Why water sustainability is so important

Water sustainability is important. Whether you know it or not, we live on a water planet. Water covers 71% of the earth’s surface. Even human beings are 60% water. We could only survive a few days without water, whereas we could survive weeks without food. Water is critical in supplying us with food, shelter, and many other daily needs. For example:

it takes 1000 tonnes of water to produce 1 tonne of grain,
400,000 litres to produce an automobile, or
9,000 litres to produce 1 kilogram of grain-fed beef.
We could save more water by reducing our consumption of grain-fed beef by 1 kilogram annually than by skipping our daily shower for almost 2 years!

Water also moderates our global climate and removes water-soluble wastes.

Despite water’s importance, we manage it poorly. Water companies charge too little to make it available, which promotes waste and pollution. We may see sharper increases in the price of water in the future to stop this. We may even see water may even become a source of conflict in the not-too-distant future, especially in regions such as the Middle East, where many countries are so dependant on the Nile River, the sustainability of which is poorly managed.

So, now we know why water sustainability is so important, what can we do at household level to reduce our water use and waste? Here are a few suggestions:

Turn off sink taps while brushing teeth
Use recycled water for lawns, gardens, house plants and car washing
Wash clothes in the washing machine only when you have a full load, or use a lower water level if you have a smaller load.
Sweep or blow off driveways instead of hosing them with water.
Water gardens in the early morning or late evening to avoid losing water to evaporation
Wash your car with a bucket of soapy water, and use the hose only for rinsing.
Flush toilets only when necessary.
If you can afford them, use water-saving toilets, shower heads and faucet aerators.
If you can afford to, replace your lawn with native plants that require little water, and rocks in place of water-hungry turf.
If you can afford to, install a drip irrigation system and use mulch for gardens.

Notice how some tips include the words “If you can afford…” Sustainability measures can sometimes be more initially expensive, but calculations can sometimes prove that a particular measure or product can pay for itself in ongoing savings, usually well within the lifetime of the product. Not to mention the value of feeling good about doing the right thing by the planet! Some unsustainable measures may enjoy subsidies from the government or other bodies with a vested interest, but these will not be around forever. This may be a topic for another article anyhow. Thankyou for reading

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 February 2011 05:03