homes and when conducting agricultural projects, and the fact that these methods exist tells us that there are available solutions convenient for preventing a water crisis for future generations. I will stress on human activities and agricultural practices more because they are the primary consumers of fresh water since they take up to 90% of it while industries just manage on the remaining 10% (PortaPotty.net 4).

Examples of ways to conserve water

Conserving water in our homes starts with analyzing the very little aspects and areas where water is present in our homes. First of all is important to check the faucets and pipes in your home to ensure there are no leaks. You may not be aware but small drips from a worn out faucet washer can lead to up to 20 gallons of water getting wasted per day (Eartheasy 4). That means that larger leaks can even result in hundreds of gallons getting lost. Toilets are also worth expecting for leaks plus people should not use them as an ashtray or a wastebasket. Flushing trash or cigarettes can waste five to seven gallons of water (Eartheasy 4). Installing float boosters or plastic bottles on their tanks, adjustable flappers, or replacing 18-litre per flash toilet models with 6-liter ones can also save more than ten gallons per day (Eartheasy 4). People should also learn how to take shorter showers. 40 minutes in the shower totals to over twenty gallons getting used which is absurd and uneconomical if we wish to save water (Eartheasy 4). Lastly, turning off the taps when brushing teeth, and using warm water to rinse razors helps too in our course of minimizing water wastage (PortaPotty.net 5). These are not the only ways of reducing water wastage in our homes; the examples just show that the way we use water in our homes contribute significantly to how we can conserve water. For our gardens, in as much as water is vital, planting drought-resistant plants, putting mulch around trees, deep watering, planting ground covers, using the drip irrigation method, water the lawns in the early morning, and more are mechanisms we can employ to save water (Eartheasy 4). Even if you are in an area that is experiencing drought, these are guidelines you could apply to control your water usage and still keep your garden flawless.

Why every drop makes a difference when conserving water

After viewing the suitable methods for saving water, especially those we can apply in our homes, one may think there is not much of a difference they can bring given how petty they look. However, if you do the math, if one person spends forty minutes in the shower and there over five billion people in the world, think about the many gallons of water we end up losing if everyone spends the same amount of time. Again, if one pipe leakage can lead to a loss of over twenty gallons of water, think about how much would get lost if just a quarter of the people’s homes in the world had leakages. That tells that there is a substantial amount that can get saved if everyone would join in the race on conserving our water.

How we can use water-conservation technology

We are in times when technology is evolving and providing efficient solutions to even matters such as this through upgrading household appliances. Before, in the early 1990s, companies were able only to manufacture toilets that spend up to seven gallons of water in single flush (PortaPotty.net 6). The latest models are now designed to use just 1.6 gallons of water per flush (PortaPotty.net 6). Installing just one of these toilets saves close to six gallons of water, meaning, technology has come quite in handy in saving water wastage because if these kinds of toilets were to get installed in all homes, then much water can be saved. Washing machines and dishwashers have also been upgraded to save over a thousand gallons of water. From this, we see the importance of innovation and the growing technology to the world because these improved technologies spread over even to the agriculture sector. WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers that use local weather data to manage a sprinkler system are now available, and they help greatly in regulating the soil’s moisture (PortaPotty.net 6). When there is rainfall, they shut down the system to make use of the natural water. There are also high-efficiency rotary sprinklers available that work better than the mist sprinklers in preventing water loss through evaporation. Studies report that if we fix these water-saving appliances in our homes, then, we can be able to save more than 40000 gallons of water per year and home owners can manage to save more than 30% of their annual household water costs (PortaPotty.net 6).

Regional governments and municipals can initial water conservation programs

Public outreach through launching campaigns is the most common strategy states have used to encourage people to avoid wasting water. It is however continually rising; therefore, forcing them to put restrictions on how much water gets used for activities such as watering lawns, and washing cars. That tells us that people are giving a deaf ear to the need of conserving water and the only way to make them participate in the course is only effecting laws on them. It was good to mention that to eliminate the idea of people thinking that every time there is water shortage the government is to blame. The government has in fact even gone ahead and implemented universal water metering in homes, but this is still not sufficient enough because most homes have even dug up private wells to suit their comfort. Even if there was something more the governments could do, the outcomes of their policies may fail to be effective because water consumption narrows down to every single individual. Although the rules keep watch even on agricultural activities in the farms, especially the large ones, it is still impossible for them to follow up on every citizen to evaluate how they use water in their homesteads since this is the part where most wastage is getting detected. I urge people to take water conservation seriously in both their homes at a personal level and globally because water shortage is a societal problem.

Conclusion

Civilians should realize the seriousness of the situation and understand that there is no special reward for saving water except that it will be the key to saving water for tomorrow’s generation. Remember that conserving water preserves life hence the quote; ‘water is life,' it maintains aquatic ecosystems, reduces your home water bills, converses the energy used to pump and treat water to obtain fresh water, cuts costs of recycling and purifying water and more. Cutting down the recycling costs needs us to watch how we dispose of our wastes. The advantage of all this is that it shows us that there are things we can do as a society to better our situation since the earth is not completely out of fresh water.