04 :- WATER CONSERVATION/HARVESTING

WATER CONSERVATION:

                      WHY SAVING WATER IS IMPORTANT

  

water is one of those resources that we just have on hand, for the most part. if you are blessed enough to live in an area without regular drought conditions or poor water supply system, then it is easy to forget how precious water is. it's just as easy to take for granted how much water you waste doing very simple, everyday tasks.

but as populations increase and climates change, water and water supply levels are becoming increasingly tight, which means that we all need to do our part to conserve water wherever we can.

here, we'll talk about why it is important to conserve water, how saving water benefits you, and some simple things you can change to start saving water right now.

                   WATER IS FINITE, AND WE NEED WATER TO LIVE

                                          

The world's supply of water isn't as large as we think. Roughly 98% of the water on the earth is undrinkable salt water, and 2% of fresh drinking water is locked in polar ice caps. the rest of that 2% of global water is fresh groundwater that we can drink, and that is the water we use for everything.

According to department of energy efficiency and renewable energy, your typical American uses between 80-100 gallons of water per day. because many of us get caught up in water as something we drink, we use for simple tasks like washing ours, taking showers, using the lavatory, washing laundry, and other household tasks.

Think about it: using between 80-100 gallons per day means roughly 29,000 gallons per year. that isn't 29,000 gallons out of roughly 2% of global water available to us.  

the truth is that as the human population grows, water is going to become a more valuable commodity. ask someone who lives in a drought stricken area, or in a place where potable water isn't readily available.

                   WATER SERVICE COSTS MONEY AND COSTS ADDUP

                

Running your water isn't just wasting precious resources: it is wasting money.

That's because water doesn't just show up on our doorstep. A complicate system of pumps, filters, piping, and drains carry water into our homes everyday, and take away wastewater in a sanitary manner. building, repairing, and maintaining those systems cost a pretty penny, and much of that cost is offloaded into monthly water utility bills and taxes from your municipal provider (if you don't have a private water company).

So as you run your sink, shower, or garden hose, that provider is monitoring your usage by the gallon . water meters at the source of your incoming water supply measure precisely how much you use, regardless of what you use it for.

                                     

                               
So it doesn't matter if you take a short shower and make sure to keep the faucet off if the sprinkler runs 6 hours a day-it's all the same water and all the same waste, and you are going to be charged all the same.

So wastewater isn't just bad for the environment it is bad for your pocketbook.

                 SAVING WATER ALSO MEANS SAVING ENERGY

Water utility costs sometimes come with additional, hidden costs that you may not notice. for example, taking longer showers (or more repeated showers) can cause your hot water heater to run more, it uses more gas or electricity, which means a more expensive utility bill. the same logic follows for any water pumps or filters that you use.

                                                  

Water needs to get to your house, and how it gets there can affect how much energy it uses. if  you use well water, for example, then an electrical pump must move all the groundwater up to your power bill. larger-scale municipal water supplies use water towers and gravity to maintain water pressure, but electrical pumps are needed to get the water into the tower. And, if everyone is using water supply, then there will be more demand to pump water to maintain pressure, which means more power usage.